SHIFT - online 121 coaching, and personal training

17/02/2026

🐴🧧 Wishing everyone a happy Year of the Horse!

恭祝各位馬年行大運，新春吉祥，萬事如意!

health

11/02/2026

Intent First. Exercise Second.

How often are you unsure of what exercises to use in your workout?

Start with outcomes, not movements.

Every drill must answer one question:
What quality are you developing, and why now?

🎯 Intent 1: Express Explosive Hip Power

Understand your reasoning and target.

We want to learn:
• Rapid force production
• Clean ground-to-shoulder energy transfer
• Posterior chain elasticity
• Athletic projection without heavy axial fatigue

Teaching the body to snap, not grind.

Tool: Kettlebell High Pull

The high pull allows violent hip extension without the spinal loading of heavy barbell work.

The bell floats because the hips drive it.
Not the arms. Not the shoulders.

It sits in that crucial space between maximal strength and pure ballistic work.

Strength lays the foundation.
The high pull teaches you to use it fast.

This is power you can sprint with, strike and change direction with.

🎯 Intent 2: Own the System That Delivers Force

Power without structure leaks.

So now we shift focus. We want:
• Ribcage–pelvis control
• Anti-rotation stability
• Overhead integrity
• Unilateral strength without compensation

This is about organising the body under load.

Tool: Half-Kneeling Single Arm Overhead Press

The half-kneeling position removes momentum and exposes imbalance.

You must:
• Squeeze the down-leg glute
• Stack ribs over pelvis
• Press vertically through a stable trunk

If you arch, shift, or rotate, the system isn’t owned.

This is controlled force expression.
Structural discipline.

🔁 Why They Work Together

High pull = produce force quickly.
Half-kneeling press = control force precisely.

One develops projection.
The other develops integrity.

Together they reduce energy leaks.
Together they build transferable capacity.

Power + Structure.
Speed + Stability.
Output + Durability.

Train with intent.
Select tools that serve it.

strengthwork

06/02/2026

Explosive Power vs Power Endurance and why most people train them in the wrong order

Explosive power is the ability to produce high force, very fast.
Power endurance is the ability to repeat that force when fatigue is rising.

They are related.
They are not interchangeable.
And they do not belong at the same stage of development.

Here’s the ShiftGPT lens

1️⃣ Explosive power is a peak quality
It sits on top of:
• Movement competency
• Maximal / relative strength
• Tendon and connective tissue capacity

If you skip those layers and chase “speed” early, you don’t get powerful. What you get is noisy, leaky movement under load.

Explosive power work should feel:
👉Fast
👉Crisp
👉Low fatigue
👉High intent

Think jumps, throws, Olympic derivatives, short sprints.
When speed drops, the set is over.

When to train it:
After a strength base is established.
Early in a session.
In phases where quality > volume.

2️⃣ Power endurance is a late-stage expression
Power endurance is not just “conditioning”.
It’s the ability to sustain high-output actions when energy systems, coordination, and local musculature are stressed.

This quality is brutally honest:
🫣Weak strength → power fades
🫣Poor movement → technique collapses
🫣Bad pacing → premature failure

Power endurance exposes gaps. It doesn’t build foundations.

When to train it:
After:
• Strength is solid
• Explosive power is present
• Sport demands are clear

This is where complexes, clusters, repeat efforts, and short-rest bouts live.

3️⃣ The sequencing matters more than the method
A simple rule:
• Build strength → express power → extend it under fatigue

Miss the order and you cap your ceiling.

20/01/2026

GB 🇬🇧 at 8th International Championships in USA 🇺🇸

I am forever grateful and privileged to be a coach for the , and take nothing for granted.

This trip was no exception as I rarely travel with the kata team, which made this especially meaningful - a combined fighting and kata group, and for many athletes, their first experience in the United States.

All 15 competitors placed, and more importantly they did it with respect, intent, discipline, humility and wonderful camaraderie.

Proud coaches

The last photo sums it up. In the snow, a bit cold, a little damp, but smiles and together as a team.

Team 🇬🇧 you were brilliant to be with 👊

01/01/2026

Thank you to all that touched Shift in 2025.

To the runners, fighters, strength athletes, endurance athletes, and triathletes, to everyone who showed up, set new targets, broke old habits, and built better ones.

Through the highs and lows, the plateaus and breakthroughs, the doubts and the wins, it’s a privilege to coach you and to share the journey.

Thank you for trusting the process, and being part of the community, whether we’re face-to-face or online.

We’ll keep learning and moving forward together. Commitment with intention will give small incremental change. That’s our 2026 mission.

12/12/2025

A pleasure to work with Simeon Kyurchiev and students at Elite Martial Arts Richmond

12/12/2025

Why Rotational Training Is Non-Negotiable.

Most people train straight lines; up, down, push, pull, squat, hinge - all single plane.
Great for strength. Terrible for transfer.

If you want real-world athleticism and power that shows up in your sport, your fight, your run, your daily life, you need rotation in your programme.

Not “nice-to-have.” Not “extra.” Essential.

Because here’s the truth:

You don’t generate power in a straight line. You generate it through torque.

Every punch, kick, throw, sprint, change of direction relies on that chain. If the chain can’t rotate with speed and stability, you lose power before it ever leaves your body.

Rotational training fixes that.

It builds a reactive core that transfers force. Strong obliques, deep core musculature, hips that can load and unload torque without bleeding energy.

That means more stability, less back pain, and a body that can accelerate, decelerate, and change direction without hesitation.

It also protects you.

A spine that never rotates is a spine that breaks when it finally has to.
Controlled rotation teaches the body how to manage force safely.

You’re not “twisting your back”—you’re integrating your whole system.

Most importantly, rotation closes the gap between gym strength and human output and performance.

Add exercises like:
• Landmine rotations
• Med ball rotational throws
• Cable chops + lifts
• Rotational lunges
• Anti-rotation work (Pallof variations)

Start small. Build control. Add speed.

Your power will jump. Your movement will feel cleaner. Your body will feel athletic again.

10/12/2025

When motivation fades, it’s the discipline that keeps you in check.

25/11/2025

Train like you want to move

Multi-joint + unilateral rotational movements are the foundation of smart, athletic, high-return training.
If you want strength that actually transfers to sport and real life, this is where it comes from.

Sport isn’t isolated.
You jump, land, twist, strike, pull, push, rotate, absorb force, change direction, and stabilise — often all within a single movement. Your training should reflect that reality.

Multi-joint integrated patterns teach your body to coordinate multiple joints at once, stabilise through the trunk, and link lower-body force to upper-body output. This builds strength that is real, usable, and transferable — not just numbers on a bar.

Unilateral + rotational work then takes performance to a higher level.
Single-arm and single-leg movements expose the imbalances you can’t hide in bilateral lifts. They sharpen proprioception, improve balance, challenge pelvic control, and build the ability to create AND resist rotation — the true hallmark of athletic power and injury resilience.

These patterns offer more return per rep.
You get:
• higher motor-unit recruitment
• greater mechanical tension
• better neuromuscular coordination
• bigger metabolic impact
• improved movement quality
• richer core activation

They also develop the core the way it actually works in sport: not by crunching, but by controlling motion, transferring force, creating stiffness when needed, and maintaining posture under dynamic load.

This type of training builds athletes who are stronger, more mobile, more stable, more coordinated, and harder to break. It prepares the body for the demands of striking, sprinting, swimming, wrestling, grappling, kicking, climbing, and every chaotic, real-world action in between.

Multi-joint strength + unilateral rotation creates athletes who are:
✔ powerful in every plane
✔ balanced and controlled
✔ resilient under pressure
✔ efficient in movement
✔ ready for anything

Train like you move. Move like you compete.

18/11/2025

A fantastic club full of respect, hard work and support for each other.

Start your child’s martial arts journey in three simple steps 1. Complete this quick form to secure a spot on our waiting list 2. ⁠Wait to hear from us when a space becomes available 3. ⁠Get to Raynes Park sports centre for your first Karate class with us Wimbledon Karate Kyokushinkai has been...

18/11/2025

🔥 SIX REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD SQUAT TO ROW

I often take my training back to basics to reinforce foundational patterns and reset my neuromuscular system.

The squat-to-row is one of my go-to movements for:
👍 building lower-body force
👍 sharpening pulling strength
👍 improving core stability
👍 reinforcing clean mechanics
👍 boosting athletic capability

A clean, efficient pattern that teaches your body to produce force, stabilise through the trunk, and finish with a powerful pull.
Simple. Effective. Fully functional.

Here’s why this belongs in almost every programme 👇

WHY IT MATTERS
The squat-to-row blends lower-body power with upper-body strength in one coordinated pattern.
You’re not just training muscles, you’re training:
👉 timing,
👉 control, and
👉 full-body integration.

That’s the foundation of athletic movement and everyday capability 💥

💥 THE BENEFITS

1️⃣ Full-Body Integration
The squat drives force from the legs; the row transfers it through the trunk into the upper back.
You learn to move as a system, not in isolated parts.
Stronger. More coordinated. Cleaner movement.

2️⃣ Glutes + Lats = Power Duo
Load the glutes and quads in the squat → fire the lats, rhomboids, and mid-back in the row.
👉Posterior chain ON
👉Spine supported
👉Posture upgraded.

3️⃣ Core Stability Against Two Forces
Vertical load from the squat + horizontal load from the row = real core training.
Your trunk stabilises, braces, and transfers force efficiently without a hundred crunches.

4️⃣ Better Hip–Spine Mechanics
You learn to move through the hips while keeping a neutral spine.
👉Better lifts
👉Better bracing
👉Less low-back compromise.

5️⃣ Scapular Control + Upper-Back Strength
The row reinforces retraction, mid-back activation, shoulder stability, and clean technique. This makes it ideal for anyone who sits a lot.

6️⃣ Quality for All Levels
Beginners build control.
Intermediates build strength.
Advanced lifters use it for warm-ups, conditioning, or accessory work.
It scales perfectly.

13/11/2025

💪 The Split-Stance Single-Arm Row with T-Spine Rotation: Strength That Transfers

Strength isn’t just about how much weight you lift — it’s about how your body produces, controls, and transfers force.

The split-stance single-arm row with thoracic spine (T-spine) rotation turns a simple row into a full-body lesson in control, mobility, and functional power.

Why it matters:

1️⃣ Split-Stance Stability
Lock your legs and brace your core. Your spine resists rotation while your arm moves — building isometric control that transfers to sport, martial arts, and everyday life.

2️⃣ Functional Strength
Life doesn’t happen with feet together. Pulling from an asymmetric stance mirrors running, striking, and twisting movements. Strength you build here actually transfers.

3️⃣ Anti-Rotation + T-Spine Mobility
Add a controlled rotation at the top of the row. Your upper back moves while your lower body resists. This develops rotational power, posture, and upper-body mobility — all under load.

4️⃣ Shoulder & Scapular Health
Pull shoulder blades back and down. Doing one side at a time exposes imbalances and improves shoulder mechanics while protecting your joints.

5️⃣ Cross-Body Coordination
Pull with one arm, stabilise with the opposite leg, and rotate through the upper back. This diagonal chain connection links upper and lower body, improving movement efficiency and athletic power.

💡 Coaching Cues:
👉Step into a staggered stance🦵
👉Brace your core — “spine tight, hips stable” 🏋️‍♂️
👉Pull deliberately, elbows close 🔑
👉Rotate your upper back at the top, follow your hand with your gaze 🔄
👉Lower slowly, switch sides, repeat with control ✅