Case Studies – Your Peak Potential

Andy’s knee pain sorted

Julie Tod — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 20:09:14 +0000

"Working with Julie has been life-changing"
Andy, age 55

Andy was due to run the Manchester Marathon to raise money for his charity, Reverse Rett. He had worked hard gathering sponsorship but then 3 weeks before the race his escalating knee pain was so bad he had to stop running completely.

It was not his first rodeo and he was no strnager to pushing through discomfort. But this time was different, it just wasn’t possible….

This is when he got in touch and came for an MOT.

3 week countdown - action plan

The clock was ticking….

Andy was a long standing athlete, strong and capable and he expected a lot from his body. But he wasn’t providing it with the time or tools to recover well. Nor was he doing any work to create any balance.

Consequently he was very tight,with lots of muscle imbalance so limited ROM at key joints.

Not uncommon, but what you can get away with at 20 isn’t the same at 55.

These common imbalances lead to movment compensations and a lack of stability, the result was knee pain, but also discomfort in his back, neck, shoulders with accomanying headaches.

You can be fit, strong & fast but without underlying stable foundations, you end up chasing pain around the body.

Knee pain - short term plan

Marathon success

He did it!

Andy was able to get to the finish line and in great time, without pain. And get the sponsorship money in the bag!

“Julie was able to get me back out running and round the marathon without knee pain, after just 3 weeks.

Her & Phil even came to watch and kept me company on part of the course.

"The best part was after the race"

The best part was after the race. I had run marathons before and really suffered afterwards. Spending days barely able to move.

This time was totally different.

I was up and about feeling good. I even went for a walk and that would have been unthinkable before.

"I'm more supple, mobile & suffer far less tension headaches"

Andy signed up for a 12 month program to build on the early success and has gone from strength to strength.

“Day to day I can do everyday things that I had lost. Simple stuff like reaching around to wash my whole back in comfort! I’m more supple, mobile and suffer far less tension headaches”

Restoring & optimising breath pattern
Whole body approach, stability first then strength
Movement skill, muscle control
Big bang exercises, primal pattern mastery
Move, breathe, live more in harmony with biology

The road to ultra

Our approach is not run of the mill. we don’t do what everyone else does.

We will guide you to optimise your body – to build harmony to achieve peak. Build resiilence, build your fitness on solid foundations.

Train not drain. Brain, not pain.

"I've even signed up for my first ultra marathon"

“My whole attitude to wards my body and what it can do has changed. Instead of forcing my way through I am learning to work with my body. And the best bit is I feel more capable. I have even signed up for my first ultra marathon in June”

Andy is running the Lakes Ultra Challenge – 64 miles in June 2025 to raise moeny for Reverse Rett. We know he will do amazing!

Sarah felt like she had exhausted all the options….

Julie Tod — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 12:34:28 +0000

I felt pretty desperate....

“When I first came to you, I really felt I had exhausted all options with regards to my pain and mobility; I felt pretty desperate to be honest. I wasn’t sure what exercise would help and what would make it worse, so I just stopped doing anything really which wasn’t great for my mental wellbeing as well as my physical health.”

Sarah signed up for 3 months of corrective exercise, with weekly appointments following her full body MOT. The main issue was hip and lower back pain but she also had niggles in her knee and foot that had been previously injured.

3 months on

“I know there’s still work to do but the daily exercises have reconnected me with my body and I’m feeling able to enjoy walking again. The stretching has now become part of my morning routine. I have found having the app a useful reminder and look forward to the release and sense of wellbeing once I have completed them. Even if I am short on time, there’s always something I can do so I appreciate how this has felt manageable.

I’ve really valued the 1:1s too as a key part of the programme, particularly around correcting my technique and mixing things up a bit. The check-ins help me to refocus if I feel I’ve slipped a bit and the breathing exercises were amazing and helped me tune back in with my body and reminded me to ground and find that still place within.”

You understand the real issues

“You’re the first person I’ve met (and I have met A LOT of healthcare practitioners, holistic therapists, yoga teachers etc. in the last few years!) who has understood where I’m at and what the real issues are so for that I will always be grateful.

I have already recommended you to other people in a similar place. I felt pretty bleak when I look back but this has definitely helped me feel positive about the future in terms of what I can achieve.

Thanks so much for everything and I look forward to what the future brings.”

Sarah and I are continuing to work together to build on the progress she has made in the first 3 months. She has come so far and I am looking forward to working together over the coming months to see what she can achieve.

Invincible Oxygen Advantage breathing for Everest Base Camp

Julie Tod — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 17:10:53 +0000

Chris and Dave had booked the trip of a lifetime to trek to Everest base camp

They were preparing for the trip physically, stepping up their already active lifestyles with additional gym work, swimming, running and biking and hill walking. It made sense to do specific preparation for the altitude. So they started an 11 week Oxygen Advantage program to feel more confident with less oxygen and to mitigate the effects of altitude on how they would feel and perform.

The preparation

Chris and Dave both found it relatively easy to adopt nose breathing day to day with practice. They both found it useful to practice the relaxing short breath pauses whilst driving. Like anything new, it took a little time to be able to nose breathe when running. But after only a few week, it go easier.

“On my runs, I noticed that compared to breathing with my mouth, I did not get dry mouth, I did not feel dehydrated and had less need to take on water. Day to day my nose is opening up more and breathing is a lot clearer. I have noticed I am sleeping better and have more energy in the morning”
Chris- Developer

Over the weeks, this progressed to practicing restricting the breath via a number of specific exercises when moving. First walking, then running and other exercises before moving to a specific practice that mimics the effects of high altitude.

The big change for Dave by week 3 was his snoring had greatly reduced, as keenly noticed by his wife! As the day of the trip grew closer , they were also using the breathing exercises during gym workouts to add another dimension to the training. Dave noted that

It’s funny as my trainer says breathe and I stop and say I am breathing but through my nose.
Dave- Developer

After only 8 weeks Chris noted he was nose breathing with more ease when mountain biking and hiking up steep inclines, only occasionally feeling the need to swap to mouth breathing.

I feel I can go for longer on foot and bike and even feel slight increase in power for uphills,
Chris - Developer

I am sleeping like a baby and the snoring has stopped!
Dave- Developer

Invincible breathing forever!

I want to say a massive thanks to Phil for all his efforts to get us ready for our trip. It really helped me mentally prepare for the trip knowing I had techniques up my sleeve to deal with the altitude.
I would say to anyone looking to get those extra gains that this technique really helps open up your airwaves and get more oxygen into your system. This in turn helps you go for longer, recover quicker and push yourselves that extra level.
Chris- Developer

I have integrated the Oxygen Advantage techniques into my daily lifestyle and still regularly carry on with breath holds, breathe light, shark fit and altitude simulation exercises.
Using these while doing weights, push ups, press ups really adds an extra level to your training. I can now go for a run at a fast pace and maintain nose breathing without any issues.
Dave- Developer

The trip - diary notes

At Base Camp the oxygen level is 50% of that at sea level and blood oxygen level, in a healthy person is 95% plus at all times.

Blood oxygen can drop to 75% at base camp.

The affects of altitutde are:

shortness of breah, rapid pulse
difficulty sleeping, loww of appetite
fatigue, headaches dizzyness

Nov 3rd Lukla Airport

2860M above sea level, Oxygen Level 73%

“The most dangerous airport in the world”

Perched on the side of mountains, no navigation equipment can be used to land on the single runway.

After getting off the helicopter at Lukla Airport you could feel the lack of oxygen right away after walking just a few steps. I started to nose breathe and it was definitely harder here. After getting in to a rhythm I found the training helped me control my breathing quite easily.

Nov 5th Namche

3500M above sea level

Small colourful market town with views of the giant Himalayan peak.

oxygen level 64%, HR 82, SPO2 94

“The walk up to Namche was a test of the nose breathing. I controlled my breath, slowing it down and walked slower. When we arrived at Namche I noticed that my recovery on the pulse oximiter was quicker than the majority of the group.

Nov 8th Dingboche

4410M above sea level, sherpa village only accessible on foot or yak.

Oxygen level 58%. Resting HR 87, SPO2 90

I was in a good rhythm with the nose breathing at altitude now. You would feel quite light headed as if you had really exerted yourself and it really hit home at how you needed to keep the rhythm up.

It was a lot harder to breathe through your nose at night here but I feel like I was doing this for the majority of the night. I noticed a lot of people mentioned that they woke up gasping for air, but I did not experience this at all during the trip.

Nov 9th Gorak Shep

5164M, small settlement at the edge of a frozen lake

It was significantly harder doing anything at this altitude. Many of our group were getting headaches and felt nauseous. I felt tired but was okay, I did not really have any symptoms of altitude sickness. It was definitely noticeable that there was a lack of oxygen but I feel that all the exercises that taught us to limit our breathing really helped me prepare myself mentally for how to deal with this and not to panic.

Nov 9^th – Everest South Base camp,

Nov 8th Everest Base Camp

5164M, oxygen level 50%, Resting HR 91 SPO2 89

We made it!!!

Nov 10th Kala Patthar

5644M above sea level, “BlackRock” South Ridge Pumori for close up Everest views

We got up at 3:00am in the morning to set off ready for the sunrise. After climbing 100 metres you could feel a massive difference in the oxygen levels. Here it was a lot harder to breathe. Intermittently I would slip in to breathing through my mouth as there was a sense I needed to take a big breath. But after forcing myself I got in to a rhythm to sustain nose breathing for the last hour of the ascent.

I felt very lethargic at the top section and could only move very slowly and felt like very simple movements were very tricky. Although I did not feel like breathing was a major issue. I successfully summited and we spent 30 minutes at the top. I then acclimatised quite quickly.

Half-marathon success for Les after rebuild to run course

Julie Tod — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 12:51:44 +0000

Frustrating runners knee was holding Les back

Les was suffering with knee pain when he ran, so he did some research and found ChiRunning. He tried to implement the techniques in the book but knew he needed some help. He joined our phase 1 Rebuild to Run course and started stretching on a daily basis, he even bought one of our balance bars. The balance bars are just one tool we use to help train the signals from the nervous system to the muscles.

Half-marathon success

Shortly after the phase 1 course, he ran a 10k trail race – his first race in 30 years! And he did so minus the knee pain. He is working with us on the Phase 2 course currently (April 2022), building on what he learnt in phase 1. Phase 2 is about neuro-muscular integration work to build better stability in movement. Les just completed a trail half marathon in 2 hours 6 minutes and was 4th in his age group. Better still he ran the race maintaining his heart rate in zone 2/3 feeling relaxed and finished feeling great. Not like he had punished himself.

Les says:

“If you are looking at improving your running technique and remaining injury free, this is a great investment. Julie and Phil are both passionate about running. The sessions are easy to follow, they keep things interesting and are individualised to meet your own goals and requirements. From individual stretching programs to running form and breath-work, it’s all structured so you can get the most out of your time out on the trail (or road). Having completed level 1 and now coming to the end of level 2 rebuild to run course my running has greatly improved. I no longer hell strike, my form is more consistent and i have learned to consciously relax my body whilst running. It’s not a magic formula but if you are willing to take on board new ideas and put in the work, I believe you too could have outstanding results.”

Gray Caws – Our ChiRunning / Oxygen Advantage Mentor – Watch the video

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See Rick share his experiences on our back pain resolution package

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Discover more about our Run Injury free programs with Steve Vale

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Why join our runners course? Steve Rees shares his experience

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The back pain was a major problem

admin — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 13:56:15 +0000

My back pain was a major problem. It was hurting all the time, I couldn’t walk more than 20 yards without being in severe pain. Everything in my day was about managing pain. My whole lifestyle had changed. I was used to being active – regular hiking, cycling, golf as well as weekly pilates and yoga classes. It all stopped. I don’t mind saying, it got me down, felt pretty depressed. just wanted to get back to where I was before, without the pain and playing golf!

The treatment on offer from the NHS did not help. I tried a number of physios and other hands on therapies with no real improvement. One even made me worse which was a real low point.

I started working with Julie in February 2020 and it’s been the mainstay of my treatment and it’s been a really great experience. The exercises are having a real impact. But it’s also been good to have someone to talk to who understands and has been there themselves.

I am in such a better place than I was 9 months ago! I was able to attend a wedding at the weekend, and enjoy dancing at the reception and even played golf twice. I could feel how my body has changed through this process, feeling more supple, stronger core. I still have some work to do but, in some ways, it’s good it happened now as I will end up better for it. I am confident that this approach will set me up for remaining active as I get older.

Paul

Year long adductor strain resolved

admin — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 13:55:10 +0000

Adductor strain prevented running for a year.

Olly, 42, is a keen and competitive runner. In November 2016 he suffered an adductor strain which left him unable to run for over a year. Physiotherapy sessions provided temporary relief but when he started training or even hiking the injury reoccurred. We started working together on a 1-2-1 basis June 2018 for a 12 week injury rehabilitation program.

Not being able to walk or run was a major problem.

“I have a big dog and young children, and as a family, we spend a lot of time in the countryside… Following the physio, I could feel the adductor strain even out hiking with the kids. There was a downward spiral of inactivity versus health, seriously limiting my recovery. Even getting out of the car after long drive would trigger it again. I couldn’t walk or run for any distance and it was a major problem. It was definitely dragging me down in all sorts of ways.”

What were the outcomes after working together for 12 weeks?

“If my main objective was to aid recovery, then I could safely say I achieved this in the first three weeks of the training, but I soon learned that this program would be far more than simply fixing a muscle tear.”

Getting to the root cause rather than addressing the symptoms

“By assessing my body’s entire range of movement Julie was able to identify the route-cause of the adductor strain and develop a program to address this. Over the weeks we improved movement in other areas of the body, like my back, shoulders, neck and core, and I saw how this impacted the injured area.”

“Everything I have learned in the weekly sessions has been a revelation. Although I’m still conscious of my injury, but I am now hiking and running without any pain. I am applying the techniques to maintain great posture to ensure I move better not only as I run, but also in my daily routine. Learning to ‘listen’ to my body means I can correct things before they become an issue.”

I don’t hurt anymore!

“I am now feeling much less stiff, have a great range of motion – and importantly – I don’t hurt anymore!! The positive impact of this program goes beyond the 12 weeks and the physical. I am definitely approaching my daily routine with a new vigour, and sense of wellness and calm. The impact on my whole well-being is incredible.“

Olly has gone on to run his first marathon in 2019 and is looking forward to his next. We are working together on a year long sports specific approach to complement his running and improve his performance.

“I would recommend this service to EVERYONE.. But definitely those who have been struggling with finding their mojo for sport/running.. It’s a real – re-calibration and you learn so much about yourself.”