What a year 2012 was!
It certainly had lots of highlights.
As a big sports fan, 2012 was an amazing year. Britain had without question the greatest year ever. As a tennis fan, it was great to see Andy Murray end the 76 years of hurt by winning the US Open and the Olympics.
The Olympics in my home town was amazing. I managed to get to two football matches at Wembley, so I felt part of the games.
My highlights of the Olympics were Jess Ennis winning Gold in the Heptathlon and Mo Farah winning double Gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres.
Bradley Wiggins becoming the first Brit to win the Tour de France (as well as Olympic Gold) and The European Ryder Cup Team coming back from the death to win were truly remarkable feats.
A good friend of mine Alan Connell reached a Wembley Cup Final with his team, Swindon Town. It was a great day out even though they didn’t manage to win on the day. Alan also went on to knock out his boyhood team Arsenal of the League Cup for his new team Bradford City.
In April this year, I took on Leanne Gateson as my P.A. and she has done a great job throughout the year, enabling me to work on new projects and take the everyday stresses away from me.
I was a guest of Paul Weller’s at his concert at The Roundhouse in April where he played his new album and a few oldies too.
I taught CHEK Exercise Coach in Leeds, Lancashire and London. I also began writing and teaching workshops for the new CHEK Europe Academy. I also taught CHEK workshops at Virgin Active clubs around the country and Cardonald College in Glasgow. I also presented two CHEK Conference Calls on behalf of the CHEK Institute throughout the year. In September, I presented three lectures at The Big One South Conference for the CHEK Institute.
In April, I presented the Functional Diagnostic Nutrition 2 day workshop at The Albany Club in London.
In June, I attended several seminars where Paul Chek was teaching, including The British Society for CranioMandibular Disorders in London, Swiss Ball Training and Scientific Stretching in Bracknell and The Bare Foot Conference at The Natural History Museum in London.
Playing tennis was a little frustrating this year with such a lot of rain around, but my game definitely went up another notch this year.
In March this year, I began going to Bikram Yoga and thought I’d give it a few weeks to see how I would go. Nine months later I am still going strong. It has helped me to reduce muscle tension, improve flexibility, increase my energy levels, reduce body fat and I am now able to work harder in the gym too. I feel about 10 years younger since starting Bikram.
I also begun (finally) to have my mercury fillings replaced (as mercury fillings are very toxic). I hope to complete the whole replacement early in 2013.
In July, I attended Mark Buckley’s Level 1 FMA Strength Training Course in London. A really good weekend that I have been able to put into practise with my athletes, including one Olympic Lifter.
I attended my first Active Release Technique® (ART) course in Moss, Norway in September. It was a fantastic course which I have now been using alongside my CHEK work and my clients have been extremely pleased with the results of ART.
I also bought a new car, a ‘Mini Cooper S’, which had been long overdue. It’s great fun to drive and has the most amazing stereo, so I can pump out my favourite tunes whilst zipping in and out of the London traffic.
Talking of tunes, I have continued to DJ throughout the year in my spare time, including a few live gigs at The Albany Club, which I have thoroughly enjoyed.
Here’s to a productive, healthy and happy 2013!!!