Personal training in Cincinnati, Ohio with Tom Buckley ↓
Tom Buckley is a MovNat certified personal trainer and outdoor educator with 20 years experience. He combines his love of natural movement, paddling, backpacking and climbing to help students create their own adventures in Cincinnati, Ohio.
What’s your personal training philosophy?
I like to help people learn to help themselves. So they feel empowered to develop their fitness and movement, and create their own adventures. I teach in concepts rather than hard and fast “rules”. I enjoy finding the way to connect with a student. Then teach according to what (I think) will work for them. Then adjust, and adjust some more. I know we are going down the right path when there is a combination of wide-eyed struggling (challenge) and smiles and laughter (fun).
What are the common fitness myths you encounter?
People often tell me that they aren’t athletic. “I’ve always been heavy/thin/weak/clumsy” etc. So they think that starting to lift, climb or jump will lead to injury. They also worry about outside perceptions. Will their friends or coworkers think they’re vain, lacking intelligence or superficial for exercising? And there’s always the idea that there just isn’t enough time.
I would like all of my students to understand that they are a human being, and contained in that is the fundamental ability to move. We are all athletic. Anyone can improve their movement skill and feel “more” athletic. Moving and being more athletic will help with feeling stronger (because you are actually getting stronger), and improve your health.
If you can take 5-10 minutes a day, you can experience this. As you feel improvement, you will want to spend more time moving, and less time on social media, or TV, or whatever is grabbing your attention. This is for you, and you are important.
It’s not vanity to take care of yourself. This is one reason I love MovNat® and the idea of “be strong to be helpful”. Want to make a positive impact on your family, your friends, your colleagues, your community? Spend some time getting yourself squared away so you can contribute to others. Direct that care and energy inward and it will come out in all of these other places.
What causes people to give up on exercise before they see positive results?
Going too hard too fast. Results can come quickly, especially for those who are new to fitness and movement. But there is always a plateau and that causes people to make mistakes. They either ramp it up too quickly and get injured. Or they quit, reinforcing many of the above myths.
Giving up can also come from a lack of understanding about where to focus. Embracing the challenge and discomfort is a much better mindset than just thinking about the end result. Learn to enjoy the process and the simple effort, while keeping the goalposts in the background. We need goals to help us frame our effort. But our focus should be in the present moment, on the effort we are putting in right now. That’s how we see results.
How do you help people who’ve struggled to stick with exercise in the past?
I try to make sure students leave a session with a sense of having accomplished something. This comes from a lot of years in outdoor education. It is crucially important to let students feel successful.
If a movement is clearly too challenging, I will scale it back and break it down to what they can handle at that moment, and then build on that. This is what I mean by teaching concepts. The end goal might be a forward jump to a target, but let’s break down each component of the move first, and let students experience success with each little step.
If I can give each person the feeling that they accomplished something in the practice, and leave them with a hunger to learn more, I consider that a success. And it really seems to help folks stay engaged with the practice.
How do you help people stick with a practice when they’re starting out and making lots of mistakes?
First just try to keep it light. Laugh and have fun. I share experiences where I struggled with a movement, and try to make it light and laugh at myself a bit. Maybe that will help them experience their struggle as just a challenge to be overcome, and not something that reflects on their self worth.
Adults don’t like to make mistakes in front of other adults, we’re supposed to have our shit figured out by now. So really I think it’s about creating a non competitive environment. A place where it’s safe (or even expected) that we will mess up. Growth doesn’t happen without it.
And also embracing any discomfort as a normal part of the process. Everything in modern Western life is designed to make us as comfortable as possible. It’s good for humans to have some discomfort. And putting myself in some uncomfortable situations while working with students is a way I try and model that attitude. And then laugh about it.
What should people focus on, and what should they ignore?
Pay no attention to magazine covers and what we are sold as attractiveness, beauty, fitness, strength. Focus on what you want to do. Focus on improving your health and fitness to meet your goals. Then commit to the practice. You can control (generally speaking) your stress, your sleep, what you eat, and how and when you practice movement. Make it a daily part of your life. Humans are meant to move. It is vital. Make it a daily habit. Create space every day to “go outside and play”.
How do you recommend people measure their progress in a healthy way?
Can you lift heavier objects over time? Can you do more reps over time? Can you crawl farther than when you began practicing? Look for slow, gradual progression. I’m not always tied to counting everything, but it is a good way to measure progress (and know if you need a rest).
Do you feel better? Are you sleeping more soundly? Are you enjoying life a bit more? Any movement or fitness practice ultimately should be improving your life. Keeping a journal may be a way to “measure” the more intangible aspects of how it makes you feel. Also remember that measuring progress needs an end goal. What are you trying to do? Think big picture. Daily change or progress is far less important than long term progress (weekly or monthly).
What is a realistic timescale for people to start experiencing results?
It really is variable with each person, and depends on what results are being sought. For example, losing 5 pounds will be much easier and faster than losing 50 pounds. Losing 50 pounds and getting a six pack will take even longer. Which is why it is really important for people to know what they want, so they can be given an expectation on how long their investment is going to be.
It’s also really important to acknowledge small successes. You can experience results in just one or two classes if you’re focusing on improving your balance, crawling further or developing better form.
If I am doing my job well, you will progress in a very short time, with the understanding that losing 50 pounds and getting a six pack may take a much longer period of time. I keep people moving forward by creating opportunities for small successes, and also setting up the next “success” line to be a little farther along.
What fitness resources do you recommend?
For MovNat and movement in general, The Practice of Natural Movement by MovNat founder Erwan Le Corre is invaluable. As well as their website where you can find a MovNat instructor and attend a workshop. Nothing beats in person experience.
Becoming a Supple Leopard by Dr. Kelly Starret is another great resource on how the human body works. These will both help with a lot of background information in movement.
But the simplest thing is to go find a local park, and start moving. Take a walk. Climb a tree. Jump over a stream. Balance on a log. You can do all of this in an urban setting too. Your most important resource is you and your environment. See it differently. Discover all of the ways you can move as a human. Light your own spark, I guarantee you will want to learn more.
Who are the masters and heroes you look upto for your own skill development?
For MovNat, Erwan Le Corre and Danny Clark. Their practice is woven throughout their lifestyle, and they embody the philosophy they teach, the importance of movement in human existence. What many folks think of as “exercise” is really just embracing human nature. It isn’t optional.
In a broader fitness context, Mark Twight has really influenced a lot of my thinking and practice as well. He has an incredible focus, and has taught many how to cut away the fluff and get very precise on where they are at and where they want to go. The way he embraces hard work and effort has had a big impact on me.
In an even broader outdoor adventure sense, Yvon Chouinard founder of Patagonia and an accomplished adventurer, and his idea of “the more you know, the less you need.” Knowledge + experience = power. “You perfect a sport when you can do all of these things with less stuff.” Simplify simplify simplify.
What are the positive benefits that people can expect if they stick with a movement or exercise practice?
It is very empowering for people to feel like they are “masters” of their own body. That is what you will feel like if you develop these skills. Being able to balance on a log, being able to get up off the ground without using your hands can feel like magic to those who have never experienced it. And these are skills you can keep for life.
Where do you train?
I’m in the greater Cincinnati, Ohio area. It has great people and lots of green space to play in. We get four seasons of fun and challenge. Spring is wet, rainy, muddy. Summer is hot and humid. Fall is perfect. Winter can be cold with some snow.
The seasons here provide an interesting backdrop for training outside, and help shape myself and students in dealing with discomfort. We have some beautiful rivers and creeks, which provide ample playgrounds for practicing MovNat.
Seasonal spring flooding leaves a wealth of downed trees and limbs on river banks and gravel bars. My favorite playground to take others at the moment is on Fourmile Creek in Oxford. There is a network of trails managed by Miami University alongside it, and I have several spots on the creek to practice different skills, like balancing, climbing, and vaulting. It is a literal natural playground. Whenever I introduce it to someone they are all smiles and Cincinnati has a rich German history, so there are plenty of tasty beer options after a workout.
If you want to read more of my fitness philosophy check out effortisreward.com or connect with me on Instagram.
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Interview by Paul Montreal. MovNat® and Natural Movement® are registered trademarks of Erwan Le Corre.
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