You're so much better than that...

Something has shifted in the last few months. The landscape's changed. It's become much more challenging… and I love it.

I also think I know why, but before I get to that let me tell you what's happened.

The men coming to me aren't just trying to get out of pain anymore.

They're trying to win.

And win big.

Age group podiums at Hyrox. Top 50 in the country in their running age group. Ultra marathons, crazy mountain races, 200-mile bike rides.

Events that most people their age wouldn't even dream of.

These aren't men who want to just feel okay. They want to dominate. And they know - they absolutely know - that they're capable of it.

But there's still one thing standing in their way. Injury. And a lack of confidence in their body in its current state.

Someone said this to me the other day: "I've done plenty of Hyroxes but I've never actually known how far I can go because I've never trusted my body to try."

And I keep hearing this message over and over.

So what do they all have in common?

They've done the physio. They've done the exercises. They've been diligent, patient, and disciplined about it.

And it hasn't worked.

Not because they did anything wrong. But because the rehab they were given was never designed for someone like them.

Think about it this way.

If a man can bench press 100kg and you hand him a 20kg bar, nothing happens. His body doesn't adapt. There's no stimulus. The weight is so far below his capacity that it creates zero response.

The same principle applies to rehab.

When you give a man who runs 50 miles a week, or trains five days a week for Hyrox, a set of floor-based exercises with a resistance band - you are giving him a 20kg bar.

His body is so far above that stimulus that it doesn't even register.

No adaptation. No improvement. No fix. A complete waste of time.

And the problem is - in order for someone to change, there needs to be a level of overload.

It applies to getting stronger. It applies to getting faster. And it applies to fixing injuries.

For most people, gentle rehab exercises provide enough stimulus to create some change. A small improvement in strength around the injury site. Enough to reduce pain and for them to get on with their lives.

But for the men I'm working with now - men who are genuinely athletic, genuinely capable, and genuinely pushing their bodies to high levels - that stimulus is nowhere near enough.

Their injury threshold is higher. Their baseline is higher. And so the stimulus required to create real change is significantly higher too.

Once again - a complete waste of time.

And why have I seen this shift in my client base?

Around a year ago I went all-in on Razor Performance. Before that I had fewer clients, slightly different clients, and some great testimonials - but many of them weren't attempting anything like what my clients are attempting now.

The clients who have been with me for six months or more are now doing some next-level events. They have no barriers to what they can go and try. And the testimonials I put up are attracting a different type of person.

I'm also getting referred a different type of client from physios, for exactly the same reason.

It's awesome.

And here's the thing. Most of these men had no idea they were capable of any of this when we first met. They came to me wanting to get out of pain and get back to training. The events, the challenges, the achievements - those came later. Once the body started working properly again, the ambition grew with it.

If you're reading this thinking none of this applies to you - it probably applies more than you think. You're not there yet. But the future you will be.

So what actually works?

The rehab has to match the person.

For these men that means loading the injury sites properly - not gently. Progressive, specific, and built around the demands of the sport they're trying to get back to.

It means being put in positions that challenge their capacity - not exercises they can do while watching Is It Cake with their kids. (Or is that just me?)

It means a programme that knows where they're going - the ultra marathon, the Hyrox podium, the age group championship - and is built backwards from that destination. Think of it like a ladder. The destination is at the top and the steps up to it are the journey.

And it means someone who understands that these men aren't patients. They're athletes. They need to be treated like one.

Why this is challenging for me and my coaches - and why that's a good thing.

There is a fine line between strengthening someone and flaring them up. There is a real skill to getting people strong and allowing them to move better without causing the injury to get worse. It takes us away from generic rehab. It forces us to solve deeper problems. And it makes things a damn sight harder.

But that's a great thing - because luckily for us, ChatGPT or your local Instagram expert can't help with these things.

The men who come to me at this level don't need managing. They need someone who can match their ambition, understand their history, and build a programme that gets them to the start line of the thing they know they're capable of.

That's the work I do now. And I wouldn't swap it for anything.

If any of this sounds familiar - you know what you're capable of, your body keeps letting you down, and what you've been given hasn't moved the needle - book a free 30-minute audit.

Let's work out what your body actually needs.

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