A practice adopted by celebrities including Chris Hemsworth, Jeff Bridges and pro surfers Kelly Slater and Dane Reynolds to tackle back pain is being brought to Cornwall.
James Gorman from Hayle is one of only ten instructors in the UK to become qualified in Foundation Training – a movement and exercise system that consists of a series of simple yet challenging corrective and strengthening bodyweight exercises.
Based on the principles of bio mechanics, it was developed by US chiropractor and expert Dr Eric Goodman and aims to counteract the impact of sedentary and current lifestyle, such as desk-based working.
Health and fitness trainer James has just returned from the US, where he completed qualifications to deliver Foundation Training. Through his business Natural Form, he will be teaching classes at locations throughout west and mid Cornwall.
He said: “Lower back pain is a very common condition. According to statistics 80% of people will at some point in their life experience chronic lower back pain.
“It is often a direct consequence of poor movement patterns and modern lifestyles. We sit too much, we hunch over screens and devices and we don’t breathe properly. This all leads to compression, and consequently lower back pain.
“We need to move more, and with better posture and awareness. Foundation Training helps you to do this.
Having experienced chronic back pain and sciatica since working in a London desk job, he had a micro discectomy operation to remove part of a disc in his spine in May 2013.
But six months later, the pain began to return.
He said: “I panicked. There was no way I could go back to how things were. This was the moment that I decided to take responsibility for my condition. I set out on a mission to understand and treat the root cause of my back pain.”
He discovered Foundation Training online, where he found an article on lifestyle website theinertia.com.
He said: “I was first drawn to it because Kelly Slater was pictured doing some funny looking exercises.
“After reading the article I found out that he was doing Foundation Training. And apparently, it was very good for surfers and also people with back pain.”
James ordered a book and DVDs, and started learning. Within six weeks, his posture was improved, was moving differently and was no longer experiencing back pain.
“I have now been doing 10 – 30 mins of Foundation Training every day for about three years. I am back in the water surfing again. I’m out running, training clients and I’m currently learning to do handstands! I feel fit, healthy and strong.”
