Sharing information from different perspectives in a multi-disciplinary team setting all under the same roof – with the soul purpose of assisting a client in returning to an active lifetyle from various scientific input and specialisations – goes beyond simple personal training sciences and effectiveness.

I often meet clients who are keen to lose some weight, improve aesthetically while training with back, knee and shoulder pain and have had the privelege of assisting many of these clients return back to an active lifetyle and manage their pain. But my reach used to be limited in terms of blood test markers, gut biome impacts, food intolerance and inflammation effects.…..until I started training my clients at The Flow Space.

I’m now able to cater for my client’s needs with the input and expertise of all our health departments. This is where I am now seeing a long standing client of mine named Will.

I met Will around 10 years ago in a CrossFit gym where I started my coaching career in Dubai. Will was wearing his Arsenal football shirt, like he still does a decade later. He was participating in CrossFit for the social aspect of things, to gain strength and to increase his overall health. From there he joined a semi-private body transformation group we were running in JLT, as he needed assistance in lower back rehab and improve his overall movement capacity. Now 10 years since that sunny morning in the Crossfit class, Will is training to increase his knee stability due to localised arthritis, while focusing on maintaining a healthy body weight.

Will is a hard working dad in Dubai and tries his best like so many of us to juggle his health, training, lifestyle patterns while providing for his family. I make a point of making this PT session with me the most enjoyable hour of his day. We always discuss football and how this may be Arsenal’s season. We discuss how hard it is to find Oasis tickets and how we’ve been lucky to have managed a bbq in June this year. There is nothing quite like British humour with some spicy South African sarcasm to make for a colourful afternoon.

Over the past decade Will’s training has switched from Crossfit training and back rehab to knee arthritis and weight management. His training needs have changed over the years and he now needs more of a medical insight.

First we had to re-eastablish the movement paterns in all his major joint functions while not overloading the affected knee. We later incorporated a slight fuller-depth squat positions to further activate the gluteus and still maintain the most important VMO-affected angles and activities to support his knees, while also maintaining all the strength he has accumulated over the decades. Will just wants to play ball with his children and I need to give him the strength to do so. Bulletproofing his system!

It’s a challenge for any trainer to instruct any routine that is safe for arthritis cases, while still enabling enough intensity and stimulation for the benefits of strength training. There are constant adaptations, back and forth communication and checking-in with clients on a daily basis to document the effects of the training and monitor the recovery. Often the training plan needs adjustments based on very valuable input from the physio departments, and checkups and advice from the Sport medicine department.

It’s the tinkering, adaptations and progression in his training along with clear and solid communication between us that have triggered the greatest progress. There is a lot of prep work, feedback from Will and tinkering to adjust workouts based on how he feels after a long day at the office, where his next destination will be for work and what equipment they will have available at all. Constant communication, online programming and assistance along with a 5 min pre-session chat every afternoon. The importance of support and communication cannot be overestimated.

As his personal trainer, I can only do the best work when he’s in the gym with me. When he travels to Canada and England every month, things do become tricky, and this is where I need additional input as his coach. And this is where a multi-disciplinary team is so important.

I must convey my thanks to great insights from the outstanding crew at The Flow Space Clinic in Dubai Hills. With valuable input from Dr. Gian Danielle in Sport Medicine, Dr Jennifer Kaur in General Medicine and Malek Ounsi in Physiotherapy, we’ve all assisted Will in his training and recovery.

I am now able to tinker and adapt Will’s training even further to support him more.

The great communication from The Flow Space Medical department also expanded my understanding of what Will goes through during his travels and what effect irregular routines and sleeping patterns in different hotel beds he endures. The core function of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) is to bring together a group of healthcare professionals from different fields in order to determine a patient’s treatment plan.

As a strength and conditioning expert and rehab coach, I specialize mainly in 2 things: conditioning and rehab. But a client’s needs often stretch further. Some clients need additional nutrition and dietary support. Others need valuable insights from a surgeon. Will needs input from the fields of physiotherapy and osteopathy.

I’m happy to report that Will is stronger than ever, moves incredibly well, and recently spent an entire week in an all inclusive holiday on the beach playing tennis with his three children. As good a coach as you think you are, or as good as you think your coach is, the reality is that no one knows everything. The body is a wonderfully complex system, and if you have niggles, pains, health-related issues, or struggle to improve your health, you need a team to assist and advise. It’s ideal to get input from professional, like-minded people who assist you in working towards a common goal and strive to get you to your performance and health goals as quickly as possible and safely as possible.

If you are struggling with back pain or any performance-related injuries, let me know. Come and see us, and let’s get the conversation started. We have built a great support network with like-minded people who communicate very well. The more people you have on your side, the better for you.