health & wellbeing professionals

Australias most inspiring health & wellbeing professionals Volume 1

heidi dening edwina griffin alex cox-taylor aaron whear kirsten cooke scott krywulycz nina netzler von-reiche brad sheppard gillian quarmby aaron mcallister amy kozlowski anthony pierobon brendon harris

andrewmay

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alexcox-taylor
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Be it travel starting a charity, creating a business, raising a child or any other challenge or goal - whatever you set your focus on you can achieve. Outlook is everything.

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Originally from England, Alex Cox Taylor was born in Surrey just outside of London. From an early age he benefited from a mother and father who were dedicated to learning and development. Their enthusiasm stimulated an appetite for the same in him. A keen sports enthusiast, Alex competed at County Level in swimming, athletics and, of course as an Englishman, soccer. He took his love of sport with him to university, attending Nottingham Trent where he studied sport and exercise science, and developed a passion for business, economics, philosophy, and psychology. An Instructional Audio CD called Yoga Retreat was his first entrepreneurial venture. Yoga Retreat became a great success and enjoyed rave reviews, but Alex wanted to do more with his love of exercise science. When he arrived in Australia in 2003, it was into this field that he enthusiastically directed his efforts, setting about developing his dream an exercise science business to deliver his extensive knowledge and experience to the community. Now, Alex is a partner in the lab, an exercise science facility established in 2004. Alex spends his time working with companies on improving the health and productivity of employees and training other health professionals to do the same. An enthusiastic public speaker, Alex also enjoys delivering presentations as well as writing articles on his subject. Highly regarded and accredited as an exercise physiologist, Alex regularly contributes to the education of new exercise physiologists and specialises in the development of health management programs for sufferers of chronic conditions and injuries. Alex also is a partner in Urban Climb, one of Australias leading indoor rock climbing centres, and in his free time continues to enjoy studying and travelling with his partner Debbie.

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What is the biggest mistake people make in their approach to health? For me, there is not one big mistake, but two looking for the quick fix and thinking everything will be fine.

Firstly, the quick fix - if something is wrong we immediately seek something to make it better instantly. This mentality is largely the result of the medical industry which functions on the basis of management and priority, not solution. To seek the solution would mean treating the cause, not just treating the symptoms, and thats something our medical industry has neither the time nor the resources to tackle. Individually though, we can look for a longer term and more complete solution to our health issues and avoid the quick-fix approach.

Secondly, we have all been guilty of thinking It wont happen to me, It will be fine and Its nothing to worry about. Well if this were true, health problems wouldnt happen to anybody! Poor health is not prejudiced, and people that ignore

the risks will suffer the consequences eventually. Everyone has some risk factor, so its important to recognise what this is and take responsibility for your health in advance of any problems. The clich is true - prevention is better than cure.

Why are people so stressed out and busy these days? And is there anything we can do to gain control of time? The problem is just that! People are trying to gain control over time. Time

management plans, two-minute noodles, getting fit in just 30 seconds a week (ok, not quite, but you get the point). We can rush around all we like, but it is not possible to gain control over time or to do everything.

Its possible to do an awful lot and that can lead to stress. Everyone is constantly connected these days through Blackberries, iPhones, email, iPods and so on. The

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result is a society full of very busy and stressed people, none of whom are achieving very much.

I work with busy professionals, helping them achieve their health and fitness goals and

in turn, their professional goals. Organisations are ever more frequently looking for ways to help workers reduce health risks, stay happier for longer, be more productive and reduce workplace stress. I usually refer to this as corporate health.

Workplace stress is phenomenally detrimental to your wellbeing. It significantly levels. Stress also decreases your productivity so its a no-win situation.

increases your chances of illness or injury, which in turn further increases your stress

The solution is to de-stress, and one of the best ways I know to achieve this is to

clearly define your values. They take sometime to really flesh out, but once this is done youll end up spending more time on the things that are really important to you and less time on the things that arent.

So the quantity of time available will always be the same. The answer to stress is in the quality of the things you choose to spend that time on. Here are some simple ways to help achieve this: Get organised - the small things in life, if neglected, can transform into stressful clutter that erodes your time and prevents you from doing the things you want to do.

Maintain balance - if you dont maintain balance in your life, neglected areas will and your work will suffer.

undermine the areas you have been focusing on. Neglect your health for example,

Recover - you must schedule downtime. Downtime means getting away from all your work related commitments and unplugging for awhile.

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Know your purpose - if you know what you are doing and why, you have a much better chance of staying focused on that goal and ignoring the time wasters. What are the ve to seven key areas we need to focus on in order to maintain our health and tness? Nutrition - good nutrition is all about getting back to basics. The problem with our modern diet is that it is often over processed, over sized and lacking in vital nutrients.

Sleep - a good nights sleep of seven to ten hours provides critical rest and recovery of wake and sleep our bodies go through over a 24-hour period as shown below.

from our daily activities. Sleep is part of our natural circadian rhythm - the pattern

Throughout the night various hormones are released, some of which are linked to appetite and satiety. Those who dont get enough sleep can find levels of these satisfy appetite. hormones remain abnormally high. This in turn leads to hunger and an inability to

Source: Wikipedia

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Outlook - your outlook on life can have a huge impact on the way you perceive your benefit. But take a negative view and your experiences in life will also be negative.

world. Take a positive view and you can manipulate the way you interpret things for your

Exercise variety - you can do too much of anything, even a particular exercise. So when it comes to exercise, its important to keep your routine varied in terms of activity, while consistent in terms of frequency, effort and duration.

Flexibility this is the range of movement around a joint and its often overlooked in a persons quest for health. Think of your body as a complex system of cables and or levers, it affects its positioning and causes wear, tear and pain. levers, each with an optimal position. If there is undue stress on any of these cables

Rest and recovery - rest is just as important as your work and exercise, so schedule ily or a longer holiday, and book those in as well. Do this a year in advance. A simple rule for scheduling breaks is the rule of threes: Take a short break every three hours Take a longer break every three days

it in daily. Decide when you think youll need an extended weekend with your fam-

Take a holiday or weekend break every three months Regular health checks and screenings - checkups help catch issues before they become problems, so visit your doctor regularly. This is especially important if there are any hereditary illnesses in your family.

How important is mental health and how does it relate to physical health? Our understanding of the power of the mind is still limited, but it undoubtedly plays a significant if not pivotal role in our physical health.

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A constant feedback loop is in play between our mind and our bodies with regard extremely positive or, if your thinking is negative, extremely destructive.

to our thinking and the way we feel. The power of the mind over the body can be

Imagine walking into a supermarkets fresh fruit section. You select a lemon from a large display box and slice off a piece with a knife. You then take the lemon slice fresh lemon scent. and place it in your mouth, swallowing the sharp citric juice while inhaling the clean

Your taste buds go crazy and your mouth fills with saliva in anticipation of a tangy lemon. These reactions are triggered by the mind in response to stimulation. Whats interesting is that the way you perceive a lemon is different from everyone else, and your mind over your physical being.

so is your bodys physical response to it. This is just a small example of the power of

Now imagine you are constantly filled with negative self-talk and defeatist thoughts. Its easy to see how you are more likely to let yourself down than the person who is positive and thinks confidently, regardless of their abilities.

Conversely, your body has a direct influence over the way you think. If you are fit

and healthy, it is more likely that your thinking will also be clearer and healthier. The only way to view your mind and body is as one unit. You cant neglect either; however you can manipulate both for more positive results.

Who are the role models or mentors that have inspired you along the way? What important lessons have you learned from them? Two obvious role models for me are my mum and dad. My mother has a slightly

alternative approach to life and is an advocate of complementary medicine, green

living and organic food. During my childhood this just seemed inconvenient,

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but in actual fact my mother was about 25 years ahead of her time. Only now is the importance of organic food being promoted along with the consequences of processed junk food. My mothers foresight encouraged us to live healthily, play various sports and take joy in learning new things. This really helped me to develop an understanding of my overall health from an early age and to not necessarily follow the conventional approach to life.

My dad also taught me a few things. One of his mantras was Its not what you know, its who you know. While this saying is not meant to take away from education, it certainly hits a very important point home - knowing the right dad is a very hard and methodical worker, with keen attention to detail and a belief in quality. He encouraged in me an understanding of process and high work standards which have been invaluable in my development.

people can significantly improve your chances of getting something done. My

Another role model for me is my good friend Bob. His vision, ability to make things happen, and commitment to discipline and self-development are inspirational.

I also take inspiration from the many other young entrepreneurs and talented charity or anything on a global level encourages me to strive harder.

people succeeding out there. Seeing others achieve amazing results in business,

Were there any times when you wanted to give up running your business? What got you through those times? There have been times when I faced that tough call give up or stick with it. But

by applying the principles or pillars of performance I have been able to take on huge challenges. I refer to these pillars throughout this chapter, but in summary they are:

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Good - nutrition at the right times

Sleep, rest and recovery - get your biochemistry right

Varied - challenging and regular exercise to create more neural pathways

A proactive approach to health - I like to see my doctor before Im sick. I have told her quite clearly that I intend to live for a long time and I would like her assiswith someone on health maintenance rather then damage limitation! Nothing is more crucial or powerful. tance. Initially she thought I was joking but now I think she appreciates working Power all of the above with the right outlook be positive and take responsibility.

In my experience, the discipline of consistently applying these pillars is the key

ingredient to sustained success. I rely on these pillars in order to see my really

difficult goals through with determination. They have always kept me motivated, even when everything else seemed to be working against me. Keeping on top of human qualities. them fuels my self-confidence and resilience, which are two amazingly powerful

When it comes to goals, two key points that get me through difficult challenges are: Setting achievable goals - set your sights on a desired but realistic target. Be ruthless in your quest for success and always maintain a positive mindset.

Breaking goals down into sub-goals and actions - say your goal is to climb a 30,000 sub-goals, with actions for achieving each one, you will reach your goal effortlessly.

foot mountain. 30,000 feet is the goal but if you break it down into 5,000 foot

What is the most important piece of advice anyone has ever given you? Anything is possible! This advice has come from a number of different sources in

my life, but it has always proven to be the most simple and significant. It reminds

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A goal should be a driving force that tugs on your emotional strings and doesnt let you off the hook until its achieved.
me that you are not restricted to what youve been issued with, and that if you want to make something happen, you can. Be it world travel, starting a charity, creating a on you can achieve. Outlook is everything. business, raising a child or any other challenge or goal - whatever you set your focus

Knowing and believing that you are ultimately responsible for what happens to you can be daunting but also empowering. Make yourself responsible for your results and youll soon be propelling yourself forward and encouraging those around you to do the same. Like everything else, creating the right mental approach is the key to success.

What are the best diets to follow or the best foods to eat? The best diets to follow have simple ingredients, are highly nutritious and their performance at work, applying the following always gets phenomenal results:

contain few calories. When working with professionals who are looking to boost

Meal composition - without healthy fat, protein and fibre in your diet, digestion is energy levels and recovery.

too rapid and calories turn into fat. This in turn reduces your bodys metabolic rate,

Meal timing - eat moderate-sized meals with an emphasis on a good breakfast. Have a snack (one-quarter to one-third the calories of a full meal) midway between order to accommodate the calories in your snacks you must reduce the number of calories in your main meals. breakfast and lunch, and another between lunch and dinner. Remember that in

Hydration - adequate water each day is also a must. Look to drink at least eight glasses a day.

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If youre also undertaking moderate exercise for general health, adjust this diet to include: A small healthy snack an hour before you exercise, and another immediately after An additional litre of water for each hour of exercise

What do you think holds people back from achieving their health and wellbeing goals? I find the following are typical of those who arent achieving their health related goals, and once again it comes back to their outlook: They have a poorly defined purpose They have poorly designed goals They are looking for a quick-fix

They lack the knowledge needed to achieve their goals

They lack understanding of the importance of good health Purpose is the key principle in the above list. What does it mean to you to be healthy? What does it mean to you to improve your productivity? Ask a lot of are setting a goal and what it represents in your life then you will need to be highly disciplined to stick to it. whys and make sure you have plenty of reasons. If you dont understand why you

How do you teach people to set and stick with their goals? Do you have any speci c methods for changing behaviour? I realised early on in my corporate health career that we can do the health screenings, take the measurements and set the opportunities for activity, but unless there was a buy frustrated with having the support of managers and a strong program to offer, but a lack in from the employees themselves it was a waste of time. I was becoming increasingly

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of engagement amongst the people that mattered most - those in the program. So I decided to focus my attention on the employees and work from the bottom up. These matrices are used to create eustress, or beneficial tension, between where defines the advantages and disadvantages of doing nothing towards achieving their goal, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of achieving that goal. Eustress fort to propel them into action.

I started using a decisional matrix when working with the employees one-on-one. someone currently is and where they want to be. The idea is that a person clearly

then pulls them to where they want to be by providing the ideal amount of discomThe wording and design of the goal is also crucial. I apply the SMART acronym, Achievable, Realistic and Timed.

which I find helps focus the goal across key areas, namely: Specific, Measurable, Secondly, I always get the person to attach some emotion to their goal. I ask them to visualise how they are going to feel when they achieve it, and to imagine being successful with their challenge. I call the result a SMART goal with emotion.
SMART goal with emotion

No change Disadvantages

Change
The arrow represents the positive stress (eustress) that is highlighted in the gradient between the advantages of doing nothing towards achieving the goal and the advantages of achieving the goal.

A goal should be a driving force that tugs on your emotional strings and doesnt let you off the hook until its achieved!

Advantages

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What speci c things can people do to improve their overall attitude and outlook on a daily basis? Having the right attitude and ou tlook is the single most important factor when trying to achieve anything. Some useful tools to help get your mindset right include:

Using buzzwords - theyll get your mind thinking along the lines that serve you best. Examples include focus, be creative, and do it now. Brainstorm words that mean something to you and have them somewhere where you can see them every morning Meditating - this helps to quieten your mind and shut out distracting noise Exercising daily - the physiological benefits are well known and the psychological benefits will become obvious within a week of starting

Eating and sleeping well - the mind and body function as one so if you want good things to come out, you are going to have to put good things in

Getting a massage - its a great way to remove unwanted muscle tension and to switch off for an hour or two. Schedule them in regularly and enjoy

We are all different, so its important to experiment with your options. Try to find a method, or mix of methods, that suit you and your lifestyle.

What are your top tips for boosting energy levels? Rest well - follow the rule of threes mentioned earlier and get at least seven hours sleep per night.

Exercise - exercise can improve flexibility, endurance, strength and power.

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Youll find it easier to get through your daily activities and have more energy for tasks later in the day. Exercise also releases endorphins which improve your levels to drop, so limit your workouts to moderate 20-30 minute sessions when aiming to boost energy. mood and reduce stress. But dont overdo it - excessive exercise causes endorphin

Eat well - keep it simple, nutritious, frequent and in small quantities, and drink plenty of water. You will notice big results. Eat for energy and performance, not just for pleasure.

What do you think is going to be the next big thing in your industry? The next big thing well see is an increase in the use of the internet and online

social networking to deliver better health to a wider audience. Whether its online screenings or delivering personalised nutrition plans and classes, the way the without doubt next on the agenda. internet and emerging technologies interact with how we look after our health is

I have been working on ways of reaching people in remote locations using the internet as a communication platform. Im looking at how that can be integrated level of service. into my business model so clients in all locations can enjoy easy access to the highest

Another interesting application of this technology is the monitoring of employee health and stress levels in real-time. This would provide feedback to workers about are privacy issues but potentially the information could also help employers identify at-risk employees anywhere within an organisation. their current status and offer immediate solutions for alleviating their stress. There

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You work with a wide range of people including those undergoing rehabilitation, corporate executives, musicians, diabetics and athletes. How do you design programs to t such a broad range? The science of exercise is a huge area with many diverse applications. I have taken some people. My company has put in place processes that enable us to keep up to date with the needs of this broad client base. We invest time and money in our professional out. Weekly reviews make sure that our workloads are under control and that the organisations systems are firing.

of those applications and turned them into a business that targets a broad spectrum of

development and log the hours spent on each area, making sure that nothing is left

We operate under an open business model that helps us cater to this wide audience. It means we have a business model in place that has a basic and consistent structure the model then start to draw in additional components relevant to their needs. Once the model is complete we have the ingredients for a successful, tailored program. but many varied components. In the initial meeting with a new client we show them

You are doing a lot more corporate speaking these days. What have you learnt over the past few years that have made you a better speaker? Confidence! Corporate speaking and presenting is all about talking naturally and talking from experience. Telling stories and relating to the group usually produces better results than trying to remember or rehearse specific questions and answers.

Secondly, its about engaging with your audience. There is nothing worse than

sitting through a boring speech, so I use simple techniques to involve the audience and make even the drabbest of subjects come to life. Using props, music, visual aids and working the room are all good tools.

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The final point is practise. If you know your content and are well organised, it allows you to react and respond to your audience. As the Six Ps saying goes, proper preparation prevents particularly poor performance.

You have a very strong scienti c and research background. Do you think this is essential to work in the health and tness industry? Absolutely. The human body is amazing and highly complex, and our demands on it are equally complex, vast and diverse. If you are working in the health industry people trust you with their most treasured possession: their health and wellbeing.

As a health professional I have the ability to impact on peoples lives in amazingly positive ways. I have days where I say to myself, Wow, is there anything more rewarding?

I see people lose 40+kgs as a result of my guidance; I see people with high blood I see injured people overcome their injuries and become liberated from pain. It is honestly astounding what can be achieved.

pressure take action to get it under control and quite possibly save their own lives;

It takes learning and development to get to the stage where this level of impact can be made; where confidence flows through your work; and where you have the knowledge to convince a company to change the way they do business. A commitment to study and continual development is a pre-requisite for any health

professional if they are going to avoid giving advice that is ineffective, or worse dangerous. The health and fitness industry is founded on scientific research and our understanding of the human body and its functions is also built on scientific study. To truly understand the possibilities of what the human body is capable of and what the to have a strong passion for science and to continually research new possibilities.

outcome of most peoples poor health decisions is likely to be, I believe it is necessary Unfortunately, too many people have picked up life-changing injuries as a result of

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poor advice and guidance. So it is imperative that people look into their program advisor or trainer before launching into a health program, either through their work current their knowledge is. or personally, and determine how thoroughly they understand their craft and how

My strong scientific background and continual research provides that base a base from which I can work more effectively and a reference point when dealing with the infinitely complex human body and mind.

Earlier this year you re-branded your business and launched a new webpage and technology platform. Has this made a big di erence to the growth of your business? We decided we needed to communicate our strengths and our niche offering with greater strength. Our business is not physiotherapy but its also not strictly a gym or a personal training service either; its somewhere in-between. We offer the professionalism of exercise physiologists and rehabilitation specialists in a fresh, funky environment that is supportive and enjoyable. We wanted people their patients to us; we wanted to blend the extremes of clinical practice and funky personal training studio. The result was the lab.

with complex issues to feel at home; we wanted GPs to feel excited about referring

We have created a very fresh, contemporary feel with the lab brand which also reminds people of the science behind what we offer. This scientific base communicates trust when dealing with the difficult issues some of our clients have, while our style creates a positive community within the business and avoids the clinical dullness of many health practices.

Since launching the lab brand and website we have doubled our corporate health and productivity work and significantly increased our rehabilitation work. People

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who do not feel at home in a typical gym or personal training studio feel at home within the lab community we have created.

In addition, our reputation as specialists within the exercise science field has evolved, helping us recruit the right people and deepening our association with (AAESS). the governing body - the Australian Association for Exercise and Sport Science

Going forward we hope to develop internet-based training services for our clients

and represent our numerous information products online. We would like our clients Our new technology platform allows us to provide that.

and their friends to have access to our information and services wherever they are.

A number of your tness clients have been training with you for more than ve years. Whats the secret to keeping your clients motivated when following a health and tness program? It all comes down to their mentality. Creating the right mentality is critical, be it for a sales team or a group of fitness clients. The clients that have had the most success and maintained their motivation throughout the last five years have an unstoppable set backs, just as you have your own strengths and weaknesses. But if your mentality will stay motivated and succeed.

outlook and winning mindset. The reality is you will have good days, bad days and is right and you have the internal resolve to overcome whatever is thrown at you, you

Having worked with so many people, Ive developed the skills and tools to tap motivation, not just health and fitness clients.

into what is holding them back. This can be applied to any team that requires

The two-pronged ethos that has been instilled into all the labs operations is to

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make our clients our sales team and to make ourselves redundant in their lives. This may sound crazy but it works on a number of levels. We want each client to become community as walking advertisements for what we do - there is nothing more powwant to, not because they need to. empowered and self-managing so they achieve what they want and go out into the erful than that! Our clients appreciate this approach and come back because they

What does health and productivity mean to you? Health and productivity refers to the process of moving from below-the-line solutions (solutions that are reactive) such as rehabilitation and symptom treatment, to above-the-line solutions (solutions that are proactive) such as avoiding health-related issues in the first place. For every additional health risk or health issue a person has you can expect their productivity to decrease. Some major companies have of dollars of productivity is lost annually as a result of poor health.

been researching this issue over the last decade and the figures estimate that billions

Health and productivity doesnt have to be work related either. It can be applied to we contribute. Health and productivity can be a measure of success in all things.

general life as well. In life we are measured by our productivity and judged by what

Take someone with a bad back and high blood pressure. These distractions are not

likely to produce a high-performance worker. Common sense will tell you that this person will be less focused on their work and less productive than someone without the same issues.

If you can remove the issues in question, you can effectively remove the barriers preventative health activities you can supercharge that persons performance. Things

to that persons productivity. Secondly, if you move into above-the-line, like coaching, education, training, exercise, relaxation and nutritional support will all

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enhance a persons productivity in a proactive way. Health and productivity to me is a formula for success. People move faster with less resistance and less effort.

What is the unique o ering of the lab for companies seeking corporate health, and why? We realised that one inflexible program would not work because there are so many variables within each client company. So we developed an open model that allows us to tailor programs to suit specific needs. We see our open model as a success formula - apply the required components and youll have a winning outcome.

We meet with management and discuss the specifics of the company, the role of the across five areas above and below the line. Below-the-line:

individuals within it, and their goals. We then apply those specifics to our model

We identify risks

We provide education and training

We supply risk reduction strategies Above-the-line:

We offer performance training or motivation

We work to improve the company culture with regard to health, commitment

The idea is to tick the health box, clear the hurdles and then supercharge the team to the needs of the company.

with training and education. All activity, above or below the line, is 100% tailored

We have had some amazing results following this formula and approaching

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each company as a unique community. Through developing each individual productivity and success of the company as a whole. Success for us is to create a company that self-manages its own version of our model and operates as a powerful advocate for the training we provide.

within that community, we have been able to see a direct improvement in the health,

At the lab we always aim to convey the hard facts and important information with our sense of style and fun. Corporate health can been seen as a drab or laborious subject, but its really not. In fact for it to be successful it must combine depth of information and scientific backing with energy and style, appealing to staff at all levels. We aim to create a culture within the companies we work with a culture of results-driven health. You would be silly to miss out!