Founder of Move Studios, Former Professional England Rugby Player and Lululemon Ambassador.
We asked 5 questions to help gain a better understanding of how health plays a role in Christian's lifestyle.
1) Eat, move, mind or sleep - which is most important to you?
A: MOVE - For a few reasons. But mainly because for me, it sets the rest in motion. I move because I love it. I crave it. It is the pillar that motivates me most. If I want to be able to move/train consistently, it is important that my diet and sleep are on point and when I choose to move regularly, i more often than not make good decisions about what I eat, prioritise an earlier bedtime and find myself in a far better headspace than I would be had I not.
2) What’s your favourite wellness ritual?
A: I’ll choose 3.
- A Reset class at Move Studios or some solo ground movement and stretch
- An epsom salt bath with a tonne of candles and a good playlist
- Walking trails with my wife and my dog
3) Q: Talk us through your day before 9am.
A: Typical early work day:
- 6am rise and 15 minute walk to work: headphones in, creative time (most my best ideas for classes or the day ahead come to me on that walk)
- 7am coach class/clients
- 8am coach class/clients
- 9am: hopefully time for a breakfast smoothie or a fresh juice and porridge at Move Foods but sometimes that has to wait until a little later if it’s a busy morning!
- Typical smoothie; Banana, Kiwi, Blueberry, Oats, Hemp Seeds, Almond Butter, Vivo Life Plant Protein, Oat Milk
- Typical Juice; Beetroot, Celery, Lemon, Ginger
Typical later work day
- 7:30am rise
- 20-30 minute dog walk
- Coffee, breakfast, emails
- 9am start with clients
4) In what place do you feel healthiest?
A: Anywhere in the sun and in close proximity to the sea or the mountains. Cape Town ideally. But with most of our sunshine holidays involving a boozey wedding these days, I am happy that I have my own gym to drive me to be healthy each day.
5) How did your health journey begin?
A: I was a professional rugby player from age 18-26 and I was focussed on becoming one from aged 14. So I guess I started early. But the journey I am on now only began after retiring from rugby. I retired somewhat physically broken and mentally in an optimistic but uncertain place. In the months that followed retirement, I poured my energy into training, trying to become some sort of super athlete whilst penning my experiences in sport for anyone who fancied reading them. When I finally accepted that fixing the pain I was dealing with on a daily basis was more important than maintaining my athlete status, I began exploring different training modalities and I guess set the wheels in motion for what I do now.
My coaching is an amalgamation of my learnings a both of a professional athlete, a broken one and a movement enthusiast. My studio is the space that I needed four years ago and a space that I know can help so many others, ailments or not. As I continue to learn and evolve, as does my coaching and my studio.
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