PANTHERA About Panthera Many live a life without balance, under the ‘more is better’ illusion... The need to be constantly doing more is a highway to mediocrity and impotence. It comes from fear of the unknown – a fear of the stillness that shows us who we are – who we could be. A life packed full of noise and nervous action is not a rich, fulfilling life, nor a successful life – it’s just a complicated one full of unnecessary clutter. Doing less can allow time for rest, which in turn allows clarity. Doing less allows superior quality of work. Doing less means making the most of our strengths, and using the resources on hand rather than forever searching elsewhere. Panthera will show you the power of contrast. You will experience both ease and effort - stillness and strength. Our mantra is a simple one, which, if studied and implemented, will change your life for the better. “No wasted effort.” The lioness rests in the shade because she has nothing to prove. The jaguar is legendary because he is silent, unseen. It is a beautiful, balanced, self-assured existence. We do not become powerful by trying harder, but by acting more intelligently, with systems based on sound, tried and true principles. We build self-confidence through competence, not by faking it. At this moment, you might find yourself in a place with limited resources or energy. You may be immersed in chaos beyond your control. This can be a great starting point. When the outside world is full of shallow noise, there is always opportunity to focus on what is immediate; to connect with our intuition and get to know who we really are. Trust in this process of slowing down. Live by the mantra “no wasted effort”. Orient yourself, prioritise and execute. The Program Structure Panthera contains four sessions: Lion, Jaguar, Tiger and Leopard. The idea is to complete each of these once, for a total of four sessions in one week. Despite this template being minimalist and largely equipment-free, you will still need a set of gymnastics rings, a rail or a tree to complete the pulling work. Even in a lockdown, you can go looking for a place to hang. If you must, do hamstring curls with plastic plates on carpet, dips between chairs or rows under a table. Adapt. Overcome. If you click on the underlined exercise names, you’ll be directed to the instructional videos on YouTube. You’ll notice that the sets and reps for each movement are set out for you, but the ‘record’ and ‘rest’ sections are blank. Your job is to note down Treat rest, relaxation and recovery as sacred and integral parts of the process. Under the tempo section, you will notice phrases such as “32X1”. These numbers tell you how slowly or quickly to move through different parts of the repetition. “3” refers to the time spent in the target muscle lengthening or ‘eccentric’ phase. “2” refers to the time spent in the hold after the lengthening phase. “X” refers to the time spent in the target muscle shortening or ‘concentric’ phase. “1” refers to the time spent in the hold after the end of the shortening phase. It’s simpler than it sounds. Let’s imagine a pull-up or a squat. “32X1” = 3 seconds lowering down, 2 seconds holding at the bottom, X for explosive raise up, 1 second holding at the top. Remember, time spent doing nothing is also important. Getting lost in social media, working or watching the news doesn’t count. ‘Nothing time’ is to be kept absolutely free and used in a way that is down-tempo, enjoyable and done for the sake of it, rather than to be productive. Nothing time means no planning for tomorrow and no procrastination. This is time for you. THE LION Uncompromising strength and quality The lion is a symbol of loyalty, strength and bravery. Never compromising on quality, the lion knows that high performance is essential for survival. Make no compromise on quality of movement, and give your full attention to each repetition. During this session you will build inner and outer strength by moving heavy loads with intent. After the session, you will quite literally stand proudly, having trained the key postural muscles in your hips, trunk and back. Your confidence will come from your proven ability to be strong. Lion Sets Reps / Time Tempo Record it: Weight / ROM / Progression / Avg. Distance / Avg. Height / Time A1. Shrimp Squat 5 5r 31X1 W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: B1. SL Good Morning 5 5r 31X1 W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: C1. Pike Push-up 5 5r 21X2 W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: C2. Chin-up Variation 5 5r 21X2 W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: D1. Chinese Plank 5 60s - W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: Post-session recovery: 360 breath practice (slow, relaxed breathing rate) x 7 minutes Rest THE JAGUAR Silent readiness and power More often than not, if you see a jaguar up close, it’s too late. This beautiful but terrifying predator blends in seamlessly – revered as a symbol of the underworld, holding secrets of the earth and guiding the spirits of the dead. Silent, ready and powerful, the Jaguar flicks effortlessly between stillness and action like a light switch. In this session you will practice intentional rest, introspection and visualisation, followed by explosive, maximal effort movements. You may find yourself with a slight tremor having finished - meaning your nervous system is accessing new levels of power, precision and athleticism. Jaguar Sets Reps / Time Tempo Record it: Weight / ROM / Progression / Avg. Distance / Avg. Height / Time A1. Precision Jumps 8 5r - W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: B1. Glute Bridge 6 12r - W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: C1. Standing Vert Jump 12 1r X W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: D1. 10 Stride Sprint 9 1r X W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: E1. Plank Variation 8 20s - W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: E2. Reverse Plank 8 20s - W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: Post-session recovery: the box breath x 7 minutes (applying the 360 breath concept) Rest THE TIGER Physical presence and alluring energy Beautiful and brawny, the Tiger is perhaps the most impressive physical specimen of the Panthera family. She hunts at night and is known to submerge herself in water to obscure herself from unsuspecting prey. Though many can’t help but gaze upon her, all hesitate to get too close. During this session you will build a physical and energetic stature, which others will begin to notice. You will be challenged by longer sets with more time under tension, creating a potent stimulus for health, blood flow and muscle growth. Your body will soon transform to reflect the laser-like focus and attention practiced in this session. Tiger Sets Reps / Time Tempo Record it: Weight / ROM / Progression / Avg. Distance / Avg. Height / Time A1. Shrimp Squat 4 8 31X0 W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: A2. Ring Glute-Ham Curl 4 8 30X0 W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: B1. Push-up Variation 4 8 31X1 W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: B2. Ring Row Variation 4 8 31X1 W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: C1. W-reaches 4 10 4444 W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: Post-session recovery: the rolling wave / tidal breath x 7 minutes (applying the 360 breath concept) Rest THE LEOPARD Agility and freedom of movement An incredible climber and athlete, the leopard is known for carrying prey up trees and even napping high up on branches. He is comfortable traversing terrain that would be treacherous to others. With the active range of motion, balance and agility developed in this session, you will soon be able to move through positions and places which were previously off-limits. There’s a saying in mobility training – strength equals safety and safety equals range. This work is far more effective than simply sitting in a stretch! Leopard Sets Reps / Time Tempo Record it: Weight / ROM / Progression / Avg. Distance / Avg. Height / Time SL Balance / Hop 2 2 min each - W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: Active / Passive Hang 3 30-120s - W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: Perfect Stretch 1 5 min low - W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: Horse Stance 3 30-120s - W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: Bodyline Lift-off 3 10r 11X3 W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: Reverse Nordic 3 8r 3121 W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: Cuban Rotation 3 15r 6141 W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: 90/90 RotationExtension 1 5 min low - W1: W2: W3: W4: W5: W6: f f Post-session recovery: the calming ratio breath x 7 minutes (applying the 360 breath concept) Rest RELAXATION “Relax and energy flows. Relax deeply and energy flows deeply.” - Unknown Practicing the art of rest is a non-negotiable part of the practice for everyone I work with. Many of us are chronically overstressed and over-inflamed because our nervous system is never allowed to fully recoup. Without deep relaxation and quality sleep, DNA repair is inhibited and thus we begin to deteriorate at the cellular level. If left unchecked, this deterioration leads to ongoing fatigue, injuries, a weakened immune system and chronic illness. We need a new normal, but stress isn’t the problem – it’s lack of recovery between stressors. Have you any idea how much time lions spend resting in the shade? As humans, we can be immensely resilient and endure significant environmental hardship, but only if we regularly recover and recharge – giving our amazing and intelligent biological system time to process, repair and adapt. Rather than fight out nature, we must learn to slow down and re-orient towards wellbeing. Our system is very good at recognising external threats in the environment and shifting to a sympathetic state (the fight or flight state). So, for the best chance of deep recovery and cellular healing, create a quiet, calm, comfortable space then turn the attention inward, to your body. Make it a ritual to go there for just a few minutes before training to get clear on your intention. This is what I call a ‘somatic tune-in’ – a way to gain awareness of what my body is telling me, and a way to mitigate injury risk by virtue of helping me make sensible decisions. Post-training, immediately change your mindset to relaxing as much as possible before you go to do anything else. You wouldn’t leave your car lights on overnight and drain the battery would you? Resetting the body to homeostasis (a calm, balanced state) prior to ‘finishing’ is a practice like any other. It will gradually ingrain in your nervous system the ability to recover, reset and dissolve tension after any stressful event – not just training. The cumulative effect of these relatively short periods of quality downtime will become massive over the weeks and months. A session is incomplete without this. FURTHER GUIDANCE If have any questions, feel free to book a complimentary 15 minute call with me to chat things over. Just scroll down the homepage of my my website (www.attuned.space) and you’ll see the booking button. You can also reach me by e-mail at [email protected], which is much more reliable than social media. I sincerely hope you’ve found actionable value in this program. Cheers, Jack