Military Inspired Movements

Meet Luke Forshaw, a Bellevue Club personal trainer who draws heavily from his years of experience serving in the British Army. Below, he shares his top five exercises for training strength, power, mobility and balance.

Front Squat

This is the most honest test of lower body strength as well as flexibility. It is more effective than the back squat at activating the quadriceps as well as placing less stress on the knees. Bearing the load on the front of the body will force the posterior chain and core to stay activated so the torso remains in an upright position.

Sumo Deadlift High Pull

This is a great exercise for building strength in the glutes, hamstrings and back while increasing athletic performance. Movements like this can also increase your ability to create
force at higher velocities so you can jump higher and run faster.

Farmer’s Carry

Loaded carries strengthen grip, shoulder rotator cuff, upper back and core muscles while also improving posture. Other benefits include cardiovascular health and endurance.

Kneeling Single-Arm Press

A unilateral press will stimulate more muscle fibers in the working muscle groups and use more activation in the assisting muscles. Some key gains from the kneeling press are that the core and glutes are worked as well as the upper body.

Power Cleans

This will help you increase muscular coordination, power output and overall athletic capacity. Explosive compound movements like this produce amazing results in power and force output, kinetic awareness and neurological adaptations needed to train harder, run faster and be a more explosive athlete.

A Look at Luke’s Timeline

When he was 16 years old, Luke joined the British Army, specifically the Coldstream Guards, which is an infantry regiment that specializes in performing reconnaissance, operating machine guns and mortars, and engaging enemy troops on foot and in light vehicles. One of the Coldstream Guards’ principal roles is to protect the monarchy.

Forshaw became a sniper at the age of 18, and shortly after, he deployed to Afghanistan for nine months, where he was awarded a “Mention in Dispatches.”

He joined the British Pathfinders at age 22. The Pathfinders act as a highly trained reconnaissance platoon that advances first into battle to provide tactical intelligence and offer offensive action when needed. The Pathfinders are always on high readiness to deploy anywhere at any time via high-altitude parachuting.

During his time in Pathfinders, he became a physical training instructor and produced programs to get soldiers prepared for any situation and environment.

To book a personal training session with Luke, please email fitness@bellevueclub.com