Health by Science

Join us tomorrow (Friday 28th) at 3pm to find out: How do you train for swimming 3.8km, cycling 180km, and running 42.2km?

This is part of our monthly CPD series. This month Kubo will share his experience and lessons learned from successfully finishing Ironman Cascais in 2024.

Free admission to anyone interested.

Why we bother checking it: your mid back is where most of your rotation is meant to come from. Reaching overhead, throwing, swinging a club, turning to look behind you, even a clean squat or overhead press. When that region is limited, the demand tends to get shared out to the neck, shoulder or lower back instead. Those areas can usually cope, until they are asked to do it several hundred times a week.

That is why it turns up in both physio assessments and PT programming. Physio side, it helps explain why a shoulder or neck keeps flaring. PT side, it is often the reason a lift looks awkward no matter how much you drill the technique.

Level 1 Shoulders barely turn. The lower back and neck are doing the work instead.

Level 2 You get partway round, but it stalls and the ribs flare to get there.

Level 3 Chest opens and the shoulders stack, no compensating.

None of these are a verdict. Plenty of people sit at level 1 with no symptoms at all, and plenty at level 3 still get stiff necks. It just tells you where to begin.

Kubo built a full eight week mobility programme around drills like this one. Tracking sheets, exercise breakdowns, follow along videos, the lot.

Want it? DM us the word MOBILITY and we will send it over.

Shopping bags from the car. A toddler on one hip. A suitcase up two flights of stairs. Life is mostly carrying things, and the carry is the most honest test of whether you can.

This is the Movement MOT carry scale, one to five. Level 5 is the strong-for-life standard.

1 Two-hand carry, 10% bodyweight
2 Two-hand carry, 20%
3 Two-hand carry, 30%
4 Two-hand carry, 40%
5 Two-hand carry, 50% for 60 seconds

The carry is the pattern almost nobody trains on purpose, and the one that shows up most often in ordinary life. Grip, trunk and posture all get tested at once, which is why it is hard to fake.

Whatever your number is, it is useful information. It tells you what to work on first.

One hour, six patterns scored, physio-led, and a plan that matches what we find.

Book your £15 Movement MOT. Link in bio.

Meet Carol, one of our incredible Thrive class members!

While she admits to feeling a little bit scared to be moving on, she is leaving us with a clear program and the confidence to repeat everything she has learned here.

We will miss having her in the studio, but we are so proud of the progress she has made. Thank you for being part of the community, Carol!

Every step you take is a single leg movement. Every stair, every kerb, every time you catch yourself. So why do most people only train on two legs?

This is the Movement MOT single leg scale, one to five. Level 5 is the strong-for-life standard.

1 Assisted dead split squat
2 Dead split squat
3 Bodyweight split squat
4 Rear foot elevated split squat
5 Loaded rear foot elevated split squat

Two-legged work lets your stronger side quietly cover for the other. Single leg work takes that option away, which is exactly why it is worth testing.

Most people find a difference between sides. That is normal. What matters is knowing how big it is and what to do about it.

One hour, six patterns scored, physio-led, and a plan that matches what we find.

Book your £15 Movement MOT. Link in bio.

Five years after his stroke, Simon found that his stamina, movement, and balance had significantly declined. Simple tasks like getting out of bed became hard work. Since joining Thrive, Simon has seen transformative results:

• Improved Stamina: He has successfully achieved his primary goal of increasing his energy levels.

• Targeted Recovery: Specific exercises have stopped the recurring leg muscle pulls he experienced due to walking difficulties.

• Specialized Care: He trains with experts who understand the unique limitations and capabilities of stroke survivors.

This is the Movement MOT pull scale, one to five. Level 5 is the strong-for-life standard.

1 Standing inverted row
2 Bent-knee inverted row
3 Green band chin-up
4 L-sit chin-up
5 Purple or black band chin-up

Your upper back and shoulders do a lot of quiet work. Carrying shopping, lifting kids, reaching overhead, holding yourself up at a desk all day. Pulling strength is what supports all of it.

If you have never trained pulling, a low score here is common. It is also one of the most trainable patterns we assess.

The point is not the number. The point is knowing where you actually sit, then training the gap.

One hour, six patterns scored, physio-led, and a plan that matches what we find.

Book your £15 Movement MOT. Link in bio.

From buttering toast to a 120kg deadlift! 🏋️‍♂️

After suffering a stroke six years ago, the journey to recovery led to Health by Science. In just a few months, early goals like running a tap turned into completing a 5k run. Today, Keith’s progress is “like chalk and cheese,” resulting in being physically fitter now than before the stroke.

If you are looking for a safe, challenging environment with a great vibe and expert instructors, come join our community!

Which hinge level are you? Most people guess.

The hinge is the pattern behind every deadlift, every kettlebell swing, and every time you pick your kid up off the floor. Get it right and your hips do the work. Get it wrong and your lower back ends up carrying load it was never built for.

Levels 1 to 5 here. Level 5 is the “strong enough for life” standard. Be honest about where you actually sit, because most people place themselves a level or two higher than they’d score under assessment.

Knowing your number is the whole point. A Movement MOT scores all six patterns (squat, hinge, push, pull, single leg, carry) and tells you what to work on first, in order.

Book your £15 Movement MOT. Link in bio.

Most PT studios are built by trainers. Ours was built by two physios and a strength coach.

Meet the founders. Stuart and Alex, both HCPC-registered physiotherapists. Ross, a UKSCA strength and conditioning coach. Three likeminded people who brought their skills together to create something Edinburgh did not have.

That mix is the whole point. We built Health by Science physio-first, so rehab, strength, and coaching sit side by side instead of in separate silos.

It is why we can look at the whole person, not just the workout, and why the standard of care holds whoever you train or rehab with.

If you want to see where that approach could take you, start with a Movement MOT. Link in bio.