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Patrick (left) is a physiologist, while Jameson (right) is a performance coach / photo: Future Practice
Tell us about your business Oli: Future Practice is a Clinical Wellbeing Academy, with the ultimate goal of creating a credible army of wellbeing professionals who are able to address the epidemic of lifestyle disease in the western world.
Stress was at epidemic levels even before COVID-19, yet there is still no ‘stress resilience’ profession and we believe fitness professionals can fill that gap.
How did it start? Harry: Future Practice is dedicated to providing education and training to deliver skills that allow fitness professionals to move into areas such as corporate wellbeing and lifestyle coaching. It gives them more tools in their toolbox to make them rounded practitioners.
What are your backgrounds? Oli: I’ve been a physiologist for 21 years, working in the grey space between medicine and fitness.
As the former head of physiology at Nuffield, I wrote the Level 7 Diploma in Health and Wellbeing Physiology, before co-founding a clinic offering advanced health assessments.
Harry: My primary role is as a performance and wellbeing coach with a preventative approach, encompassing smart training, nutrition, and recovery.
I’ve worked with brands such as Lululemon, Symprove, Technogym, Rosewood Hotels and Twitter, as well as high profile clients. I’m also wellness editor for The Times [London].
Why is it important for exercise professionals to be trained in stress resilience? Oli: If you don’t understand the technicalities of stress and its impact on the behavioural and physiological patterns of your clients, you can’t achieve optimal results.
A modern wellbeing coach needs to understand what stress is, how it moves from a thought to very real consequences in the body and be able to provide an exact framework to improve stress resilience in their clients.
Harry: When I did formal training on stress resilience it created a completely new dialogue for me, giving me a platform to launch a health retreats business and adding a new dimension to my corporate work.
A true understanding of heart rate variability and cortisol opened my understanding of technology and laboratory testing. You don’t get to stand in front of the boards of international businesses and speak about wellbeing without having a clear handle on stress and how your clients can build resilience against its ill effects.
You work with a number of high-profile clients. What do they need from you? Harry: You don’t get to work with these types of people if your view is fitness only. Even excellent nutrition coaching will only get you so far. It’s important to have a total overview of what it takes to be well.
My ability to talk coherently and develop strategies for my clients on a number of topics and areas outside of the gym is what has led these clients to me.
How do you use stress resilience techniques with your clients? Harry: I help them make appropriate life choices, to manage their thoughts and create a physiology which is robust and guards them against a high volume of stress. To be effective most of these actions take place when they’re not with me, so it’s important they completely buy in to why they’re important.
Their understanding of why I’m asking them to make certain changes helps enormously with their compliance. In physical one-on-one sessions I factor in breathwork, ‘thought re-framing’ and the management of exercise intensity.
How do you empower clients to change deeply ingrained behaviours? Harry: The first step is to reframe the debate. Too often people are told a habit or behaviour, such as alcohol intake, is ‘bad’ for them. But what does that mean? The reason given is something intangible and distant, like the impact on liver health or cardiovascular risk, issues that are completely foreign concepts to people who work in a non-clinical profession.
So I don’t start with a client wanting to change a specific behaviour, I start with what the client wants to improve. If they want more energy, which is extremely likely given the demands put on them [Harry is PT to Boris Johnson], then I might build an association between diet, poor sleep recovery and low energy. Even better, I would hope to measure their sleep response to things like alcohol and show them how this message directly relates to them. We can’t keep expecting people to adopt difficult behaviours without understanding why they’re directly related to them.
Can you give an example? Oli: One great practical example of the impact of stress on the body was a client with stubborn weight gain and fatigue, who was on four different long-term medications for blood pressure, pre-diabetes, joint pain and mood stability.
Through taking some analytics of stress – questionnaires, heart rate variability and cortisol testing – we could see excess stress sat at the core of pretty much every symptom being presented.
So we amended exercise frequency, timing and intensity: swapping evening HIIT for morning yoga. We taught basic meditation and enforced a lunchtime walk. Simple actions, yet the client understood why they were appropriate and what we were seeking to achieve.
In a year, beyond weight loss and improved energy, there was also no need for any further medication. Unlocking stress had a life-changing effect.
Footnote: Future Practice is an approved training partner of CIMSPA and is launching an online course titled Mastering Stress Resilience.
Stress epidemic
Levels of stress in the general population have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic
• In 2011, CIPD reported that stress had overtaken traditional physical injuries, back pain mostly, as the number one cause of long term sickness absence from work.
• In 2019 ‘Burnout’ was added to the international classification of diseases as an occupational condition.
• The insurer Cigna estimates stress-related ill health to cost the NHS over £11bn each year.
• 82 per cent of UK SME businesses have no current wellbeing strategy
Boris Johnson hired Jameson after his spell in the ICU / photo: Evening Standard
"A wellbeing coach needs to understand what
stress is, how it moves from a thought to very real
consequences in the body and be able to provide a
framework to improve stress resilience in their clients"
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Patrick (left) is a physiologist, while Jameson (right) is a performance coach / photo: Future Practice
Tell us about your business Oli: Future Practice is a Clinical Wellbeing Academy, with the ultimate goal of creating a credible army of wellbeing professionals who are able to address the epidemic of lifestyle disease in the western world.
Stress was at epidemic levels even before COVID-19, yet there is still no ‘stress resilience’ profession and we believe fitness professionals can fill that gap.
How did it start? Harry: Future Practice is dedicated to providing education and training to deliver skills that allow fitness professionals to move into areas such as corporate wellbeing and lifestyle coaching. It gives them more tools in their toolbox to make them rounded practitioners.
What are your backgrounds? Oli: I’ve been a physiologist for 21 years, working in the grey space between medicine and fitness.
As the former head of physiology at Nuffield, I wrote the Level 7 Diploma in Health and Wellbeing Physiology, before co-founding a clinic offering advanced health assessments.
Harry: My primary role is as a performance and wellbeing coach with a preventative approach, encompassing smart training, nutrition, and recovery.
I’ve worked with brands such as Lululemon, Symprove, Technogym, Rosewood Hotels and Twitter, as well as high profile clients. I’m also wellness editor for The Times [London].
Why is it important for exercise professionals to be trained in stress resilience? Oli: If you don’t understand the technicalities of stress and its impact on the behavioural and physiological patterns of your clients, you can’t achieve optimal results.
A modern wellbeing coach needs to understand what stress is, how it moves from a thought to very real consequences in the body and be able to provide an exact framework to improve stress resilience in their clients.
Harry: When I did formal training on stress resilience it created a completely new dialogue for me, giving me a platform to launch a health retreats business and adding a new dimension to my corporate work.
A true understanding of heart rate variability and cortisol opened my understanding of technology and laboratory testing. You don’t get to stand in front of the boards of international businesses and speak about wellbeing without having a clear handle on stress and how your clients can build resilience against its ill effects.
You work with a number of high-profile clients. What do they need from you? Harry: You don’t get to work with these types of people if your view is fitness only. Even excellent nutrition coaching will only get you so far. It’s important to have a total overview of what it takes to be well.
My ability to talk coherently and develop strategies for my clients on a number of topics and areas outside of the gym is what has led these clients to me.
How do you use stress resilience techniques with your clients? Harry: I help them make appropriate life choices, to manage their thoughts and create a physiology which is robust and guards them against a high volume of stress. To be effective most of these actions take place when they’re not with me, so it’s important they completely buy in to why they’re important.
Their understanding of why I’m asking them to make certain changes helps enormously with their compliance. In physical one-on-one sessions I factor in breathwork, ‘thought re-framing’ and the management of exercise intensity.
How do you empower clients to change deeply ingrained behaviours? Harry: The first step is to reframe the debate. Too often people are told a habit or behaviour, such as alcohol intake, is ‘bad’ for them. But what does that mean? The reason given is something intangible and distant, like the impact on liver health or cardiovascular risk, issues that are completely foreign concepts to people who work in a non-clinical profession.
So I don’t start with a client wanting to change a specific behaviour, I start with what the client wants to improve. If they want more energy, which is extremely likely given the demands put on them [Harry is PT to Boris Johnson], then I might build an association between diet, poor sleep recovery and low energy. Even better, I would hope to measure their sleep response to things like alcohol and show them how this message directly relates to them. We can’t keep expecting people to adopt difficult behaviours without understanding why they’re directly related to them.
Can you give an example? Oli: One great practical example of the impact of stress on the body was a client with stubborn weight gain and fatigue, who was on four different long-term medications for blood pressure, pre-diabetes, joint pain and mood stability.
Through taking some analytics of stress – questionnaires, heart rate variability and cortisol testing – we could see excess stress sat at the core of pretty much every symptom being presented.
So we amended exercise frequency, timing and intensity: swapping evening HIIT for morning yoga. We taught basic meditation and enforced a lunchtime walk. Simple actions, yet the client understood why they were appropriate and what we were seeking to achieve.
In a year, beyond weight loss and improved energy, there was also no need for any further medication. Unlocking stress had a life-changing effect.
Footnote: Future Practice is an approved training partner of CIMSPA and is launching an online course titled Mastering Stress Resilience.
Stress epidemic
Levels of stress in the general population have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic
• In 2011, CIPD reported that stress had overtaken traditional physical injuries, back pain mostly, as the number one cause of long term sickness absence from work.
• In 2019 ‘Burnout’ was added to the international classification of diseases as an occupational condition.
• The insurer Cigna estimates stress-related ill health to cost the NHS over £11bn each year.
• 82 per cent of UK SME businesses have no current wellbeing strategy
Boris Johnson hired Jameson after his spell in the ICU / photo: Evening Standard
"A wellbeing coach needs to understand what
stress is, how it moves from a thought to very real
consequences in the body and be able to provide a
framework to improve stress resilience in their clients"
Longevitix, a clinical platform for preventive and longevity medicine, has launched its AI-
powered intelligence system to help physicians deliver continuous, personalised longevity-
focused care at scale.
Atmantan Wellness Centre, an integrative wellness destination in Mulshi, near Pune in India, is
expanding its portfolio by adding a new centre in Hyderabad that will launch between 2028 and
2029.
A recent survey by the UK Spa Association (UKSA) into the industry’s approach to cancer care
has revealed that almost half of participating respondents (46 per cent) are unaware that
cancer is a disability and guests with a cancer diagnosis must be given
Mexican operator, Solmar Hotels and Resorts, is hosting a series of events in celebration of
Global Wellness Day, including a Temazcal ceremony at its Playa Grande Resort and Spa in Los
Cabos.
Mandarin Oriental has announced a standalone residence brand, Mansions, which will debut at
Emirates Palace, Mandarin Oriental Mansions, Abu Dhabi, in 2029.
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, has put together a Global Wellness Day
(GWD) agenda with activations rooted in nature and shaped by four pillars of Joy – in
alignment with the day’s theme #JoyMagenta.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2026 event in
Phuket, Thailand, later this year with the theme: The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness.
Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a
series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing.
In a world where imbalance often accumulates quietly, Wildsmith unveils its newest
wellbeing innovation: Silent Loads, an approach designed to meet the needs of modern spa
guests with precision and depth. [more...]
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
Omnisens Rooted in nature and guided by a holistic philosophy, Omnisens' treatments and products are crafted [more...]
