Five minutes with Tori
Get to know Tori Hand – Personal Trainer, Group Coach, proud mother of two Siberian Huskies, and all round-awesomely strong, mobile and ultimate super friendly fitness professional.
Why did you decide to become a fitness professional?
I decided to get into the industry over 8 years ago because I constantly found myself exercising and training, and wanted to learn more about it.
Before I started Personal Training I worked in an organic produce store, nannied and then studied business at uni as I wasn’t sure what to do with myself.
This was all before I had the realisation that I should be in the fitness industry!
How long have you been training yourself?
I have been involved in sport since I was five years old 🙂 At five my mum enrolled me in gymnastics which I continued to do competitively until I was about 12.
At this point I needed to have heart surgery, and was advised not to continue competitively due to the rigorous training demands. Post surgery I got back into recreational gymnastics and continued this into my late teens.
Due to my experience in gymnastics through my childhood and teens, I started my fitness career teaching people ‘Gymnastics Strength Training’.
This incorporates bodyweight strength with mobility and flexibility training and targets the body from many angles which are usually overlooked in conventional training programs.
At the time, this type of training was relatively unheard of and became quite popular among fitness professionals who were wanting to offer something more to their clients, rather than just weights and cardio.
It was also how I liked to train myself back then. This led me to co-found Falsegrip, a gym which is based upon these principles.
Over the years I began to incorporate more weights with gymnastics strength as I found this yielded better results rather than just one or the other.
So these days, I mostly do weights, cardio and mobility. I really enjoy challenging myself to find out how strong I can get.
What are your clients’ most common goals?
Most want to improve their mobility and flexibility. We work towards this with consistent training and occasionally extra home programs.
Many want to gain muscle and we achieve that goal with hypertrophy training and diet recommendations that would be beneficial to muscle growth.
Many also want to learn how to do a handstand. We go back to basics, breaking down what is involved in a handstand and building strength, confidence and co-ordination upside down. Handstands are just as fun as you remember as a child.
What’s a common challenge you need to work your clients through?
Spinal mobility, specifically thoracic extension. So many people lack spinal movement for many different reasons, one being that we have all been encouraged to keep a neutral spine at all times.
This is simply not the case, as your spine is designed specifically to allow for maximum movement in flexion, extension, side flexion and rotation.
These movements are often forgotten about and sadly result in back weakness, tightness and immobility.
What common issues do you notice in your clients when you coach them?
Tight pectoral muscles coupled with forward head carriage. This can often lead to kyphosis (rounding) in the upper back and also a lack of glute activation resulting in glute atrophy.
And also I notice tight hip flexors/quads often caused by excessive sitting. This can lead to excessive lordosis in the lower back which can cause lower back pain.
What are some popular training misconceptions you come across?
“I want to improve my mobility by doing just one session a week for two months” – It would be nice if it was that easy. The one session will no doubt leave you feeling much better with less pain, but mobility improvements take a long time and in most instances more than one session per week. Compare this to how long it took your body to become tight and immobile? It was very likely more than two months.
What are the top 3 things you like to specialise in?
- Mobility – I am intrigued by the body and what it is capable of
- Weights training – I absolutely love it myself and enjoy seeing my clients reach new heights in their strength
- Gymnastics – I have an in-depth knowledge and first hand experience learning in a competitive environment. Even though I don’t train it a lot my self these days, I thoroughly enjoy teaching it.
Are you a strength, cardio or mobility person?
All of them! Although weights would have to be my favourite.
For my own training, each week, I currently do:
- three to four strength sessions
- two to three short cardio sessions (these are usually tacked onto the end of my strength/weights sessions)
- mobility training as I need it.
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What is it about this job that makes you want to jump out of bed at 4:30am?
I love working with people and care very much for my clients’ well being.
As much as the early starts can be tiring, it’s actually really peaceful at that hour – before the whole world has woken up 🙂
Reach out or book your next session with Tori
Get in touch with Tori here or jump into one of her great classes on the schedule: