Questions? Want me to send you a free isometric routine to try this week? DM me on Instagram @rob_telos, email ⁠info@yourtelos.com⁠, or head to yourtelos.com.

Most people rush through reps, count to 12, tick the box, and wonder why their body keeps breaking down. Isometrics look like nothing is happening, but they build the foundation your body has been missing for years. In this episode, Rob breaks down how holding positions under tension can fix nagging injuries, break the physio loop, and build strength you actually keep. If you've been training hard but not training smart, this one's for you.

• What isometric contractions actually are and why most people overlook them
• Yielding vs. overcoming isometrics and when to use each
• The Arrow Paradox: why good movement is made up of moments of stillness
• How isometrics reduce pain by lowering the brain's threat response
• Why tendons love isometrics and how to use them for rehab
• Real client examples: from 20-second holds to 90 seconds, from decade-long back pain to training within days
• Isometrics and flexibility: why tightness isn't about short muscles
• PAILs and RAILs for expanding range of motion
• Common mistakes: treating isometrics as filler, waiting without intent, quitting too early
• Practical applications you can try this week: split squat holds, calf raise holds, push-up pauses, pull-up locks

January didn't start great. I was sick, overfed from Christmas, and sluggish. But I didn't panic. This episode takes you inside TELOS and shows you exactly what we do: the Wednesday live calls, the Monday podcasts, the one-to-one coaching, the individualized programming. I recap the four trainings we delivered this month, share wins from members, and explain why we train for the next 40 years, not the next 4 weeks. If you've been wondering what TELOS is actually like, this is your look inside.

SHOW NOTES

What actually happens inside TELOS? This episode breaks it down.

I recap January: the slow start, the sharpening the axe theme, and getting dialed in for my surf trip in March.

What's covered:

How TELOS works: Wednesday live calls, Monday podcast, one-to-one clarity calls, individualized programming, community, quarterly workshops

Training 1: Year by Design. Mapping out your year with intention.

Training 2: Why We Train This Way. Dr Spina's 3 questions. Hardware vs software. Training for the next 40 years.

Training 3: Harness the Power of Your Breath. Coleman's session on breathing for power, mobility, and relaxation.

Training 4: How to Achieve Your Nutritional Results. Habit-based nutrition. Why meal plans fail. The power of tracking.

Get in touch via the below.

Website: https://yourtelos.com/

Email: info@yourtelos.com

Instagram: @rob_telos

In this episode, I share what I've learned approaching 50: we don't think big enough. We settle into maintenance mode, tick along, and leave our potential on the table.

From swimming at 6am for a Mentawai surf trip, to a 12k open water swim that changed my mindset, to the 18 years I wasted between 17 and 35, this is a challenge to stop coasting and start building towards something bigger.

If you're fitter than average but know there's another level, this one's for you.

To learn more about what we so - hit the link below.

https://yourtelos.com/platinum

If you train 4-6 days a week and your body still keeps failing you - tight hips, recurring back pain, that thing in your shoulder that never quite goes away - this episode explains why.

It's not effort. It's not age. It's a missing foundation that nobody's taught you. Rob breaks down the evolutionary mismatch between how we live and how we were built to move, why "functional exercises" aren't actually making you function better, and exactly what to do about it.

Whether you're stuck in the physio loop or just tired of feeling tight despite doing all the "right" things, this one's for you.

What we cover:

• The three questions that changed how I approach training (and why most people have no answer to the third one)
• Why fit, active people who show up consistently still keep getting injured
• The difference between "functional training" and actually training your body to function better
• Joint independence before joint interdependence—why your squat won't improve just by squatting
• Flexibility versus mobility: why passive stretching gives temporary relief but never lasts
• The hardware versus software concept—why foam rolling and massage are just hacks
• End range strength training: what Bruce Lee understood that most gym-goers don't
• Why I feel fitter, stronger, and more mobile at 49 than I did at 35

Key takeaways:

• Movement comes first. Everything else comes second.
• Sport is chaos—it breaks bodies, it doesn't build them. Your training should prepare you for the forces you're putting your body through.
• The "physio loop" isn't bad luck. It's usually missing prerequisites.
• Expand your ranges of motion. Build control in those ranges. Then execute.
• Train for the next 40 years, not the next 4 weeks.

Connect with Rob:

• Instagram: @rob_telos
• Email: info@yourtelos.com
• Book a discovery call here: https://yourtelos.com/platinum-application

Why do fit, active people keep breaking down?

Rob from TELOS breaks the cycle. If you're over 35, training consistently, and still dealing with recurring injuries, stiffness, and the endless physio loop, this podcast explains why it happens and what to actually do about it. No fluff. No gimmicks. Just the truth about building a body that lasts.

Episode Notes

Why fit and active people keep breaking down, and the training philosophy shift that changes everything.

In this episode:

• The loop that keeps you stuck (train, injury, rehab, repeat)
• Why rehabilitation only gets you back to baseline, and why that's not enough
• Load bearing capacity: the real reason injuries happen
• The prerequisites problem most trainers ignore
• Joint independence before joint interdependence
• Flexibility vs functional mobility (the Bruce Lee test)
• End range strength: owning your movement, not just reaching it
• The expand, control, execute framework

This isn't about training harder. It's about training smarter.

Contact: Instagram: @rob_telos Email: info@yourtelos.com

I turned 49 this week. And I've been thinking about time, how we waste it, and the fact that none of us know how much we have left.

If you train consistently but keep doing the same thing year after year, this episode is for you. We're talking about why discipline without strategy is just spinning your wheels. How to map out your training year with actual variance and purpose. And why the next decade of your physical life depends on how you think, not just how hard you work.

• Why 2025 being gone should change how you approach 2026
• How I'm mapping my year: Q1 swimming, Q2/Q3 rings, Q4 lower body
• Client wins: Mark (struggling to walk → 68K event), Liz (2 marathons + first pull-up), Andy (first 100K cycle)
• How one comment from a swim coach shifted my standards
• Seneca: "Before you cure a man, ask him if he's willing to give up what is making him sick"
• Who TELOS is for (and who it's not for)

Contact: Instagram: @rob_telos Email: info@yourtelos.com

At 30, I was a smoker, heavy drinker, and hadn't trained since rugby ended at 17. Then I paddled out into the ocean and everything changed. This is the real story of how one sport pulled me out of 13 years of physical neglect - and why I'm surfing better at 48 than I ever did at 35.

Episode Overview: Rob shares the deeply personal story of how surfing became the catalyst for his complete life transformation - from a sedentary, drinking, smoking 30-year-old who hadn't trained in 13 years, to approaching 50 in the best shape of his life.

Key Moments:

• The movie that planted the seed (Big Wednesday, early 90s)
• First surf lesson at 12 in Rossnowlagh - thumbs so numb he couldn't unzip the wetsuit
• Rugby career ending at 17 with shoulder dislocations and surgery complications
• The 13-year gap: drinking, drugs, no training, lost identity
• Mate's 30th birthday in Cork - the spark that reignited everything
• The "physical poverty" moment at 35 - couldn't catch a wave, back spasming, defeated in a car park
• The decision that changed everything: "F**k this. This is never happening again."
• How surfing led to quitting alcohol, changing careers, and building systems that last

Lessons from the Ocean:

• The ocean doesn't care about your excuses
• You can be prepared or unprepared - it won't let you on if you're not ready
• Age is irrelevant: 69-year-old surfer in triple-overhead barrels at Margaret River

Where to Find Rob: Instagram: @rob_telos Email: info@yourtelos.com

You've done the stretches. You've seen the physios. You've spent twenty minutes on a foam roller. And you're still bloody stiff. That nagging back, those tight hips, the shoulders that feel ten years older than you are. This episode explains why your body creates tightness in the first place, and what you actually need to do to change it. Spoiler: it's not what most people are doing.

SHOW NOTES

The Problem Nobody Explains

Your tightness isn't the issue — it's your nervous system's solution. When your brain doesn't trust a joint, it locks it down. That's protection, not punishment. But until you understand this, you'll keep chasing temporary relief.

What We Cover

• Why movement comes from your joints, not your muscles (and why this changes everything)
• The "brain map" your body relies on — and why most people's maps are incomplete
• The reason stretching gives you an hour of relief but the tightness comes back
• Passive flexibility vs active control: why one builds trust and the other doesn't
• How to actually use a physio without expecting to be "fixed"
• Full range joint movement, end range strength work, and intelligent breathing
• The ecosystem that matters: sleep, hydration, stress, daily movement
• Why foam rolling is massively overused (and what I'd have you do instead)

The Bottom Line

You're not broken. You're not damaged. Your nervous system just needs better information. This isn't age — I'm almost 49 and moving better than I did in my thirties. It's about training with intelligence, not just intensity.

Connect

Instagram: @rob_telos
Email: info@yourtelos.com