pressure and your body breaks down,
reducing your levels of performance and
increasing your risk of injury. We see this in
the gym, we see this on the sports field.
In Be Activated we use measurables
in everything we do, providing us with a
constant feedback loop. We have a before,
an intervention and an after. When we do the
right thing the body responds immediately,
so we know if what we are doing is
successful or not. This honours another
principle of the body: it only knows where it
is at right now because of where it just was,
so if we keep reflecting back, the neural
and physiological system has a chance to
recognise its patterns and learn new ones.
An aligned body functions
in a 1-2-3 sequence.
Not only can we overcome patterns of
pain and limitation in our clients, but we can
decrease their risk of injury, improve their
quality of life, and enable their body to go
from strength to strength.
The Be Activated system begins with
a simple ‘123’ approach. A body has two
priorities for survival, to breathe and to
move: without both we will die. All movement
begins with the diaphragm, psoas, and glutes
working in unison (Zone 1). It will find ways to
meet its priorities and will sacrifice anything
else in order to do this. Imagine looking at
someone’s body and realising that their calf,
which limits them in movement patterns, is
actually ‘cheating’ by functioning as their
butt! No matter how you train the client,
their body will just get better and better at
this compensatory cheat. But the wonderful
things about cheats is they always get found
out at some point. This will be when the calf
is so tired and exhausted because it (in this
case) is doing the job of the glute and the
hamstring, while also doing a poor version
of its own job. To do this it has shortened
and tightened and works upside down. In
Be Activated, we call this a 333 Leg. When
it breaks down it could result in cramping
calves, achilles tears and pain, ankle injuries
and plantar fasciitis.
When we cheat we lose strength,
power, flexibility and endurance, leaving
our bodies less resilient, and at risk of poor
performance, pain and dysfunction, both in
the way we move and the way we behave.
With high stress and environmental
pressures, compensations are inevitable
nowadays – for everyone. To reverse this
process you must give the body what it
really needs in order to function correctly. Be
Activated is, in a sense, the rebooting of the
body to return it to its original natural physiology.
Think of the perfect body state as a
‘123’ state, in which the body expands
through movement. Cheat patterns create a
collapsing, imploded state in which the body
collapses in on itself and destroys itself. We
code it all: 223, 233, 333 leg and 333 arm…
and ‘0’, which is a state of overwhelm in
which the body cannot effectively find a
way to meet its priorities (flight or fight), and
instead freezes. In an imploded state, the
body doesn’t have the space or structure
it needs to move, and so creates poor
movement patterns and limitations.
With the 123 system of assessment we are
able to establish why the body is doing what
it is doing, by understanding which structures
are driving the body’s function. When you
understand the why, the how is easy!
Now we can match the stories our clients
bring, with their physiological measures.
Making sure that the signs (that which we
measure and see) match the symptoms
(the story they tell). From this foundation we
can start working to facilitate change. The
actual activation techniques, applied in the
right way, can seem impossible, magical
and weird. The results can be immediate
and dramatic. I’ve been called a white witch,
a magician performing voodoo; but I remind
everyone very quickly that we can all do this.
My goal is to share what I’ve learnt.
What does this mean? We can all help
our clients create immediate, measurable
changes that make them feel and function
better right now. As I’ve said, we measure
everything, so we know we are being
effective. But more important than what
we measure is how our client feels. Just
because it’s exciting that their hamstring
released and went 50 degrees further, if they
don’t feel better, it has no value.
I teach this process to doctors,
physiotherapists, chiropractors, osteopaths,
trainers, coaches… just about anybody with
a willingness to learn. You can learn this
What they say
As the creator of the Be Activated system
you may expect Douglas Heel to report
extraordinary results. But what of those
who’ve done the course?
“The Be Activated program is by far the
best course I’ve taken on how to improve
sports performance and movement for my
clients. I did some quick activation work
last night on one of my athletes before
a game. I had an audience of coaches,
parents and athletes oohing and aahing
throughout the process, and picked up
five new clients”
Ava Faipea, sports coach
“I activated a client with knee trouble
today. She can’t remember when she could
last lunge, weight bearing on one knee and
touch the floor with the other. She thinks it
might have been at school... She was 50
last month! Within six minutes of activating
her, she could lunge again. I used the same
activation on a fellow trainer who couldn’t
flex his knee past 80 degrees, and within
minutes he managed a 150 degree flexion.
Game-changing.”
Ross Young, physiotherapist.
Australian Fitness Network’s Education
Manager, Alisha Smith, attended a recent
Be Activated workshop in Sydney. Read
about her experience on page 36.
in two days. Your application will always
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