Some more raving fans
Daniel Collins
4 time Olympian and World Champions canoeist
High Performance manager within the NRL, AFL & IRU
"As someone who has been in elite sport for over 20 years, four Olympics as a competitor and as a High Performance Manager within the NRL, International Rugby and the AFL I am always searching for stimulus that will improve athletic performance. In finding the exercise routine that has been developed by Nathan Helberg of Zuu I feel I have uncovered an intensive program that in a short period of time is able to improve:
- The bodies core strength
- Strength through the bodies full range of movements
- The bodies mobility through a full range of movements
- Coordination under pressure and fatigue
This is all done through lifting, moving and supporting your own body weight and uses minimal free weighs-this is the key to the Zuu routine in it strengthens the whole body not just isolated components through a variety of movement patterns. I would highly recommend it for contact sports such as Rugby league, Rugby Union and AFL as it requires the player to be strong in ALL positions. The routine would help clubs:
- Decrease injury through increased mobility
- Stimulate players through functional movement patterns under load
- Increase strength in and around the contact or contested zones of player
- Increase players recovery ability from bouts of high intensity effort
As a key part of any program or as a stimulus to get players ready for the competition phase of the year I can highly recommend using the services of Nathan Helberg and the Zuu."
Chris Anderson
Captain & Coach Australian Rugby League Team
Premier winning coach Australian Rugby League, Melbourne Storm, Halifax UK
"My name is Chris Anderson I have been involved in sport and fitness at the professional level for 40 yrs so I've seen a lot of fitness fads come and go over that period. Most of these fads have been machine based which certainly get you stronger and sometimes fitter, where these fads fail is they are not sport specific so the gains you get on the machine do not transfer to the sporting field because they do not allow for the same stresses on the body that the sport achieves, thus the support network of the bigger muscles breaks down.
I found ZUU to be the best form of exercise to mirror the stresses of the sport, it builds strength and strength endurance, plus agility and flexibility, it is beneficial to all parts of your body including the heart and lungs.
The first time I did ZUU I was amazed that I was using muscles I haven't used in years, but I didn't pull up sore and stiff but stretched and energized.
I think ZUU has many applications certainly in sport but also by the general public, Im 57 yrs old and I got great benefits from it, like any exercise you have to build up to achieve a good level.
I think ZUU will stand the test of time, and become a main stream fitness and strength program."
NRL Wests Tigers Rugby League Football Pty Ltd
"We are always on the look out for effective methods to create the right type of stimulus for our players. We had Nathan and other ZUU instructors attend our facility and put our players through a session. Aside from the obvious benefits of strength and power development.
The session was ideal to help develop control, and mobility. I highly recommend ZUU training for anyone from the elite to recreational athlete or active person. The heart rate feedback we got from the session also ensures that ZUU training is also a highly effective method for burning fat."
Olympian David Rhode
"It's not everyday you come across something that will be so comprehensive and include everything you need to do for your strength training, from building on your maximum strength (without putting on the extra kilos normally required to do so), strength endurance, core stability linking full range of movement in every exercise, mobility, pushing your limits and making you find new boundaries. ZUU ticks all these boxes.
I have been an athlete involved in Sprint Canoeing at an elite level for over 10 years, with the pinnacle to date being 4th in the K2 1000m at the Athens Olympics. I've been fortunate enough over this period to have access to the best and leading strength and conditioners throughout the country, including the Australian Institute of Sport and corresponding State Institutes. There have been many different programs I have used to increase my maximum strength and increase my strength endurance with successful results, however there was always a tradeoff at that period with the quality of my on water work suffering, ranging from putting on to much muscle bulk consequently being too heavy and slow in the water, to working so hard in the gym for minimal gains with diminishing returns on the water.
ZUU has made me question the traditional strength and conditioning training methods and given me an alternative to achieving and maximizing what my body is really capable of. If you're a serious athlete in any sport who is open-minded enough to try something different you will be blown away by what you didn't know. You will see and experience first hand what ZUU is how it will improve you as athlete and ultimately your performance.
ZUU is playing a major part in my quest for Gold at the London 2012 Olympics. Thank you Nathan for the opportunity and showing me what can be achieved by getting back to the basics. (Fingers crossed my competitors don't come across ZUU!)."
Richard Burton
Head of Department, Exercise Science and Fitness Performance Department, Gold Coast Tafe
"I want to say what a fantastic style of total body workout you have created. I am the Senior lecturer and Head of Department for the Exercise Science and Fitness Performance Department at Gold Coast Institute of Tafe.
I have been training everyday clients, and state and national athletes for 25 years. I have also been training students to start their career as a Personal Fitness and Health Trainer for 15 years.
Your style of gym is unique and brilliant. Your focus on whole body training is the best I have seen for real lifetime human functional strength.
I hope more clients discover you and your training centre and Gold Coast Tafe will certainly be using you and your facility in 2010."
Charlie Higgins
Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Rugby WA, Western Force Super 15
"Nathan Helberg's Zuu Training is without doubt the most innovative, effective form of bodyweight training I have experienced in my 10 years as a strength and conditioning coach.
The Western Force players were put through a Zuu session that took them to their physiological and psychological limits and was an excellent assessment tool of functional strength, endurance and character.
We will continue to use Zuu training as I believe it will enhance our mobility, functional strength and endurance in a safe and controlled environment. The Zuu program allows us to target the whole body through total body movements and sequences.
I can't recommend Zuu training enough to any sporting team; it is the perfect link from the gym to the field."
Rowan Baxter
Former professional rugby league player with NZ Warriors
"I have over ten years' experience in the Fitness Industry as a Professional Athlete and a Fitness Trainer. I am currently conditioning sporting teams and coaching rugby league whilst working full-time as a personal trainer. I had the pleasure of meeting Nathan at a strength & conditioning course earlier this year and kept in close contact with him as I was very keen to try his style of training In his new facility THE ZUU.
Between my rugby with the Bay Of Plenty Steamers and the two seasons 2004-2006, with the NZ Warriors as a player. Strength & Conditioning is a vital part of our schedule and training to perceived exhaustion happens on a regular basis. I have been involved in some pretty nasty sessions in my time and thrive off them.
I'm always looking for new challenges and Nathan introduced me to his very functional, explosive and very mentally challenging way of training at THE ZUU. I am currently arranging some outrigging athletes to do a session with him as I am a firm believer of his method of training.
It's not for the faint hearted and it is definitely challenging to even the fittest of athletes. I can honestly say with a set up like THE ZUU it would be very beneficial for any type of athlete from a marathon runner to a rugby league player. I have adopted some exercises for myself and my clients that I had been taught by Nathan at my time at the ZUU.
I highly recommend THE ZUU to anyone wanting a challenge. I definitely will be returning in the near future."
Matt Geyer
2 x NRL Premiership winner and NSW Rugby League Representative.
"I highly recommend the unique style of functional strength training found at The ZUU. In my 13 years of training and playing at an elite level, I have honestly not come across a style like this before.
The training is hard to describe because it is so different, you really have to experience it to understand. It is very sports specific, as it targets your explosive system and moves your body in ways that fully engage your secondary muscles or stabilizers.
I enjoy training at The ZUU and recommend this type of training for athletes and disciplined trainers. Nathan's enthusiasm is contagious while he remains flexible to the athlete's level of fitness and ability."
Dr Errol Amerasekera
B.Sc, B.App. Sci (CHIRO), MACFOC
"One of the keys to spinal health, good posture and the ability to transfer power along the body's kinematic chains is adequate strength in core muscles and spinal stabilizers. Our often sedentary Western lifestyle means that these muscles do not get stimulated.
Furthermore, traditional training methods which focus on isolating muscles of the shoulder and pelvic girdle, do not address how these muscles work in combination, let alone how to stabilize these areas so that the muscles which attach there can function optimally. Simply put, we have created a lifestyle for ourselves in which the body is rarely in an unstable position.
What Nathan does is to put the body into unstable positions, thereby encouraging the development and strengthening of the systems needed to add stability to the body. The net effect of this is to increase the body's efficiency, thereby increasing performance and minimising the chance of sports related injuries."
Peter Hallett
Australian Champion in Surf Boat Rowing, Thundercat Racing & Inflatable Rescue Boat Racing
Level 2 SLSA Accredited Surf Coach
From the ZUU flyer on the counter at my favorite cafe, to participating at this unique extreme fitness facility, I immediately knew that ZUU training methodology was different.
From the friendly welcome, to the responsible induction and the message to work within my limits and to listen to my body, I knew that before I even got started with the mandatory warm up, that a wonderfully painful experience was about to present itself to me. I was not disappointed!
As an Australian Champion training hard and finding new personal limits both mentally and physically is what has driven me. With the many and varied training regimes I have applied myself to, I felt I had pretty much been there done that!
That was until now, within the first 10 minutes of ZUU's very methodical and intentional exercise routines, and the apparent lack of oxygen in my lungs, reality just kicked in that these sessions were to be respected and not to be treated with contempt.
In my mind, I thought I was a fit 49 year old, the message I got from ZUU was that I still have a way to go.
ZUU has inspired me, I am challenged to yet another level, and the way ZUU conducts their sessions are precise, positive, safe and they continually encourage their squad to find new limits and to believe in themselves, and to find self confidence. Nathan leads by example; he is an inspirational leader who has a wonderful work ethic.
The team at ZUU have created a new training culture, and the improvement in flexibility, core strength, agility and overall strength gained from their routines will make you think to yourself "What the hell have I been missing out on?" I'll tell you what you've been missing out on..The ZUU Experience!
Ben Anderson
Melbourne Storm 1998 & 1999 (Premiers)
Brisbane Norths 1999 (Premiers)
I was first introduced to ZUU Training through Matt Geryer (Melbourne Storm) who spoke very highly about the functional strength aspects of ZUU being sports specific. He also mentioned that he had never seen anything like it before.
In my career as a professional athlete I have been exposed to various training techniques at an elite level. All serve a purpose, e.g. strength, hypertrophy, agility, endurance to name a few. Until ZUU I had yet to come across a training style that combines everything in one session. ZUU is true Functional Strength Training in every sense of the word. Integrating whole muscle groups to work as a team and not individual parts. The exercises at ZUU I have not come across in my career.
I am a firm believer in ZUU training and understand the principles they are based on. As the new Head Coach for QLD Cup Tweed Seagulls 2010, I incorporated ZUU into our pre-season training with great results. I have seen dramatic changes in my player's functional strength in a short period of time and believe it has also helped ligament and tendon strength. Some of the ZUU sessions were said to 'be harder then the game'.
I personally train at ZUU twice a week and still find myself constantly asking questions of my own functional strength and fitness. I see many benefits and applications of incorporating ZUU into an athletes program or everyday individuals looking for results based training.
Aaron Zimmerle
BHSD
PBC SHS Sports Excellence Coach
Director of Chisel Fitness
Masters S&C Gold Coast Titans U16 & U18 S & C Coach
"Zuu Training, created by Nathan Helberg, is the most innovative and functional form of training I have experienced in my career as an athlete, trainer and coach.
Physically it challenges me more than any other traditional S & C methods that I have experienced as a semi professional league player, state medalist rower or amateur boxer. The vast array of exercises in combination has pushed my muscular endurance to another level and the metabolic effect post workout lasts for hours - meaning its great for body composition.
As a high school coach involved in the training of athletes within our own excellence programs and the junior S & C coach of the Gold Coast Titans, I see Zuu training as an essential ingredient in the physical development of all our elite athletes; from surfing to soccer to rowing to league.
On a personal note, I find Nathan to be a highly motivating trainer who has "walked the walk", when it comes to training and continues to amaze me with his knowledge and creativity.
What more can I say, other than "Stop reading and get yourself down to the ZUU!!""