Max is a co-founder of iNform Health & Fitness Solutions with 20 years experience in helping people with their movement goals. He is an Accredited Exercise Scientist and Physiologist and experienced educator and practitioner in the musculo-skeletal rehabilitation field.
Max completed an Applied Science Degree (Exercise and Sports Science) in 1998, and an Honours Degree in Human Movement in 2000. When not at iNform, Max can be found with his beautiful family, or riding his bike in the amazing Adelaide Hills!
There are three main influences on my work:
Looking back over my career, I can see how each of these have paved the way I approach my work with my clients, and my efforts to help the exercise profession grow.
Everything that I apply to my work as an exercise physiologist is informed by scientific research. I believe this is vital and the only responsible and effective way to practice in this field.
During my studies leading to an Applied Science Degree (Exercise and Sports Science) in 1998 and an Honours Degree in Human Movement in 2000, I could clearly see how rigorous scientific study opens our eyes to approaches and techniques that make perfect anatomical and physiological sense while also being counter-intuitive within the popular gym culture. Don’t get me started on the issue of “crunches”!
As a consequence, we developed a pre-exercise Movement Screen for the fitness and exercise industries. I believe a universally understood and applied screen is the bedrock for a safe and productive industry.
While I have co-authored a number of peer-reviewed publications in the areas of nutrition, obesity and physiology, the Movement Screen is most likely borne of my core professional interest and expertise in musculo-skeletal rehabilitation. As an industry, we have a large challenge ahead of us to continue probing to find ways to lift general health and fitness levels within the general population.
It is by stepping outside of my strict field of practice that I have been able to evaluate different strategies to working with this amazing machine, which is our human body. In addition, building a great network of quality practitioners has allowed me to benchmark our corrective exercise paradigms against quality standards.
I guess what follows when you build a name for yourself in the area of rehabilitation, is that word quickly spreads within elite athletic circles where just one day of injury can cost thousands of dollars and a few weeks can cost a career.
It has been my privilege to work with many sports professionals, including:
What I have gained through this work is an insight into the role of motivation between sessions, which often members of the general public lack. This allows us to see our work played out in full.
What is more, the nature of these elite sportspeople to push the human body to extremes, raises the stakes and underlines the importance of a sound, multi-disciplinary, scientific approach to rehabilitation.
The rich mix of experience at iNform Health and Fitness exposes me to screening, planning, practise, and monitoring of the application of the latest exercise physiology with members of the general public and amateur sportspeople alike.
One of the most rewarding elements is working with allied health professionals to achieve positive outcomes for clients with chronic or acute conditions.
We have also nurtured a collegiality among our team, which is resulting in a body of blog articles that inspire and enthuse our clients (and other team members too). This environment of generously sharing insights into the intersection of exercise physiology research and “real life” is invaluable.
The combination of all these strands has opened doors for regular invitations to lecture on Exercise Prescription and Rehabilitation to students of the University of South Australia and other tertiary educational institutions.
You can see Max at Move for Better Health’s Magill location, or at iNform Health & Fitness Solutions Norwood location.
