ATO life. - BE IN THE KNOW 2021-04-05T13:15:25+01:00 ATO life. 2021-04-05T13:15:25+01:00 2021-04-05T21:40:47+01:00 The Stress Reaction Cycle Abi Onuoha Stress is not a one-time event, it's a cycle with phases that repeat on us countless times a day. This means that it is possible to interrupt the chain of events and prevent the endless vicious cycle.








Yours in balance,


Founder & Physiotherapist of ATO life.


]]> 2021-03-15T15:20:07+00:00 2021-03-15T15:45:11+00:00 STRENGTH TRAINING (Part 2) ...WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Abi Onuoha Why is it important for us to engage in strength training?

I think we can all agree that exercise is good for us and makes us feel good ...afterwards! Simply moving our bodies and adding weight progressively can enhance our physical (and mental) robustness A LOT.

In this blog, I want to talk to you about the benefits of resistance exercise as we age and also for those who are managing complex health conditions. Let's get into it.



"Metabolic syndrome is the medical term for a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. It affects an estimated one in four adults in the UK. It puts us at greater risk of getting coronary heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular conditions that affect the blood vessels" (NHS 2016). It is characterised by increased waist circumference (bigger belly compared to hips), high triglyceride levels (fat in the blood), high blood pressure, insulin resistance (Diabetes) and inflammation/swelling in the body. It is associated with being overweight with poor physical activity levels.

Metabolic syndrome is not the one. Luckily though, we can prevent and even reverse Metabolic syndrome with a number of lifestyle changes. In a recent study by Liu et al. (2019), it was shown that "less than an hour a week of resistance exercise was associated with decreased risks for cardiovascular disease-related events, independent of aerobic exercise."

WOW.. it's possible to reduce our risk of developing Metabolic syndrome with less than one hour of effortful lifting/pushing/pulling/carrying per week! If that's the minimal effective dose required, pass me the dumbbell!



Sarcopenia is defined by the loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength, simply as a result of ageing. From about forty years old, our muscle mass automatically declines (sigh), and we become at risk of developing Sarcopenia, which can be associated with Osteoporosis (bone density loss). Now, it does not take a rocket scientist to comprehend the secondary effects of muscle mass and bone loss. As a result, we can develop muscle weakness, leading to insidious joint pain and/or overuse injuries. This is something I see so commonly in clinic these days - injuries coming from nowhere, without specific trauma or incident, "I'm just getting old", they say. Long term and chronic injuries can reduce our mobility and over time put us at risk of falls, frailty, decreased immunity, poor overall health and increased mortality (Strength For Life 2019). Eeek, that does not sound good.

Ok, ok bad news over. In all honesty, regardless of what age you are or what condition you may be in, strength training is good for you. Walking the dog at the park every day is lovely, but simply not enough to fend off those daunting health conditions. If you find yourself the right programme, with the right guidance, you may well enjoy it!!


If you are keen to improve your health span and enhance your overall health through exercise, but you are not sure how, get in touch with us at ATO life. We are advocates of physical exercise and aim to make it accessible and enjoyable for all.


Yours in strength and balance,


Founder & Physiotherapist of ATO life.



]]> 2020-11-02T19:43:04+00:00 2021-03-15T15:10:11+00:00 STRENGTH TRAINING (Part 1) ...3 SETS OF 10? Abi Onuoha Perhaps you're reading this as you are interested in strength training. Perhaps you are a fitness or health professional. Or maybe just curious. Regardless.. hi hello.

I've wanted to read a bit more myself about this subject for a little while now. As you know, I am a Physiotherapist and prescribe exercise A LOT for A LOT of people. If you work in this industry and you find yourself 'doing what has always been done' and all too often prescribe 3x10 with most resistance-based exercises, perhaps this blog will encourage you to re-evaluate this and be a bit more mindful of the exercise prescription process. Alternatively, maybe you go to your (now) home gym and never really know how many reps and sets you should do to really get the benefits you're looking for?

Well. I recently found some interesting results from a meta-analysis (the gold-standard of research) that you may want to hear about. The study is not that recent, but a good reminder of some basic strength training principles.


Let's get straight to it.


A Meta-analysis to Determine the Dose Response for Strength Development by Rhea et al. 2003. 

The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between the dose of exercise e.g. 3x10reps and the strength responses in the body. The researchers wanted to analyse the magnitude of strength gains elicited by various levels of training intensity, frequency and volume in order to clarify to effort to benefit ratio. Approximately 140 studies were included in this review.


So what were the results?


INTENSITY = the level of effort one exerts during exercise relative to one's maximum effort.

- Untrained individuals (with less than one year of consistent training experience) get maximum strength gains with a mean training intensity of 60% of their 1repetition max (RM). This is equivalent to being able complete a maximum of 12 reps per set at any given weight. Diminishing returns appear to begin in untrained individuals who train above this and caution should be used when prescribing high intensity strength training to avoid overtraining.

- In experienced individuals, a mean training intensity of 80% of their 1RM elicits the greatest strength increase, which is equivalent to a maximum of 8 reps per set. 


FREQUENCY = how many training sessions one performs per week.

- Untrained individuals who train three times per week (per muscle group), elicit the greatest increase in strength.

- Trained individuals show similar strength improvements with two sessions per week but at higher volumes i.e. more sets and reps per session.


VOLUME = the number of muscles worked, exercises, sets, and reps during a single session.

- In both trained and untrained individuals, strength increases with multiple-set protocols (most commonly four sets per muscle group). Diminishing returns begin after four sets.

- Untrained individuals have been shown to be more sensitive to an increase in volume compared to trained individuals. This means that there is more potential for strength improvements in untrained populations. In fact, trained individuals have to complete four sets to get the same magnitude of strength gains as an untrained individual would get with a single-set! 

- Be careful to not overcook the volume with individuals who are fairly inexperienced. They could easily lose motivation and commitment and there's risk of injury.


So, what's the moral of the story?

Progressively overload - gradually increase the amount of stress on the body during exercise - start with a low intensity/volume/frequency if you're prescribing exercise for a newbie or starting strength training from scratch. Perhaps 1-3 sets of 12 bodyweight squats once per week is good to start with if you haven't done them before.

Vary the training load and dose. Strength gains found with four sets of an exercise at 80% of one's 1RM could also be achieved with three sets of the same exercise at 90% of one's 1RM.


If you are an exercise professional, think long and hard about what your intentions are with your client's exercise selection. Then plan and progress. 

If you want to start strength training and all this is quite confusing for you, find yourself an experienced training expert who can assist you. You can discuss how much strength gain is desired or required by you, then they can plan accordingly and be clear and open about the effort required by you to achieve that. 

You can do it!

]]> 2020-07-01T23:00:00+01:00 2020-10-24T23:14:19+01:00 What factors determine how healthy we are? Abi Onuoha Optimal health isn't always easy to achieve. It turns out that one's health is determined by many different elements (some out of our control). These factors stretch far beyond whether or not we can be motivated to go to the gym or eat well.






Adverse Childhood Events (ACE)

It turns out that difficulties in our childhood can influence how healthy we are into adulthood. The more adverse childhood events an individual experiences in their younger years, the higher their risk for poor health outcomes such as mental illness, drug/alcohol abuse, diabetes, cancer and heart attacks (Hughes et al. 2017).


Genetic & Epigenetic Predispositions

Our DNA sequence accounts for 10% of our health status. Up to 90% of our health status is influenced by our environment i.e. things we expose ourselves to in life have the power to influence our gene expression (Kelly & Shull 2019). These factors can include nutrition, level of physical activity and tobacco to name a few. For example, studies show that exposure to cigarette smoke can make breathing airway cells more susceptible to genetic mutations known to cause lung cancers.


Environmental Conditions

Your local environmental conditions also influence your health status. Things such as air pollution, second-hand smoke, water supply, food deserts, war, pandemics, famine and earthquakes can play a huge part in how healthy and well you are (Kelly and Shull 2019).


Socioeconomic Status

Lower socioeconomic status correlates with poorer health. What’s more, people in racial minorities have less access to health interventions (Elmore et al. 2013).


Health Literacy

People with higher education have a better ability obtain, read, understand and use healthcare information in order to make better health decisions and follow instructions. Those with low 'health literacy' have increased hospital admissions and visit their GP more often (Vernon et al. 2007).


It's important for someone like me, other health & fitness professionals AND you, to understand the these determinants. Recognising these with help us to make positive change in ourselves and our communities.

]]> 2020-06-24T11:00:00+01:00 2020-10-24T23:13:18+01:00 What is good health? Abi Onuoha We’re all about optimising health. Whether that’s through movement & exercise, nutrition, meditation, sleep or social interaction (to name a few). Here are some definitions of health by a few published schools of thought.



At ATO life., we’re all about optimising health. Whether that’s through movement & exercise, nutrition, meditation, sleep or social interaction (to name a few).



Here are some definitions of health by a few published schools of thought:


"Happiness is the highest form of health" - Dalai Lama


According to Ayurveda ”holism and balance are key aspects to health - a holistic approach to health involves considering all aspects of the individual’s life, especially diet. Balance is then achieved by constantly adapting to the environment”


"Health is a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources as well as physical capacities" (The World Health Organization 1986)


Health is "the ability to adapt and self manage in the face of social, physical, and emotional challenges" (The British Medical Journal 2011)


"Health is a state of balance, an equilibrium that an individual has established within himself and between himself and his social and physical environment. Health would thus be a dimension of human existence that remains in existence regardless of the presence of diseases, somewhat like the sky that remains in place even when covered with clouds." (Sartorius 2006)


We asked a bunch of people what '“good health” meant to them. This is what they said…


To Jolene "Good health means being able to live to your full potential. It means being well enough to enjoy all aspects of life including mental/emotional wellness, reaching our own physical goals and being able to connect with our environment/society well."

Jolene's husband on the other hand believes that health means "not dying when you're 35"


Julieann (Osteopath) says health is "Good inner-outer body connection. Often we are too much in our heads and use our bodies as a kind of vehicle to rush around. No wonder it gives up sometimes. It's not a mind-body connection we need. It's more like a shut the brain up and give the body some time to breath. Go for a walk, look at the autumn leaves let the beauty of the world reconnect us - blinkin' I sound very hip'. But we are out of touch with our bodies and the world we are designed to be intrinsically part of."


To Leanne "Health is my mental space. A happy place when my health is at its best via food and exercise in my opinion. Health is also spiritual. You need spiritual energy to get to your best health!"


To Joshua "Health means, quality sleep, constant hydration, protein & green diet, and lots of orgasms!"


Charlotte says "Health to me means feeling charged, positive and stable, in both a physical and mental sense. However, as I write this, I'm mainly thinking of ones mental health. I believe that before you can feel physically healthy within your body (and reap the benefits of that) your mind must be in a good, safe and stable condition. It makes sense as to why I don't physically feel good when I'm having a negative mental health day."


Ben says “Health = Three things: 1. Ability to function adequately (mentally and physically) 2. To be pain-free (mentally and physically). 3. Confidence that items 1 and 2 will continue through to old age. Actually the first thing that sprung to mind was that it's a measure of how well I'm doing when I play Mortal Kombat"


To Lisa, "Health is when mind, body and spirit are all working well in tandem to produce the best, and most content human being you can be."


To Hayley "health means living your best life, physically and mentally"


Paul says "Good health means well-being, contentment and happiness"


Rachel thinks that health is all about “Living a happy and enriched life”



]]> 2020-05-29T13:30:00+01:00 2020-10-24T22:55:52+01:00 What does ATO life stand for? Abi Onuoha More



What does ATO life stand for, I hear you say? Firstly it’s pronounced “AH-TOE LIFE”.

ATO = THREE, which symbolises three main pillars of health – physical, psychological and social. the life bit is because essentially it’s all about YOUR LIFE.

We aim to help you strive for optimal health and well-being through helpful High Flying Designalifestyle habits and choices within these three domains.

]]> 2020-01-23T12:30:00+00:00 2020-10-24T22:55:23+01:00 An introduction to yoga Abi Onuoha Find out how yoga can guide you to better health and well-being and what you can expect from my online yoga classes.  


Hello! If you're reading this, you have either shown interest in coming to my classes or have some interest in yoga or exercise. Regardless, welcome to my yoga blog! These will be coming to you on a monthly basis.

My name is Abi and I am a Physiotherapist by background. I realised the benefits of yoga practice many years ago when life got very busy and I needed something to help me de-stress and feel more equipped to deal with the drama that is life. Since then, I have dedicated thousands of hours to the practice and trained as a yoga teacher. The effects have been quite profound; I have become more calm and collected and noticed positive changes in my physical body.

Please read on if you'd like to find out how yoga can guide you to better health and well-being and what you can expect from my online yoga classes.  


What is yoga | ATO life.  


So what IS yoga exactly?

Yoga as most people know it today is a form of movement and exercise that can be used to enhance health through physical poses, purposeful breathing and mental focus. It is mostly known to improve one’s flexibility... I have patients asking me all the time, “Shall I do Yoga to help with my stiff muscles?” Don’t get me wrong, yoga will help you improve your flexibility, but this is just a side effect, not the main intention!! In my opinion, yoga is one of the best ways to help you to move well, through larger ranges of motion and different planes of motion. But it is so much more than that and I must do it justice!

So, without getting too philosophical, let me just explain…

According to ancient Yogic texts such as The Yoga Sutras written by Patanjali at some point between 100BCE and 100CE, yoga is defined as Citta Vrtti Nirohdhah (Sanskrit language). Citta means Mindstuff, Vrtti means Thoughts and Nirohdhah means Restraint. Essentially, yoga is about channelling the fluctuations of the mind. Just imagine your brain as a lake and your plethora of thoughts as algae underneath the water's surface. This algae distorts and obstructs your view of what is really below the surface. You can’t see clearly. Through the discipline and instruction of yoga, one can clear the messy algae and see more clearly through the depths of the lake. 

If these ideas seem a bit far fetched, don’t worry, I will not preach any longer. But just remember, yoga is the practice of bringing the body and mind to stillness in order to see things clearly.

Could you do with some of this in your busy, hectic life? 


How can yoga help YOU? 

I teach a down-to-earth, light hearted yoga class, which has a particular focus on traditional alignment (I am a Physio after all). I can therefore assure you that you will be led through a sequence that is safe, but challenging at the same time. I will teach you to think about movement in an intelligent way, focussing on mobility, stability and strength. I teach a type of yoga called Vinyasa Flow - meaning that it is quite dynamic . We won’t spend more than 10-20 seconds in any pose, apart from relaxation at the end (yay). For any of you experienced yoga students, do not worry, I’ve got lots of tricks up my sleeve to keep you feeling challenged! I incorporate themes to my classes to ensure there is a clear focus. Over time and with some commitment and effort, you will develop a better understanding of the different elements of yoga practice. Most importantly, you will become more balanced, mobile and adaptable in your life (physically and mentally!) 


If you would like help to clear the algae and chaos, don't hesitate to get in touch.