BRIAN SIEMSEN is the first to admit that he rose up through the ranks of rugby league during what could have been seen as the Dark Ages of strength and conditioning. “As a front rower, all we ever did was heavy traditional lifts. Back squats, deadlifts and bench press. The rest of the work was done out on the field.”
Siemsen played professional rugby league from the late ’90s through to the mid 2000s, having been recruited at the age of 21 while living in Toowoomba, regional Queensland.
After retiring from the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2007, Siemsen redirected his drive and discipline towards building his own business which, over the next two decades, expanded into the multi-national, multi-million dollar enterprise Claim Central Consolidated.
As a result of dedicating those 20 years to not only building a successful business empire, but also an incredible family (One boy and two girls), Siemsen realised he had neglected his own health and fitness for far too long. “As any successful entrepreneur will tell you, building a business takes a lot of sacrifice”, explains Siemsen, “and I became acutely aware that my health had sunk to the bottom of my list of priorities”
The turning point
As Siemsen’s business continued to expand internationally, he soon realised that he needed to lift his game. ”I’ve always known that I perform at my best business wise, when I am at my best physically” says Siemsen. “Not only from a decision making point of view, but also how I interact with, and motivate, the people around me”.
Working with the best
Siemsen decided it was time to call in the professionals, so he reached out to husband and wife transformation duo Chief Brabon and Emilie Brabon-Hames of The Sweat & Social Club.” I had seen the incredible results Chief and Ems achieved for dozens of blokes like me, and have always believed that to be the best, you need to work with the best”. Siemsen explains.
Not surprisingly, Siemsen had also been inspired by the results the pair had produced with celebrities such as Guy Sebastian, Osher Günsberg, Rodger Corser, and Pete Murray, who all appeared on the cover of Men’s Health. “It took me months to finally get on to their roster, due to how busy they were, but once I started working with them, I gave them 100 per cent commitment”.
Time to get physical
During his initial interview with the Brabons, Siemsen outlined his goals, as well as the tight timeframe he had set himself. “When we first met with Brian he explained that he wanted to drop a considerable amount of body fat, and increase his strength, stamina and overall health,” says Chief. “In addition he told us we wanted to achieve some marked results within the first eight weeks, before having to present at a number of international conferences. It’s a good thing we specialise in rapid transformations”.
Siemsen went on to explain to the pair that when he walked out on stage at an event, he wanted to do so with a strong physical presence.
On day one of his transformation Siemsen weighed in at 115kgs, with a body fat percentage of 25%, and had a number of niggling injuries that he hoped his new coaches could address while training. To ensure that his training remained consistent, Siemsen asked his EA to enter his sessions for the week ahead into his diary as if it was a high priority meeting. That allowed him to commit to five 1-on-1 coaching sessions, and one SKWOD (group training) session each week for the full eight weeks.
In addition to the training, Siemsen also implemented a results-focused nutrition program, designed specifically for him by Em. “As with most former athletes, especially footballers, one of the first lessons I had to teach Brian was portion control” says Emilie. “And also how to ensure that he was getting enough of the right nutrients in each meal”.
Emilie created a keto-adaptive (no, not just Ketogenic) nutrition program that helped teach his body to use fat as it’s preferred source of energy. Combined with the hybrid-training program designed by Chief, it quite literally turned his body into a fat-burning furnace.
A fresh look at fitness
When talking to Siemsen about his training with the Brabons, he is quick to point out just how different it is to what he did back in his playing days. “Chief has me doing a lot of military-inspired functional movement such as tyre flips and drags, and farmer’s carries. He has also implemented a hell of a lot more unilateral (single limb) work than I have done before, and puts a lot more emphasis on mobility, and quality of movement. If I had been doing this kind of work when I was playing, I’m sure it would have extended my career by years”.
Like any individual working with the Brabon’s, who happen to be over the age of 45, Siemsen began to realise that their approach is quite different to what they had experienced before. “When we are young our training tends to focus heavily on strength, speed and structure (low body fat and more muscle).” Chief explains. “But as we get older the order of priority needs to change. Mobility and stability move towards the top of the list.”
For over 45s Chief believes the pillars of fitness should be in the following order
- Mobility
- Stability
- Strength
- Structure (Body Fat, Musculature, and Bone Density)
- Stamina (Muscular Endurance & Cardio-vascular fitness)
- Speed
The return on investment
Just eight weeks after starting his transformation, Siemsen, as well as those around him, were blown away by his results. He had lost just under 15kg of fat, dropped his body fat percentage down to 14%, and added over 4kgs of lean muscle to his hulking frame.
“Blokes I used to play with reckoned I looked in even better shape than I did back in the day, and I have to admit I actually feel amazing”. Siemsen goes on to explain that “The best part is that the benefits go far beyond just looking and moving better. Improvements in my mental clarity, focus and the ability to resist mental noise have been an absolute game-changer”.
This mental and emotional transformation was just as obvious as his physical one to his friends, family and colleagues. At both work and home he was exuberant, laser-focused and filled with positive energy. This new high-performance mindset soon inspired many of his workmates to start making their own health and fitness a priority, while his kids also began to realise that having a strong work ethic pays off in the end.
