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Welcome to Pain and Performance Strategies

Brain-Based Training For Uniquely Powerful Results

Working with someone who can train both your body and your nervous system in a targeted way will open hidden doors for you.

If you need more from your body and mind, it may be time to include your nervous system in your daily strategies to improve in the ways that matter most to you.

"We are quick to blame ourselves, but slow to blame our strategies"

Stephen Guise

Health Coaching and Personal Training For Healing and Growth

My name is John McCullough and I am an ACE Certified Health Coach, Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor and Z-Health Master Practitioner in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Whether you are having balance issues, lower back pain, chronic joint issues or you just really want to speed up your tennis serve, discovering the hidden issues in your nervous system can open up new possibilites for reducing pain and enhancing performance.

My approach is an evidence-based process that allows your body and brain to guide every step of the way.

  1. First, we identify your most important goals.
  2. Next, we identify the most important areas holding you back, both in your physiology and nervous system.
  3. Then we identify the specific strategies and exercises that will move you forward as quickly as possible, based on your schedule.

Schedule a free phone consult

The best exercise, stretch, diet or expensive equipment is useless, and possibly destructive, if it doesn’t serve the needs of your body and brain right now.

Brain-Based Training — A Full Spectrum Solution

My training and experience cover a wide range — from debilitating issues, to injury prevention and recovery, to optimizing sports and exercise gains.

Brain-based training can open up new possibilities for stubborn, unresponsive problems that don't respond to anything else, as well as elevate strength, cardio and sports performance.

Remote (Zoom-based) appointments are available.

  • Balance Problems
  • Joint Stiffness
  • Arthritis
  • Low Back Pain
  • Muscle Pain
  • Joint Pain
  • Abdominal and Gut Issues
  • Weight Management
  • Injury Prevention
  • Martial Arts Training
  • Self-Defense training
  • Cardio and Strength Training

Everyone has time for results.

The Science of Hope — For Skeptics

Dealing with chronic issues can feel like swimming in your clothes. In the beginning the problems are often physical, but over time the emotional effects can become the most troublesome. Hoping that things will get better can become a risk that you can't afford.

With brain-based training, hope is based on clear success instead of future promises. Each session is set up so that you will see the results of the work that we are doing, and we can both be confident that we are moving in the direction you want to go.

This is essential to ensure that we are addressing your issues accurately, but it also strengthens motivation and decreases the need for willpower.

Scientists used to believe that the brain stopped changing and developing after about age 25. We now know that this is simply not true. Neurologists now describe our brain as 'plastic' throughout our entire lifespan. This is the new science of hope — with the right interventions, we can literally change the brain at any age.

View a YouTube documentary about Dr. Norman Doidge's book, The Brain's Way of Healing  

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More Videos

Frequently Asked Questions

Brain-based training uses targeted exercises and drills to activate specific parts of the nervous system.

The main advantage is that focusing on what the brain needs can often reduce the time and effort required to get the desired results.

Much of the brain is involved in creating movement, so normal exercises like strength training and joint movements are often used in brain-based training.

Balance training and vision training are also common because these two activities have such a powerful effect on the nervous system.

But the two sides of the brain often need different things, so brain-based training often involves exercises that are only done on one side of the body, at least at first.

We are traditionally taught to always do every exercise on both sides of the body to maintain balance.

But if a joint on only one side of your body is weak or in pain, over time this will usually create a nervous system imbalance that training both sides of the body equally will never correct. Training both sides of the body can even make things worse.

So good brain-based training will first use assessments to identify imbalances in the nervous system, and then use that information to choose exercises and drills designed to bring both sides of the brain into balance with each other.

The truth is that all activities affect the brain, and it is very difficult to do anything that does not have some kind of effect on the nervous system. So in a sense, all training is brain-training.

However, truly effective brain-based training targets specific areas of the nervous system on purpose in order to reduce the amount of time and effort needed to improve the entire system.

Because nerves respond in milliseconds, the effects of each exercise can be tested, and unhelpful exercises can be discarded immediately. This also helps to save time.

So it's the responsibility of a brain-based trainer to be able to identify the areas of the nervous system that are most in need of attention, and to know the easiest and simplest ways to affect them.

Five years ago I took my first course in the Z-Health system, a truly cutting-edge educational curriculum designed to instruct trainers how to apply practical aspects of neurology into their work with clients and classes.

The skills I learned not only transformed my own longstanding issues, they also opened exciting possibilities for me to help my Tai Chi students to improve and move past their limitations. I was continually impressed by the amazing difference that an understanding of neurology could make.

I eventually signed up for and completed the Z-Health Master Practitioner program, an advanced curriculum that involves the completion of the 11 four-day Z-Health certification courses, plus additional advanced material and tests.

The Z-Health system is grounded in the latest and best-supported research, but always returns to the practical by asking: "What exactly can we do to improve people using what we know about the brain?"

Pain is a strategy the brain uses to change its situation or environment.

It is usually a sign that certain parts of the nervous system believe the body is threatened. The brain uses pain to focus efforts from all over the nervous system to reduce the threat.

This is why brain-based training can be so powerfully helpful for people with chronic pain. Since pain is a nervous system strategy, understanding what your nervous system needs can open up powerful opportunities to bring relief.

Booking a Free Phone Consult

If you want to find out more, let's talk. We can figure out your best next step to feeling better — whether that is working together, waiting until your schedule calms down, or finding a different specialist to give you further information and assistance.

Schedule a free phone consult  

Welcome to Pain and Performance Strategies!

My name is John McCullough and I am an experienced T’ai Chi instructor and ACE Certified Health Coach, Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor living in the Charlottesville, Virginia area.

My training and experience cover a wide spectrum — from debilitating issues to optimizing performance in sports and exercise participation.

  • Arthritis
  • Balance and vestibular issues
  • Low Back Pain
  • Chronic abdominal, joint and muscle pain
  • Stiff joints
  • Metabolic, diet and weight issues
  • Muscle development
  • Prehab / Injury prevention (e.g., for an upcoming ski trip, preventing falls)
  • Flexibility training
  • Sports fundamentals
  • Vision Training

My approach always returns to allowing your body to speak for itself.

The best exercise, stretch, diet or equipment is useless, and possibly destructive, if it doesn’t serve the needs of your body and brain right now.

Wherever you are in your movement journey, our session will always focus on you — what you, your body and your nervous system need today to move towards greater freedom and liberated ability, and the best next steps to empower you towards greater enjoyment in movement itself.

Movement is the foundation of life. And the nervous system is the foundation of movement.

You will leave each session with specific drills tailored and tested for you, based on your goals for your body and your life.

The first step is scheduling a free 30-minute phone call during which we can introduce ourselves, you can ask any questions you have, and I can get a basic idea of your health history and future goals.

If we decide to move forward together, we can discuss options for setting up some training or coaching sessions.

Whether you just need a supportive coach in your corner, a little help with fitness or are really stuck with chronic issues that don’t ever seem to improve – let’s talk.