NIKKI RUBINO
Animal Flow Coach, Strength and Mobility
Experience/Qualifications
• Cert 3 and 4 in Fitness
• Animal Flow coach level 1
Background
Originally studying to become a PT to help my parents with health issues, I realised my passion to help others was so much more rewarding than the videos I was a part of in the advertising world.
Coming from a background as a TV Editor for almost 15years, the sedentary chair life started to plague my body with stiffness, restriction, and pain.
I left the comfort zone of advertising to pursue what I could add to the fitness industry. I believe movement and our bodies are very complex and we are not a one size fits all approach when it comes to training. Every physical body is different and you need to do what works for your own body, finding movements that help counteract your daily activities or the sports you play.
As a kid I loved dancing, karate, gymnastics and swimming. I loved to climb trees and just wanted to play. Early on in my career transition, I discovered the discipline that is Animal Flow®. Think if yoga and breakdancing had a love child!
This discipline opened so many doors in my movement, learning, access to quality coaches, and a global social world, that it is now part of my own and all client's daily practice. Without this interest in movement, I may not have found Jungle Brothers. Having been a member here for 3 years before turning to coach I have literally been through the process myself. Animal Flow and JB programming have gotten me to where I am today and progressing to movement goals I originally deemed impossible.
I have been on a weight loss journey myself! I understand the stories you tell yourself, heck I've told them all to myself too. I changed my relationship with food, found the movement I enjoyed and started to feel the change within myself.
If you're looking for someone to yell at you in combat style & push you to absolute limits then I'm not the trainer for you. If you are interested in finding where your strengths and weaknesses may lie to be a better mover, remain injury-free and see the body transformation results along the way then I'm here to help.
“I've been training with Nikki for over 2yrs now. During that time I have been through a major operation, IVF, and now (happily) a pregnancy. Through all of it, Nikki has adapted my sessions so I could still train without injuring myself.
Nikki also recognises mental health is just as important as physical health. She's an awesome trainer and I would recommend her to everyone!”
Megan C
Barrister
“Nikki is extremely knowledgeable in her field. Over the last 3yrs she has supported me in overcoming a number of sporting injuries. She worked with my Physio to design programs that have helped me to come through stronger that before.
My wife and I were reticent about hiring a PT before we met Nikki. However, we are so lucky to have found someone who put's in incredible effort in program design that delivers results.”
Kevin
Project Manager
Nikki's Faqs
There are only 391 Animal Flow instructors across Aus and NZ, with approx 5000 across the globe. I use a combination of bodyweight movements mixed with loaded resistance training. I feel it is a 2-way street we need strength and range of movement through our joints, just having one or the other doesn't serve us for longevity.
It's the small consistent things done well that serve you and serve you well into the future. Train to see what your body can do, not to punish it for what you may have done!
It's FUN and CREATIVE. There are 6 components to the discipline that you can use as stand-alone elements as drills or let your creativity fly to combine moves into seamless flow sequences. It challenges you and evolves with you as you begin to get stronger and more in control of your body. I loved strength training yet knew I needed mobility work. I find Yoga boring so this bridged the gap between what I liked and what I needed. You can physically feel your improvement which I love, It's brought awareness to my own balance, co-ordination and improved my memory 10fold! It's improved the movement capabilities of my many ranges of clients from teenagers, brain injury clients, young fit and healthy to 74-year-old grandma of 5.
My relationship with food and understanding what makes me feel good and what doesn't. I also can understand the underlying factors as to why I am reaching for certain things. I'm an emotional eater that loves cookies, ice cream and chocolate! Understanding the external factors around me, I can acknowledge and account for some slip-ups and not feel guilty about them. We are all human! I guess I did everything in reverse, I didn't set out to change how I looked. I simply accidentally added extra movement into my day from walking an extra 20min to catch a bus with my friends instead of alone. This extra 40min a day 5 days a week started to make changes in me feeling better and wanting to curb nutrition habits to compliment how I felt. Not the other way around.
I had been following the JB crew for 3 years, I loved their philosophy, community spirit, and approach to programming. I'm one that thrives in a group so I loved the group interaction and chats learning approach. I Loved hearing other people's experiences and the fact we were all at different stages of our coaching journey. I switched into this industry to learn from those I already admire and I loved the laid back, knowledge nuggets, and realness about it all.
It's been great, having trained alongside a lot of the members I had insight into the strengths and weaknesses of their own and what to watch out for. Everyone has been so supportive and positive about having me co-coach alongside Teora and then taking on a few classes on my own. It also has meant that the longer-standing members have been alongside my training journey and proud that the movements I used to struggle with in class I can now do myself and coach. I've been through the process so know how tough and sometimes frustrating the process can be, but also how rewarding it is when you reach a point you've never reached before.
The ability to move freely and pain-free in a way that excites and inspires you!
They compliment each other really well. Taking a step back from the loaded training and focusing on understanding how my body works and where it's limitations lie has put me in good stead to lift heavy again. I'm now back doing loaded movements that used to either cause pain or I was simply too scared to attempt as I didn't trust that my body could do it. Eg lifting anything overhead would leave me feeling anxious, I would avoid it if I could or if I couldn't I'd walk away with so much pain in my lower back for days after.
I now feel confident in exploring what my body is actually capable of and feeling progress in both loaded and bodyweight-only movement.
That there are many types of trainers out there! I feel extremely lucky with the caliber of coaches from around the world I've had access to learn from. There are many tools to have in your trainer toolbox, it's not a one size fits all approach. To me people are like a puzzle, we may seem all chaotic and unstructured at first, but piece by piece we slowly come together to form an end result.
Realising I train better with others. I find it extremely difficult to motivate myself for myself. I need the accountability of being there for someone else whether its a training buddy or the coach themselves. I'll always find something else to do in regards to helping another person and put my own training aside if not structured into my day. As for actual movement hurdles I'm still chasing the elusive tuck balance and chin up!