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Small group training gets better results Not all group training is created equal. Almost all gyms offer your standard group exercise classes. If you’ve been following our Facebook page, you’ll know our thoughts about that. (Spoiler alert: it’s not going to get you results.) However, our previous post was all about our need to incorporate a social element into workouts. That’s why we offer personalised small group training. Personalised small group training gets results up t

Hamstring injuries, why? If you are on the hamstring merry go round, you need to slow down and work out where it is coming from. Posture would say you tend to stand on one leg, subsequently you turn one of your glutes off pre-disposing one of your hamstrings to be hamstrung. One side the glute does not work, as the primary hip extensor this means the secondary has to do the work of both. Good luck with that. On the other side it will be working more, predisposing it to tigh

The most common areas of weakness I notice when I start with new clients are their hips, glutes, hamstrings and backs. This is usually a result of their desk-sentenced lives as an office worker. Sitting, whether at a desk, on the couch, or in the car is extremely damaging to our health. From a purely musculoskeletal perspective it weakens the hamstrings, glutes and the core muscles of the back and abdomen, tightens the hip flexors and pectoral muscles. All of this resul

How can you know how far you’ve come when you don’t know where you started? It’s pretty hard to measure your progress if you don’t record it. If you want to be successful in your training and not get stuck going nowhere then you need to write thing down. Firstly, recording your workouts helps you develop a plan. When you workout, do you know exactly what you are going to do and how long it will take you? Or do you just aimlessly move from one exercise to the next, doing

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the outcome to change! How often have you set the same or similar goals, approached them in the same way only to end up with the same result each time, you give up or you get nowhere? Being able to set and achieve your goals is an important skill to have, whether those goals are for your athletic abilities, health or any other aspect of your life. Here are some simple rules you can follo

Are you training or are you exercising? To quote Mark Rippetoe - "Exercise is physical activity for its own sake, a workout done for the effect it produces today, during the workout or right after you're through. Training is physical activity done with a longer-term goal in mind, the constituent workouts of which are specifically designed to produce that goal". For most people exercise is perfectly adequate, and there is no arguing that there are many health benefits as

"You love your lunges!" is an expletive I hear from almost all my clients (secretly I think they are beginning to love them too). Here’s why I love them. Lunges are a basic, primitive movement pattern and I believe they have a valuable place in any functional fitness program. The squat and the deadlift often overshadow the lunge, but performed correctly the lunge can be one of the most effective exercises you can use in you training. Regardless of your fitness goals - i

Common sporting shoulder injuries include dislocations, Acromioclavicular joint injuries, rotator cuff injuries, labral tears, thrower's shoulder, biceps injuries, bursitis and fractures. Contact sports such as Rugby, AFL, Wrestling, Ice Hockey, Hockey and boxing to name a few, have a higher rate of dislocations and ACJ injuries. Rotator cuff tears and bicep lesions are more common in sports involving explosive heavy weight lifting or lifting weights above the head, laying sp

Knee injuries have always been a problem for skiers, accounting for roughly 30-40% of ski injuries. The vast majority of knee injuries consist of damage to the ligaments, whether it is an ACL, meniscus or Medial collateral ligament tear. Soft tissue injuries can also occur. Serious injury symptoms Obvious deformity to the knee Total inability to weight bear on the affected leg for 4 steps (i.e. 2 transfers of weight) Large degree of swelling in the knee within a couple of ho

When it comes to push-ups I have seen it all, ‘the snake’, ‘the floor hump’, ‘the stripper butt-lift’, ‘the chicken feeding’, ‘the half-rep master’ the list goes on. Chances are that those examples of poor technique stem from a lack of knowledge and/or a lack of strength. The push-up is one of the best exercises around, they require no equipment, can be performed just about anywhere, there are numerous variations and they are excellent for building body tension. When it come

Rotator cuff strains The rotator cuff muscles balance the forces of the deltoids which act to raise the arm. However the rotator cuff muscles (especially supraspinatus) prevent or limit the head of the humerus moving superiorly when the arm is raised in order to put off impingements. The rortaor cuff consisits of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis. Strains or tearing of the rotator cuff may be caused by overuse, falling on an out stretched arm an

You’re only as strong as your weakest link! How does this relate to fitness? Firstly it’s important to understand what is meant by the term “fitness”. To quote Coach Greg Glassman (founder of crossfit) “There are ten recognized general physical skills. They are cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. You are as fit as you are competent in each of these ten skills”. Suppose each link in your ch

The deadlift, next to the squat, would arguably have to be the most primitive, effective, full body strength building exercise there is. It is a fundamental movement that many bodybuilders, powerlifters, and other athletes use in their programming to gain muscle mass, build strength, and improve their athletic performance. As with any exercise, the deadlift carries an injury risk, which is why it’s important to focus on and maintain good form. So, what does “good form” look l

I read an interesting quote recently “we are born with mobility, but we have to earn stability”. On the surface I agree but really, we have to earn both, they need to work and develop together. Joint mobility and stability are important for everyday function but become even more imperative in athletic movements if you want to avoid injury and maximise performance. What’s the difference between the two? Mobility: Also known as Range of Motion, is the range of movement about

What is the difference between power and strength? Strength refers to the ability to move a certain amount of weight. Power is the ability to move weight quickly (Power = (force x distance)/ time), which is highly beneficial for athletic performance. Training for strength and training for explosive power are not the same thing. When training for strength, speed doesn’t matter. This is certainly not the case when it coms to power development. That is not to say that increasin