Bruin Barbell in Capalaba, Queensland | Medical and health

Bruin Barbell

Locality: Capalaba, Queensland

Phone: +61 422 994 310

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24.01.2022 Tips for working through injuries Whether its that nagging pain in your hip during a squat, or the sting of your shoulder during bench press, we never want to feel these symptoms of an impending bout of time off from the gym. One missed session can quickly snowball into a week or two off, and now on top of this injury youve missed two weeks of training. ... Stop this nasty roll on in its tracks and still get the work in and limit how far it puts you behind. To be clear, I am not saying train through the pain, or to not see a healthcare professional, the following tips are to be included in a wholistic plan of getting you back injury free. - Train opposite body parts: If youve injured your upper body, time to increase the volume of your lower body workouts. Use this opportunity to push the envelope on volume & recovery and push hard for a few weeks and keep your routine discipline in check. Dont be afraid of developing one part more than the other though, as youll catch up once your upper body is clear of injury. - Train opposite limb: If its only one limb injured, and if it is safe to do so, train the other limb. While you wont be directly working the injured limb, by exercising the uninjured side you will still receive a training effect to this area. - Regress your exercises: If your back squat has been giving you pain, seek treatment, and also try regressing the exercise back to another squat pattern exercise. Realise that the regression wont be forever and using this workaround solution will allow you to return to back squatting. The best thing you can do when injured, after seeking treatment, is to keep up your good habits and train around your injuries for a short time. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and Ill get back to you. Leave a comment and sign up to our email list today to get these posts before they are released on our social media.

23.01.2022 As week three of my 10 week challenge is coming to a close, Ive made the time to reflect back on the first three weeks, what worked, what could have been done better and how I am going with achieving my goal. I know its often a hard or inconvenient task to perform self-reflection, trust me it has taken some time for me to reach this step, often because its an uncomfortable experience. What got me past that though was realising do I want to stick with my current level of di...scomfort, (Feeling out of shape, not looking the way I want and all of the rest) or do I want to take on a new level of discomfort to reach a level I havent been at before. So far the challenge has been going to plan, Ive lost around two kilos, feeling better in my clothing and enjoying my training sessions. All of which wouldnt be possible if I wasnt growing better at being comfortable with the uncomfortable. How willing are you to become comfortable being uncomfortable? Comment below what you are doing today thats pushing the boundaries of your comfort level, so you can rise up. Have a great Tuesday everyone! See more

22.01.2022 https://instagram.com/p/BgFP5NsjLOm/

22.01.2022 Sound up! Here is part 1 of 2 on this mini lower back series. Today I had @the.weekendathlete demonstrate three lower back exercises to help manage stiffness and tension. Pelvic Rocks Fishhooks Cat Camel ... As always if you found this post useful, leave a like, comment and all we ask is you share with a friend and like the page! Have a great Thursday all, and stay tuned for part 2! See more

21.01.2022 Want to catch up on your start to the week? Get your sweat on during our 5:30 Strength session, full of good things like barbells, barbells and even some kettlebells come lift heavy things and get strong

20.01.2022 @mayatimms smashing out her check in session this morning, this was part of the following circuit Front foot elevated Lunge DB bench press DB row Due to being a satellite client we only have an hour so we keep to the essentials of our training, and get after it each session! Join the team, become a satellite client and start your fitness journey the right way. Check the link in the bio.

20.01.2022 Fundamentals Class Who is it for? Our Fundamentals Class is for lifters who have been weight training for a relatively short amount of time (Between 6 months to two years) ... What will you get out of it? As the name suggests, this class is based on the fundamentals of lifting, which includes, squats, hip hinge, lunge, carries, push, pull, core. This class will focus on increasing your training knowledge, while also giving you a clear path of progression, all you need to do is turn up ready to put in work to get the goals you want. Fundamentals expects quality effort from our members, so to ensure we provide you with quality in turn we cap the class numbers to 5 per session. Where is it? It is at elite performance gym, just off Redland bay Rd in Capalaba, the initial class timetable is: Starting next week, March 25th Monday - 9:15am Tuesday - 6:45am Wednesday - 6:45am Friday - 7:00am How much? This months special, join by 31st March and get two weeks complimentary PT! (That's 2 x45 minute sessions a week) Fundamentals Class is 10$ per session, bring a buddy and receive a complimentary 1-1 session, book in for your session today! See more

20.01.2022 Use it or lose it How often do you find yourself with a niggling pain and thinking, I swear I didnt feel this sore when I was younger? Dont worry, you arent the only one. We are all guilty of leaving it a little bit longer than we should between sessions, sometimes taking weeks off in between workouts. Over that time, we may not even realise that we get a little bit stiffer, it gets a little bit harder to get out of the chair, our upper body gets tighter and tight...er. Thats why its important to maintain the daily discipline to move a little bit every day. While it may grow heavy sometimes, making the time to regularly exercise and regularly making healthy eating choices, it is small price to pay to fortify and ensure you keep moving well and living a life with quality movement Become anti-fragile by exercising and moving regularly, this doesnt have to be working out for 90 minutes everyday, all it has to be is something that fits into your life. Try the following: Parking the car further away and getting in more steps Take five minutes a few times a day to do a mobility exercise Get a few mates together and join a social sporting competition Do anything you enjoy doing that helps you express movement The discipline of exercise and eating well is a heavy burden, but not being able to use your body to the best it can is an even heavier burden to carry. If you find the thought of exercise hard to swallow and a chore, reframe it as a chance to show what your body is capable of and enjoy the gift of movement. Remember youve only got one body, so look after it and treat it like you would treat a loved one. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and Ill get back to you. Leave a comment and sign up to our email list today to get these posts before they are released on our social media.

20.01.2022 What is sports specific training?How do we improve our performance on the field? What can take an athlete to the next level? A well-designed program addressing their functional limitations, while improving their overall levels of strength and conditioning? Or some flashy exercise often performed on some form of balance/stability platform or ball? Its the flash that catches our attention and what looks good for the gram leads to better athletic performance surely. As a coach ...I firmly believe that to get better at your sport you need to train and play (working on techniques and tactics) but if you want to improve your athletic development you need to pair that with a well-structured strength and conditioning program, no need to combine them like some coaches believe. Bottom line, if you want to get better at your sport do more of your sport, if you want to improve your fitness and aspects of your athleticism strength train smartly to decrease injury risk and build a resiliency How do we improve our athleticism? Stop doing conditioning drills with an unnecessary skill component (This doesnt include small sided games which have the purpose of including both skill and con) Have a purpose for each session/week/training block. Dont jump between wanting to focus on muscle building to wanting to increase strength to increasing agility. Prioritise whats important and work from there. Really look at your sport and position and understand what you need to work on. If you are a second rower in league/union your first point of call will most likely be increasing/maintain strength as you need to make more tackles and runs compared to faster outside backs. One program wont work for all. You are an individual and you will have different needs to the athlete next to you and opposing you Get a coach who understands all of the above and focuses on movement quality over total weight moved. If you want sports specific training, focus on doing well at technical training sessions and putting in consistent effort during your gym sessions and ditch the flashy balance exercises. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and Ill get back to you. See more

20.01.2022 Thanks to the @themovementfix For this gem We are a sum of all your choices, every choice you have made up to this moment has lead you to right here and right now. With your health and fitness it is the little details that make the most profound impact on the type of results you get and the time frame in which you achieve those results. By sticking to your program on the days you dont feel like it, by making the choice to eat in tonight the meal you made on Sunday even though ubereats is calling your name, these choices shape us. What are you doing today that is helping shape the here and now of tomorrows you?

19.01.2022 How to balance lifting and cardio Regardless which side of the fence you fall on, weights or cardio goer, hopefully this post can help you enjoy the best of both worlds. Either you do too much of one or too much of the other and you arent sure how to get the best of both ... So, you decide to start doing more cardio, after a few weeks you find that your still not where you want to be, in fact your strength sessions start suffering and you hit a plateau with the weights you are using. Now you are stuck in this middle ground, what to do now? How do we get the most out of our training? - For the least interference and best results, leave a minimum 6-hour gap between strength/hypertrophy sessions and cardio session, ideally perform either on alternating days so you are fully recovered - Chose cardio that causes least muscle damage, cycling will cause less muscle damage while also ensuring you receive and aerobic benefit - Perform either lower intensity longer duration cardio or higher intensity shorter duration, if you are new to training and looking for a cardio option I would encourage you begin with lower intensity sessions instead of jumping into higher intensity - If you have to fit in cardio on the same day you lift weights, try and alternate which section of the body is used, for example if you train lower body strength perform an upper body cardio option (example: Ski erg, rower machine) as this will have the least interference. You can have the best of both, and see improvements in your overall health, you just need to schedule it in appropriately to get the maximum benefit. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and Ill get back to you. Leave a comment and sign up to our email list today to get these posts before they are released on our social media.

17.01.2022 Why you should use a plan Fast Results Now! - I think its only human sometimes to see those three words and immediately be drawn to them. Especially if you arent where you want to be, or youve set an end goal that seems too far from reach at the moment. The temptation to program hop is a real deal during this stage, and sometimes you will jump onto the new best thing. What will often happen though is you spend another 8 weeks on this new thing, and all youve been rewarde...d is spending more time spinning your wheels. While I would love everyone take a hard-line measure every workout to the last detail approach, it really doesnt have to be like that. A better way to go about planning and progressing along to your fitness goals is to: - Set a big goal: This is your pie in the sky, what youll eventually get to after putting in the work. - Set smaller goals to action on every day: Want to lose X amount of weight? Great! However, dont think you can do it in one night and one kale salad later, big goals require a daily process to achieve them. Set out the steps of what you will do each day to get that big goal. - Log your training: A simple log on what youve been doing at the gym will allow you to identify why you arent recovering from that leg workout even though its been five days and you still have major DOMS. Open up the notes section of your phone, put in todays date and put in your workouts (Exercise/Sets/Reps/Weight) and youll see where you are progressing - Plan out your training: Taking the log your training an extra step, plan out your weekly sessions so you can recover enough and make the most out of your time. Dont buy into the hype of fast results, remember you are an individual and your results will only be a result of your hard work and willingness. So enjoy the process of it and try out some of the tips above. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and Ill get back to you. Leave a comment and sign up to our email list today to get these posts before they are released on our social media.

17.01.2022 Get into the spirit of easter this week and guess how many eggs are in the jar and go the draw to win 2 weeks free gym membership and two weeks complimentary personal training. Comment below your guess, and the prize winner will be announced tomorrow at 10:00am!

16.01.2022 Rest Pause Training What is rest pause training? Training to voluntary failure over multiple sets until a rep target is hit. Each time a failure point is reached, this is one set. Between sets rest for 30 seconds before trying to get as many reps. ... For Barbell Curls it would look like 25kgs for 30 reps. Set one 12 reps/30 seconds rest/ Set Two 8 reps/30 seconds rest/ Set Three - 6 reps/30 seconds rest/ Set Four - 4 Reps How to use it? Just like any programming strategy there is a time and place for rest pause training due to the increased volume of this strategy it would be best placed during volume blocks where we want to increase our work capacity. I like to use rest pause training for periods of either increased volume needs, or when clients are short on time. I cant stress enough though that this should primarily be used over a short term of programming, about four to six weeks of a program, to prevent a plateau in your training and is ideally placed in the back end of sessions with primarily isolation exercises. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and Ill get back to you. Leave a comment and sign up to our email list today to get these posts before they are released on our social media.

16.01.2022 Is time under tension the only way to grow our muscles? A common misconception I hear is that to grow muscles you really need to go slow each rep, with a focus on a certain tempo, for example 4-2-1-0. While time under tension can cause an increase in metabolites, we still dont know the exact effect metabolites and muscle damage has on actual muscle hypertrophy. However total overall volume, which can be measured in total hard sets performed per muscle group per week, is a ...proven driver for muscle growth, and an overall easier way to track in your training. When you lift you should instead aim for a controlled lowering phase without an extended eccentric, to cash in on the stretch reflex and maximising the concentric phase. Thats not to say tempo training isnt a useful tool in program design, it can be used to improve positioning during a lift - I use them to help groove squat patterns, this allows clients to feel where their weight should be during the lowering and bottom position. They can also be implemented when working through an injury or a return to training as the increased total time of a tempo set will be a limiting factor on total load/intensity lifted. If you use time under tension leave a comment below so we can discuss about it! Want me to cover more about training? Leave a comment below on what you would like to hear more about.

16.01.2022 Get the most out of your Circuit Training Circuit training has been all the rage in group fitness the past few years, from Crossfit to F45 to FitStop there seems to be a million different places to get your circuit fix. While some love group training its not for everyone, or you simply may not enjoy the exercises of choice or lack of individualisation. When I first got into weights I began with Crossfit, and I really enjoyed the team and community environment, but found t...hat I wanted to work on certain areas of fitness more than others. I wanted something that was more about me, while still enjoying circuit training. How can you set up an efficient and effective circuit training session in your own programming if you arent training in a group fitness environment? Heres your guide: Warm up: Dynamic warm up, involving activation and mobility work for 5-10 minutes Workout: Strength movement (Either upper body or lower body) 20 minutes Circuit: - Lower body Bilateral movement (RDL/Front Squat) - Upper body Bilateral Movement (Pull up/Bench Press) - Lower body Unilateral movement (Walking Lunge, SL RDL) - Upper body Unilateral movement (Single Arm Press, Single Arm row) - Core/Rest - Repeat for either time (20 minutes) or for total rounds (3-5 rounds) And there you have it, use the above template and slip in exercises that you enjoy and off you go. Let me know in the comments below how you enjoy the template and what your circuits look like. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and Ill get back to you. Leave a comment and sign up to our email list today to get these posts before they are released on our social media.

15.01.2022 @mayatimms crushing her leg workout with a juicy tri set of hip thrusters, dumbbell squats and trap bar deadlifts. Get after it this Friday and crush your workouts.

14.01.2022 Be resilient not broken How many times have you been told/heard people say, Don’t do that, you’ll put your back out. Now don’t get me wrong, form is always more important than weight, I cannot stress that enough. Even in my day to day activities I’ll make sure I am set up in a strong bottom squat position or hinge position when I go to pick up anything off the ground. However, it perplexes me when I hear the above phrase get thrown around, as it builds a mindset of fragilit...y for almost everyone that hears it. You are a strong human being, full of strong muscles and bones that can do amazing things with your body. Now feel free to save that and repeat it to yourself when you need to. This mindset goes another step further when people are afraid of lifting weights, as they think lifting weights will hurt them. Lifting weights is the solution to building a strong and resilient body! Build a program that makes you anti-fragile An antifragile program is my first go to. This will involve compound and isolated exercises, incorporating single limb exercises as well, that engage all areas of the body, to ensure that you build a full body program. Get a second opinion If you’ve been told to avoid weights, or doing X activity, seek a second opinion, from either another professional in that discipline or a similar discipline. Remember you don’t have to one or the other indefinitely, it helps to have two opinions and analyse both before making a change. Start where you can You don’t need to go down to your local strength gym and sign up to their next brutal group challenge or start training twice a day two-hour session each. Start where your current level is, this can be going for a longer walk, could be fitting in another few sets or exercises to your current program. You’ll be able to build up over time, making a change for life in the process. Let’s ditch fragile and focus on being the most anti-fragile and robust versions of ourselves, you are strong human being and your body is capable of amazing things, when you put in the discipline and time to train it.

12.01.2022 Today is all about ankles and calves! Locked up ankles or tight calves? Enough with the calf pumps and static stretching, instead take them through a loaded full range of motion. My two tips: Encourage joint space in the ankle by adding banded distraction while simultaneously going through as full a range as possible. ... Then, load the extra range youve just achieved and reinforce the pattern, using the kettlebell to load each side and to create further range. These two tips are useful before a lower body squat day, but can also be incorporated as active recovery or for overall joint hygiene. If you found these tips useful, please share with just one friend who you want to help with their calves and ankles, and as always thank you for your support!

11.01.2022 Do you need to back squat? Its easy to get surrounded by the dogma of the fitness industry and to stay on one side of the belief set that you originally start with when you enter the training world. You are either a barbell guru, a follower of all things Crossfit or any multiple other sub group you choose to identify with. I personally love anything to do with a barbell, and I really enjoy back squatting but that doesnt mean I make it compulsory for my clients to barbell ba...ck squat. As a coach though Ive come to the realisation that to be the best coaches we can be, you need to drop your association and instead plan and program for the client in front of you, not for the client based on you. Enjoy the infograph, if there are any points you want to take up with me, leave them in the comments section below. As always, if you havent signed up to our email list to receive content ahead of time and monthly workouts, head over to our Instagram page now and hit the link to join!

11.01.2022 March madness : dont slow down on your fitness goals, time to pick it up a year We are ten weeks into the new year, you started off with the best of intentions but have now found that initial fire of change starting to wane or completely extinguished all together. Youve missed a few sessions, and the excuses are starting to swallow you up. You need to get out of this and fast, or it will be back to square one for your 2020 resolution. How can you get back on the path and ...start kicking goals? Accountability buddy: Pick a friend with similar interests to you, they could be someone you go to gym or classes with and help each other get where you both want to be. Tell each other when youll be going to gym at the start of the week and keep the other one to the schedule. You wont want to let your buddy down and they wont let you down either. Your why (rehash why its important to you): Your why can be for aesthetics, better health, wanting to do more and be capable of more. Whatever your why is, write it down and keep it somewhere you can constantly see it in your day to day, because motivation wanes but having it there as a reminder will remind you why that early wake up is worth it. Take responsibility and stop passing the blame: I dont have time Ive got a headache I wont work out today Ill make it up next week These are common excuses Ive heard from people who say they want to get healthier but wont take responsibility for their own health. No one else is going to lift those weights for you, no one is going to take your health and wellbeing more seriously than you. Dont leave it for tomorrow or for someone else, take care of you. Build momentum: Dont over commit and fail again and again, start small and build up the tallies in the win column, use that momentum to keep you going. Dont say youll workout six days a week starting Monday, if you are currently only working out once or not at all. Start with committing to three times a week and really commit to that for three to five weeks. Once youve hit that goal, reassess and see if you can commit to increasing three times to five times a week, build that unstoppable momentum. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and Ill get back to you. How are you going to make a difference this March? Let me know below

10.01.2022 Get after it this Monday and look after your legs!

10.01.2022 Recovery done right You put in the sweat and hard work during your sessions, absolutely crushing your numbers, and now youve got the next 24-48 hours ahead of you before your next session. What is there to do now? You trained hard, now its time to recover harder. Keep it simple with your recovery, do what you can and do it often. Unless you have a massage therapist handy to give you a massage, below are some straight forward ways to make the most of your training by doing...Continue reading

09.01.2022 Mobility Monday: Loaded Stretching - Tight Quads After a long day sitting like me your quads will sometimes feel tight and stiff, Loaded stretching is a great way to save time and avoid awkward positions such as the first stretch I showed. WARNING: As this requires a certain level of balance and coordination take your time to learn how to properly perform the stretch. Tips/application: Elevate both front and back foot (can be with steps, can be with weight plates) ensure elev...ation is high enough to drop your knee below foot level. Slowly lower the knee and hold position once stretch is felt. Hold for 30 seconds, or drop deeper if stretching sensation passes. Repeat on other side. Perform as part of self maintenance or before lower body days as a way to warm up. If you found this useful like/share/comment and spread the word, and get after it this Monday See more

09.01.2022 What is sports specific training? How do we improve our performance on the field? What can take an athlete to the next level? A well-designed program addressing their functional limitations, while improving their overall levels of strength and conditioning? Or some flashy exercise often performed on some form of balance/stability platform or ball? Its the flash that catches our attention and what looks good for the gram leads to better athletic performance surely. As a coach... I firmly believe that to get better at your sport you need to train and play (working on techniques and tactics) but if you want to improve your athletic development you need to pair that with a well-structured strength and conditioning program, no need to combine them like some coaches believe. Bottom line, if you want to get better at your sport do more of your sport, if you want to improve your fitness and aspects of your athleticism strength train smartly to decrease injury risk and build a resiliency How do we improve our athleticism? Stop doing conditioning drills with an unnecessary skill component (This doesnt include small sided games which have the purpose of including both skill and con) Have a purpose for each session/week/training block. Dont jump between wanting to focus on muscle building to wanting to increase strength to increasing agility. Prioritise whats important and work from there. Really look at your sport and position and understand what you need to work on. If you are a second rower in league/union your first point of call will most likely be increasing/maintain strength as you need to make more tackles and runs compared to faster outside backs. One program wont work for all. You are an individual and you will have different needs to the athlete next to you and opposing you Get a coach who understands all of the above and focuses on movement quality over total weight moved If you want sports specific training, focus on doing well at technical training sessions and putting in consistent effort during your gym sessions and ditch the flashy balance exercises. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and Ill get back to you. Leave a comment and sign up to our email list today to get these posts before they are released on our social media.

09.01.2022 Do this one workout for huge arms Gotcha! Now that you’ve been successfully click baited with my catchy title, let’s talk about the fallacy in believing that one workout will lead to X result, in this case Huge arms.... I’ve seen this often, an elite level athlete or Insta Famous personality will post a workout saying, Do this to get X, just like me, you’ll see how ripped they are and think that this workout is how they got there, not due to their elite genetics and years spent training. It is understandable to be drawn to headlines and captions like the one above, it screams at us for the quick fix that we need and gives us the step by step on how to do it. It takes more than one workout though to increase in any area of fitness, like any body composition change you won’t suddenly grow kilograms of muscle after one workout nor will one energy dense meal make you overweight. Do the following and you’ll get those results you are after. Train hard over time: Ensuring you are training at a high enough intensity for lengthy periods of time will lead to progressive overload as you continue to grow and require greater stimulus. Increase volume for focus areas: If there is a particular area you want to improve on, drop weekly sets for other body parts to a maintenance level and rapidly increase the amount of total sets for the desired part. An example of this would be to increase total working sets for biceps from 14-18 sets per week to 28-35 sets per week, ensuring of course you are recovering enough between sessions. Tracking improvement: How do you know if your lagging body part is improving if you aren’t measuring your process? You can do the following - measure the circumference of the area, while tensed - take progress photos every four to six weeks, that way you won’t drive yourself crazy trying to notice a difference each week in photos track rep range improvements, if you go from doing 10kg bicep curls for reps of 10, to reps of 15 over a four-week period this will most likely be due to increased muscle tissue in this area. Remember, results take hard work and time to come through, so don’t see an alluring headline and think that’s the final solution you need, you deserve better than a click bait title. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and I’ll get back to you. Leave a comment and sign up to our email list today to get these posts before they are released on our social media.

08.01.2022 Do this one workout for huge arms Gotcha! Now that youve been successfully click baited with my catchy title, lets talk about the fallacy in believing that one workout will lead to X result, in this case Huge arms.... Ive seen this often, an elite level athlete or Insta Famous personality will post a workout saying, Do this to get X, just like me, youll see how ripped they are and think that this workout is how they got there, not due to their elite genetics and years spent training. It is understandable to be drawn to headlines and captions like the one above, it screams at us for the quick fix that we need and gives us the step by step on how to do it. It takes more than one workout though to increase in any area of fitness, like any body composition change you wont suddenly grow kilograms of muscle after one workout nor will one energy dense meal make you overweight. Do the following and youll get those results you are after. Train hard over time: Ensuring you are training at a high enough intensity for lengthy periods of time will lead to progressive overload as you continue to grow and require greater stimulus. Increase volume for focus areas: If there is a particular area you want to improve on, drop weekly sets for other body parts to a maintenance level and rapidly increase the amount of total sets for the desired part. An example of this would be to increase total working sets for biceps from 14-18 sets per week to 28-35 sets per week, ensuring of course you are recovering enough between sessions. Tracking improvement: How do you know if your lagging body part is improving if you arent measuring your process? You can do the following - measure the circumference of the area, while tensed - take progress photos every four to six weeks, that way you wont drive yourself crazy trying to notice a difference each week in photos track rep range improvements, if you go from doing 10kg bicep curls for reps of 10, to reps of 15 over a four-week period this will most likely be due to increased muscle tissue in this area. Remember, results take hard work and time to come through, so dont see an alluring headline and think thats the final solution you need, you deserve better than a click bait title. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and Ill get back to you. Leave a comment and sign up to our email list today to get these posts before they are released on our social media.

07.01.2022 How do you start the recovery process after your session? @erinpeedeen going through some breathing cycles after an intense legs session yesterday, blog post coming later today and check out her workout in todays story! Have a great Tuesday everyone

06.01.2022 Friday Fix: Tight Hamstrings Got tight hamstrings? Well lets not shoot the messenger, it might not be your hamstrings that are the main reason. Look at the hips first test yourself for anterior or posterior tilt, if you tip forward your hamstrings are likely to be stretched and weak at the same time. So lets work those muscles that let you stabilise at the hip. All things glutes! First, isolate and work then directly through the clams... Second, integrate into more complex movement such as the squat, bending more at the hip so the glutes are prioritised. Third, Cable pull throughs, working on creating the right relationship between glutes and hamstrings Get after it and enjoy! As always if you found this useful please share with one friend who will also find this useful!

05.01.2022 What does evidence based coaching mean? If one thing grinds my gears, it’s seeing good people getting turned over for a cheap buck by coaches who don’t really care about them, or don’t care enough to try and know more. I believe training needs to be, goals based, goal specific, balanced risk/reward and ultimately fun, most often in that order. To me this is one part of being an evidence-based coach, a mixture of both research-based principles and anecdotal evidence to guide i...n my prescription for clients. Evidence based coaching is more than being a PubMed Warrior, who reads one abstract they read on a training and bases their next 12 weeks of training on what one study said, it’s looking at a subject as a whole and understanding the whole breadth of literature and using personal anecdote to decide whether there is an actual practical application. I am such a believer in being an evidence-based coach for people who are tired of being lied to, because they don’t know any better, as I was one of those people when I first started lifting weights. A core part of Bruin Barbell and my own coaching is that I am here to get results for regular people, who are interested in lifting and making positive change to their physique. Use this checklist to make sure your coach is the best fit for you: o Does it get harder over time? If training doesn’t get harder over time, you likely aren’t working hard enough. o Is it structured? Do you have periods of working on one particular area of fitness, while maintaining others, and you cycle through these periods over a long time? o Do you know why you are doing the exercises you are doing? If they can’t explain to you why you are doing this exercise, they haven’t put the time into you or your progress o Know what you want from training, or you’ll just be sold by the best seller and not necessarily what’s best for you For some it’s a hard reality to accept that fitness won’t just happen overnight and requires a certain level of dedication and discipline to achieve the physique goals you want. I encourage you to find a coach who is willing to help you and guide you to your goals, and not one that promises you the world after one session, remember that fitness and health is for a life time and not just the next 45 minutes.

04.01.2022 Want a better squat? Hit a plateau in your squat numbers? Or picked up a nagging pinch that wont go away? Sometimes you feel burnt out with the squat and its just not grooving. Its normal in any training history to hit a momentary stall, however dont let it stick for too long. Get back to lifting better and heavier with a few of these tips.... - Take a de-load: When you keep training at a high intensity and in a certain rep scheme for an extended time with little drop in intensity or volume you are bound to hit a roadblock. If you arent recovering between sessions or your strength hasnt increased after two to three weeks of training dont be afraid to take a week of decreased volume and intensity to ensure you are recovering. - Change the variation: If you arent working towards a specific goal, like a weightlifting/powerlifting meet you dont actually need to keep the back squat in your program. If your back-squat numbers have stalled switch back squats in for a pin squat or front squats for a period of 4-5 weeks and return to back squats again if you want or keep in the variation for a while. - Change the volume: Its important to go between training blocks of high volume/low intensity and low volume/higher intensity and not stay in one block for too long. So if youve spent the last 10-16 weeks at a high intensity you should look into progressing into a volume block so you can train at higher reps for a while. When youve hit a road block with your back squats dont be afraid to change up your training style by working with some of the principles Ive outlined above. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and Ill get back to you. Leave a comment and sign up to our email list today to get these posts before they are released on our social media.

03.01.2022 High reps lightweight x infinity = max gains, right? Training to failure every set would be one of the most frequent training misconceptions Ive seen in the gym and around training. Why should you? When you are short on time and you make the conscious decision beforehand that this session you will train a movement to failure. It isnt a golden ticket to gains, just like other volume strategies (myo reps, drop sets) training to failure should be implemented as another tool i...n the training box and not one singular way to train. When should you? Failed reps can sometimes sneak up on us and leave a session either under done because you cant complete all the volume required or mean you arent fully recovered yet. Training to failure should be used towards the end of a session, with isolation movements (Bicep curls, leg extensions) and on the last set on compounds if you are interested in seeing how you are improving on a certain lift. While you shouldnt train to failure in every session due to increased recovery time needed between sessions, do implement them in a planned over reaching phase of your training. Go hard for a week or two when you know you have a rest period going up, this will allow you to get more out of your training sessions while also ensuring you can recover. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and Ill get back to you. Leave a comment and sign up to our email list today to get these posts before they are released on our social media.

03.01.2022 Do we need supplements to make the gains? Do we need supplements to get all the gains? Short answer no, if you are consuming adequate amounts of protein and carbohydrate while training with a high enough intensity over a consistent period of time you will make gains. What supplements you should try - Caffeine, Whey Protein and Creatine ... These supplements have proven legal performance enhancers and beneficial for gaining muscle and increasing strength. Caffeine Suppress tiredness 1-3 mg/kg/day Pre-Workout to enhance performance 0.9-2.6mg/kg/day Whey Protein Meet daily PRO requirements As a meal replacement/easy to go meal Not necessary if you are already consuming enough protein in your diet with whole foods Creatine Dosing (0.04 g/kg/day) No need to super dose to rush to resting levels, just take 0.04g/kg/day Increases readily available energy, allowing a more intense workout Popular other supplements you dont really need: BCAAs I confess I didnt know why I bought my first, and only, package of BCAAs. I was keen to try something new and I like drinking sweet things. While it was a nice something to sip on between sets or before a workout, it didnt take my workouts to the next level. It ended up being an expensive cordial to have with my daily creatine. BCAAs will provide little to no benefit if protein intake is already high enough, as Branch Chain Amino Acids are found in protein sources anyway. So instead, ensure you are consuming quality sources of lean protein, such as chicken to ensure you are hitting your targets. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and Ill get back to you. Leave a comment letting me know what supps you use and find useful and sign up to our email list today to get these posts before they are released on our social media.

02.01.2022 How to track your progress Sometimes its hard to tell where you are with your fitness journey, and we start to think Man this fitness stuff is a lot of effort. It helps to keep us on track by seeing how we are progressing. Due to the changes we are trying to make it takes extended periods of training, time and patience to see the results that we want. ... Solution Performance - Increasing the amount of reps performed at a certain weight. At the end of a block of training, on the last set of an exercise perform as many reps as possible for the weight youve been using the previous weeks, if at that weight you usually perform 6-8 reps but during this AMRAP you perform 10+, thats a win and thats progress - Increase in the weight used. If at the start of the block you were squatting 80kgs, and finished the block at 90kgs that is an increase in strength and potentially an increase in fat free mass (Muscle mass) Taking an even further look at progress over time, look back to weight you were using six months ago to your current program now - Getting better at the movement. When you start a new block and have a new exercise it takes some time to get good at the actual movement, getting better at moving is actually a big improvement. To keep you on track pick a few of the above performance measures and start to aim up and enjoying the process of your training, rushing to your end goal wont make you get there any faster so fall in with the process and working hard each session. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and Ill get back to you. Leave a comment and sign up to our email list today to get these posts before they are released on our social media.

02.01.2022 From my personal experience Ive started fitness kicks not really knowing the why I am doing it, yes I would say, Oh cause I want to lose some weight. but I never dug any deeper into my why. I didnt find what my real driving force was, and that let me down. Weve all been there, why do 8 week challenges, fit in 30 days and new years resolutions over promise and under deliver?? Its because we dont get to the why it is important to us. How I discovered my driving force wa...s by taking some time to really contemplate why I wanted to get down to my goal weight. I dug deeper than I want to lose weight. My driving force became I wanted to feel better about my-self image, I wanted to do extraordinary things with my body by becoming the strongest version of myself, I wanted to be proud of not just the final product but also completing the steps that it would take me to get there, the hard work and hard times included. When we dig deeper into the driving reason behind a behaviour change, we take out the guesswork of why we are doing it and that gives us a game plan to execute and to trust in when we come against the challenges ahead of us, it becomes an essential part to a successful behaviour change. What drives you to achieve your goals? Leave a comment or send me a message telling me what drives you, it can be personal goals, health goals, business goals or anything you are looking at improving on. Have a great Monday Team! See more

02.01.2022 Start recovering better Previously Ive posted about recovery, Recovery done right, and I covered stretching, foam rolling and water immersion. If you havent had a chance yet to read, go back and have a quick read. A part of the process is going through slumps and peaks in our training, during the slumps we feel like not going to the gym from being so sore and beaten up. Use the following along with the active recovery techniques from my previous post. ... Schedule down time This can tie in some active recovery if thats what you enjoy doing (Like going to the park kicking the footy around, or going for a walk) The main aim is to create a stress-free environment, so do something you enjoy. Regular sleep schedule The whole point of schedules is to keep things on track, the same is for sleeping. By having a regular bed time and wake up time you will begin to make the most out of your sleep. Also, if you have a bad nights sleep, you can make up for it with naps through the day when possible but keep them before 4pm. Track your recovery We train hard sometimes and need to make sure we arent going too far or seeing if we are training hard enough. I use the following variables to see how I am recovering. Nutrition Quality of sleep Tiredness sensation Training willingness Soreness scale Get the most from your training and dial in your recovery game. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and Ill get back to you. Leave a comment and sign up to our email list today to get these posts before they are released on our social media.

02.01.2022 Sound up! Here is part 2 of 2 on this mini lower back series. @the.weekendathlete with the assist today demonstrating the following three staples of lower back training. Side plank McGill crunch ... Bird-Dog As always if you found this post useful, leave a like, comment and all we ask is you share with a friend and like the page! Have a great weekend all, and stay tuned for a two part series on the knee. See more

01.01.2022 Thoughts on training the female athlete Often in gyms Ill see a couple working out together going set for set on each exercise, the guy leading the way. For most female clients this is their first introduction into free weights and resistance training. Is this the best way to train though, or are you leaving a lot of room to progress on the gym floor? When I first started training clients program sets & rep ranges looked very similar, over time though I found my female clie...nts responded and were able to recover from increased volume when compared to my male clients. Most guy workouts will look like six to eight exercises, completing three sets by ten to fifteen reps, done four to five or times a week, for most female clients this simply isnt enough volume to promote any serious growth. While male gym goers for the most part will respond well to higher training loads (Higher % of RM) and moderate amounts of volume. Current recommendations and from what Ive seen anecdotally, female athletes achieve better results higher volumes of training. Lets break it down really quick, both anecdotally and current research suggests the following in relation to volume landmarks. Male training week: Total volume per muscle group: 10-15 sets Female training week: Total volume per muscle group: 20 + sets per group Disclosure: The sets measured here are hardworking sets (3-5 reps from failure), so if you are just sitting on the leg extension and cruising through dont even expect for a minute that those sets count for the above. If you are new to lifting weights adjust your volume to the lower end of the spectrum, 10-12 sets per major muscle group. If youve been lifting for six months plus, run a training block with more sets, monitor how you are recovering and see how your performance and physique improves. Its important for female gym goers to make sure they are hitting enough volume during the week and move on form training like small men and personalise their training to make the most out of their time in the gym. Want to know more? Shoot me a message or a DM and Ill get back to you. Leave a comment and sign up to our email list today to get these posts before they are released on our social media.

01.01.2022 I am guilty of going too hard too soon, and to be honest Ive started my fitness journey more times than I can remember and have quit it just as many times before. And each time I start again I just want to lift all the weight I was lifting before, regardless of the fact that I may not have trained for ten weeks. How often have you jumped straight into the brand new program, religiously gone to that new class for three weeks, or tried to lift all the weight in the gym? Cause ...if it aint bending you're just pretending, right?Its important in our training that we take a step back, especially when we are starting again. Trust me I want to run head first into a new program and PR every sessions but long term success requires patience and persistence to what is in front of us, because what does it matter if I cant stick to this new program, all Ill be left with is having to start again, and I refuse to start again as I choose long term success. What about you, do you want to be constantly starting again? Or do you want to make the best of whats in front of you? If you are going to keep smashing through your workouts leave a weight below, and share this post with your friends to show them that you wont be stopping anytime soon. See more