Synergy Strength in Somerville | Sport & recreation

Synergy Strength

Locality: Somerville

Phone: +61 423 053 696

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25.01.2022 HOW TO MAKE AN EXERCISE HARDER Obviously we can add more weight to increase the difficulty of an exercise but what if you don’t have access to tons of kilo’s? There’s only so many soup cans you can put in a backpack! Here are some simple ways to increase difficulty of an exercise to help you get the most out of your training! ... Number of joints used Decreasing the amount of joints used is an easy way to put more stress on the target muscles. Instead of using multiple joints and therefore multiple muscle groups, using minimal joints will recruit less muscle groups leading to a greater amount of stress placed on the specific muscles! Supersets By performing one set of an exercise and then immediately switching to another the amount of recovery time between exercises is reduced. Going into the secondary exercise pre fatigued will make the consecutive set harder and cause more stress! If you’re feeling really daring, pick two exercises that work similar muscles! Tempos & Pauses Slowing down reps by adding tempo or pauses increases the time under tension for the muscles and takes away any momentum. Greater time under tension then requires a greater amount of muscle contraction to occur and by having no momentum to assist you, a more difficult concentric phase! Shorter Rest Times Giving the body a shorter window to recover means the muscles will still be fatigued from prior sets! This then means that not all the muscle fibres are able to contract to the best of their ability and can thus cause the consecutive sets to be more difficult. Instead of resting for 2-3 minutes, set your timer to 1 minute once you complete your set!

25.01.2022 ~ LOW REPS, HIGH WEIGHT TRAINING ~ . Also termed "Strength Training", in this situation I'm describing training of 6 or less reps. . This choice of programming is fantastic to develop strength as you allow the greatest amount load and tension to be placed through the fibres. ... . We avoid going much above 6 reps as this tends to mean the load is too low to illicit a development in strength and rather pushes a more hypertrophic response which isn't bad, it's just not the goal. . We also favour larger rest times between sets so we can perform at high loads without having to decrease due to fatigue. We want to avoid the build up of metabolic by products here so we can execute the movement with proficient technique. Technique rains supreme when working on max strength. . 1 rep to 6 reps tends to be where the load is high enough to drive that improvement in top end strength, this will in turn also create hypertrophy, just not at the rate you would achieve if you were to train at 8-15 rep ranges. See more

24.01.2022 ~ K . I . S . S . ~ . Keep It Simple Stupid . Doing a reverse split squat, on a bosu ball, with one kb overhead, and a resistance band in the other is not 'better' than squatting because you saw Ashy Bines doing it in her latest insta story.... . The simpler the exercise, the more simple the program, the better your results. . The basics have been around for generations probably for a good reason, they work. . These 'new' exercises have nothing compared to the basics. And if your trainer is throwing in 'new' exercises because they saw it on instagram, you need a new trainer. See more

23.01.2022 21 DAYS The Theory of Starting New Habits The 21 Day Habit Theory was first introduced by Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon in the 1950s. ... He discovered that a patient who had, for example a face operation, would need 21 days to get used to seeing their new face. As well as when a patient had a leg amputated, the person would sense a phantom limb for about 21 days before becoming accustomed to the new situation. He came to the conclusion that these, and many other commonly observed phenomena tend to show that it requires a minimum of about 21 days for an old mental image to dissolve and a new one to jell. Thus the term was born, 21 days to start a new habit. So next time you begin a new habit keep it in mind. 21 Days.

23.01.2022 ~ YOU DON'T HAVE TO SQUAT ~ . If you are trying to build your quad size. A back squat is like driving a car with square wheels. . Yeah you'll get to your destination but it's going to take you longer and you're not going to be super efficient. ... . Sled, Split Squat, Leg Press, Goblet squat, Heel elevated Front squats... the list goes on. . Be smart with your programming towards your goal. Be specific. See more

22.01.2022 ~ NO HACKS ~ . There is no smoothie, no shake, no diet that is going to help you lose weight; the principle of eating less than what your body is using will always be the defining factor. . There is no best program, no best split, no perfect rep range. The principles of volume and intensity are the defining factors.... . If you think you can trick your body into losing weight, you have to trick thousands of years of homeostasis and evolution. I just can't see you tricking it? . This 'hack' or 'kickstarts' are just a mask for a reduced calorie intake. This 'Elite program' guaranteeing you 12 inch arms by Christmas is just volume and intensity, and maybe a little bit of Tren. . Keep it simple See more

22.01.2022 CAFFEINE & PERFROMANCE Did you know that caffeine can aid your performance? Say you’re about to go for a run, rub coffee grounds all over your legs and you’ll run a PB time! Okay, it doesn’t actually work like that but consuming between 200-400mg of caffeine before exercise could drastically improve your training results!... Not only has it been shown to increase the endurance capabilities of athletes, but it has also been shown to increase power output, strength, mental sharpness and performance in high-intensity exercise! In a 1,500-meter run, regular coffee drinkers were 4.2 seconds faster than those drinking decaf. Another study found that coffee helped reduce the perception of effort, allowing athletes to work harder. In team sports, caffeine supplements improved passing accuracy in rugby, 500-meter rowing performance and soccer sprint times as well as improving leg muscle power by up to 7% as well as having a positive effect on bench press. Could this be the extra edge your training has been missing? Want to know more? You know where to find us.

21.01.2022 ~ STOP DOING 100's OF REPS ~ . Just because it's burning doesn't mean its growing. . To elicit a hypertrophic response (make you muscles bigger or 'leaner') you need a load greater than 65% of your 1 rep max.... . If you can do 100 reps of the exercise its just not heavy enough to stimulate the muscle to grow . I'll preface this with yes, you could argue you are becoming more aerobically efficient in the muscle, or burning calories. However, loading it and making it harder will burn more calories in less time, so really who wins. See more

19.01.2022 HOW TO WIN THE DAY DURING LOCKDOWN Actionable tasks. These are tasks that you can take some kind of physical action upon, right now! Tasks that, when you complete them, you've (visually/physically/etc) moved closer to whatever your main goal might be!... Each night before bed plan your actionable tasks for the day coming. Keep it simple, focus on 3 main things to do in the day. Feel free to write more and do more but these main 3 are your non-negotiables. Hit those main 3 and if you’re still feeling motivated do a few more but ensuring you hit those 3 ensures you’re on the right path and still chipping away at your goal(s). What are your tasks?

18.01.2022 NEW HABITS REQUIRE SMALL STEPS How many times have you tried to implement something new into your lifestyle but ended up throwing in the towel after a few weeks? Going balls to the wall from the start is almost a guaranteed way to fall short.... Want to make new habits stick? Take a slower approach, easy and achievable steps in the pursuit of the larger goal. For example, If you wanted to start reading, instead of trying to read 8 chapters a day, start by reading 1. Or, if you wanted to eat less chocolate, try and reduce 1-2 blocks a week rather then cutting it all out in one go! Of course it’d be better to be able to jump straight in but 9 times out of 10 taking the more gradual approach will make it feel like less of a challenge and puts you at a improved likelihood to stick with it! Surprisingly enough progressive overload is not only applicable in the gym but also in your day to day life! Starting with lower amounts and slowly increasing your frequency to the stimulus is a much more effective way of going about things and allows you to get the best reinvestment for your time and efforts! Break down the goal. Smaller, more manageable chunks so you can stick with it! Adherence is key so even if you need to reduce the goal to its smallest state, start there and build up.

18.01.2022 JUST START Motivation is low and the days seem never ending but at some point or another, things need to get done and they cant be put off forever! Just start and go from there! Whats the worst that could happen?... You’d be amazed at what can be achieved by just starting. Pick the low hanging fruit, the most attainable items and move from there. Not everything you do has to be pedal to the metal, balls to the wall type shit! Just start the workout, do your warmup and see how you feel. Start unloading the dishwasher and go from there. Walk the dog around the block and see what happens! In the words of a multi billion dollar brand, just do it!

18.01.2022 Why Strength Training? Its no secret that we at Synergy LOVE strength training, in addition to putting on stacks of muscle and kilos on your lifts, Strength and Resistance Training is also a killer way to help use calories and burn fat! During a bout of cardiovascular activity the body will utilise calories to help fuel the activity. Once the activity has ceased the calorie expenditure subsequently ceases too as the stress caused to the body was minimal.... However, when it comes to Strength and Resistance training, not only does the activity cause a net calorie expenditure but it also causes huge amounts of stress to the body and its muscles. In order to recover, the body will use calories and fat stores to help fuel recovery so not only will you burn calories during the effort but you’ll also burn calories hours after! Having a larger amounts of muscle mass is not only great for your lifts in the gym but will also assist in increasing your metabolism as muscle cells nutrients to be used and repaired. The more muscle mass you have, the more nutrients your body needs and therefore increase your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) Need any more reasons to get off the treadmill and into the weight room?!

18.01.2022 ~ INTENSITY ~ . One of the two main factors to create progression . The body will only adapt to a stimulus if it is reaches a high enough intensity. The body adapts (builds strength muscle) if it is placed in a position where it is in 'danger'. Just 'moving the body' is not going to create muscular change.... . You need to push your body to within a handful of repetitions before failure before the body will realise it needs to adapt. . If you are going about your workout and the last few reps still feel similar to the first few, your body will have no reason to change. . This is where having a coach pushing you out of your comfort zone to get those last few reps can really help. See more

15.01.2022 MEAL TIMING WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW It really doesn’t matter! Obviously, its smarter to eat your meals spaced across the day rather than in an all out, free for all, hour of power. ... But if thats all we were to say then this would be a very short post so here are the key things Space out your protein feedings - Your body can only digest and absorb so much protein at one time - More spaced feedings allows for greater muscle protein synthesis - To allow the greatest uptake of protein, aim to spread your protein across the entire day - Ideally, 5-6 meals with 20-40g of protein per meal Carbs pre and post training - This is when your body needs them the most! - Before training to help fuel the session - After training to help recover - No, this is not us saying to demolish 23 bags of sweets but aiming to have a decent source of carbohydrates before and after training will help get that little bit extra out of your sessions No Carbs after 8pm - SIKEEEEEEEE - This is total bollocks so you can rest easy - The time you eat your carbs doesn’t matter - How much carbs you're eating does

15.01.2022 RPE BASED PROGRAMMING Is it right for you? Pro’s ... * Accounts for life * Able to capitalise on good days * Able to reign back on bad days * Better for fatigue management * Allows enough stimulus to be created in order to create adaptations * Useful tool if you don’t know your 1RM Con's * Can be hard to judge intensity * Client bias * Possibility of Undershoots & Overshoots * Learning curve associated with beginners Just like Percentage Based Programming, RPE is another tool in the tool box looking to achieve the same outcome. For individuals who like a bit more structure, % Based may be better. Where RPE really stands out is its ability to allow auto-regulation on a day to day basis. Being able to capitalise on your good days and readjust on your bad is a great way to help progress training as well as manage fatigue through a cycle. Learn when to push and when to pull and you can really make RPE Based Programming work for you!

13.01.2022 HIGH REP / LOW WEIGHT TRAINING Yet another tool for your tool box! High rep, low weight training can be a great programming type to build muscle and keep both your joints and central nervous system happy!... We wouldn’t really recommend doing sets of 15 or above but finding the sweet spot around 10-12 mark is usually most optimal! Sets of 20 reps or more is likely to have been paired with an inadequate load to create a hypertrophic response and will instead create more of a muscle endurance outcome. By choosing the right exercises, training with a high rep, low weight approach allows intensities to be pushed to a greater degree often with a lower accumulation of fatigue. This then allows for a better recovery, less taxed nervous system, happier joints, lessened risk of injury and better gains! This approach would best be used by someone looking to elicit a hypertrophic response in the body and enjoy an inhuman post sesh pump !

13.01.2022 ~ WHY ARCH SO MUCH? ~ REDUCED RANGE OF MOTION Therefore, making it easier to move the weight as the bar has to travel less distance. ... In powerlifting, the goal is to lift the biggest weight possible with the bar having only lightly touch your chest. The more arch you can create means reduced range of motion and is therefore advantageous for the specific sport. UTILISE MORE CHEST Allowing more of your chest when pressing which is a bigger, stronger muscle than your shoulders creates a stronger press. By creating an arch it puts the chest fibres in alignment with gravity allowing them to contract at their peak potential. With no arch the fibres don’t line up and therefore cannot be maximally utilised to push the weight. LESS SHOULDER STRAIN And puts them in a better, safer position when pressing. You have a lot of tendons that run along the front of your shoulder; with an arch the tendons move out of the way and the head of the humerus no longer pushes and stretches those tendons. GREATER LEG DRIVE To a greater extent than flat back pressing. This then assists in providing greater force through your body and into the bar. More tension creates more force which means more weight can be moved. Put it all together with proper, specific programming and watch your bench move and feel better than ever!

13.01.2022 ~ WE ARE SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST PT's ~ . This is our business model. . Synergy means working on all factors of health, simultaneously. Humans are not one dimensional, so your health cannot be either.

12.01.2022 ~ BIGGEST ISSUE ALL CLIENTS FACE ~ . Humans love extremes. Why? because it's easy, balancing between two polar opposites is harder becuase we have to concentrate and we can't lean on structure to tell us we are at the extreme. . Finding a 'neutral' pelvis is one of those balancing acts. People tend to start in the far left (Hello lower back pain, getting all jacked up), then they sway to the far right where they OVER tuck. ... . The middle is the goldilocks porrige, stacking our rib cage over our pelvis and keeping these two in alignment throughout the lift. . It's all well and good to start neutral at the top, but if you get to the bottom of your squat and you look like the far left or far right, you aren't doing a squat you're doing a lower back exercise... . If this is something you struggle with finding, don't hesitate to reach out and we can show you a few drills that will get that pelvis and rib cage moving like best friends in jelly. See more

12.01.2022 PROGRESSIONS AND SETBACKS They’re going to happen, and thats okay! No journey is a straight line, there will be plenty of peaks and troughs along the way but its important to know how to deal with them.... When things are going well, ride that wave baby! Surfs up and you're on, enjoy the waves while the swell is here! As long as you're managing fatigue, volume and executing well you're good! But the swell doesn’t last forever, sooner or later it dies down so its important to be able to recognise and manage this. The most important thing to do is identify why this setback is occurring! Is it something that can be managed? If so, look at improving those areas tat have become more detrimental. If not, then you may just have to bide your time and wait for the waves to roll in. But know, as sure as a dolphin eats fish, the swell will return.

11.01.2022 ~ WE ALL FALL ~ . Everyone fails reps, misses sessions, falls off the wagon. . The fails don’t matter in the long run, it’s about getting back up, and back on the track... . Having someone there, picking you up, and pushing you back on the track does wonders . That’s where we come in, having a coach is having someone in your corner every day of the week! . Join our tribe today by following the link in our bio See more

11.01.2022 DEADLIFTS ARE JUST AS MUCH A PUSH MOVEMENT AS THEY ARE A PULL You need equal parts of both to optimise your deadlift! Too much pushing through the floor, you’ll under utilise your back and wont be able to lock it out.... Too much pulling, you’ll under utilise your legs and wont be able to break it off the floor. When starting the motion we want to push through our legs to break the bar off of the ground. A popular cue is to Push the floor away. Try imagining that the bar is fixed and you're trying to push yourself through the ground. When the bar approaches the knees and the legs are near extension, it is there that we transition to more of a pulling movement. Bringing our hips through to stand tall and finish the motion, we want to be pulling the bar close to our bodies. A popular cue for this part of the lift is to Hump the bar as we reach hip extension and stand tall. Is there one you utilise more than the other?

10.01.2022 Want to learn how to squat but not quite there yet? Heres our favourite way to progress someone who’s never squatted before! *Note* ... We start with the 90/90 hip lift to teach rib cage/pelvis alignment to then carry over into the squat. From there its about the squat pattern itself and learning how your body moves through space during the lift with various loading techniques. Tempos, pauses and other variations may play a part in teaching someone the squat pattern as well!

10.01.2022 ~ RECIPE FOR BUILDING MUSCLE ~ . First we lightly season some Mechanical Tension. Add it to a Medium heat for 3-5 sets. (This is your load in the gym and the duration you are under this load) . When browned, sprinkle in some some Metabolic Stress. This reallly adds to the flavour, be careful, it will probably burn... (This is where you get close to failure)... . Remove from the heat and garnish with Muscle Damage. . You now have a beautifully bigger muscle. See more

07.01.2022 SPECIFICITY A vital programming principle. Imagine specificity being a spectrum. Training should constantly he moving up and down this spectrum!... Defining your goals will help dictate the levels of specificity your training should have. For example An individual preparing for a powerlifting competition would slowly become more specific to the big 3 lifts as the individual gets closer to competition. 18 weeks out the training would be at its least specific, prioritising ranges of motion, higher rep ranges as well as variations of the comp lifts. 12 weeks out rep ranges begin to reduce, amounts of accessories lessen and the big 3 lifts are taking priority. 6 weeks out, rep ranges are prioritised to singles, accessories are at a minimum and the big 3 are the focus. You can see that as things get closer to competition, training specificity moves along the spectrum and gradually increases. Define your goals and have your training progress accordingly.

06.01.2022 SHOULD YOU TRACK YOUR FOOD? Shockingly, you don’t always need to, but it definitely could help If you’re goals align with weight management, performance or body composition, tracking your food intake would be hugely beneficial! ... Not to would be like trying to get somewhere without a map, eventually you may get to your destination after multiple twists, turns and setbacks but you can find your way or at least end up in the general area. Educating yourself on what you are actually putting into your body and knowing what it contains can be hugely beneficial in achieving your goals and it doesn’t need to be done via invasive methods! Tracking macros to the dot is definitely a very effective way to manage your food intake however its not the be all and end all! Want to learn about other methods that we’ve achieved results through with our clients? Shoot us a message!

06.01.2022 Whats The Difference Between A High-Bar Squat To A Low-Bar Squat? Which ones better? Which ones stronger? Which one should you be doing?... Bar Positioning The defining difference between the high bar and low bar squat! For a high bar squat, the bar tends to rest across the traps whereas in a low bar squat it rests further down on the rear deltoids. This difference in bar positioning is then reflected in the lifters torso positioning and therefore causes different degrees of musculature to be involved. Torso Positioning During a high bar squat a lifters torso tends to remain more upright when compared to a low bar squat. This then causes greater flexion of the knees during the lift. A low bar squat however causes a lifter to lean further forward because of the bar being positioned lower down on the back. Musculature Used Due to the upright nature of a high bar squat, greater knee flexion is required in the lift and thus causes a greater demand for the quads to contract. A low bar squat however will recruit more of the hamstrings and glutes as it loads the posterior chain to a higher extent. Range Of Motion Due to the reasons listed above, a low bar squat has a significantly lessened range of motion when compared to a high bar squat. Reduced range of motion means less distance for the bar to travel, less effort required and therefore and easier pathway to move load. This is why powerlifters tend to favour the low bar squat! Next time you get under a bar, have a play around with your positioning and see how it feels! Any questions, hit us up!

06.01.2022 NO ONE CARES No one cares about how much weight you’re lifting, what your 2km time trial is or what your new body fat percentage! Do it anyway! ... Put in the work and clap for your damn self! This is where the difference between ‘Intrinsic’ and ‘Extrinsic’ motivation becomes apparent. ‘Extrinsic’ motivation is the kind you find from sources outside of yourself, doing it to impress the cute girl from class, to chase the records for the sake of it or to gain something in return. ‘Intrinsic’ motivation is the kind that comes from within. It is what fuels your inner fire and leads you to strive to reach your truest potential. The motivation that makes you want to lose weight to feel healthier, to intentionally face the hardship for the bettering of you and only you! Say you’re motivated to go for a 5km run but when you open the door to leave the house you’re hit with a huge gust of freezing cod air, thundering rain and bleak skies. If you’re extrinsically motivated you’re more likely to shut the door, go back inside and sit on the couch watching T.V. However, individuals who are intrinsically motivated are doing it for themselves to better who they are, not go sit back on the couch but instead, go upstairs, put on a jacket before heading out! At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what others think but instead what you think and how you feel about yourself because at the end of the day, its your body, your life and you’re the one who has to live it! Find what drives you, what lights your fire, stoke that bad boy up and don’t forget to clap for your damn self! Rant over.

04.01.2022 ~ GERMAN VOLUME TRAINING ~ . This isn't for the faint hearted. It sucks, I'm not going to lie to you. . This training was popularised into the bodybuilding culutre by the late Charles Poliquin... . Why do it? It is a great mix between building size and building some strength, but mainly pushes hypertrophy if you use the non-modified version . How it works? The base program is taking 2 main movements of the big 6 (or a derivate of them) and performing 10 sets of 10 reps, with 90 seconds rest in between. . Choose a weight you could do 20 reps for; at the start it should feel pretty chill and by set 6 you should be starting to pray to God for the energy to get through to the end. . Then to fill out the session choosing 2 supplementary movements and doing 3 sets of 10. . Example: A1 ) Bench Press 10 x 10 A2) Barbell Row 10 x 10 B1) DB Incline Bench Press 3 x 10 B2) Lat Pull Down or Chin ups 3 x 10 . Another tool for your tool box See more

02.01.2022 CALORIES WHAT ARE THEY? HOW CAN I UTILISE THEM? In the simplest terms, a calorie is a unit of energy and it the bodies main energy source!... When we eat, our body breaks down the foods and in doing so, absorbs the calories (energy) and then uses this to support all movements, actions and bodily functions! We need calories to live! What's great about calories is that they can be manipulated. When we have specific performance or aesthetic goals, manipulating our calories can be a vital part to ensure success in achieving these goals! Some common terms you may have herd are calorie surplus and calorie deficit. When calories eaten are higher than calories burned, weight gain occurs and this is what we would call a Calorie surplus When calories burned are greater than calories eaten, this is where weight loss occurs and what we would call a Calorie deficit If you want to learn more come join our FREE Webinar on Oct 14th! link in the bio to sign up

01.01.2022 INTENT If its worth doing, its worth doing well! Knowing how and when to switch on can be a game changer.... Handle yourself accordingly, but when the time comes, switch on and put the pedal to the floor. Capitalise on the present moment and make the most of what is in-front of you. Being able to flick the switch can allow you to get the most out of both yourself as well as the current opportunity. Treat it like it is, another tool in the tool belt. Whats great is this doesn’t need to be just in the gym but can be anywhere! Fundamental principles such as this can be utilised in countless situations, just pick your moments.