Our Training Collective

It’s never to late to start!!

"What's the best training split?

This purely depends on your goals.

Getting on stage and aiming for symmetrical shape I would say yes split that s**t up and hit individual muscle groups.

If you want to hit the gym 7 days a week then sure let's look at ways to maybe an upper lower split with a couple of conditioning sessions in there.

Gen pop looking for a healthier life and time restricted due to work and family commitments, then maybe we hit all body a few times a week.

No one program is right or wrong, but what each program should be targeting your own individual goal. If your coach hasn't taken you through a goal setting exercise to make sure your program suits your goal then ask them to.

If you wanna have a chat about your program shoot us a DM"

Putting a face back to the page! 🌟

Everyone probably knows how much Mat hates cameras. But the important part, is how much he, on the other hand, loves benefitting peoples lives through fitness.

As Head Coach of OTC, he is forever dreaming up new ways to help people create habits that stick, see the beauty of proper training & programming, educating people in a way that empowers them to take their wellbeing into their own hands, and find confidence in their physical capabilities.

Now training out of Club Lime East Brisbane - Mat is able to provide 1-ON-1 PTs & Coaching, Group Training & Online Programming - both for general fitness and more specialised sports training. He is also head honcho in programming all of the fitness & training for our upcoming 8 Week challenge 👀

You can still reach him direct from messaging this page, so if you’d like to ask questions, enquire about services or simply chat about how life’s been - send us a DM!

How long has it been since you’ve had a personal day?

In our face-paced, work & success-driven 21st century, there is so much pressure in the opposite direction. We spend so much time working - leaving little to invest in our health.

Remember - that a day with a sleep in, morning walk, sun bake and meal prep - is good for your recovery, mental health, connections with others & nutrition too!

Doesn’t matter what that day looks like - just make sure you TAKE ONE!

The most underrated daily health habit!!!

Daily walks, is the most underrated tool in your health arsenal!!

People are under the belief that they are not doing enough to burn sufficient calories in a walk. But that’s missing the point.

A majority of society we believe these days are living in a heightened stress state. So going and adding a short sharp HiIT session or going for a run are only adding more stress to you system.

The key reasoning we add daily walks into people’s programs are:

Extra movement. Most work in sedentary jobs so some extra steps throughout the day changes this. But also moving promotes blood flow and assists in recovery.

Sun light. How many of you get a daily dose of vitamin D. One key vitamin linked to so many health benefits.

4) Slight form of meditation. I have so many of my work ideas when walking. I actually wrote all of these posts while out walking!

5) There are also fat loss benefits to some extra energy expended. But I want you to focus more on the healthy daily activity levels which will create the healthier lifestyle!

Try it for a week and see what benefits you feel from it!

Conditioning!

Conditioning comes in many different forms, and we aim to have your body in peak condition as a result of it (hence the name!).

We “condition” using accessory movements at the end of a session, so that you are moving more efficiently and/or reducing the risk of injury (leaving the heavy work for the start). Or we are conditioning your aerobic or anaerobic capacity so that you are able to move faster for longer! Both of which, are an integral part of our programming.

We find that using a mix of machines like ski ergs, rowers, air bike and running in conjunction with some dynamic or stability style movements really hits both of the desired intentions.

Check out today’s story for an example of today’s conditioning set!

Train Better. Not More.

Make the most of the sessions you are in the gym.
Progressively overload every time you train.
Hit each session with intensity.
Follow a program with structure & intention.

And then, leave yourself more time for the things that make your soul happy!
How are you spending your Saturday?

Does your training fit your lifestyle?
Or, are you trying to fit your lifestyle into your training?

Where things don’t naturally flow, they won’t work.

One of the BIGGEST MISTAKES that comes to be for those that are trying to ‘get back into it’, is making a bunch of goals that are realistically hard to fit into their day.

Here’s a few hot tips:

💪 Start with 3x sessions per week. NO MORE. Simply make those sessions count. When you can hold consistency & accountability there, start to introduce another 1-2 sessions.

💪 Shorten up your training! 45 Minutes, if completed with intensity, is plenty.

💪 Use spare moments to do all the small things like recovery, mindfulness, and tracking sleep & water.

💪 If you’re a busy person - recognise that. Utilise tools that help. Think / Woolworths Online Delivery.

Your lifestyle won’t change dramatically, but the way that you make your health a priority in among that can.

Sustainable habits make for the best kind of changes & impacts!

Deadlift!!

Number one you must understand how to hinge. This takes time and practice. Ask a coach if you are not comfortable with the hinge.

Once you have that pattern the deadlift is no so daunting. Here are our key tips

- tension throughout your body and into the bar.
- Push the floor away to stand up
- Maintain tension at the top
- Hinge the bar back to the floor.

Simplicity when lifting allows for efficiency and ex*****on.

Having any troubles with your deadlift hit us up!

STRESS MANAGEMENT & RECOVERY

This is one of the biggest topics we focus on with our clients.
Here is WHY!

Our bodies are designed to work with stress and adapt from it. First off this is why stress is good. Stress your muscles and adapt to get stronger!! Boom that’s a win!

But unfortunately the life we live with the addition of work, family, relationships, money, social media and the list goes on. We have a continual state of over stress. And then trying to add training into the mix on insufficient nutrition and sleep. Here is where we will hit trouble. A wise man once said most people don’t over train the under recover. And since that day we have shifted a focus to helping people understand recovery!

Putting some emphasis on recovery will see better results in the gym, you will be more efficient at work and no doubt all your relationships will improve.

Here are some simple recovery or stress management ideas we use with our members:
1. Sleep, nutrition and hydration
2. Walk
3. Mindfulness or meditation
4. Yoga
5. Cold therapy (ice baths or cold showers)
6. Hydrotherapy (getting in the ocean or pool 😜)
7. Saunas or float tanks
8. Stretching or mobility work
9. Compression
10. Massage and or acupuncture

We totally recommend a shift to thinking about the above for you to optimise your training results!!

Balance!!

What is it? 👇
Our belief is that it’s managing all facets of your life to be working in unison to get you to your desired results the most efficient way. Balanced diet to supplement your daily output, healthy sleep patterns, balancing out stress with techniques to over come that.

When it comes down to it, too much of one thing will set you out of balance. When it comes to training and we talk about what’s best: S&C sessions vs HIIT group training vs cycling vs yoga vs Pilates.

Our belief is that by focusing all your time and attention into one facet, you aren’t optimising your training weekly. For example if you were to do HIIT each day or just cycle weekly you are not stressing your bodies ability to adapt and get stronger. Yeah you will get fitter. But, you’ll miss the benefits of strength training. The same principle works for strength training and no conditioning and same to be said with just yoga or Pilates.

Don’t sit all your eggs in one basket with your training. Use each facet of exercise to become the best well rounded athlete you can be!! (Unless of course you are training for one specific sport or event!)

Why we prioritise strength and conditioning over “just exercise”!!

Gone are the days where people believe skinny is hot. Now we look at being strong in body and mind!!

We want to move well and for a long period of time. To do that we need specific programming that targets specific strength and conditioning goals that allow for progress!!

And this is we prioritise tracking your training to know where your current performance lies, and encourage progressive increases in your training with a strategic approach - over the “thrown together” sweat sessions we see so often.