Inner City Fitness and Inner City CrossFit

💚 FAREWELL SHARON! 💚

Tomorrow we say farewell to the wonderful Sharon, who has been part of the Inner City Fitness family for many years.

Sharon, it has been so great watching you get stronger, fitter and tick off so many fitness goals along the way. You’re an inspiration when it comes to stepping outside your comfort zone, giving things a go and always bringing a smile to the gym.

We’re going to miss the pastries… 🥐😂 but we’re going to miss YOU a whole lot more!

While we’re sad to see you go, we’re so excited for you and this next chapter. 💚

Come and help us give Sharon a proper ICF send-off!

🏋️ Friday 5:30pm — WOD for Sharon
🍻 Drinks & food afterwards
💚 Everyone welcome!

Come train, have a drink and help us celebrate Sharon and all the memories she’s made with us.

We’ll miss you, Sharon! 💚

🎨 THE STORY OF BIG TONY 🎨

You might have noticed some of the old graffiti around our walls getting a bit of a refresh lately.

Thanks to a lovely group of artists working their way around The Pickle District, some of the older pieces are being updated and the walls are looking brighter and fresher. 💚

We were more than happy for them to update one particular piece — affectionately known to us as “Big Tony.”

But then we told them the story behind it… and they decided Big Tony deserved to stay. 😂

So, how did Big Tony come to be?

Many years ago, Nic turned up to work one Saturday morning to find people passed out on our driveway, bottles everywhere, rubbish left behind and our walls tagged after an event next door.

Having dealt with the aftermath one too many times, Nic confronted the event organisers and told them she was pretty fed up with cleaning up the mess every weekend.

They were incredibly apologetic and offered to make things right by painting an artwork over the tagged walls.

“We’ve got a great artist,” they said.

Enter… Big Tony. 🎨😂

Nic happily agreed.

As the artwork started taking shape, it became increasingly apparent that perhaps Big Tony wasn’t quite the great artist we had been promised. 🤣

But we appreciated the effort, Big Tony had given it a crack, and somehow his artwork became part of the gym — even though he never actually finished it.

So it stayed.

And stayed.

And stayed.

Fast forward to now, and when the new artists heard the story, they loved it so much they couldn’t bring themselves to paint over Big Tony.

Instead, they finished his artwork for him.

After all these years…

BIG TONY IS FINALLY FINISHED. 😂🎨

And we’re very happy he’s still part of our wall and the history of Inner City Fitness.

Sometimes the imperfect pieces have the best stories behind them. 💚

EXERCISE LIBRARY #009 — DEADLIFT 🏋️‍♂️

One of the most fundamental strength movements you can learn — pick something up safely, put it back down, and get stronger.

The deadlift trains the body to work as one unit and develops strength that transfers well beyond the gym.

💪 WHY WE LOVE DEADLIFTS

• Build total-body strength and power
• Strengthen the glutes and hamstrings
• Develop a strong posterior chain
• Challenge your core and trunk stability
• Build grip and upper-back strength
• Improve your ability to produce force
• Easily scalable for different ages, abilities and training goals

COACH’S TIP 💡

A good deadlift isn’t about yanking the bar from the floor.

Set your position first. Brace your trunk, keep the bar close, create tension through your whole body and push the floor away as you stand tall.

And remember — good technique comes before adding more weight.

Whether you’re lifting your first kettlebell from the floor or chasing a new deadlift PB, the principle stays the same:

MOVE WELL. BUILD STRENGTH. THEN BUILD LOAD.

Good luck to those doing the City to Surf this weekend and coach Nic doing Sydney marathon 💚

Go John 💚 So proud of John doing solo Hyrox on the weekend.

Glad City of Vincent feels the same as us 💚 no stopping. 🛑 keep going 🤩

EXERCISE LIBRARY #008 — FARMER CARRY 💪

It might be one of the simplest exercises in the gym — pick up something heavy and carry it — but don’t underestimate the Farmer Carry.

This is real-world, functional strength at its best.

🔥 WHY WE LOVE FARMER CARRIES
• Build serious grip and forearm strength
• Strengthen the core without doing a single crunch
• Develop upper-back, shoulder and trap strength
• Challenge the glutes, quads and hamstrings
• Improve posture and stability while moving under load
• Build muscular endurance and work capacity
• Train your whole body to stay strong when fatigued

💡 COACH’S TIP:
Think tall and strong. Brace your core, keep your shoulders set, hold the weights firmly by your sides and walk with controlled, purposeful steps.

And remember — if your grip isn’t being challenged, you can probably carry a little heavier!

Simple. Effective. No fancy equipment required.

GRIP IT. CARRY IT. GET STRONGER.