For this home workout all you will need is one powerband. I am using a super mini band, but you can make this workout harder by using a higher resistance band for some or all of the exercises.

I spent most of 2017 with upper back pain, around my right scapula. I spent countless hours (and money) at the osteo and physio, to relieve the problem, only for it to raise it's ugly head not too long after. I tried a number of upper back strengthening exercises, none of which seemed to alleviate the problem.

Being a powerlifter, I do a lot of bench pressing. I lift heavy four times a week, and most weeks that includes benching six times. One of the most popular exercises in the gym (especially for men) is the bench press, but you see far less people working on their opposing back muscles. Building a strong back is essential to gaining and maintaining good posture, and if you're someone like me, who is interested in building a bigger bench, it's also essential for bench gains!

In the last few months of last year, I started to feel some shoulder pain while squatting, as frustrating as it was, I found I could push through it and still make some great squat progress. However, I wasn’t making any bench progress. I put this down to going on an overseas holiday and not benching as much during that time. My bench definitely suffers if I don’t keep it up regularly. However, my bench started to go backwards and my shoulder pain increased. I knew it was time to get it checked out (I wanted bench gains!).

Every year I compile a list of my top workout tracks that were released in that year. When I train, I generally listen to rap and RnB. Depending on how I am feeling, I will listen to music that makes me feel happy and positive or even cocky and confident (whatever I need for that day!). Sometimes I use music to distract myself between lifting sets, as to not stress about the weight I am about to lift.

Your glutes are the strongest and largest muscle in your body. Developing your glutes isn't just about making your butt look good in tight pants (that is also an advantage!), but having strong glutes helps in building athletic performance and decreases your risk of injuries.

I've posted a few workouts this year which use minimal equipment. These workouts make it easier to exercise at home or when you are on holidays. Below is another such workout and all you need for this is one dumbbell.

Winter has definitely hit Canberra this last week and so I thought I would put together a workout to get you warm! A full body work-out you can do at the gym or inside the comfort of your own home (with minimal equipment - a kettlebell and a medicine ball).

I run a 12-week challenge a couple of times each year. Not some kind of fast track weight loss challenge, instead it is a program that focuses on good nutrition. Food is the one area that many people struggle with and in this program participants are guided through a framework of how to make food work for them, for life - to aid in weight loss, weight maintenance (even weight gain where needed), fitness and for strength.

I've posted a few workout ideas over the years and this year I plan to do more, to help the people out there who need workout ideas, especially sessions you can do at home, with minimal equipment. The workout below will just require you to have two dumbbells. The ability to interchange the weights to suit the different exercises would be great, but not necessary if you don't have them available. If you feel like an exercise is a little too easy with the dumbbells you have, increase the repetitions you do. If the weight is too heavy, decrease the repetitions.