Gary Heshiki

Gary Heshiki Sydney based Physical Therapist and American trained strength and conditioning coach.

Gary offers a variety of exercise and therapy programs to aid in your health goals. Individuals of all ages and fitness levels can benefit from improving muscle and movement quality to alleviate common aches and pains. Gary Heshiki is a Gold Coast based fitness professional bridging the gap between living and thriving.

11/06/2026

A simple explanation as to why your rehab exercise isn’t working.
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Collaborative work is understood implicitly by professionals and patients alike. Yet this detail gets forgotten when it comes to exercise itself. Where getting it done is what matters.
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I care that things get done, but done well. And part of this, is that it’s felt in the appropriate areas of the body.
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If I’m rehabbing a hip or a shoulder. And I expect one area of the body to contract, but you tell me it’s in your neck only. See how that doesn’t add up (makes sense to me if it’s a shoulder, doesn’t make it any more right though)?
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Try to coach the motion to be more balanced, if this fails I go to a manually resisted force to directly oppose what I want. If both fail, there’s a good chance this joint can’t actually achieve this position well enough to do this specific drill.

10/06/2026

Got asked for a reactive strength set up for shoulders.
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This pendulum poor man’s reverse hyper is a great way to do it. You just need some sort of strap to hook over a barbell with a band for oscillating forces.

09/06/2026

Here’s an example using a reverse curl machine as how you can set up reactive strength using a machine.
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For any athlete with recurring hamstring issues, it’s definitely something I would play around with.

05/06/2026

In the clinic with
We’re here working on rebuilding reactive strength through the big toe.
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If you enjoyed seeing this peek behind the curtain and would like to see more of how I operate in the clinic, let me know.

27/05/2026

A simple way to load your intrinsic lower leg and foot muscles. What I take away from any one particular exercise is both ex*****on and how you got there. If it’s feeling off, there’s likely some range that you don’t have control or access over

21/05/2026

If you’ve been trying to increase eccentric loading or time under tension, try this simple Bulgarian lunge set up.
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Control the weight coming down before letting go of one dumbbell and continuing to perform the squat as usual.

15/05/2026

How does that feel? Or better where are you feeling that?
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If I’m doing a biceps curl and I don’t feel my biceps, there’s likely something off. Those muscles are still working, but from a sensory perspective something’s missing.
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I was reminded of asking this innocuous question as a means of simplifying my thought process at course. This can be done on your own via active range of motion movements.
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If I lift my arm or perform a squat, I would expect to feel tension and stretch in certain areas of my body. When I don’t or it feels asymmetrical, we now have a finding. That’s where we begin unpacking things during a session. If you’re doing this at home, it’s a process to think is it really a hip problem or do I also have some foot stuff that I haven’t addressed.

05/05/2026

Do you need to fix a “butt wink” during your squat?
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The answer is nuanced and not a simple yes or no.
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If you have no issues to complain about, you’re good!
But…if you have recurring hip or low back issues, read on.
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Generally speaking, you will regress to the position you’re most comfortable in. So if you sit all day, you’re probably going to shift into this position. Conversely, if you spend most of your day in an extended position, this may create a pelvis that doesn’t like to be flexed.
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Regardless of the reason, these are modifiable things. Often times, teaching someone to not let their hips flex is creating other positive changes such better core pressure, control through the lumbar spine, and better force transfer. You’re better because of those things, not because you stopped something that was going to happen anyway.
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Neutral spine is not a fixed position, it’s a range.

29/04/2026

AC Joint Considerations
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Beyond increasing the range of motion, is to rebuild one’s capacity and confidence in a position. Generally speaking, you have limitations in horizontal adduction and internal rotation. Goal one is to get these back asap.
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After that, it’s specific to an individual. Return to activity should be based on the person and not a random timeline. Make the joint function how it’s supposed to and everything else can come progressively in time.

28/04/2026

Got pain on the inside of your ankle? One likely muscle that may need some strengthening is the posterior Tibialis. Most exercises are open chain or keep using your bodyweight (like holding a tennis ball between your heels) and doing calf raises.
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But like with many things, progressive overload can be a bit challenging. Using the ToePro, you can easily target the tib post and load more heavily with the set up I got here. Give it a try if you got a ToePro (not sponsored just a big fan).

Address

120A Fullers Road Chatswood
Sydney, NSW
2067

Opening Hours

2pm - 5pm

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