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Matthew Rains Strength & Conditioning

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Sydney, NSW
Matthew Rains Strength & Conditioning

Co-Director and Head of Athletic Development at AVOLVE Performance

09/10/2026

Current upper body I’ve been following for the last month with some good success. Bench is getting both more powerful and stronger to numbers I haven’t hit at this bodyweight.

Love utilising large ROM with accessories for both myself and the athletes I coach in order to not only develop muscle better (recent research suggesting large muscle stretch under load being ideal) but also to keep building resilience that may be exposed in the chaotic sporting environment, explore movement options and hone in on mobility in a variety of ranges.

P1) Speed Bench Press (great power exercise to ensure were developing acceleration force capabilities - also primes nicely for heavy bench after)
A1) Heavy Bench Press
A2) Supinated Chin Ups (using top set to tap into some sheath strength work but to also make the back offs feel lighter and can tend to get more volume)
B1) DB Incline Bench Press
B2) Single Arm Cable Row
C1) Lu Raises (these torch your traps)
C2) GHD Spider Curls (stolen from the grapple king Felipe Lemos-Da Silva | Combat & Youth Sports S&C Coach)
C3) Ball (keep it fun)

08/10/2026

No athlete ever complained about having to strong of a bench press.

This is my go to set up recommendation for nailing the bench press. It’s what helped me achieve a 165kg bench press and what I have found lots of success with working with a variety of athletes.

For athletes playing sports outside of the gym, it’s not about becoming a powerlifter and only focusing on the number. The stimulus achieved from the exercise is the priority in order to help prepare for sporting demands.

However, having a goal in mind of hitting x number can really drive intent and buy in. Not only that, but having a strong stable set up will only allow you to drive more stress and adaptation to help further prepare for your sport.

30/09/2026

Having spent close to 10 years working with rugby teams, I’ve come to know a couple things about the bronco test. One that every player dreads doing it that week 1 or so of pre season and 2, that those who hit sub 4:30 times all have these 3 qualities developed well.

If you’re keen to grab a program that lays out everything for you to smoke your next score, comment ‘BRONCO’ or head over to the link in my bio

16/09/2026

A single leg landmine RDL keeps popping up in my athletes programs and for good reason.

Whenever I give this cue, athletes tend to feel a glute soreness they haven’t ever felt before. Usually a good indicator that this may be training a quality/position that’s typically hard to load on other exercises.

I’m usually a bit skeptical on movements that require a lot of technical control to gain a particular ‘sensation’, but, what makes this work well is how loadable this set up is.

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you!

15/09/2026

Currently experimenting training every day over the past couple months and have been seeing some great return. I’ve made it possible simply with shorter workouts that naturally tend to be better quality than doing my typical bigger more fatiguing days. Get in get out kinda mindset.

I’m also doing a lot of training variety throughout the week which tends to help the load management side of things. It’s not something I would ever really program for others, but, it’s a nice reminder that there are plenty of roads to Rome.

The goal of this program is to become the fastest and most powerful I can possibly be, the dunk was just a nice general goal to throw on and make the plyo loading a bit more engaging.

09/09/2026

Are you actually building developing those elastic structures and fast coordinative pathways? Or are you simply just creating more fatigue and piling on impact loading?

How you perform your plyos can severely effect what outcomes your creating.

Your coaching eye or intent whilst performing plyometrics can be the difference maker between a good program and a useless one - here are 3 big areas I look at when coaching them 💪🏼

Address

142 Maroubra Road, Maroubra
Sydney, NSW
2035

Opening Hours

Monday	5am - 8pm
Tuesday	10am - 5pm
Wednesday	5am - 8pm
Thursday	10am - 5pm
Friday	5am - 8pm

Website

http://www.avolveperformance.com.au/

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