Northside Movement

This wonder woman has been on point for years.

Exceeding 1000 sessions (and officially a Northside OG), consistently smiling in the studio and when she’s injured or experiencing a ni**le.. she turns up and does what she can anyway.

The magic follows the consistency and at an average of over 4 sessions a week for the year gone.. there’s plenty of it.

This week, we celebrate Kerrie McArthur aka Tip Toes.

A leading teacher on the youth ballet scene, spending hours everyday in front of kids who dream of being international megastars. After a lifetime of physical work, many would think Kez is “active enough”.

She knows better.

She does the one percenters regularly. Loves a Turkish Get Up. And somehow maintains a conversation with whoever is nearby.. even the newborns.. whilst she is getting it done.

In a space built on connections, Kerrie’s warmth is just another reason that a visit to Northside never feels like a chore.

And when secretly asked by the Northside media team about her secret..

“It’s just routine. And determination. And discipline. You’ll always feel better for it. And you can’t not do it.”

Wise words from a wonderful human.

Tomorrow I go in for my 5th surgical procedure on my knee.. a wee little arthroscopy to remove a fragment of loose stuff causing my knee to collapse and buckle, and potentially a little bone shaving.

In and out in a day and back to it in no time.

The whole process has got me thinking.

I’ve had at least 13 MRIs over the years and every time, the language on them can be quite triggering.

If you read them as the truth, both of my knees should’ve spontaneously combusted years ago.

But it’s just information. Useful information, but information.

Outside of that sits the function, the capacity, the feeling, my own interpretation of where things are at.

We could probably call the grouping of all of these factors.. our reality.

It’s the combination of all of these things that helps us better understand where we actually are.

And the only thing I can control is what I do next.

Which brings us to the data-saturated world.

The watches. The tech. The stress tracking, sleep tracking, calorie monitoring.
All creating a sense of hypersensitivity to.. everything.

But at the end of the day, they are just information. Not the reality.

The game of performance, fitness, health — it requires persistence.

And if we find our attention fixated on external validation from tech that simply reminds us we’re on an energetic rollercoaster..

Remember — there are no perfect conditions.

The messy day still counts. The tired session still counts. The imperfect week still counts.

Those that persevere. That show up anyway. Win.

Feeling like a st**fy?

Not that kind you sicko.

We’re talking about the rigidity of your spine.. that thing you were statistically likely to have complained about at least 4 times in the last 7 days.

Here’s the dealio. The gram has told you to..

Squeeze your butt harder all the time because glutes are god.
Brace hard, breathe soft and stand tall at all times.
And of course.. shoulders down and back please and thank you.

It’s all good in the sense of it’s trying to help, but did it?

Probably not. And that’s probably because your back.. isn’t a plank of wood.

It’s 24 vertebrae.. grouped into 3 segments.. with endless connections to muscles, fascia, nerves and more that all require some kind of fluidity and ability to move.

And don’t misconstrue the suggestion of moving your spine into turning yourself into something that replicates an inflatable air dancer that you drove past at the local car yard.. we simply mean to get your priorities in check.

The cervical spine — the top 7 vertebrae that seem to wreak havoc if you own a phone, a computer and a tv.. they need some movement that differs from forward head posture to read a text message.
The thoracic spine — the middle 12 vertebrae that when stiff (aka not fed movement to create a greater sense of freedom and softness) can leave you feeling like Quasimodo.
And the lumbar — the bottom 5 vertebrae that for some reason when a little agitated.. seem to trigger alarm bells that would challenge the volume of the AC/DC Concert in Melbourne last year.

So, you’ve got the 3 sections.
So what’s next?

The five. There’s probably more. Could even be less. But all 5 have earned their place.
1. Thoracic Extensions w/ Foam Roller
2. Seated Spinal CARs
3. Side Lying Chest Openers
4. Segmental Cat Cows
5. Flexion / extension movements (reverse crunch / eccentric sit ups / kneeling cable crunch)
6.
Just like Green Eggs and Ham.
Try them, try them, try them we say.
Restricted range is restricted capacity. The more range you own, the more space you have that you can load, the more capacity you can build, the less you’ll complain about your back because it probably won’t give you the sh*ts. 🙌
Save this for later 📌

We’ve been playing this game for a while now and we’ve been lucky enough to have many play alongside us for years.

The Milestones Of Progress was created to celebrate those that continued to show up.

At 250 sessions you get a spot in the Hall of Fame. (It’s getting BUSY in there)
At 500 sessions you receive a Limited Edition Legends Club T-Shirt designed by the one and only Yves M
And at 1000 sessions.. well, frankly this fizzled out for a while.

We’ve had different ideas for how to recognise the significance of such a milestone and only recently, we landed on something that felt right.

Something a little nostalgic. Something that takes you back to a clubhouse. Something old school.

We knew what we wanted. Bringing it to life in a visually pleasing way.. well, that’s a different story.

Fortunately, our Northside Crew is filled with those that are all about old school.

A huge shoutout to Lachlan Philp from Weekdays Designs for helping us bring the next stage of our milestone recognition to life and keeping it authentically Northside.

An even bigger shoutout to the OGs that are still with us, making Northside all kinds of awesome.

And to the OGs that may have moved on before we finally got here.. we extend a warm, banner-less thank you and an apology for taking our sweet time.

In our 10th year, this is just another ode to the power of the collective.

Not done yet 🧡

Not all group strength training programs are the same.

If you haven’t heard, strength training is all the rage — from teenagers to older adults and everybody in between. And for good reason.

It is one of the most powerful ways to stop the body from wasting away, which for most humans begins from our late 20s and on.

Not only does it fight the impending atrophy of our muscle mass and bone density — it builds a structure that allows us to experience more.

More adventures. More play. More keeping up. More living.

And if that hasn’t got you thinking this is for you — when done well enough, for long enough, it changes your self-perception. Your capacity increases, confidence skyrockets and the way you hold yourself completely changes.

A few years ago, strength training made a resurgence.

Our fitness industry loves a shiny thing and for a while the masses were taken down a different path.

Light dumbbells thrown around whilst cycling?
Reformer + Rower mashed together into some weird reformererg baby?
You get the gist. Shiny.

But now every podcast about longevity, menopause, running, living well — it all points back to a consistent strength training practice.

The problem is the word “strength” gets thrown as a label across all kinds of programs — many designed in a way that only the 20-somethings tolerate. Everyone else gets broken, individual context gets ignored, and the right prescription for a range of different bodies simply doesn’t exist.

Our version is our version.

We’ve spent 10 years building it. We think it’s pretty bloody good.

Swipe to see how it compares. 👉

“SH!t Em, you on the juice?
You’re gigantic* “

Our Wonder Women Athlete is at it again and she is absolutely primed for the Cairns 70.3 this Sunday.

The all natural (Sorry.. no Enhanced Games participation here) and spirited Em has ticked all of the boxes. Literally, all of them.

After the original plan of tackling the Geelong 70.3 fell through thanks to a grumpy old knee.. Em had to recalibrate.

A half iron man in Cairns in the middle of a Melbourne Winter? YES PLEASE.
Let’s just say that we didn’t have to twist her arm.

And before she gets out there and has a red hot crack.. we just wanted to share something.

Often, we celebrate the event day or the glow of a hungry human as they shoot for the stars.
But we think the real celebration is the persistence. The willingness to keep turning up.

And what does turning up look like?

January - 11 hours.
February - 18 Hours.
March - 27 Hours.
April - 42 Hours.
May - 48 Hours.

Over 110 Hours of Swimming, Riding and Running in the last 3 months.
Not to mention at least 2 Strength Sessions + Move Well Mobility every week.

If you’re hungry for performance and building a totally abnormal level of strength, fitness and the occasional passing comment querying whether you’re on performance enhancers.. Take a leaf out of Em’s book.

Show up.
Try hard.
Be patient.
And trust the process.

Go get ‘em this Sunday!

The whole Northside Crew is behind you 🧡

The alarm goes and it’s time to get up. You pull the doona off, make your way up to standing and find.. sticky hips.

The kind which reminds you that things are changing and momentarily has you reminiscing about the rubberiness of your former 20 year old self.
Often, people carry on and think they’re done. Occasionally some opt to stretch.
The stretching sort of helps — but it’s always temporary. And it misses a foundational rule of what the body needs to actually change.
Energy. Load. Intensity. A reason to positively adapt.

Which brings us to one of our biggest Move Well principles — and one of the most important takeaways from the incredible framework created by the clever brains over at .

Passive vs Active Range.

Passive — the positions we can access without considering our control or load bearing capacity in that position. Often found through stretching.
Active — the space we own. A greater sense of freedom with our movement. Found through mobility and strength exercises that prioritise range. Take the hips.
The modern day human has what’s often described as “tight hip flexors.” To alleviate them, people try couch stretches or similar — seeking a lengthening sensation in the front of the hip.
Useful. But this approach doesn’t build capacity.

That’s done through load.
Through intentional work designed to increase both the range we control and the load bearing capacity within that range.
And if you’re athletically minded — or simply aspiring for an active life where you’re doing stuff with your body — gaining a little more hip goes a long way to feeling great, functioning well and kicking arse.

This is one of many concepts woven through our training at Northside — specifically in our Move Well sessions running twice a week, and throughout almost every strength session we program. To help you find more hip and feel all the good that comes from going that extra step beyond stretching — here are five of our favourite hip things you can do anywhere, anytime. Save this for later 📌 🙌🏼

So.. it’s happened.

Black puffer jackets. Ugg boots. Thermal socks. And daily hot chocolates.

Yep. Winter here is.

Loved by some (weirdos). Unaccepted by many (I feel you).

And in the game of health, fitness, growth.. it always seems to feel like we’re playing on level hard all of a sudden.

Sometimes this tension between the aspirational self.. the one that is exercising, feeling good, growth minded and in flow.. is overwhelmed at the lack of free flowing energy and wondering where it could have gone.

It was only months ago that we were hungry for positive change and on fire.

And now?

The only thing on fire is the marshmallows going onto those previously mentioned hot chocolates. (Can you tell I’m hungry?)

Over the last 10 years of Northside, we’ve been here many times before.

The freezing over of momentum and an impending sense of overwhelm. It’s the middle of the school term. Melbourne doing Melbourne things. Energy batteries are almost dead.

And it’s this overwhelm. This strain. That leaves us at a crossroads.

Down one path — stagnation. Remove all the stuff because momentarily it feels easier. Eventually it catches up. The body which needs movement and upkeep.. falls apart.

Or..

The other path — preservation. Not the expansion or hunger of a couple of months ago.. but the commitment to doing something.

Eventually the sun comes out. The desire to adventure, play, move more — all attainable because we kept playing the game.. even if we needed to redefine winning for a moment in time.

Want to Win Winter this year?

Preservation beats stagnation (and coinciding decline) every time.

Keep showing up, even if it looks a little different to what it did in Summer. The sun always comes back.

If you need something to help you keep your fire lit this Winter — you know where we are. 🔥

We certainly won’t let AI create a vanilla, boring training program when we’ve spent decades building our coaching craft..

But.. we’ll absolutely let it go to town creating a visual representation of our Milestones Of Progress recipients for the month of May.

This month we saw..
🥇17 Northsiders move up a Milestone Badge.
⭐️ 1 inducted into the Hall of Fame.
😎And 1 officially promoted to Legend Status — although we all know she already owned that title long before it was official.

Training. Fitness. Getting strong. Trying to create positive change. Working on ourselves.

It’s a never ending game. And honestly — one of the most rewarding games you will ever play.

To win it?

You just need to stay in it. And keep giving it your best.

To every Northsider that reached a new Milestone through May — we see you. We celebrate your effort. And we all think you’re bloody brilliant.

And for our OGs that part of our elusive 1000 session club — there’s a little old school, nostalgic, sports-club-like memorabilia brewing to acknowledge the significance of what you’ve done.
👀

Just in case you missed the memo…

Tonight at 6:40pm we’re diving into all things to do with HIPS & BACK in a MOVE WELL practical work shop.

We’ll be helping you..
- Better understand what it feels like to do focused work to these areas
- Find more space and a greater sense of freedom to move
- Reduce those ever so common feels of stiffness and pain

If you haven’t jumped into a Move Well session before or you’ve moaned about your stiff hips or sore back in the last few days..

Do yourself a favour and pop on down 💁‍♂️

Oh and it’s free.

Book on Momence or DM us to get involved if you’re not currently a member :)