Velvet Steel Health & Performance

Velvet Steel Health & Performance Renee started as a personal trainer and completed her degree in Exercise Physiology at USYD.

Exercise Physiologist & Coach:
- Strength and mobility for pole-dancers
- Pain & Injury rehab/prehab
- Strength & mobility for BJJ/grappling athletes
- Dry needling HER STORY

Renee grew up in Sydney as a classical ballet dancer from a young age, transitioning into a full-time professional training environment at the McDonald College in Sydney, & then auditioned abroad to gain her place at the Dut

ch National Ballet Academy, Amsterdam. Renee’s personal struggles in her early experiences are what inspired her career path into fitness & health, so she could develop the skills and expertise to empower others to lead healthier and happier lives. She is now going on 10 years of industry experience from a trainer, to exercise physiologist, and dry needling practitioner. Renee started out building her PT business through Anytime Fitness North Strathfield followed by spending 2018 - 2021 as head coach/mentor at Alpha Team Fitness Strathfield. Renee is now the owner of her specialised clinic Velvet Steel Health & Performance in Croydon. She is also the trainer for the ballet dancers at the McDonald College, and pole instructor at Love Pole Studio. Renee is endlessly passionate about helping people excel as more high-performing and injury-resilient individuals. She discovered pole-dancing in 2016 to experience first-hand the empowering and community-building atmosphere of pole, together with how athletic and creative it is as a fitness activity. Inspired by the art and the community - Renee is now dedicating her expertise and focus towards helping pole-dancers via research-based strength & mobility training, as well as injury rehab and prevention. Despite whether you are a dancer, aerialist, 9-5 office worker and/or anyone in between - Renee’s purpose is to inspire and empower you to exceed your own expectations - physically and mentally! She is focused on helping you create the ultimate impact when it comes to how you feel and perform for the LONG-TERM.

ARE YOUR FINGERS READY? Tag a friend who's guilty of skipping their warmup 👀✅ It is crucial to warm up our flexor tendon...
19/10/2023

ARE YOUR FINGERS READY? Tag a friend who's guilty of skipping their warmup 👀

✅ It is crucial to warm up our flexor tendons and finger pulleys, not only to mitigate injury risk 🤕 but to optimize your output on the wall during your challenging climbs💪

➡️ As a general suggestion, try starting with 10 pulls in total when warming up, or 20 in total when doing a general conditioning session outside of climbing

✅ We recommend adjusting sets of each grip based on your experience, and needs of your projects that session!

🔷 This simple recruitment drill is based on Emil Abrahamsson's fingerboard routine, which he derived from paper titled "minimising injury and maximising return to play: lessons from engineered ligaments" by Keith Baar

🔥Stay tuned for more content coming your way🙌

✨Introducing a new member to the Velvet Steel Health & Performance team, Chiropractor  ✨------Hi, I'm Mish! 👋😄⠀It is my ...
25/02/2023

✨Introducing a new member to the Velvet Steel Health & Performance team, Chiropractor ✨
------
Hi, I'm Mish! 👋😄⠀

It is my mish-sion is to understand your story and provide optimal care and pathways to whatever goals you may have in sport, as well as living a resilient and pain-free life 🙌

🌟 My passion for my chiropractic career began when I suffered a severe lower back injury at 18. I became inspired to help not only myself, but others in my community to continue doing what they love to do without being disempowered by pain and injury.

🤓 My goal is to combine chiropractic treatment and movement-based medicine in order to progress both the short and long term health of my clients.
------
🙌 Mish is also a climber with a background in weights training, and has always had a strong interest in any athletic pursuit growing up. He is well on his journey for those strong and bendy goals too 😆👊

✨ One thing people don't know about Mish is that he is a avid gamer, lover of all things sci-fi/fantasy

🔥 Bookings opening soon, DM for more info

✨Introducing Renee  , Exercise Physiologist & owner of Velvet Steel Health & Performance✨------Hi, I'm Renee!👋😁It is my ...
25/02/2023

✨Introducing Renee , Exercise Physiologist & owner of Velvet Steel Health & Performance✨
------
Hi, I'm Renee!👋😁

It is my clinic's mission to help you overcome pain and injury, and guide you towards becoming a stronger, bendier, and more resilient athlete for the long-term.

🤸My passion for this career path began with my personal struggles early on as a classical ballet dancer. I know what it feels like to train hard while working against my own body, and the frustration of every setback along the way. My journey inspired me to gain the holistic expertise necessary to empower others to achieve their personal best.

🤓 My approach is to utilize evidence-based injury rehabilitation, strength and mobility training - to help you thrive in your art, sport, and life.
------
🙌 Renee is also a pole teacher, competitive pole dancer, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu enthusiast, with a background in personal training.

✨ One thing you may not know about Renee is that she has a talent for eating enormous amounts of food in one sitting - so never underestimate her! 🤣

🔥 DM to book in 📩

Client results ➡️ Thanks so much for the shoutout Rin-on and I am so happy and excited for all your progress achieved an...
26/08/2021

Client results ➡️ Thanks so much for the shoutout Rin-on and I am so happy and excited for all your progress achieved and to come! 😊🙌💃 REPOST from 🔱 FLEXIBILITY UPDATE 🔱

⚜️ Top: Aug 2021
⚜️ Bottom: July 2021

I thought I hadn’t taken progress pics in a while, but I guess it’s been just under two months! COVID time - so much and yet so little happens on the daily 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’m getting to the point where I’m thiiiis close to the ground. I’m much more comfortable in the end range, and have the sneaking suspicion that my spine/lower back could contribute more to this group project!

I credit this 💡moment to , who I started working with a month ago to rehab my wrist injury after spending MONTHS being misdiagnosed by a chiro, a physio AND a spine doctor (all IN PERSON). I took meds, did ultrasounds, I even rested (that’s real desperation for an aerialist) 🤣

One VIRTUAL session with Renee and a few weeks doing her prescribed exercises was pretty miraculous in comparison. The best part is that she also started identifying other areas where I was blocked. I used to get stiffness in my back at the end of every day, which I always thought was a consequence of aging and a desk job, but with Renee’s exercises I just don’t anymore!

Psyched to keep working with Renee and see if our spine and shoulder work help me in other areas (like, ahem, these splits!)

31/07/2021

⬇️ Full Bridge Series Part 3/4 ⬇️

❗Part 3: Hip extension❗

The next component of maximising your full bridge position is having great hip extension strength (your legs extending behind you ie. glutes on fire🍑🔥). This drill is great for training the gap between your passive and active range range of motion in this position 🙌

Do you want stronger, bendier hips? DM me "tighthips" for info on how I can help 💕

28/07/2021

⬇️ Full Bridge Series Part 2/4 ⬇️

❗Part 2: Lower Back & Glutes❗

I have a question FOR YOU!!! If you were to full cobra right now (lie face down and push up on your hands to extend your back).. and then lift your hands up.... Would you stay there? Or would you come crashing to the ground??😅 The latter means you have a huge deficit between your passive mobility and active capacity to stabilise that range of motion! This may not matter so much for the average joe... but if you are bending on the pole/aerials or other sports with dynamic back extension positions you gotta know it 100% matters!👊

This is simple but SO underrated when it comes to bulletproofing our backs to the demands of poledancing!! How often we stretch ourselves in cobra positions trying to get our backs to bend enough to contort ourselves into shapes on the pole - or in this case, forcing bridge positions that require alot of active back extension!!!!🤔 Training active back extension in a simpler form like this^ should be included in every pole dancer's training regime!🙌

Share with your pole buddies that need to see this! ❤

Here's some food for ya thoughts 🧠:⬇️ If we put effort into training our joints off the pole to move well specific to ou...
17/07/2021

Here's some food for ya thoughts 🧠:

⬇️ If we put effort into training our joints off the pole to move well specific to our needs, things tend to stop hurting
⬇️ When things stop hurting we can train more efficiently 
⬇️ When we can train more efficiently we can get stronger and move better 
⬇️ When we move better and build more strength specific to our demands as poledancers (/other athletes) - we will be more resilient 
⬇️ When we are more resilient, we recover better from stresses, training, and any injuries that pop up along the way because s**t happens and 100% injury prevention does not exist
➡️ We also have a much better time achieving cool s**t 🤣

✅ There is a better solution than ignoring, and you will surprise yourself how much you can improve, adapt, and progress with the right rehab & training stimulus 💪

Hope y'all staying safe and active! ❤

There is always a limit to how many clients one can physically see each day, week, month, year. Which is why social medi...
11/07/2021

There is always a limit to how many clients one can physically see each day, week, month, year. Which is why social media can be such an inspiration to think I can hopefully - in some way, shape, or form - positively connect with more than those that physically cross my path! What a world we live in!!! 🥰

Through sharing many posts, tips, & stories over time, I hope I can inspire you and more people with some of my core messages 👇:

✅ We must seek active solutions to our pains and issues - active work makes the dreams work lol!
✅ If we strengthen and work on actively owning the ranges of motion required of our sport - we will be more resilient and experience less injuries
✅ You are not powerless to your “genetics” or past injuries - and you are capable of changes
✅ Flexibility & mobility is not a talent that you either have or don’t - so much is in our control to improve from where we are
✅ Life is too short to be anyone but your authentic self ❤

10/07/2021

Sound on! 🔊 The THREE most common mistakes people make after getting injured. Which one are you? Tag a friend who needs to see this 🤣

1) The Die-hard: IGNORING it and pushing ahead as usual for as long as possible
2) The Recluse: total rest and inactivity to wait it out.
3) The Massage Fiend: bandaid reliefs - passive modalities such as massage and adjustments without also seeking active solutions.

Bottom line: YES there are times when reduced training & load is necessary, YES there is a time and place for passive treatments to alleviate pain (love a good needle haha). BUT… to not address the real root of the problem (via either ignoring or turning to short-term solutions) - is what leads to the pain/niggle merry-go-round we are all dying to get off! The most commonly misunderstood element of your recovery to pain-free and stronger - is the fact that pains and injuries are directly influenced and fuelled by ACTIVE problems that can only be solved long-term by ACTIVE solutions.

Despite the covid19 hiccups along the road I can't help but still feel so grateful for this journey, and I'm so excited ...
26/06/2021

Despite the covid19 hiccups along the road I can't help but still feel so grateful for this journey, and I'm so excited for the new chapter ahead! 🙏🏼 Thanks for always supporting me.. like you are in this photo hahaha ❤😍🥰

07/06/2021
Now that I think about it... as poledancers we get super weird with our goals i.e. we want to put our foot on our face? ...
04/06/2021

Now that I think about it... as poledancers we get super weird with our goals i.e. we want to put our foot on our face? 🤔🤭😂 What other random stuff do we say we want to do!? Please comment below, I'm intrigued 👇😂

03/06/2021

There is no funner cardio workout than choreo class, am I right!? 🤩 I know for sure I get addicted... and distracted 😅 by the dancing side of pole 🙌 Here's tomorrow night's number for my Friyay lyrical crew 🤩🥰💃
🎶 Sabrina Claudio - Problem with you 🎶

28/05/2021
 knows how to get 'em! Love this shot 🙏🏼💕
23/05/2021

knows how to get 'em! Love this shot 🙏🏼💕

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Shop 3, 125 Croydon Road
Sydney, NSW
2132

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My Story

I grew up in Sydney with an extensive background as a classical ballet dancer, spending 6+ years in a full-time professional training environment at the McDonald College in Sydney, & abroad at the Dutch National Ballet Academy, Amsterdam. It is from this background where I began my journey in fitness & health, leading into over 6 years of industry experience helping my clients as a personal trainer, exercise physiologist, and dry needling practitioner. I am currently Head Coach at Alpha Team Fitness Strathfield & owner of Velvet Steel Fitness.

I am passionate about helping performing artists excel as more high-performing and injury-resilient athletes. I discovered pole-dancing 4 years ago to experience first-hand the empowering and community-building atmosphere of pole, together with how athletic and creative it is as a fitness activity. Inspired by the art and the community - I have dedicated my expertise and focus towards helping pole-dancers via research-based strength & mobility training, as well as injury rehab and prevention.

Despite whether you are a dancer, aerialist, 9-5 office worker or anyone in between - my purpose is to inspire and guide you to exceed your own expectations and shine a light on what is possible - physically and mentally. Through blending the world of functional strength and conditioning, with clinical movement-based medicine - I am dedicated to creating the ultimate impact when it comes to how you feel, look, and perform.

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