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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

24/09/2025

Does the force velocity curve tell the whole story?

Can the middle build the top?

Some interesting results from my mid thigh pull test yesterday, a true test of maximal strength due to having no velocity, time or much of a skill demand to elicit high forces.

This PB was achieved despite having no exposure to loads >85% 1RM, velocities under 0.6m/s or maximal isometric pushes for over a 12 month period.

It’s a common train of thought that to build maximal force capabilities then we need be exposed to high forces via accelerating heavy loads slowly (like in a heavy squat) - which is absolutely true - but may not be the only method.

High forces can also be created through high rates of acceleration with a variety of masses (including just our own bodyweight)

Heavy strength training will always be a fantastic tool to build high force capabilities, but, as many experience, can have its drawbacks and diminishing returns as you get more experienced with it.

Going from a 200kg squat to a 210kg squat will be marginally performance differences and may take a lot of resources to achieve.

Spreading out your training to cover other high force areas may not only yield continued results in maximal force capabilities, but may also improve much more vital acceleration and velocity based qualities with less beaten up bodies.

17/09/2025

Here’s a breakdown on some of the movement strategies ._ utilised to achieve a crazy 1.634s 10 yard dash (1.644s shown) and take out the fastest time at

It should be noted that these strategies are heavily impacted by the physical capabilities the athletes possesses (not something a cue can always fix short term). Although they are commonly seen amongst a lot of great accelerators, there is no such thing as a perfect technical running model that every athlete be forced into.

11/09/2025

BW calf raises or putting dumbells on your knee for seated calf raises just aren’t enough for high speed athletes looking to improve their plantar flexion capabilities.

The calf can tolerate 6-8x your body weight load and is the muscle that cops most of the brunt during running activities (up to 60%)… that’s heaapppsss.

The ironic thing is, calves tend to be an after thought and get missed a lot in most athletes programs that I chat to when first coming to our facility (usually associated with some pretty low calf strength results).

Loading the calves is just such low hanging fruit in my opinion. From my experience, you don’t even need to do a lot of it to get some great results. A few sets once or twice a week can yield some outrageous results.

10/09/2025

If you’re keen on a free plyo program - drop PLYO in the comments and I’ll DM you the link 💪🏼

Small landing ➡️ Big landings
Double leg ➡️ Single leg
Single effort ➡️ Continuous

Having an understanding of these principles will give you a roadmap of plyometric demands which will dictate will where to start with an athlete and where to end up.

For example, a pogo (double leg, continuous and low landing height) will be a lot less demanding then a triple hop for distance (single leg continuous high landing).

When an athlete reaches these more advanced/end stage plyometric exercises they shouldn’t just remain only doing these exercises. A well rounded plyometric program will adopt plyos from all ends of this continuum to varying degrees of emphasis.

Where abouts and when you put them in the schedule will be heavily dictated by the demands they incur.

04/09/2025

There are lots of qualities to develop as an athlete, strength, power, acceleration, stiffness, coordination, mobility, endurance, the list goes on.

It can be tricky to try and figure out where they all fit in a program, even harder in a session. Here is a quick breakdown of how we like to structure our sessions here at

This breakdown can be adjusted based on the individual athlete and their sporting needs, but, it serves as a great template to draw upon for a wide population.

05/03/2025

Tendons require sufficient load in order to adapt, be managed and be conquered. How we get there needs to be strategic being mindful of doing too little or doing too much.

Here are strategies I’ve liked to utilise when working with athletes that are managing these issues, in particular patella, achilles and hamstring tendons.

In saying that, it’s important to note that there will be individual variances and tendon variances as to how they respond to loading strategies.

13/02/2025

In acceleration, we’re looking at two main things

1) Putting a lot of force into the ground as quickly as possible
2) Directing it behind us so we can project ourselves forward

These drills help athletes get a feel of not only how to put a lot of force into the ground, but also in which positions they should be doing so in order to accelerate powerfully.

These are the options I like to utilise before acceleration focused sessions.

05/12/2024

Day 1 Tokyo - it’s just too sweet 🤘

01/12/2024

1st Place u/102kg at barbell open

105kg Sn**ch | 140kg Clean & Jerk | 245kg Total

Job done, receipts printed.

Big thanks to my family coming out on a late Sunday arvo to support your boy as well as those watching on at home. Very grateful ❤️❤️❤️

Also coach is a wizard - hit him up

19/11/2024

There’s no point in having an extensive list of run drills without first understanding the purpose you’re using each one for.

Drills are a great way to reinforce positions we’re trying to create in high speed running. How you use each one can vary from coach to coach and athlete to athlete.

Here’s a quick run down of some of my go to drills for max velocity that I use with my field based athletes.

The big rocks that I want to be ticking off with these warm ups is:
✅ getting athletes feeling ‘poppy’ off the ground
✅ getting them freely moving in these ‘taller’ positions
✅ getting athletes to effectively use the hips to strike down into the ground.

14/11/2024

You’re never going to be powerful without having some intent in your training

These 3 of many cues that something I’ve found success in creating the outputs required for developing powerful athletes.

What’s your go to cue? Leave a comment below 🔥

06/11/2024

As said recently “rotational power starts from the ground up”

Being powerful in rotation is a key trait many athletes require, namely those that throw, punch, kick and sprint.

Since it’s difficult to quantitatively measure rotational power, lots of various methods have been claimed to build it.

In my opinion, to be powerful in rotation, you first have to be a powerful athlete.

Spending time in various positions developing key force qualities like strength, RFD and the stretch shortening cycle should always be your key focuses while regularly doing your sport.

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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