All Articles

How Push-Ups are Punishing Your Posture
How Push-Ups are Punishing Your Posture
The go-to Army exercise for developing bodyweight strength, demonstrating physical prowess (no matter the time or place), or just implementing some “corrective physical training” in the event that someone is taking too long or doing the wrong thing, is the Push-Up. Unfortunately, doing so many push-ups, usually past the point of technical failure, has a bad habit of causing more harm than good. Speaking from personal experience - after a few years in the army, I started to have a persistent, sharp stabbing pain in the front of my shoulders. This was a combination of multiple factors, the two main ones being lazy posture and poor exercise selection for the rest of my training program. Luckily, once I located the source of the pain - my issues were easily fixed, and within a week or two that frustrating shoulder pain was a thing of the past!
What A Veteran Should Look Out For In Their Next Career Move - Part 2
What A Veteran Should Look Out For In Their Next Career Move - Part 2
I know it can be a pain in the ass to find out after you start a new job that it isn’t as exciting as it looked from the outside, but sometimes internal issues can take a little while to manifest. I personally worked for 6 months before encountering my first major issues with my leadership, but I stuck around until the 12 month mark just in case it had been out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, it became progressively worse from there, and I made the decision to finish the year and move on. For the sake of your mental health, make the hard choice. DO NOT stay in any job that is adding extreme levels of stress to your mental wellbeing.
What A Veteran Should Look Out For In Their Next Career Move - Part 1
What A Veteran Should Look Out For In Their Next Career Move - Part 1
I left the Army after 6 years in Infantry. I spent 7 months in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in a close personal protection capacity, and I spent a year instructing soldiers at the School of Infantry in Singleton. I worked with all different types of people, protected US Generals and Australian Colonels in Afghanistan, and trained with men and women from a long list of allied nations. I led small combat teams, gave orders to groups of soldiers and officers on operations, and  instructed multiple courses of over 40 soldiers. Additionally, I wrote and successfully delivered two strategic papers to high level staff. I thought that my range of experiences gave me a good understanding of how to communicate effectively and work efficiently with any group of people. I never thought that after everything I experienced in the army, I would leave a 9 - 5, Monday to Friday job because it had a “toxic work environment”.
Before It's Too Late: Accessing Mental Health Support as an ADF Veteran
Before It's Too Late: Accessing Mental Health Support as an ADF Veteran
As a veteran, you’re entitled to a lot of mental health support, though much of it isn't advertised by DVA. This isn’t surprising, considering  everything you don’t claim is money saved for them. For the crew at Anvil, we consider every resource spent on helping veterans to be well spent - so as a part of the effort to assist those currently  serving and ex-servicemen and women with their wellbeing, we’ve put this guide together for those seeking free mental health consultation.
What the F*ck is the Posterior Chain and Why Should You Give A F*ck?
What the F*ck is the Posterior Chain and Why Should You Give A F*ck?

This is a wake up call for every combat soldier spending 2 hours in the gym a day getting worse at their job.

I left 6 years in Infantry with a deployment to Afghanistan, a year training soldiers at the School of Infantry, more life experiences than I can poke a stick at, some of the best mates I’ll ever know, and a body riddled with injuries. The “demands of the job” is an excuse I have made a thousand times before when my body began to fall apart after long walks carrying over 70% of my own bodyweight, poorly sized equipment, thousands of hours training uncomfortable weapon positions and practicing combat drills all over the worst locations Australia, America and Afghanistan had to offer. Unfortunately like every gym goer with an ego and access to a mirror, my primary focus was on the front of my body. 

Take it from us, if you’re after longevity and excellence in a combat role, stop using the mirror to assess progress and start working on your posterior chain.

Develop your ability to Strain!
Develop your ability to Strain!
Max Effort day is not PR day. It is a day dedicated to building your ability to strain on a specific lift variation. The strain is...
Training Gear - Anvil Powerlifting
Training Gear - Anvil Powerlifting
The first shipment has officially arrived, and we gave it a solid test run during the Lower Body Dynamic work we did today. The hoodie certainly got me sweating!