Registered nurse turned strength coach Sheridan Skye reveals how 80% of women skip the one thing that protects their independence as they age, what the cycle syncing trend was actually built on, and why "for research purposes only" means you are the research.

Sheridan Skye spent 15 years as a registered nurse, including intensive care and a stint as a nursing officer in the Air Force, before she left clinical medicine for strength coaching. The turning point was a 75 year old woman who arrived on her ward with osteoporosis, sarcopenia and advanced vascular disease, choosing between an above knee amputation and palliative care. That woman was her grandmother. She now works at the intersection of clinical evidence and the gym floor, with a particular focus on women's health across the lifespan.

Sheridan explains:

• Why only 20% of women resistance train, and what the other 80% are giving up in every decade that follows

• Why so many women's symptoms get normalised for years, including the 70% of PCOS / PMOS cases that go undiagnosed

• Whether Pilates counts as resistance training, and how to tell if you are actually training hard enough

• The rat study the entire cycle syncing trend was built on, and what the research says about training through your cycle

• What a GLP-1 actually does, and why the human data does not support microdosing it for inflammation or longevity

• The three young men who died in her ICU after buying what they thought was testosterone

• How to tell the difference between a credible expert and a credentialed grifter

In This Episode You Will Learn:

(02:00) The patient who changed everything: the ICU admission that made her leave medicine, and the moment she realised medicine cannot give us muscle or bone

(07:40) The 80% problem: childcare, time, and the long-standing medical belief that women's bodies are fragile

(17:55) Why women start from a lower bone baseline than men, and when peak bone mass is actually reached

(23:00) The screening conversation most coaches skip entirely: low energy availability, REDs, and the red flags in your own cycle

(29:04) PCOS explained, why the cysts are not cysts, and the real risk of leaving it untreated

(38:00) Why women's pain gets dismissed, and where resistance training fits alongside the standard activity guidelines

(45:10) Does Pilates count? Mechanical tension versus metabolic stress, and how many days a week women actually need

(58:17) What a GLP-1 agonist does, why skinny is trending again, and the truth about microdosing

(01:08:00) What a peptide is, and why "for research purposes only" means you are the experiment

(01:17:48) The rat study behind cycle syncing, and why you do not need a wearable to tell you that you feel terrible

(01:34:30) Fertility and preconception: when to seek support, the male half nobody screens, and egg freezing as autonomy

(01:39:59) Do women need to lift heavy and jump to protect bone? What the research everyone quotes actually shows

Resources

One Coach: https://one.coach/

Instagram: @sheridanskyefitSubstack: Sheridan Skye on SubstackPre and Post Natal Coaching Specialist Certification: Clean Health | Australian Institute of Fitness

Ariel and Matt reflect on a recent conversation with elite strength coach Sebastian Oreb, diving deep into the mindset shifts required for professional and personal growth. They discuss the power of taking on opportunities before you feel fully ready and how leaning into self-doubt can serve as a powerful indicator that you are successfully stretching your limits.The conversation also breaks down practical programming strategies, including the nuance of "periodizing effort" to avoid burnout and the foundational mechanics of RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion). Finally, the hosts share a comprehensive 8-category exercise audit designed to help anyone build a more balanced, resilient, and high-performing body.

Key Takeaways:

•  (00:09 - 02:07): Embracing the Depth A major takeaway is the importance of putting oneself in positions before feeling 100% prepared. Rather than needing to know everything before starting, coaches and individuals should learn to treat self-doubt as a sign of growth and level up as they go.
• (02:07 - 04:24) The Principle of Periodizing Effort : Maxing out intensity from week one can lead to overwhelming soreness and poor performance. Implementing a gradual scale, like starting with an RPE 7 and working up to a 10 by the end of a program, functions like a "runup"—allowing clients to gather the necessary momentum to break through plateaus.
• (04:20 - 05:47) Understanding RPE and Reps in Reserve : Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and Reps in Reserve (RIR) measure subjective workout effort rather than the literal weight on the bar. An RPE 7 correlates to having about 3 reps left in the tank, an RPE 8 leaves 2 reps, and a 10 means absolute technical failure.
•  (05:47 - 09:59) Lessons from Coaching and Parenting: True leadership means removing distractions so performers can focus purely on execution. Furthermore, introducing strength training early builds body-centered resilience, confidence, and the ability to navigate failure—teaching parents to prepare the child for the path rather than clearing the path for the child.
• (09:59 - 16:08) The 8-Category Movement Audit : To build a balanced body, individuals should audit their weekly routine to ensure it features all eight core movement patterns: horizontal push, horizontal pull, vertical pull, vertical push, knee-dominant squat, hip-dominant squat, hip hinge, and knee flexion. Prioritizing neglected areas like knee flexion (e.g., hamstring curls) helps neutralize the pelvis, correcting posture issues like anterior pelvic tilt.

Resources:

Connect with One Coach: https://one.coach/

Connect with Sebastian Oreb:

Instagram:⁠ @australianstrengthcoach⁠

YouTube:⁠ Australian Strength Coach⁠

Website:⁠ strengthsystem.com

Strength coach Sebastian Oreb, The Australian Strength Coach, reveals why maxing out every week is the reason you stopped getting stronger, how long you should really be resting between heavy sets, and the four-week model behind the heaviest deadlift in human history.

Sebastian is the coach behind Hafthór Björnsson, aka Mountain from Game of Thrones. He coached Thor through breaking multiple world records, including his 510 kilogram deadlift and has since become one of the most sought-after strength coaches in the world. He is also an elite powerlifter in his own right, with multiple Australian records, who started as a 63kg 19-year-old too embarrassed to take his shirt off on Bondi Beach. He is the founder of Strength System and has coached everyone from professional fighters to the strongest people on the planet.

Sebastian explains:

• Why maxing out every week is the fastest way to stall, and the four-week effort model that fixes it

• Why the rest you take between heavy sets is nowhere near long enough, and the eight-minute window nobody can explain

• The eight exercise categories every program should be built from, and how to audit yours tonight

• What a real taper looks like two weeks out from a world record attempt

• Why getting very strong and staying healthy start pulling against each other at the top end

• How he broke Australian records without ever believing he was the best, and why outlasting people beats out-training them

In This Episode You Will Learn:

(01:37) — The Bondi Beach moment: how being a 63kg 19-year-old who was embarrassed to take his shirt off started the whole thing

(13:26) — Why running the same program forever stopped working, and the plateau that made him quit lifting weights entirely

(22:21) — What he learned from Ernie Lilliebridge Sr that mattered more than any programming: the coach-athlete relationship

(28:04)— How a SodaStream seminar in 2016 accidentally put the strongest man on the planet in his gym

(35:27) — 450 to 501 to 505 to 510 to 515: the long-game strategy behind breaking a world record in small increments

(41:35) — Neural recovery, the mysterious eight-minute sweet spot, and how long you should actually be resting between sets

(46:49) — Periodisation of effort explained: the RPE 7, 8, 9, send-it four-week model for breaking plateaus

(01:09:07) — The uncomfortable truth about how he got the Australian record: he simply didn't stop when everyone else did

(01:17:16) — The eight exercise categories he programs from for every single athlete, and this week's action step to audit your own

(01:25:24) — Raising strong daughters: how a 16-year-old squatting 110kg built self-esteem that shows up everywhere

Resources:

Connect with One Coach: https://one.coach/

Connect with Sebastian Oreb:

Instagram: @australianstrengthcoach

YouTube: Australian Strength Coach

Website: strengthsystem.com

Shona Vertue has built one of Australia's strongest fitness brands - over 600,000 Instagram followers and 25,000 people inside her online training system. At the height of that success, she went back to university to study psychology, and in this episode she explains why understanding the mind became just as important as training the body. Drawing on her path through competitive gymnastics, ballet, and personal training, Shona breaks down the biopsychosocial model and why willpower alone rarely explains why people succeed or stall.

The conversation moves through the mechanics of behaviour change: the difference between cognitive load and allostatic load, why self-efficacy predicts whether someone starts a health habit at all, and why a motivation problem is almost always a strategy problem in disguise. Shona introduces behavioural activation - acting before motivation arrives - and makes the case for values-based movement over rigid, aesthetics-driven programming.

She also speaks candidly about her own transitions:, the physiological toll of a difficult break-up, losing her mother, and becoming a mother herself. Across each, her throughline is consistent - health isn't just physical. It's biological, psychological, and social, and real progress means training all three.

In This Episode You Will Learn:

• (00:22:10) Why the biopsychosocial model changes how you coach 

• (00:34:42) Cognitive load vs. allostatic load, and why both matter 

• (01:17:10) Why self-efficacy predicts habit change more than willpower 

• (01:06:31) How behavioural activation builds consistency fast

• (01:43:15) Why motivation follows action, not the other way around 

• (01:28:53) When to hold space for a client, and when to refer out 

• (01:58:47) Why rest is part of progress, not the opposite of it

Resources:
Instagram: @shona_vertue

YouTube: @shona_vertue

Podcast: The Vertue Podcast (also on Spotify)

Health and fitness advice is everywhere right now — the problem is most of it contradicts itself. Raise the Bar is a new podcast powered by One Coach and hosted by Ariel Comeau and Matt Duncan, two coaches with a combined 30 years in the health and performance space, built for people who are tired of quick-fix answers and want to actually understand what works and why.

Raise The Bar brings real conversations with coaches, experts, and high performers who've spent years in the trenches of their field. They dig into the research behind the trends, but they also want the human side — the mistakes, the setbacks, the things nobody puts in a caption. The goal isn't to hand you another rulebook; it's to give you enough context to make smarter calls for your own body and your own life.

Meet the hosts and get a feel for what the show is all about: where the idea came from, what kind of guests to expect, and why they think most health content online is missing the point.

Raise the Bar is a podcast from One Playground and One Coach. Subscribe to catch new episodes each week.