AFTER YEARS OF chasing the ideal workout, I’ve certainly had my fair share of fails. I would have paid memberships for five or six gyms over the last decade. I’ve subscribed to Apple Fitness on a number of occasions … then within months cancelled, and countless fitness classes. And yes, I’ve even had a crack at the Hemsworth app. None of these programs changed the way I moved, or more honestly, how I looked, and if I’m even more frank, none were able to keep me motivated.
But this year – as I began my AFL coaching career with an Under-18 Excellence squad – I stumbled onto the ‘Building AFL Players’ program from former Melbourne Demons captain Jack Grimes, and within weeks, I was moving like a footballer instead of one of Russia’s malfunctioning humanoid robots trying to touch its toes. It also showed me that my fitness level was clearly NOT an 8/10. It became quite clear that it was more like a 4/10.
After a few short sessions in the ‘test week’ (as the program calls week one) that’s when it hit me; the AFL workout might just be the ultimate Australian fitness program. Readying Aussie blokes for summer beaches, filling out a suit for a wedding, and of course your Div 6 ressies Grand Final. But more importantly, it works for overall fitness for Aussie men. It’s strong without stiffness, powerful without puffiness, and that’s what makes it so functional.
There’s a reason AFL players are the country’s unofficial fitness idols. They’re not bulked-up bodybuilders or endurance stick figures, they’re walking hybrids of strength, speed, and agility. Their bodies are made for chaos; from leaping on people’s shoulders, to interval sprinting for hours on end, twisting out of tackles, bracing for a hip-and-shoulder, colliding with your head over the footy, and then backing up to do it all again 20 seconds later.
Where a traditional gym program might have you moving one plane at a time, think chest press on Monday mornings before work and leg days that always seems to get skipped, AFL training is about movement with purpose.
In Grimes’ Building AFL Players program, you’re doing short, explosive sprints one day and strength-based stability work the next. The cardio hits harder because it’s built around repeat efforts, the same intervals that make elite players seem tireless by the fourth quarter. The strength work feels different too. It’s not about maxing out; it’s about building usable muscle, the kind that lets you sprint up a hill to catch a train to work, or battle a couch as you move it up the stairs while saving money on removalists.