Optimal Health Exercise Physiology

I'm fussy, apparently. After trying three other practitioners, it seems that expecting evidence-based care is too high a standard for most. But OHEP delivered. My neck didn't get better instantly but it did get better. More importantly, I learned how to strengthen the muscles that caused the issue in the first place, which (I learned) is the only intervention that seems to be supported by reasonable quality evidence in the long term. No magic wands, just personalised evidence-based care.

Yujin was phenomenal to work with. I had a back injury - couldn't flex forward at all, no sitting, walking with a pronounced limp. He worked with me on a progressive program that over a few months got me back to full mobility and a full training load (I'm a distance runner) I particularly appreciated how we started each session with a conversation about progress and goals rather than just jumping into exercises. He clearly cared about my case as an individual rather than just blindly applying a framework.

I had signed up for the Coastrek walk for mental health at the end of last year, but then at the end of January, I tripped and (still unexplainable) broke my hip, which resulted in a full hip replacement. I did not want to cancel the walk, so I contacted OHEP. Thanks to Alister, I was able to walk the 30km only 4 months after the surgery, something most people who I had talked to didn't think would be possible. I am forever grateful and can't recommend Alister and OHEP highly enough!

I started with Optimal Health in January 2020 when I realised it was 10 years since I ruptured my ACL and it had just been downhill from there. Without a doubt, this decision has changed my life for the better. Both Sean and now Alistair have worked with me to build strength, fitness ad mobility that I previously thought impossible. I run now. (I didn't even do that before the accident.) In-person or via telehealth, the Optimal Health team are worth it.

After my Osteoporosis specialist advised me to see an exercise physiologist, I booked in to see Alister at Optimal Health, Melbourne Uni. During my first appointment, I asked Alister to set me a programme I could do from home (with existing equipment), which he did through the Physio App. I have been doing it for 2 months and the results have been really good. I can really see and feel the difference. Thank you so much for your good work.

After surviving Breast cancer my body got to a stage where specific attention was needed to get me back on track. Life has stopped for a bit!
In addition pre existing injuries combined with degeneration required specific attention.
Basically I was a basket case of many injuries and complexity which required a step by step account of how to achieve an optimal outcome.
Having tried, sports physiotherapists, physiotherapists, chiropractors and many forms of alternative therapies, I got to a stage where I needed to get to the bottom of how to deal with the full menu of concerns.
I reached out to the crew at Optimal Health and with the amazing Bianca, I’ve now added the next piece in my jigsaw puzzle to give my body flexibility, independence and freedom.
I’m back into Clinical Pilates, just about to get back into the gym and I know I’m heading in the right direction.
Bianca took the time to listen and put a plan of action into place.
From someone who felt immobile, rusted & squeaky, I’ve now got a pep in my step & my body is on its way back. Forever grateful and I’ll be touching base as I go to see what else I can tweak to give me the freedom of movement I deserve.
Thank you.

The support that Yujin and his team provide is outstanding. I've seen a lot of health practitioners in my time and the team here are elite. Over the past 2 months I have been undertaking sessions remotely via telehealth and it is not only a very convenient way to conduct a session (no driving into the city to find a car park!) but the results have been quite amazing. If you haven't tried telehealth or the team at Optimal Health Exercise Physiology and you are in need of support, please don't hesitate. Telehealth sessions with these guys are just as good as in person. They are extremely focused and my progressions have been better than I could ever have anticipated. Their communication and empathy for my situation is also outstanding.

Cannot speak highly enough of Yujin, Bianca and the OHEP team. They have created a welcoming and supportive environment that's allowed me to regain strength and function and have a blast doing it. They have handled the challenging COVID-19 situation impeccably well—keeping clients informed, providing great customised telehealth options during lockdown and safe, hygienic in-person training in the CBD studio now in-person visits are allowed again. Absolutely the best thing I have done for my physical and mental health.

Lockdown transformed for me because of Optimal Health from an experience of gaining weight and losing fitness to one of building strength. Not only did I get fitter and stronger, but I have begun to deal with underlying issues that have prevented me for years from really exercising. I have learnt to develop fitness and strength safely, at my own pace, because my EP understands how to guide me in that process. I have a sustainable exercise program, and longer-term goals to do things I'd given up on because of what I thought were my physical limits. So lockdown with Optimal Health has been a little miracle for me. Highly recommend these expert EPs, and look forward to continuing in the gym!

After being hit by a garbage truck in 2018, I have been seeing Bianca regularly to assist in recovery from significant injuries.
The competence, support and immense understanding of recovery from injuries has been immaculate and greatly improved the quality of my life.
All the team at Optimal Health Physiology have been helpful, I would recommend to everyone!

I started working with Bianca a few months back, I have always struggled with being over weight and my mental health had significantly declined this year due to many factors with COVID-19 really adding to a decline! I was so unhappy with my weight but my mental health really prevented me from accessing supports. Bianca had me totally at ease, she didn’t throw me in the deep end, she learnt how my body worked and went at such a great pace, I actually began to like moving my body and my mental health significantly improved through this! I am now on a really positive path and Bianca has paved this forward path! I am forever thankful for her help and support as she helped me get better! Thank you for being so understanding and patient and being a generally all round fantastic super human being!

Amazing! I was referred to OHEP when I was struggling with severe back, knee and foot pain, over a year ago. For years, I had struggled with these issues, having seen physiotherapist and Osteo therapists, with no long term results, as they only treated one problem area at a time. When I started working with Bianca, she helped me overcome all those issues to become a stronger person physically, providing exercises and stretches that strengthening and targeted my back, knees and feet. She explained how different exercises strengthened different parts of my body and taught me to be mindful to treat my body right doing everyday activities. With her friendly approach, Bianca helped me mentally push through the challenges I faced too! It was truely a life changing experience for me. Thank you!

Since we were first in lockdown in March I have been undertaking training sessions with Yujin online rather than face to face. At first I was reluctant to try this: I expected to feel self-conscious in a new way, and also that I might find online sessions at home intrusive. But I am so pleased that I tried it out. My strength and flexibility continue to grow, at the same or similar pace as in the gym, and it is such an efficient use of my time —no travelling, and I can fit it in more readily to a working day. Another unexpected benefit has been coming to see any place as a good place to exercise: it frees me from a dependency on gyms and their specialised equipment. Looking now at the uncertain trajectory of our lives in the context of Covid10, the kind of personalised online training that Optimal Health offers seems to be very much the shape of the future.

I have been seeing Yujin and his team for many years and I am much, much stronger in mind and body than 10 years ago and so grateful for the immense value YLEP has added to my life.allowing me to be fit, active, injury free and to take on fun physical challenges that I never imagined being capable of.
Highly recommended and an “essential” service- in hard times especially.

I joined this program because I was in my mid-twenties and living a very unhealthy lifestyle. I didn't like sports or go to the gym and I just felt that my body is not getting younger. So I joined and felt very welcomed here. All the guys were great (shout out to Bianca, Sean & Yujin!) and very helpful to me. They also tailor the program according to your needs and goals. This experience have been very encouraging for me and I learned a lot, both physically and mentally that it is not too late to live a healthier lifestyle. Highly recommended for people who don't know where to start and easily intimated by the gym environment too!

Yujin's knowledge, commitment and approach is outstanding. I've worked with many personal trainers and the science that underpins the programs from an Exercise Physiologist makes all the difference, especially in the context of injuries (minor or major). Yujin has guided me to become stronger and fitter in middle age than I have been in years, if not ever.

After seeking treatment for over 12 months with a Physio 3 times a week to treat a hip/back injury, I was in pain daily and walking with a limp.

I was unable to walk longer than 10 mins before I would need to sit down due to chronic pain. I saw Yujin LIM, with little expectation he would be able to resolve any issue but I thought, what have I got to lose right?

Due to my injury, lack of mobility and increase weight gain, I was sceptical when Yujin said he was going to get me back to running (pre-injury). After 3 sessions, I felt an improvement in mobility, but knew it was a long road with lots of ups and downs and twists and turns along the way.

So where am I at now? I am now back in the gym enjoying full function with no restrictions. The other day I ran 3.2 km on the treadmill on top of a weight/cardio session. What I thought was never going to be an achievable goal, Yujin’s treatment has shown it is possible. The Time, Patience, Dedication and Commitment Yujin has provided. I am now back on track to achieving my fitness goals once again and reversing a couple of of years of missed opportunities in life.

My sessions with Yujin have been life-changing. I'm 68 and have osteoarthritis. I thought that increasing immobility and pain were just part of getting older - something to put up with. Not so! Yujin has worked with me at my pace, building my strength and, just as importantly, my confidence and motivation. His gentle and supportive approach was just what I needed. I'm now moving more freely and have considerably less pain. I'm much more active, including 2 gym sessions a week - something I swore I would never do! I have no hesitation in recommending OHEP.

I started with Optimal Health because I hoped to get more sustainable results than I had achieved through personal trainers (PTs). I had a desire in my senior years to maintain fitness, strength, mobility and enjoyment, but without the continuous run of injuries that characterised my time with PTs. I have not been disappointed in any way. There has not been a single injury that can be attributed to the Optimal Health program. The staff are so highly trained and have a deep understanding of the physiology of the body, combined with a highly-evolved skill to make the exercise specific to the particular individual, meaning that real progress is made. One interesting thing is that it is not necessary to do the intense grunt work that the PTs had me doing, for long periods, with sweat pouring out and leaving me exhausted. Sam at Optimal Health gives me very well chosen exercises that are closely supervised to make sure that the right muscles are being engaged and the set-up is correct. Done very well for a short period of time is much more beneficial than exercises done for a longer time but without the input of the knowledge base of an exercise physiologist. I'm therefore putting in way less time to my exercise program than I used to, but achieving much better results.