THE SUMMER OF CHIN UPS

Apparently this will not be the summer of my Barbell Certification.  Me...I need goals.  So it will be the summer of the chin up.  I am at the very assisted band phase which is too dang bad.  Last summer, when I was training for the Strong First Kettlebell Certification, I could do a few with my smallest band.    The smallest is the pin/red band below.  I was almost there.  Now, I am starting all over again...

Me...last week at Gowdy Park...with all three bands.  I am sure I am quite the sight for those people driving to work in the morning.

This is one program I am considering but will look at a few more.

http://www.leighpeele.com/pull-up-workout-chin-up-programhttp://www.leighpeele.com/pull-up-workout-chin-up-program

Strong women...

TRAINING - SOS DAY 2

 

Me...on my journey!  At times, in this blog, I am going to invite you on my journey.  I hope you enjoy the process as much as I will.

 

The barbell class is an hour long and we only (at least so far) do two moves plus an awesome hip warm up.  (My hips thanked me.) 

Last Thursday we did the deadlift...

On my last set, I was able to pull 185 pounds and it felt easy and it was after 5:30 PM.  Since the certification, I've been unable to get past 175.  Why the improvement?  There is nothing like good coaching.  Mike Perry, co-owner of SOS, is a great coach.  He notices the big and, more importantly, the small imperfections in your technique. 

Steve, shown in the video below, is a coach at SOS and he was one of my coaches at the SFG.




and the barbell squat...

I made the decisions to start very light (unlike the chica above).  I haven't done much barbell squatting recently and I had some concerns.  I really wanted to work on technique.  One tweak by Mike made the concern I had disappear.  With my arms in the correct position and my concern disappeared. 

The hour flew by and I felt pumped, motivated and invigorated after the class.  I am hooked...

So today, I took it to the YMCA to practice deadlifts, squats and bench press.  For my last set of deadlifts, I hit 190 pounds.  I did 70 squats and 70 pounds on the bench.  It all felt really good.

I love the process of working toward a goal.  This will not be any different.  In a couple weeks, Mike will write my own private program for working toward the Strong First Barbell Certification. 

Searching for SOS videos, I came across that I want to share with you and save for me.

S.O.S. UPDATE

It really is a cool sign.  I just take crappy pictures in addition to not having my glasses on.

 

One class in and I am psyched to be taking the bar technique class at Skill of Strength.  Some of the things I was worried about did not materialize or maybe they did and I was able to deal with them.

 

I am always uncomfortable when I first do something.  I don't know the people or the procedure.  Heading to Skill of Strength was no exception.  I sat in my car looking in the windows.  Damn there were a lot of people working out in there.  Long story short, I met up with Mike Perry, co-owner with his wife and got settled.  There were some awkward moments for me about the procedure for the class  but I think I got it down.

 

Good part...one of the trainers was my trainer at the SFG certification and my training partner at SFG trainers at SOS.  So psyched to see her again.  She's also taking the Barbell cert. 

 

It is an hour long class.  We worked two moves.  The deadlift and the bench.  Mike said I am going to critique the shit out of you (okay maybe I am paraphrasing) and I said that is what I am here for.  Learned a lot.  My deadlift technique improved after one class and I got back to benching.  I haven't benched much since the Arnold. 

 

My second worry was that I would be able to lift any thing heavy and be motivated after a long day at work...on Thursdays I start at 6:00 am.  Ya know what?  It was easy.  The drive worked out.  I was excited to learn and at the end of the class I felt pumped.  I was invigorated and not ready to fall asleep.

 

I hope to be able to outline my journey to the SFG barbell certification.  Going through the certification is incredible and draining.  Me...I love, love, love the process of getting to the weekend.  And so it begins.



AND SO IT BEGINS

Tomorrow night I start my training for the StrongFirst Barbell Instructor course which I will participate in in June 2016.  I am taking the course at Skill of Strength in Chelmsford and I plan to train there also.

I took the StrongFirst Barbll Course there also...can you find me?

Everything is mostly a pro about the training except I will be training at 5:30 after work.  I will be lifting heavy weights after work.  Gotta say....I am a morning work out person so this will be a challenge.  Here's the thing.  I always feel the need to push my self.  This is another such case.  I always say it.  I want to be as strong as I possible can be.  

Strength...where does the motivation and desire originate.

Thinking about the blog post on Dave Mirra and what an inspiration he was.  I started thinking about Extreme Sports and how male dominated they are.  I vaguely remember two  or three women skateboarders at the Gravity Games in Providence, RI...doesn't mean there weren't others.  The Skateboarding Women's Event is what I remember.  Where are the women?  Who are the women that are pioneers and who inspire? 

Today you can find those women in the health and fitness field.  They are young woman pushing the boundaries of strength.  They are promoting body acceptance.  They are role models for our teens and pre-teens.  They have inspired me to live outside my comfort zone and to pick up some dang heavy weights.  

I plan to spend the next several weeks...one day a week...introducing you to those women who inspire me.  But wait, the very first blog I started reading was by Tony Gentilcore in the Boston Herald.  He is a strength loving, deadlift loving, cat loving and movie loving kind of guy.  He is also one of the first I was exposed to and who promoted women's strength training. 

It was his blog that started my journey.

http://tonygentilcore.com/

HOLIDAY SWING CHALLENGE - Week 4

My week 4 total was 1062 swings. 

Week 1 = 1330. Week 2 = 1360 Week 3 = 1244 Week 4 = 1062 for at total of 4996.  Damn...I am only 4 swings short of 5,000.  If only I had known.

W4D1 & D2

It seems I am slowing down at the end of this challenge.
I did W4D1 on Wednesday and completed 250 swings. I also did my regularly scheduled work out.
Christmas was a day off...back at it today.
...

I did my regularly scheduled workout which included 4 x 10 at 400 pounds and then W4D2 but not all of day two. I did 2H swings with 25 KG. I did 10 x 10 for 100 swings.
I did one round of 6 x 6 with 18 KG pounds and then I felt like toast. So I stopped.
One thing I did today was 18 KG Turkish get up which is a PR for me. It was really difficult. Working my way up.

W4D3 = 270 swings

I did my regularly scheduled work out this morning. I saved the swings for tonight. Before the swings I did overhead carries because I did not get them in this morning.
Thanks for doing this challenge Artemis. Loving it!

W4D4 & D5

I finished Week 4 on Sunday and Monday...couple days late but I did it.
W4D4 - 280 swings
W4D5 - 250 swings.

I also did my regular work out on both days.

I cannot believe how many swings I did in four weeks.  Whenever I wanted to quit, I thought about how important it was to me to complete this challenge.  I wanted to conquer the mental desire to quit. 

Over and out....I did it.