Hi and welcome to another week,
Big week last week – with the challenge kicking off and a big emphasis on the power ropes in both Boxing and BodyWork sessions. Tanks featured a couple of exercises we hadn’t used before – hang cleans and good mornings – and for those people who did Tanks Saturday the added bonus of some chin-up bar isometrics. As for Friday’s squat/burpee/pushup challenge, well – great stuff to everyone who found their way to the end of the session – it was a terrific challenge both physically and mentally! All in all, lots of hard work set and done! As for the week ahead, the classes on Tuesday/Wednesday feature a different structure which will hopefully give your muscles something to think about!
I was reading an article about Olympic sprinter Yohan Blake where he quoted his favourite line of poetry (from Wadsworth no less):
“Da heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.” (Read more from the article at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/olympics/2012/writers/david_epstein/08/04/yohan-blake-olympics/index.html#ixzz22dpa5MRY). To be fair, the use of ‘Da’ rather than “The” is a bit of license ascribed to Blake’s renowned strong Jamaican accent rather than anything the great poet came up with, but the meaning is the same – if you are prepared to commit (and work hard – relentlessly), then you will achieve ‘more’.
I must admit to looking at someone like Blake (and the other top male sprinters) with a fair bit of wonder and amazement. They have watched what Bolt did at the Olympics/World Champs in the past few years and somehow just remained focussed on their own journey. They watched this competitor produce incredible results, listened to everyone sing his praises and say how he will go down as the greatest ‘EVER’ – yet still maintained belief that their own talent and hard work would lead them to success. And in Blake’s case – he is now a world champion in his own right (Bolt disqualified). Then, he beat him in the Olympic trials in Jamaica…who knows what will happen next?
Where am I going with this? It does bring me back to the gym in many ways because everyone undertakes a different journey – and achieves at different rates. The one common factor is that those who show the most persistence achieve the greatest results. Those who work the hardest for the longest – those who show discipline in their training AND with what they put in their mouths are the ones who get there in the end. It doesn’t meaning working out whilst others sleep – it probably does mean abandoning the chocolate with your nightly cup of tea though! And it doesn’t mean becoming world champion – it probably does mean remaining focussed on something ‘bigger’ than yourself (but real to you). What it certainly doesn’t mean is looking at what other people have done (or claim they have done) and limiting your own progress by what they have achieved…or, even worse, being disappointed in your own efforts because you might not have gone quite as far, quite so fast.
As the Olympic sprinters are showing – with determination and persistence, the race does not always go to the one who is out of the blocks the fastest. Stick at it.
We have gone a few months without a membership special – but there is a new membership special up and running for August!
1/.Scoopon Buy-back
We will ‘buy-back’ your Scoopon with a membership bonus if you upgrade to a Round 1 Fitness membership:
– 3 month membership? We will buy back 50% of the cost of your Scoopon – This translates to a one-week extra membership at no cost.
– 6 month membership? We will buy back 100% of the cost of your Scoopon – this will translate to two extra weeks extra membership at no cost.
– 12-month membership? We will buy back 200% of the cost of your Scoopon – this will translate to an extra one month membership at no extra cost.
This offer is only valid until the end of August – an extra week on your membership for a 3-month contract, and extra two-weeks on your membership for a 6 month contract and an extra MONTH on your membership for a 12-month contract. A few people have asked me ‘what if I have already used my Scoopon?’ – well, great! That was the idea – and yes, we will still ‘buy’ it back!
2/.10-round pass just $99
Special for the month of August – a 10-round pass is just $99. This is a saving of more than 20% on the usual price ($120) and means you can train as a casual at Round 1 for less than $10 per session.
The challenge is WELL underway, and whilst it is not too late to start – it is certainly time to get a bit of a wriggle on if you are ‘gonna’ do it. And if you have started but have yet to get any of the ‘extras’ done…well, it is time to get stuck into those as well.
For anyone unfamiliar with the ‘rules’ here they are for one last time:
– 25 classes – at least 3 of these MUST be Body Work.
– 5 ‘Pure Cardio’ sessions. One (1) is to include a component of the City to Surf (at least 12kms) or completion of the ‘Western Mud Rush’ (you can do both if you like!), the others can be your choice of 7.5km runs (treadmill is fine, I will also pay Bibra Lake even though it isn’t quite that far!), 10 x 1km bike efforts (1 minute rest in between sets) and 10 x 500m rows (1 minute rest in between sets).
– 5 conditioning sessions – which can be made up of your choice of the following workouts: 300, Angie, Barbara, Chelsea, Fran, Jackie, Annie, Murph, Daniel and Lumberjack 20. (See the board in the TANKS for the details).
Usual system will apply – complete the session, get a trainer to sign it off…that’s it. With the conditioning stuff, if you need to use a band for the pull-ups etc, then that is fine. Remember, our challenges are all about the effort and intent…and the only person you are cheating if you don’t do it properly is yourself.
That is 35 sessions all up (25 classes, 5 x cardio, 5 x coditioning) for the month…which is going to be TOUGH!!! As always, a Get it Done shirt is available to anyone who successfully completes the challenge.
A new fluid rower is on the way – which will hopefully have a bit of an impact on our classes moving forward. When we have 4 rowers it will enable us to use them during the daily circuits – and not just one-minute rounds. We will be able to split you between rowers and cross-trainers, rowers and kettles, rowers and sledgies…etc. I am quite excited about this and the extra variety it will bring to our sessions.
The new shipment of hoodies has hit Singapore and I expect delivery by the end of this coming week. They will be available in three different colors – black, red and the original grey. What they will also have is updated zips!
In addition, a new order of weightlifting gloves will be arriving with the same shipment – so if you are lifting and need some extra wrist support…or if you want wrist protection during classes but cannot be bothered with hand wraps then the wl gloves might be a good solution.
Further to all of that, another order of hand-wraps will be arriving so if you need a new pair we will have some new black ones available for the first time in a couple of weeks. There are still blue, red, pink and camouflage available in the gym.
The wheels and vests have shipped along with a few surprises – a couple of ‘heavier’ deadballs for use in the classes. How heavy? How does 23kg sound! Some fun wall balls to be had!
My DreamTeam is still a bit sad – and whilst the flurry of trades I have made over the last three weeks will see 20 players take the field this week, I doubt that will be enough to overcome the 22 run by Lloyd ‘I love burpees’ Rogerson.
With the tipping, it seems that somehow I didn’t enter my tips this weekend which hasn’t really turned out too well for me. To add some salt to the wound, my beloved Bulldogs couldn’t stay within 7 goals of North, which will cost me a 30 minute PT session courtesy of Leigh Rodgers. Thanks for that, Leigh (and Dogs!).
Some great links on Facebook this week:
5 station MMA workout- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewhmpqd5fPM&list=PL0AD4BE7F1B45E79C&index=2&feature=plpp_video
Girls Kettlebell Workout: 24kg clean and press!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJeeD7C8eCQ&feature=em-subs_digest
Lack of exercise: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/07/lack-of-exercise-kills-roughly-as-many-as-smoking-study-says.html
Focus on fitness, not on fatness:
Talktomejohnnie:
http://talktomejohnnie.com/football/supplement-recommendations
8-minute ‘Jolt’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvfyRvO3jaI&feature=em-subs_digest
Date and Shallot Rosemary Chicken
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzzhTZd2mPc&feature=relmfu
All of that, plus loads of comments and banter about the classes – Please join us on the site and get involved with the daily conversations – it really does help keep you focused on your training and diet.
An amazing story of resilience and persistence – and embracing discomfort:
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/26/health/covert-longest-running-streak/index.html?c=&page=0
A sample?
How do you push through aches and pains? I slow things down a whole lot — stay within things that are manageable. I try not to do things that are going to make it a lot worse. People that have these running streaks like this, our pain threshold is a little bit higher than most. Most of the time I find after 10 or 15 minutes I tend to warm up a little bit and find I can move along a little bit better.
See you in the gym!
Michael.
We know this can be a daunting time. You’re probably wondering if we really are the right fit for each other. And it’s OK! Many people before you, have felt the same, and that’s why we want to offer you something special – our $29 Health Check.
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