Hi and welcome to another week,
I am writing this on Monday afternoon – the gym would usually be open right now and I have to say I kind of miss it a little bit. Although that might be due to the fact that I have spent too much time trying to install a new dishwasher – why Bosch felt the need to have some ridiculous attachment that doubles the size of the holes needed for the water tap I have no idea…in any case, I curse their name.
That said, I am really looking forward to my training this week. The classes look great and – post February challenge – I have also made a bit of a personal pledge to get back into the weights room a few times each week. I have been neglecting this aspect of my training lately and it is time to get back into it. My plan? Some low rep, high weight barbell work combined with some high volume kettlebell exercises…can’t weight (wait!). As for the classes themselves, there are a couple of moves I am particularly looking forward too – the combination v-sit / Russian twist is a lot of fun and we have not done either frog thrusts or kettlebell clean to squat to press for some time.
I suppose it was pretty obvious that this week’s blog would be all about the White Collar Boxing event – so I may as well get down to it. First off, it is really impossible for me to express my admiration for all of the people from Round 1 who were involved – Ian Board, Clint Slomp, Helen Jovanavic and Shauna Shannon-McGarrigle as competitors and Paul O’Connor who really laid it all on the line, obtaining his promoters license and putting the event on.
Regardless of the final outcomes – and I know there were a couple of dejected people when the final scores were read – I really think that the results truly were secondary (with no disrespect to the winners on the night) to simply having the guts to have a go. Committing to a new training regime (or, in Paul’s case a new business challenge), putting aspects of your life on hold and really risking the chance that you might look like a goose in front of a room full of people – many of whom would be happiest to see you knocked on your butt – is just amazing. I absolutely know the fear of stepping into the unknown (once upon a time I used to take home a wage and where the money would come from was someone else’s problem) and really respect the white collar crew who so willingly introduced such a high level of ‘risk’ into their lives.
The thing about boxing – and all sports really – is that everything is based on performing at a given time and at a given place. It really does not matter if you are not feeling great on the day – the event is going on regardless and you just need to ‘step up’ and perform. It really does not matter if you need a couple of extra days preparation, or if you couldn’t get your diet right, or if the next day would suit you better – it all happens at a set time and place and your chance of success is limited to one moment. I know I have spoken about this before and the reason I keep going back to it is so many of us – me included – allow ourselves to have training sessions where we give way less than our best simply because we aren’t ‘feeling it’ when we get to the gym.
This week, I think we should all follow the example of the white collar crew – and when the first bell rings for each and every session we do we respond with passion and maximum effort. We don’t worry about whether what we are being asked to do is our favourite exercise or most hated – we just have an old-fashioned crack at it and I am certain at the end of the session we all would have gotten a lot more out of it than if we allow ourselves to get into cruise control.
See you in the gym,
Michael.
Congratulations to everyone who knocked off the Numbers Game challenge. I know that for me it was an enormous personal challenge and I am particularly proud of finishing this one – that 30km row last Monday will long live in my memory – as will the pain in my butt for the 24 hours that followed.
Well done to everyone who had a go and a special congratulations to those of you who made it to the end!
The March Mini-Challenge is underway and I was pleased to see some impressive results already on the board. Remember though, it is not about ‘Winning’ the challenge – it is about getting a score on the board early in the month and then working consistently to improve your own personal best as the month goes by. I think this is more true this month than with the other mini-challenges we have run in the past – Squats are such an incredibly effective full body exercise that doing a heap of quality reps can only help your health and fitness levels.
It works like this – you do as many squats as you do in 20 minutes and record the total number of points you achieved:
| Girls | Boys |
| Bodyweight = 1 point per Squat | Bodyweight = 1 point per Squat |
| + 10 KG = 2 points per Squat | + 20 KG = 2 points per Squat |
| + 20 KG = 3 points per Squat | + 40 KG = 3 points per Squat |
| +30 KG = 4 points per Squat | +60 KG = 4 points per Squat |
| +40 KG = 5 points per Squat | +80 KG = 5 points per Squat |
A medicine ball must be used for each rep (your bum must touch it on the way down) and you ARE allowed to change weights within the 20 minutes. For example, you might do 10 x Squats at 80kg (50 points), 10 more at 60kg (40points) and 30 reps at 40kg (90points)…your total score would be 180. The time taken to change weights/bars etc is part of the 20 minutes though.
Our next Beach Bootcamp is planned for Saturday March 16th – same venue (CY O’Connor beach), same time…you can register at reception next time you are in the gym. Cost is also unchanged – $15 per head. The last two events have been terrific and we have even more new activities for you to do this time…be sure to reserve your place.
As promised last week, two additional spin bikes arrived during the week and they have already been getting put to good use. One thing I love about our gym is that it is very rare that I see someone just ‘turning the pedals’ on the bikes or walking on the treadmill – our members do some pretty tough cardio sessions before or after a class.
The new bikes mean there are now a couple of extras available for people who want to do a bit of extra bike work (and for the trainers to allocate miscreants a few penalty kilometres!).
Apologies for being down to 2 (two) working treadmills for a period of time last week – whilst we are already back to three (3) please be assured that our suppliers are working hard to get us back to a full complement asap. This does raise a good point though – if ever you find anything that isn’t working or seems to be damaged in any way, please bring it to the immediate attention of one of the trainers.
I am a little uncomfortable talking about this as whilst the order is in the gear is still several months away. BUT…I have ordered another couple of Power Racks and Benches for the TANKS area to really expand that area and make it a lot more useable for both the TANKS people and the increasing number of gym users who are spending a bit of time working on their deadlifts and squats before and after classes.
The new equipment will include some rack inserts enabling the existing power racks to connect to the lifting platforms so whilst the quantity of equipment in the area will double there will actually be MORE working room available.
OK – the ‘Ring the Bell’ promotion is over and I hope everyone who took advantage of the special offer on Personal Training got out of it what they were looking for. PT is for all different things for different people – assistance with technique for something they do all the time, introduction to new and different exercises (particularly Olympic lifts), a dedicated session concentrating on one body part (Abs anyone?) or even just the smashing of all smashings whilst receiving 1-on-1 attention.
‘Ring the Bell’ will remain a permanent part of the gym – a series of three introductory PT sessions to help new-comers get familiarised with the gym and its workings. ‘Normal’ PT sessions are also a key offering at Round 1 and all of our trainers do a terrific job in tailoring their sessions to meet the specific needs of each client.
A good week on Facebook last week with loads of links and a heap of stories and comments – particularly about the White Collar Boxing event – below are a short sample:
More on Discipline: http://www.catalystathletics.com/blog/blog.php?blogID=1774
‘The Best’: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_best_in_training
Confessions of a recovering diet food junkie: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/confessions-of-a-recovering-diet-food-junkie/2013/02/12/5ef9d57c-6a16-11e2-ada3-d86a4806d5ee_story.html?wpisrc=nl_health
Epic Training session with the Strength Project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHjO50rle2I&feature=em-subs_digest&list=TLMN2pa8Y22qc
Be the best: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cJvlBGRISw
Now, I know a few people would have read my comments about more equipment for the Tanks area with a ‘so what, I don’t use any of that stuff’ shrug of the shoulders. And that’s fine – the Boxing classes are our core activity at Round 1. But have a look at this video about using deadlifts to strengthen your back to help fix your posture and see if you can find anything there for you? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8ghzmmF_FA
On a similar note, if you have gotten this far in the blog I would ask you to have a think about taking on one further challenge for the month of March – 50 x (unweighted) back extensions every time you are in the gym. Let’s all work on some rehab/prehab/core strength to help avoid injuries as we move towards the middle of the year.
See you in the gym!
Michael.
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