Hi and welcome to another week,
I am writing this a bit later than on the past few weeks – the past few months it feels like. In some ways it is nice to be sitting and writing at the ‘end’ of the weekend rather than doing it with other tasks still burning on my ‘To-Do’ list…in other ways I wish I was already lying on the couch!
I enjoyed my training a lot last week – Monday and Tuesday were real ‘Old School’ Round 1 workouts with lots of punching combinations and ab work – just fantastic fun. Wednesday was great because I enjoyed the new kettlebell move (which we did again Thursday) and Friday was just fantastic – a simple class, swapping between a punching combination and tabata knock-outs/straights etc, some sledgehammers and a heap of abs at the end. I enjoyed my session on Friday as much as any class EVER I think. I know I never repeat sessions but I might repeat that one in a few months time!
What is in store for this week? Well, we have some box jumps after a few weeks absence, a new move on the rings and a class plan for Wednesday that I am still not really sure how to run – is it three mini-circuits or one big rotation…the big rotation will be easier to run but I think it will work better as a mini-circuit…but how will we herd all you guys from station to station? I guess we will figure something out between now and Wednesday – and one of those things might be that I need to write easier to run circuits!
With cooler weather – well, it rained even if it wasn’t all that cool – finally finding us late last week, I thought it might be timely to remind everyone that even when it is raining, the gym is open. Even when it is dark, the gym is open and the lights are on. And even when it is raining and cold and dark, the gym is open, the lights are on and once you get moving you will quickly be warm! What triggered all of this? Well – I spent some time going through our class logs (we record how many people attend each session and have since the day we opened) for the past 12-months last week and it seems that when we hit May (it is nearly May) our numbers drop on a per class basis by somewhere between 7% and 12% on average. Then when we get to October it bounces up again.
Regardless of the weather – the gym will be there for you and we will be running a new circuit every single day. I can also promise you that the trainers will be enthusiastic and encouraging…and even though the ‘Bin Run’ might be removed from their arsenal at times they will be continually challenging you to improve your performance. I can also promise that the work you do now – in the cooler months – will make it so much easier when it comes time to get ‘ready for summer’ in October/November. In fact, you will already be ready for summer. In fact, you will be more than ready for summer because if you remain consistent with your training and diet NOW then you will be in better shape in a few months time than you are right now!
Where am I going with all of this? Make your training part of your lifestyle, don’t use it as a short-term ‘fix’ so that you can fit into your bathers because you have decided to go on a last minute holiday to Bali in 3-weeks time. (And if you do decide to do that, remember to call Christine or Candice at Attadale Travel! J) If you remain consistent – stick to your three to four Boxing classes each week and maybe find time for at least one ‘extra’ session (5km run, 40 minute weights, whatever) every week or two – then you are going to be in good shape – fit, healthy and strong. And if you are fit, healthy and strong, then you are going to be ready for pretty much anything.
Yes, it is dark outside. Yes, it is cold outside. Yes, if you live in the Cockburn area then the traffic on Armadale Road is a nightmare! But the gym is open. You can get there and you can get through the session. And not only will doing so make you feel better afterwards, if you do it consistently you will feel better for a long time afterwards.
See you in the gym,
Michael.
I loved the mini-challenge last week – I loved it so much that I did it three times on Monday and put those points straight in the bank! But – the quadrathon challenge is no more.
This week – week 3 – the challenge is simple. Contact ONE person from your address book who you wish you kept in touch with a bit more but haven’t spoken to for at least 3-months. The contact MUST be in the form of a phone-call or visit and not by social media. Receive 1-point for each person you ‘catch-up’ with for a maximum of 3 points.
Now – before everyone sooks about this, it is the ‘Whole Life’ challenge, not the gym challenge!
All of the new gloves and wraps arrived last week and are in the gym – this means we are back to the ‘stretchy style’ wraps (including purple and green) and fully stocked with the leather bag mitts which are a fantastic product. For me, the bag mitts are the best solution for sessions at Round 1 – the large wrist strap offers good support and the detached thumb means you can lift barbells/dumbbells/power ropes etc without taking them off. That said, I have just invested in a new pair of gloves myself and this time I went for the sparring gloves. I have to admit they are a bit of a pain to get on and off (though I could leave them on for the work on the rings I had to take them off for barbells) but they do offer a lot more protection to my knuckles which have been getting a bit sore lately.
We have some cool new gear arriving to help with the classes:
– Additional Wall Balls
– Additional Dead Balls
– Additional 20kg (Blue) kettlebells
– New ‘mini-sleds’. For those of you who follow us on Facebook you would know that using the (little) tyres as sleds was wrecking the carpet, whereas using the steps was wrecking the steps. So – we have some new ‘mini-sleds’ on the way to enable us to do this fantastic form of conditioning in our classes a whole lot more.
All of this equipment is aimed at increasing the variety and flexibility without our Boxing for Fitness and Body Work sessions.
1st proper week of DreamTeam is over – and the rounds highest score was put together by Tony who nearly hit the 2100 mark – 2096 points. Other notable scores were Clint with 2021, Travis with 2038 and Leigh with 2021. I actually went alright – scoring 1938 – but was unfortunate enough to be matched up against Leigh who was just too good for me.
Topping the leaderboard at the moment are Dayle and Ross who – with 20 points – have already skipped one clear of the rest of the field. I also think it is worth mentioning that whilst Travis is up at the top of the Dream Team, he is struggling with the tipping – already 5 off the pace.
I have gone through the stats for March and the free TANKS pass is awarded too….George Limmer. Given only 12 different people have checked in and George checked in 23 times, he had a fair chance of winning! This month, we will be awarding a free ‘RING THE BELL’ PT pack to the person who wins the competition – check in on Facebook and potentially win 3 x 30min PT sessions.
Remember also – if your car is spotted by me on the streets/in the car park at the shops/anywhere (except the gym, smarty!) then you will receive a free set of hand-wraps. So get a cool new sticker on your car and win some wraps.
A reminder again about the April ‘Mini-Challenge’.
Each day during the month of April you must do ONE (1) chinup for each day of the month that has ‘passed’. In other words, on April 1st you must do one chinup. On the 2nd – you do two, on the 3rd you do three etc etc. I have kept this up quite diligently so far and have to say it is starting to get a little tougher…I haven’t had to break the chin-ups up into sets yet – but it wont be more than a day or two away! How many can you do in a row??
I received the following email from long-term Round 1’er Kylie Stevens last week:
Young Sam (my cousin) has been asked to represent Australia in the World Dwarf games for swimming, these are to be held in Michigan USA. Sam is the only Western Australian representative, he is looking for sponsorship of any sorts to assist him to achieve his dreams.
Normally I would not ask people outright to sponsor, but this is on an international level and knowing Sam personally and being aware of his hardwork and fighting spirit has driven me to get as many people onboard and supporting him. I myself will be donating $250.00 to help him on his way to achieve his aspirations.
I would personally appreciate any support you could generate to see Sam on the way to achieving his goals.
I have printed off details of the event and the sponsorship details and they are available in the gym.
Another good week of info and fun for those of you on our Facebook site – have a look at these links:
http://www.catalystathletics.com/blog/blog.php?blogID=1756
HIIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC8lL6XDZHQ (That lunge to curl to front press)
Med balls: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRCCaiPk5zo
Pull up Variations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Rkau_qa3xNI
Double skips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h7XjUbUpeHE
Kettlebell Snatch insertion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ku6SNKBZIA
There are also two new quick Round 1 videos posted this week:
Boxing from April 9th: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idNbfE4js-s
Body Work from April 10th: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJnaMKctAz8
This one is related to the April ‘mini’ challenge. I guess we are trying for 30…what about 100??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPzAy3Kkj3E
See you in the gym!
Michael.
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