The art of milling takes skill, finesse, but most importantly style. Here’s a portrait of 6am in action. Can you name two usual (or unusual) suspects?

Jennie, Mary, and Eileen got busy on wood choppers at 7am this morning. Steve looks bewildered by the focus and seriousness of the ladies in action. Can you guess what was on their minds as they swung heavy dumbbells with enough force to split logs?

Every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, Craig and Stephanie wake up before dawn to train at the Ice Chamber. They usually arrive early in order to warm-up on the rowing machines. As a result of this nearly 11-month routine, Craig now has one of the fastest 1000 meter sprints in the gym. According to Craig, “It is a great joy to have this wonderful (and exhausting, exhilarating, and often painful) experience alongside Steph.” Stephanie is no slouch either. She often tests her own limits by choosing to pull and press heavier weights than 90% of the participants. These two know how to train hard! They even managed to get their daughter Ruth to follow in their footsteps in preparation for her softball season this Spring.

Okay guys and gals… it’s almost been a month since our son was born. In honor of this special occasion, I’m sharing my postpartum comeback story with you all. I never anticipated how much weight I would gain while growing a 9lb. boy for ten months. I planned on being one of those girls we all see on You Tube and running laps during my last trimester, but in reality all I could do was walk in straight lines… and even that was difficult. Now that I’ve made it to the other side and survived major abdominal surgery, I am deeply humbled by the challenge ahead of me. Everything from a basic push-up to a simple free squat feels hard right now. As you can see from the photo, I have to exercise with baby in tow, but I figure if kangaroos can do vertical jumps like this all day, I should be able to manage some light dumbbell training. Hopefully, you’ll hear about me graduating from the little green puppy weights to the big dogs very soon. My first goals are to tackle bodyweight exercises, end my eleven-month love affair with simple carbohydrates, and get a haircut.

-Maya

We’ve been thrilled to have Dan and Nathalia at the 6 a.m. bootcamp, because in addition to being enthusiastic and driven athletes, we have never heard either one utter a single complaint in the time they’ve been here. Not for burpees, not for kettlebell swings, not on the day when they held a squat for a million years and they could barely walk. That positive attitude and readiness for any challenge might be why they’ve made such great progress in a few short months. It will probably also come in handy on their next big adventure: they will be getting married on June 30th. Be sure to congratulate them, and remind us not to do squat holds on the 29th. We’d like them to be able to walk (not limp) down the aisle.

“To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power.” -Maya Angelou

We salute all the mothers of the IC for bringing Category 5s everyday.

Kristin F. and Katrina (in foreground) crank out leg assisted pull-ups while waiting for their partners to finish dip-squat combos. This is one of Steve’s favorite superset series because it blends closed kinetic chain activities with opposing push-pull upper body movements. What are your favorite supersets and why?

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Another simple yet devastating exercise. With a set of dumbbells in the front squat position, jump vertically as fast as possible and extend ankles, knees, hip, and arms overhead. Land in the front squat position. Try again. Do 25 reps in 30 seconds. Have fun.

In addition to the adventures of being a father of four young children, Jean-Paul Tennant travels the world as a CFO of an international expedition company that specializes in remote and challenging destinations. Most recently he spent three weeks in India with his 10 year old son Joseph (who by the way was responsible for recruiting JP into the IC over a year ago). People often wonder, how does a busy father make time to train? …by waking up at 5 a.m. in the morning!

Renee Hoyer-Nielsen, mother of two, is on a mission. By paying her dues at the Chamber, she recently lost 17lbs. (and counting), deadlifted well over 200 lbs, rid herself of thyroid problems, developed “crazy great” cholesterol levels, and achieved her FIRST pull-up today. Who would ever guess that she has had not one, but two ACL surgeries! One year ago, she could barely bend her knees to squat on a bench. Renee has transformed herself from rehabilitation patient to athlete!