NCAA Gymnastics Champion Jill Sprague (a.k.a. Jill Andrews, in gray) and the IC’s iron woman Erin Gillett (in red) demo the Drop Zone. Both athletes are local moms that train at the IC 2-4x per week.

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Erin holds the medicine ball at eye level while Jill anticipates the drop. As Erin releases the medicine ball, Jill must squat down as fast as possible to catch the medicine ball at the lowest possible squat position before the ball touches the ground. Jill must also spring up and return the ball back to Erin as fast as possible so that there is no rest time between the catch and the return.

How many returns can you do in 30 seconds while in the Drop Zone?

Thursday night Core group exhibiting their animalistic instincts:

Gibbon

Koalas

Gazelles

The IC is full of fun and interesting people. For example, did you know that Robyn Thomas is a native South African who has traveled to more than 40 countries, served as an attorney in NYC but gave up the big salary to run non-profits in California, and was recently featured on C-SPAN during her first congressional testimony? She is also a kick-butt Kensington mom (daughter Austen is 1 year old) who never misses a day of training!

Check out Robyn’s Story:

“I was actually looking at the blog and saw your wife’s entry about the difficulty of post-pregnancy weight loss. I wanted to tell her that I gained 50 POUNDS when I was pregnant (I have no idea how I managed that) and that I have now lost 41 of them. I am still battling the last 9, but it took a committed year just to get this far. You can’t rush it though (as I am sure she knows); you just have to be patient with your body. I think the loss of control of my body was the hardest part of the pregnancy for me – and I had a 24 hour labor and natural delivery with no drugs! The whole pregnancy thing has been an interesting physical challenge and the ab workout at the IC has made a huge difference in my body. I really appreciate it.

I played soccer through college and have been a runner for about 15 years. I also cross-trained with kick-boxing for about 8 years (until I got pregnant) and have always tried to include push-ups and situps and light weights into my exercise routine. I also did regular Bikram yoga until I got pregnant. Since the baby, I have found it very difficult to get to classes since my husband works a lot (as do I). That’s why the IC has been perfect for me. I can go in the morning before my husband or the baby wakes up, so I am always able to fit it in. I also started with my neighbor and very close friend Joe Gaspardone (he’s also Austen’s godfather) so having a partner to do this with has been great. We both love it and plan to continue indefinitely.”

Next time you’re training at the IC, be sure to introduce yourself to the person next to you. You never know who you’ll meet next.

Piera Damonte managed to recruit her brother Giacomo to the IC after using it to prepare for her great desert journey.

Only two months into training, Giacomo is stronger and swifter than ever. Will the notorious P allow her bro to surpass her accomplishments? Nothing like a little friendly sibling rivalry to spark the fire.

Rumor has it that a certain cuddly mammal has been spotted around the IC recently. Susie and Susan confirmed the rare sighting by capturing the little bunny this morning.

More to come on the adventures of El Conejo Azul…

Shari Washburn’s take on the IC battlefield:

Lately, Thursday night Core class participants have been racking up their fair share of Ice Chamber wounds. It started with shredded knuckles from cleaning those 70 lb. canvas bags. Then, there was last week’s fire hose burn, a by-product of 7 women working together to drag 200 pounds around the parking lot as fast as they could. There are times post-workout, when some of us look like extras from Full Metal Jacket.

Bruising is common at the IC, especially when working with unstable weight like the kettlebell. Anyone who has ever repeatedly push-pressed a kettlebell is familiar with the quarter-sized reddish spot that appears on the back of your wrist. Not as subtle as the internal injuries athletes sustain, these contusions are more like tribal markings from some sort of ritualistic vision quest.

While a hematoma or two won’t kill you, they can get you some pretty strange looks. How about you? What battle scars caused your co-workers to whisper and stare? Which war wounds made your mama fret and your papa frown? Have all those bruises on your arm prompted a local street addict to ask you where he could jack up?

Tsan and Dan Abrahamson are two celebrities around here. In addition to being powerhouses in their professional lives, these two foodie snobs, budding comedians, and telemark freaks are also IC addicts. Did we say addicts?  We mean junkies who can’t live without a burpee fix on a daily basis. When not traveling the country or hosting elaborate events for California Big-Wigs, Tsan and Dan can also be found baking cakes the shape of kettlebells or taunting Steve with customized t-shirts like the one featured above. Oh yeah, their love for the IC has also apparently rubbed off on their beloved Mo-Mo too.

“My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.”

-Clarence B. Kelland

Like so many of the fathers at the Ice Chamber, Dougie-Doug is a deliciously healthy role model for his daughter. Rylee is learning about the critical importance of exercise and nutrition thanks to this fun dad!

What important lessons have you learned from your father?

From the supine position, hold bar with arms locked directly over your chest. Swing straight legs from side to side. You also have the option to pause in the middle for a straight leg raise. It’s a good idea to have a partner help you get into starting position and supervise the movement.  A fun and devastating way to work the lower abs and hip flexors.

Many people have asked us about the differences between Core and Bootcamp. Here is one difference. The longer class time allows us to incorporate some different toys into the training.

The Thursday night team is pictured here pulling 200+ lbs. across the concrete runway with 100 ft. of fire hose.

In general, if you can run and jump with confidence, you are probably capable of doing the Core workouts. Please feel free to contact us (info@icechamber.com) if you are interested in learning more.