Most would agree at the IC that today was a great day. New records were set, the 7am pull-up club reunited, kettlebells blended with ropes beautifully, and to top it off, we all had the opportunity to witness one of the most important moments in American history. Congratulations!
Wednesday night Core class tests one piece of the WKC Fitness Protocol: Bottoms Up Clean and Press.
The kids are taking over the IC for our next ICKB fundraiser! Parents, want to plan a rare evening out while your children play IC-style? The ICKB girls will be hosting a kids-only pajama party which will include: a Lego contest, board games, kettlebell swings, nail/face paint, and a few intervals of freeze-dance while dining on fine pizza and sparkling apple cider.
The IC Parents’ Night Out will be held between the hours of 5:30-9pm on Friday, January 30, 2009.
We thank you in advance for your continued support of these exceptional women as they display their talent at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio in March 2009!
This will be the first time in US history that Girevoy Sport (Kettlebell Sport) has been invited to take center stage at this international event. Speaking of history, here’s another fact you’ll find interesting: The ICKB Team is the 1st all-female kettlebell sport competition team in the world…
100% of the proceeds from this event will go to the ICKB Team’s Travel Fund (note: fund excludes IC Owners/Management Staff).
A sneak peek at today’s relay races using the tire sled. Saturday’s Core class used high intensity resisted drags to improve acceleration capabilities. Check out all the “Jens” and “Marys” during their first runs ever.
Need some inspiration? Randi Wells (mama to the lovely Ms. Phoebe) joined our ReBoot program in August 2008. In a class designed for IC’ers in need of a low-impact effective workout, Randi has proven that it isn’t the intensity or the programming that matter most when it comes to losing weight. Randi is not on any special diet either. She has simply taken charge of her health and in less than six months since that “before” photo was taken, it really shows!
A simple mix of desire and ingenuity can transform imagination into reality. Wow.
To all Body Change Contestants,
We apologize for the delay in sending you our informational email as promised. Our son is ill and this morning had a seizure. He is ok now, but we are just getting a handle on things after getting home from the hospital. We will send you some helpful resources via email as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
We also want to send out a special thank you to the El Cerrito Fire Department for getting here at light speed and for lending us your calm and confident energy. This community is so fortunate to have all of you on our side.
The new year’s “body change challenge” has sparked great excitement around the IC. As a result, people are naturally curious about timelines and expectations. I can sense both the motivation and the urgency in many of our members. To address the anxieties often associated with challenges and deadlines, I want to share my personal story with you.
People often assume that because I can do a few parlor tricks, I’ve been athletically gifted my entire life. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I was active as a child, but probably no more than any other kid growing up in Oakland: playing four square during recess, some basketball after school, and roaming the neighborhood on the weekends. Like most of my friends, I was not involved in formalized athletics. As fate would have it, the year that I decided to tryout for the school baseball team, I was struck with an auto-immune disease that paralyzed my entire body.
One morning during my seventh grade year, I awoke to discover that I couldn’t contract the muscles of my legs. As the day progressed, my condition worsened. I was hospitalized the following morning as the paralysis spread to my arms and face. The neurologists were unable to diagnose the cause. I still recall the look on my mother’s face when the respirator was brought into my room. The doctors were concerned with the possibility of severe pulmonary complications, which of course is life threatening. It wasn’t until the fourth day of hospitalization that the medical team decided to perform a spinal tap to test protein levels in my cerebrospinal fluid. They suspected a case of Guillain-Barre Syndrome. There was no cure or treatment for the disease at the time.
Miraculously, after a week in the hospital, my body began to recover at the same rate it began to deteriorate. However, the damage to my neuromuscular system prevented me from walking for twelve months. I spent the next four years of my life trying to regain a basic level of balance, strength, and coordination. It didn’t take long for me to discover that I had lost more than just physical ability. This episode had also pushed me into a despondent state, opting out of exercise at every possible turn. Truth be told, no teenage boy wants to appear weak and feeble amongst his peers. My plan was to hide my body behind an ROTC uniform for the rest of my teenage years – that is until a chance happening in high school changed the course of my life.
My brother joined a weight training class taught by an ex-bodybuilder / powerlifter. Impressed by her knowledge, ethics, and leadership, he convinced me to drop ROTC and enlist her help. (To this day, I credit her for giving me the necessary rehabilitation I needed in order to not only overcome the effects of Guillain-Barre, but also to gain strength during a critical stage in my adolescent development.) I am very fortunate that my brother has a natural gift of persuasion because I probably wouldn’t be here writing this if it weren’t for the lessons forged in this unassuming “gym class.” Lifting weights next to seemingly invincible football players, and seeing my stats on the bottom of the public records board day after day, helped me develop the humility and patience necessary to progress physically. I was also blessed to work out with a group of supportive training partners. As time went on, I began to notice that I was getting better. By the last semester of my senior year, I found myself edging towards the top of the records board. Though I never became the strongest or the “best,” I was certainly better than I had ever been in my life.
This is perhaps the reason why I have always taken a strong interest in helping beginners at the IC. Like Maya, I have empathy for folks that have little or no athletic history due to my own experience. Some ex- IC members have told me that I cater too much to “newbies†and this sentiment made me reflect on my own journey. It has only reinforced my efforts to focus on those that need the most help. After all, it has taken me almost twenty years to get where I am today (I’m still not there). So, before we start to worry about how fast we need to go, I suggest we all take some time to reflect on our own fitness experiences and develop some patience for self and others – but more importantly, be thankful for how far we have already come.
Best,
Steven
Check out yesterday’s kettlebell class learning the double rack position for the first time.
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Sold Out:Â Fundamentals of Kettlebell Lifting. Sessions are scheduled for Jan. 10, 17, 24, and 31.
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Today is also the deadline for the Fat Loss Challenge. Please email Steve to register.
