Chamber full of Cheer!

“This is my wish for you: peace of mind, prosperity through the year, happiness that multiplies, health for you and yours, fun around every corner, energy to chase your dreams, joy to fill your holidays!
– D.M. Dellinger”

Stan Lee (founder of Marvel Comics and co-creator of Spiderman, Fantastic Four, etc.) scours the earth to find real life superhumans.

This episode displays the reality of chi power and the potential of mind over matter.

As the IC grows so does the diversity of talent, creativity, and power of our community.  From champions in kettlebell lifting, powerlifting, judo, BJJ, marathons, triathlons, cycling, skiing, and rowing — to the baddest softball team in the East Bay, we are honored to have so many of you represent the IC in and outside of the gym.  You have redefined pop culture’s idea of an active lifestyle!

We are also grateful to the moms, dads, sons, daughters, and grandparents for showing up everyday, rain or shine, to give it their ALL in our classes – many finishing their workouts well before the sun rises.  Your resilience fuels our motivation.

Finally, we are most thankful for your friendship and support throughout the years, making this little place we call the Ice Chamber the most unique collaboration of ordinary people doing extraordinary things week after week, year after year.  Happy Thanksgiving!

* courtesy of EliteFTS / "They are not angry birds"

It is rare to find articles about autism written by men and even more rare to find one written by a celebrity in the powerlifting community.  Dave Tate, self proclaimed “meathead,” Elite Status (935 squat, 740 deadlift, 610 bench press and a 2,205 total) powerlifter, and CEO of EliteFTS, wrote  a poignant piece about his own son.  I was very moved by his article and want to share it with you.

Best,
Steven

How cute is baby Frank?!

Let’s be Frank, after a couple of years at the Chamber, this is what a family outing now looks like in the Walker household.

Denis, Surya, Oxana, Maya, and Ksenia

In addition to the excitement of Tough Mudder this weekend (thinking about you all the entire weekend), the IUKL World Championship in New York gave us an incredible high that we are only now coming down from.  The last time I saw this level of elite lifting, I was in Chelyabinsk, Russia visiting Ivan Denisov and participating in the Open Cup of Europe.  The people of Chelyabinsk as well as the competitors of Russia left a positive lasting impression on me.  Needless to say, I was excited to see them again.  This time three of Ivan’s students, all Masters of Sport World Class athletes, came to earn their rank as World Champions – and they did just that.  Denis, Oxana, and Ksenia are three of the best lifters from Russia in their respective weight classes.  All three took home Gold Medals and again proved that Ivan Denisov is not only the Absolute Best Kettlebell Lifter in the history of the sport, but also a formidable coach.  Chelyabinsk is now ranked #4 out of more than forty competitive regions in Russia.

The women and juniors set some phenomenal records.  Olga and Anastasia both snatched over 170 reps with the 24kg setting new world records for weight class and absolute.

I was fortunate enough to see Sergei Kirillov again.  He is the Head Coach of the Russian National Team,  Johnny Benidze’s coach, and competed with Valery almost twenty years ago.  He gave me a very special gift:

It’s the official uniform of the Russian National Team.  How cool is this?

Some of the biggest battles were fought between Kazakhstan and Russia.  Our coach Valery was there supporting us and also played the critical role of ambassador since he competed for both Kazakhstan and Russia when he was a youth.  It was amazing to see how Valery is still revered amongst an international contingency almost 20 years after he received his Honored Master of Sport title in the former USSR.

Our fellow American lifters including Chris Duffy, Scott Tighe, and Henry Marshall performed quite well.  Both CDuff and Henry placed first in their weight class of the amateur division, while Scott Tighe placed third in the professional division.

Maya captured footage of this young athlete (17 years old) from Kazakhstan taking the Junior World Champion Title in Long Cycle.  He performed 49 reps of 2 x 32kg Long Cycle at a body weight of less than 63kg!  The set was unbelievable.  You have to see it to believe it!

Best,

Steven

These are words from Coach Valery Fedorenko.  He knows a thing or two about winning.

I had the opportunity to bring my son to check out the EBJI Invitational Tournament yesterday at Hercules High School. It was a blast to see so many young children immersed in the “gentle way.” It was also a unique way to see Sayaka, Nate, Annie, and Kenny out of their IC element, and into their professional hosting/announcer roles (well done!) at a great regional event.  As a side note, my son was really intrigued seeing little kids throwing each other around – it somehow put him at ease to feel so much energy and cooperation going on in such a large venue.  Thank you for that EBJI!

This may look romantic, but Kenny and Annie were there to win!

The children also reminded me, again, of how much our athletes need our help. Here’s a picture of Kenny and Annie in Paris. We need to get these two to more destinations around the globe this year so they can have a fighting chance for the Olympic Games in 2012!

Best,
Steven