Box Jumps

Jessica Parker making full use of a simple box platform.

Push-ups

Kerrie and Fannie working together to finish their burpees

1. Keeps everyone accountable, especially when the instructor isn’t looking

2. Motivates each person to reach their personal best; even if we’re not competitive by nature, we try to match or surpass the performance of our partners because it is a joint effort

3. Builds genuine camaraderie and community

Can you come up with more reasons to partner?

Lauren T. is another inspirational mom-to-be choosing to exercise the IC way right through her first and second trimesters. Check her out mid workout alongside everyone else in Boot Camp. Go Lauren!

Lauren T. is another inspirational mom-to-be choosing to exercise the IC way right through her first and second trimesters. Check her out mid workout alongside everyone else in Boot Camp. Go Lauren!

Competing in Kettlebell Sport has enabled us to travel to many wonderful places that we would not have gone to otherwise, but flying long distances remains one of the most challenging aspects of each experience.  We asked Egoscue specialist, Johnny P., for some suggestions on how to avoid that awful crunchy feeling we all get in our bodies after sitting for an extended duration.

Here are some great recommendations for travelers stuck on a plane:

Sitting Overhead Extension

Sitting Overhead Extension:
-Sit up straight on the edge of a chair or bench
-Keep your feet and knees pointed straight ahead and hip width apart
-Roll your hips forward to place an arch in your low back
-Interlace your fingers together and reach your arms overhead, pressing your hands to the ceiling with palms up
-Hold this for 1 minute

Sitting Isolated Hip Flexor Lifts

Sitting Isolated Hip Flexor Lifts:
-Sit up straight on the edge of a chair or bench
-Keep your feet and knees pointed straight ahead and hip width apart
-Let your arms hang down at your sides
-Roll your hips forward to place an arch in your low back
-Lift one foot about 3 inches off the floor and then lower; repeat
• Use your front hip muscles to generate the movement
• Maintain the arch in your back, keeping your hips rolled forward throughout the exercise
-Switch sides and repeat for 3 sets of 20 repetitions/ leg

Sitting In Extension

Sitting in Extension:
-Sit up straight on the edge of a chair or bench
-Keep your feet and knees pointed straight ahead and hip width apart
-Let your arms hang down at your sides (do not raise your arms like Johnny in the picture)
-Roll your hips forward to place an arch in your low back
-Hold for 3 minutes

Sitting Cat & Dog

Sitting Cat & Dog:
-Sit in a chair with your feet pointed straight ahead, hip width apart
• Your arms can hang loosely to the sides, or be placed in your lap
-For the CAT position: Roll your hips backward to take the arch out of the back
-For the DOG position: Roll your hips forward to place the arch into your low back
-Slowly move back and forth between the Cat and Dog positions
-Repeat 10 times per pose

Sitting Shoulder Rolls

Sitting Shoulder Rolls:
-Sit up straight on the edge of a chair or bench
-Keep your feet and knees pointed straight ahead and hip width apart
-Roll your hips forward to place an arch in your low back and hold throughout the exercise
-Circle backward by raising your shoulders then circling them back and then down
-Repeat 40 repetitions

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Industrial Strength students show incredible progress tonight.

Dips, front squats, bench presses, and RDLs using minimal equipment.

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REMINDER:  Stretch & Restore starts tomorrow, Saturday at 8am

Another one for Dad!

“…Hanging over the gym’s only clock in the center of the kettlebell room directly across from four wooden platforms is a banner printed on an old roll of computer paper.  In faded Russian red letters, it reads: I Am Champion.  Fedor pointed to it right away and then brought his index finger to his forehead with more to say about it.  “This is not about arrogance,” Valery began to translate, “This is about using your mind and believing in yourself.  You must be the one to think you are a champion in order to become one,” Fedor wisely advised…” READ MORE

Peter Richards has been steadily losing 2 pounds per week for the past 52 weeks.  That’s over 100 lbs in the last year!  Congratulations Pete!

Fortunately for us, Pete has been kind enough to share his formula for success:

100 lbs. ago

My brother Thom motivated me to join the Ice Chamber. However, it was my brother Mike that may have given me the most motivation. When I signed up for the Ice Chamber in June of 2009 at 319lbs my initial primary goal was to lose weight. When I tried to tell Mike about joining the Ice Chamber he said, “You always get excited about a new way of getting in shape but don’t follow through. Don’t talk to me about it until you have done it for a year.” He was right. I decided to switch my primary goal from losing weight to attending three bootcamp classes a week for a year. Focusing on this goal over an entire year helped me make sure that every change I made was small enough to be sustainable. Those small sustainable changes have added up to 102 lbs lost, a reduction in body fat from 37% to 22% and most importantly the ability to do a pull-up for the first time in my life.

The following are some of the changes I’ve made:

The mind:
I read a book by Judith S. Beck called “The Beck Diet Solution”. The book walks you through a six-week plan that is not based on any specific diet but rather focused on the mental side of weight maintenance. In the end I used many but not all of her cognitive therapy techniques and found them very helpful with just about every aspect of transitioning to a healthier lifestyle.

The calories:
I found a free app for the iphone called Loseit. It helps you log your calories, track your weight and set weight loss goals. You enter your age/sex/height/current weight. You then set a target weight goal and the rate at which you want to lose weight (.5lb increments up to 2 lbs/week). The program tells you how many calories you need to eat to reach that goal. To make the task seem less daunting I set my first goal for 315lbs.After I reached that goal I reset it for 310 and continued at 5lb increments. For me these smaller weight goals provided more motivation and focus because they seemed more conceivable and achievable. In the past year I’ve never gained weight when I’ve accurately logged my calories.

The food:
I’ve radically altered what I eat in the past in an attempt to lose weight. Every time I’m able to keep it up for a period of weeks or even months, but I eventually get burned out and revert to my preferred types and quantities of food. This time, however, having a yearlong goal meant I couldn’t make radical changes in what I was eating. I instead focused on balancing how much of what I prefer to eat (aka portion control) with the number of calories I needed to maintain my weight. For me, eating less quantity of food I truly want to eat is more sustainable than making major changes to what I eat. That being said I’ve made many small healthier choices in my diet.

The exercise:
The Ice Chamber has been key to me balancing my health. By committing to three days a week (m,w,f) I’ve created anchors that hold my week in place physically and mentally. The intensity, variety and team focus of the bootcamp workouts make you think about your health before, during and after the workout. It especially helps with refocusing after the weekend or when you feel like you aren’t making progress. Seeing your body getting stronger is also an incredible motivator.

Today, Pete is flexible, strong, and light on his feet.

As I come to the end of my first year at the Ice Chamber, I’m thankful to Mike and Thom for the motivation. I’m also thankful for the positive environment the Ice Chamber provides. I’m excited about continuing my progress and can’t wait to see what another year will bring.

-Pete