Steve's Club

Starting a Steve's Club.

“Partner WOD”

5 Rounds For Time of:

40 KB Swings (#53-35)

30 Burpees

20 Goblet Squats (#53-35)

I started the first Steve's Club in the summer of 2007 with no idea that the concept would spread to other cities across the country. I'm very proud to say that Steve's Club is now a national 501c3 charter and the concept is slowly spreading to other inner cities and gyms in America that serve local at-risk youth between the ages of 13 and 19 years old.

CrossFit is our fitness program of choice to bring kids together to have fun, get in shape and provide an opportunity to teach its members the values of hard work, commitment and persistence through mentoring and high level coaching.  

While the endeavor is certainly not financially rewarding, it offers a great deal of self rewards that go well beyond any monetary gains. 

 Everyday is a chance to positively influence a young teens life that is vitally important for the individual's future success, especially considering the challenges many of these kids face growing up in one of the nation's poorest cities with exceedingly high crime and drug use rates.

 I believe Steve's Club acts as a beacon for hope, a place to get away from it all, and a strong support center to become a better person physically, interpersonally, and civically. 

There is no question that starting a Steve's Club youth program to bring CrossFit, coaching and support to kids (who desperately need it, but cannot afford it) is NOT for everyone, but those who are interested in health and fitness, helping others in need, and genuinely want to make a difference in their local community....I believe there is no better job in the world. 

Please check out the Steve's Club National Program website here (http://www.stevesclub.org) to learn more on starting a local Steve's Club. 

 

The Stick-Up Boys.

For Time:
 
500m Row
 
Immediately followed by:
 
12-9-6-3
 
KB Swings (70/53)
Burpees
1 Rope Climb (sub 3 deadhang pullups)

 One of our new athletes that recently joined Steve's Club, was telling a story today about her 17 year old brother who was shot in the face last year. He was walking home around 10pm at night when 3 adult males jumped out of the car to rob him. They threw him on the sidewalk, stole his cell phone, wallet and money and proceeded to kick the living daylights out of him. 

After the stomping was over, one of the guys pulled out a gun to shoot the young guy in the top of the head to kill him. At the very last minute, he pulled his head back and miraculously the bullet skimmed down his head through his face under the eye. He then played dead so the attackers took off.

Lying on the sidewalk with blood shooting out like a faucet, he casually walked home to knock on his door where his mom answered in a frantic panic.  

Luckily he survived that day, although his friend was not as lucky when he was attacked a few months later by the same group of heartless, spineless and ruthless group notoriously known as the Stick-Up Boys. 

Hearing this story from the young girl just made me cringe. Just hard to believe that individuals are capable of such heinous acts. 

Are those individuals responsible for committing these crimes raised by the devil or are they just products of their environment and victims of their circumstances?

My personal opinion is neither. The reason I say that is because I know and work with hundreds of kids and teens from Camden who would never do such a thing as to rob other people and shoot them in the face. 

While I don't think there is just one thing to blame, I do strongly believe that a young person's attitude and mentality is strongly shaped by their peers and what they believe is cool or not cool.

Surrounding one self with friends that uphold the same high standards, values and attitude is probably one of the most important factors that shape a young person's live into adulthood. 

I'm proud to say that Steve's Club serves as a positive, safe-haven for many young teens where they can come to learn, make friends, get stronger, fitter and share stories with other like minded kids. 

One of my favorite quotes is, "If you lie down with the dogs, you get up with the fleas." In other words, you become who you hang out with. 

 

 

Strong Mind, Strong Body

 “Triple Threat”
 
Complete the following three Tabata’s:
 
Hang Power Snatch (Unbroken, choose load – suggested load 75)
Wallballs (20/14)
Thigh Touches
 
In this workout, athletes will complete three seperate rounds of tabata, starting with hang power snatches.  Power snatches are to be done from the hang and unbroken without putting down the bar, choose load accordingly.  Each tabata will be 8 rounds of 20 sceonds of work, 10 seconds of rest.  Complete all 8 rounds of hang power cleans before moving on to wallballs, all 8 rounds of wallballs before moving on to thigh touches.

The Mind Controls the Body

10 minute video worth watching this amazing solo climb...

Art is everywhere.

Team WOD

3 Rounds

1 minute AMRAP 

Ring Pushups/Ring Rows

Burpees

Toes To Bar

Box Jumps (24″)

KB Goblet Squats (#53/24)

 

Kelvin pushes himself past his physical limits. 

Pre-workout stretch!

Cool video.

Kevin gets his first Rope Climb and proves that hard work pays off!

Kevin gets his first Rope Climb at Steve's Club! from steve liberati on Vimeo.

Kids need to LIFT weights and MOVE.

Weighted Pullup 2-2-2-2-2

followed by:
 
3 Rounds For Time of:
 
5 Power Cleans (heavy!)

15 Pushups

25 Air Squats

 

Danny (14 yrs old) did the workout in sub 7 minutes at #155 (he weighs 145 pounds!)

Click on link below:

Children's Brain Development Is Linked to Physical Fitness, Research Finds

 

Trip to CrossFit Sports Series in Rockaway, NY

Community matters. This past Saturday...Steve's Club from Camden, NJ and Steve's Club from Brooklyn, NY spent the day at the CrossFit Sports Series at Rockaway Beach in Queens. What a fun day...kids had a blast! Great workout, fun activities and great people to spend the day with.

 

Going outside your comfort level.

OH Squats @ 70% – 2 Reps on the minute for 10 minutes.

followed by:
 
8 Minute AMRAP:
 
2 Muscle-Ups (sub is pushups)
5 Deadlifts (315/185)

 

Leisha crushing her first CrossFit workout!

 

"The people who want to impact others the most are never looking to make the world a more comfortable place. They are looking to make the world a better place. Comfort does not equal better." - Josh Bunch

Hey kids...Be yourself! Simple but solid advice from coaching great, Bill Parcells

Push Press 2-2-2-2-2
 
followed by:
 
4 Rounds For Time of:
 
5 Hang Power Cleans (#65-95)
5 Front Squats (#65-95)
5 Push Jerk (#65-95) 

 

Forget about the results.

3 Rounds NOT For Time of:
 
10 Pushups
15 Power Cleans (#95-115)
25 Air Squats

 

Let me preface this post by saying that I love timed (ex. AMRAP's - as many rounds as possible) and tasked (ex. 3 rounds for time) oriented workouts. I love training on the clock when doing conditioning based workouts as a tool to remind myself to get as much work done in as little time as possible. After all, a stop watch and CrossFit go together like jerky, nuts and berries:>) Time it, record it and measure it. Come back and beat your old time. Chase performance is the name of the game, so they say.

However, at least once a week I will do a not for timed CrossFit workout and advise Steve's Club athletes to do the same.

What I discovered is...No clock  = Less pressure. Rather than complete the task as fast as possible, the goal is to focus on the quality and efficiency of the movements.

Forget about the results and the outcome.

Instead, the point is to make the workout as enjoyable as possible. 

Sometimes, happiness comes when you're free from the pressure to see the desired outcome.