Steve's Club Camden

Being Awesome in Life is a Choice.

Push Press 1-1-1-1-1

For Time:

750m Row

4 Rounds For Time:

20 Pushups
10 Pistols

Being awesome in life is a choice. Once you decide to make this choice to be the best individual you can possibly be, rather than another victim of mediocrity, life takes on a whole new meaning. While most people are simply going through the motions, walking around in a dream like state, not you. You are different. You eagerly await the next day to set out doing what you love to do and to make the best of your day. While your co-workers and friends are complaining about how hard and unfair life is, you are taking risks and fighting the good fight. You are not only pushing your body and mind to its outer limits but you pride yourself in being considerate of others, giving freely of your time, energy and resources to helping them - expecting nothing in return.  

As Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “Rings and other jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only true gift is a portion of thy self.” 

Help others.

Skillwork:  Rope Climb & HSPU

4 Rounds for Time:

500 meter ROW

5 HSPU

5 Burpees

25 Air Squats

This message is written by Craig Impelman for The John R. Wooden Course: 

This issue of The Wooden Way is devoted to the second item of Coach Wooden’s seven point creed “Help others.”

One of Coach Wooden’s favorite role models was Mother Theresa, whose quote, “Unless a life is lived for others, it is not worthwhile,” served as the bedrock of Coach’s lifetime commitment to helping others. After reading about her tremendous work among the poor in Calcutta, Coach resolved to do one kind thing each day for someone who could never return the favor; and he often put that same challenge to others. Coach realized that not everyone could bring hospices, orphanages and schools to underprivileged people like Mother Teresa, but we could still make a difference in someone’s life every day. Whether serving others’ needs physically or emotionally, even the simplest acts of kindness can have a tremendous positive impact. As Mother Teresa often said, “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”

Happy Thanksgiving from us to you!

Strength:  Jerk 1-1-1-1-1 @75%

Then...

2 Rounds For Reps:

AMRAP 2 Minutes:
Front Squats @ 80 % of Bodyweight (Scale as needed)

AMRAP 2 Minutes:
Thigh Touches

Complete as many front squats as possible in 2 minutes @ 80% of bodyweight. Then complete as many thigh touches as possible in 2 minutes. Repeat this with no rest after thigh touches or between movements. If an athlete must rest on thigh touches they must remain in a plank hold. There will be a 3 burpee penalty for every time the body rests on the floor. Complete burpee penalty 1 minute after completion of WOD.

"Strive each day to be considerate of others, giving freely of your time, energy, and resources to help them –and expect nothing in return. Trust that the joy you will experience in doing so cannot be matched. Opportunities to help others are all around you, every day, all the time. You need only to take a moment to notice them, and then act."

Last night I took about 15 kids to The Pop Shop in Collingswood for a small holiday party. Of course after finishing a hard workout (see above) everyone was hungry and ordered a lot of food. Since the Pop Shop is known for ice cream sundas, the kids all ordered desert too. After we all got done stuffing ourselves I asked the waitress for the check which she quickly turned around to tell me that some lady already paid for it. My immediate reponse was "what, are you serious!!" The best part of the story is we didn't get a chance to thank her. She quietly paid the bill and left before we could acknowledge her kindness and thank her.

Perhaps people feel more giving during the holidays, but I was really taken back the lady's generosity and the fact that she didn't do for personal recognition or praise. She did it purely out of the kindness of her heart. While all we ever hear in the news is the negative stuff it is refreshing to know there many good people out there that love to help others and make a difference and expect nothing in return. 

I told the kids all we can do is pay it forward and perform random acts of kindness for others. That is the way it works. 

Pay it forward. 

 

 

I'm Thankful.

Deadlift or Squat, 3x3

Then...

5 Rounds For Time of:

15 Thrusters (95/65)
15 Bar Facing Burpees

Tomorrow night we are taking Steve's Club kids to a local rib restaurant in lieu of Thanksgiving. In order to get a ticket to dinner, SC athletes must list 5 things on a sheet of paper as to what they are thankful for. Danny, 14 y/o (pictured above) wrote below what he is thankful for...

The Starfish

Strength:  Back Squat 3×5

Then...

“Grace”

30 Clean and Jerks For Time (135/95)

The Starfish
Author Unknown

"As a man walked a desolate beach one cold, grey morning he began to see another figure, far in the distance. 

Slowly the two approached each other, and he could make out a girl who kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the water. 

Time and again she hurled things into the ocean. As the distance between them continued to narrow, the man could see that the girl was picking up starfish that had been washed upon the beach and, one at a time, was throwing them back into the water. 

Puzzled, the man approached the native and asked what she was doing.

The girl replied, Throwing starfish back into the ocean.

The surf is up and the tide is going out.  If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.

The old man said, don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?

You can’t make a difference!

After listening politely, the girl bent down, picked up another starfish,

and threw it back into the surf.  Then, smiling at the man, she said

I made a difference for that one."

 

Each of us is but one person: limited, burdened with our own cares and responsibilities. We may feel there is so much to be done, and we have so little to give. We're usually short of everything, especially time and money. When we leave this shore, there will still be millions of starfish stranded on the beach. Maybe we can't change the whole world, but there isn't one of us who can't help change one person's whole world. 

One at a time. We can make a difference.

Video games are the killer app.

Strength:  Press 1 Rep Max

Then... 

12 Minute AMRAP:

200m Run
10 Push Press (95/65)
10 Knees to Elbows

Today I found out that the reason one of the kids (who was making great progess), hasn't been coming to club over the last week was because he's been too busy playing the recently released Modern Warfare video game.

He made a choice. A poor one at that, but this young man decided it was more fun and comfortable (read easy) to play video games after school instead of going to Steve's Club to workout and break a sweat. 

Rather than escape reality or daily stress of everyday life with the challenge of a hard strength workout or the intensity of a bone crushing conditioning workout next to his iron friends, he took the easy road out by sitting in front of a box playing the life of a virtual solider killing every one in sight. 

The big problem is no one plays a video game for 20 minutes. Most kids spend hours at a time sitting down mesmerized at the TV wasting away valuable day light time.

This is time that could be much better spent exercising, socializing, and being productive. 

 

Who inspires you?

Deadlift 2-2-2-2-2

Then...

”Tabata Fight Gone Bad”

Complete 40 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest. Perform 8 consecutive intervals of each of the following exercises:

Wall-ball (20/14)
Sumo Deadlift High-pull (75/55)
Box Jump (20″)
Push Press (75/55)
Row (Calories)

Justin is getting better by the rep.

Lee talking to the kids about the importance of setting goals. 

One of our athletes strolled into the gym today right before class shivering from head to toe. He was freezing cold and looked sick and ghostly. I immediately asked him if he was okay before he looked up and said it is freezing outside today. No jacket, hat or gloves on...I shot back with "well I guess so you have no jacket on." His response was that his sweatshirt and sweatpants was dirty explaining why he rode his bike today in the cold with only a pair of workout shorts and Steve's Club short sleeve shirt on. 

Kevin rides his bike to club everday. Even on days when it is freezing cold outside. Better yet, he rides his bike over 3 miles to get to our gym. And rides his back home by himself in the dark. 

This kid is motivated.  And the results clearly show. 

If you met him before he started at Steve's Club, you would think he is a completely different person today. In only 3 months he has lost well over 3 months and now of the best athletes in the club. 

In a world, when so many people make excuses not to workout and not to this or not to do that, this kid shows up...and then gets the job done.

What Would You Do If You Had A Million Dollars?

Strength:  Box Squats 8×2 @ 70%

Then...

For Time:

21-15-9

Hang Power Cleans (135/95)
50 Double Unders

This question is pretty easy for me to answer. If I had a millions dollars, I would spend about $350K to build a new gym for Steve's Club in Camden, NJ (including new equipment), donate at least $25K to our other Steve's Club participants, and spend the rest on a new beach house to enjoy with family and friends. 

 

Most important mwod ever: Slow Death by Texting

“Nancy”

5 Rounds

400 meter run

15 Overhead Squats (95/65)

 

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them become what they are capable of becoming.”
 
—Goethe

What Matters Most...

Strength:  Front Squat 1 Rep Max

Tabata’s

DB Push Press (45/25)

Box Jumps

Wall touches in plank position

Complete 6 intervals of 20 seconds followed by 10 seconds rest.  Complete all 6 intervals of one movement before moving on to the next.

From Conditioning Research blog:

"I have spent the last week with my parents. My Dad has dementia - mixed Alzheimer's and vascular - which is a cruel condition. It is painful to watch his bewilderment at the world, terrible to see my mum's heartbreak at losing her man, yet wonderful to see them both retain such tenderness. 

It made me realize that so much of all the drama in life does not matter. Including all the petty debates around diet and exercise. All the energy that we all expend studying and writing on training and eating mean little in the end. 75 or 80 years on this earth are pretty short. 

But I am also thinking of what does matter. 

Love and relationships
Happiness
Health and function. 

It is that last one that keeps me going here. If there is any thing that I can do to avoid ending like my dad I want to try to do it. Brain health, sufficient strength, balance, functional movement (climbing stairs, getting out of a chair) good bowel function, life without a catheter - you don't often see those as goals on your training blogs but when we look to our 70s or 80s that is what is important. 

Further up that list - happiness. Dad said to me in a moment of clarity, Get out and enjoy the world. I will. That means training and mountains. It means fewer 10-12 hour days at work. More walks. More laughing. 

Love and relationships."