Strength Sunday

Yesterday after coaching you guys at 11am, I volunteered to go with weightlifting coach Ben and lifter CC from Midtown to teach the olympic lifts to a group of 20 girls from the Firebreathers in Training Club (article). Located in Roseville at Crossfit Determination, it's an affiliate of Steve's Club that serves at-risk middle and high school girls. Some have unstable home lives or are in various outreach programs. They've been doing metcon-type workouts once a week since about April but haven't touched a barbell yet. 

As a coach, I haven't taught beginners in about six months, and it was refreshing to break down the snatch and clean and jerk to the most basic of movements and help these kids figure out how to move correctly. As a former teacher, it was great to get back into the mix and find the right balance of pushing and encouraging. For you guys, it's just pushing, you can handle it. 

Some notable highlights: 1) Pushing a kid too far to the point of her frustration/tears but having her come back and do it anyway. I still feel bad about that but we talked about it and part of this program is for them to deal with anger. I may also have experience coaching adults and teaching young adults, but coaching young adults is still difficult for me.

2) Teaching a girl her first split jerk using "dip aaand SUPERSTAR" as a cue and watching her land it perfectly (and hella fast).

3) Helping a girl who just moved into a new foster home and has a joint issue, where she will fall if her legs go out of alignment, learn to jerk and box squat. She can't squat normally or reliably jump and land in a split jerk without her right leg giving out. Can you imagine that happening in your daily life as you sit on a chair or walk to your desk?

A lot of them struggled with being embarrassed to try new things, self-doubt and a lack of confidence leading to frustration, and translating verbal/visual cues to their own movements. I'm sure those feelings are familiar to some of you as well, but the girls cheered each other on when trying lifts with a barbell for the first time and it was a great community to be a part of for a little while. 

Visiting the girls reminded me how thankful I am to have CFES, where I can work out with a great group of people every day, and members who regularly come to class motivated to get better every time. 

Tuesday 6pm: Max thruster 2011 Regionals standards
Thursday 6pm: Bench with competition commands
Sat 11am: Canceled this week due to Strongman Competition in Vacaville. Come support your fellow members Dao T., Casey C., and Laura B.!