On Schedule

Posted on January 9, 2013 by tosabarbell

It still surprises me how fast time can fly by. It seems like weeks ago since Bigg’s bicep tendon repair and the beginning of rehab and it’s already been a little over three months. I’ve been very proud of him and his hard work on this rehab, he’s working a little harder but taking far better care of himself overall than his first repair. He’s stronger than ever and on track to begin event training in preparation for Lapland and the Champions League Iceman Lapland event in March.

The Iceman is one of Bigg’s favorite competitions. Really, how could it not be? There’s snow; it’s freezing out; the dude is right at home!  He and Oz even wore their Iceman Lapland snuggies to the New Year’s Day Polar Plunge!

Photo: Iceman polar bear plunge!

He’s on the road for most of January so training can be a bit tricky. Therefore the 380 strict press he hit last night is cause for celebration around here. Cuz he’s still rehabbing…right on schedule.

The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.

Roger Bannister

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Bully for Her!

Posted on January 8, 2013 by tosabarbell

She’s baaaaaack! After two episodes of this season’s Biggest Loser, Jillian has bullied one of her team members off the show; has made two more cry; and lost the one man she had on her team due to the White team losing the least amount of weight…AGAIN.

This woman makes great TV, for sure. Watching her get into their faces and scream; cuss; and point her finger in their faces is something to behold. I mean really, we’ve all wanted to behave like an undisciplined idiot at one time or another. The difference of course is that most of us haven’t. Cuz that’d be wrong. See?

Look up the word BULLYING. There she is! It surprises me that Wiki doesn’t have a picture of her there…yet. Heeheh. The behavior can be habitual and involve an imbalance of social or physical power.  Check! …can include verbal harassment or threat, physical assault or coercion and may be directed repeatedly towards particular victims. Check!

As a self proclaimed former fatty, Jillian finds it acceptable to bully the contestants to her heart’s content. And she gets away with it. Awesome.

A dear friend commented on one of my fb jillian rants that “some people need to be jacked up like that.” Okay Tina (love you:), here’s where your perception of “jacked up” and a responsible strength coach/trainer’s perception differ…There is “stern” coaching. I’m a stern coach. Very. There are many tricks we use to get our lifters/clients moving in a sometimes fun, but all business atmosphere. Absolutely. But we don’t bully. We don’t scream in their faces to “MOVE YOUR ASS OR GET OUT!!!!!” We don’t pour buckets of water, sponge and all, over their heads while they are being checked by a medical professional as they sit on the pavement. It was demoralizing and demeaning and that my friends is bullying.

But she’s good TV. And by all the gym gods in the universe, this HAS to be the year someone hauls off and shuts her up. Because sometimes the only way a bully will stop is to make THEM the target. And I wouldn’t miss that for the world!

Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.

Muhammad Ali

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Monday Bacon: Rudy

Posted on January 7, 2013 by tosabarbell

It never fails, no matter what kind of mood I’m in, I can walk into the last three minutes of the movie ‘Rudy’ and start crying. It’s been on a little more than usual, no doubt, due to the Notre Dame v. ‘Bama National Championship game tonight.

Although the movie is focused on Daniel ‘Rudy’ Ruettiger’s achievement of playing football at Notre Dame as an underdog , Ruettiger says that the main message he wanted to get across was his desire to contribute. To be a part of something. Awesome.

It’s a great lesson for us strength coaches. How can we contribute to further someone else’s goals and dreams? We never know where these opportunities can come from but we need to be ready for them. Our impact could be from an everyday client or a random encounter in some globo gym. Just be ready. And be nice.

Some interesting “Rudy” facts:

*All of the Ruettiger boys went by ‘Rudy.’

*The youngest boys were the best wrestlers with many going on to successful coaching careers. Attributed to the fact that they had to wrestle for everything and they learned most from the older brothers.

*Rudy’s parents settled in mid-state Wisconsin.

*ND Head Coach Dan Devine, who is portrayed in the movie as not wanting to dress or play Rudy on his last home game was actually the one who came up with the idea of dressing Ruettiger. Poor guy took a beating on the movie.

*Ruettiger found out he was Dyslexic in college at Holy Cross prior to his Notre Dame transfer.

*Rudy’s former football coach claimed that there was no quit in Ruettiger. If he were losing in a bar fight, his opponent would have to quit or kill him. He had no quit.

Awesome.

Yup. Tears. Again.

If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven’t done anything today.

Lou Holtz

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Friday Jams

Posted on January 4, 2013 by tosabarbell

Misha. I don’t know what he’s singing. Don’t care. It’s awesome.

Enjoy the weekend.

Все на солнце ровно глядим — неровно пьём и едим.

We all see the same sun, but we don’t all have the same fun.

Russian Proverb

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