Focus:
noun – “the center of interest of activity”
verb – “pay particular attention to”
With the close of the Open this week, we are all aware of a few things that I recapped in an earlier post:
- We are capable of far more than we ever imagined
- We have much potential for improvement
- We have the drive to continue that constant pursuit of improvement
The Open is quite possibly the best demonstrator to the elite and ordinary athletes among us to make us continually march forward and strive for that improvement.
In short, the Open gave us all something to focus on.
When you have a clearly defined goal (aka focus), such as giving your absolute all for one workout a week, it has a profound effect on how you approach other aspects of your life. Suddenly things that seemed fairly arbitrary, like quality sleep and nutrition, take center stage as the Open workout of that week draws closer. Strategy and warm-ups were taken more seriously and you pushed yourself to levels you probably never knew you could.
But although the Open is over, we want to keep you all moving forward in your pursuit of health and fitness.
In the future, we will be giving you things to focus on in the form of specialty classes.
If you remember from my last “State of the Box” address, we detailed a number of programs that have been created over the years…all in the name of providing an increased level of value to YOU.
With all that being said, and the fact that I’m coaching at USAW Masters Nationals on Friday April 1st, I figure its the appropriate time to announce that the first specialty class that we will be offering is the return of “CFG Barbell Club.” In its former state, it was an open-ended class with no defined start or end time. And while it provided a good amount of great results and fun, we always knew that there was a better way to run it.
So allow me to introduce to you our first ever:
6-Week Olympic Weightlifting Level One Course
This program is intended for anyone interested in learning more about Olympic Weightlifting, in particular the snatch and clean & jerk. This will be 12 hours of specialized, intimate coaching over the 6 weeks. There will be athlete specific programming based on deficiencies and areas that need to be improved upon.
The focus here will be on building motor patterns through deliberate repetition. As I’m sure you’ve heard – “Practice makes permanent.” We want that ‘permanent’ to be sound, efficient, and safe technique. And we want to see you set some new PRs!
Here are some of the things that you can expect to be emphasized:
- Snatch
- Clean & Jerk
- Accessory Work
- Usage of blocks
- Video analysis and feedback with Coaches Eye every class
Oh…and in case you hadn’t seen the gym recently, we have an area dedicated 100% to our Olympic Weightlifting classes. Here are the highlights:
- Three complete sets of competition KG bumpers
- Men’s and Women’s Olympic Weightlifting Bearing Bars
- Competition grade raised lifting platforms
I’m sure some of you that have been with us for a while are wondering – “Is a Level 1 course for me?” I would turn it around and ask yourself this: “Can I benefit from focusing on the fundamentals?”
Our first class will be held on Tuesday evening, April 12th @ 8pm.
Classes will be held every Tuesday at 8pm and Saturday at 8am. They will be 1 hour in length.
Cost for the 6-week course is $155 for members and $175 for non-members. (This will include access to our Open Gym hours to complete your specific additional programming.)
The final class, Saturday May 21st, will be a mock Weightlifting meet where we will test your 1RMs in a more formal setting!
This course will be limited to just 9 people and is available on a first-come, first-served (or signed up!) basis. Here is a link to secure your spot if you’re a member.  (Non-members click here!)
And finally if you cannot make this particular 6-week course, don’t fret – we will be running them at regular intervals throughout the year. We will also be having a Level 2…
