This is Michele

If I had to describe Michele’s work output, power output, work capacity and performance during a workout on a consistent basis it would be, let’s call it, respectable, with room for improvement. I mean, Michele tries hard but, she could try harder.
Well, on Tuesday, she did!!
Michele, not unlike a lot of people who come into the gym, will use the same weight on the bar regardless of what the movement is.
I’m not sure the exact reason but I think it’s because they have a certain number in their heads and don’t think they can go above that weight no matter what the movement is.
Tuesday we did the Clean complex.
It was 1 Power Clean, 1 Hang Squat Clean and 1 Front Squat every minute for 10 minutes.
Normally, Michele would never go above 55 lbs on the bar.
As we went through the 10 min EMOM with Michele fighting me on every minute, we went up to 75 lbs!
She did the last 5 sets with 75 lbs!!
That’s 20 lbs more than she has ever done, ever!
I let Michele know that her performance was super impressive compared to her normal behavior.
You see!!!! Anyone can do it, you just gotta get the fuck out of your head and stop thinking you can’t do heavy weight.
No matter what “heavy” means to you, you can do more!!
Just fuckin do it!
That’s 75 lbs! Most people can barely lift a 75 lb bar let alone clean it!
Great Fuckin Job Michele!!

Every 3 minutes (5) sets:
Stiff-Leg Deadlifts 8-12 reps
Bulgarian Split Squats 6-8 reps ea.
Goblet Cossack 8 ea.

4 Rounds
Run 200
Weighted Walking Lunges x 20 @50/35
Ski 200/150
Thruster x 7 reps @115/75
Rest :90

There seems to be a little misconception about my emotional state when I write these emails.

I’m not angry at all.

I’m fine.

I’m actually burnt up about these other misconceptions that refuse to die, like,

Everything at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s is healthy.

Jumping around for an hour doing endless cardio automatically makes you fit.

And that women shouldn’t lift heavy weights because they’ll get “bulky.”

How the fuck is this still a thing?

There are doctors, researchers, coaches, trainers, and approximately 47 billion female fitness influencers telling women how important strength training is, and there are STILL women walking past the dumbbells like touching one is going to cause them to wake up tomorrow morning looking like a professional bodybuilder.

If putting on muscle were that fucking easy, every guy in every gym in America would look like Mr. Olympia, they don’t.

Strength training—and yes, eventually lifting some reasonably heavy shit—is important for maintaining muscle, strength, bone health, physical function, and independence as we age. (Annie got her bone density tested. She has the bone density of a 35 year old athlete and she’s 60!)

Not just for men.

For HUMANS.

Are females not human?

As we get older, losing strength, muscle, balance, and bone density can have real consequences. Being physically weak at 70 or 80 isn’t just about not being able to lift something heavy. It can mean having trouble getting off the floor, carrying groceries, climbing stairs, maintaining your balance, or catching yourself when you stumble.

A fall when you’re 25 can be embarrassing.

A fall when you’re 80 can change your fucking life.

So I would genuinely love to know where this ridiculous idea that women shouldn’t lift weights came from.

I blame the pharmaceutical companies because it makes for a much better profit margin when people age and need to be on their chaotic medications.

Waiting until you’re old and weak to start worrying about being old and weak is a terrible fucking strategy.

You don’t build strength because you want to become a bodybuilder.

You build strength because someday you’re going to be older than you are today.

You’re going to want to carry your own groceries.

Wiping your own ass and being able to get yourself off the toilet.

Pick up your grandchildren.

Walk up a flight of stairs without tripping over the step, falling and cracking your head open.

Get off the fucking floor without calling the fire department.

Getting up after a nasty spill in Pickleball.

Strength gives you options.

Weakness takes them away.

Start lifting heavy shit and you might accidentally become a strong, capable 75-year-old who can still do whatever the fuck she wants.

400 Run
3 Rounds:
15 Overhead Squats 95/65
20 GHD Sit Ups
20 Hip Extensions

Rest 1 Min

Run 800
3 Rounds:
12 Overhead Squats 95/65
15 GHD Sit Ups
15 Hip Extensions

Rest 1 MIn

Run 400
30 Overhead Squats 95/65
30 GHD Sit Ups
30 Hip Extensions

I was told today that most of you not only do not read my emails but even more upsetting, do not even abide by them.
Is this true?
Do most of you not even read them?
I guess if you’re not reading them, you wouldn’t be reading this.
For those of you who do read them, why do you not follow my advice?
Do you feel my advice in wrong?
What do you think when you read, EAT MEAT, CHICKEN, FISH, AND EGGS?
Do you just ignore it?
Do you even think about the benefits of doing so?
Do you say, maybe one day i’ll give it a try?
Do you say to yourself, well, i kinda eat like that?
Do you say, how the hell am I supposed to eat only MEAT, CHICKEN, FISH AND EGGS?
My advice to you would be to follow my advice, there’s no other way.
EAT MEAT, CHICKEN, FISH, EGGS AND LIFT HEAVY SHIT!

I find something else peculiar also.
It seems to be a trend that when I correct a movement, some of you guys say, “I know, I’m tired” or even better, “I know, I have an injury”.
I don’t quite understand both those quotes.
Do you do things incorrectly when you’re tired or when you’re injured?
I would think you would focus on the movement more when you’re tired as to not let it break down.
If you are injured and your injury is effecting that movement, don’t do it.
When I correct a movement, there’s no debate about it, there’s one way to do it and if I’m correcting yours, you ain’t doin it right.
Let’s take pulling with your arms before reaching full extension on the Clean.
This is WRONG! There’s no two ways about it, it’s totally wrong.
Whether you are tired or injured, doesn’t make it right. Just leaves you more of a chance of getting injured.
When I tell you to engage your core and brace, you either do it correctly or you don’t.
You don’t stop bracing cause you’re tired, that’s total nonsense and silly.
LISTEN TO ME!
EAT MEAT, CHICKEN, FISH, EGGS, LIFT HEAVY SHIT AND MOVE CORRECTLY!!!

Run 400
2 ROUNDS
I’s, Y’s and T’s x 10
Banded Int/Ext Rotations x 10
Banded Pull Aparts x 10
Face Pulls x 10
Inchworm x 10

5 Sets Each Couplet:
Bench Press 5-8
Barbell Bent Row 5-8

Shoulder Press -5-8
Chin-Up 5-8

DB Pullover 5-8
Side Lateral 10-12

3 Sets Each Couplet:
DB Kickback 8-10
Alternate DB Curl 8-10

Skull Crushers 8-10
Barbell Curl 8-10

It seems like some of you are still not bracing properly when lifting.
Unfortunately, bracing is one of the most overlooked yet one of the most important aspects of lifting.
Even college athletes who have come into the gym over the years were not only unaware of how to brace properly but totally unaware of what bracing means.
So, let’s talk about this issue once again.

Bracing your core before lifting is one of the most important habits you can develop for both performance and injury prevention. At its core bracing means creating tension through your midsection—your abs, obliques, lower back, and even your diaphragm—to stabilize your spine under load.

When you lift without bracing, your spine is more vulnerable to excessive movement, especially under heavy weight. This can lead to inefficient force transfer and increase your risk of injury, particularly in movements like squats, deadlifts, and overhead presses. Bracing essentially turns your torso into a solid “pillar,” allowing your arms and legs to generate more power safely.

From a performance standpoint, a properly braced core improves strength output. When your midsection is stable, force generated from your lower body transfers more effectively through your torso and into the bar or weight. That’s why experienced lifters often appear more “tight” or controlled during lifts—they’re not just strong, they’re stable.

Bracing also plays a key role in protecting your lower back. By increasing intra-abdominal pressure (think of expanding your belly 360 degrees, not just sucking it in), you create internal support for your spine. This reduces shear forces and helps maintain a neutral spine position throughout the lift.

In simple terms: if you’re not bracing, you’re leaving strength on the table and increasing your injury risk. Learning to brace properly—big breath into the belly, lock it in, and maintain tension throughout the lift—can immediately improve both your safety and performance in the gym.

Pay attention to this when Squatting, Deadlifting, Pressing, Cleaning, Snatching and even when doing bodyweight movements.
Basically you should always BRACE!
You’re much more powerful and in a stronger position when braced.

Run 400
1 minute Prayer Stretch
3 Sets x 5 Reps with an Empty Barbell
Elbow Punches
Front Squat
Muscle Clean
Clean from Power Position
Tempo Cleans

10 Min EMOM
Power Clean + Hang Clean + Front Squat

9 Min EMOM
10/7 Cal Bike
175/125 SKI
:45 KB Goblet Walk

-Rest 2 Minutes-

8 Min Amrap
Run 100
15 Wall Ball
3 Heavy Power Clean or 5 Light Power Clean

Ali works at Boost. Boost is one of them wellness places with cryo, cold plunge, sauna, red light stuff, and those things that go around your legs and squeeze real tight, the compression sleeves.
Ali got a special offer for anyone who wants to try it out from the gym.
Give it a try, I been doing the cryo, seems to help a bit. Either it’s helping or I’m just so fuckin cold that I can’t feel anything.

Are you only eating MEAT, CHICKEN, FISH AND EGGS or are you eating what I just mentioned plus other shit as well?
When I say, EAT MEAT, CHICKEN, FISH AND EGGS, I MEAN ONLY EAT MEAT, CHICKEN, FISH AND EGGS.
NOT BACON AND EGGS ON A ROLL, CHICKEN PARMESAN, A FILET O FISH, OR STEAK COVERED WITH MASHED POTATOES.
IT’S VERY SIMPLE, EAT MEAT, CHICKEN, FISH, EGGS AND LIFT HEAVY SHIT!
STOP MAKING THIS SO DIFFICULT.
STICK TO THOSE 5 THINGS UP ABOVE AND YOU’LL BE HAPPY.

Run 400
1 Min Deep squat
10 KB Halo
10 Goblet Squat
10 Squat and reach
10 Cossack
10 World’s greatest stretch
10 Bird Dog
10 Dead Bug
10 Single Leg Glute Bridge

10 Min EMOM
Back Squat x 3
Increase from last week

Every 2 Minutes (10) Sets
Run 200
5 Devil’s Press 50/35

Run 400
Hip Airplane x 10
Single Leg RDL w/ KB x 10
Cat-Cow x 10
Bird Dog x 10
Side Plank clamshell x 10
Dead bug x 10
Single leg glute bridge x 10

Every 3 min x 5
Deadlift x 5
DB Weighted Step ups x 5 ea.
Goblet Side Lunges x 5 ea.

5 Rounds
7 Power Clean + 7 Thrusters @135/95

4 Sets each exercise
:20 work / :40 rest
Bike
Air Squat

50 Minute EMOM:
1 – Run 200
2 – Burpee Box Jump Overs x 6
3 – Ski 175/125
4 – D-Ball Toss x 6
5 – Run 200
6 – Toes 2 Bar x 10
7 – Ski 175/125
8 – Wall Ball x 15
9 – Run 200
10 – Rest

Name these three headless people

Run 400
20 PVC Pass Throughs
I’s, Y’s and T’s x 10
Banded Int/Ext Rotations x 10
Face Pulls x 10
Inchworm x 10

Complete the First set of each exercise for 12-20 reps
Rest for 10-20 seconds and repeat the same weight till failure
Complete this for a total of 4 times keeping the weight the same throughout the set.

Bench Press
Incline DB Bench Press
Barbell Row
Chin Ups
Barbell Shoulder Press
DB Side Laterals
Skull Crushers
DB Kickbacks
Barbell Curl

This is from Google, not me, so you can trust it to be true.
High intensity exercise triggers an immediate, dynamic shift in the bloodstream, altering nearly a quarter of circulating blood proteins and hundreds of metabolites within minutes. this rapid molecular response surpasses the immediate changes seen in much longer moderate workouts, mobilizing energy, hormones, and immune factors to support stressed tissue.
Translation: Long drawn out workouts compared to short intense bursts, are gay.

8 Min EMOM:
1. Run 200
2. Battle Ropes :30

Rest 2 min.

8 Min EMOM:
1. SKI 175/125
2. Farmers Carry :45 / 70/53

Rest 2 min.

8 Min AMRAP
Run 100
Thruster x 5 x 135/95
5 Burpee Box Jumps 24/20

Rest 2 min.

10 Min AMRAP
Bike 10/7
DB Snatch 50/35 x 14 (7 ea.)
Walking Lunges x 20 (10 ea.)

It’s Larry / Barry / Lambos / Peter Parkinson’s Birthday!!!!

Larry has been a member and a dear friend since he joined the gym in 2010.
I remember Peter Parkinson’s first day when he had to run 400 with the medicine ball and almost puked, or maybe he did puke, I can’t remember.
Maybe none of that happened, you’ll have to ask Peter himself.
I do know that since then we’ve developed a great relationship.
Barry’s a great dude, always there when anyone needs help with anything (especially me), as loyal and trustworthy as the day is long, and he’s got a huge heart.
But, what stands out most is his motivation and inspiration, overcoming a huge roadblock in his life.
Lambos could have let this thing depress him and keep him down, but he chose to keep training like a mother fucker and take this shit head on.
Because of Larry’s tenacity you wouldn’t even know what the fuck is going on with him.
Larry comes in the gym 5 days a week and fuckin pounds the weights, still lifting as heavy as ever.
Happy Birthday me Brotha!
You’re an inspiration to everyone.
We’re doin the Parkinson’s walk again in October.
I know you all want to make sure you come out and support “The Amazing Adventures of Peter Parkinson’s again”.
I’ll find out when it is exactly and let you know how to get in on the shirts Greg creates!
Thank You, Gregory

Run 400
1 Min Deep squat
10 Goblet Squat
10 Squat and reach
10 Cossack
10 World’s greatest stretch
10 Bird Dog
10 Dead Bug
10 Single Leg Glute Bridge

10 Min EMOM
Back Squat x 3
Increase from last week

Every 2 minutes for (10) Rounds
Alternate
Run 200/ 10 Swings
and
Bike 10/7 Cals/ 10 Burpees