What Is Strength?
Strength is defined by the National Academy of Sports Medicine as, “The ability of the neuromuscular system to produce internal tension to overcome an external force. “
Calling All Women
Today’s newsletter is specifically for the ladies - but listen up guys please do not be afraid to share this with your mom, wife, sister, or friends.
Meet Kiah
I currently have the pleasure and opportunity to train Kiah. She is a former pro volleyball player and has decided to become a firefighter. The genetic gods blessed Kiah - she has a 24-inch vertical, which told me she would be able to lift more weight than the average woman and quite a few men.
Kiah will be starting the Fire Academy in the spring. She’s been with me for 2 months and will be squatting 3 sets of 5 reps at 200 lbs. this morning. Kiah has been open to my approach of 4 compound exercises, chin-ups, and pushing a sled for conditioning. I explained to her on the first day that to compete against the guys in the physical aspect of the academy we had to make her strong, she agreed and off we went.
Barbells
The program that she is on is boring and brutally hard. There are no ab exercises, no arm exercises, nor any one legged “functional” exercises. It’s all about barbell exercises and she has to lift 5 lbs. more every time she dances into the gym. Easier said than done, I promise you that.
Why We Do This
What Kiah is building is: strength, conditioning, and mental toughness that will help her save someone’s life or her own one day. It’s also giving her a real chance to make it through the Fire Academy.
Listen Up Ladies
Kiah is an awesome example to all of us. She isn’t conforming to how women should train, what women should do, or how women should look. She knows that the stronger she is, the stronger her chance of survival. Strength training benefits outperform so many other training modalities and our survival can be predicated on our strength.
Go Kiah!
I can help you strength train with 1-on-1 personal or online training 310.251.7420
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