How about some healthy competition?

by Dunte Hector

Adults have an immense need to find some healthy competition.

Sports are pushed to children for myriad reasons, including the life lessons they can teach you and the building up of the mind & body that come as a result. Those same lessons are critical for adults!

A talented business coach once said, “The four most dangerous words in the English language are ‘I already know that.'” As adults, we already “know” the life lessons taught by sport: dedication, effort, savoring the journey, self-confidence, acknowledging weaknesses, showing up despite our nerves. But have you ever read a good book again and discovered gems hidden in it that you just weren’t ready for earlier in your life?

Today, I argue for you, DBS family, to get involved in our Strength Series. We have hosted two meets already, from which participants have emerged refreshed, focused on new goals, and excited about their potential. This Sunday, we have a third: Olympic-style weightlifting.

If you were present for the all-day weightlifting seminar presented by Thomas and Samantha Lower, or if you’ve been in Strength class in the last 3 months, or if you’ve enjoyed any part of the fast barbell lifts we’ve used in the last few training cycles, you will be delighted with the sport of weightlifting. The strength sports celebrate winners, of course, as all sports do. However, their true appeal, like Strength Week during the Community Gains Project, is how excited a whole crowd of people gets when you set a new personal best in a lift.

The entire community of weightlifting LOVES to see a lifter succeed. Lifters love to witness the courage of someone showing up on the platform. And they love those things tenfold for someone trying for the first time.

The DBS community – especially the coaches – loves to show the same kind of support. So why not let us cheer for you this weekend?

Weightlifting is made up of the snatch and the clean & jerk. During competition, no one is judging your technique or looking to correct your movement. During competition, everyone is just waiting to celebrate your personal victory on the platform.

Whether you’ve done so deliberately or not, you’ve already invested time and energy into preparing for this sport. These two lifts build explosiveness and encourage lean muscle growth like no other, so we do them every week.

Whether you’ve planned to compete or not, you’ve already committed your mind, on multiple occasions, to putting the bar overhead with as much weight as you could. The Olympic lifts demand focus and aggression that always carry over into everyday life.

And whether you ever thought of yourself as an athlete or not, you’ve already demonstrated many of an athlete’s finest qualities: cultivating a skill and constantly seeking improvement. Weightlifting has been described as “gymnastics with heavy implements,” and you’ve been practicing for at least 3 months now.

So try yourself in competition this weekend! At the very least, come to the Shop on Sunday between 10:00am and 2:00pm to cheer on one of your peers.

Because, in our sneaky way, we have already helped you re-learn many of the life lessons that sport provides. All that remains now is to show up and lift. A little competition will do you a lot of good.

Click here to register for Sunday’s Olympic Meet at the Shop!

The Most Perfect Workout Yet

Sometimes it still alarms me when people–friends or family members, especially– ask me: “How do I get in shape?”

Never mind that my thought about what “in shape” is might differ from yours. I simply spend so much time reading fitness, writing fitness, and thinking about fitness that I just start assuming that everyone knows what I know. DBS family, I know you already know to exercise often and with intensity, to eat quality food in sensible amounts, and to take care of yourself mentally and emotionally. However, you may not know what it is about intense exercise that improves your “shape.”

So today, I’m writing about the upcoming Friday workout (Day 5, week 3 of this Community Gains Project), the first workout I may ever describe as “Perfect.”

I wrote a while back that fitness is NOT health and that improving your fitness demands asking “fit for what task?” If “everyday life and the hopefully rare emergency” is your task, then Friday is the perfect workout for you.

Training for exemplary general fitness–exactly what we do at the Shop–should incorporate several things:

  1. Heavy loads (called intensity)
  2. High total reps (called volume)
  3. Picking things up
  4. Carrying things
  5. Getting up and down from the floor
  6. Moving as fast as possible (while being safe & in perfect form)

That’s the standard list. You could pick any day of any week and notice we do those in class. But there are some additional things that are just as or more useful:

  1. Social interaction
  2. Mental/intellectual challenge
  3. Emotional stimulation (usually “fun” is correct, but competition stirs up certain feelings that are also healthy)
  4. Challenges at the edge of ability

That’s definitely a more complex list.

To answer the original question: “How do I get in shape?” Well, for exercise purposes, find a few workouts that do all 10 things above and attack them with everything you have.

So back to Friday: We have the Most Perfect Workout yet at DBS all ready for you.

Friday we have a card game mixed into a nearly impossible workout. It will be you versus the world. (Against your class at least.) The movements are very simple, but they involve a tremendous expense of energy. Because they are simple, you can load them up heavy and do them very fast. I noted that the workout is nearly impossible, and that’s important. If you’re aggressive, clever, and committed to getting the best out of yourself, you can finish this thing in 50 minutes or less, guaranteed. If you’re having an off day or your classmates really hose you in the card game, things could get hairy!

I don’t want to reveal the fun details, but I will give you the basic rules and an overview. I want you to be both prepared and excited for this Most Perfect Workout.

THE MOVEMENTS

Kettlebell Swings

Push-ups

Suitcase Carry

THE BASIC RULES

  1. Everyone begins with 2 cards.
  2. If you receive a card, your push-ups become burpees for one round.
  3. If you lose or give a card, your push-ups become sprawls for one round.
  4. If you accumulate 4 cards, you can “cash in” to skip push-ups for one round.

There are plenty of rounds, my friends, so don’t worry if you get a little confused at the beginning.

That’s all you have to know for now to show up Friday and have an incredible experience. Remember to keep things playful (or go for the jugular and pass out Burpees like Skittles). Remember to pace yourself (or put down the hammer and crush this thing). Remember to use a comfortable load (or get amped up and surprise yourself with your strength).

If being fit enough to live a high quality life and be prepared for the occasional threat is your goal, take note of how you feel Friday. I can’t speak for everyone (after all, “in shape” means different things to different people), but if you’ve liked the way we train at the Shop so far, you’re going to love Friday.

And…Saturday, please send all hate mail directly to me: dunte.hector@gmail.com, that way, I can be certain that you all know by then exactly what I know now.

Feb Athletes COUPLES EDITION: Joe & Carol Cannon

Since it’s the month of love, we decided to pick a few lovebirds who motivate each other in and out of the Shop. And we’d like to congratulate Joe and Carol Cannon, our next Fusion Athlete COUPLE for February! Joe and Carol come to the Shop for different reasons. Whether for strength, flexibility, or longevity, Joe and Carol are in this together and we’re happy to have them aboard! Keep up the great work, you two! Continue reading

Feb Athlete COUPLES EDITION: Joe Moore and Chelsea Phillips

In celebration of February, the month of love, we picked two fantastic couples who rev each other’s engines in the Shop. Joe Moore and Chelsea Phillips are one of our February Fusion Couples! When they’re not wranglin’ animals, they’re clocking in hours at the Shop. They’ve been a regular part of Hybrid for some months now, and we can’t get enough of how much energy they bring everyday! Congratulations, Joe and Chelsea! Have you always worked out together, or did you start when you joined DBS? Chelsea: Since we started working together about a year ago, we started working out together too. We worked out pretty sporadically until starting at Dane’s. The variety of workouts at classes and great people have helped us stay on a regular schedule. DBS is the best! Joe: Actually, one of the first times we met involves working out. I started a running group at UT. Chelsea was the only one that showed up the first day, so we ran three miles and I was impressed with her pace. Dane’s definitely has kept our working out consistent which is key in seeing results. How competitive do you feel your other half

is? C: Joe is pretty competitive. He’s always going for higher PRs and never wants to be at the end of the group on a workout. J: Chelsea is pretty competitive. She grew up in a big military family of five. She is also a mean basketball player. Get her on the court and she’s trouble. Messed around last week and she got a triple double. Who does all the dirty workout laundry? C: Hahaha. We usually put it off as long as possible–or at least I do, which means Joe usually ends up doing it. He has a lower tolerance than I do. J: Unfortunately, that is my chore. Anyone have any advice on washing those Dri-fit workout clothes? Outside of the Shop, what are your active hobbies? C: I don’t think it counts as a hobby, but we run a traveling petting zoo together which often involves a lot of heavy lifting. Can we plug our business? Quick plug! Check us out at www.tinytailstoyou.com We also try to do as much camping and hiking as possible. We got to hike Half Dome at Yosemite over the summer, It was an insane 17 mile hike with 4800 feet elevation.I feel much more prepared for it now that I’ve been going to Dane’s for a while. We also play pickup basketball around Austin. J: We like reading, hiking, and we’re both into making art and playing music. We also play pick up basketball at a few courts around town, twin towers!

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What do you feel is the biggest benefit of staying active and healthy together? How has the Shop helped with this? C: Running our business can be really stressful, Dane’s has helped a lot to keep the stress levels down which really helps our marriage too. J: Being self employed allows us to schedule our time better. The variety and availability of workouts are a huge plus. We can always fit in a workout, and they are never the same. DBS is always a blast, and I always leave the garage feeling really good about myself! Which one of you is more apt to push the other one harder than they want to go? Or to come an extra day to the Shop? C: I want to say I do, but when it comes down to it, it’s more often Joe pushing us to keep our commitment. J: I was the first one to take the plunge into getting a membership at Dane’s Body Shop and persuaded Chelsea to check it out, so I would say me. What do you think is your spouse’s favorite movement? Which do you think they are the best at? C: I think Joe likes the variety of movements in the workouts more than anything. I’m always really impressed with how much he can lift in the Olympic movements though I think it’s a cop-out to say all of them… J: I think Chelsea likes the Power Clean. It was tricky for her at first but she has been working hard on it and is now seeing the benefits. Stay tuned for the next February couple, coming tomorrow…

Working out for two!

Pregnancy is hard work, and that’s a fact. But coupling pregnancy with fitness can seem like an insurmountable task, or something that may seem complicated when it comes to the health of the mother and the baby. DBS Member Meredith Berlin was certainly up for the task when she became pregnant. From the first trimester, she never stopped coming to the Shop. She was able to work with the coaches to find a fitness regimen that helped her keep in tip-top shape while also preserving the health of the baby inside her.

Here’s her story:Continue reading

The Community Gains Project Starts Today!

It’s wild how quickly 8-12 weeks can go by here at the Shop.  Time flies when you’re having fun, we know that’s true, and we’ve been having the time of our lives! So let’s put that hard work to the test and see how well you’ve all improved! That’s right, this means we’re embarking on another month of the Community Gains Project!

Some of you newer community members may not have experience Community Gains with us, so we asked Coach Dunte, a few questions to familiarize you with what’s about to go down over the next three weeks.

 

First, can you explain to any newcomers what the Community Gains Project is?

The Community Gains Project is the performance testing component of our programming at the Shop, where the skills practiced and lifts trained in the previous 8-12 weeks are assessed, covering both strength work and general conditioning. It is a 3-week phase in our training cycle, including work capacity days (conditioning), 1-rep max or 2-rep max testing days (strength), and “toughness” days (hybrid strength & conditioning). When our entire community meets or exceeds their previous collective performance, we commit time and resources to contributions to the greater Austin community.

So, say I’m a new member. Would I do okay?

Absolutely. CGP is about measuring your own improvements, and when you’re brand new to a lift or a style of training, every day is PR (personal record) day!

What are the goals for each week? What happens when they are met?

Goals are defined in total reps performed during conditioning testing and total load moved during strength testing. Toughness Tests are not measured, but you know when you’re getting better at them!

When the goals are met: 1) the coaches & membership celebrate together in a non-training setting; 2) DBS contributes time & coaching to local charities; 3) the community banks credits toward “Coaches Retaliation” workouts, where the coaches fight through Toughness workouts of their own.

And what if I’m better at the strength routines, but not so much with the conditioning? How would I benefit from CGP?

You get an insight into room for monster PRs! If you have a relatively weak area in your fitness, that is an opportunity to make huge overall progress. Additionally, CGP is about doing all you can do – and doing a bit better than before – so regardless where you’re beginning, you can make a contribution.

That sounds excellent! Is there a winner? If so, what do they get?

Ultimately, the winner is each athlete who exceeds a previous performance. Personal Records are the medals of CGP. Additionally, when the community as a whole succeeds during the three weeks of testing, every person in the extended DBS family–Including the Austin Children’s Shelter—benefits.
 
Thanks, Dunte!

Well, you heard the man! Lace up your sneakers and fill up your water bottles, Community Gains is back, and it’s time to hit some new PRs… for the community, for the children, and for yourselves.

And don’t forget! Saturday, February 22, we’re playing flag football with the kids from Austin Children’s Shelter! Meet us on the field on Avenue A and 41st to play some football!

January Fusion Athlete: Kirsten Thompson

Sometimes, people love lifting weights, but hate running; love running, but hate lifting weights. Then there are people who love both! Our next January Fusion Athlete certainly loves both. As a regular to both the Strength Crew and Run Group, she’s demonstrated a strong commitment to reaching new heights in her training at the Shop. So let’s hear it for January Fusion Athlete Kirsten Thompson!
 

How did you hear about Dane’s Body Shop? What drew you to us, and how long have you been a member?

A friend told me about Dane’s Body Shop and shared how much she enjoyed it. I’d also seen the Shop in the neighborhood because I live nearby. I tried a few Fusion classes and loved them, and not long after joined the run group in March of last year. I started Fusion and Strength classes a few months later. Joining DBS was undoubtedly one of the best life changes I made in 2013.

Give us a little background on your fitness regimen before coming to DBS?

Before joining DBS, I did Crossfit for several years and ran about twice a week. However, I was looking for a different approach, and my running routine had become stale. (I’d gotten lazy and was running almost exactly the same route every week.) I knew that the run group and classes at DBS would open the door to new challenges and changes.

You have not only been involved in the Fusion and Strength classes but you also attended Run Group as well. How did you balance all three? What did you like about Run Group?

I love the variety at DBS, and the classes complement each other. The conditioning and stamina work in Run Group helps in Fusion classes and vice versa. Also, the focus on form in Strength class applies to the lifts we do in Fusion. So, it’s hard for me not to want to do everything. (Though I haven’t taken any yoga classes, yet – something I plan to try this year.) I make sure to plan a schedule with a little bit of Fusion, Strength, and Run Group each week. Then I’ll make other choices based on how my body is feeling that day or week or if I feel I need rest.

The DBS Run Group is a wonderful, supportive group of people, and it’s been motivating to be surrounded by such skillful runners. The coaches, Octavio and Brian, do a great job of programming. The weekly speed workouts challenged me to push myself both mentally and physically, and the distance runs got me out of the same old routine and gave me the opportunity to tackle different routes and improve my endurance. I love how running can take you all over Austin. One of my favorite routes is the DBS Barton Hills run, which includes the infamous Wilke hill and then an easier rewarding trip up Doug Sahm (RIP) hill for an amazing view of the skyline of our fair city.

What would you tell a new runner interested in trying out Run Group for the first time?

Just do it! 😉 I would encourage everyone to try Run Group. The speed workouts are scaleable and the coaches plan multiple routes at varying distances each week – so you really can choose your own adventure. I think a lot of people think they can’t run or hate running, but I suspect they’d be surprised at how their perspective would change after giving it a go.

You have also been involved in many of the DBS events. What do you like about the events? If you could suggest any kind of event for DBS to hold, what would it be?

I love how the DBS events bring people together to take on fun challenges and work toward a common goal. It’s motivating to work hard to give back to the greater community, as DBS has done with the Austin Children’s Shelter. I’d love to attend a mobility or trigger point workshop, and I think a DBS 5K fun run would be a nice event.

What is your biggest accomplishment thus far since joining DBS? Can you give us a general goal and then a strength goal you have for yourself in the New Year?

I think my lifting form has definitely improved since joining DBS. I found I love doing cleans! In general, I want to stay healthy and fit and set my sights on training for a half marathon. I also want to improve my strength and stability when lifting overhead. I have a pesky shoulder that gets stronger every day, but it’s still a work in progress.

For fun, what is your favorite local eatery, breakfast spot, or place to get a drink?

Such a hard question! We are spoiled for choice for great food and drinks in Austin now. For a fancy meal out, I love Chez Nous. For cheap and cheerful, Eastside King. Breakfast tacos would be my treat breakfast of choice, but my go-to these days is paleo baked pumpkin oatmeal. As for adult beverages, a proper margarita (with pure lime juice) and a sunny patio is a winning combination.

Sum up what DBS means to you in 2 sentences.

What really makes DBS special is the people – the coaches and other members make up this unique community you want to be a part of, and they make the challenging workouts fun. DBS is a place that I want to come back to again and again.

Read more about our previous Fusion Athletes here.

January Fusion Athlete: Chris Primeau

When he’s not shredding guitar, he’s shredding through our workouts; and if you’ve busted butt in Hybrid, you’ve met one of this month’s Fusion Athletes, Chris Primeau. Chris has been a dedicated member of the DBS community for a couple years, and his drive, discipline, and hustle has remained unwavering throughout the time we’ve known him. And if, as he says below, he spends more time on guitar than he does on his fitness, we can only imagine how sick his licks are!

Take a moment and get to know Chris, one of our January Fusion Athletes!

 

You are a musician, but a damn good athlete, too. Which came first?

I think technically athletics came first. I was a wrestler in middle school and a boxer in high school. I bought my first guitar when I was thirteen and it quickly became my passion. Both require the same kind of daily discipline and routine to improve. Music is my full-time job now, so athletics and training are my escape from work.

How have you transformed since you joined DBS?

The first thing I noticed was within a few weeks all the mobility work made it a lot easier to turn my head around when backing my car out. There was a time when I couldn’t stick my arms straight above my head, but after a few weeks at DBS my posture and mobility really improved. Now I’m way more confident in my body and athleticism. Sometimes, when I’m walking around town, I like to challenge myself to jump on top of things box jump style. The only thing that kept me from attempting to jump from my porch to the hood of my car this morning was the fact that I was wearing sandals.

You teach people of all ages how to play music. What have you learned through fitness?

That a really good question. There are a lot of similarities between learning music and fitness. There’s a brick in the strength room that reads something to the effect of “Don’t be upset with the results you didn’t get from the work you didn’t do.” That’s really the undying lesson of life. Genetics, circumstance, and luck will always play a factor in your level of success, but those are things which we cannot control. However, we can control our effort, discipline, and focus; and, ultimately, if you keep doing something enough, you will improve.

By the way, shout out to my guitar student Greg. I convinced him to join DBS a few months ago after showing him the promo video and talking it up. Greg, stop reading this, and go practice your guitar!

You recently participated in the DBS Weightlifting Meet. How did that go? Do you plan on competing more in the future?

The powerlifting meet was awesome. There was a lot more drama and entertainment than I anticipated. Everyone was really amped and nervous. Plus, I got to meet a lot of people who I otherwise wouldn’t because we attend class at different times.

My goal was to finish at the top of my weight class, though I did not expect to win best overall lifter. I’ll probably do a couple more of these in-house meets, and if I keep doing well, I’ll step out into more local competitions. I really hope we keep doing meets as, much like a recital, it gives us something for which to train. Perhaps after the Olympic lifting meet, we could hold a spelling bee. That’d be high comedy.

You attend morning strength and Hybrid fusion—both in the same day. How do you maintain this regimen, making sure you aren’t overdoing it, while still gaining the benefits from both programs?

First, I try get as much sleep as possible and eat plenty. I have 4-plus hours in between the two classes, so I make sure to go home and eat. I actually find the two programs complement each other very well. We do more low-rep power movements in strength and more high-rep muscle endurance work in hybrid, so as long as you do strength class first, you’ll have enough left in the tank. I only do that two days

a week and never plan to go more than 3 days at the Shop without a day of rest.

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What are 3 life or fitness goals you have for 2014?

My primary goal for 2014 is to apply for grad school in guitar. So my rule is that I am not allowed to spend more time on fitness than I am on guitar. Fitness wise, however, I want to squat 400 pounds and deadlift 500 pounds by the end of the year. And I’d like to be able to handstand walk across the fusion room. Maybe I’ll learn a backflip just to keep things interesting.

Describe in two sentences what DBS has done for you.

DBS has made me stronger, faster, more flexible and more mobile than I ever thought possible. It also forced me to buy a bunch of new shirts.

  Read more about our previous Fusion Athletes here.

Reach new fitness heights with Inspire 30 at the Shop!

We have many members who have attended Dane’s Body Shop classes for a long time and still come to class pretty regularly — about three times a week on average, which is pretty good if you ask us.  Sometimes, however, they go through a month where they lose motivation and will miss a few classes. Their routine is shot, and when they come back to class after about a week of inactivity, not meeting their benchmarks, they feel winded earlier into the metcon, and the hour at Dane’s doesn’t feel as good as it usually does. On top of that, the loss of motivation will seep into areas of their life outside the gym. They will sneak in a couple extra burgers through the week, maybe some pizza. If only there were a way to give them the extra boost they need during these down periods…

Luckily, DBS offers the tools anyone will needed to break through their fitness rut through the Inspire 30 program at the Shop! Inspire 30 is a routine-driven method for achieving healthy fitness and lifestyle goals over a 30-day period. Inspire 30 focuses on four basic areas: Nutrition, exercise, supplementation, and lifestyle.

Through the Inspire 30 program, you and your peers will encourage each other to live a healthy lifestyle through making good nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle choices on a daily basis. If you have a weight loss goal, exercise goal, or personal wellness goal you are looking to accomplish in 2014, Inspire 30 is how you can meet those goals and set resolutions for yourself now and for the future.

You will be able to get motivation from your partner, as well as the group of DBS members going through the program. Participants in Inspire 30 keep in touch through three Sunday meetings, find encouragement and tips through regular posts on Facebook and Twitter, and are guided by DBS coaches at their regularly scheduled check-ins.

Join Coach Leann and Brittany along with many other DBS members January 26th – March 2nd as they work to reach new heights with their fitness!

Sign up here (under the “Events” tab), or email leann@danesbodyshop.com for more info.

inspire 30

December Fusion Athlete: Liz Rivera

Congratulations to our December Fusion Athlete, Liz Rivera! Liz has been a dedicated member of the DBS community for the past year. She’s made some major changes in her life that have positively affected her health and well-being, and we’re glad to have been a part of the process!

Wonderful work, Liz! We’re proud to have you in the community!

How long have you been coming to DBS, and how did you get started?

I started coming to DBS in January of this year.  I was pretty bored with my current workout regimen and I was really looking for something else to do.  Just so happened I was sitting in one of my favorite coffee shops and I picked up a magazine that featured DBS as one of the top places for training.

I called the shop and Dane answered.  I gave him a bit of my background, and he suggested that I come in to check things out.  We talked about the best way for me to transition from my current regime, Ashtanga yoga, to working out at the Shop.  It was decided that it would be best for me to start with some personal training and then move into classes.  Thank God I listened…

You have an incredible story of perseverance. Can you fill us in a little on your background and how far you’ve come?

Absolutely, this one of my favorite things to share.  Over 4 years ago I was pretty much the epitome of bad health.  I was over 340 pounds,  I had sleep apnea (where you stop breathing in your sleep), I drank and smoked in excess, and I ate fast food for pretty much every meal.  I had no stop button once I started eating and I lived by the “clean your plate” rule.

I tried time and time again to lose weight and get “skinny” to no avail.  After years of yo-yo dieting, emotional and mental anguish, and finally reaching a point where my body was in such bad shape, I was able to make a change.

I eventually became sick and tired of being sick and tired.  I quit drinking and smoking and I started eating a little bit healthier. Slowly but surely, I began to feel better and the weight started to fall off.  Over the course of these past 4 years, I have lost about 140 pounds, fourteen dress sizes and over a hundred plus inches from my body.

What I gained was the ability to listen to the likes and dislikes of my body.  I learned that I could keep off a 100 pound loss through a yearlong plateau.  And I learned to look at how far I’ve come rather than how far I have to go.

I have gone from barely being able to walk up a flight of stairs to working my ass off at DBS.  I had a terrible time getting on the floor to pick something up and an even harder time getting back up.  And getting in and out of a car… hard!  These are things that most people “deal with” when they’re heavy.  But today I get on and off the floor a lot with our WOD and especially with that exercise that we all love to hate, “The Burpee!”  Seriously, never would have thought that I would be doing that!

There have been times that I’ve left the Shop in tears or started crying in class, in awe of what I’m able to accomplish now.  When I was extremely obese, it was only in my dreams that I could see myself doing these things, but today I AM doing them!

After training with Veronica for a while, you began taking classes regularly. Can you tell us a little about that transition?

I was excited and nervous to go into classes.  I trained with Veronica for 20 sessions so going into classes was going to be a lot different, but she trained me very well.  I knew a lot of the exercises and I worked as hard as I could.

I’m really glad though that I started off training with Veronica before throwing myself into the classes.  I needed that time to get accustomed to my new regimen.  I needed to work through a lot of my mental blocks.  I had been working out on my own for years and now I was accountable to someone who really pushed me to break through those mental blocks.

My first class was with Dane, and I told him that I was scared, and he told me not to be.  I really enjoyed the class atmosphere and all of the people in the class.  So, it was an awesome transition.

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Tell us one of your biggest accomplishments in the last 6 months? Do you have any goals for the next 6?

I FINALLY did a squat to parallel.  I seriously couldn’t do it and it was frustrating. But I continued to train and do the best that I could and then one day I just did it!  It was just in time for the powerlifting meet.  No red cards for me on the squat!

I want to continue to build my strength and hit my goal weight and I want to be able to deadlift 300+ pounds.

You recently switched your diet from strict vegan to meat-eating.  Why did you make this decision, and how do you feel it has affected your performance at the Shop?

I was an ovo-lacto vegetarian for about 2 years.  I wouldn’t eat any other animal products, including broths.

My level of training increased and I wasn’t getting enough protein and I didn’t want to supplement all of my protein.  My body then really started to crave meat again so one day I made the decision to eat meat again and I haven’t looked back since.

I feel that it has really helped me get a lot stronger and be able to perform at a higher level.

After competing in your first weightlifting meet, do you feel this is something you will continue to pursue in the future?  How did you feel before, during and after the competition?

I will definitely continue to pursue powerlifting.  I powerlifted for 4 years when I was younger, but I never competed, so this is bucket list stuff for me.  I had reconstructive knee surgery about 16 years ago, that coupled with my weight gain caused me to develop pretty bad osteoarthritis in my left knee, so I never thought that I could ever lift or compete.

I’m so glad that I did because I love it!  One thing I had to do was “let go” of what I did in the past.  20 years later, I’m in a completely different place, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Before the competition I was very excited, this was a long-time dream of mine.  I felt great during and hitting PRs was awesome!  After the competition I knew that I wanted to continue to pursue this!

In a few sentences tell us what DBS and its community means to you.

The DBS coaches and the community have helped me realize that I am not limited to the old ideas in my head. I am not weak; I am strong – physically, emotionally and mentally.  I see people each time I work out doing amazing things and that along with encouragement from so many people helps me to get the next level.

I could not have gotten where I am today without all of the support that I receive from this awesome community.  Thank you DBS!

 

To schedule a consultation and join the DBS community, click here.