Effective March 15,2010 , Sheryl and I have decided to expand the morning gym hours to included Monday mornings at 5:30am. Please make note of the new time. This will allow those early risers to get in a workout, on Monday-Wednesday - Friday from 5:30am to 6:30am. Please tell your friends that we are open in the mornings and invite them to join in the fun.

The T shirts that people ordered have come in. If you were one of those who requested a shirt, please bring $10 and give to Sheryl on your next trip in.

Well, first youve noticed that the WOD’s havent been updated on the site. Also you have noticed that Sheryl has ably and capably handled the class load over the last week. Reason being Ive been in hospital. For the better part of 6 months, Ive spent 7 days per week either working at my Granite job, working at the Fit Pit covering the mornings as well as after noons and then conducting an hour long session of speed agiiity and quickness training for kids in my soccer club. On the weekends, I conduct soccer practice and games and on my off days, I train people in my home gym. My body is requiring that I slow down. Once the current classes of SAQ are finished, I will only conduct them in blocks with weeks of rest in between. Once the spring sports start, most of the kids I train at my house will go to their sports. I may or may not renew doing that.

For those of you invincible 20 somethings, the day is coming when you realize that you cant do everything. I have tried, but the toll that is taken has been severe. My feet have swollen up, and I just dont feel good.

The gym is the highlight of my day. Watching each of you get better on a day to day basis is the reason that Ive always wanted to own a gym. In the next several weeks, we will be expanding to Monday morning. We currently have 7-10 regular people that come on Wednesday and Friday so it becomes an easy transition to Mondays. That will provide greater opportunity for people to experience the PIT. ONce they come, they want to keep coming.

A big shout out to Sheryl. She has handled her current full time job plus the stuff that I do. That provides me with peace of mind because I know that her goals and desires for the success of our gym mirror mine.

When we started the gym there were 7 people and one of them was Sheryl. There are now in excess of 60 people so I want to thank everyone who has brought a friend, neighbor, coworker or just mentioned it at a party. We continue to grow and its on to our next Milestone.

April 1, 2010 we will have been open 3 years. Can you believe it? What great participation and love from the people that come. I applaud you for staying with it and you are showing the results. Its amazing but we are designed to work this way.

When I was a young man, I never would have believed I would have made it this far in life. All the things that my dad said to me when I was a young man and I scoffed at, ring surprisingly true. Youth is definitely wasted on the young.

Sheryl and I spent a couple of days learning and relearning about the Olympic lifts and their place in sports performance. Its amazing that the USA’s top Heavyweight Olympic lifter, Shane Hammen, is 5-9 and 360 lbs. Yet Shane can box jump on a 48″ box. That is not only amazing but a testament to the Olympic Lifts.

Doing a Bench Press records 300 w of power or 30 lit light bulbs if you will. To do the 2nd pull of a snatch or clean generates 5500 w of power or 550 light bulbs. Which one do you think has a greater application to the fit pit?

I have a class of young soccer players that come M-W-F from 7:30-8:30. They utilize our warmup, do a flexibility and balance warmup, do a modified workout of the day and are being introduced to the Olympic lifts via the stick. I have had numerous parents comment to me that the balance work has paid off in that their children are able to stay on their feet, hop over opponents tackles, cut without falling down, hold off opponents challenges and approach the game from a confident physical perspective. One of the dads phoned me today to say that during a recent tournament, he was approached by 3 opposing coaches who commented on his 7 yr olds agility. These professional coaches had never seen a boy so young with the balance and agility that he displayed. That comes from what he is being taught.

Its amazing to me how everyone makes the available space in the gym work for them. Everyone moves aside, watches each other and positions themselves so they get the most out of what we got. Humans are very adaptable.

I think everyone likes the new changes we have undertaken in the gym. I cant wait to be able to open the doors once the weather warms up because we can do most of our work outdoors. We will also be making some changes to our equipment as we get new slam balls and other implements. Im going to bring my wheelbarrow so we can do weighted wheelbarrow pushes, which are awesome. Odd shaped implements are a great way to build core strength.

Well, 57 years have come and gone, its now on to 58 which will be the best ever.

I put my best people to work. Sheryl, Richard, Derek and Brian have taken on the task of handling our website and their ideas are fabulous. Look forward to a more user friendly website which will include videos of our workout, pictures, etc. Derek and Brian have some fantastic ideas of how the website should look and I for one am truly excited.

Arent the cubbies wonderful. How about the extra space at the back by moving the dumbbels and kettlebells. It should be easier to obtain the olympic weights and everything else is within an arms reach.

Thank you for your patience while we institute these changes.

Horray!!! Our long anticipated makeover of the gym is almost complete. The cubbies are built, so please use them to hold ALL your belongings including your water bottles. The black box is now a locked cubbyhole. There are pens and envelopes attached to the front of this cubby. Anytime that you give us any money, whether it be for water, membership or walk in fees, it should be placed inside this envelope, with your name and the purpose of the payment and stuffed through the small slot at the TOP of this cubby.

We have cleaned the gym from top to bottom and improved the space utilization. The signup forms will be available soon, so everytime into the gym you should sign the page for that day. This way we can keep track of everyone.

Please continue to clean the weights from the bars, clean both the handles and the bells of the DB/KB and place them back in their proper position. This way we can keep the gym clean for a longer periods of time.

We continue to get new people. Please make it a point of welcoming them if you see someone new. Remember, everyone was new once. Also, please continue to recruit people to come. We can modify each and every exercise in order to fit each person. The myth of ” I have to get in shape before I come” is busted.

Ive just come from another visit with my friends , Drs. Kyle and Dave Gulledge, from Gulledge Chiropractic. In 6 weeks, many things have changed for me, one of them being my feeling of well being. Its amazing when the body gets back into alignment, your energy channels flow more freely and you feel better. My shoulders have loosened up and while they will never be 100 percent, they are now functional, just like the training at our gym.

You dont have to have an injury. Derek mentioned to me that he had developed headaches after a workout last week. Even though he doesnt have a headache now, he should go see the Gulledges and get everything aligned so that it wont happen again. Many people when using heavy weights overhead, have a tendency to scrunch their necks to one side or the other, roll their shoulders, or do something that could potentially pinch off the accurate firing of their muscles.

If you look at an accupunture chart, you can see how enery travels within the body. Everything on the right side, has a corresponding element on the left so to make everything balanced and in harmony, you need to see Kyle and Dave. I promise you, you will feel better and as they turn on long neglected energy pathways, you will experience increased strength and feel better. I know I do.

I went to the gym this morning to check everything out and there was probably 1 foot of snow in the driveway. IF the driveway isnt plowed by tomorrow afternoon, please park in the cul de sac and walk down. If you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle, you are exempt from the cul de sac, but if you have a 2 wheel drive vehicle, it could prove disadvantageous to park in the parking lot.

First off thank you to everyone who came to the Holiday Party There was an overwhelming outpouring of support for the Rose Brooks Center which provides all kinds of assistance for battered women. A very worthy cause.

Anyway my reason for writing this is that I forgot to publically thank Sheryl for all her help. This gym would certainly not be as good if Sheryl wasnt here. She does much more than train our athletes. She is the soul of the gym. She works tirelessly to ensure that everyone has a balanced and fantastic workout. If you watch her workout, her workout form is certainly one that you want to emulate. Im very proud of Sheryl and am glad that she chooses to work with all of us.

Well the bodies hit the floor in record numbers. Keith Friedlington in a remarkable display of sportsmanship pulled ahead of Mark Grover on the squats but waited for Mark to catch up so they could finish together. Both finished in 13:31. I asked Keith after he got his breath back why he did what he did. His remark was refreshing. He said I could have gone a little faster and beaten Mark by a few seconds, but because of the family friendly atmosphere we have here, it was important for me to push Mark to go faster. Well it worked. Keith lowered his time by almost 3 minutes and Im not sure what Marks previous time was but he probably lowered it by 5 minutes. Nicki Bolz did the same thing by going from 24:25 to 19:25. These times are absolutely incredible. I know why its happening. THe MEBB or Maximum Effort Black Box protocol developed by my best friend Coach Michael Rutherford, is being used so that people are getting stronger AND fitter at the same time. The improvements being shown every workout are directly correlated to our new approach. Well its been going on for about 6 months and the results are staggering. From the beginning to now, people are up 20% in their maximum lifts and many people are much higher than that.

There are people that dont realize how physically taxing the Olympic and Assistance Lifts are. We just did 30 power (deck) cleans and jerks + 30 pullups for time. EVERYONE was breathing very hard as they blasted through their clean and jerks. People are stronger and are able to do more pullups at a time, which makes them stronger so they can then do even more pullups, its a vicious cycle.

Many of our new members have made incredible gains in :

1. Cardiovascular Endurance
2. Strength
3. Speed
4. Power
5. Stamina
6. Flexibility
7. Agility
8. Accuracy
9. Balance
10. Coordination

Come try it for yourself. If already a member bring a few friends so everyone will have a wonderful experience.