Determined to Deadlift 200 lbs

One day Sarah Moshurchak arrived early for her personal training session and saw her trainer, Pepe Picco, doing a deadlift. The first thought that popped into her head? “I want to learn how to do that!” And in that moment, she had set her sights on her 2011 fitness goal: To be able to do a 200 lb deadlift.

[For those of us not familiar with weightlifting, the deadlift is a powerlifting exercise where a loaded barbell is lifted off the ground from a bent over position. It’s a movement that works a variety of muscle groups and activates all sorts of muscles in the torso, legs, hips and forearms.]

Sarah M in perfect deadlift form.

The deadlift wasn’t going to be a huge stretch for Sarah—she already had been training with Pepe for three years, starting out as a “New Year’s resolutioner” with back problems. “I felt lazy and wanted to get in shape, so I decided I wanted to train for a marathon”. She soon discovered that her body was not meant for endurance, and Pepe suggested that she work on explosive power instead.

They started training for the powerlifting movements (squat, bench press and deadlift), first with a wood pole so that Sarah fully understood the movement, and then slowly adding weights. “Initially it was a bit of a joke…it was intimidating. It’s normally a guy thing, so I’d thought I’d look funny.”

But Sarah ended up enjoying everything about powerlifting: “I like the mental challenge, half of it is in your head, being able to psych yourself up to do it…I enjoy getting strong, it’s helped with my core strength and back problems. It’s all about technique.” It has also motivated her to change her eating habits in order to provide the right energy for stronger muscles. Adds Pepe, “Sara has been successful because she has been committed to her health…she makes fitness a priority, she thinks ahead to what she’ll be eating each day and she sets an alarm to remind her to get that elusive afternoon snack.”

Before 2011 ended, Sarah surpassed her goal with a 210 lb deadlift. Pretty amazing, considering how small she is physically—5’3” in height and 130 lb of “sheer muscle”. This year Sarah is looking forward to “beating all the boys”. Guys, take that as a challenge.

Four questions for Sarah:
What motivates you? “I like winning. I hate doing things I’m not good at….and it’s rewarding to see Pepe write my name up on the board. It provides bragging rights!”

What do you like about personal training? “There’s no excuse not to go, I value his time and I know he pushes me harder.” “Pepe is very positive and encouraging. He sets me up to win, which boosts my confidence.”

What’s your next fitness goal: 225 lb deadlift

Your advice? On weightlifting: “Just try it…you absolutely need to be positive, have the right mindset. You also need someone there to support and encourage you.”

In the spirit of New Year’s Resolutions and in place of our usual monthly challenges, we’ve asked clients to set at least one performance-related goal for this first quarter of 2012.

We’ve written up everyone’s name and goal on a board in the gym AND on our blog to show intention and to keep up motivation. Bookmark this blog post, and if you’re having a tough day – the type of day that you’d rather go out for beers ‘n wings than the gym – remind yourself about your publicly-stated goal.

Performance Goal List

Annicka Q – 15 toe push ups
Sarah H – 2-minute plank
Robyn S – 1 push up unassisted
Keith H – 10 weighted pull ups 45 lb
John V – 25 pull ups, no break
Aaron V – 50 double-unders, no break
Nick S – 10x  weighted pull ups 25 lbs
Eric F – 315 lb squat
Stewart H – 10 pull ups
Pat M – 10 pull ups
Glenn S – 5 pull ups
Karly – 10 underokey double-unders + 1 strict pull up
Bryan – 5 pull ups + 90-sec plank
David – 400 lb deadlift + 40 unbroken pull ups
Kayla – 10 kipping + 75 unbroken pull ups + 2 HSPU
Craig B – 10 km run in under 45 min + 420 lb deadlift + 120 unbroken double unders
Phil K – front squat 285
Rowan S – 15 unbroken pull ups
Jonny – 15 double unders, no break
Charles – 1 vertical push up

Good luck everyone! At the end of the quarter, we’ll post everyone who achieved their goal.

If you’re interested in adding your name and goal to the list, please let your trainer know.

Recently Craig, Pepe & Elisse all became certified to do the Functional Movement Screen (FMS). FMS is a ranking system that documents movements that are crucial to normal function. The screening can identifiy functional limitations and asymmetries.

Who Needs FMS?

Functional Movement Screens are mainly used by athletes and/or those interested in functional training. However, it’s a great tool that can be used for anyone with a fitness program: it can act as a benchmark test to show you areas of weakness and to track improvements made through training sessions.

How Do You Test Functional Movement?

The FMS takes 10 minutes to do with a certified tester and will provide quantitative feedback on your muscular imbalances and readiness for functional training. It tests seven areas (each scores from 0-3) with a max score of 21.

Research shows athletes with a score lower than 14 are three times more likely to be injured. The FMS detects imbalances and identifies exercises that will be beneficial in building strength and restoring function to areas not performing at their best.

Want to know more? Send your questions or book an FMS test with Craig:  craig@precisionathletics.ca .

So January came and went, and before you know it February will be here. What happened to starting those New Year’s resolutions?

You promised you’d be working out five days a week while doing a gluten-, alcohol- and sugar-free cleanse. But instead, the long hours back at work combined with low energy and a lack of motivation have pretty much killed your get-in-shape plans.

Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s not too late. I’m a fan of New Year’s resolutions mostly because any excuse that motivates people to make improvements in their life is always a good thing. But the reality is you don’t need a New Year, a Monday, a wedding or a beach holiday to motivate you into getting healthy. You just need to want it badly enough!

The better you feel physically, the easier it will be to make healthy eating choices and to fit your exercise in. So let’s focus on some simple steps to get you feeling good, so that you’ll want to tackle those New Year’s resolutions…before spring hits.

#1. Intention. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What do I want?
• Why do I want this?
• How badly do I want this?
• What am I willing to do in order to achieve it?

Write these questions and answers down somewhere—even if it’s just in the notes app on your phone. As cheesy as this may sound, knowing your intention is an important step in any resolution. When you are having a low motivation day, go back and read what you’ve written to help keep yourself on track.

#2. Sleep. Without enough sleep (8 hours) you won’t have the energy to hit the gym. You also won’t be able to properly recover from your workouts. Don’t listen to those idiots who tell you you’ll live longer with less sleep. You don’t get bigger, stronger, faster or leaner in the gym unless you are getting the proper rest and nutrition after exercise. If you train hard without enough sleep, not only will you see very little results but also you can actually gain unwanted fat!

#3. Water. The odds of you losing fat if you aren’t hydrated properly is pretty much zilch. You are made of more than 60% water so don’t expect your body to function properly when your tank is empty. Also, the number one cause of fatigue during the day is dehydration. Want more energy during the day? Drink more water. The rule of thumb to follow: Drink half your bodyweight in ounces each day in order to be properly hydrated. And coffee, milk, juice and caffeinated tea don’t count. Be sure to avoid any flavoured or “vitamin” types of water as they are full of sugars, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavours, dyes and/or low-quality vitamins.

#4. Sugar. This simple carbohydrate will have your energy fluctuating all over the place during the day and will help you pack on the fat faster than you can imagine. Avoid all added sugars and just go for naturally occurring sugars if you need a fix (i.e. fruit). Watch your fruit intake, though, because it’s easy to consume too much fruit sugar. Skip the juice unless it’s made fresh right in front of you. Once juice has been squeezed from fruit it oxidizes very quickly and essentially becomes flavoured sugar water…see point #3.

#5. Food Quality. This one sounds like a no brainer—it’s all about “eating healthy”, right? Well, yes, but I have a challenge for you: Make a shift in how you look at food. Most people make food decisions based on how much time they have, how hungry they are or how much money they have. Instead, ask yourself what kind of energy (life force) that the food is going to give you. Almost every cell in your body gets rebuilt and replaced over the course of a year based on the nutrition you put into it. You literally are what you eat. When you sit down and eat a fast food meal full of processed garbage your cells, your thoughts and your energy in return become garbage. What do you think the odds are of making healthy decisions like going to that yoga class after work when you’ve put garbage into your body all day? Not likely.

So ask yourself how much energy do you think a protein smoothie is going to provide vs. a Starbucks breakfast, a fresh salad vs. a Tim Horton’s lunch, or a burger and fries vs. a homemade stir-fry dinner? Here’s an easy tip: If the food you are about to eat is a processed food then you’ll gain low energy/life force from it. If it’s a whole food, then you’ll gain real energy.

Jade McClure

Follow these five simple tips for 21 days, and by this time next year, you’ll be a completely new you. The 21-day period is important in order to turn each change into new habits. This will be the year those New Year’s resolutions we keep promising ourselves actually happen! Remember, we have a choice in what we’d like to be made of.

Jade McClure is a personal trainer, nutrition coach, holistic lifestyle coach and yoga instructor. He believes that no matter how hard you train, you won’t see the results you want unless nutrition and lifestyle are in sync with your program.