Tough Mudder Curtis P

Travis S doing the Curtis P

Today we introduced Rob Shaul's infamous creation, the Curtis P. One rep of the Curtis P equals
1 one hang clean
1 racked lunge left leg
1 racked lunge right leg
1 Push Press

Being that it was Tough Mudder Tuesday we combined them with a 1/2 mile run aka Legion Run
3 rounds
25 Curtis P
Legion Run

It was nasty and ugly and I believe the term "Curtis P" will be forever loathed at the compound, and rightfully so.

Tonight was also another packed intro class as 9 new folks came in for the PSKC intro and took advantage of the opportunity to get locked into the Founders Rate of $50/month. Looking forward to getting to know each of you guys and welcome to the club!

Okay..so Friday is the official 1 year celebration. The sign up sheet is at the gym, so please put your name down and what side dish you're bringing. I need to know if you're coming so I can order a rough number of ribs from the Ribber. We're also providing Miller Lite to the 21 and above crowd. In addition to the awesome cheat day grub, you guys are picking the workout! See the photo below for the options:

there is no easy choice

So what you gotta do is vote on which workout you want to do. Cast your vote by hitting up our Facebook page by clicking HERE:

Here's a detailed explanation of the 3 options:

Option 1 is a team workout. You will be randomly selected (out of the hat style) and placed on a 4 person team. Only 2 people on the team can work at a time, the other two must rest. Option 1 consists of 3 total events done as fast as possible.
Event 1: "Fran" 21-15-9 of Thrusters and Pullups.
Event 2: Team Yoke Carry to the Legion and back. Doesn't matter how you do it as a team, but it's gotta get to the Legion and back.
Event 3: Each team member must complete 50 burpee/box jump and 30 kettlebell snatches each arm.

Option 2 is a "you pick em" Filthy 50 with a mile run thrown in the middle.
You have to do 50 reps of the following exercises we selected.
Burpees
Deadlift
Wall Ball
Weighted Sit Up
Pullups
Run 1 mile
The next 5 exercises the group selects on Friday if this workout gets the most votes.

Option 3 "365" is a descended ladder workout of 3 exercises that will total 365 reps.
15--14-13-12.........3-2-1 of:
Thrusters
Burpees
Knees 2 Elbows

Soak it in..digest a little bit and get the feedback going on the Facebook page! Voting ends no later than noon on Friday! Also, due to the Friday celebration the Friday 9am class will be cancelled. We want as many people as possible to hit the 5pm 1 year celebration up!! It will be awesome...

Last Chance to Receive Founders Discount!

Tuesday's intro at 5pm will mark the last chance for new folks to get locked in at the $50/month rate. The new rates ($65/month $7/day) will go into effect after September 1st (for more details on the new rates click HERE).

So now is the time to get in! You will save $150 over the course of a year by simply attending the last intro class of the first year and getting locked into the Founders rate.

Her name is Diesel and she will hunt you down..

The day pass is increasing across the board from $5 to $7. So for those who pay per class you will need to run the numbers and see which is more beneficial for you. If you're currently training more than 7 times a month ($49), the best thing to do is get locked in at the $50/month Founders rate.

This also is the last week of our current schedule. The new and improved schedule goes into effect next Monday, September 5th (click HERE for details).

Tonight we went back to the basics with a nasty lil kettlebell and bodyweight circuit courtesy of my boys at the Training Room. We broke it down into 2 circuits of :40w/:20r x 4 rounds of:

Circuit A
Goblet Squats
Ring Rows
Walkouts

Circuit B
Alternating or Gorilla Cleans
See Saw Press
Russian Twists

the end result

See you guys for a lil awesome Tough Mudder action tomorrow at the 9am or 5pm options!

New Schedule Begins September 5th

Who doesn't love the DANIMAL? 

You guys talked and we listened! Beginning Monday, September 5th, the new schedule will be as follows:

Monday:  9am,  6pm, 7pm (Open Gym)
Tuesday: 5pm, 6pm
Wednesday: 9am, 6pm
Thursday: 5pm, 6pm, 7pm (Open Gym)
Friday: 9am, 5pm
Saturday: 9am (Pain Clinic), 10am (PSKC Intro) 

So basically, we offering a total of 4 morning options (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat)

We're throwing in 3 x 5pm options (Tues, Thurs, & Fri)

And offering some 2 X Open gym options at 7pm (Mon & Thurs). The purpose of open gym is to leave the place open for an hour and let you guys work on whatever you want. You can work on your lifting, a specific skill, mobility, make up a workout, etc. But please note, although one of the coaches will be there, we won't be coaching the workouts. Sometimes we might be hitting up a workout or working on our lifts ourselves. It's just simply a time to come in and put in work.

Don't forget, we are having a special 1030am Pain Clinic tomorrow. We'll hit up some union mills afterwards, then head to BWs for some beer and wings to start cheat day off right! See you all tomorrow..

Fit Business Insider Article!

rope climbing under stress..

A few days I had the fortunate opportunity to be interviewed by Pat Rigsby. Pat is a big time fitness business coach/mentor to some of the top folks in the industry. He has worked with some really great people, including my own mentors Uncle Mike and the Milkman of The Training Room and the Underground Strength Coach Zach Even-Esh. But more than being a top business coach to the top guys, he also is a Portsmouth native!

Please click HERE and check out a great article featuring PSKC. Also while you're there please drop a comment and let folks outside of Portsmouth know there are some good things going down..

This week of training has been great. We've introduced and refined lots of skills..

Monday was all about the Turkish Get Up

Tuesday it was time to go old school by throwing a total of 15 rope climbs into the Tough Mudder Tuesday workout:
5 rounds of:
3 rope climbs
15 Step Ups
20 Push Presses
Compound Run with a 45/25 lb plate

Wednesday was the mighty DEADLIFT! We took it down a notch, not focusing on how much we could pull. But more a matter of technique and then speed..

Today was all about introducing the overhead squat. Folks quickly gained an appreciation for how much this require total body strength and coordination. We then finished with a 15 minute AMRAP of:
5 Pullups
10 Wall Ball
15 Swings
20 sledge strikes
Gate Sprint

Tomorrow don't forget we have the 9am option and the 5pm Happy Hour option. So here's the deal for the 1 year anniversary celebration!

Since the actual one year date goes down this Saturday. We are going to have a special Pain Clinic that starts at 1030am. We will then start cheat day proper by chowing down on some Union Mills cake, then heading up to BW3s for some beer wings afterwards.

The official 1 year celebration will be next Friday, September 2nd at 5pm. We will post 3 workouts for you guys to vote on. Most votes wins and we will put on that workout at 5pm. Immediately afterwards we will be having some Ribber Ribs on the house! There will be some Miller Lite (cans of course). All you guys need to bring is a side dish!

Hit us up on facebook or shoot me an email if you guys have any questions!

See you tomorrow. And don't forget about the special 1030am Pain Clinic this Saturday followed up by BWs afterwards!

Monday Madness

Tonight was all about the Turkish Get Up. It had been awhile since we worked this great exercise back into the routine. It was a great chance to for the veterans to hone their technique and introduce the exercise to the newbies.

We did a descending ladder of turkish get ups coupled with pullups. 5-1

team work in action

After the strength/skill portion it was time to hit up the finisher:

a 10 minute AMRAP of:

7 burpees
9 cleans
12 overhead lunges

Les Norris lunging it out

Always great to have Chris G in the house!

Please remember that the PSKC intros have been moved to Tuesdays (tomorrow) at 5pm. Please let your friends know! As now is the time to get in while they can be locked into the first year discount of $50/month. After September 1st, the prices go up to $65/month. So now is the time!

Speaking of Tuesdays, tomorrow is Tough Mudder Tuesday! I won't spoil the surprise but we will be climbing lots of rope for the workout. A couple things you need to do..

1) Wear long socks so you don't rope burn on the ankles/shins
2) Review your rope climbing technique! See below:


Don't forget we have the 9am and 6pm options! See you at the compound

From Man to Machine..the Transformation of Troy



from Man...



to MACHINE...

Back in November, Troy and his lovely wife Jennifer walked into the compound for their intro class. It's been 9 months and they haven't left.

When he first came in, like most middle aged men, Troy had been carrying around some unnecessary weight. In his own admission, for the last several years there wasn't much physical activity going on. He would go to work return home to play with the kids then it was time to sit in the recliner and watch TV. Rinse and repeat...and before you know it the pounds start to add up. Troy was never at any point obese, he just had the typical American male middle aged beer gut.

But after the first couple of workouts, I began to take notice of Troy. There was something different about him...Troy possesses a unique intensity that you don't find in too many 48 year old men. Most guys in their 40s believe they are past their physical prime. They would much rather make excuses and relive "glory days" stories then go out and get after it. Troy lived that life...and he had enough of it.

Troy with baby Luke a few years back..

In addition to Troy's oldest son Alex (now a freshman linebacker) and his stepdaughter Holly (a proud mother herself, yes that makes them grandparents), Troy and Jennifer brought in two beautiful children (Luke and Delaney) to the world within the past couple of years. Troy has never mentioned this to me, but I can imagine Troy must have been thinking about his current state of health after having children in his 40s.

Would he have the ability to play ball with Luke well into his 50s at the rate he was going?

What about the strength and endurance to fend off all the teenage boys that will be coming after Delaney in 10 years?

Would he have to worry about heart disease, etc?

Good luck to all those boys that will be chasing after Delaney...you'll have to deal with the Machine

Now Troy doesn't have to worry about the answers to those questions. As a matter of fact, his kids are going to have to worry about keeping up with him! Case in point, check out the below video (fast forward to the 3:28 mark) and watch the 48 year old Machine and his 18 year old college linebacker son workout together. How many kids can say their dad is an animal in the gym?


Pretty cool right?

Since November, Troy has attacked each and every workout with unparalleled intensity. He has become affectionately known as the "Machine". He is a 48 year old father and grandfather who chooses workout partners that are half his age and he's right there pushing them. He is an amazing example of what happens when you combine attitude and intensity with the right diet and exercise.

Here's a video of my teammate, the Machine carrying a 175lb Yoke for a 5K. The rest of the team are in our late 20s-early 30s.


He is a new man, he has lost 30lbs of bodyfat and several pant sizes. He has gained muscle, strength, and the respect and admiration of everyone at PSKC. Not only does he look great, more importantly he feels great and is incredibly healthy. That's all attributed to his nutrition.

Several months ago I mentioned to Troy that he ought to look into the Paleo Diet. I told him I was reading Robb Wolf's book, the Paleo Solution and that he should really look into it. Two days later he finished the book and started the strict 30 day challenge (no cheating). Since that time he has not looked back...and you can't argue with the results. Here's another before and after...

And he continues to progress each and every day. He has turned from man to MACHINE. Now there is no doubt about his current and future health. When most guys his age are confined to the recliner talking about what they used to, Troy refused to believe that his glory years were behind him. He still loves to get after it. In May he won the 40+ age division at the Gauntlet and finished 5th overall!

The Machine's story proves it doesn't matter what your age or ability. If you are determined and intense, you can proceed down the path to strength and super health. Troy's attitude is what PSKC is all about...hard work, intensity, and the love of life.

You too, can transform from man (woman) to Machine...all you have to have is the desire and dedication we will take care of the rest at PSKC.

Thank You!

Can you recognize any of us without the sweaty pain face?

Last night I had the honor to be named a Wellness Hero at the Red Cross Dinner. It was an amazing night and was just really good to see all the good things people were doing in the community. There are a lot of unsung heroes out there trying to make our town a better place. To me, the highlight of the night was when Army Specialist Matt Keating received a standing ovation for his valorous and courageous acts on the Afghanistan battlefield.

Let me be very clear that although I'm very honored and humbled to receive the award, I'm not deserving of the title "hero".

I own a gym, I do what I love. And I do it in safety and peace.

The true heroes are far from home in the combat zone serving their country. They are doing what 99% of the America will not do...fight for their country. Not only do they place themselves in great danger, but their loved ones have to carry the burden as well.

And sometimes they feel as if they are forgotten..it's been 10 years and yet our men and women are still answering the call. Think about this, if you were 18 and enlisted after 9-11 and are still serving on active duty today odds are you've been been to Iraq/Afghanistan on average I'd say 4-6 tours. You've spent as much of your 20s in combat as you have back in the States.

What have you done the last 10 years?

Don't wait for someone to stand up and do the right thing. Lead from the front and lead by example. Be the example of strength...

I was recently reading something by Brad McKee the founder of the Disposable Heroes Project (DHP). The charity that PSKC is raising money for with our 9-11 Throwdown Event (click HERE for details). After posting an article about the recent deaths of 31 warriors in Afghanistan, someone told him;

"Brad, you are doing way MORE than most"

His response was very profound to me...

"I don't compare my actions to others.....if I did, not much would get done"

So very true. If mediocrity and weakness are the norm in our society than don't waste your time comparing your actions to others. Do what needs to be done and do it well.

What we do at PSKC is not heroic. It's simply what should be and what needs to be done. No frills, no magic pills, no excuses.... HARD WORK. But we don't do it alone, we are a team that encourages and supports each other to be better. And for this I give my sincerest thanks to each and every person who comes to PSKC. Any success myself or the gym enjoys is because of you guys.

Here's a testament to how awesome the people of PSKC truly are...there were approximately 40 of us who attended that dinner last night! Way more than any other group/organization there. At $15/ticket our group raised around $600 for the Red Cross last night...that's $600 that will go to help people in need.

That's what is all about...

So after we took Wednesday off it was time to get back at it! Plus Wednesday should have been a mandatory rest day after the Sissy Test!!

Today it was time to work on putting lots of weight overhead! Everyone worked on their push press/jerk technique for the first half of the class. Then it was time for

9-15-21 of:
Pullups
Box Jumps
Push Press

Don't forget we have the 9am and 5pm Friday options! Also if you wanted the special edition 9-11 Throwdown Shirt, I need your money and sizes by the 5pm class tomorrow. See you at the compound..

Tough Mudder Tuesday = Sissy Test!

This video is what PSKC is all about. It doesn't matter if you're a MMA fighter or a mother of 3, we are a team! The lady is Bad Ass Barb Coriell, she was the last to finish the terrible "Sissy Test".

The sissy test is an alternating ladder of swings and burpees. You start with 25 swings and do 1 burpee, 24 swings/2 burpees, 23 swings/3 burpees, etc..

Until you get all the way down to 1 swing/25 burpees..hell on Earth. It's equal parts physical and mental torture! That's a total of 325 swings and burpees!

The video shows Barb knocking out her last 10 burpees to finish up. The great thing is she didn't finish alone! The people you see (minus myself) had just finished the Sissy Test themselves and were already exhausted, but they knew Barb needed that extra push to help her through. Nowhere else do you get such an amazing, supportive, and positive atmosphere. You might feel shy and awkward at first, but once you go through hell a couple times and shed some sweat (and even blood) these people fast become your good friends.

So proud of all you guys tonight...totaling both classes we had over 30 people who knocked out the sissy test! Be proud of yourselves...you'll be hard pressed to find something more physically and mentally demanding than the sissy test!

Don't forget all classes are cancelled tomorrow in order for the majority of folks to attend the Red Cross Heroes dinner..

See you guys Thursday for the 6pm and 7pm classes!

PSKC Intro Tuesday 5pm

Jack pulling 405 for a triple! 

It was time to break out the new toys!! Kettlebells will always be my first love, but it really doesn't matter what you use as long as the basics stay the same...

Squat (front, back, overhead, one leg, etc)
Press (strict, jerk, one arm, etc)
Pull (pullup, row, clean, deadlift, snatch, etc)
Run (sprint, long distance, slow, bear crawl)
Jump (burpee, box jump, etc)

Throw them together in as many variations (heavy, light, moderate) in as many different scenarios/combinations as possible (task or time based) and just have fun. You can use barbell, sandbags, kettlebells, stones, kegs...just get after it and have doing it!

So tonight we spent a lot of time perfecting the deadlift technique and then loading up the bar and cheering one another on. Now the next PSKC challenge has been thrown down! The race to 300 or 500!

The first female to deadlift 300lbs and the first male to deadlift 500lbs gets a free month's membership! The first time we did this with the Turkish Get Up...Shad Ford was the first dude to TGU Goldie (106) and Ashley B was the first chica to TGU the 70lber. So let the race begin!

After working on some heavy triples at the deadlift, we ended with a nasty lil finisher of :
15 deadlifts (185/135)
15 slamball (20/10)
Gate Sprint
3 rounds

Don't forget to let your friends know there's less than a handful of intros left to be locked into the $50/month price. The very next one is tomorrow (Tuesday) at 5pm! Hope to see some new faces!! Speaking of faces, here are the many faces of deadlifting...enjoy!

Travis

Preston the Punisher!

The Commish with a slightly rounded back while pulling a PR of 405

we're gonna miss C-Glock!

GREAT TO BE BACK!!

hells yeah dude!

Apologize for the lack of posting the last 2 weeks, but your instructors were down in the British Virgin Islands enjoying a much needed vacation for the last couple of days. Big thanks to Dave and Shep who held classes while we were gone. We got back on Wednesday and it just felt really great to be back at the compound around the awesome people who make up PSKC. 

Below is an example of an awesome person that does awesome things. Her name is Barb (aka Barbasauras Rex, Barba-Booie, Cougar Club member). She is a 40+ year old wife, mother, nurse, and now a gymnast! She has been with us for most of the first year and watching her progress from day 1 until now has been amazing. 

She also likes Eminem and Howard Stern!

This is just one of the MANY examples of people becoming stronger and healthier through good old fashioned hard work and through surrounding themselves with positive people in a positive atmosphere. 

Many folks tell me they would love to come down but they feel somewhat intimidated by all the chaos they see on the website/videos or feel they need to be in better shape before they come down. To both I say the same thing...just come on down and start! You won't regret it and you'll make remarkable gains very quickly if you stay consistent. 

Bill, one of our newest members..

Bill is a great example of that. After being subject to 100 wall balls for time, when he got done he looked at me and smiled and quipped "it's starting to suck less"....he came to the intro and shows up 2-4 times a week and is on the path to being capable of doing anything his body is asked to do. 

And now is the best time to get in and become a member before the new rates take effect on September 1st. We will be offering the Founders discount to anyone who comes down and attend classes between now and September 1st. That means you will be locked into the current rate of $50/month instead of the new $65/month rate beginning next month. 

Also, when we got back we were able to head up to Rogue Fitness and grab some awesome new gear! 

4 new bars, several hundred pounds of bumpers, and a GHD machine!

The reason we were able to get so much stuff was to due to the awesome support you guys gave for the softball tournament a few weeks ago. Now we will be able to program much more Olympic lifting into our workouts, so get ready for that!

Finally, here are some administrative announcements for this week:

Due to the Red Cross Heroes Dinner on Wednesday there will no evening classes on Wednesday. So we are moving the intro class to Tuesday at 5pm. Let your friends know! Now is the time to get them in so they can be locked into the $50/month rate. 

Speaking of letting your friends know; let's talk REFERRAL SYSTEM! For those who purchase the monthly option, once you refer 5 people to the gym your next month of training is 1/2 off! We will put up a referral tracking board in the gym, but IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to track the people you refer. 

9/11 Throwdown Fundraiser: we are now under a month for the fundraiser to support our wounded warriors and their families. Starting on Monday we will be collecting t-shirt orders for the event. 

I will need your size and $25 no later than Friday in order to have the shirts in time for the event. Don't forget $5 from each shirt goes towards the Disposable Heroes Project! 

That's about it! Looking forward to getting back to the grind and offering you guys the best experience and atmosphere possible!! Keep kicking ass PSKC..

You Vs. You

Pretty kickass right? The only thing I would add to that..is no matter what or who you're up against...the battle is always internal. It's always...YOU VS. YOU. Let me explain..

Today of course is Tuesday...and that means "Tough Mudder" Tuesday at the compound. Typically when we can, the coaches always like to do the workouts one day ahead in order to work out any potential kinks and more importantly to better understand exactly what the class will be going through when they dive head first into the workout.

So yesterday, I needed to do a double header because I couldn't get the workout in on Sunday. So Monday morning at 5:45am I hit up the 6X3 Thruster and 100 Wall Ball for time workout. Then 10 hours later I came in with Trappy and hit up the Tough Mudder Tuesday workout...
400 meter run followed by 20 each of
pullups
pushups
situps
squats
800 meter run, then 30 of each of pullups, pushups, situps, and squats
then finally 1600 meter run followed by 50 pullups, pushups, and squats

On Monday I finished the workout in just over 35 minutes. It was terrible for me, I was slow and sluggish....I took many breaks..I just couldn't push through. I was getting overheated....blah, blah, blah...

After the workout I started to rationalize with myself...

"Hey man...it was 5pm when you did that. It was damn hot. You should be happy you just completed the thing. It was okay to take all those breaks and not push it. Plus that was your 2nd workout of the day. Your legs were already sore from the 100 wall balls. It was Monday dude, that's a hard thing to do after having an extended cheat day over the weekend." 


THAT WAS ALL BULLSHIT.

Yeah, maybe I wasn't feeling like myself and possibly somewhat dehydrated. But the question I kept asking myself was... "Was that your legitimate best effort possible effort you could have given?" 


Could I have finished faster...even if it was 20 seconds faster? The answer was yes....I had not laid it all on the line. I was disappointed and pissed off with myself....Coach Mo knew something was up. I tried to explain to her what was going on.

Her reply was basically..."Dude...don't be a p@ssy. Remember how this feels right now, and don't let it ever happen again." 

Very poignant indeed...

So for the 2nd day in a row. I embarked upon the Tough Mudder Tuesday workout. This time I had all night to think about how I never wanted to go through that type of self-disappointment again.

This time out..I finished in just over 30 minutes. A full 5 minutes faster from the day before.

Sometimes you gotta take a couple steps back to go a bunch more forward. Everyday challenge yourself..empty everything you got into the challenge ahead. Live life with no regrets, hold not a single damn thing back. Above all...

"TO THY OWN SELF BE TRUE" - Shakespeare 

Don't listen to the bullshit excuses that you try to tell yourself. Hold yourself to the highest standards possible. At the end of the day...be brutally honest with yourself. Did you give it all you had. Was it an effort that would make your children or ancestors proud? Last night my answer was no...tonight my answer is yes. 

Everyday what's your answer? God has given you an incredible gift of life....don't piss it away by living your life half assed. It's always You vs. You.....