Category: gym news

Here’s a video of what our tactical strength challenge looked like. We had a blast and look forward again to it next year.

the benefits of training for something like this are enormous. So many people lack focus in their fitness. They don’t know what they’re doing, how to do it best, and have no timeline to reach their goals. Training for the tactical strength challenge or a similar competition brings focus to the chaos. It’s held on a certain date so you have to focus your efforts and then ramp them up between now and competition time. The events are set so you know what to train for. Others are also competing so you’ll be able to measure yourself against them. The tactical strength challenge’s three events has one that favors big guys, one that favors smaller but still strong guys, and one that favors endurance. Put these three together and it’s very well balanced and makes a great challenge for anyone.

And fat loss comes into play because your weight is part of the equation. We had two guys in the novice category get exactly the same score, so the lighter guy won! It was that close!

Anyone who is looking for a challenge should try it out next year. See you then!

The first annual Tactical Strength Challenge was a blast! Thanks so much to everyone that came out and competed! We love all of you!

The men’s open winner was Tyler who deadlifted 227kg (500lbs), snatched the 24kg 131 times, and IIRC 19 pullups.Second place went to Mike who challenged Tyler in an exciting snatch showdown with the 24kg! Mike added some humor to the event by casually hanging out on the pullup bar between pullups. 🙂

The winner of the men’s novice division was Alex who did just a great job all-around. We love Alex’s warrior spirit!!

Second place in the novice division went to Ting-wei who did the best looking pullups of the day. His pullups were perfect and he pulled each on to the top of his chest! He tied Alex for first place, getting EXACTLY the same score, but Alex was lighter, putting him in first place. Ting-wei will be hungry for a win next year!

Third place in the men’s division went to Billy, who would have placed first if he had pulled more in the deadlift, which he could have done. This was his first competition and he was too conservative with his lifts, as each one went right up without effort. He could have added 20kg to the last deadlift attempt easily, which would have put him in first place. Go for it next year, Billy!! It was an honor to experience the efforts these guys and gals made today! See you next year!

We’re in the latest issue of NEXT magazine. We took two of their models and put them through tough kettlebell workouts for a month. They started deadlifting 8kg and ended the month with the 32kg. Thanks to them for the hard work and the magazine for this great opportunity!

They’re here! Our Athena Group has arrived!

They all showed up for pics and measurements today. We also got in a small workout because we have time and I couldn’t wait to get started. Here’s what it looked like:

Yes, she did 6 pullups at the end! We’re gonna get her to 12 before this thing is through!

Stay tuned for much more!!

Like kettlebells a few years ago, Olympic lifting is a trend that will grow in the next few years here in Asia, largely driven by Crossfit and the Games being shown on ESPN. Forward looking trainers without a lifting background should consider getting a basic understanding of the Olympic lifts for athleticism, competition, and just because they’re fun. Clients are curious and want to learn these lifts. Places that offer this instruction will be ahead of the market. With that in mind, I’m considering hosting Coach Wu of the Singapore Weightlifting Federation for a 2 and 1/2 day cert here in Taipei in mid-June for the low price of NT$15,000 (around US$500). People that just want to learn Olympic lifting should come too. Anyone interested?