Today I knew I was going to get a workout. I'd mentioned previously that I was checking out a training place near my work for myself.
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| Thanks to Brian for letting me use his logo here. He's awesome, thanks man! |
No, it was not LAF, It was a place I discovered thanks to a few FB friends of mine near my work, with a really cool name of
SweatShop Union. I got there slightly late - I did phone ahead letting Brian, the owner know I was running into ... stuff that my employer asked me to do.
So, I got there late. It was cool, man. Mats on the floor,
TRX's and
USA's on the rafters, kettlebells neatly arranged, a really good sound system (to which my iPhone was attached to mid-workout), a sled, an upstairs with really shiny and matching machines ... and lots of dumb bells, too.
I thought I was in the coolest version of my garage gym .... ever. This was the place that my garage gym would go to when it grew up and moved out of my house. I felt like I was visiting one of my daughters' house; I'd have to mind my P's and Q's but as long as I did that, I was free to do what ever I liked.
As Brian was taking care of "bidness", I got a chance to warm up. I grabbed a roller and ran it up and down my legs and back. My ITB band started to like that right away. My hamstrings fell in love. It was a knobby release of the tension that had built up over the last few days. I then was asked to use the treadmill or stationary bike upstairs ... or do what ever I usually do for a warm up.
I said "Kettlebells", and was met with a smile. I also think there was a fist pump. Not sure.
I started with two 12 kilo bells, walking with them in the rack position; every few steps I'd over head press one or the other. I put one on the ground and continued with the one. I picked both up and did some farmers walks. My heart started pumping and I felt good. I did the same routine with a pair of 16 kilo bells, then a pair of 24's. By the end of that warm up, I was already sweating a little. The 40 kilo bells smirked in the dark corners of the floor.
"Next time, bitches." I said.
I didn't know this, but Brian, the owner, is also a yoga instructor. Yeah, so I was kind of surprised when yoga was included in this elbow to knee to toe to reaching to the rafters stretch/mobility part of the warm up. It was good - I'd never seen it before but, it made sure that every muscle was ready for the next part. After that particular section, I knew I was in for something truly interesting.
As we went along, Brian Douglas, the owner, and I chatted about my training in a very personable manner; there was no pushy sales job done as I had born witness to
at another facility at which I've recently trained, for which I was really grateful.
And a cool workout to do; three rounds of:
1a)descending 10, 9, 8 then 7, 6, 5 then 4, 3, 2, 10 Standing Towel rows - I think I started with 45lbs, but it went up each round.
1B) descending 10, 9, 8 then 7, 6, 5 then 4, 3, 2, 10 feet up push ups (I love these, by the way)
2)10 incline bench press - 35 lb db's used
3)10 seated hamstring extensions ( probably not the correct name, but it was a good hamstring workout)
4)3 m plank sled pulls with 25 pound plates
5)10 sand bag cleans and squats (60 lb sand bag used)
It took me the better part of an hour to get three rounds of this done. I'm going to go and stretch quite a bit after finishing this post, because a good number of muscles are starting to squeeze and tell me that I shouldn't do that again. Stupid muscles. By the end, I felt kinda sorry as I'd left so much frigging sweat on the equipment and floor of the place. I'd also forgotten a towel, so I had to use my nice shirt to mop myself up while I drove to pick up my youngest.
What else can you ask for - knowledgeable staff, lots of equipment that I like to use, enough space to get things done and time for yourself to get yourself ready to go.
Me Gusta.
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