Congratulations to the guy who always walks in the gym smiling no matter what kind of day he’s having. Whether he’s early or if he’s late and catching heat for it, Al keeps taking it all in stride. For those of you who’ve been in class with Al, you might have joked about the times he comes in late. This lateness has diminished over time. We all have busy schedules and we certainly understand that getting to the gym even for 45 minutes can be tricky for some. Al is a hard working franchise business owner who always makes time to take his two boys to their sports and still gets his workout in. I’ve had the pleasure to coach Al plenty of times over the last 2 years and it’s been aweome to be a part of his improvement. One vivid memory coaching Al was an Olympic lifting day when we make a awesome breakthrough in technique. The footwork, bar path and speed were all clicking and his lifts were looking more crisp than ever. He has since continued to improve, and  always looks to get “his barbell.” One of the days we were doing strict toes to bar, I saw Al jump up and rip through a solid set of kipping toes to bar. I was happily shocked how good he got because it’s been a struggle for him to get rid of the empty swings mid set. It was awesome to learn he got some encouragement and tips from a fellow member (Laura) that worked for him. This is definitely an Athlete of the Month selection we were excited to announce because of the energy Al brings and we know this will fuel him to improve even more. Keep working hard and we will continue to help you reach your goals. 

A big congratulations to Terrence Sweeney on being our August Athlete of the Month. Terr is the kind of person you we just knew that he was going to flourish in this gym setting. We know many people do, but to see it from the first couple days, it’s something different. In just 6 months of taking class, his strength gains are quite evident and I see the confidence growing in a number of movements. In the Q&A, he talks about the day Coach Ryan helped him with the technqiue and confidence on the climbing rope. That is as memorable for us coaches as you athletes. It’s a cool moment. I hope you get more of those skill moments, Terr. His eagerness to be in the gym, coachability and want to improve makes coaching so enjoyable. Coach Meg has been asking to name Terrence Athlete of the Month for almost 3 months. It’s not hard to see when the honest hard work is being put in day after day. As far as those current goals below, he might need to come up with a couple more because those listed are not far off. I’ve seen the handstands a number of times. And they’re freestanding. Keep up the consistency and your results will continue to show.