The month of March is always fun at Pat’s Gym, in part because of the solstice and because it’s my birthday! Also, there is Spring Break, International Women’s Day, and St. Patrick’s Day. Stay tuned because we have a lot of exiting events.
Monthly Challenge – This month’s Monthly Challenge is based upon the Solstice and the lucky number of 108. This monthly challenge is tough, but very diverse. It wont take long to complete, so enjoy it and see if you can uncover any weaknesses.
1:08 min
Single hand KB set
34sec snatches on each side (R/L)
34sec swings on each side (R/L)
34sec press on each side (R/L)
34sec squat (while holding a rack hold)
34sec reverse lunge (while holding a rack hold) (R/L)
34 sec of each movement once consecutively 1:08 total time for the exercise,
Complete both the left and the right hand without letting the bell touch the ground. Every time it drops you owe 10 burpees at the end. You have to complete all of one side and then move on to the other side.
Females use a 20# KB
Males use a 40# KB
Winner is the most reps (you have to be equal on both sides so if you do 50 reps on the left side and you get 60 on the right your score is 100)
Congratulations to the winners of the February Monthly Challenge who are Gretchen with a time of 5:48 minutes and Chuck with a time of 13:43. It was a fun challenge, but doing it our athletes were sore for days. The challenge involved doing 140 lunges each leg with a dumbbell held in each hand in a farmer hold, and every time the weights were set down, there was a penalty of 14 calories on the SkiErg. Men used 2×30# and women used 2×15#.
Online Coaching Rewards – Pat Gilles is continuing to provide incredible workouts, knowledge and other valuable opportunities for Online Coaching athletes. On February 27, Pat Gilles along with Alex Greene of Red Beard Structural Body Work put on a recovery seminar introducing Online Coaching athletes to a unique form of deep muscle sore recovery. It’s another tool that these athletes can incorporate in their program to take their workout game to a higher level (i.e., less soreness means you can workout more). In addition, Pat Gilles lead a group workout for these athletes in January which was intense, and educational at the same time. Pat will host another group workout for these athletes on March 18. Try Online Coaching and begin to reap the benefits!
March Events – March is always a fun month for Pat’s Gym. There are so many events that occur in March:
- I design a birthday challenge for myself which I invite others to do also. I love competition, so let the games begin!
- For International Women’s Day, March 8, we always have a special workout for women where they can workout together and have fun! We will have a special class on this special day for women!
- For St. Patrick Day we will have prizes for our athletes who dress in green, and who dominate at the FYF’s that we have on Friday. Also, for athletes who are not in Madison but follow us on Facebook and Instgram, we will be giving away a free t-shirt for the athlete who post the best video working out doing a great exercise dressed in green. Pat Gilles will determine the winner!
Profiled Athlete of the Month – Last month we profiled a high school student who is working with Pat Gilles so that he is prepared to play D1 football at a competitive school. This month we’re profiling a very competitive athlete who is 62 years of age. Annie has been an athlete of mine for the past 7 years. She has been determined to compete in various activities. However, about 3 years ago she was determined to compete in the Ironman-WI. We trained for that event for a year. Not only did she compete and finish the race, she qualified to compete in Ironman-Kona. She then trained for another year, and finished in the IM-Kona with a great experience. I’m so proud of Annie! I wonder what else she has in her future. When I think of a common excuse of “I don’t have time,” or “I’m too old,” I think of Annie. She is an inspiration of mine and will continue to be.
