Kudos!! You’re Awesome

I’ve been working on developing a recognition program for DNA clients, and have been on the prowl lately for special client accomplishments that deserve attention. On Wednesday, we asked for Client of the Month suggestions on Facebook.

You people are making this project really hard.

Why?

Too much kudos to hand out!!!

Congratulations on making it through Test Week – with flying colors. We had so many outstanding accomplishments this week, that picking just one person to highlight as Client of the Week or Client of the Month is impossible. Therefore, I am going to brag about a couple of feats from this week that really knocked my socks off, with the help of the trusty whiteboard. (I want to add more pictures of the athletes discussed here and will thus be stalking you with a camera next week!)

Let’s start with Monday. If you look closely, you’ll see that Bianca pressed 92.5 lbs, ran a sub-8:30 mile, and got 125 situps and 325 air squats. To my knowledge, 92.5 is the gym record for press for females at this time. Tawyna kicked butt in a different style with a 7:21 mile, 325 situps (how can you even do that?), and 110 squats – as Ernie says, she’s a monster! Oh yes, and the guys showed up too: Casey stunned us even more than usual with a 205 lb press, 5:26 run (!!!), 22 pullups and 325 squats, Chris ran a 5:37 mile, and look at Marcos – here’s a guy with two tiny kids at home who was just another unconditioned desk jockey last year, and now he’s running a 5:45 mile and pressing 155.

That’s just the start. I see little “PR” notes all over this board, and we could go on about all of your awesome accomplishments (especially all of the ladies repping out pullups), but I want to move on to neuro researchers Sara and Drew.

This dynamic duo have been working hard in the Natural Running Course, and ran a mile test last week: 6:13 for Drew and 6:19 for Sara. She got him back this week, though, with a 22:26 5k (!) while he ran 22:49. They both transformed their running styles (before/after video comparison coming soon) and have gotten a lot smoother and more efficient. Meanwhile, Drew cranked out 5 strict muscle ups. To polish off their week, they found out that Sara got hired at the University of Florida, so while we are really going to hate to see them go this fall, we are super-proud of all of their hard work and accomplishments and excited for their future!

Moving onto Wednesday, and I’m not sure where to start, so let’s talk about Ernie: both lifts over 300lbs, a 1:05 run, and 52 pushups. Here’s a guy with a rocky past who can get pretty wound up, and we love the way he channels that intensity into achieving elite fitness standards – great job Ernie!!  Jesse nearly broke the minute mark on the 400m with some impressive lifts – he has come a long way and continues to amaze. Casey did break it at 57 sec, lifted huge, and crushed the pushups, so more kudos! Kais and Josh posted monster numbers, and Earl and John hit triple PRs. For the ladies, Shannon not only ran 1:05 (!!), got 160 on front squat, benched more than her body weight at 140lbs, and scored 26 pushups, but she got into med school! I would be remiss not to point out the perfect trifecta of LeeAat, Erica, and Bianca – good grief, look at those numbers…all three of them have overcome injuries and worked their tails off and are super strong! Oh by the way, all four of these women are working moms, so tell that to your friends who say they don’t have time to get in shape!

Unfortunately I don’t have the Thursday afternoon results (I’ll update this post later with the complete picture and Friday too), but I want to talk about my favorite deadlift from Thursday. Melinda showed up in January and started on her quit-smoking-and-get-in-shape journey. Nearly 6 months later, she is smoke-free and wanted to break 200 on deadlift. On Thursday, she picked up 200 pounds and made it look easy, so we popped on a pair of tens for a 220lbs PR. I love watching clients surprise themselves with their own strength, and Melinda was fantastic as she smashed her goal by 10%. Her other scores this week were nothing to scoff at either and she’s quickly working her way into the elite class.

Double-under king Ricky, Eric, and Jesse all lifted over 300 lbs and dipped some huge kettle bells, and Rick got a PR 45# dip along with a 108 snatch test at 44#…not bad for a guy whose training is pretty inconsistent because of his airline job. “Strength stays with you.” A lot of people completed their first-ever snatch test, and while not everyone reached the RKC Standard like LeeAat, Tawnya, and Shannon (hey Shan, turns out there’s a 14kg weight class now), we saw some great performances (hello, Eric, Carol, and Yvonne), and getting through the snatch test at ANY weight is an accomplishment.

One more note of kudos: our Summer School students have been amazing! I just saw Ben for the first time in a few weeks and he looked completely different – trimmed down, and a lot more confident and coordinated with movements. Shawn has also been an absolute joy with her tremendous attitude and great progress. We’ll learn more about these teacher-athletes later in the summer, but let’s just say that the kids are in for some great surprises this fall…

As I noted earlier, we had a LOT of impressive accomplishments in the gym this week. We are just as proud of clients who are just getting their first push-up or pull-up as those with sub-6 miles and 400 lb+ deadlifts, and we’ll focus on great progress in future posts. For now, look in the mirror, look back, look forward, and give yourself a pat on the back! Rest on your laurels this weekend – you earned it!