Today was an exceptional day at our training facility Mayhem Fitness & Cross Training. Our members have been working extremely hard over the past 16 weeks getting stronger, leaner and better in every sense of the word.
Today PROVED that their hard work and dedication leads to Success...
Here is how it all went down.
I was approached at the end of last year by so many members who were wanting to accomplish different strength goals such as hitting their first pull-up and of course, how they can get better results with their fat loss goals.
So I decided to issue a Challenge to those that were willing to accept it - and I'll have to say, most of these Maniacs were up to it so we went to work.
The Challenge, focus on PERFORMANCE in and out of the gym for 16 solid weeks. Giving absolute dedication to their nutrition, supplementation (as needed) and training in the gym.
I told them, "The scale is your absolute LAST measurement of success, in fact, I don't want you to worry about it one single bit. If you put your total attention on getting better every single day in the gym and focus your nutrition around those efforts, your body has no option but to adapt, get stronger, build lean muscle and BURN FAT."
My approach was simple - take their minds OFF OF LOSING WEIGHT and show them something much better and much more rewarding, BUILDING PERFORMANCE... the weight loss (in the form of FAT) would be a by-product of this approach.
The reason I did this is because I feel too often people stress about their weight and try to micro-manage everything, especially women; I'll add that we train mostly women, in fact they make up the largest percentage of my facility. When people do this, they tend to question if what they are doing is working and ultimately jump from diet to diet and all kinds of various programs which often lead them to frustration and maybe even quitting altogether.
By giving them something to truly focus on for 16 weeks, with no deviation and a plan of showing success with short bench marks over time, they were able to stay motivated and accountable to what they were doing each and every week in and out of the gym.
Part of this challenge was for our participants to get stronger with Pull-Ups, the Bench Press and Back Barbell Squat. I chose these 3 exercises because they recruit the most muscle activation, (working every major and minor muscle group in the body), which translates into overall strength and body composition (less fat, more muscle). And as we know, women tend to want to focus mostly on those stubborn trouble spots; Butt, Thighs, Legs, Triceps and Back Flab - these 3 exercises target all those areas in a big way.
So today, as we start wrapping up this 16 week Challenge, we tested our members with these 3 exercises to show their progress in each one. We started with their Pull-Ups with 2 attempts. I allowed them to chose their strongest grip, overhand or underhand (Chin-Ups) and perform as many reps as they could on their own and then again with assistance, a partner holding their feet as they perform as many reps as possible. Next, we moved onto the Bench Press in which they were given 3 attempts, using the first 2 as warmups and preparing them for their third and final lift for as much weight as they could execute with strict form for a minimum of 3 reps. We did the same thing for the Barbell Back Squat as we did for the Bench Press.
Not everyone was able to hit their first unassisted Pull-Up yet, however, they all improved with their assisted pull-ups, bench press and squat. With that said, how many people do you know who get stuck week after week, month after month, year after year with little to no progress in their fitness program? Maybe that describes you, I don't know but what I do know is that these members truly showed what hard work, dedication and tenacity WILL do.
But don't take my word for it... check out what many of these members posted on Facebook about this extraordinary day.
I want to congratulate each and every member who took on this Challenge and persisted on without exception each and every day for the past 16 weeks. You Champions should be proud of your accomplishments and I am honored to be your coach... with that said, this is only the beginning :D
Keep rocking it crew and for everyone reading this post - Do Work Each and Every Day, No Excuses! Everything is possible and it's all up to YOU.
Sean "Mayhem" Murphy
I almost forgot, with our new members who weren't able to start this challenge 16 weeks ago we set their bench marks and will look forward to watch their progress and we continue to drive on...
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