We Have a Winner!!

Ladies and Gentlemen… May I present the one, the only, the lovely winner of the StrengthBox/Death Track Dolls (go see them play next Saturday) Eat REAL Challenge: Janimal Downright Dirty Dawson!!

Jan improved her baseline workout time by over 12%, earning her the title of Total Asskicker of the World… and she is also the recipient of a month of free training at StrengthBox!

A while back I put the Dolls through a brief but intense workout, noted their times, and told them to give up all the foods they love (grains, sugar, dairy) and focus on REAL nutrition (meat, fish, eggs, veggies, nuts, seeds, fruit) in the name of athletic amazingness. For a whole month. I encountered some pushback, as you may imagine… but in the end, those who stuck it out saw some incredible improvements in strength and speed, not to mention hawtness. When we repeated the workout at the end of the challenge, I was damn impressed with my derby ladies. Intrigued? Check us out. Are you up for a challenge?

Eat REAL Challenge, Recess, and Chocolate Treats

Can it be true? An actual blog post?

Yeeesh. Sorry, kids, it’s been too long. I have a list of excellent excuses, but excuses are for party poopers. Let’s move on to the news from the last month or so, shall we?

1. StrengthBox and Recess! have merged and become one and the same… the inimitable Death Track Dolls are continuing to kick ass and take names, and recently mopped the floor with the Venus Fly Tramps (check out some fantastic bout footage here). I credit burpees, of course.

2. I made these:

Paleo. Peppermint. Patties. (I consider very very dark chocolate to be Paleo. So shoot me.) Yes, you read that right. I modified this recipe from Elana’s Pantry slightly (sub 2 tablespoons of honey for the 1/4 cup agave nectar, sub unsweetened or 90% Cocoa Camino baking chocolate for the 73% chocolate, more peppermint oil to taste, and for half the batch I added a bunch of finely shredded coconut and vanilla instead of peppermint to make a “Mounds” style treat).

3. The StrengthBox Eat REAL Challenge is wrapping up this Saturday! We’ll be repeating the baseline workout to see who’s moving faster and feeling stronger… which StrengthBoxer and which Doll will take home the ultimate prize (one month of FREE unlimited group training at StrengthBox)? Stay tuned for updates!

This month has been full, busy, and completely amazingballs (my new favorite word), and next month will be even better.

“Let’s Pretend We Have No Legs!”

The above quote was repeated with much hilarity at yesterday’s Recess! session… I believe we were coming down the stairs headfirst at the time, reminiscing about the pretend games we all played as kids. As adults we get hung up on rules and scoring systems, but kids play in a way that is unhindered by this “logic” nonsense. Kids’ play is all about exploration and joy in movement (two themes we hit on all the freaking time at Recess!) Abandon your legs for a moment. How are you going to cross the room to get another cup of coffee? Try it out. I’ll wait here.

Um, try this at home, not at work or on the TTC. Just a suggestion.

The second leg of the wheelbarrow race showdown

More wheelbarrow race drama

Slam, grumpy as always

Jan shows the stairs who’s boss

Sharkey launches!

Leaping!

Flipping into the pit

The first leg of the wheelbarrow showdown

So speedy!

Want to find out more about natural movement and play-based workouts? Check out StrengthBox, my baby in East York. Want to come Recess! it up with the Death Track Dolls? We run around on Saturday mornings at 10:30am at The Monkey Vault, 213 Geary Avenue.

Your Strength, Our Box

After two whirlwind months of rumination, preparation, and sleep deprivation, (not to mention massive anticipation!), we are ready to open the StrengthBox for real. You know you want to come check us out. Here’s what will happen if you come train in our facility:

• You’ll get stronger.
• You’ll get leaner.
• You’ll get faster.

It is my strong suspicion that these three elements will come together to produce the following effect:

• You’ll get HAPPIER with your new lean, strong, fast, badass self.

How will we get you there, you ask? Well I’ll tell you. We’ll use natural human movements… that means we’ll only ask you to do things that make sense and have a real-world application. Why go to a gym where they tell you to lift nothing heavier than 3lbs when your groceries weigh more than that? If you fall down a hole, all the jazzaerobicize in the world won’t help you get out. But StrengthBox will. If your parent or sibling or child passes out/falls/gets stuck under something heavy, those three pound dumbbells will have prepared you not at all to lift the heaviness. But StrengthBox will have.

Did I mention that people who can lift heavy things, pull their own body weight, and run really fast also tend to be dead sexy? Well, there’s that, too. Also, they’re more fun at parties.

So come check us out… our lovely home on the web is StrengthBox.ca. We’d love to hear what your goals are, and we’d love even more to help you reach them.

P.S. Are you pregnant? About to be pregnant? Recently pregnant? Three years postpartum and still trying to shake the last of the baby weight? Girlfriend, we need to talk. Drop me a line at Liz at StrengthBox dot ca. We’re going to make you even more amazing than you already are.

Recess! Cliffhanger! Part Two!

Cliffhanger update: StrengthBox opens its doors March 1st. Shake off your lingering winter insulation at our unique training space in East York… we’ll get you freakishly fit in groups or one on one! Check out www.strengthbox.ca for more info on rates and just what it is we’re doing over there.

This past Recess was bruuutal! I brought out the big guns to whip the Dolls into top shape, developing their explosive power and superhuman speed. 24 minutes of intervals fit the bill and then some… the lovely skating ladies barely had enough energy left over to leap into the foam pit willy-nilly!

Sharkey wondered what’s wrong with Turkish people that they have to Get Up this way

Joey joined us for some Intervals of Doom!

A relaxing post workout block bath

Exciting Cliffhanger: Update!

Ok, we all know that Recess! is awesome. (If you don’t already know that, you really need to come out and try a class). We’ll continue playing tag and flying into foam pits at The Monkey Vault (Saturday mornings, 10:30 and 11:30, come on down, $15 cheap) until it’s no fun anymore (never!). But what would you say if I told you that Recess! will soon have TWO fantastic homes? That’s right, kids, the Big Exciting Cliffhanger announcement is here:

The Original Recess! will continue, at 10:30 and 11:30am at The Monkey Vault. Recess II: Son of Recess! will begin in the not too distant future at our (prepare for Epic! Announcement!) Very Own Training Space in East York. Greg Carver (he of MovNat fame) and Howie Tse (firefighter extraordinaire) are joining me in opening StrengthBox, a training facility that will redefine your very human existence.

StrengthBox will emphasize natural movement, powerful strength development, high intensity intervals, and gymnastic skills. We’ll be working in small groups and one on one… We are open and available to any and every skill level, and we’d really like to welcome you to the StrengthBox family! Life should feel good, people. Let us show you how to get lean, strong, and capable of superhuman feats.

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