STRANGE STRENGTH NEWS - MAY EDITION

Gymnastics Seminar Series

We are holding a 3 session Gymnastics Seminar Series in June and July. These seminars will be coached by Charles Chung, Samantha Lusk and Caitlin Oates. Each seminar will be 90 minutes long and will address one specific Gymnastics skill.

Great news! These seminars are open to all gyms in the area!

Seminar 1: Rope Climbs (6/4 @ 1pm)

Seminar 2: Handstand Walking (6/25 @ 1pm)

Seminar 3: Pull-Ups (7/16 @ 1pm)

The cost is: $50 each or $130 for all three. Come get gymnasty with us!

DM us on Instagram @strangestrengthandconditioning or email us at info@strangestrength.us to reserve your spot now! We will CAP each seminar at 10 people.

All levels welcome!

Gymnastics Tip of the Month: "What's the point?"

By Caitlin Oates

With gymnastic movements in functional fitness, a common detail athletes often overlook is their feet. While we focus on building strength, understanding timing, and developing mobility, it's important that we remember that the mind-body connection doesn't end at our ankles. When we point our toes, it affects our movement in a variety of ways. Let's discuss a couple:

1) Think of pointing your toes like pointing with your fingers--this comes into play with movements such as handstand walking, or handstand pushups. Your feet can act as guides toward the direction you want to go--e.g., pointing your toes toward that 10' you're trying to walk unbroken leads the rest of your body that way. But flex your feet, and those toes are going to want to travel back toward the ground--i.e., the direction at which they're aimed--and take the rest of you with them.

2) Pointing your toes inherently activates and tightens the lower body. Maintaining that body tension maintains the connection between the upper body and lower body, which is foundational to everything from the basic kipping swing to the ring muscle-up. With pointed toes, it's much easier to engage the quads and glutes, which drive your arch and hollow positions, and therefore you are able to cash in on the power generated by your kip.

So, if the only attention you give your feet relates to stocking up on the latest Metcons, give pointing your toes a shot and get moving!

Anna Stern, adaptive athlete and coach at Strange Strength & Conditioning

What is an Adaptive Athlete?

By Anna Stern

Adaptive Athletes are people who live with a permanent physical or intellectual disability that impairs functioning and limits work capacity.

As many of you know, Coach Anna is an Adaptive Athlete. As a multiple time cancer survivor Coach Anna lives with several disabilities, one of which is a neurological movement disorder called Dystonia.

What some of you may not know, is that as much as Coach Anna loves competing in adaptive workouts, her true passion is coaching other Adaptive Athletes. Her clients range from people with congenital limb differences and veterans with combat injuries to teenagers on the autism spectrum and stroke survivors.

Fitness is for ALL bodies. Movement may look different for every person but Functional Fitness is for everyone. We call it Functional Fitness for a reason: what we do in the gym prepares us for what we do out in the world in everyday life. Everyone can benefit from that, but being “functional” means something even more important to people with disabilities. It equals independence, confidence and access to the world.

Coach Anna has several specialized coaching certifications in the area of Adaptive Athletics that have prepared her to program specifically for the varying needs of disabled athletes, in order to improve their day to day functionality in life, as well as to compete in Adaptive sport.

If you or someone you know is living with a permanent physical disability, know this: functional fitness is for you, and you are welcome here at Strange.

Murph Prep Mondays

Every Monday for the month of May we will be doing WODs designed to prepare you for the Hero WOD: Murph. For those of you who don't know, this classic Hero WOD consists of: 1 Mile Run, 100 Pull-Ups, 200 Push-Ups, 300 Air Squats, 1 Mile Run (often wearing a 20/14 pound weight vest). This workout is scalable for all athletes and levels, and is one of our largest and most fun community events all year! Remember to bring your vest to class on Mondays if you plan on attempting Murph vested this year.

Murph Schedule

This year we will be holding 3 classes on Memorial Day (Monday 5/29). The classes will take place at 8am, 9:30am, and 11am. These classes are FREE and open to anyone who would like to join (not just our current members). Again, ALL LEVELS are welcome! Please sign up on Mindbody ahead of time to reserve your spot and/or email or DM us if you would like to join one of these classes.

Kia Mufasa of Strange Strength and Conditioning during her weighlifting competition.

Member Spotlight

Big congrats to Kia Mufasa who competed on 4/29 at the Virus Class at SoCal Weightlifting. She went 4/6 on her lifts and totaled 136kg (299 lbs).