gyms tucson Archives - Tucson Strength

Training For Strength Vs Training for Size

Admin — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 03:22:59 +0000

Many people come into the gym and crush weights. They push so hard they can’t get another rep. Though training hard is important, training smart and with discretion is important if you want to see continual growth in your strength. Training to failure and pushing muscular fatigue is important in building size, it shouldn’t be the focus in building strength. Manageable reps is crucial in building strength.

There are many factors that go into a strength training program such as the individuals specific training experience and base strength. Choosing the appropriate rep ranges to improve strength is very different than just working hard. Strength is a product of working with appropriate volumes and intensities. Most strength training programs work with training percentages of 70%-85%. The important aspect isn’t just pushing to failure in these rep ranges.

Working with 75% of your your 1RM is very common. 75% of your 1RM is usually around a 10 Rep max. When having athletes work with 75% we usually have them do set of 4-6 repetitions with that weight. So they have 4-6 reps in the tank with that weight when working with it. The key with this is being able to build training volume without trashing the system with tons of fatigue. ThiThe number of sets can vary and will be the topic of another post. 5×5 is a very popular training program for a reason. Most athletes start at around 70% and add weight weekly with 5x5s. This will equate to training percentages of 70-80%. Once you hit 8-% 5x5s become too taxing and lifters swish to rep schemes scubas 5 or 6 sets of 3 reps. A big mistake we see are people that are working with 75% and doing multiple sets of 8-10reps. That may work for building size but not optimal for building maximal strength.

Stay tuned and we will discuss optimal training sets x reps for strength.

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NOT $9.95

Admin — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 03:07:24 +0000

If you are looking for the cheapest membership around we are not your solution. We won’t compete on price with a race to the bottom that we are seeing with gyms in Tucson. We are not looking to fill our gym with 10,000 members only hoping that most people don’t show up. We want to keep our community smaller so we can offer the personalized touch you expect when looking for gym community. You will be known on a first name basis with our staff . We do pride ourselves in providing a supportive community, specialized strength training equipment, and amazing training services.

We are your solution if you:

Are looking to train with a community of like minded individuals.
Don’t want to just join another big box gym.
Value high quality strength training equipment and environment.
Are a Strength athlete such as a Powerlifter, Olympic Lifter, or Crossfit Competitor looking for an amazing open access gym membership to do your thing on your own time.
Looking for a qualified coach to guide you on your journey whether you are new to training or an experienced athlete looking for guidance.

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CORE VALUES: Why and Who We are

Admin — Sun, 25 Sep 2016 21:10:35 +0000

This blog is going to kick off our series on Core Values. Recently much of our writing has been less about “fitness” and more about achieving long term success in fitness and in life. In the past blogs we addressed goals and quitting(you may want to read them first). The next way to continue this discussion is to discuss Core Values. We will start with an overview of our Core Values at Evolution Fitness, then our subsequent blogs will discuss how Core Values play into achieving goals in our everyday lives. Core Values are two words that drive companies and individuals whether they have specifically identified them or not. Unfortunately, they have turned into obligatory statements and generalities. There is nothing general about a core value. They are THE WHY you do what you do, which drives the HOW you do what you do, so you can do the WHAT that you do. Sometimes if you ask a small business what their values are, you will be met with either a stunned look or a general statement of we sell great ________. The same can be said when talking to an individual about their personal values. Try it, ask someone you are close with what their core values are. Some may really know them, but many will pause….. think for a few moments…… and come up with a list, with no understanding of what they truly mean. They may say something like, honesty, family, and friendship. That is a great start, but what does it really mean? How does that show up in your life? Knowing and living your values IS THE KEY to understanding yourself, or your business, and why we make the decisions we do a on daily basis. Have you ever made a big decision in a split second without thinking and it was the absolute best decision? It probably had everything to do with your core values whether you think so or not. Have you ever made a decision that caused stress and had you upset with yourself? The reason for the stress was much likely you made a decision that went against one of your core values.

We see big corporations talk about Core Values and Mission Statements and they may even have them engraved on walls. Some live their values and it shows in everything they do, like Southwest Airlines. Customer Service is one of their core values. It can be witnessed by the friendliness of staff, hilarious on-board announcements, and no bag fees. Southwest creates a customer experience. I am sure there are some instances of less than stellar service, but more often than not they do the right thing. There are other companies like Walmart that have the Mission of “We help people save money so they can live better.” They do great on the first part of, but helping people live better isn’t their forte, at least not if you work for them.

When the core values of Evolution Fitness were put together they represented the WHY, Evolution began in the first place, and why we are in business today. One of the biggest things we have been known for is having an educated staff that offers high quality instruction. If you are going to train with us you will have someone making sure you are doing it right. Recently, we had a client sign up with us because her trainer moved and told her, “Make sure you continue to train, and I want you to go to Evolution because they do it right.” I never met that trainer, but I was honored and I had a deep sense of pride in the knowing that is exactly WHY I started Evolution. It is so deeply rooted in what we do. Even though I personally haven’t taught many of our classes in years, it made me realize the staff holds those values as a part of them.

A few weeks ago I was discussing with a friend how I was instructing our rowing class to clean up their form. I can get fired up about people doing it right and not just turning a training session of mindless exercise. He asked me, “Why are you like that, what makes that so important to you?” Without a pause, I said “That is my standard, that is what Evolution is about. If people want mindless exercise, boot campy circuit training with burpees ’till you drop, they can go waste their money somewhere else. We are the place people come to do it right and have a purpose in their training.” I got charged up when I said it, and I was excited. I know that is a value we MUST embrace and own if we are to have integrity with our business. Without it, I would rather sell knick-knacks at the flea market. Core values ARE YOUR STANDARDS whether you are a person or a business.

EVOLUTION’S CORE VALUES

Every staff meeting at Evolution we go around the group and have the team discuss how our company values have played out in their lives or with their clients. It is inspiring to see when the team discusses their personal goals being achieved or educating themselves either in fitness, or learning new skills that have nothing to do with fitness. We share experiences of member success stories small and big. Our values drive us.

STRIVE FOR CONTINUAL GROWTH AND KNOWLEDGE

Innovating and education is the foundation of Evolution. In the years leading up to opening Evolution it seemed as if I was on a plane flying across the country or driving to events hundreds of miles a way to take a course and learn concepts to bring back to our members. When we opened our doors we started bringing national level coaches and authors in to teach our staff and the Tucson Community. This year alone our staff has spent $10,000 on their continuing education and the year isn’t even over. It is pretty awesome to be around a group that is always finding ways to get better. They understand that fitness and strength is more than mindless exercise. They care and want to utilize the best practiced methods to help people move better, become stronger, and make lifelong changes not just lose weight for a challenge.

SERVE OTHERS WITH PASSION

I have lost count of the times I have seen members reach out to our team for support. I have seen tears pour out and struggles happen in our members’ lives and the Evolution Team steps up in big ways. It gives me a huge feeling of gratitude. There have been numerous times where our team has stayed late, not being on the clock just to make sure that a member was getting the attention they needed or reached out to a member with a phone call because we haven’t seen them in awhile and that they were thinking about them. I have seen beginners in our classes having some difficulty and watched our team jump into a class they weren’t teaching to help a member get extra attention so they felt more comfortable. This is the Evolution difference. We aren’t perfect all of the time and we can always improve our service, but our staff must have the spirit of serving others to be on board. One of the things we discuss daily is, how can we be better, what can we do to improve.

CREATE AN EXPERIENCE BUILD A COMMUNITY

Having fun is a crucial part of the experience. We are in the people business. If we lose site of this aspect then we are no different than a big box gym. We constantly have numerous events for our members to train for and have an outlet to put their training to the test and get our community together. To see members show up and lift a weight they never imagined when they walked in the door, or row a 2000m time trial, or have them sign up for a competition is life changing! It creates a ripple of success for others around them in the community. We have never been about before and after pics, it is in the outcomes of helping people transform themselves with improved strength, confidence, and health that separate what we do. The problem we see with the fitness industry is that so many people are about weight loss and the scale, but they lose track of the process. Falling in love and having success with the process is something you can’t take away and can’t be tracked with the scale.

It is amazing to see the friendships that have been created at Evolution. When someone has great things happen, the community rejoices. When individuals are going through a rough time the community steps up to support without a hesitation. It is who we are.

CORE VALUES ARE THE DECISION MAKER

We strive to meet our Core Values consistently, and all decisions we make must be filtered through them. It could be easy to feel the pinch of a slow month to try and offer some gimmicky supplement to sell, or offer a trendy group exercise class to the schedule to increase sales, but that isn’t why we are here. Many times we are understaffed at Evolution because we care not only about a potential trainer’s technical ability, but the ability of the trainer to be of service to our members and work along side our team. At the end of the day our values don’t change based on how much revenue we create or lose because they are not driven by profit. It just happens when we live by our values profit happens.

Now that you know a little more on what our Core Values are about and how they apply to our day to day stay tuned for our next blog on finding your Core Values and Achieving your Goals in more than just fitness. Knowing where Fitness and health fit in your value system will dictate all of your decisions.

If you would like to learn more about our programs and how we can help you achieve your goals contact us!

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The Parallels of Strength and Endurance Sports

Admin — Sat, 03 Sep 2016 03:14:18 +0000

Since making the switch from powerlifting to triathlons, the transition hasn’t been as hard as I originally thought. Ok well, learning to swim for distance was pretty rough, and running is ….running, but It really has been a blast. The ability to train the different sports has been a great experience and has completely opened my mind about the human body, my abilities, and realizing that there is more to life than just lifting heavy all the time. The philosophies of the “how” to train for these sports are more similar than you would believe, and after thinking about things more deeply, these commonalities probably carry across most sports.

1/2 Marathon June 2016

551lbs Squat Oct, 2015

TRAIN WITH PURPOSE

The biggest reason I fell in love with Powerlifting was that I have a purpose with each training session. I mean a real purpose. Im not talking about the purpose of doing random acts of burpees and pull-ups until I’m tired. It is about being on a program that takes you to a goal. Each session progresses to the next one, and has a purpose. After weeks or months, each of those sessions take you to the day where you are ready to set a personal record and put your training to the test. Training for triathlons is identical in this manner. Sure, I could run, swim, and bike each week at random intensities and distances, but will that give me a specific outcome? As with both sports, it is easy to over do it. It isn’t rare to see a powerlifter tank an opener that they have hit in training. That usually happens when there isn’t a purpose to the training plan and I am sure the same goes for the endurance athlete that shows up the day of the race producing slower times than they have seen in training. Which takes me to my next point.

HIRING A COACH WILL IMPROVE PERFORMANCE

In powerlifting I can’t tell you the number of coaches I have had that have broken down my squat, deadlift, and bench press technique. Each coach I worked with helped me improve as a lifter. Without technical proficiency, the best program in the world isn’t going to help. I hired a swimming coach early on in my training and I am grateful I did. I could swim in a pool and not drown, but having professional instruction was the difference between me surviving and learning to be more confident and proficient in the water(still a work in progress). I see this all the time when people want to take on powerlifting or Olympic lifting and they say, well I squatted in high school, I don’t need coaching. Usually these are the guys that look jacked and crumble on the platform.

Having someone else to program for you is huge. I don’t care how awesome you think you are. Having someone that will get in your way to slow you down when you want to push when you shouldn’t, or help you push a little harder when your lazy is must. I find myself always erring on the side of doing too much even when I think I am not, and having someone to regulate that for me is a game changer. Also, someone who can analyze the situation for what it is rather than what I think it should be. Being a noob in triathlons, I have to trust that I just don’t know, but even in Powerlifting I usually had someone design my peaking programs for my meets, and I always performed better when that happened.

NEVER TRAIN TO FAILURE

This goes without saying and reiterates the last 2 points. As a powerlifting coach nothing upsets me more than to see someone fail a lift in training. It is the biggest sign of a novice lifter. It drives me nuts, ask my staff and athletes, and if it happens once in the gym it doesn’t happen a 2nd time. Training to failure in Powerlifting is a great way to tax the nervous system, increase the likelihood of injury, and get weaker. It is important to always leave something in the tank. Ninety Percent of my strength training was done between 70% and 80%, always keeping my reps low and explosive, and my volume moderate. If things were slowing down, or reps were a grind I either dropped the weight or called it a day.

A few days ago I was feeling less than stellar and my coach Gail told me to pay attention to my Heart Rate on my run, usually around 70-75% of max…(see the similarities?) She said if it isn’t dropping fast enough to call it quits because it could be a sign my nervous system was getting trashed. About 15 minutes into my run I knew something was up, and I called it quits. Though I don’t get grindy reps and sore muscles from the endurance training the nervous system gave me feedback in other ways and I had to learn to listen.

JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN MEANS YOU SHOULDN’T

When I was powerlifting my program would call to hit 405lbs for 6 reps and everything in me would want to go for 10 reps because it felt so good. Earlier in my powerlifting days I would push those limits. The funny things is when I would feel like a champion in a workout and do more than I was supposed to, it took me a really long time to realize why the following week the training sessions were not up to par. If the program called for 4 reps at 80% it means hit 4 reps at 80%. There is a plan, there is a reason, and pushing limits are a great way to make next weeks training not be so great or worse.

In my endurance training my coach has me focusing on my Heart Rate rather than speed. It is so hard some training sessions to say, “this feels awesome! I can go so much faster than this”! Doing this is a great way to not only train my HR to stay high, but also great way to burn out for the remainder of my sessions that week.

I had the privilege of being able to chat with Finnish Shot Putter and Gold Medalist in the 2000 Olympic Games, Arsi Harju, and he shared with me his only injuries came when he was feeling great and would have a great day of throwing. Instead of calling it quits when his training was done for the day if he would stay and push more to get some extra throws in because he felt great it, it would lead to an injury or a horrible rest of the week. He said “When you feel good save some for the next training session too.” Always remember, the goal isn’t to win the workout.

Olympic Gold Medalist Arsi Harju

80/10/10 RULE

Paul Carter in his powerlifting book Base Building breaks down training sessions something like this. 80% of your workouts should feel normal, nothing awesome, nothing bad, just right. 10% of the sessions you may feel like dog shit, and the other 10% you may feel like King Kong. The exact same can be said for my experience in with my swims, bikes and runs. Which leads me to the next point. If you are looking for an awesome book on strength training fundamentals you should get it..

YOU CAN’T GET GREAT AT EVERYTHING AT THE SAME TIME

Powerlifting is 3 lifts, Triathlons are 3 different sports. It is easy to get sucked into the mentality of wanting to see improvement week in and week out on every single aspect of your training. I remember for the longest time my Deadlift was stuck, it was actually stuck for over 1 year. In that time time frame I added nearly 90lbs to my squat. It was easy for me to be focused and pissed about my deadlift being stuck rather than realizing I put 90lbs on my squat! I am realizing the same goes for my current training regiment. There is only so much energy in each week and thinking all 3 sports will progress evenly on a linear path is unrealistic.

RESPECT THE SPORT

Nothing irritates me more than to see people showing up to a powerlifting meet with complete disrespect for the sport. What is disrespect? The person who shows up and decides to do a half squat on the platform, because they failed to know the actual requirements of the sport, or the person who doesn’t know how to stay with a lift and decides to ditch the weight on the spotters. It is the person that decides they are going to show up with no coaching and think that they got this. There are certain aspects of etiquette and knowing the rules that show that you have prepared and have respect for the sport you are undertaking. It has nothing to do with how strong or fast someone is when they show up for a competition, its that they prepared adequately for the event at hand. I tell my Powerlifters I don’t care if you are benching 125lbs or 425lbs, have you prepared appropriately with the intention of doing your best.

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