Training Archives - Tucson Strength

STRENGTH TRAINING FOR ATHLETES

Danny — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 22:53:34 +0000

Strength Training for Athletes: Why it Matters and How to Start

To become remotely competitive in any athletic endeavor it is essential to incorporate a strength training program.

Athletic programs understand the importance of building strength not only for performance but for injury prevention as well. Here at Tucson Strength, we offer classes and 1 on 1 coaching to develop your potential and teach basic muscle mechanics. Using tools such as sleds, medicine balls, ropes, kettlebells, tires, and chains you will build strength and explosiveness to take your game to the next level.

Let’s dive into what a strength program can do for you:

You Need Strength for Power: We’ll keep the math pretty simple, but here it is, Strength+Speed=Power. Athletic power is defined by how quickly an athlete can generate maximum force. By doing so you will be able to jump higher, accelerate quicker, and throw farther.

Injury Prevention: Strength training increases the size and density of your tendons, ligaments, and connective tissues reducing the risk of injury. The stress of lifting and high-impact activities also strengthens bones and helps avoid osteoporosis later in life.

Muscle Mechanics: Developing a mind-muscle connection is crucial for any athletic endeavor. By utilizing a strength program you will better understand how your body works. This will help you incorporate your new strength into sport specific movements.

Improved Body Composition: Muscle mass improves metabolic functions and decreases fat stores resulting in lower blood pressures and a lower likelihood of developing Type 2 Diabetes. Incorporating heavy compound movements will also trigger the production of anabolic hormones aiding in the repair and building of muscle.

All of the best athletes from the likes of Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady, and even Tiger Woods have all used strength training as a way to stay ahead of the pack. Start your strength training journey by talking to one of our experienced trainers to see what you need to up your game.

Author: Cody Grimm CPT

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Thinking about Powerlifting Part 2

Admin — Tue, 18 Jan 2022 16:39:31 +0000

You train 4 days per week banging out the iron and love it. Now you want to put your hard work on the platform and focus on a goal. Having a history of being consistent in the gym is a great quality to have if you want give powerlifting a shot. Strength is built with incremental gains over a long period of time and it takes consistent practice. One of the biggest differences between training for strength and lifting for general fitness is being able to follow a program with discipline. As mentioned in the last blog(Thinking About Powerlifting? Part 1 ) in powerlifting you aren’t training to failure or training to chase the pump.

Training for bigger or toned(whatever that means) muscles involves using a very different energy system than training for pure strength. That burn you are feeling while grinding out higher reps and pushing to near failure is utilizing your anaerobic glycolitic system. When you are training for strength you are using your creatine phosphate system. This energy system is utilized in lower rep ranges and depletes rather quickly. The metabolic by products of the creatine system don’t cause burning muscles. You will need to learn to rest between sets instead of rushing through training sessions.

It takes a change in mindset, because a bulk of your strength work will be working in lower rep ranges and not pushing to failure. You will be building volume by executing multiple sets with

lower reps. Reps which should remain faster and non fatiguing. In strength work, it is more optimal to do 80% of your 1RM for 5 sets of 3 than grinding out 3 sets of 8 with the same weight.

There are numerous training philosophies out there, but many of the top programs share a similar philosophy. When thinking about training cycles for strength, here are few different phases I consider depending on the lifter we are working with. Are you a first time competitor? Do you have a long history with training? Are you newer to training (less than 3 years). Do you want to do 1 meet per year or do you want to switch your focus entirely to Powerlifting for the long haul? Have you recently maxed out?

Here is a basic breakdown of how to cycle programming throughout the year. Length of each phase will vary based on the lifter.

Base Building

This is the phase where you are building your foundation of giving your body the volume needed at the right percentages to build the base of your strength. Think of it like a Pyramid. The pyramid can only be as stable and strong as the width of its base. The bigger that base the more solid the structure. The base building phase focuses on technique, bar speed, and building volume. This should be a larger block for the strength focused lifter. If executed correctly you will be able to train for longer periods of time without being beat up and having to de-load every 3-4 weeks.

Peaking Phase

Peaking is Meet Prep. Depending on your base, this phase can be anywhere between 9 to 4 weeks before the meet. Before peaking you should have a base of strength and fitness built up. You should now be prepared to progressively load the movements with more weight each week. This is where things start to get heavy. In doing so you will start to cut your training volume down. Instead of doing 5 sets of 5 reps you will end up working up to hitting heavy doubles and singles on your competition lifts. Your assistance exercises will be tapered considerably over this period. The goal is express your strength by loading the body with more weight while keeping the nervous system fresh and decreasing fatigue. A big mistake that is very common is seeing lifters doing high volume sets and reps to chase a burn weeks before a meet. When you are peaking there should be almost no burn being felt in the muscles. It will be heavy and it can get intense, but burning exhausted muscles are counter productive while peaking. Another important point is you don’t test your meet max before competition day.

Hypertrophy Phase

This phase is usually done post meet for most lifters. After coming off a program where you have decreased volume and increased weight, it is time to build the volume back up and get the joints moving with more repititons and moderate loads. In other words, it’s time to get your fitness back up. A big mistake many people make is jumping from peaking cycle to peaking cycle. It’s a great way to burn out, hit a plateau, or injure yourself. This phase the burn and muscle soreness will return. It is still important to have a plan with this hypertrophy blocks and not just wing it. Crushing yourself with random acts of exercise and ridiculous volume doesn’t make you a better athlete.

GPP (General Physical Preparedness)

GPP may mean different things for different lifters. In general, we want to have the best of all worlds in this phase. Maintain a base of strength, improve cardiovascular conditioning, build some strength endurance, and most importantly keep your muscles and tendons healthy and mobile. This phase can include Aerobic conditioning (this actually should be involved in some form in each phase), Anaerobic conditioning or higher intensity cardio training should also be involved with more focus than in previous phases. Incorporating multi-directional movements, loaded carries, and calisthenics can also a part of this phase. You can still incorporate the Big 3 lifts in this phase but its a good idea to utilize specialized variety lifts in this phase. Not many lifters work this into their program, but for longevity and health it is highly advisable.

Rather than just searching the web for template programs, it is a good ideas to start with a coach that get a good understanding of where you are and help plan out your training cycles to get you where you want to be.

PART 3 Coming soon: What Prepping for your first Meet Looks like

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The Bench Press: Gym PR vs Competition Bench

Admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 20:16:56 +0000

I can’t count the times someone has come into the gym that tells me they can bench a certain amount, only to get trapped underneath the bar when attempting 1 competition rep at that weight. Bench pressing in competition is a different beast, and the skills must be practiced. To make it even more confusing each federation has slightly different rules. Since I am a referee for USPA I will write this referring mostly to USPA rules but there are some commonalities amongst all many of the feds.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Showing control and following commands are the biggest difference. It is one thing to psych yourself up for a huge PR in the gym. If you are just lifting off and bouncing the bar off your chest then locking it out, it counts in the gym and there is nothing wrong with that. If you are getting stronger then good for you. If you are in a meet, the referees are looking for you to be able to control the weight throughout the range of motion. There are 3 commands you need to know on the Bench. “START”, “PRESS”, “RACK”.

Once you un-rack the weight (or have your spotter lift you off) you have to show control at the top with your elbows locked out. Once you show control the referee will shout out, “START”. Once that command is called the only thing you can do is bring the bar down to your chest. Once the bar touches the chest the referee will wait for the bar to be motionless on your chest and they will scream out “PRESS”. The next movement has to be directly up. When the elbows are locked out and you show control at the top your will receive the “RACK” command, and you put the weight back into the rack. Failure to obey the commands will get you red lights, even if you have a “successful” attempt.

THERE IS MORE..

Knowing the commands is great, but there are a few other things to know about the rules. Ill never forget when I was 18 years old I was at a hardcore gym and I witnessed a guy stacking on plate after plate on the bar. I watched him lift the weight off the rack and bounce the bar off his chest like a trampoline. As he was fighting the weight, his back arched and his ass came off the bench by at least 10 inches or more. He got the weight up and the gym cheered. It was cool to watch, but that would never fly in a competition. On the bench press, your butt must stay on the bench at all times to have the lift count. Once you get that start command your butt cannot leave the bench.

Another problem that occurs, is when lifters start their set up and lift the bar off with their butt off the bench, then set their butt down after the fact. Since the head judge can’t see your butt on the bench he is only looking at bar control. If your bar is out of the rack and he feels you are ready to lift you will get the “START” command. If your butt is off the bench you will receive red lights from the side referees. If you are going to use this set up method in USPA you can let the head ref know you put your butt down late, but you are still risking a red light since he cannot see that angle.

BELOW are 2 videos demonstrating things not to do with your butt on the bench.

WATCH THE SINK

Once the bar is motionless on your chest and your receive the “PRESS” command your next movement has to be up. Many lifters will sink the bar deep into their chest before pressing. That is fine, but make sure that you sink it before the press command. If you get “PRESS” then sink and press you will be red lighted. It is super important that if you have this habit that you practice your press timing on the bench.

There are a few more key differences between hitting legit benches in a meet vs being in the gym.

EVEN LOCKOUT and BAR PATH

Having both arms lockout at the same time is important. If you have a discrepancy in your arms and you let one side fall behind it is crucial to have the bar lockout at the top evenly. The bar can’t look like a seesaw going up. Another important factor is the bar cannot move back down at all once the press command is given, the bar path has to continue up. If you are fighting a max weight and the bar starts to come back down, even for a split second you will get a red light. The bar can stop if you are grinding, and it can be super slow, but it just can’t start moving back down. If that happens the ref will yell out “TAKE IT” and the spotters will grab the bar and rack it.

HEAD and FEET

In USPA your head can come off the bench during the bench press. In a few other federations the head cannot come off the bench. In USPA you can be on your toes, but your feet cannot move all over the place during the lift. Other federations require heels to be planted on the ground so it is important to know the rules of the fed you are competing in. Again it is important to know the rules and most importantly practice your training utilizing the rules.

Here is a link to the USPA rule book. If you have any questions regarding competing in the sport of powerlifting please feel free to reach out to us. We will be hosting a free powerlifting workshop on January 16th to discuss the rules, meet prep, and what to expect on meet day. Join our newsletter below and add us on social media to get alerted when we RSVP!

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Why Are We So Expensive!

Admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 22:35:16 +0000

We get this question all the time. There are numerous big box gyms popping up all around us and we are 3-5x more expensive for just a general membershp! Why?

In world of gyms you have a few different models. There are high volume/low cost models and lower volume/ Niche gyms. Each have benefits.

Big Box gyms have a shot gun approach and try and attract a little bit of everyone. They are going for the top of the bell shaped curve. Many need to attract 10,000 or more members, and in doing so can offer very low membership rates. It is great if you are on a budget. These gyms are the Walmart approach to fitness. If you want to buy certain things, Walmart is great! The variety and price they offer is unbeatable. if you want top of the line clothing or furniture,or if you want to ask the staff specific questions on products or a project you are working on they are not going to be your best choice. These types of gyms put themselves in the shop by price category and turn their model into a commodity.

Smaller gyms usually have a niche, and aren’t looking for thousands of members. Many have specializations like powerlifting, personal training, weight loss and nutrtition, or conditioning. Usually they have highly trained staff that understand training, physiology, and nutrition at a much higher level. They have specialty equipment geared towards a smaller market. In doing so many smaller gyms have hundreds, not thousands of members.

You usually don’t have to wait to get on equipment be cause some guy is curling in the squat rack. The smaller niche gym usually attarcts a more focused crowd that cares about training and values that setting. You won’t find seas of treadmills but you will have everything you need.

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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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How to do Rotational Ball Throws

Admin — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 00:34:18 +0000

ROTATIONAL BALL THROWS

I see this exercise done on YouTube videos all the time. It really makes me cringe watching people wasting time by throwing a ball with no speed and energy and doing so with poor mechanics. If you are going do something do it right!

Rotational Ball throws can be used to develop power and explosiveness while training a rotational movement pattern.

USE THE HIPS!

Many times I see people doing all the rotation and movement from the spine while keeping the hips stationary. 1st, rotating the lumbar spine(lower back) under load coupled with speed can be a recipe for disaster for people with back issues. This is how muscles get strained and discs get herniated. When we rotate we should utilize our hips! They are the source for all of our power generation. Look at any sport that needs rotation! Boxers are always taught to lead with the hips, as does tennis, the baseball swing, and the baseball pitch among others. Each of these movement must have good hip timing coupled with power.

But Danny I am not an athlete why should I care?

Athletes do this movement to develop power and hip rotation which is also very important for regular folks that want to get into shape. Doing this movement correct is crucial for injury prevention which is important for all humans. moving from the right joints at the right time is key.

There are tons of ways to train. If your goal is to do just move and exercise then there are a ton of other movements you can choose from that don’t put your spine at risk. If you are going to do this movement take the time to do it correctly. You will see great results, develop power as well as a little cardio kick!

A Couple Other Important Notes!

You don’t have to go heavy on this exercise. Depending on how strong you are a 10-14lb ball may be all you need. Some of my strongest athletes don’t need anything heavier than a 20lb ball to get an effective training session is. You want to move explosively. If you pick a ball that is too heavy you are going to be slow and your timing will be off and it will turn into something pretty ugly.

This isn’t a cardio exercise

Sure, you can get your heart rate up with this exercise, but your goal with these is Power development. Doing 20 reps of this will result with poor power development, crappy form, and fatigue. When fatigue kicks in power is not trained at all. Doing sets of 5-8 reps per side for 3-5 sets with some breaks between sets will give you a great opportunity to get the best results out of this exercise.If you’re looking for help getting stronger, improving your technique, or you’d like to meet with one of our instructors for a free consultation, please give us a call at (520)445-6800 today and we’ll be happy to help. OR, fill out the information below and we can reach out to you.

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Why Running Sucks..

Admin — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 01:03:16 +0000

woman runner hold her injured leg on road

“You know I need to get into better shape. I use to be in such awesome shape. I should probably join a gym soon, but I should start with some cardio… You know to get in shape before I get in shape.” Opens closet finds old pair athletic shoes and hits the road. These are usually the thoughts and actions of someone says running sucks. The other crowd are exercise junkies that have ruined running for themselves or meathead lifters that can’t run and use it as an excuse as to why they are out of shape. In many cases the reason is the same. Usually, people overdo running and make a few key mistakes that ruin it for themselves. I am guilty of this myself and stopped running for almost a decade, until I learned what NOT TO do when it comes to running.

WHY YOU THINK YOU HATE RUNNING

Every time I get into running my (Enter joint of choice) hurts. I just can’t run anymore.
I have horrible shin splints or plantar fasciitis when I run.
It is just so hard, it never gets easier and I hate that feeling.
I read cardio makes you weak.
I will only run if something is chasing me.

HERE IS THE REAL WHY YOU HATE RUNNING.

You are probably doing it wrong. Lets break down each of the excuses running sucks and get to the bottom of this.

WHY YOU ARE GETTING INJURED AND SORE ALL THE TIME.

This could be due to numerous factors, but much of the time people start running way too hard, way too soon. Most people put their shoes on and go. It seems simple enough. We were born to run, right? Well yeah, but we weren’t born to sit on our asses for the past 10-30 years then run. There is a certain fitness level that should be achieved prior to running for inactive adults, and most people take off at a pace that is just too fast for them (even though it “feels” slow). The joints are not ready for the 6 x bodyweight impact running introduces to the system, and it can cause stress and injury. It’s not that running sucks, it’s that you are doing too much too soon and your body isn’t prepared. The hardest thing I had to swallow was my ego for a couple months. Running in slow motion can hurt your feelings, but at least it won’t hurt your body. Some need to walk before they run, or do intervals that are much much much slower than you think is practical. Yes, it can be embarrassingly slow, but that is what needs to happen for your body to adapt. This is the same reason people never get any faster at running. They are running at a speed that is just perfect for wearing them down, but not fast enough to increase performance. There is a science to this, and heading out the door to run isn’t going to achieve the success you want. That is why most people do it for a couple of weeks then stop and say, “running sucks”.

How to fix this

The quickest fix for overdoing it is to purchase a HR monitor and wear it religiously when you run. There are numerous online calculators to help, or you can hire a coach (highly recommended) to set your heart rate and program your runs. The simplest and quickest way to guesstimate this is take 220-Age= Max HR. Then, as a goal keep your HR between 70-77% of your max HR. You must be diligent, and yes for some people it means they may have to walk then run to keep it in this zone. If you keep allowing your HR to creep up, you will just train your body to have an elevated HR while you run. Running with a higher heart rate will make running feel hard ALL the time, and it increases your chance of overuse and injury. Let HR be your guide, not speed or distance. It is an objective bio-marker. Intervals and intensity can be added later, but building the aerobic base and training your HR to below goes a long way. Building the aerobic base is crucial.

SCRAP RUNNING FOR DISTANCE AND SPEED

The 2nd biggest mistake I made when I started running again was chasing a pace I felt was acceptable(completely arbitrary and subjective). I felt that I needed to run my miles in 10 minutes or less, or it wasn’t worth my time. The result was usually having to stop after 15-20 minutes because I was cooked and I felt defeated. I repeated this time after time and the runs became less and less enjoyable. The other mistake was setting a goal to achieve a certain distance each time I ran. After working with coach Gail Leveque she re-worked my running and endurance program. I ran for a certain amount of time each session and the only thing I could look at was my time and HR. It didn’t matter if I ran at a 8 min/mi pace or a 12min/mi pace. Sometimes my 40-minute run netted 3.4 miles, sometimes it was 4 miles, but each session was set based on my HR goal for a certain length of time. The result….

APRIL 2016, SABINO CANYON RUNOCTOBER 2016, SABINO CANYON RUN

I had done this hilly run numerous times with little improvement until I incorporated HR based low intensity running as the staple of my program. I gave up on distance or speed as my markers of success. My goal of the October run was to keep my average HR under 145bpm for the run. The results speak for themselves. Over a 4 minute PR with an Average Heart Rate of 14 bpm less… I wasn’t working as hard and I got faster! I wasn’t expecting such a dramatic shift. After the April run I was toast, after the run in October I had more energy than I knew what to do with which allowed me to train more that week, instead of taking multiple days off to recover.

You hate running because, your shoes suck .

This is huge. Most people grab their athletic shoes out of their closet and go for it. The problem is most shoes that you have worn to do you shopping/ yard work/ extra curricular activities in are probably worn out. To handle the impact of running you need solid running shoes and those shoes should only be used to run in, period. This means no going the mall and throwing on your running shoes. After the run put them in the closet and change shoes. That extra wear and tear ads up quickly.

One of the first things I ask people when they tell me they have “_____” pain when they run is “are you running in the right shoe?” Shoes don’t even have to be that old. If you just bought your shoes a few weeks ago from the mall most likely they are the wrong shoe. I know they match your running shorts and new headband, but running shoes come in a few different types based on your foot type and how you strike the ground. Get your shoe fit by a store that specializes in running shoes, but don’t get sucked into buying arch supports. Find the right shoe and you will notice a huge difference in how your body feels. Also, if you have been running pain-free for awhile and all of a sudden you feel your calf or knee hurt, the first place to look is your shoe. More than likely it is worn out. If you take it into a running store they will quickly be able to tell you if that is the case.

YOU THINK CARDIO MAKES YOU WEAK

fool macho man

Sure, if you are running hours per day and training to be an elite endurance athlete don’t necessarily expect to have huge squat numbers and win a ton of powerlifting meets. Unfortunately, this message was skewed and it turned into a chant of the uninformed and ignorant. Having and aerobic base is huge for recovery between sets and training sessions. You can still be strong and fit at the same time. Having an aerobic base will improve strength training sessions tremendously. Believe me, I was as an experienced powerlifter that felt like I had to wait 4 minutes between sets to recover. That is a sure sign you need more cardio in your life. running, rowing, or cycling for 30 minutes a couple times per week won’t crush your gainz and will most likely improve your life. I hear people say all the time, “I will only run if something is chasing me”. The real truth is if something is chasing you, you won’t be able to run and more than likely if you have to run from it, your big squat and bench aren’t going to save your life. Finding the balance between strength and conditioning is crucial. As with anything finding the balance is key for long term success. In this blog I cover more details on the balance between strength,endurance, health and performance.

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The Evolution to Tucson Strength

Admin — Mon, 12 Dec 2016 04:56:37 +0000

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Written By: Danny Sawaya

Fitness Sucks

No, Im not joking. The Fitness Industry sucks. I am actually embarrassed sometimes that I am in it. It’s industry with no licensing or standards.

You want to start a gym? Scrap up some money and go for it. Want to call yourself a trainer? Go for it. Guess what? There is no National Certification, no central credentialing source, and no laws really regulating it.

Pretty much do what you want, how you want it, and call yourself whatever specialist you want to be, and yes you can get away with it.

The fitness industry isn’t really fitness, it is a multi billion dollar sales industry that sells a “thing” called fitness. It is an industry that can sell people gimmicks, scams, and short cuts and people love to fall for it. They are willing to do it over an over again.

Fitness preys off people’s insecurities and dictates how they should look and feel at all times.

I think the fitness industry in general is dishonest, and shady. It is in the continual pursuit of turning fitness and training into the fast food model.

Not a lot of skill is needed, just keep people entertained, and sweating and you can be successful. Lure them in with a challenge, some before and after pictures, and sprinkle some fat shaming and you have a recipe for success. It is like catching fish in a freshly stocked lake. Also, sell them on the bogus science of muscle confusion and random acts of exercise and you are golden.When I started Evolution over 6 Years ago I had a vision. I wanted a school of Strength, a place where people could come to learn the fundamentals of strength and the right way to do things.

Yes, there is a right way and wrong way to teach fitness and strength. There is more than 1 way, but what I continue to see is every way to do the exact opposite of the right way(s).

We started in small spot with less than 1000sqft of usable gym floor and attracted a group of people that soaked up our message.

Train smarter, Not more intense
Move well, then build strength,
Don’t Train to failure: ALWAYS leave something in the tank.
Strength is awesome, mindless exercise that leaves you tired every training session is for the novice.

We quickly grew into a 6000+Sqft space and have seen a wonderful community grow.

Evolution has truly has been a dream come true and a huge blessing to myself, my family, and many others. Over the years we have tried numerous approaches of attracting business and offering different services to our members.

I have admittedly made mistakes. In our past we have done things similarly to some of our competitors like offering weight loss challenges and done some marketing that is commonplace, but it never sat right with me because we weren’t living up to our core values.[vc_row_inner row_type=”row” use_as_box=”” type=”grid” anchor=”” text_align=”left” background_color=”” background_image=”” full_screen_section_height=”no” vertically_align_content_in_middle=”no” section_height=”” border_color=”” row_negative_margin=”” side_padding=”” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” more_button_label=”” less_button_label=”” button_position=”” color=”” expandable_content_top_padding=”” css_animation=”” transition_delay=”” el_id=””][vc_column_inner el_class=”” width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1480214712838{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]

Industry Forecast

Last week we were approached by a sales company that offered to take our sales system over from us. They would do all the selling, and I was promised 100 new members in weeks.

It sounded too good to be true. In this instance though, what this guy was offering WOULD work. The problem is this, everything he would do to attract new members is exactly the opposite of what Evolution Fitness has been about. His system is simple:

Spend a ton of money marketing.
Use his template website with tons of before and after pictures, testimonials(from his data base not ours).
Use ad copy that has the industry standard fat shaming verbiage, talk about love handles, muffin tops, and being high school skinny.
When people call the number they get his sales team and they literally hard close people over the phone to join a weight loss challenge for $500.

[vc_column_inner el_class=”” width=”1/2″][vc_empty_space height=”85px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_single_image image=”7112″ border_color=”black” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” qode_css_animation=”” img_size=”full” style=”vc_box_border”]Evolution Fitness November 2010..This guy was ready to sign up my gym and never once did he ask about my training style, our results, our community, or our values.

It was all about getting that sale.

I politely told him I am not interested and he was a little shocked. I told him I am Tucson’s School of Strength not Tucson’s School of Skinny.

Signing up 100 members over night would pack my gym but also throw off the community we have built on our philosophy and our quality of instruction wouldn’t be able to be upheld.

He was actually in Tucson signing up other gyms for his system. This is the direction the fitness industry is going. This is what we will be seeing more and more of. THIS is the Fast Food transformation of the fitness industry.

The problem is they will sell you on Filet Mignon and give a quarter pounder with a side of fries that have been sitting under the heat lamp an hour too long.

This is the big box model being applied to the training facility model.[vc_single_image image=”7201″ border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” qode_css_animation=”” img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_empty_space height=”32px” background_image=”” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][button icon_pack=”font_awesome” icon=”fa-align-center” target=”_self” hover_type=”default” text=”WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TUCSON STRENGTH?” icon_color=”#1e73be” link=”http://evolutiontucson.com/popup/free/” color=”#1e73be” border_color=”#1e73be” font_style=”normal” text_align=”center” background_color=”#eeee22″ hover_background_color=”#dd3333″][vc_empty_space height=”32px” background_image=”” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” header_style=”” parallax_content_width=”in_grid” anchor=”” in_content_menu=”” content_menu_title=”” content_menu_icon=”” angled_section=”no” angled_section_position=”both” angled_section_direction=”from_left_to_right” text_align=”left” video=”” video_overlay=”” video_overlay_image=”” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_image=”” background_image=”” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” full_screen_section_height=”no” vertically_align_content_in_middle=”no” section_height=”” parallax_speed=”” background_color=”” border_color=”” row_negative_margin=”” side_padding=”” parallax_side_padding=”” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” color=”” hover_color=”” more_button_label=”” less_button_label=”” button_position=”” expandable_content_top_padding=”” css_animation=”” transition_delay=””][vc_column width=”1/1″]

Strength is our Game and it is in our Name

Business is interesting. Competition is nothing new. Lowes /Home Depot, Pepsi/Coke, Verizon/Sprint/AT&T, McDonalds/Chik-fil-a. Each of these compete against one another for a market share and there are numerous other players in each field. We buy based on our preferences, how things make us feel, the results we get, price, quality, etc…

I realized that, since day 1, we have always done things differently than the “fitness” industry, and honestly I refuse to be grouped with the others. We don’t do what others do.

WE DO:

Train with Purpose
Care about proper Instruction and teaching our clients how to train, not just exercise them to an oblivion.
Have a guiding set of Core Values
Believe moving better and becoming Stronger is crucial to being human.

And after 20 years in this field I know we need to part our ways from competing with others. Those that are hungry for the best practiced methods and not easily swayed by the “fitness” industry will find us.

Now that I have a few years in owning my own business, the next thing we must do is evolve our business name.

Every time I hear the name Evolution Fitness I feel that it just doesn’t fit any longer. Fitness is just a word now and doesn’t mean anything. There is LA Fitness, Planet Fitness, Orange Theory Fitness, Chuze Fitness, Anytime Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness, and on and on.

Everyone is selling this thing called fitness, but IMO they are selling whatever they need to sell to get people in their doors. After lots of soul searching and discussion with those close to our community, we are transitioning our name to Tucson Strength.

Our marketing will look be, TUCSON STRENGTH: Home of Evolution Fitness…

I foresee in the future Evolution Fitness will show up less and less in any of our marketing.[vc_single_image image=”7198″ border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” qode_css_animation=”” img_size=”full”]

We own the domain name www.tucsonstrength.com and it is rerouted to our website already.

We want to help people become strong in the body and mind, whether it is learning to squat by standing up out of a chair with out help, or with a bar on your back.

Whether you are training just to have more energy to keep up the the kids, focusing to hit a first pull-up, standing on powerlifting platform for the first time, or having the courage to learn a new skill like running, and entering your first race.

Strength is sticking to a goal even when you want to quit because things get really hard sometimes.

I am confident this direction is what we need to do to differentiate ourselves and attract those that will benefit most from our message.

We are not the next stop on the fitness club tour.

If you are looking to change your life and train with purpose we would love to have you. No gimmicks, no before and after 6 week challenges, no cookie cutter weight loss diets, and no random acts of exercise. Learn the fundamentals from a professional team, set a goal, and Train with Purpose at Tucson Strength.[social_share show_share_icon=”yes”]

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