What’s up, fellow Obsessives?
So my studio is doing a “Hell Week Pass” and I’ve seen a few others advertising the deal on Facebook as well. For $39, non-members can get unlimited classes during Hell Week and a chance to earn the vaunted Hell Week t-shirt.
I’m looking forward to seeing newbies hit with the reality of a HW workout, but you better believe I’ll be pre-booking that entire week to ensure my spot on a week that’s always crowded.
Anyone out there have anyone they’ll try and sign up for the Hell Week Pass?
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🍊 How To Pick The Right Weights at OTF 🏋🏻
We love OTF because it takes so much of the guesswork out of a total body workout.
But the one area that was confusing to me at first was knowing how much to lift on the floor and when to progress to a heavier weight.
Your OTF coach, after all, can only have so much input into the decision.
But in general, here’s a good plan for both the beginner and OTF vets.
When You’re First Starting Out
Don’t Try To Be A Hero: Your first job at OTF is to learn the exercises and the right form that will produce the best results for your muscles. So don’t go for the heaviest weight right off the bat just to look cool or because you think that’s what is expected. There will be plenty of more workouts to lift the heavier weights on the rack.
Test The Waters: If you didn’t choose a weight where the last 2-3 reps felt tough but doable, you picked too light. Go back to the rack and level up.
Take Notes — Or Have A Good Memory: Using the same weights for the first few classes gives you a benchmark to measure progress week over week. Being able to refer back to a record can help you with this.
Once You’ve Been Going Awhile
Challenge Yourself: The records and notebooks can help, but even if you don’t write things down you sould know when you’ve grown stronger than a weight. When your “hard” weight starts to feel like a warm up, it’s time for a new “hard” weight.
Assess Yourself Regularly: The first of the month is a good time to ask yourself if you can level up on the weight rack. And it’s also worth noting that all of your muscle groups might not progress at the same level. I think we’ve all been in that spot where you feel like you only show up to OTF on lower body days or vice versa. Keep that in mind when thinking about your weight journey.
Celebrate Your Wins! There are no benchmarks for the floor outside of the Dri-Tri, but look for ways to vibe off a weights achievement like you would a good time on the tread or rower. All three areas of OTF matter and your progress on each should be celebrated equally!
Bottom line: Start light enough with weights to master the exercises then slowly start moving your way as heavy as your body will allow. As you amass both strength and confidence, you’ll be asking yourself fewer and fewer questions around the weight rack.
You’ll just know.
🦺 Your Feedback: Weighted Vests 𐄷
Judging from the overall lack of response, I don’t think many people are going the weighted vest route at OTF. I haven’t seen any in my studio, FWIW.
But Bob writes in and seems down to be our guinea pig!
Writes Bob:
“Haven't noticed anyone wearing a weighted vest at my studio. Coach encouraged their use. I’ve talked to several walkers around the neighborhood and hikers on the trails. All report that their endurance has improved. I have just placed an Amazon order for (this one). Liked this because it seems to be 'longer' with the weights around my waist and the ability to go up to 40 pounds, being about 240 pounds that's closer to my suggested range. Liked that it zippered in place...more like a police bullet proof vest. I plan on using it on my bike to start then at OTF. Will keep you posted.”
📕 The Ultimate OTF Tracker on Notion
📆 The Week Ahead
🏃 0.25 Mile Tread (Tuesday) I think this has been a fun addition to the benchmark lineup. The glory tread benchmark!
🥇 Milestones and PRs!
• Congrats to Brianna for getting halfway to 1,000!
“I hit class 500 today in just over 3 years. Like you, I’m officially obsessed! Thanks for putting together this newsletter!”
Tell me about your latest milestone or PR! Just hit reply on this email!
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