Week 3, Day 1: we are a team

Clean and jerk: 6 singles
Back squat: 5RM; 2 sets of 5 reps @ 90%
Halting clean deadlift: 1 heavy set of 5 reps

We've come a long way since we started the weightlifting program at Industrious. We started this thing as an experiment two Februarys ago (21 February 2012, for those keeping score at home) to see if athletes at Industrious would be interested in and would benefit from a "weightlifting class" where they could refine their technique in the snatch and clean and jerk. Luckily, it turned out that there was such an interest, and we've been able to grow this weightlifting thing at Industrious continuously ever since that first Tuesday. And grow it has.

I mentioned last week while warming up for our Fourth of July training session, partly in jest, that this is more than just a "weightlifting class" (or "oly class", as the CrossFit crowd like to call it), but rather an "elite weightlifting team", full of committed weightlifters who even come in on their holidays to train. Now, I don't really like the "elite" language, because to me it suggests a certain exclusivity that has no place between the doors at Industrious, but we are absolutely a team, and a team full of committed weightlifters for sure. We train hard and we train together day in and day out. We cheer for each other and congratulate each other on PR lifts, whether it's 20 kilos or 220 kilos on the bar. We support one another in the gym and on the competition platform, and celebrate our accomplishments together both inside and outside the gym. We push each other to new heights through that support (and through friendly competition). It doesn't matter if you've never competed, or think you'll never have the guts to step up on that competition platform, and it doesn't matter if you come to one session a week or four, or if you're there just to get better at the lifts for the sake of your CrossFit workouts; everyone who comes and lifts with us is part of the team and contributes to the energy and atmosphere that makes us all better.

Yup, this is certainly more than just a weightlifting class, and the team environment we have at Industrious is one of my favorite things about coaching this program. This is certainly an extension of the amazing community that Molly and Stephen have built through the CrossFit program at Industrious, and I am extraordinarily thankful to be a part of it!