Class is in Session

Imagine, it's meet day. You've just worked extremely hard at the gym training day in and out for at least 4 months straight. So, now what?  Now, it's time to execute.  At a meet, you need to imagine the same type of atmosphere as a gym times 50. More spectators here to watch you give it your all. More people all trying to get the same squat rack. Essentially, imagine New Year's day at the gym with all the resolutioners there for the first time. At the meet, the key to surviving and thriving, is to prepare. The preparation process can be arduous but if you want a 9 for 9 day (achieving good lifts for each attempts), you need to keep 5 important factors in mind. So you've done it. You have either qualified for or traveled to the meet you are competing in. So, now what? Firstly, powerlifting can be expensive. Therefore, if you have not registered for the meet or federation before, they tend to run between $100-$300. If you are competing in more than one category in a m...

Strength training may seem pretty understandable to some, but what truly is it? Per the International Sports Sciences Association , Strength is defined as: the ability to contract the muscles with maximum force, given constraints stemming from the following: Structural/anatomical factors Physiological/biochemical factors Psychoneural/psychosocial factors External/environmental factors So why is that important to you? Firstly, strength training is an amazing fitness regiment that can improve many parts of the body. "A lack of muscular strength [efforts] in conjunction with a decrease in bone density with increase in age, are health concerns of the general population" ( Issa , 186). The body is a machine, therefore, it needs to be put to work to work properly. Thus, a strength component in your workout can be extremely beneficial in assisting your goals and overall health. How can you start introducing strength in your fitness journey? For specifically strength training, slow...

 Who am I? Welp, my name is Haley (Sanders) Barbetti. I started working out when I was 17 years old in my parents living room just for fun, but it started my 10 year journey on understanding healthy habits, competing in powerlifting and helping other people on their health and fitness journeys.  I was just like you, someone who tried to eat "right", get fresh air and workout. But, I never went to the gym. As many people often say, I was a little afraid... So instead, my neighbor lent me their DVD (wow I haven't said that word in a while) copy of P90X -- an at-home workout video series. I started with just a yoga mat in my parents living room. It was scary, yet beautiful. Both of my parents worked out. My dad's poison of choice? Doing bicep curls to a poster of Arnold Schwarzenegger. My mom you ask? She was caught doing the 5:45 p.m. Jazzercise class down the street (but man could she move). Since both my parents had their own thing going on, I thought that maybe it wa...