Lara

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Warm up/Pre hab:

Olympic Squat on Wall, 2 minutes
Wall Extension, 10 reps
Monster Walks, 10 reps each direction
10 High Bar Back Squats, empty bar

Classic Strength:  

5 x 5 High Bar Back Squat    

Advanced Strength:

High Bar Back Squat, 2 minutes rest
1 x 10 @ 60%
1 x 8 @ 70%
1 x 6 @ 75%
1 x 4 @ 80%

Conditioning, Partner WOD, 4 rounds each:

Row 350 meters
15 Dumbbell Hang Squat Cleans, (45/30/15)
10 Push ups

     Notes:  Each one of these is a sprint

Cool down: 

Pigeon stretch, 30 seconds per side
German Hang, 30 seconds cumulative
Couch Stretch, 30 seconds per side

I don’t remember actually meeting you, Lara.  I only remember coming into 10am’s and there was this short haired girl from out of town with a cool accent.  Everything else since then was a blur.  You were always the 10 am staple, I remember being impressed with your work capacity, and I didn’t think anything of it beyond that. 

Then our gym grew.  Our classes were bursting out the door and into the driveway (we only had MDR at the time) and oh, Lara is a personal trainer, perhaps she could help?  You became my back up trainer at MDR evenings.  One night, you and Sean D were my back ups, the On Ramp class was enormous, and in the moment I decided to split it up into two groups, you were teaching toes to bar, and he taught push press I think (?)  Anyway, that was a transformative evening for all of us, and I remember everything after that just fine.  

You became a dominant force in our female pool of athletes.  Your 1 Rep Max capacities weren’t great (at the time) but by God you never put that bar down or stopped squatting if the weights were moderate and if the reps were long.  Your personal training background helped you engage and grow as a trainer for us, helping other budding members reach PR’s of their own.  We became friends and occasional training partners.  Almost every evening after closing MDR we’d hang out and talk for hours.  I watched you crush competition after competition.  You asked me to be your partner for a Co-Ed Saturday night lights comp, in the heat of competition we developed our own way of communicating (links below), and we went on to actually win it. 

Your journey through the Open, Regionals, and finally the Games was something the entire gym was ecstatic to see, myself included.  And we’ll never forget it either.  Because I can’t believe you’re fucking leaving.  And to fucking South Africa!  It’s so far away.  It’s so far away I have a hard time imagining even visiting.  Most of my coaching and training life the last year and a half involved you in one way or another.  You always supported me, always helped me, you were always there for me, and never lost faith in me even when I fucked up royally.  Like when you came to pick me up for the OC Throwdown but my dumbass was still asleep and you left after waiting 30 minutes.  Or when I forgot your Cirque du Soleil tickets.  Haha, remember that?  But like all the other good bye’s I’ve written over the years, I know this choice is the best for you.  You will thrive there.  You belong there.  And I can’t wait to see how awesome you will make your life.  It’s been nothing but a pleasure and honor Lara.  

It Matters, Zeb Pascual
Know Thy Other!, Lara Erlank