Art of Barbell

Sharing a proud moment today - Abbey lifted a lifetime PR of 160lbs on her bench press, AND THEN went for more…167lbs, and nailed it!

About 3 months ago, Abbey asked me to write her a bench press program because she really wanted to get better at it. I created about a 1-month program with specific reps and weights to follow, that was 3x per week and that worked around the workouts we were already doing at our gym group classes. If she got busy or ended up missing a day or several days (which happened a couple times) we just redirected and continued on the path without missing a beat.

After her first month, she hit her goal of 150lbs, and it was EASY.

We decided to do a second month. This time her goal was 160. She wasn’t sure if she should try 155lbs or 160. I told her to just go for 160 before you tire yourself out. I gave some warm up weight recommendations, and she attempted it during the strength class I was coaching today.

Swipe to see both her attempts at 160 & 167.

This woman has been amazing to watch and see progress across the last 4+ years. She has dropped over 40lbs, is able to do pull ups, ring dips, and almost handstand pushups (after only being able to hang from a bar when we started) and strict pressed more than I could a couple weeks ago. She’s right around the corner from a 300lb deadlift.

WHAT. A. BADASS.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

To be honest, I’ve always found it hard to stay motivated to “do the workout” if I didn’t have a concrete goal to train for, or unless someone was expecting me to get a score for the day.

That’s why I’ve always had a “next thing to train for.” A lifting meet, a new PR, a strict bar muscle-up… I always needed something specific to chase.

Before I found CrossFit, I started my fitness journey training for a half marathon. However, my goals were purely aesthetic. I wanted clothes to fit better, to look like someone else’s version of “fit.” But when the goal was only about looks, it didn’t keep me going for long. Training felt like a chore when I didn’t know what I was working toward or when I’d get there.

After 7 straight months of training for events, I told myself I’d take a break until the end of the year. The first week, my body needed it. But then the motivation started slipping. My 6+ days a week became 3 short workouts I barely squeezed in. I only showed up because I was coaching, or out of habit.

When you’re just starting out, you need something concrete to stay motivated…something measurable or time-bound (a race, a lift, a skill). Over time, that discipline turns into habit. But even habits fade if they aren’t fueled by purpose.

Lately, I’ve felt mine slipping too. So it’s time to set a new goal. Not necessarily a competition, but some things I’ve kept my eye on but didn’t have the bandwidth with other things I was training for.

If you’re struggling to stay motivated, set a goal. “I’d like to be able to do that someday” is a great place to start. Now turn it into reality. 💪

I also sn**ched too, even though my clean & jerk was the star of the show!

I chose a conservative opener at 66kg to take GOLD right away, and continued to make 70kg thereafter on my 3rd attempt. I really wanted a shot at 74kg (for the record) but I missed my 2nd attempt at 70kg behind with an overpull and decided to repeat just to nail it. (Check out that excellent miss photo!)

To be honest, right from the warm up I was extremely nervous…Which is hard to believe because I was going in with an entry total almost 20kg above the next person in my weight class, so I was almost guaranteed to win if I just hit moderate numbers. But my goal wasn’t to just win easy, it was to aim high to break some records.

YOU CAN’T MAKE BIG ACHIEVEMENTS WITHOUT MAKING BIG MOVES!



Thanks for capturing these moments!

World record holder & world champion for the women’s masters 35-39yo age group, 53kg weight class.

I had a lot of nerves and anticipation for the biggest competition of the year. I am proud to walk out of here today representing the USA with a clean sweep of 3 gold medals, plus a world record clean & jerk for this age group, and attempts for a world record total.

70kg sn**ch
93kg clean & jerk (WR)
163kg total

After an 8-year hiatus from the 53kg weight class, the fire was reignited.

Thank you everyone 🙏

Until the next meet 💪🏼

Celebrating 10 years married today 🎊 ❤️

Back in Rhode Island trying to hit up all the places we enjoyed together (that are still around).

What’s cool is that his parents also just celebrated their 50th anniversary, and we were here to help set up their surprise party.

When I look back at all of the things I have improved upon since I first started CrossFit, the one area that has noticeably regressed for me has been running.

Now, I had actually been running consistently for over a year prior to finding CrossFit. In fact, I had just finished my first marathon (> 4 hrs), was doing weekly 7 mile runs with a running group, and was in the middle of training for a half Ironman. My fastest ever mile was 5:59, I won my age group on every triathlon I did, and my best half marathon was 1hr, 35 minutes (7:15/mi pace). At one point I was 26 seconds short of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. This was 13 years ago when I was about 23-24 years old.

But to get better at other things, I had to make a sacrifice to running. There were years between then and now where the most I ran at a time was a mile, if not at all. In fact, it would be another decade before I tackled anything greater than 9 miles again (the Siskiyou Outback 15k in 2022).

But in return, 98% of all areas of mine have improved. Weightlifting, rowing, gymnastics skills, Murph times…you name it.

Ok, maybe my back squat is still far away from the 300lbs I hit once, but I also weigh 8lbs lighter than I did when I hit that weight.

But today I am also 5lbs heavier than when I was doing a ridiculous amount of running, cycling, and swimming.

My 15k SOB time was 4 minutes slower this year than last year…which was 2 minutes slower than my time in 2022.

Here’s the thing…to get that much faster at running (for my short legs and stature), it would take an immense amount of compromise on everything else. When I focused on Hyrox last year, my weightlifting regressed only to be able to shave off a few seconds from my metcon running pace.

It’s hard to stay good at everything all at once. Especially as your body starts aging more, you have to accept that progress no longer becomes “getting faster” or “getting stronger” but simply maintaining where you are. Soon it will shift to “I’m still able to train 5+ days/week.” I tested my mile time today and it was THE SAME as when I tested it 3 years ago. 🤷🏻‍♀️ But I’ve also PR’d my sn**ch and my muscle ups since then so 💪🏼.

I’m excited to reintroduce myself as Snow Charpentier, NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer®.

It’s been a journey the past 13 years shifting my career from graphic design, to teaching, to becoming a health and fitness coach. You could say I’ve had a great deal of impostor syndrome and “fake it til you make it” persona given my original degree wasn’t at all aligned with the type of knowledge I need for this industry. Ever since I first achieved my CrossFit Level 1 Trainer status 13 years ago, I still never felt I was as professional as I could have been. However, I DID know that if I continued to learn new material, put myself out there as someone willing to help and coach others, and admitted to finding out answers for things I didn’t know yet, that I would become the professional I envisioned myself to be.

They say it takes about 10,000 hours of dedication toward something to finally “master” that thing. I think by now with the countless hours of part-time coaching in my earlier years through owning a gym full time that I’ve come darn close to that. I still have a LOT to learn even just through reading the NSCA Textbook and materials. Getting certified as a personal trainer is just another door that is opened to more.

Although, having over a decade of experience within the field of fitness itself made the study time for acquiring this credential much more brief than it would have been starting from scratch.

Having these letters next to your name doesn’t necessarily mean you know your schtuff and you are a legit trainer. It’s been years of actually DOING it and learning all of the mistakes, all the change in information, and the side knowledge that makes you a legit trainer. Most importantly, it comes down to the people who you impact. What do they think? Are their lives better because of you?

Here’s to yet another decade of helping others become their best selves!