Iron Grrls at BodyTribe Fitness

Check out my observations, guidance and corrections below for Letty’s box squat after these words about IRON GRRLS!👇
Sacramento Women (and Men!): Do you know squat, like really, really know squat?
It’s powerlifting month at IRON GRRLS, my weekly women’s learn-to-lift clinic on Tuesdays at BodyTribe Fitness!
I mention women and men for this post because the main tenets of a good squat are the same: hinging at the hips, keeping the spine stable, and external rotation of the hips, no matter who you are!
Now, every BODY is different so different squats will have different depths and other variables like how wide you put your feet, etc.
We’ll be discussing all of these points and more as we delve into the squat, the bench press and the deadlift every Tuesday this month!
Taught by yours truly, Allyson Seconds, Iron Grrls Is for all abilities, designed to help you feel comfortable and knowledgeable about the tools and movements in the gym in order to make life easier and more fun!
Tuesdays, 7pm, sliding scale fee $5-$15 —Pay what you can, a part of our BodyTribe Community Outreach efforts.
1106 N. D St., #7
Drive around to the back of our warehouse building to park in front of our big rollup door near big red bamboo planters and come on in!
👉Letty’s box squat looked so generally great in the beginning of the vid but she was using a little bit of momentum at the bottom, a little roll forward when she came off the box. You can see it in the line of travel of the bar--what I look for is the straightest line possible going down and up and hers was moving back and then forward.
We use a box sometimes as a depth check, but mostly to get rid of that stretch reflex you get in a regular squat and instead pause on the box before coming up. This requires more attention, awareness and cultivates even more spinal strength and athletic hip drive.
If she wasn’t careful with that roll forward, her knees could slightly collapse inward and she might lose a little stability in her spine.
In the second half of the video you can see the corrections: She has a straight line of travel of the bar and comes straight up, not forward.
Nice job, Letty!

Long-time client and friend Rachel prevailed victoriously in her years-long battle to flip our biggest tire, whom she's nicknamed Girtha!!
Truly, several YEARS-long battle indeed!
Ya see, the biggest obstacle between Rachel and Girtha been less a strength issue, it's been primarily Rachel's height vs. Girtha's girth if you will..
When you're 5' 3.5" tall and you can flip every other tire in the gym except the one that's almost as tall as you (oh and hundreds of pounds), well it was annoying as hell to our Rachel so she set to work on her goal.
Months and months AND MONTHS of training in ALL the ways paid off -- flipping ALL the other tires in a myriad of high to low rep schemes, loading them down with sandbags to start to mimic Girtha's weight, doing assisted flips with Girtha, unsuccessful attempts with Girtha to train her nervous system, plus ALL the deadlifts, squats and supplemental lifts possible.. We put Girtha up on wood blocks to do partial flips and even MacGeyvered a crude pulley system with straps for the slightest assistance... It's been a LONG and creative journey to say the least!
We also played with placement in the work out, trying it first when she was "fresh" after a warm up versus the middle of the workout versus the end of the workout. Turns out middle of the workout was key!
Just recently, all warmed up from her primary lifts, Rachel attempted to flip Girtha and failed.
But she had learned through this process that her second and third attempts got better so she tried again and to her almost-disbelief, there went Girtha up and over!
Nuthin' like checking off the box of one of your biggest, toughest goals!
Congrats Rachel!
Can't wait to come up with the next goals and see you smash 'em!
☺️💪

Sacramento Women!
Join us Tuesday the 25th for the last Of the Pull-Up themed IRON GRRLS before we switch it up in July!
Learn the main mechanics of a real-deal pull up and also gain experience and understanding of WHY we'd want to train for a strong pull:
*Yes, it's all part of training a strong and able back,
*but let's also talk about how pull ups are an exercise which is different than pure movement! What ways can you think of to use your stronger pulling skills?
I was inspired by my last week's several hikes in which I needed to climb over and under trees, pull myself up and over and pull stuff out of the way!
This video is from my workout earlier today where I did some free form movement using my immediate surroundings. My goal was to get creative pulling myself up, climbing, coming down and utilizing what was on the ground around me as well.
I always think of the times I've locked myself out of the house in the past and was grateful to be able to pull myself and climb over fences, up trees and to the second story of our apartment building😂
This exact scenario might not feel relatable (though you know who you are out there☺️) but one never knows when obstacles might become very real and we'd better be generally physically prepared, am I right?
Join us at IRON GRRLS and we'll lift/move/play👍
The goal is to have every woman who attends learn to take her new skills anywhere and have the best form in the room. (Group classes also available for those interested!)
Sliding scale fee $5-$15 pay what you can, a part of our BodyTribe Community Outreach efforts.
1106 N. D Street #7
Drive around to the back of our warehouse to find the big roll up door with red bamboo planters to park and c'mon in!

Sacramento Women, Drop in Tuesdays in May at IRON GRRLS 7pm:
Join us and learn the basics & beyond of Olympic Weightlifting for Every Body!
Video shows the ladies working on some foundation lifts: The front squat, the push press, basics of a power clean and how to drop the bar with control!
These lifts end above your head so practicing how to guide the bar down with help from gravity and bailing when the lift goes wrong are essential skills-- and fun too!
Join us for these weightlifting workouts on Tuesdays through May, and in June we'll explore how-to Pull-Ups workouts!
The goal is to have every woman who attends learn to take her new skills anywhere and have the best form in the room. (Group classes also available for those interested!)
Sliding scale fee $5-$15 pay what you can, a part of our BodyTribe Community Outreach efforts.
1106 N. D Street #7
Drive around to the back of our warehouse to find the big roll up door with red bamboo planters to park and c'mon in!

Sacramento Women:
Join me at IRON GRRLS, my weekly learn-to-lift drop-in clinic for ALL ABILITIES every Tuesday!
Each Tuesday in May we are exploring the cousins of Olympic weightlifting-- hang cleans, push presses, the one-arm sn**ch seen in video, plus the foundations of the big lifts themselves:
The clean & jerk and the sn**ch🏋
Learn for the first time or brush up on technique and take it back to your gym or join one of our group classes.
IRON GRRLS is $5-$15 sliding scale fee, pay what you can, a part of our BodyTribe Community Outreach efforts!
My goal is for every attendee to feel more comfortable and confident in a gym setting, understand the tools and toys and have the best form in the room!
Tuesdays at BodyTribe Fitness
1106 N. D Street #7
Drive around to the back of our warehouse to park near our big rollup door by red bamboo planters and come on in!

A couple of the Iron Grrls from Tuesday's exploration of Olympic weightlifting practicing a variation, or as I like to call it, a "cousin": The kettlebell power clean and push press!
All month IRON GRRLS @ BodyTribe Fitness, my weekly drop-in lifting clinic for Sacramento women, will delve into these lifts for the beginner or for anyone who learned without enough emphasis on technique.
That's where I really love to geek out-- they don't call me 'The Technician" for nuthin'!
We'll do all different variations of the super fun clean & jerk and the sn**ch, including the foundations and beyond.
Maybe they'll light your fire like they did mine, or maybe you'll learn to handle that CrossFit class you go to with more finesse and less apt to hurt your beloved shoulders (or other much-needed body part!).
And that's what Iron Grrls is here for: come learn the technique to take back to your gym or home gym, or join a group class with us at BodyTribe!
IRON GRRLS, every Tuesday at 7pm!
$5-$15 sliding scale fee, a part of our BodyTribe Community Outreach efforts.
1106 N. D Street #7
Sacramento
Drive around back to our warehouse's roll up door with red bamboo planters to park and come on in!