movin monday

A great man (coach michael) once said that the best way to tackle mondayidis is to get down to the garage and work ya butt off (literally) and blow ur biceps up!

Work it belinda and aldo sure did. Belinda continues to show impressive endurance and determination while aldo gets 100% better every week.

Someone who moves around all day for a living is Ginette, and together with coach tommy they worked up a pool of sweat from beginning til end. great endurance Gin

HAPPY BDAY TO LIZ, for Liz's present tommy gave her and Frank very limited recovery with the good old Tabata routine.

Coral is still fighting her cold but the tough bugger still turns up and gives her all. Very inspirational.

M/J are in the dancing form of their life and they showd it once again with a massive session.

Bob hewitt worked on some much needed tennis footwork drills while delivering some left and right boxing combos, that tyson would applaud.

Sarah showed her love of the Garage by driving in from the other side of town.. nice isn't she!

Fantastic Four

Here is a link to a video of a speech by a man who is before my time, but maybe during some of yours (no pun intended) Click Here Make GarageGYM YOUR Battle Ground


Four fabulous and fit members in to create a whirlwind of action. First in, Sid, last session for the week and on a timeline so we had an intense workout combining the rower, squats, push press and sumosquats with uprights - a variation on the 440 run WOD of the other day. Sid did tremendously well, with heavy weights through out each exercise and no need to break. Sid, your looking good in and out of the gym. See you next week.

Ginette in next, we blasted her lower body the day before so we did the upprbody today. First off bench press and skipping - then, push ups and sit ups - then, pull ups, deadlifts and back extensions. All with minimal break and challenging weights. Again you proved why your at the top of the food chain Ginette. A massive session - you did good.

Frank B in, lone ranger today (sorry I couldn't fit you in yesterday Liz - I'll make it extra hard on Monday to make up for it). Again we hit the upperbody workout. We used big weights and multiple reps and I really made Frank work his muscles till there was nothing left. Technique was flawless, energy was high, and attitude just right. No wonder why your looking great. Thanks for a good session Frank.

And Mel W back for her second session. This girl has the right attitude and I have to contain my self from unleashing the full force of GarageGYM too soon. Today we had a fairly big session, considering, and it consisted of Row 500-400-300-200-100 interlaced with Squats and Push Ups of 50-40-30-20-10 reps each. A monster second session and the appettite to handle it. Excellent session Mel. And congratulation on beating your Rowing time second session in: from 2:18 to 2:14. It'll be below 2 minutes in two months or less.

Keeping up

Busy bodies everywhere - pumping iron - getting fit - getting stuffed! This have picked up immensely around here and times are filling up. It is great to see you all "enjoying" the workouts and I'm very proud of the day to day and long term successes we are all having.

Sid has been consistent with her two days a week of high intensity training. Her technique has improved dramatically and she is trying harder and harder every session. She pushes through the pain - literally - and keeps on coming back for more. Excellent effort Sid - I always look forward to our sessions.

Jen has gotten straight back into the thick f things now - doing supremely intense and sometimes unique workouts. Jen, your fitness is always great, and your attitude is just as powerful. Ill miss you this Saturday.

The whole "tribe" was in on Wednesday, the Tartaglia / Panzera and Barbaro Mob... (And also now the Maggiore crew!) I think I'll call the tribe TPBMob. Seb blasted the hell out of his body as his results show. Strong, powerful, fit, lean and defined. Seb has put on over two kilograms of pure muscle in just a few months. Time for a new wardrobe Seb. Mary is always raring and energised and always puts in 100%. If she hasn't had enough, she always asks for more. Mary is a committed trooper who doesn't shy away from all the challenges thrown at her. Thanks Mary. Josephine is looking better every session - not that she didn't from day one - leaner and stronger muscles are the result of GarageGYM workouts for women - no bulking up here! And Margaret had a quicky - abs all the way!
Gulnaz, despite her less than 100% energy levels due to a bout of the flew has still attended GarageGYM religiously. Working hard, high intensity, heavy weights and big challenges, her toned body and shrinking midrift is all the motivation she needs to keep on coming back for more - great work G, its all coming together now.

Erin in on her own, straight into the warm up and she was raring to go. She did a meen three rounds of thrusters, bench, plank and pull ups. Erin is not fearful at all of the intensity here at GarageGYM. Her seventh session in and she accepts what ever is thrown at her, despite the difficulty. Its her attitude which will get her the results she desires. Keep it up Erin, you are truly tenacious.

We have another new recruit - every give a warm welcome to Melissa W (Mel W). A local girl who has had some extraordinary success on her health on her own is now looking for an upgraded challenge - you've come to the right place Mel. This is where the tenacious come to get fit - no bull/ no gimmicks - just straight forward, hard core - workouts that work! You have amazing strength and great form. You'll be a sinch to tone up.

Super Ginette was in and finding it tough for a change!!! 400m runs combined with sumo squats, push press and squats - all with the barbell and for three rounds - as most of you know how this workout feels i don't need to say more. It was a gutsy effort Ginette and I know you are very proud of yourself for getting through it. I always enjoy our hardcore sessions.
Bob - you are dedicated, motivated, persistent and focused - if your life is anything like they way you train here at the Garage then you must be the happiest man alive. You put in every single session and always, always, give it your all. You are the epitome of GarageGYM and a true survivor. Keep up the gut busting workouts Bob. I enjoy watching you as much as you enjoy doing them.

Robert, hungover from a big night out - probably mixing it up with Melbourne's elite as usual - dragged himself in - out of habit - ready but cautious for what he came for. I told him I would take it easy but that went right out the window as he did heavy bench press / multiple pull ups / dips / push ups/ and step ups. Great effort Robert. You are another dedicated performer whose actions in the gym reverberate throughout your entire life.

And again, we need another warm welcome for second time Garagegoers - Aldo and Belinda. Easy does it as we break you both in, but as the community here can attest - the initiation occurs quickly - and the pain will soon begin. I hope you enjoy your stay! (Don't be frightened though, its all in the name of physical success)


Thank you all, welcome to you all, and keep up the body and mind stimulating workouts. Lets all grow stronger together.

run, run, run tommys coming!

Frank and liz were pumpd when they heard that running was on the WOD. Coach Tommys crackd his whip and pushed his athletes to the finish line. 1st place Liz by a whisker!

Coral braved another tough session which pocused (i mean focused) haha on the upper body muscles. She will be thinking of me tomorow morning when she reaches for the coco pops!

Margaret is back in town, so we thought that we would make her run around the town! The lactic rose to her throat she commented. Josephine gets her leg stitches out tomorow so a gentle jog was administered to her (along side a mega drop set of shoulder presses, ouch!)

Bob set a new Garage Gym record for the run of the block 1.39 (at the end of his session) HUGE effort Bobby Brown

Belinda and eldo had their first taste of the Garage and boy did it taste like lactic acid! Great start guys, keep it up

And last but not least Sarah rounded up the herd of fit Garage gym go-ers with 3 fast 400m efforts on the awsome rowing machine

Jen always brings the Sun

Three intense sessions. First in was Johnny P doing yesterdays WOD of step ups, sit ups and back extensions. Very hard work as he set a fast pace on the steps ups - but challenging yourself is the essence of good work so well done Johnny. I look forward to next weeks session.

Sarah in, also doing the a similar WOD yet we exchanged back extensions for push press with 6kg dumbbells for 25 reps. She needed to get out on time so we picked up the pace and flew through the workout. Even if you only have 20-25 minutes we can still give you a blistering workout at high intensity to elicit results. Good work Sarah.

Jen in to finish the morning. It was one of your best sessions Jen. Pure intensity from start to finish. Step ups and sit ups for three rounds followed by three sets of 20 dips followed by three rounds of 3 minutes of boxing with excellent technique and super power. It was a smashing effort Jen and I look forward to your continual improvements.

Sit-Ups crunch Crunches

Click Here for a full explanation as to why we do sit-ups and how we can improve on them. I want you all to know that, probably like the rest of you in your field of expertise, you still have a lot to learn and are learning everyday. I have known about the abmat for sometime but am unable to purchase it in Australia yet! This article explains that while the Sit-Up is superior to the Crunch - the Abmat Sit-Up is superior to the Sit-Up. So, we must adjust our sit-ups?!? What we've been doing isn't wrong - we can just get more out of each rep and get faster results with less effort. Isn't that nice?

A 'mountain' of work today

New research suggests that high intensity training improves cognitive functions. The report below to highlights many advantages of high intensity training:

Sports Conditioning

This new research is focused on unique aspects however.

High impact running improves learning

As stated by researchers:

We found that vocabulary learning was 20 percent faster after intense physical exercise as compared to the other two conditions (low impact aerobic running or rest). This condition (high intensity) also elicited the strongest increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor and catecholamine levels.

As you can see, there are more than physical advantages to high intensity training protocols!

Note: this post is borrowed from a fellow High Intensity Advocate as used here at GarageGYM

I'm always excited to have the girls in: Anne, Sid, and Ginette. All three always pushing right to the end, and listening intently to the direction given them.

Anne started us off with yesterday's WOD of super heavy push press/ deadlifts/ and pull ups. As always she kept going past exhaustion and because of this, ended up with the most number of rounds for females for this WOD. Congratulations Anne. It was a monstrous effort today and well worth a couple of days rest.

Sid was in after a big session yesterday and she was the first to kick off todays WOD: 3 minutes of step ups, 50 sit ups and 50 back extensions. Due to yesterdays heavy back work we opted for a different last exercise but still just as painful. She soldiered through the three rounds, completing her last of a full weeks workouts. See you next week Sid. Make sure you get a massage to loosen those gradually tightening muscles. AND THIS GOES FOR EVERYONE. The best form of relaxation is a massage. Nice and firm!

Ginette also in the morning. It was a terrific effort again. Always welcoming any thing thrown at her, she Climbed the mountainof steps at full steam ahead, blaster her abs on all 50 rep sit ups and burned her back muscles on the extensions. Your great form and balance will only lead to more exact results and better efficiency at gaining them. Go for it Ginette.

And to finish the morning - dynamic duo on their third session this week. Never complaining and always "on time" they welcomed a reprieve from the heavy weights we have been lifting lately but were still challenged by the step ups and back extensions as everyone was. They finished in a great time of 23minutes and really had a solid session, non-stop and were rewarded at the end by a visit from my delicious and delectable daughter, Ava. Ava said, " they both looked pumped daddy!" "Yes dear," replied daddy, "they workout at GarageGYM."