why i lift
If there’s something that you should know about me, it’s that I LOVE lifting weights. Picking stuff up, putting it down, and becoming unreasonably strong is my absolute favourite way to get in my workouts - which is why I’m so excited to be able to introduce CrushCamp’s latest Performance Lab offering - LIFT.
WHO IS LIFT FOR?
Before we get into what LIFT is all about, I’d like to clear the air about who LIFT is for.
LIFT is for everyone.
That’s right.
LIFT is for our seasoned CrushCamp Wolfpack - the PR chasers, the calorie-crushers, the sweat-in-every-crevice kind of folx.
LIFT is also for our Flow-gis, the casual-crow-posers, the high lunge masters, the Ujjayi pros.
LIFT is for the new or soon-to-be mama, the post-injury rehabber, the former athlete, the new kid in Camp.
I’ll say it again - LIFT is for everyone because we ALL need to lift something at some point in our lives! Do you get groceries? Go to IKEA? Have kids or nieces/nephews? Tend to a garden? Help your buddy move? Enjoy home improvement projects? Run outside on purpose? You know - just generally go about your life?
All of these activities require the use of your body, and over time, it can seem that we can’t quite do the same things with ease. Thankfully, we can help with some of that! (Except we won’t help you move your couch, sorry.)
WHAT IS LIFT FOR?
Along with a balanced diet, exercise via a concept called progressive overload allows us to continue to build our strength and maintain it for use in our day to day lives.
Progressive overload (in a nutshell) works like this: when you first start exercising, you start at a certain level or resistance (eg. A squat with 20lb dumbbells). Great! Eventually, with consistency in your workouts, you tend to find that you aren’t as challenged by that resistance, and that you can maybe lift a little bit heavier (eg. A 25lb dumbbell). Then, week over week, that weight gets heavier. This is progressive overload.
It’s not just for weights, either. That gradual ascent into greater strength, endurance, speed, mobility, flexibility - those are ALL forms of progressive overload - and all things that we tackle at CrushCamp.
LIFT specifically is here to tackle the strength and mobility portions of this concept. Our program is designed akin to a personal training program - week over week for 4 weeks, we will revisit the same exercise sequence so that you can see your own strength progression gradually build.
In a LIFT class, we guide you through preparatory mobility and movement sequences to get you and your muscles safely into the zone. Once there, we build onto those sequences with the exercises you’ve come to know in our Crush classes or even at your own gym - but with extra attention to form, detail and the WHY behind it all. Finally, we put it all together in a final burnout - because there’s no way we can let you leave feeling like you haven’t Crushed it ;)
WHY IS LIFT IMPORTANT?
The structure and format of a LIFT class is different from our signature Crush classes.
Will you still see a deadlift or a chest press? Absolutely! But the tempo is slower and more controlled. There isn’t a flurry of jumping from the SkillMill to the floor, or a screen flashing wattages or speeds - but you can bet that your heart rate is going to be sky high when you’re crushing out that heavy row or overhead press.
LIFT is designed for you to tune into that mind-muscle connection when you go through an exercise or movement. We are here to educate you and build up your strength & knowledge - which translates into better performance in a Crush class, better activation in a Flow sequence and most important of all - to be better out there in the real world.
