starting strength gym
Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: Walnut Creek Pulling Camp Recap

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    10,378

    Default Walnut Creek Pulling Camp Recap

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
    • starting strength seminar jume 2024
    • starting strength seminar august 2024
    We had a sold out pulling camp at CrossFit Sweat Shop in Walnut Creek, CA this past weekend and, in keeping with the name of the facility, it was a balmy 85 degrees and sunny outside. Participants traveled from San Francisco, the Peninsula, the East Bay, and as far as LA to spend over five hours talking about and performing the deadlift and power clean. While most of the faces were new, three folks came back for a second camp with me, having participated in a previous squat camp at CrossFit Oakland. It was nice to see you again.

    Working on the deadlift followed by the power clean provided excellent reinforcement of the correct starting position to achieve a vertical bar path off the floor. We set out a brief theoretical framework for these lifts and then practiced them. Everyone got a chance to lift and receive coaching, as well as watch the others in the group do the same. We wrapped up the afternoon with some discussion of lifting topics and a question and answer session.

    As always, it was gratifying to watch the participants correct their form and get a feel for how the lifts should be done. Rip's framework for analyzing and performing the pulls proves its worth time after time. We had a woman cleaning about as much as her last set of squats (hint: you can squat more than you think) as well as some strong pulls from a 170 pounder. Ahem... Put on more weight. Not mentioning any names... Everyone showed up willing to work hard and it was a real pleasure to coach all of you.

    One of the participants was a minor league baseball player, a pitcher, who has since moved on to other pursuits. He mentioned to me that during his time playing professional baseball that he was unable to get his fastball above the mid to high 80s. At the time he weighed about 180 pounds, if I remember that correctly. He left the farm system and later found out about Starting Strength through the Men's Journal article that appeared about a year ago. He now weighs a lean 230, clocked his fastball at 93 mph and has seen significant improvements to some of the nagging shoulder pain that a career as a pitcher can produce. What was his secret? He did the program. As written. Strength apparently does count for something in athletics.

    I managed to take a few pictures during the power cleans that I will post in the coming days. I look forward to hearing about everyone's progress in the weeks and months ahead.

    Special thanks to Nabil Langkilde for hosting us at the Sweat Shop. Nabil is a great person, and excellent coach, and a has a great gym.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Petaluma/Sonoma County, CA
    Posts
    44

    Default

    As always, an informative and rewarding experience. Lots of inspiration all around--I can't wait for a double BW pull myself!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Bay Area, CA
    Posts
    509

    Default

    Thanks for another great camp, Tom!

    The weight is coming... slowly. :-) Maybe I'll be 180 by the time you host a pressing camp!

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •