Whatever It Takes

Recently because of the less than perfect weather conditions, many of my athletes have been forced to work in or around adverse conditions. I get daily emails or comments that a track workout isn’t possible without ice skates or that dragging a sled on 12 inches of snow is detrimental to their health. I can’t help but tell them tough it out and take care of business anyways, but the reality is that sometimes that is just not possible.
Anyone who knows how I train knows that while I encourage my athletes to train regardless, I am a huge fan of central heating and air and will not train in adverse conditions. I typically find a heated gym somewhere. Yep. Hypocritical I know, but weightlifting and below freezing temperatures don’t mix well with 7% body fat.
That being said, I have found myself incredibly proud of certain athletes this week who have taken their training seriously and done whatever it takes to get it done. They know that sometimes the situations will not be in their favor and that likely the need to be prepared for such situations. We all remember Caleb’s 345# clean and jerk… in a slanted parking lot. Or we all have seen the videos of the Ukrainian outdoor weightlifting park.
However, this week I can’t help but highlight some of my athletes with the same work ethic. Jason Hoggan completed all 12 of his 100m sled drags this week. He did it in 12 degree weather and God knows how cold wind chill. I literally watched him do one before I went inside (i know dedicated coach). Cass Poff did all of her running this week in 4 inches of snow. She videoed it to prove it to me. Props! There were multiple 400m runs completed in 30m shuttle sprints because of weather. Then I got this video last night. JoEllyn literally said she would need ice skates to do some sled work last night. She improvised with this instead. Whatever it takes!
Or we could just all move to South Florida and train during the winter…