WE MADE THE VIDEO

Yesterday, with the help of Deb, Scott, Chamisa, Kathleen, Stann and Todd we shot the video. It went amazingly well (I think anyway). We should have a rough cut within a week and start posting some snippets on the site shortly. I hope everyone had a great week. Today we will be working with great focus since we only have this ONE class for this week.

My trip to San Francisco went well. Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and well wishes. I am guardedly hopeful that it was a success. It is with great restraint that I do not blog the details of the trip as it is so personal. I will tell you about it in person.

Remember that our 6 week testing should be done by now. I would love to hear what the end numbers were for pushups and walking lunges !!!! I am elated at the level that classes are at right now. It just feels quite magical.

Story von Holzhausen

Spring is here for Liquid Strength

I have been so pleased at how full classes have been even with the weather being awful (raining) or wonderful (in which case being outside is very tempting). If everyone ever shows up at the same time, we will be uncomfortably crowded but so far it has worked out great.

I will not be here tomorrow (Friday) to teach. I will be in class next wed and out Friday again so make sure you are THERE ! I would like all of you who did the pre 6 week challenge testing to test again and tell me your numbers !!! I will be bringing my tape and calipers to class the week after next.

I was perfectly sore from class yesterday. I hope all of you are feeling the same. So many of you are changing before my eyes that I am inspired every time I see you !!! Tues I will be shooting my video (small privately funded so it will not be a fancy thing). I will be able to hopefully offer some home tutorials and demos on the site. That will be great. I hear very often from students who have moved and can no longer attend classes so for all of YOU this will be a huge thing. I know myself that once your body changes from Liquid Strength, it is a huge bummer to suddenly lose it as nothing else does quite what this does !!!

The level at which we are working is so advanced at this point that I find myself getting really excited about the future and creating new moves and cycles that will get us further and further along in our practice.

One goal I have for EVERYONE is to see the effect of all your hard work happen before we are in full Spring gear. That being said, I would like for everyone to pick ONE very simple rule that they will follow going forward that will improve themselves in one way or another. I am not talking about radical changes (although those may well happen with time) but something very doable that you actually can and will do.

I am opting for one thing physical and one thing emotional. I am avoiding gluten and wheat. I have a lifelong post nasal drip, runny nose and "clearing the throat" habit that seems to magically disappear if I avoid gluten/wheat. I am loving that. In a different area altogether, I am trying to listen more and be less defensive. I find as I age and feel much more comfortable with who I am (and like that person !) that I am less concerned about pleasing everyone around me. I have always been (and likely will always be) a person who likes to please and make others happy. Sometimes this can call for knocking myself down a little to be more "unthreatening". Being 42, I am ok with someone not liking me for their own reasons. It is more important to me that I like myself and what I stand for. I want to be a role model for my daughter and my students/clients. I want all of you to be just as competent and smart and daring as you are without feeling the need to "lessen" who you are to be more readily excepted. If someone is threatened by you, you don't want them in your life anyway. You want to surround yourself with strong and able people who will challenge you to be ALL that you can be and cheer you along the way.

liquid Strength six week challenge testing

WELL, Our 6 weeks are over. Going into the 6 weeks, I do not expect to see any shocking changes in anyone (although I have been pretty surprised). I do expect for all of you to have some clarity on the changes you want/need to make and how to start to slowing shift your lives to get there.

I will be away this Friday and next so we only have wed classes for the next two weeks. I would like for all of you to do the "testing" on your own. Today would be perfect so that you are not overly sore for Wed's class. You need to do push ups and walking lunges just like we did them for the pre challenge testing. I can't wait to hear about how those numbers are changing !!

We will be planning a post challenge party so let's start thinking about what night works for everyone. It should be a lot of fun.

As per request, I am going to give some VERY easy ideas for lunch/dinner that I have used in the past few weeks:

1) Bake up a big batch of fish (I like trout as it is very mild) and add it to miso and vegetable soup, over salads or even with hummus.

2) stir fry onion, broccoli and soy sprouts and throw in chicken or tofu or fish. (these can be pre-made I use frozen cooked shrimp)

3) make an omelette for dinner with all the healthy stuff in your fridge.

4) make up salmon/turkey/bison burgers with sliced heirloom tomatoes and fresh herbs with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon.

Beauty.......Liquid Strength style

This blog entry is a long time coming. There is an ugly secret that we humans have. We (most of America anyway) love to see those we admire (envy) fail. There is such a fascination and obsession with "beauty". We seek it at any cost. We also punish and hate those who "have" it. we spend a lot of money and time trying to be "beautiful" but when/we you are, people will judge you or dislike you for it. You may spend half of your time trying to be beautiful and then the other half constantly atoning for it.

It is natural and normal to want to feel great about yourself. One thing I learned along the way is that no matter what I look like, it does not change how happy I am. Some people will not like me either way. I can never make everyone like me. I have learned that it is none of my business if they do. If I know I am being the best person I can be every day. If I am happy and true to myself and my beliefs, and I like who I am, that is all that matters. If a person does not like me, it is most likely nothing to do with me. They have their own insecurities and issues on any given day. I can wish them well but it is NONE of my business. My daughter is 9 and I can see it happening to her already. She is a beautiful little girl. She goes OUT of her way to wear a black tattered bandana and dress as "unpretty" as she can. Girls are nicer to her that way. It is so silly.

How did we get here as women? Why are not "on each other's sides"?

One of the things I love about all of you, my wonderful students and clients, is that you are NOT like that. We have a choice in what we decide to call "success". If I ask most of people who are DESPERATE to lose 10lbs, if they were ever 10lbs less, and they were, I always ask "Were you that much happier in your LIFE"? The answer is always "But I LOVED my body". That is not the question. "Were you happier in your life or with yourself"? The answer is usually NO. The dieting and wretchedness of a consuming obsession with their bodies usually made them pretty miserable and their lives did not miraculously change having other women envy them.. (shocker huh?)

I believe that we have to get to like ourselves NOW. We have to look at what our bodies can do and how good they feel. Think about how wonderful a back rub feels. Think about how wonderful it is to feel your skin against someone you love or even a pet your love. That amazing feeling of "the cuddle". You can thank your body for that amazing gift. When you step back and really think about it, you can't even SEE what you look like unless you look in a mirror. You spend MOST of your time (I hope anyway) nowhere near a mirror. If you "dig" what you are about and what you do in your day (and who you spend it with), who really cares what you look like. NOBODY who loves you does. If you were gorgeous, you would have more people wishing bad things on you and not liking you anyway.

I want to take great care of myself. I want to look my best but not because it really matters what strangers think of me. There is a certain amount of self respect you get from taking care of yourself. It shows respect of YOU. When you start to believe that losing 5 lbs will make you HAPPIER though, really think about it. It changes nothing. Most people are far too busy obsessing about their own junk to even notice your weight. If you are healthy and happy and able, that is a gift.

Take some time and put it all in perspective. When it stops being such a THING in your life, it is much easier to eat well and take care of yourself simply because you respect and like yourself. THAT my friends will bring you happiness.

I am destroyed from wed's class. I mean ridiculous ! We will be doing a lot of upper body and core. The lower body will be about movement and stretching. I will be giving students who were NOT in wed's class some other work to do while we are in abs (they will be doing the arm moves from the "home" position.

Story von Holzhausen

Liquid Strength Blog

Hello out there. I would like to hear from you about what you would like to read about on this blog. There are two different roads to go down. I can write about the very practical stuff (what I am doing for exercise or diet and what I recommend for you to do) or I can write in a conversational way (like I do often) about issues beyond fitness. If you have any questions you can ask. If you have any thoughts to share, you can write to me and I will blog and not use your name. I have been amazed at how much you have all helped each other with your openness. I would like that to continue.

I invent recipes that are pretty good and pretty easy. I can share those too !! Please help me make the most of this arena. Let it be a place that you gain support and learn. As we bring our 6 week challenge to a close, please do not let the lessons and growth end. The idea of taking care of yourself in every way should continue and become a part of your life. The 6 weeks that we do, as a structured thing, should be more of a behavior modification that we keep up with. Next year when we do it again, I hope you will see (as I have) that many of the changes have become permanent. Next year the challenge will be a brush up course and you will move further along in your choices to be happy.

Story von Holzhausen

LAST WEEK of Story von Holzhausen's 6 week challenge

Well, we are now in our final week. I know that this year the "challenge" has been a very subtle one. The changes and struggles have been mostly emotionally and having to do with our LIVES and not our bodies (which we all know are so connected that one effects the other so profoundly that they cannot be separated). I am so proud of you. I have been moved to tears by the honesty and courage you have all had dealing with some pretty hard issues. I can see the changes in you and I know that you can too. I would like to ask that everyone do me a favor this week....

Do the push ups where you move ONE weight every time you as you push up. With each time you move that weight, I want you to think of something you are proud of about yourself or something you are opening your life up to. Fight very hard to get every single last one you can out of your set. (while you make each one count and be very effective to make you stronger). Take the time to reflect on how you have changed. Feel that warrior in you that will fight for what you believe in.

We will be doing the "testing" to see if our numbers have changed the first week of April. I want all of you to work hard this last week so that you are BLOWN away with your own improvements. Take this last week to feed your body so well that you feel amazing and strong. I have learned so much this year and grown so much this year. The joy I feel upon seeing all of you when I walk into class is huge. NYC can be a very lonely place. Women especially are not usually "on each other's sides". We tend to punish ourselves and each other based on some strange and ridiculous pecking order of attractiveness. I love that in our gatherings, we are happy with each other's growth. Men and women have the same warrior and team attitude. It is such a small thing but I do not ever remember being less lonely than I am right now. Largely because of the amazing kindred atmosphere of my classes. I thank you all for what you teach ME. I celebrate your fighting and fierce and noble spirits. You ROCK !

Story von Holzhausen

subbing Monday (tomorrow) @Greenwhich 12:30

Would love for some of you to be there! I was very sore from Friday. In my entire core especially. I would love some feedback about how it all went for you guys !