Wednesday, August 14, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Health & Fitness 19
Getting strong is
for everyone
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
Over the past decade or
so, a quiet revolution has
taken place. Strength training
has moved out of the dun-
geon and into the forefront of
the push for health and well-
ness 4 for men and women,
young and old.
Ryan Hudson of Level 5
CrossFit Sisters has helped
to lead the charge in his
hometown. He9s seen his
weightlifting classes change.
There are always plenty of
women involved, and these
days some regular classes
look like seniors classes
because so many older folks
are engaged in lifting heavy
things 4 for the health ben-
efits and for fun (see related
story, this page).
Strength training is criti-
cal to retaining bone density,
and it improves basic func-
tion in day-to-day life.
C o d y Tw e e t e n w h o
r e c e n t l y m o v e d f r o m
Wyoming to take a position
as a trainer at Sisters Athletic
Club, says <I do try to steer
people toward strength train-
ing because it has so many
added benefits.=
For clients who don9t like
weights or find them intimi-
dating, he finds resistance
bands a good substitute. The
key is to get some resistance
going to build up strength.
And that9s not just for ath-
letes. It9s about the quality of
daily life.
<People don9t realize
what strength training does
for them on a daily basis,=
Tweeten said.
Tweeten recalls a cli-
ent back in Wyoming who
had a very simple and pro-
saic motivation for strength
training:
<Her mom couldn9t squat
down to pick up her kids. She
didn9t want that to be her&
Family is usually a pretty
good motivator.=
Hudson emphasizes that
your physical condition
when you start training isn9t
the key factor. The most
important thing is that you9re
mentally prepared to work
hard, to keep applying your-
self. Because to be effective,
strength training must be
challenging.
<You9ve got to be up for
this mentally,= Hudson said.
<I don9t care where you are
physically. When people
come in, I tell them this is
a place where people work
really hard and get really
good results.=
A lot of intimidation
and stigma around weight
training has fallen away
4 the notion that it makes
you <musclebound= or
that women who train with
weights will bulk up. Women
don9t have the same testos-
terone levels as men.
<You don9t really see that
bulking you see in men,=
Tweeten said.
What you do see, as
Hudson can attest, is women
lifting amounts they would
never have thought possible
and looking and feeling more
fit than they ever have in
their lives. You see men get-
ting stronger and encourag-
ing others.
And you see older folks
staying strong enough to pick
up their grandkids 4 and
keep up with them in all the
activities Sisters has to offer.
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Strength training: Why compete?
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
You9ve broken through
the stereotypes and the trepi-
dation and started hitting the
weights. You9re getting stron-
ger, and you notice it in your
everyday activities. You like
the way you feel, you like the
things that you can do, and
you like the way you look.
Maybe the next step is to
enter a weightlifting competi-
tion. No way, you say; that9s
not me. Maybe you should
think again.
Ryan Hudson of Level
5 CrossFit Sisters is a big
believer in competition as
a way to enhance both the
experience and the effects
of strength training. He
says he doesn9t push his cli-
ents to compete 4 but he
loves to provide them with
opportunities.
Why compete?
<A lot of times, people get
plateaued and they get stalled
out,= Hudson told The Nugget.
Training for a competition
is motivating 4 it can add
focus and purpose to training.
And a lot of times, people hit
their best numbers on the plat-
form in competition, simply
because the atmosphere of a
meet empowers them.
Facing a looming competi-
tion can focus a person on hit-
ting a desired weight, too.
<A lot of times, being in
a weight class competition
where you have to make a
certain weight on a certain
day is all the motivation they
need 4 the accountability to
get there,= Hudson said.
And competing can be a
lot of fun. At the end of the
day, it9s not about who can lift
the biggest load 4 it9s about
pound-for-pound strength and
working hard to <actually do
something great,= Hudson
said. <If you make weight,
post a total and have fun, it9s
a successful meet.=
The camaraderie that
develops among lifters is
phenomenal.
<That9s why I want to host
these competitions,= he said.
<To give people opportunities
to throw their hat in the ring
and give this a whirl. When
people see everybody cheer-
ing everybody on and encour-
aging each other, they want to
be part of that.=
The effects are startling
and obvious.
<They get hooked on the
progress,= Hudson said.
The coach speaks from
personal experience.
<That9s where I started
10-12 years ago 4 I just
started signing up for meets,=
he said.
With trophies and records
to his name, Hudson can look
back and say with certainty:
<If I9d never signed up for a
meet, I9d never have made
half as much progress.=
Competition is more
accessible than ever before.
Take Strongman competition
for example. Not so long ago,
Strongman 4 competitions
that feature a variety of non-
standard lifting and carrying
events 4 used to be the sole
province of Icelandic giants
like Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson,
who played The Mountain on
the hit fantasy series Game of
Thrones.
Now there are weight and
age classes and classes for
women.
<Smaller guys and older
guys and gals can compete
in this,= Hudson said. <It9s a
growing sport because of that
4 especially on the women9s
side.=
Level 5 hosted its first
Strongman Throwdown on
July 20. The event featured
one of the great traditional
events 4 the Húsafell Stone
carry, which originated in
Norse Iceland, a log press,
See STRENGTH on page 20
Dr. Thomas R. Rheuben
General, Cosmetic, Implant
and Family Dentistry
~ Your Dentist in Sisters Since 1993 ~
We are here to help you smile with confi dence!
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