WINNERS: ANNOUCED IN THE JUNE NEWSLETTER! STAY TUNED!

START: SUBMIT YOUR GOAL(S) BY JANUARY 31, 2010

ENDS: AFTER 90 DAYS

PRIZE: AWARDED TO THE MOST ACCOMPLISHED GOAL ACHIEVER*

Do you want to lift a certain amount of weight, lose a few lbs. or do more pull ups? The choice is completely up to you. Just submit as many goals as you want to achieve in 90 days. All goals should be related to strength, fitness, and/or health. Challenge yourself and with some hard work and dedication we can help you reach your goals.

You have until January 31st to submit your goals. We will provide a voluntary evaluation after 45 days to help you gauge your progress and provide you with further guidance, tips for improvement and make training adjustments. After 90 days, there will be a final evaluation and we will choose ONE overall male and female winner.

I will be here to provide continual support and answer all of your training questions to help you RISE ABOVE!

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
It’s FREE and SIMPLE!
Good Luck!
-Doug

To show our appreciation to those who protect and serve our country we adopted an Air Force Captain and his Army Infantry Unit stationed in the mountains of Afghanistan for Christmas. With the help of our gym members we turned one box of holiday cheer into four giant boxes of food, supplies and letters of hope. Thanks to everyone who participated, we feel so blessed to be part of such an amazing group of people. We were also extremely lucky to receive an email from the Captain letting us know they received our package just in time for the Holidays.

THE CAPTAIN'S LETTER:

Words cannot sufficiently relay the gratitude my Airmen and I feel toward you and your friends. We have received four packages containing a bounty one would never venture to ask for. Every package included items that are not only useful, but difficult to obtain in our current location. It was if you knew exactly what we wanted. I read a great deal and am especially appreciative of the various books and periodicals you included.

Many people pay lip service to supporting service members, but fail to take action. Your actions may seem like a small thing to you, but the impact is immeasurably large and speaks volumes about your kindness and patriotic spirit. You have my sincere gratitude for your efforts and direct impact on the morale of your military. For some of our younger warriors, this is their first deployment. Spending the holiday season away from home can increase the difficulty of the experience. Great Americans like yourselves offer tangible evidence that people care and are willing to go out of their way to display that emotion.

Please know that your significant gesture brightened the day for all of us--making life better for every one who experienced your generosity.

Sincerely,
The Captain

This was an incredible opportunity to show our support and reminds us all how much we have to be thankful for. With your help, we will definitely do this again! If you would like to adopt a trooper please feel free to email me or show your support year round with Operation: Care and Comfort.

The RISE ABOVE Anniversary Party was a momentous occasion. I would like to thank my family, friends, and dedicated gym goers for your ongoing support in making my RISE ABOVE dreams continue to grow. Everyone who participated in the Anniversary Party has been an important part in the success of RISE ABOVE PERFORMANCE TRAINING.

The Anniversary Party consisted of a terrific day complete with great company, excellent food, and a fun, yet, grueling strength competition. A special thanks to AJ and Deb who helped organize and run the event; Ricci for BBQing the delicious tri-tip, Genevieve for the new sound system, Nicole and Kelly for their incredible cinematography, and Katherine from Evolution Catering providing us with healthy organic food samples. Without your help and support none of this would be possible.

I also wanted to thank Logan Christopher from Legendary Strength for competing in Rise Above's Strong Man Competition as well as putting on an incredible kettlebell demonstration, offering hints on how to bend nails and horse shoes, and showing the correct method for ripping a phonebook in half. It was ingenious how Logan managed to hold a phonebook with his teeth and completely tear it in half with one hand! If you haven’t already, please check out his videos and legendary strength website.

Some of the best highlights from the party involve RISE ABOVE'S first annual Strong Man Competition. We had seven incredibly tough competitors who gave it their all during the strenuous series of events. When all the points were tallied, the title of “RISE ABOVE STRONG MAN” went to Anthony Bizzaro, a longtime trainee and new RISE ABOVE recorder breaker!

A quick breakdown of RISE ABOVE'S STRONG MAN COMPETITION events and winners included: The 100lb Overhead Keg Press (Anthony Bizzaro: 26 Reps); the 2 Min. Tire Flip Challenge (Logan Christopher: 45 flips); the 80lb Chain Push Up Event (Steve Bologna: 22 Reps); the humbling Rolling Thunder with its revolving deadlift handle (Ryan Sport: 145lb) and finally the grueling Strength Medley (Anthony Bizzaro: 1:46). The Strength Medley consisted of pushing the 90lb Prowler push with high and low handles, then the 70lb Overhead Keg Walk, followed by a 240lb dumbbell farmer walk and ended with a 180lb sled pull. This was an incredibly difficult competition and I’m proud of everyone who competed.

Thanks again to everyone who came out to support this event. I am looking forward to another year of success and I'm already planning next year's events! It will be interesting to see who will RISE ABOVE to take on the challenge of the Strong Man Competition.

Stay Strong.