I heard about SAA through my roommate. He had gone to one of Will Rawlings’ snatch seminars. He talked so highly of him, about his knowledge of Olympic weightlifting, and movement in general. I had to give SAA a try. I was a year post shoulder surgery (I tore 85% of my labrum), and my recovery was at a stand still since my insurance quit covering my physical therapy sessions. I was on the market for a personalized workout regimen that wasn’t overly expensive. SAA sounded exactly what I was looking for. Right away, I knew I had made the right choice. I filled out an in-depth, fully comprehensive questionnaire about myself and my goals. Immediately, I had a personalized workout regimen to help me achieve them. It was my responsibility to follow the prescribed workouts and do everything inside and out of the gym to achieve my goals. Within a few months, I PR’d my squat to 352lbs (161kg), pulled 405lbs (184kg) deadlift, and PR’d my clean 264lbs (120kg).
After achieving those strength goals, and bulking, my new goal was to cut weight and get my summer bod back. After a reassessment, Will and Kurt changed my regimen to focus on weight loss. Starting four days a week in the mornings, I was walking for a half hour wearing a weighted vest. At night the workouts consisted of long aerobic sessions. Within few months I had dropped from 208 lbs to 183 lbs. All the while keeping, and actually improving, some of my strength in certain lifts. While I was losing weight, a fellow lifter/friend was making great strength gains. I was getting jealous and decided to change my goals back to strength. Once again, Will and Kurt changed my workouts to help achieve my goals. Throughout my stay at SAA rehabbing my shoulder was always and will always be my top priority, and I finally felt like my shoulder caught up to the rest of my body. For this strength cycle I was doing full body workouts. The workouts consisted of mostly squatting, benching and deadlifting. Going from a strength cycle to a power cycle and then finally speed cycle, I tested my lifts. Squatting 385lbs (175kg), benching 264lbs (120kg) and deadlifting 440lbs (200kg) are all lifetime personal bests. I’m excited what Will and Kurt still have in store for me. I know whatever my goals will be, SAA will help me achieve them.
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