WE CAN WORK IT OUT
THE R3SISTANCE
The R3SISTance instructor Adam Adkins (far left) and members of his weight-training class. PHOTO BY ABBY LAUB
BY ABBY LAUB CONTRIBUTING WRITER
as we can along their jour ney with whatever goal they have.” A movement- and skill-based approach to fitness, his R3Z group (the arbells loaded with weights crash “3” signifying kettlebell, barbell and bodyon the floor as members of The weight) now has about 50 people followR3SISTance at Lexington Athletic Club completed a set of “bear complexes” ing daily programming on Adkins’ blog, and they are not your typical gym rats. with trainer Adam Adkins during a “For a lot of people the goal of the Sunday night boot camp. The bear complex – a series of squats workout is the workout,” Adkins said. with overhead presses – was a portion of “They look at the workout as some sort of penance they have to pay for whatever the grueling workout that “R3Z” participoor decision they made last night at dinpants have come to expect in a setting ner. They want to show up, move some that looks more like a powerlifting team things around, get sweaty, tired and out practice than a class at a local gym. The of breath, but that’s it. They don’t want to group was for med by Adkins and LAC gym manager Mark Dickinson last year to measure what they did today versus what help people not only get stronger, but get they did last week. They don’t want to practice movement efficiency. They don’t better at what they do in the gym. want to address weaknesses. We are look“The R3SISTance gives members a network of others dedicated to improving ing for people that want to break out physical performance,” Adkins said. “W e from that mediocrity and be active memdo programming for various goals and fit- bers of our community.” He joked that the only downside of ness levels, and I am proud of the proparticipating in the group, which includes gramming, but ultimately it is secondary to the people. Mark and I just try to foster free classes to Lexington Athletic Club that community and help people as much members and a blog that anyone can fol-
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low, is that you might not be able to catch up on your magazines while parked on the elliptical. “In order to get better we’ve eliminated all the mindlessness of moder n fitness,” Adkins said. “But in doing so it places demands on those participating. It demands you be mentally present in every workout.” At R3Z workouts, there are per haps more women present than men. “Perhaps the most insidious of (fitness industry) myths is that women shouldn’t lift heavy weight,” Adkins said. “People, and particularly women, usually end up coming to me because they failed elsewhere. They haven’t met a goal, or they’ve gotten injured, or they’re just bored. What I try to do from the very beginning is just get them to chase performance for one month. For the most part I’ve found that women love the challenge and feeling of accomplishment that comes along with heavy lifting. Plus, it is a heck of a lot more fun to try to add weight to the barbell than it is to subtract it from the scale.”
chevy chaser magazine february 2014
Kristin Ray, 30, is one of the women training with R3Z and can attest to the thrill. “I think the mixture of competitiveness and camaraderie has been a huge driving force for me,” she said. “You’re all competing to get those high numbers on the barbell but you’re also competing against yourself and everyone is really encouraging.” She said she enjoys the additional programming from Adkins that can be done on her own time with a smaller group of friends at the gym. “I probably wouldn’t do it without the community,” she noted. “The community makes it fun, it makes it special to know you’re going to go somewhere and see people you’ve for med friendships with through it. It’s just fun to have that positive energy when you’re doing something hard and then to be able to give it back.” Adkins said the easiest way for others to get in on the group is by joining the Facebook group The R3SISTance and get active with it. Participants can check out a free, detailed 20-day program at www.r3sistancetraining.tumblr.com.
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