07/14/2026
It's been a tremendous amount of fun training Mikaela over the last four months.
I had some goals and a vision for her. Some of her goals such as a achieving a proper pull-up, coincided with mine. Some of my goals for her, she didn't think she could do, but with hard work, consistency, and time, she did. Here is a summary of what we accomplished in about 4 months' time, investing an average of two training sessions a week:
1. Front Squat went from a 40kg 1 rep max, to a 46kg 5 rep max! That's 70% of her bodyweight.
2. Pull- Up went from struggling to control just the way down to a full pull up with full range of motion. As an update to the reel, the other day she did her first two in a row!
3. ATG Split Squat went from needing to elevate her front foot about 6" from the floor with an additional 15% bodyweight per hand to doing the same on flat ground.
4. RDL was proportionately stronger than everything else when we started, so we did not focus much on this, but she accomplished 10 reps with 46kg-70% of her bodyweight.
5. External Rotation with a dumbbell went from using about a 2.5lb plate for 10 reps to a 10lb dumbbell, about 7% of her bodyweight.
6. Powell Raise with a dumbbell went from basically the same 2.5lb plate to a 10lb dumbbell for 10 reps.
7. Lastly, she was able to hold a standing straddle with her head touching the floor. We don't only want to build strength, we also want to build mobility.
I look forward to watching what she'll accomplish in the next few months.
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