Vanquish Newsletter August 25, 2025

Steve Jarecki • August 25, 2025

“Small progress is still progress.”

This Week at Vanquish – Hercules Cycle Continues

We’re diving deeper into our Hercules cycle this week with a strong focus on repeatable intensity, core control, and barbell stamina. Here’s what you can look forward to each day:

ο»Ώ

  • Monday – Strict gymnastics strength to kick things off, followed by a gritty interval test with devil’s presses and burpees.
  • Tuesday – A strength-focused EMOM combining squats, power cleans, and push presses under fatigue.
  • Wednesday – Long intervals featuring rope climbs and toes-to-bar to test grip strength and aerobic capacity.
  • Thursday – Technical snatch work paired with a spicy pressing AMRAP.
  • Friday – Shoulder and leg fatigue come together in a muscular stamina grinder.
  • Saturday – Partner synergy in a fun chipper-style workout plus static-hold team challenges.
  • Sunday – We wrap the week with Midline Mania, a 30-minute core endurance session built around posture, breathing, and pacing.


Across the week you’ll see consistent touches on gymnastics, barbell lifts, and conditioning—all designed to keep building strength, skill, and stamina in a smart progression.


πŸƒ New Equipment Alert: The WoodWay Curve πŸƒ‍♀️

You asked, we listened—the WoodWay Curve treadmill has arrived at Vanquish! This non-motorized treadmill is powered completely by YOU, making it a fantastic tool for walking, jogging, sprinting, and interval training.


Now it’s time to hear what you think. We’ve set up a quick feedback survey for both members and coaches to share their experience. Your input will help us get the most out of this new piece of equipment.


πŸ‘‰ Click here to take the survey or “Scan the QR code on the gym flyer


Let’s break it in together—one stride at a time!


πŸ”₯ Recipe Spotlight: Carne Asada Burrito Bowls (Protein Prep Friendly!)

This week’s recipe is a double win—you can use it as a quick protein prep (cook up the carne asada, then mix and match it into meals all week), or make the full burrito bowl for an easy grab-and-go option.


Protein Prep Version: Keep it simple—cook the carne asada, then pair it later with rice, tortillas, or veggies. Think tacos, quesadillas, burritos… ready in under 5 minutes.


Full Meal Prep Version: Go all in with cilantro lime rice + a speedy 1-minute corn salsa. Top it off with your go-to burrito bowl toppings for a restaurant-worthy meal. 🌯✨


Check out the recipe hereο»Ώ


Innovate Sports Medicine

The ability to work through a full range of motion pain-free is critical to maximizing your results in the gym and living a healthy, active lifestyle! Our on-site Athletic Trainer & Gym Manager, Lara, will assess and treat the aches, pains, and injuries keeping you from reaching your full potential, while guiding you through the process every step of the way.


ο»ΏAre you struggling with some aches and pains? 


MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH LARA


Thank you for getting better with us each and every time you step into the gym. Let’s have a great week!

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“You can’t be afraid of failure. You have to be willing to fail in order to succeed.” - Geno Auriemma β€ŠHercules Week 4: Familiarity With a Twist This week might feel a little familiar — and that’s intentional. You’ll see workouts that borrow from past experiences, with a few twists along the way. Repetition builds recognition, and recognition builds confidence under fatigue. Expect muscular endurance, midline work, mixed-modal conditioning, grip challenges, and plenty of opportunities to practice pacing and repeatable effort. Monday — Echo: Speed deadlifts followed by pull-ups and Echo Bike intervals. Tuesday — Jamais Vu: Front and back squat work followed by a descending ladder of kettlebell thrusters and burpees. Wednesday — Doppelganger: Two 12-minute pieces featuring running, rowing, GHD/V-ups, kettlebell swings, sit-ups, and dumbbell snatches. Thursday — Identity Crisis: Push press and push jerk work followed by bench press, double unders, and farmers carries. Friday — 9/11: A 2001m row buy-in followed by nine rounds of eleven reps. A workout built around remembrance and resilience. Saturday — Familiar Stranger: A two-person waterfall workout featuring running, hang power snatches, and back-rack step-ups. Sunday — Double Take: A 30-minute strength EMOM featuring bench press, sandbags, rows, carries, and planks. The Challenge Pick your number. Then hold yourself to it. This week isn’t about going out too hot. It’s about knowing what you can sustain, sticking to the plan, and owning the result. Set the plan. Trust the plan. Own the score. β€ŠπŸš§ Brookfield Road Construction Update Starting September 3, Brookfield Road will be closed to through traffic for approximately 2.5 weeks. Vanquish will remain accessible, but you’ll need to approach the gym from the south during this phase of construction. Please follow posted detour signs and flaggers and allow a few extra minutes for possible delays. Thanks for your patience! β€ŠWhat’s On Our Watchlist? The Dynasty: UConn Huskies . Apple TV’s The Dynasty: UConn Huskies takes a look at one of the most successful programs in women’s college basketball. But what stood out to us wasn’t just the championships. It was the standards. UConn didn’t become UConn because they discovered a secret training method. They built a culture where excellence was expected , and then passed that expectation from one group of athletes to the next. Geno Auriemma’s coaching style is demanding and, at times, confrontational. But the bigger lesson isn’t that everyone needs to coach like Geno. In fact, coaches like UCLA’s Cori Close show that you can have incredibly high standards while leading in a very different way. The important part is not lowering the standard just because the approach changes. Listen to players like Rebecca Lobo, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, and Paige Bueckers talk about their experiences, and you hear the same theme: they weren’t looking for comfort. They wanted to find out how good they could become. That’s something we can all take from. At Vanquish, we believe training should challenge you, support you, and help you become better than you were yesterday. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s showing up, doing the work, and continuing to raise the standard. Great cultures don’t happen by accident. They’re built one workout, one rep, and one expectation at a time. STOP TRAINING AROUND PAIN. FIX IT. ο»Ώ That shoulder that won’t quiet down. Knees that hate squats. Hips that feel locked no matter how much you stretch. You don’t have to work around it anymore. At Innovate Sports Medicine, Lara (your on-site Athletic Trainer + Gym Manager) will pinpoint the real issue, treat it, and give you a clear plan to keep training—without guessing or sitting on the sidelines. No band-aids. No fluff. Just real answers and real progress. If it’s been bothering you, it’s time to handle it. πŸ’ͺ MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH LARA Show up. Put in the work. Let’s go. πŸ’₯
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“You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.” - Dolly Parton β€ŠπŸ§  Hercules Week 3: The Mandela Effect Things may look familiar this week… but don’t trust your memory. Week 3 is all about The Mandela Effect —when we collectively remember something that never actually happened. Each workout takes something recognizable and adds a twist, flips the script, or sends you in a different direction. Expect power snatches, toes-to-bar, burpees, wall balls, double-unders, strict handstand push-ups, deadlifts, bench press, back squats, running, and plenty of barbell work. The big focus this week? Pacing and execution. A workout may look familiar, but the demands are different, so don’t let your memory dictate your pace. Coaches will help you spot the difference during the whiteboard brief. Listen for what’s changed, understand the intended stimulus, and attack the workout that’s actually in front of you—not the one you think you remember. 🧠πŸ’ͺ β€ŠπŸš§ Brookfield Road Construction Update Starting September 3 , Brookfield Road will be closed to through traffic for approximately 2.5 weeks. Vanquish will remain accessible , but you’ll need to approach the gym from the south during this phase of construction. Please follow posted detour signs and flaggers and allow a few extra minutes for possible delays. Thanks for your patience! β€ŠπŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ Labor Day Schedule We’re keeping things simple this Labor Day! There will be no regularly scheduled classes , but we’ll have one all-levels class at 8:00 AM for anyone looking to get their holiday workout in. Open Gym will remain available 24/7 as usual, so you can train on your own schedule. Enjoy the holiday! πŸ’ͺ β€Š STOP TRAINING AROUND PAIN. FIX IT. That shoulder that won’t quiet down. Knees that hate squats. Hips that feel locked no matter how much you stretch. You don’t have to work around it anymore. At Innovate Sports Medicine, Lara (your on-site Athletic Trainer + Gym Manager) will pinpoint the real issue, treat it, and give you a clear plan to keep training—without guessing or sitting on the sidelines. No band-aids. No fluff. Just real answers and real progress. If it’s been bothering you, it’s time to handle it. πŸ’ͺ MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH LARA ο»Ώ β€Š Show up. Put in the work. Let’s go. πŸ’₯
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