Vanquish Newsletter October 12th

Steve Jarecki • October 12, 2026

Hercules: Week 9 — Test Week 💪

Nine weeks of hard work come down to this! Week 9 is Test Week, your chance to see how far you’ve come and celebrate your progress. This week features four major strength tests: a new 1RM Power Clean on Monday, a 3RM Back Squat on Tuesday, a 3RM Bench Press on Wednesday, and a 3RM Deadlift on Friday. Conditioning rounds out the week while keeping the focus on strength and performance.



Here’s what’s ahead:

Monday: Test your Power Clean before tackling Hanging on by a Thread, a 12-minute AMRAP of biking, deadlifts, hang power cleans, and double unders.


Tuesday: Find your 3RM Back Squat, then take on Nancy — five rounds of running and overhead squats.


Wednesday: Test your 3RM Bench Press before Climbing the Walls, a gymnastics-focused workout featuring push-ups, wall walks, pull-ups, and toes-to-bar.


Thursday: Challenge your engine with Engine Check, a 20-minute EMOM of rowing, box jump-overs, and wall balls.


Friday: Test your 3RM Deadlift before Rhythm and Roll, combining running, kettlebell swings, burpees, and farmer’s carries.


Saturday: Team up for Controlled Chaos, a partner workout featuring biking, shoulder-to-overhead, plank holds, and muscle-ups.


A few reminders: Record your results, focus on quality movement, and celebrate every bit of progress — whether that’s a new PR, better technique, or simply feeling stronger than you did nine weeks ago.


Trust your training, bring your best effort, and let’s finish Hercules strong!


A Little More Awareness 

Understanding Breast Tissue


Dense breast tissue is common, but it’s important to understand what it means for your breast health. Nearly half of women over 40 have dense breasts, which can make cancer harder to detect on a mammogram and is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.


Researchers at UCSF are exploring why. Their findings, published in Cancer Cell, suggest that the stiffness of dense breast tissue may influence immune cells called macrophages. These cells may release substances that damage nearby cells’ DNA, potentially contributing to cancer development. More research is needed, but these findings could help guide future prevention and treatment strategies.


What can you do now?

Know your breast density. Check your mammogram results or ask your healthcare provider.


Talk with your doctor. If you have dense breasts, ask whether additional screening, such as an ultrasound or MRI, may be appropriate for you.


Stay up to date. Continue recommended screenings and discuss any breast health concerns with your provider.


Knowledge is a powerful tool when it comes to your health. Understanding your breast density can help you make informed decisions about screening and early detection.


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. 💪


MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH LARA



Show up. Put in the work. Let’s go. 💥


Bright green kettlebell icon above a thin horizontal line on a white background
By Steve Jarecki • October 5, 2026
Focus on deload week workouts to enhance skills & reduce fatigue. Join us for a free intro to start your fitness journey!
By Steve Jarecki • September 28, 2026
Read the latest Vanquish Newsletter on Week 7 of Hercules training. Join us for group & personal training to enhance your fitness journey!
Person squats with a barbell in a dim gym, wearing black workout clothes and sneakers.
By Steve Jarecki • September 21, 2026
Read our September newsletter on empowering girls in sports & strategic training. Join us for a free intro session today!
By Steve Jarecki • September 15, 2026
“You can’t be afraid of failure. You have to be willing to fail in order to succeed.” - Geno Auriemma  Hercules 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.  🚧 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!  What’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.  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. 💪 MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH LARA Show up. Put in the work. Let’s go. 💥
Person preparing to lift a barbell with large plates in a gym, wearing blue shoes.
By Steve Jarecki • September 8, 2026
Read about our weekly workouts, including a 9/11 tribute. Join us to embrace challenges & build your fitness plan today!
By Steve Jarecki • August 31, 2026
“You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.” - Dolly Parton  🧠 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. 🧠💪  🚧 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!  🇺🇸 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! 💪   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. 💪 MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH LARA    Show up. Put in the work. Let’s go. 💥
By Steve Jarecki • August 25, 2026
“Train for the life you want to live.”
By Steve Jarecki • August 17, 2026
“Hercules didn’t become strong by accident. Neither will you.”
By Steve Jarecki • August 10, 2026
“There’s no crying in baseball!”
By Steve Jarecki • August 3, 2026
“Test yourself. Trust yourself. Keep going.”