Holiday Hours

• Dec 24th : Classes from 5:30 am – 10 am, closing at noon
• Dec 25th :CLOSED
• Dec 26th : Opening at 1 pm, no 6 pm low-impact class
• Dec 31st: Last class at 6:30 pm, closing at 7:30 pm
• Jan 1st : First class at 8:30 am

2024 Golf Tournament 

With your help, we raised over $2,000 for the U of U Women’s Lacrosse team at our first annual golf tournament! Big thank you to our sponsors, helpers, and everyone who participated or contributed in some way. We had a great time and look forward to next year’s tournament.   

Donation Drive – Youth Resource Center

December through February, we are doing another donation drive for the Youth Resource Center. The YRC is a resource center and emergency shelter for all youth, ages 15-22, who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness. For the colder weather, please bring blankets, coats, hoodies/sweatshirts, and cold weather clothing.

You can also view their Amazon wishlist 

Current Training Phase

Maximal Strength Phase

Many of us just transitioned from our summer phase of training, running, hiking, cycling, etc. Our primary goal for the current training block is to create maximal strength which will develop more lean body mass aka muscle (2). Stronger muscle fibers decreases the likelihood of tearing and your force output will increase for activities like skiing or snowboarding (3,7). 

Last year, Steve wrote about the connection between stronger muscles and stronger vascular circulation. A little anatomy and physiology refresher, veins do not have the mechanism to contract and push blood flow like arteries and arterial circulation. Veins and vascular blood flow are controlled by the muscle, so a stronger muscle elicits a stronger blood flow back to the heart (8,9). When we have more lean body mass and more strength, we can train at a high intensity for a longer period (9).  

All this is to say that lean body mass, muscle strength, and force of muscle production will increase performance in all athletic movements. This is especially applicable as we all start our winter activities. You will be able to apply more force, with more endurance and at a higher level (2,5). For example: running and maintaining a higher speed for a longer period of time.  

Research For Skiing

• Increased strength in squats or trap bar deadlifts can increase performance and endurance in alpine skiing, and elite level cross country skiers (3,4). 
• 8-12 weeks of Strength training will increase bone density (9). 
• Strength training has been shown to decrease cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke due to the stronger muscles creating a stronger vascular blood flow (8,9).  

Staff Updates

In November we said goodbye to Brooklyn and Camryn. We wish them all the best on their moves to St George and Idaho and we appreciate all the hard work they contributed to SLC S&C.  

With that change, we are excited to announce Nate is taking on a full-time coaching role. Since starting as an assistant coach in March, Nate has been a valuable part of our crew, and we’re glad we will be seeing more of him.  

We’d also like to welcome our new assistant coach, Maggie. Maggie is a graduate from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology. She has worked in various settings with athletes and non-athletes, including an internship with the U’s Olympic Sports Performance Department.  

Housekeeping

Reserve Classes

As a courtesy to our coaches and other class members, please remember to reserve your classes. If you have issues reserving classes or navigating Zen Planner, please reach out to danielle@slcstrength.com 

Parking Lot Safety

This is a reminder to be cautious when the snow and ice roll in! Boots or winter shoes are a great idea during the winter months, and you can swap to your gym shoes before class. We keep trays near the front desk for an easy place to store your wet or snowy footwear.  

Cold Season

Cold and flu season is upon us, and with that comes sniffles, sneezes, and coughs. As a general reminder, if you are symptomatic with any cold or flu like symptoms, regardless of COVID 19 potential and bearing in mind all other potential viruses, please stay home and focus your energies toward getting better. Along these lines, please also be mindful that we provide training services to a diverse population and with that we have several members that have known underlying, non-contagious, conditions that may cause coughing or other symptoms that may mimic aspects of infection. Our team is generally aware of these individual’s circumstances and want to ensure they have the same access to maintain and improve their health and fitness. This note will continue to be in our newsletters during cold and flu season, as a general reminder