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This week we’re diving into one of the most empowering milestones in strength training: your first bodyweight pull-up. This is a common goal we hear from our members, and we wanted to talk about the exercises we use to progress you as you gain strength in your pulls! 

Our coaches put together a quick video walking you through the exact progressions we use inside SSP to help members build strength, confidence, and control during the exercise.

 Watch the video here 

Here’s a breakdown of what we cover:

Step 1: Cross-Leg TRX Pull-Ups

The most accessible place to start! These help you build foundational pulling strength and allows us to play with improving range of motion as a progression depending an individual’s starting place!

 Step 2: Banded Pull-Ups

Amazing for building grip strength and teaching your body how to move vertically.
Progress by choosing smaller bands over time – you’ll be surprised at how fun it is to see yourself gain strength by moving through band resistance! 

 Step 3: Eccentric-Only Pull-Ups

Once you’ve got strength and control, slowing down the lowering portion of the pull-up builds the muscular endurance needed for that first full rep.

 Pro Tip

Do fewer reps than you think. Quality > quantity, especially for pull-up training.
If you’re working in the banded variations, try sets of 3–6 reps and focus on intensity and good form.

And remember: every single variation along the way is a real pull-up. 

Let’s talk about the real struggle in the gym…

Not deadlifts. Not squats.
Unloading. The. Barbell. 

If you’ve ever finished a heavy set only to wonder why putting the plates away feels harder than the lift itself, you are VERY not alone.

We put together a quick (and hilarious) video to show you exactly how to make unloading safer, easier, and way less annoying.

 Watch here

Here are the key tips from the video:

Tip #1: Stand outside the bar, squat down, brace your core, and pull the plates toward you. And yes… watch your toes. 

Tip #2: When you’ve got a lot of plates stacked up, slide a smaller plate or deadlift wedge underneath to lift the bar slightly – everything will glide right off.

Tip #3: Once one side is unloaded, take both clips off and gently tip the bar to the side to slide it away easily.

Bonus: You’ll look like an absolute pro doing it. 

We’re all about using your energy smartly in the gym.

If you have questions about barbell setup or anything on the floor, reply back! We’re always here to help. 

Happy lifting! 

Every once in a while, we pause to remind ourselves why we do what we do here at SSP. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day – the workouts, the business goals, the PRs – but none of those are the most important thing we do.

The most important thing we do is help people feel seen, safe, and part of a community that believes they are capable of more than they think they are.

Strength training is just the vehicle – what we’re really building is confidence, connection, and belonging.

When you walk through our doors, we see you. Not just the version that shows up to train, but the human behind it – the parent, the professional, the teammate, the friend. And every time you show up, you remind us why this place matters.

Of course, people see incredible results at SSP, and we hear those stories every day. But at the end of the day, none of that matters if you don’t feel safe, supported, and part of something bigger. Our goal has always been to create a space that feels like yours where coaches and members alike are rooting for you every single day.

Thank you for being part of this community. We’re proud to do this work with you and to build spaces that not only serve our neighborhoods, but truly feel like a second home.

It’s officially the “Big Dark” season here in Seattle, and with that comes a very normal dip in motivation and energy for many of us. First things first: this is completely normal so try not to beat yourself up about it.

Our SSP coaches experience the same thing, and we’re here to help you keep moving, feeling strong, and staying connected through it.

We just shared some of our favorite tips on how to stay motivated and in your routine during the colder, darker months:

 Do less, some days. Adjust your intensity to match your energy – something is always better than nothing.
 Use your high-motivation days wisely. Schedule workouts, prep meals, or plan ahead for the lower-energy days.
 Move with friends. Accountability + community = magic during the winter.
 Find your rituals. A great playlist, a pre-workout snack, or stacking movement with another habit can keep the spark alive.

Moving your body is one of the best ways to combat seasonal blues, boost energy, and connect with your community, and we’re here to support you every step of the way.

 Check out our full post on Instagram for all the details, coach tips, and a few ways we’re staying motivated too!

This week we’re focusing on lateral, or frontal plane, movements – the ones that help you move side-to-side with strength, balance, and control.

Frontal plane training is key for building stability in the hips, knees, and core, and it directly improves how we move in everyday life, from changing direction on the field to carrying groceries up the stairs.

Two of the most common questions we get during sessions is:
 “How wide or narrow should my stance be?”
 “How far should I be stepping?”

Coach Natalie breaks down both of these in this week’s video, explaining how to find the right stance width for your body and how to control your depth for the best strength and joint protection. 

 Watch the Video Here

We’re excited to share something pretty special with you… our very own Owner and Coach Chris went live on King 5’s New Day Northwest!

He joined the show to talk about why strength training is so important (especially as the weather cools down) and to take the host, Kelly, through a few familiar movements you might recognize from your sessions here.

It was an awesome opportunity to showcase what SSP is all about – building strength, confidence, and community – and to share some exciting news about our next chapter: our brand-new Ballard location is opening next week! 🎉

You can watch the full segment here:

👉 Watch SSP on King 5 New Day NW

Thank you for being such an important part of this community. We wouldn’t be here, or growing into new neighborhoods, without you. 💙

At SSP, we’re all about movements that give you the most bang for your buck. One of our absolute favorites? The Single Leg Deadlift.

The way we coach this is more akin to a Romanian Deadlift (RDL) where we are starting from a standing position and hinging our hips back towards a wall. You can watch Coach Natalie break this exercise down on Instagram here. 

But here’s why we love it:

• Stability & Balance: Training on one leg challenges your ability to stay controlled, forcing your body to build greater tension in order to stabilize. 
• Posterior Chain Power: Hamstrings and glutes all get lit up in a way that translates directly to stronger, healthier movement. Training and building strength on a single leg also helps build a stronger bilateral (both legs) deadlift. 
• Movement Patterning: Practicing this hinge on one side builds body awareness and cleans up your overall deadlift mechanics.
• Athletic Performance: Whether you’re sprinting, jumping, or changing direction, single leg strength is critical. This movement builds the foundation for moving powerfully in and out of the gym.

It’s a move that’s humbling at first but incredibly rewarding as you improve. 

At SSP, you’ve probably seen us program Single Arm Dumbbell Bench Presses and maybe wondered: “Wouldn’t two dumbbells be better than one?”

The truth is: it depends. Each variation has its place, but here’s why the single-arm version is a staple in our programs:

1. Core Challenge – With only one weight loaded, your body has to fight against rotation. This turns a simple chest exercise into a powerful core stability drill.
2. Easier to Control – With just one dumbbell, it’s often easier to stabilize, focus on your form, and really feel the movement.
3. Tension on Both Sides – While one arm is pressing, the other side of your body must stay braced to keep everything aligned. That extra demand builds total-body strength.
4. Shoulder Health – More freedom of movement at the shoulder joint using a dumbbell compared to a barbell makes it safer and more natural. 

Want to see it in action?
Watch Coach Natalie explain the “why” behind the exercise → HERE

At SSP, we believe strength training should be efficient, effective, and safe. The single arm dumbbell bench press checks all three boxes.

Let’s talk about one of the most deceptively simple (but often done wrong) exercises in the gym: the lateral band walk.

You’ve probably done them in warm-ups, during your main sets, or maybe even as a spicy finisher. But are you getting the most out of them?

We just dropped a quick video breakdown on IG to help you ensure you’re getting this most out of this exercise

👉 Watch it here

Here’s the quick version:

✅ Choose the right band: It should challenge you without destroying your range of motion. (More resistance doesn’t always mean better.)

✅ Bend but don’t squat: Keep a slight bend in your hips and knees. We’re not sitting back into a full squat or standing tall like a soldier.

✅ Push into the band:  As you step, think out. And keep your feet apart as you walk (don’t let them touch). That space challenges you eccentrically as well. 

✅ Keep that tension: At no point should that band get slack! 

This move is all about glute strength, hip stability, and injury prevention. It’s simple, effective, and we want to make sure you’re doing it right, especially because it shows up often in our programming. And trust us, if you think this exercise is too easy, either you’re not using a high enough resistance band or you’re doing the exercise incorrectly. It shouldn’t take long to feel these! 

Let us know if you have questions. We’re always happy to help! 

At SSP, we love push ups as a fundamental body weight exercise. We often hear people say they “can’t do a push up”? Let’s reframe that: Everyone can do a push up. It’s just a matter of finding which variation is the right starting point for you to build from! 

We tend to favor push up variations that keep you in a full plank position. Why?

Because more often than not, the hardest part of a push up isn’t the arms; it’s the core stability. And we don’t train that nearly as well in a kneeling variation.

Now, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with kneeling push ups. But if your goal is to build strength toward a full push up from the ground, we recommend trying these instead:

Eccentric only push ups
Band-assisted push ups
Hands-elevated push ups

These options build strength, stability, and confidence, and we’ll coach you through each step.

Watch the team take you through these variations in this video!

As always, we’ll meet you where you’re at, support your goals, and help you move smarter, not just harder.