Wednesday Wins! Bianca S.!
WEDNESDAY WINS! BIANCA S!
Today we celebrate Bianca S., one of the warmest and most dedicated athletes we have at the Cove. She’s been with us since October, but something has dramatically changed in the last few months, and we can’t help but shout from the rooftops about her accomplishments.
She works in finance for a medical device company and she’s a desk jockey for most of the day. And in January, she went to Florida for a work conference that changed everything. “I was away from home, eating badly and hitting the work related cocktail parties. And I came home just feeling like crap. Something in my head changed then. ”
She knew she had to shift behaviors, but it wasn’t until she joined the barbell club that REAL change started to happen. “I’m such a girlie girl in real life, but I really love the barbell and lifting really heavy. Thursdays and Sundays were typically my rest days, but between the barbell club classes and the accessory work I need to do during Open Gym time, I upped my attendance. Susan and I would meet up and Open Gym and we had a standing date. It helped keep me motivated and because I was accountable to someone and because of that, it was a date I never missed. Some weeks I was going six days a week and I’m still keeping up that schedule.”
For a long time, Bianca struggled with finding that kind of dedication. Over four years ago, she tried CrossFit at another box. “I just didn’t mesh with the people there. They turned me off to CrossFit and I tried all sorts of things from barre to spin to doing my own thing at a globo gym. I even went to another CrossFit years later, but it was too intense. They only cared about the top athletes. If you were the last to finish, the weights are away and they were walking out the door. “
But the third time is the charm. She walked into the Cove and “Something just clicked. Even though I can be an introvert, I met some amazing people from day one. And now there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t talk to a friend I’ve made at the Cove. I’m on a bunch of text groups with coaches and members and we talk all the time. And I’m 39 but have friends here that are 25 and it’s awesome. And all of these great people like Ashley, Michelle and Krissy are here pushing me to work harder. I used to constantly compare myself to other people and I have to remember… I’m 15 years older than some of these people!”
And now getting to the Cove and connecting with the community are essential parts of her day. While she’s normally and evening person, she makes herself get up early and go to the 6:30am class every Monday. “It starts my week off right. And I love that class. It’s so chill and everyone is awesome”. And changing her schedule is only the tip of the iceberg. So much has changed with Bianca, both physically and mentally. While the physical transformation is incredible (down 25lbs since January and seismic jumps in her lifts), it’s the mental game change that is astounding.
“I made a deal with myself. I used to avoid workouts with movements I didn’t like or wasn’t good at. But now I force myself to come on days when there are things like running or gymnastics. I’ll go in thinking, if I need to scale this run, I’ll scale this run. But halfway through I’m like, I can do this whole thing… who cares if I’m last! CrossFit has forced me to put myself in situations I probably would never have tried. One of the biggest things that I’ve gotten from the Cove that I’m really trying to carry over into my everyday life is to not be afraid to push myself outside of my comfort zone. I do it daily in the gym, so I keep reminding myself that I can do it OUTSIDE the gym too.”
“I’m just happier now. I’m content. I have this great stress reliever built into my day. I really wish I could have started my CrossFit journey here, but maybe things happen for a reason. And now I see there is no reason I can’t start my 40s out in the best shape of my life. In my head I still feel like I’m in my mid-twenties, but I can’t party like that anymore. But the funny thing is, now I don’t want to!”
What a difference a year makes. On the day of her 39th birthday, Bianca opted for a brutal WOD to start the day, rather than past years that kicked off with bloody mary’s and mimosa’s at Little Havana’s. So much has changed for this young woman over the last year and we could not feel luckier to be part of her journey.
PUB CRAWL SATURDAY!
The Covies are set to invade Ellicott City for the 2nd Annual Cove Pub Crawl! Get ready for a day of fun as we hit bar after bar in beautiful, historic Ellicott City. This event CANNOT be missed! Everything you need to know will be posted on the COVE ELLICOTT CITY PUB CRAWL FB Event Page. RSVP if you can so we can let the bartenders know how many they can expect!
SKILL WOD
Fitness: 20 Hollow Rocks then 20 Sit Ups x 3
Performance: 50 Toes to Bar + 25 Hollow Rocks
Open: 75 Toes to Bar
WOD
200 M Run
7 Burpees (touch a target)
14 Goblet Lunges
15 min AMRAP
Fitness: 35/26
Performance: 70/53
Open: Hold two DBs (50s/35s)
Coach’s Tip: The skill work is for quality not speed. It should take about 10-12 minutes to complete, so if you have time remaining before the group finishes, focus on skill work for toes to bar. Solid kips and superman/hollow holds are great accessory work options! For the Metcon, this is about finding a steady pace throughout. We don’t want you to sprint the first five minutes and the hit the last ten super slow.
Zac F. enjoying the evening sun while tackling “Jackie”!
