CrossFit Cove

“I grew up in Maryland and attended UMBC in Baltimore, MD where I earned a bachelor’s in Financial Economics and I also have an M.B.A. from Hood College in Frederick, MD.  I currently work in Finance at Erickson Senior Living where we manage 20+ senior living communities in around the U.S. 

Enough about the boring stuff though. I have been a multi-sport athlete my entire life.  I am 6’7” so obviously I played all the “tall person” sports (Basketball and Volleyball) and have been into fitness my entire life.  After college, I played competitive volleyball on a travel club team and still play when I’m not focusing on being a father to my 1 year old daughter, CJ.  Being a part of team sports was and is a huge part of my life!  It is how I met my wife, Shannon, and so many of my friends.  Unfortunately, I’m not able to play as much as I used to and that is where CrossFit comes in!

In 2017, I was tired of the normal gym routine and started looking for something that would take my love for staying fit, as well as add variety and competition.  I found a local CrossFit gym and loved the atmosphere and comradery, as well as the functional movements that all athletes should be focusing on.  It brought me back to playing team sports where the goal was to get a little better every day with a group of people who had similar goals as you!

I moved to Virginia in 2019 for work and had to unfortunately pause CrossFit, but that didn’t stop my fitness journey. During the pandemic I earned my NASM CPT certification and coached at Orangetheory Fitness in Alexandria, VA.  I learned a lot coaching there but always knew I wanted to come back to CrossFit.  I moved back to Maryland earlier this year and immediately looked for a CrossFit gym on Google.  I found Cove and haven’t looked back since!  I love the community and all the coaches and am excited to join the coaching team!  Fitness and teaching are a passion of mine, and I want to help everyone get a little bit better every day.”

The row challenge is back this year, but we are going to make it extra special by honoring someone we loved and lost. From now on, we will rename this event the 100,000 Meter Street Challenge.

Most of you know we lost beloved member, Terry Street, recently.  But what you may not know is that this man LOVED to row.  He was famous for coming in daily between Thanksgiving and Christmas to accumulate meters, usually rowing 10K at a time.  He went far above the 100,000 challenge each year, as it was his time to socialize, connect AND work on his fitness.

This year we honor him by running the challenge in his name AND by adding a charitable element.  His daughter is in college and the family has asked for donations to her college funding (in lieu of gifts or sending flowers). To do this, we are asking for a $25 donation to participate in this year’s challenge. We are hoping to reach over $1,500 in donations!

Here’s how it works:  You have the day AFTER Thanksgiving until December 31st to accumulate 100,000M on the Erg (rower) or equivalent meters running or on the bike.  We will kick off the event with a Row-a-thon the Sunday morning after Thanksgiving. Not only will we all need to spend the time burning some extra calories from the holiday, it will allow us to do what Terry loved most. Come together, be a community and have some fun.  We will work in teams of two that day, sharing rowers (one rows, other rests) and we’ll have time slots assigned so rowers are available.  More to come on this!

What do I need to do to sign up?  Not much!  Just slap your name on the front Whiteboard under 100,000 Meter Street Challenge and you are in!  We will bill your account for the $25 donation and aggregate funds to give as one donation.

In terms of tracking the meters, well, you do that on your own. It is a healthy amount of meters per day (average of 2,700 per day). You can chip in any increments you’d like.  Any rowing we do in WODs or warm ups counts to your total.  Your only requirement is to update your total meters on the whiteboard as you make progress.  If there is rowing in a class and you have come to get some meters in… sorry but the class takes precedence.  Of course if there’s a rower open, you are welcome to hop on!

Why are doing this? Because strength doesn’t come from what you can do. Strength comes from overcoming the things you thought you couldn’t. And Terry lived this mantra every day.  And he’d be the first to tell you with a big ‘ol grin on his face… a little extra work over the holiday does a body good!

THANKSGIVING FULL SCHEDULE

WEDNESDAY: Regular schedule but no 5:45 and 7p classes.  Evening open gym access until 10:30p as usual.

THURSDAY (THANKSGIVING DAY): 9am and 10am.  Open all day for open gym access as usual.

FRIDAY: Noon and 3:15 + all day access as usual.

SATURDAY:  Regular schedule  + all day access as usual.

Friday is always a favorite day at the Cove, as we get to let our hairdown and have fun with our friends at the box with a great partner workout. Tomorrow’s Friday workout  is extra fun, as we are encouraging people to wear Haloween costumes for class (it certainly is not mandatory). Find something to wear and have some laughs and smiles with your fellow Covies.

SHOCKING!

For the many new members of the Cove, you may not be aware that we were once known as CrossFit Cove. We had built a reputation as the best CrossFit in Howard County four years running but we had to step away from this name after a series of offensive and abhorrent remarks from CrossFit founder Greg Glassman. We were firm believers in the methodology of CrossFit but we certainly could not stand to financially or morally support an organization under his leadership. It goes against everything which we have looked to create at the Cove and thus we transitioned to Cove Fitness.

Soon after our leaving the CrossFit corporate brand, Greg Glassman was fully expelled from CrossFit and the company was bought by Eric Roza. We had watched the changes that were happening in the corporate environment and had decided to once again affiliate with CrossFit but hold onto the Cove Fitness name until we felt that real change was happening in the entire organization.

In the past couple of months we have seen the changes we have been looking for in the words and actions of the organization. Our most recent trip to the CrossFit Games reconnected us with so many amazing CrossFit employees, fellow box owners, fans, and athletes who were not only passionate about the fitness regime but also spoke to a mission that lies at the core of the Cove.   We loved not only the movements, the intensity, and coaching we found CrossFit but the people and connections it created.. It was the people and feelings that made us fall in love with this exercise movement and decide to dedicate our lives to helping other throughs exercise.

There has been a change in the CrossFit ecosystem. It has be reinvigorated in sharing its special brand of fitness and community. It is for this reason we have decided to return to our roots and go back to our name, CrossFit Cove.

A gift from our landlord