A huge thanks to all of the Power Train athletes who came to spend time with us today. We are excited to see more of you Tuesday as we continue to introduce you to the Cove. We can’t imagine how difficult it must be to lose your community and gym in an instant, and if there’s anything we can do to make your lives easier (even if just giving a temporary way to maintain your fitness routine), we are here to help!
And a special thanks to all the members and coaches who are making them feel so welcome!
Today we tackle a workout that is reminiscent of the classic CrossFit benchmark WOD “Fight Gone Bad”. There is a minute of rest baked in, but it is FIVE MINUTES of continuous work for each round. That means smart pacing and quick transitions. You should be moving from one movement to the next quickly and try to avoid too much rest. The stimulus is different every minute, so while you will certainly feel cardio fatigue, you should not by stymied by muscular fatigue at the next station (at least not to start!).
WOD
1 Min Row for Calories
1 Min Push Press
1 Min Burpees
1 Min KB Swings
1 Min Slam Balls
1 Min Rest
3 Rnds
Fitness: 75/55
Performance: 95/65
Open: 95/65
Coach’s Tip: Attack each movement fully to get the maximum benefit for this workout. We don’t want you to ‘gamify’ the WOD by going hard on your strengths and dogging it on your weaknesses. Your score will be TOTAL REPS for ALL MOVEMENTS for ALL ROUNDS.
Ada looking fierce doing KB swings… and Paul K looks like he’s coming after her!
We have a big week coming up at the Cove with some new people potentially trying the box out. There is a small group training facility in Columbia called “Power Train” that just at the last minute closed their doors this Friday. On Thursday they literally shut the gym down for “heat concerns” and the corporate office took that time to get all the equipment out of the gym and close it down without telling the members. Kind of like the Colts leaving Baltimore 30 years ago. The former manager of the gym contacted me Friday evening to see if we can help out their former members and provide them with some consistency in their training (and maybe a new place to call home longer term). These are people that have a tight bond with each other and the community there and just like that it was pulled out from under them. Can you imagine if the Cove just closed on a Friday without telling anyone? What would Ethan do with himself? Adi would show up 8 minutes late and no one would be there. The Goblins would go crazy! The point is that we want to help these people out and greet them with open arms to our crazy and loving community.
We are planning on running special foundations classes for them on Monday, Tuesday, at Thursday at 5:00 AM, 10 AM, and 5 PM. The former manager of Power Train (his name is Mike) will also be there to help. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE introduce yourselves and welcome them to the Cove. We can’t imagine how they are feeling after such a disruption, so anything we can to do make them comfortable will go a long way!
STRENGTH WOD
8 min EMOM
3 Front Squats Start at 60% and progress up every other minute
WOD
20 Box Jumps
35 Wall Balls
20 Sit up
3 Rnds
Fitness: 14/10 (Step ups)
Performance: 20/14
Open: 20/14 (15 GHD sit ups)
Coach’s Tip: The EMOM should be thought of more like a skill workout. Use this as a time to practice virtuous form without going for maximal load. The Metcon is something to move through in big sets. It should not take longer than 13-14 minutes. We want to move fairly quickly today (under 15 minutes) so pick a dumbbell or kettle bell weight you can do in sets of 10 (at least!)
David M. lifting some heavy s@#t. Note the vertical shins and flat back. Great work!
Open Gym will run from 9a- Noon (per usual!). No yoga tomorrow, so come on in, make up a missed WOD or get mobile!
We are test driving a new “Open Track” class format tomorrow at 12:15 so we will need full use of the gym. We will be posting more about this in the coming weeks as we are always looking at new ways to service our athletes. So once open gym ends, we’ll have to ask you to wrap it up!
The coach & row effect: a coach walks behind your rower and suddenly the pace increases. Hmmm…
We will be back at it next weekend! Also please note we have a birthday party at 1p and will require time to set up. We will ask that everyone heads out after the 11a so we can clean the gym and prep for the party. Thanks in advance!
STRENGTH WOD
Spend 12 minutes working on Muscle ups or pull ups
WOD
2 minutes on 1 minute off for 15 minutes
10 Hanging Cleans
10 Front Squats
Max Double Unders
Fitness: 75/55
Performance: 95/65
Open: 135/95
Coach’s Tip: We are looking for a barbell weight that we can cycle the cleans through quickly. We are looking for a series of sprints that really wind you each time and then you have that minute to recovery for hitting it again.
So great to see so many yellow badges lighting up the WhiteBoard for the 500M row! An important part of CrossFit is training across BROAD time domains, so crushing a 20 minute AMRAP is great, but we need the capacity to go hard for two minutes or less too. And if you go all out for that kind of row, you should have been just as crushed (or more so) than after one of the longer workouts!
STRENGTH WOD
Take 15 Minutes to Find a 1 RM Snatch
WOD
250 M Row
10 Single Arm DB Push Press (10 each arm)
10 Box Jump Overs
One partner working at a time
20 Minute AMRAP
Coach’s Tip: Today we capitalize on the shoulder mobility work we did Thursday by Snatching and doing Dumbbell Presses. Today’s Metcon is a push/pull combo with box jump overs so we give our bodies lots of great stimulus. The single arm Push Press should be done 10 in a row every round, so pick a weight you can manage under fatigue. Partner one will do the row. Partner two will do the presses. Partner one does the box jump overs. Then partner two starts the row. Keep up that sequence for 20 minutes and go all out when ‘your up’!
Warm ups are designed to help you refine your form. Really dial in on the details and the payoff will be amazing. Remember that the barbell always wants to go straight up and down. That means you move around the barbell; don’t move the barbell around you!
Coach’s Tip: The 25 strict pull ups should have strong emphasis on body position and speed. Pull ups should be controlled, not fast and aggressive. Your body should be in a tight hollow position throughout the movement. We’re taking some time to work on mobility that should help prep us for tomorrow’s Partner WOD. Then we re-test our time for a 500M row. This should be an all out sprint!
Don’t let Patrick S’s quiet demeanor fool you. He’s turning into a beast of epic proportions, but because he is so humble and unassuming, you’d never know it unless you were paying attention. And we certainly are.
If you watch him now, his movement is so much better and more efficient. His lifts are more explosive, yet controlled. His engine is stronger. And even his everyday posture is better. His transformation has been nothing short of remarkable.
Patrick came to us through his wife Jessica. She’s been a staple of this community from the beginning, and even has our nautilus shell logo tattooed on her leg, so it was only a matter of time before she got him in here to taste the kool-aid.
He had never tried something like this before, but was always active with work and through playing with his kids. But as they got older, he did less and less physically. “I did more playing with the kids when they were younger. Then it got to the point where I couldn’t throw them anymore.”
“There was a point where my weight kept rising and I just was in pain all the time. I had an arm injury that kept me from using it for a year but now everything was really hurting. I could see my future and it wasn’t great. I knew if I didn’t make a change soon it might be too late. The longer I wait the harder it is going to be to make a positive change.”
“Jessica was having so much success at the gym that it was a no brainer to give it a try. It has really done great things for her health and happiness, and while she never really pushed or pressured me to do CrossFit, she gave me my space, but with all the success she was having how could I not try it.”
“And when I did decide to join she was just so excited.”
“It was my decision to join because it was right for ME. I wasn’t really intimidated so just jumped in. I never really thought about how hard it might be. But wow. It was really hard! Like nothing I have done before. I have never worked that hard in my life but it was on the whiteboard so I did it. I wanted to accomplish the task that was given to me. If the workout wasn’t planned out I probably would have given up. But when the task is completed I feel really great about it.”
“And the biggest bonus was having the time to share something with Jessica. Anything I get to do with her is worth it.”
It’s become a total family affair now. With Jessica playing the dual role of sitter and athlete, they often bring the kids to the gym. And the kids have turned into their own personal fans. “Sometimes I will be working out and Jessica will point me out to my kids (in the kids room) and they will start waving and cheering for me.”
A lot has changed for Patrick since he started doing CrossFit. “I feel like I have control of my body. I have a lot more mobility. And I’m not having the aches and pains that I used to have.” And that arm injury? “It’s completely better now.”
Most of us at the Cove train don’t plan to compete and are simply training to live better lives. And Patrick is the poster child for that. “Nothing is hard anymore around the house. I am excited to conquer things now when I avoided them in the past. I feel a lot like I used to when I was younger.”
We asked Patrick what advice he’d give to someone in his position or that hasn’t tried it before. “You need to just try it. It is totally okay if you don’t know what you are doing because there are so many people ready to help you. If you are looking for a community to support you, it’s here. If you are looking to do things on your own, you can do it here too. And you might actually surprise yourself.”
Yes, Patrick. You’ve surprised us all. Keep up the great work!
ONLY A FEW SPOTS LEFT!
We are thrilled to announce we are doing a limited run specialty series on HANDSTANDS! We love the enthusiasm we’ve been seeing at the gym to learn this skill, so we’re putting together classes JUST FOR HANDSTAND skill development. The classes will focus on the following:
Learning to leave the wall behind and/or improve your handstands (and HSPU) by focusing on freestanding work.
– Developing proper body positions and how to use tumbling to exit the handstand.
– Improved body awareness and control when upside down.
– Strength building drills for handstand walking and HSPU’s
The classes will run on Saturday mornings at 8am and it will run for four weeks starting on Saturday, July 22nd. The cost for this course is $60 and spots will be VERY limited (10 people). If you are interested, sign up HERE!
SKILL WOD
10 Reverse Front Rack Barbell Lunges (5 per leg)
1- 25m Heavy Sled Walk
8 Dumbbell RDLs
4 Rounds
WOD
Burpees (touch a target)
7 Min AMRAP
Coach’s Tip: Think of today as a real strength training day! The Metcon is just the icing on the cake. The skill work and RDLs should really light up the hamstrings (in a good way) and really focus on solid form and technique today.
We are thrilled to announce we are doing a limited run specialty series on HANDSTANDS! We love the enthusiasm we’ve been seeing at the gym to learn this skill, so we’re putting together classes JUST FOR HANDSTAND skill development. The classes will focus on the following:
Learning to leave the wall behind and/or improve your handstands (and HSPU) by focusing on freestanding work.
– Developing proper body positions and how to use tumbling to exit the handstand.
– Improved body awareness and control when upside down.
– Strength building drills for handstand walking and HSPU’s
The classes will run on Saturday mornings at 8am and it will run for four weeks starting on Saturday, July 22nd. The cost for this course is $60 and spots will be VERY limited (10 people). If you are interested, sign up HERE!
WOD
10/7 Calories on the Assault Bike
7 Clean and Jerks
14 Toes to Bar
Rest 1 minute
5 Rounds
Fitness: 95/65 (sub 20 second hollow hold for 10 toes to bar)
Performance: 135/95
Open: 165/110
Coach’s Tip: Quick singles are fine for the clean and jerks (the are only 7 at a time so you can challenge yourself with the weight) but it is the toes to bar that will start to add up. The workout should be about 15 minutes or less, so find a barbell weight and TTB scale that will allow you to finish within the 15 time cap. You MUST be proficient in toes to bar to hit this kind of volume, so scale the volume if it is still a skill you are mastering.
Angie B. looking super fierce hitting some deadlifts!
As you all know, the culture at the Cove is one that we cherish and the community is one for the record books. But what continually amazes us is how this community takes care of itself. We had two amazing events this weekend and BOTH were created and organized by people who just want to make this place better. They have no skin in the game and put a lot of thought and effort into how to make the Cove an even better place for ALL of us.
On Saturday morning, Coach Josh put together an EPIC trail run and WOD. We had more than 20 athletes show up at a park at 7am to mix up trail running and two AMRAPs for a brutal, but amazing workout. Our coaches put so much into making the Cove a great place everyday, but this was above and beyond! Stay tuned as we WILL be doing this again SOON!
Just a few hours later, over 50 athletes found their way down the streets of Old Ellicott City for our second annual bar crawl! The brainchild of Katie R., she also took it upon herself to plan the entire thing from soup to nuts (or rather, from drinks to dip). It’s always great to hang out with Covies outside of our natural habitat, and this is just one of those days that makes us just pinch ourselves.
When you see Josh or Katie, please give them a huge thank you for all of their hard work!
STRENGTH WOD
OHS with 2 second pause in the bottom
3/3/3/3/3 (build up in load)
WOD
50 KB Swings
50 Dumbbell (or KB) Step Ups
50 Sit Ups
50 Cal Row
-For Time-
Fitness: 35/53
Performance: 53/35
Open: 70/53
Coach’s Tip: The Metcon should be fairly quick today (under 15 minutes) so pick a dumbbell or kettle bell weight you can do in sets of 10 (at least!)
49 minutes later, Coach Josh is smiling. Angela, not so much…
In case you hadn’t heard, Coach Josh is doing a trail run/WOD THIS SATURDAY! We will meet at Rockburn Branch Park on Saturday at 7:00am. EVERYONE is welcome, but if you are planning on attending, PLEASE RSVP on the event page HERE so we can get a headcount to bring enough equipment.
After a stretch and warm up, we’ll look to get started around 7:30am. If you use the address Google gives you for Rockburn Branch Park (6105 Rockburn Branch Park Rd, Elkridge, MD 21075), you should be able to find where you can park pretty easily. Head through the entrance, pass the first parking lot, keep driving past the tennis courts, bear right, and head towards two softball fields at a dead end.
For the WOD, Team #1 will start on the trail loop (takes 8-10 minutes) while Team #2 completes their first Partner AMRAP. After that, we switch places. After Team #2 completes their first trail loop, Team #1 will run the trail one more time while Team #2 starts their second Partner AMRAP. Once again, we’ll switch places after Team #1 returns. Partner AMRAPs will be done with two people but the trail run will be ran as a group. You cannot switch places with the other team until you all return from the trail as a group, so don’t leave anyone behind. We are only going with one prescribed weight for the KB’s, so if you feel you’re going to have to scale this weight, please let us know so we can grab you an alternative weight!
The Partner AMRAPs are as follows:
#1
9 Kettlebell Thrusters (53/35)
6 Burpees
*partner 1 completes a round then partner 2 completes a round
*one kettlebell will be held in a goblet position for each thruster
*after each partner completes one round (total of 2 rounds for the team), partner 1 carries partner 2 for a 50ft fireman’s carry, then partner 2 will carry partner 1 back to the kettlebell to start the next round
#2
“Cindy Goes Swinging”
5 KB Swings (53/35)
10 Push-Ups
15 Air Squats
*partner 1 does 5 KB swings, partner 2 does 10 push-ups, partner 1 does 15 air squats…..etc.
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. SEE YOU THERE!
WOD
2 minutes on 1 minute off
15 Thrusters
Max Doubles
15 Power Snatch
Max Doubles
15 Clean and Jerks
Max Doubles
Rest 2 minutes
Repeat with Max Burpees
Fitness: 75/55
Performance: 95/65
Open: 115 75
Coach’s Tip: All the barbell movements today! The loading should be light so work quickly to get to the rope (and burpees!).
Subbing out sled pulls today? Krissy christened the new set up this past weekend!
