Blog

August 26, 2021

COVE SUPER TEAM AT CHARM CITY THROWDOWN

This weekend Coach Carlos and Jenna Michelotti will be competing at Outsiders CrossFit for the Charm City Throwdown. This duo has been training hard and making great gains with Carlos hitting a 225 snatch and Jenna Michelotti, you know, competing at the CrossFit games.

It’s a “super team” and should be awesome to watch. This is a well-run event and has been a fan favorite. We have had many Covies compete at this event and Coach Josh, Coach Marina, and Jenna and Justin Michelotti have been on the podium here.

The event will start at 8 AM and it will end by 3 PM. We will post heat times once they are released.

If you are looking for something to do this week and want to be inspired, this might be a fun event to check out.

I found some great pictures of Covies on the podium.

COACH CARLOS

YOUNG JENNA

COACH MARINA

BABY FACED COACH JOSH

JUSTIN AND JENNA

August 11, 2021

SPECIAL EVENT WOD THIS SATURDAY!!!!!

This year’s CrossFit Games was an absolute blast — and was particularly special for us Covies as we all had the pleasure of watching Jenna Michelotti compete with the most elite athletes from around the globe. It was so inspiring to see all her hard work pay off, finishing 5th in the WORLD!

Her performance has started a ground swell of Games and CrossFit fever at the gym and we just love it! In order to welcome Jenna home and to give everyone a little taste of what she experienced, this Saturday’s classes (9AM, 10:15, and 11:30) will be Games inspired. We will hit several mini workouts taken from this 2021 games. For those that our intimidated but games programming, don’t worry about it. As with all things, we can scale these workouts

Jenna will be at the 9 AM class (we will be expanding the class size for this class) to not only workout but also to share some of her stories and experiences from the event. We also will have some light food as for some post workout nutrition. We’ll still run the 10:15 and 11a classes, but 9am will be the ‘main event’! Hope to see you all there!

August 6, 2021

A SPECIAL OFFER FROM UNBOUND MUSCLE THERAPY

James Barbosa, of Unbound Muscle Theapy, has a special offer for our members. Below is a message from James.

Great news COVIES! Thanks to Irina’s idea and the high demand for Muscle Therapy, I have decided to add in 30 minute sessions for COVE MEMBERS ONLY.

I’m starting out with a 2 week trial and sessions are $60 for 30 minutes.

Only 3 slots per week. BOOKING IS ON THE COVE WODIFY PAGE. ——- 30 minutes.

Shoulder pain, back pain, elbow pain, knee pain, ankle issues and everything in between.

Trying to hit a PR? I got you!

Are you in pain? I got you!

Have a competition coming up. I got you!

Or perhaps you just want to stay pain free. I got you!

I look forward to seeing you on the table! For more details on what I do, check out… www.unboundmt.com

August 5, 2021

EXCITING GYM UPDATES AND NEWS

We are excited to share some updates that will continue to improve your experiences here at the Cove. Most of you know this, but the meaning behind our logo is something we hold very precious. The Nautilus shell is the oldest creature known to survive in the earth’s oceans. It is a symbol of nature’s grace in growth, expansion, and renewal. It is also a symbol of order amidst chaos as reflected in its spiral precision. These are things that drive us and inspire us to do the things we do… and things we wish for each and every one of you!

This also means that we need to grow with you to meet your needs as they evolve over time. More of you work from home than every before. Or have hours different hours impacting when you can get here. Children’s schedules have changed. And as many of you told us in the last 18 months, getting here was one of the things that helped you feel ‘normal’ during such uncertain times. But as we ease into this ‘new normal’, we want to adapt WITH you. And need your help to make it all happen:

ALL-ACCESS COVE

Starting September 1st, we will become an “all-access” CrossFit gym! Classes will always be at the core of what we do and the schedule will not change, but you’ll be able to come to the gym any time on your own to do a workout, hit some accessory work or just hang out. Full monthly members will be able to use an app-enabled entry and come and go as they please. We will have some restricted overnight hours and will share MUCH more on other protocols and safety measures in the coming days and weeks, but we couldn’t be more excited!

BODY SCANS

We all know what we put in our bodies can dramatically affect our outputs are at the gym. Many of you are dialing in your nutrition and taking your health more seriously — and we love that. To support you in this, we will be giving each full member one quarterly body scan for FREE (four per year). We will be posting more on this soon as well, so stay tuned for details on how.

RATE INCREASES

Also starting September 1st we will be implementing at $10 rate increase (for primary members) with a $5 increase on other household members. There will be no rate increases for a third holdhold or any of our “founding members”.

As you know, the pandemic hit everyone hard — but especially business owners like us. COVID put a tremendous strain on the gym financially and only recently have we hit break-even. While we are confident we’ve turned the corner on a really challenging 18 months, a lot has changed since we’ve opened 7 years ago.

In addition to expenses overall rising with inflation, our rent is 50% higher than it was when we opened. And everything costs more now in a post-Covid world. Equipment. Cleaning supplies. Wages. The list goes on and on.

We stand behind our product, offering more classes than any other gym while remaining one of the most affordable CrossFit gyms in the area. And as stated above, with this price, we are also providing additional benefits including the quarterly InBody Scan and Open Gym Access.

We continue to invest in the gym, whether it be community events, equipment, coaching education, adding programs (like barbell club & kid’s programming) or improving our overall classes. We hope you agree this is a nominal increase that will allow us to make sure “the best hour of your day starts now” every time you walk in the door.

More to come on ALL of this, but thank you for your continued support and trust in us. If you have any questions, please email us at info@crossfitcove.com.

Brian and Marina

July 28, 2021

WELCOME COACH GRACE

We’ve had an on eye her since day one…she’s a phenomenal athlete, all-around awesome person and has been a quintessential Covie since day one. And we are thrilled to share that she’s agreed to make the transition from athlete to coach here at the Cove! For those of you who haven’t had the chance to get to know Grace, here’s a bit more about her. And for those of you who DO know her, we hope you’ll support her as she takes on her new role here!

“I was born and raised in Williamsburg, VA until I attended college at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA where I earned my master’s degree in Health and Physical Education. I currently work for Baltimore County Public Schools as a Middle School PE teacher. A little over a year ago, my boyfriend Mitch and I moved to Maryland after both leaving our hometown of Williamsburg. When COVID first hit, we spent every morning throwing together dumbbell and bodyweight workouts in our parents’ garages. The first thing we did when we moved here was research local gyms in the area and the first day we stepped in the Cove we knew it was a place we wanted to be a part of.
I have always been someone who has surrounded themselves in sports. Growing up I was always playing a sport no matter the season. I played just about every sport I could, and when I reached high school I played field hockey, basketball, soccer, and swimming.

When I first got involved in CrossFit, I knew it was a sport I would fall in love with. I love the competitive edge it has, but I also love how fundamental it is. CrossFit is more than joining a gym, showing up when you can and going through the motions. It brought a sense of community and friendship to me, which was hard to find when moving to a new state fresh out of college. I coached basketball, soccer and swimming for several years in college and I am excited to add CrossFit into that experience. I want to help others the way coaches helped me when I first joined CrossFit and I hope to make a difference the same way CrossFit has made and continues to make a difference in my life.”

July 26, 2021

JENNA TO THE GAMES

The CrossFit Games is always an exciting time of the year. Starting tomorrow, the world of CrossFit converges in on Madison, Wisconsin to crown the fittest athletes on earth. It is always amazing to watch these superhero-level athletes perform, but this year’s Games are going to be so special for the Cove community. Our very own Jenna Michelotti will be competing in 2021 CrossFit Games in the Girls 14-15 Division and we could not be more excited!

While she’s been testing herself every day for months (and years!) tomorrow the huge test begins on the world’s stage. Your support has meant the world to her and we hope you will all get a chance to watch her shine. We know this community has helped lift Jenna through this whole process, so let’s help and keep her motivated, excited, and confident. You might not think it, but we believe she can feel your cheers, smiles, and well wishes all the way from Maryland to Madison.

You can watch the games feed on CrossFit’s youtube channel and at Games.CrossFit.com

July 25, 2021

OPEN GYM AND BARBELL CLUB

Open gym tomorrow starting at 11 AM and that is followed by our barbell club at 12:30.

We are super excited by this interation of this program and so are you, we have 15 people signed up!

Here is a note from Coach Anthony

“Hey new Cove friends,

I am excited to get things kicked off tomorrow with everyone who’s planning on coming to weightlifting class. I just wanted to lay out my thoughts behind how I plan on approaching this class with everyone.In the interest of instilling some consistency and familiarity, we will be focusing on each lift independently for 6 week blocks for now. This first block will specifically focus on developing the clean and jerk, culminating in a test day in week 6 where we will have an opportunity to establish a number for a heavy single or PR. We’re going to be breaking down components of these lifts and progressively piecing them together throughout the 6 wk block. Some of our work will be done against a running clock in EMOM format with appropriate loads and rest intervals between lifts. I really feel that a huge aspect of getting people to trust their bodies and not overthink lifts, is to try and eliminate too much downtime between lifts that is often spent over-analyzing 99 things that should have gone differently in your last attempt. Good movement usually feels good, some reps will feel like trash, some will click and feel great. Our overall objective is to trend in the right direction with good/ healthy movement that “clicks” and then reinforce that with consistency in these positions. I am certainly not the barbell whisperer, but I have had my peaks and valleys, injuries and PR’s, and more than anything, for me, this sport is my mental bedrock. I hope you all enjoy this class and get out of it all of the strength, confidence, motivation, and psychological benefits it has to offer. And I hope you take the bad days when everything feels slow and crappy, and realize that those days are necessary in order to heal and build yourself back stronger. Progress is not a linear path, but I’m excited to share with you all everything that has helped me and that I have seen help others. In addition to our Sunday’s, I’ll be posting some accessory work to be done during the week for those of you that feel like you want to gear your overall training a bit more towards an Oly focused platform. I would suggest doing the accessory work on either Tues/ Thurs or Weds/ Fri. I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!

Rest up tonight! 🏋️‍♀️🏋️💪✌️”

July 12, 2021

BARBELL CLUB RETURNS

There is no question that many Covies have a passion for the barbell and who can blame them. There is nothing like that feeling of making that perfect lift and that celebratory feeling of dropping that barbell from overhead. It is a passion for many of you and we want to help stoke those fires.

We are excited to announce we will be starting a barbell specific program on Sunday’s at 12:30 PM starting on July 25th. This class was run for 6 weeks and this first cycle will be focused on perfecting the technique in the Clean and Jerk. Each class will focus on developing the strength, power, and technique of the Olypmic lifts and will include additional “homework” during the week.

To coach this class we are bringing in Anthony Nimczyk, who as well as being a former CrossFit Games regional competitor, has run successful barbel program at multiple gyms. He has years of experience helping athletes develop their technique, strength, and power to help them reach new levels of fitness. Here is a quick write up from Coach Anthony and you can just feel has passion and love for Olympic weightlifting.

“Growing up playing sports year round has instilled a competitiveness and constant interest in developing as an athlete, and later in life as a coach. After scholastic sports ended for me, I found myself with a sense of something missing. Discovering CrossFit restored the competitive aspect to my training and once again provided a means for training towards an end goal. It also had introduced me to the world of Olympic weightlifting, which I quickly came to realize was where I wanted to concentrate my efforts.

I then discovered many popular professional weightlifters through researching their techniques and advice. One of my favorites in particular is a guy who earned the nickname “The Lion Killer”, Donny Shankle. Shankle once made the comparison of successfully executing a snatch to “having a piece of thread between your knuckles, the eye of a needle in front of you, and a rhino in front of the needle, having to not only successfully thread the needle, but simultaneously have the power to put down the rhino”.

After years of experiencing the ups and downs of training and trying to develop the Olympic lifts, hearing that description, to me, were the most accurate words spoken in regards to the lift, and of the ability that anyone who trains these lifts strives to achieve. Crossfit introduced me to a community of friends, athletes, and coaches. Weightlifting gave me the mechanism and passion by which to share my experiences with anyone and everyone that I can. “

The cost of this program will be $100 for a this upcoming six week cycle. If you are interested or have any questions, just email us at info@crossfitcove.com

Coach Anthony clean and jerking 156 KG (343 lbs) and making it look pretty.

July 11, 2021

FREE SHOULDER HEALTH CLINIC

This comming Saturday at 12:45 PM, Dr Matt Silver of the Alpha Project will be presentation a free shoulder mobiltiy and health clinic to our members. This clinic is free and a great opportunity for you to learn more about developing strong and healthy shoulders.

You can sign up for the clinic here.

June 17, 2021

SITTER ROOM COVERAGE NOW ON THURSDAY AT 9:30 AM

We are excited to announce that we have expanded our sitter coverage for the kid’s room for both Tuesday and Thursday at 9:30 AM. If we continue to see strong need for sitter coverage, we will look to add an additional times. To help us with cost for maintaining and staffing the kids room, we are going to need help with some of the financial burden for this service. We are going to ask for a $3 charge for the first child using the room and a $2 charge for each additional child. The sitter will be responsible for helping us track who is using the room and we will charge your accounts at the end of the month.

Parents are welcome to use the room during non-sitter times for no charge and older kids are welcome to hang out in the front of the gym or at the green chairs by the garage doors as well. We hope this helps you many busy parents to find a moment to have the best part of your day here at the Cove.