Today commemorates Memorial Day, a day in which we reflect on those that have given their lives in service. The world has indeed changed in the past couple of months but that does not take away from the meaning of today — or the workout — we will do to remember those who gave so much.
This is the 6th Murph we have done, and while this one will be very different in some ways, we hope it is just as special. Each year at the Cove we do the Hero WOD Murph, and we do the workout to remember those in military service that have died for our freedom — and to think bigger than ourselves. In past years we play (or in more recent years, have had a live performance) the national anthem prior to the start and it brings goosebumps to us all. We can’t all be physically together on this day, but we know in this community we are all thinking of one another.
Tomorrow we will have 4 heats of a modified Murph event (you can reserve your spot via Wodify under “class schedule” as we have 9 slots per heat available) and we know many of you will be working out at home. Normally it is a huge turnout, with the first heat being this big group of athletes that can’t wait to run that first mile. But despite many of us being in different places tomorrow, we come back to a phrase the Coach Katie R came up with at the start of the COVID-19 crisis that we love: “CoviesTogether”. Even though we cannot be physically together, we know that the community bonds of this place go well beyond the walls of this space.
Since many of you can’t make it into the classes or will be doing at home with your family, we would love it if you could send us (or tag us) in a picture you before or after the workout. We’d love to compile them and share with the world that Covies are always #CoviesTogether.
To close, we want to leave you with a recent performance by Teresa F singing the National Anthem. While she performed it live for huge crowds to kick off Murph for the last few years, today she filmed this rendition at the gym so each of you could listen before you venture out for that first mile. We know it will get you both fired up and help you remember this moment for a lifetime.
MEMORIAL DAY MURPH
1 mile run
100 pullup
200 pushup
300 air squats
1 mile run
Reminder: Bring your own water, a yoga mat, a sweat towel, and chalk or something to help count your rounds. We will have some of these items if you forget.
If you don’t have a pullup bar, you can do the same workout but instead of 100 pullup, you can opt into one of the following:
Ring Rows
Join Coach Katie for a little pre-Murph yoga on the Cove Facebook Live Channel.
MURPH PREPARATION
If you didn’t see yesterday’s blog, we sure to check out our video on our plans on allowing us to create a safe version of this great workout. If you are new to CrossFit, Murph is a very challenging workout dedicated to the sacrifices of a fallen soldier, Michael Murphy. We do this workout in remembrance of him.
“MURPH”
1 Mile Run
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-ups
300 Air Squats
1 Mile Run
This workout is very challenging and we will have lots of scaling options for our athletes.
We encourage you to bring a yoga mat, a sweat towel, and of course lots of water for the event. As of right now we have four heats scheduled (9AM,9:30 AM,10:30AM, and 11AM), but we will add more if the need arises.
Below we have a video with Coach Marina talking about some of the different substitutions
EQUIPMENT LOANERS
For those Cove athletes that are looking to train primarily at home, we will be available from Noon to 1:30 PM for equipment loans.
Tomorrow we will be having classes at 9 AM and 10:15 with the possibility of adding at 11:30 class if there is a need.
EQUIPMENT LOANERS
For those Cove athletes that are looking to train primarily at home, we will be available from 9 AM to 11:30 AM for equipment loans. We believe that we will be able to give everyone something to help them to continue to train.
MURPH PLANS
We have developed plans for this Monday’s Murph that follows along with our philosophy of a “safe, gradual and effective” approach to dealing with COVID-19. Be sure to check out the video on how we plan on creating a great class experience while keeping you all safe.
In our effort to provide the best class experience for our members, we will be emailing a survey to all our athletes that took one of our test classes this past week. We thank you for helping us out and would love your input on what you thought. Look for this email later this evening.
FINAL DAY FOR
EQUIPMENT DROP OFF
Friday we will have a window at 9:30 AM to 1 PM and 4 PM to 7 PM. Let us know if you have any issues bringing in your equipment (email us at info@cove-fitness.com). We promise we will do our best to outfit you with equipment for home use. We will be turning the equipment back out this weekend.
FREE PT CONSULTATION
We are excited to announce that we have partnered with Jeff Fairman offering up a complimentary physical therapy visit for any pain or soreness, stiffness or mobility restriction, or a specific weakness. These visits are a consultation and treatment for any physical concerns. Interventions can include hands-on treatment, tool-assisted soft tissue care, dry needling, and/or corrective exercise to help maintain any gains we achieve. The Cove will be picking up the cost for a visit over the next 3 weeks. Can you sign up via the link below.
We are excited to announce that we have partnered with Jeff Fairman offering up a complimentary physical therapy visit for any pain or soreness, stiffness or mobility restriction, or a specific weakness. These visits are a consultation and treatment for any physical concerns. Interventions can include hands-on treatment, tool-assisted soft tissue care, dry needling, and/or corrective exercise to help maintain any gains we achieve. The Cove will be picking up the cost for a visit over the next 3 weeks. Can you sign up via the link below.
Wednesday will be our last day of test classes and we have learned a ton on how to continue to provide you a fun-filled and safe class experience. We thank all of you for helping us out. Tomorrow we have classes at 9:30, noon, 4:30, and 6:30 so reserve your spot soon.
Equipment drop off will be Thursday at 9:30 AM to 1 PM and from 4 PM to 8 PM. Friday we will have a window at 9:30 AM to 1 PM and 4 PM to 7 PM. Let us know if you have any issues bringing in your equipment (email us at info@cove-fitness.com) . We promise we will do our best to outfit you with equipment for home use. We will be turning equipment backout this weekend.
GUEST ZOOM COACH
To help us out while we are running our outdoor test classes, Teressa Fox has volunteered to run today’s zoom class for the at-home workouts. She is a Level I certified instructor, having worked at Arenal CrossFit.
We are excited to announce we are going to be providing some additional programming for all those Covies that are working out at home. Coach Maria will be providing three additional workouts (not in place of the normal CrossFit workouts) a week to help build your engine in only 30 minutes. The equipment requirements will be minimal. To launch the program, Coach Maria will be running a noon zoom class tomorrow for those that are ready to try it out.
Program Description: Engine Express is a body-weight boot camp-style workout that can be done in a small space in a short amount of time. The movements are inspired by the functional movement that we do in CrossFit and also tap into other unique ways of moving our bodies. The focus is primarily on conditioning and mobility, but strength, specifically core plays a big role in these workouts.
:30on / :10off 4 Rounds – :30 rest
MAX lunge hovers or ninja jumps to drop-back lunge
MAX high-low planks
MAX superman crunches to push up
MAX bunny hops or side to side floor thruster
MAX crab toe touches or toe crunches
MAX shoulder tap burpees
COVE CLASS WORKOUTS
STRENGTH
Every 90 seconds for 5 rounds
5 Push Press + 20 second hold at top on last rep
Governor Hogan used this term to describe his approach to reopening the state and we are doing everything possible to do the same for the Cove. Over the last two weeks, we’ve watched gyms reopen outdoor classes and do meetups, often with little to no apparent protocol for separation, cleanliness, or organization. There has also been tremendous confusion for business owners as to what is actually permitted (as an example, a May 6th amendment to the Governor’s orders permitted outdoor classes but the May 13th announcement from Hogan and Howard County did not). While we are excited to potentially re-open, getting permission from authorities and getting these operational systems in place has always been front and center for us.
Over the past four days we exchanged several messages with Councilwoman Christina Rigby (Howard County Legislator) and Jennifer Jones (Executive Calvin Ball’s Chief of Staff) in which we outlined our specific plans for outdoor classes and received this in return:
“Outdoor instruction is allowed as long as you are maintaining social distancing and safety protocols. Thank you for your detailed safety plan. Let me know if you have any further questions.”
We want to thank each of you for your unwavering support of the Cove. Your willingness to pay membership, support the community and weather this storm with us allows us to even be in a position to re-open. At a time when business are closing or are at-risk to, words cannot express our gratitude to you all.
Our plan is to re-open the gym with 9-person outdoor classes starting this Saturday, May 23rd (weather permitting) to start. Many of you have expressed eagerness to return, and we want to give you that experience you’ve been missing. But we also know there’s a large group not ready to come back for a variety of reasons. We want to give each of what you what you need to find success. As we’ve discussed, we will also do everything in our power to outfit those who cannot come back to the gym after Saturday with some equipment and additional programming so at-home workouts can be continued and you can continue your fitness and stay connected to the community!
Below is a detailed outline of our what will happen this week:
MONDAY, TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY (5/18 -5/20): TEST CLASSES
Re-opening an outdoor gym will be a huge learning experience for all of us. To help us get better prepared, we will be running a handful of “test classes” on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week. These classes will be limited to 9 athletes per class. With equipment returns happening later in the week, we won’t have equipment here, so the experience will be different than classes we hope to achieve starting Saturday. We are going to ask that you bring whatever equipment makes sense for that day from your home. We also ask that you bring a yoga mat as well (we have a couple of extras at the Cove). If you do not have the equipment necessary for that class, we will have a couple of sets of gear to help those athletes.
Our hope is to use these ‘test classes’ to get smarter abt.out what an outdoor class might feel like — it is about learning, seeking inputs and quickly make adjustments for next week. This means looking at spacing (and ability to be far apart but hear the coach), sanitization procedures, logistics (clock/music), timing, class flow, and more.
Classes will run as follows:
MONDAY at 4p and 6p.
TUESDAY at 9:30am,Noon, 4:30 and 6:30
WEDNESDAY at 9:30am, Noon, 4:30 and 6:30
We will also treat the sign ups for these “test classes” like “real” classes to make sure the systems work. Again, this is a TEST for what real classes might run like starting Saturday and that includes new sign up technologies. Here is a video on how to reserve a spot for a class.
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY (5/21 and 5/22): EQUIPMENT RETURN
On Thursday and Friday, we will hold several windows for equipment returns. As we’ve said, ALL equipment needs to be returned so we can re-inventory the gear, clean it, and prepare to serve all our athletes. If your ONLY or PRIMARY method of working out is at home for the foreseeable future, please email us at info@cove-fitness.com (please don’t use our individual addresses, just info@cove-fitness.com) and we promise we will do our best to outfit you with equipment for home use. Our hope is to turn this around VERY quickly so you don’t miss a beat with your training!
As you can imagine it will be a challenging task to determine equipment needs for people who truly cannot come to the gym while simultaneously building back up for gradual, systematized re-opening. Please be patient with us as we are trying to basically service two Cove locations — one for the athletes at the facility and one the athletes at home. We are also trying to rent equipment from other facilities as purchasing equipment during this time is incredibly difficult with shortages of supply.
If you are unable to return your gear during these windows (times to be determined), please contact us as we can try to make alternative arrangements or can come get equipment from you under extreme circumstances.
For those of you who continue to train at home, in addition to the daily programming, we will also be adding Coach Maria’s “Engine Express” workouts. Engine Express is a body-weight boot camp-style workout that can be done in a small space in a short amount of time. The movements are inspired by the functional movement that we do in CrossFit and also tap in to other unique ways of moving our bodies. The focus is primarily on conditioning and mobility, but strength, specifically core plays a big role in these workouts. These are an incredible addition to the current programming and we couldn’t be more excited about this offering.
SATURDAY & SUNDAY 5/23 and 5/24
On Saturday and Sunday, we will start our official Cove outdoor classes. We are still working on figuring out class times and will be releasing that when we get more information (we are working with our landlord, feedback from test classes, and of course, weather).
MONDAY – FRIDAY (5/25 – 5/30)
Our goal is to apply all the learning on demand and attendance to determine the weekly schedule. We are currently determining the best options for Memorial Day hours and activities as well.
There is a lot here, and we are available to answer any questions you might have. This is a learning process for us all and we ask that we give each other grace during this time. As we stated at the start of this post, doing things in a “safe, effective, and gradual” manner is our goal. And providing options and choices is something we are trying to achieve in this challenging time. Trust us that we are doing everything possible to make the best of this impossible situation.
While Crossfit Cove Kids has been put on hold, what better way to get moving and have some fun than some short, simple workouts for your kids to do at home! Coach Katie F has put together 6 workouts that can be done as a family or easily turned on for your kiddos to do by themselves. They may need your help with the technology or possibly as a judge or a DJ 😉. Some random soft objects (balls or rolled up socks), a soccer/basketball, and possibly a yoga mat are the only pieces of equipment that will be needed. All items are written in the workout description and the WODs can be amped up simply by using some dumbbells if you plan to partake alongside your kids.
They will all be posted pre-recorded on our Youtube page so you can repeat them until we resume in person. They are intended to help get your kids off their devices, away from screens, and moving again but primarily to bond, laugh, and have fun! The first video was released last Sunday and can be found on the “Crossfit Kids!” playlist and the second video is below. Have Fun!
We’re happy to announce that the Crossfit Cove team will be beginning to provide personal programming/accountability via the TrueCoach.co app. TrueCoach was founded in 2015 and has quickly become a leading application for personal training/programming. It streamlines the communication between coach and athlete, allowing the athlete to automatically see updates in programming (no pesky spreadsheets), send videos providing input/tips, or simply to check off wods so your coach can see you’re staying on track.
We know many of you have specific goals that you are looking to accomplish and this targeted programming can help you get there. In general, you’ll be receiving 3 days of accessory work per week for about 15 minutes each alongside normal Cove programming
Initially it will be first come first serve with a limit of 20 athletes every two weeks split between Coach John and Coach Holden. Currently, we have fifteen members signed up, so we have room for five more.
Once you have received your TrueCoach login, you can begin talking to your coach about what you want to work on and input your equipment so your coach knows what you have available. After Phase 1 of the COVID recovery begins, this feature will be reserved for those who are primarily working out from home until Quarantine is over. All of this at no extra charge to you! Email info@cove-fitness.com if you are interested along with your goal/what you intend to focus on. Spots are limited so act fast!
