Adjusted Open Gym Hours
Just because it’s Easter Sunday doesn’t mean we won’t open! Come on in for Open Gym to get your fitness on before hitting those chocolate bunnies. We will have adjusted Open gym from 10 AM to 1 PM. Hope to see you then!
Adjusted Open Gym Hours
Just because it’s Easter Sunday doesn’t mean we won’t open! Come on in for Open Gym to get your fitness on before hitting those chocolate bunnies. We will have adjusted Open gym from 10 AM to 1 PM. Hope to see you then!
MOBILITY WOD
1 Min Couch Stretch (30 second each leg)
1 Min Pigeons Pose on a box (30 seconds each leg)
1 min Side Plank (30 seconds each side)
2 Rounds
WOD
500/400 M Row
30 DB Goblet Squats
25 Alternating 1 Arm DB Snatches
20 Hand Release Push Ups
3 Rounds
Fitness/FX: 35/20
Performance/RX:50/35
Open/RX+:50/35
Coach’s Tip: Row at a comfortable pace early on in the workout. You don’t want to push too hard early. Be sure to have a good set up position for each one of your dumbbell snatches.
Greetings from Utah. Look who we found!
Adjusted Open Gym Hours
Open gym from 10 AM to 1 PM
PartnerWOD
Partner WOD
____Assault Bike Cals
100 Pull ups
100 KB Swings
____Assault Bike Cals
MM- 100 Cals/ FM- 90 Cals/ FF- 80 Cals
Fitness: 35/26
RX(Performance): 53/35
RX+(Open): 70/53, C2B
Coach’s Tip: Think about solid pace on the assault bike that you can maintain for about 1 minute before you switch partners. For the pull ups be sure you are getting full extension at the bottom of your pull ups. If you can’t reach that full range of motion then talk to the coach about finding the right scale for you.
Garth, our million meter man, knows how to mobilize!
WOD
15 Hanging Squat Cleans
20 Slam Balls
15 Box Jumps
Rest 2 minutes
4 Rounds
FX (Fitness): 95/65
RX and RX+ (Performance and Open): 135/95
COACH’S TIP: Today we test ourselves with a great sprint-rest format. The rounds do not need to be unbroken, but should be done quickly. Really work on a good front rack position and smooth transitions on the hanging squat cleans.
Who doesn’t love a little mobility on a beautiful evening?!
BARBELL CLUB STARTS TODAY!
Those of you who signed up for the Barbell Club are about to go on a great journey over the next few weeks. We are exited to get you stronger, more mobile and more technically proficient in your Olympic lifts. It’s a great group with a range of experience, so it should be fun to see each of you grow in your own way. If you have not been invited to the private Barbell Club FB page, talk to Coach John and he’ll make sure you’re ‘in’!
STRENGTH WOD
10 Overhand Grip Barbell Rows
10 Strict Pull Ups
3 Rounds
WOD
15 Deadlifts
15 Bar Facing Burpees
4 Rounds
Fitness (FX): 155/105
RX (performance) : 185/125
RX+ (open): 225/155
Coach’s Tip: While today’s strength doesn’t “seem” to be adding to our strict press cycle (as they are pulling, not pushing movements), it is important that we keep the opposing muscles strong in for stability and strength for a stronger strict press. For the metcon, the burpees will spike the heart rate so the loading on the bar should be something you can move fairly easily while fatigued.
Pick a saying… “like mother, like daughter”, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”, “mini-me”. All true and equally awesome… welcome Jenna M. officially to the Cove!
“The Whiteboard”
A great perspective from Coach Mike
Back in the day, believe it or not, many boxes used an actual whiteboard to keep track of the results for the day. CrossFitters started with a notebook or maybe even a fancypants smartphone app to keep track of their progress and PRs from day to day. Data wasn’t shared online or broadcast between members for others to ‘like.’ This was your way to track YOUR progress. It didn’t matter what others did, and it still doesn’t.
Don’t get me wrong, I love how far we’ve come technologically, but sometimes we get caught up in the perceived competition with others. With a traditional whiteboard, you were listed by time of day, not time of WOD. You could stare in awe of the first names thinking, “how do they do this so early?!?”
We love the ability to track your own data and having a “digital notebook” of your OWN performance. We also love the ability to ‘like’ and acknowledge someone else’s hard work. However, Wodify’s “Whiteboard” feature, coincidentally ranks everyone based on their score. Worse yet, it even moves people who scaled to the bottom of the page. The amount of effort, time, or number of rounds of the person at the bottom is no different than the one at the top. We need to get out of the “yeah, but I scaled” mentality and be proud of where we are, how far we’ve come, and the work that has yet to be done. We, as coaches and owners, wish we could change it, as it’s not our culture to “rank” anyone. We hate that we can’t and we’ve even asked Wodify if we can randomize the board (or at least take off numerical rankings), but time and time again we get a solid “no.” In our minds, the benefit of tracking our progress outweighs the “we wish it wasn’t so” of how it’s presented.
Every time I’m traveling and drop-in to a box that still uses a whiteboard, I’m reminded of a simpler time. Walking in, seeing the WOD for the first time on the whiteboard (what, no blog post at 8PM?!?), finishing the WOD and proudly adding your name to the list of victims claimed by the WOD. This wasn’t a leaderboard. Sure, you quickly scanned the whiteboard for familiar names, but typically only to see what to expect from the WOD. You used their scores as a source of motivation, not competition. Besides, some people have terrible handwriting and you can’t read their results anyways.
The best part of the whiteboard: it gets erased every night.
How you thought you performed the day before doesn’t matter anymore. It’s a new day, a new WOD. Maybe you PR’d or maybe you got Coach Lyndsey’s infamous “smiley face” for just showing up and working out after a long day/night at work. Either way, someone is probably going to give you a high-five. That’s the non-digital version of a ‘like’ for all you techies out there.
Think of everyday as a whiteboard. Come in, work your butt off, enter your score proudly, wipe it off, repeat.
-Coach Mike
WOD
U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Matthew T. Abbate, 26, of Honolulu, Hawaii, assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Pendleton, California, was killed on December 2, 2010, while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife Stacie Rigall, son Carson, mother Karen Binion, father Salvatore Abbate, and siblings Dominica Abbate, Elliot Abbate, Valerie Binion, and Kelly Binion.
1 Mile Run
21 Clean and Jerks (155/105)
800 M Run
21 Clean and Jerks (155/105)
1 Mile Run
Fitness (FX): 95/65
RX (Performance): 135/95
RX+(Open): 155/105
Coach’s Tip: This is longer workout, but we will be capping it with a “hard time cap” of 34 minutes. Last year’s times ranged from 28 minutes to 43 minutes, so if you did it before, please reference your times to see how you might need to scale (the last time we did this workout was 9.5.16). Because it ends on a run, think about the clock when you leave the door and how long that run will take. If you leave at 32:00 on the clock, you’re ending on a 200!
Michael K. celebrated his one year with us on the eve of 17.4. And he brought in his first Open slip from that day… 16.4! The Cove would not be the same without this great guy!
OPEN GYM 9A TO NOON!
Huge thanks to Coach Josh for opening up early for ROMWOD at 8:30am! It’s supposed to be a beautiful day, so come on in and work on skills, mobility, make up a missed WOD or hit a NEW ONE! Josh has programmed a fantastic Sunday Funday… if anyone is interested, let’s rock this at around 9;45am or 10am (fyi, we’ve loaded the WOD into WODIFY and added a class to Sunday’s schedule, so if you do it, log your score!):
Partner WOD:
1600m run as a team
30 DU’s
10 Wall Balls
1 Rope Climb
10 Rounds
(one partner completes one round, one rests)
1600m run as a team
30 tire flips as a team “cash-out”
Maybe it was the WOD? Or the ‘stache’?
SKILL WOD
Fitness
10 Leg Raises
10 Hip Extensions
50’s Bottom up Single arm KB Carry
4 Rnds
Open & Performance
10 GHDs
20 Second Hollow Hold
50′ Bottom up Single Arm Kb Carry
4 Rounds
WOD
5 Push Jerks
10 Push ups
15 Cal Row
6 Rnds
OPEN RX+ (155/105)
PERFORMANCE RX (135/95)
FITNESS FX (95/65) Push Press
Coach’s Tip: Today’s skill work includes GHDs for RX and + and it is a great time to practice form. If you are doing FX but want to give them a go, feel free to try ’em out under the watchful eye of a coach. And if you’re new to them in general, PLEASE see a coach and scale the volume or range of motion. For the Metcon, this will be a shoulder burner, so use the row as a great ‘pull’ recovery (vs. the “push” you will do with the bar and the push ups). On the erg, we’d recommend keeping the damper setting a bit lower and really driving with your legs to save those shoulders!
Look away. Nothing to see here people…
PARTNER WODS!
Those of you who have been with us for a while understand our tradition of Partner WODs and look forward to it like a weekly little gift. For those of you new to the Cove, we want to encourage you to make this a ‘must attend’ workout as it’s one of our most favorite times of the week (and often evolves into impromptu happy hours afterwards).
Each Friday we program a partner-style workout. Not only is a great way to meet new members (or a way to make a fitness date with a friend or special someone), they add a whole new level of accountability and strategy.
On the accountability side, we do NOT mean that you need to do the same level (weights or volume). The last thing we want is for someone to feel like they ‘have to’ do ANYTHING they are not comfortable with. Just because you are in pairs, does not mean you need to be doing the same thing! FX can pair with RX+ and newbies can pair with veterans (and we highly recommend mixing things up like that!), but we do mean that you should uphold high quality of movement standards and maybe… just maybe… you’ll push that extra 5% because you have someone right in front of you cheering each other on.
Then there’s strategy! Talk to your partner and find out how they plan to attack it (maybe you’ll learn a tip?) and if you need a bigger rest, tell your partner to slow it down. Yep, we’ve all said “take your time” to a partner at one point or another! You’re a team and it’s not just about the numbers you put up, it’s how you work as a team to get there!
For those of you new to this, this should be FUN, not scary. We heard early on from people that they were intimidated to come on Fridays because a) they didn’t know anyone to partner with and b) they didn’t want to ‘hold anyone back’. STOP thinking that way! We are part of this community because we are all stronger together. Partner WODs embody that philosophy… and if you are new, they are some of the BEST ways to meet new people!
And there’s any piece of you that thinks you will prevent someone from getting in their best workout or (and we’ve seen this) someone apologizing to their teammate for being slow or going light… we need to smack you upside the head!! In fact, Coach Mike wrote a brilliant blog entry a while back about what its like to fear Partner WODs and it is a MUST READ!!
PARTNER WOD
10 Rounds Between 2 Athletes
12 Deadlifts
9 Hanging Cleans
6 Front Squats
FX (Fitness): 95/65
RX (Performance): 135/95
RX+ (Open): 155/105 (Clean can be squat or power)
Coach’s Tip: 1o rounds total means 5 5ounds for each partner. It’s designed to do “relay style”. One partner completes a full round then switch. Just like “DT”, the deadlifts will feel light and the Cleans/Front Squats should be heavy. You are meant to move quickly, however, so anything more than two sets (ideally one set) means your barbell is too heavy!
Robert N. can do it all. Dad. Teacher. One of the nicest guys we know. All that AND knows how to rock a set up for a clean!
ENDURANCE CYCLE OFF TO A GREAT START!
So great to see so many people on the WhiteBoard establishing their benchmarks for the endurance cycle. As you felt, going all out can leave you flat out on the floor (even without a barbell!) so tend to your body just as you would after a strength day. Lots of water, lean proteins and good carbs… and STRETCH!
Tight hamstrings are a common issue for many of our athletes and running/sprinting without stretching can cause issues in the short and long term — so stretch not just BEFORE, but after too! Tight hammies can accompany virtually all cases of chronic lower back pain. The pull of these tight muscles forces the lumbar spine into a forward bent posture, the effects of which can get quite uncomfortable. Additionally, the overall mobility of the hip joints is affected… so the lesson here is — tend to those hamstrings!
Here’s a great video by Kelly Starrett (most of you know he is a mobility guru and we keep his books at the gym). It’s 8 minutes, but gives great info on assessing your limitations AND how to fix them:
STRENGTH WOD
Open-Performance-Fitness
5 Strict Press
8 Tempo Push ups (3 seconds on the way down then explode up)
1 Minute Rest
5 Rounds (go as heavy as possible and keep the best form possibly during the push ups)
PARTNER WOD
10 Rounds Between 2 Athletes
12 Deadlifts 9 Hanging Cleans 6 Front Squats FX (Fitness): 95/65 RX (Performance): 135/95 RX+ (Open): 155/105 (Clean can be squat or power)Coach’s Tip: 1o rounds total means 5 5ounds for each partner. It’s designed to do “relay style”. One partner completes a full round then switch. Just like “DT”, the deadlifts will feel light and the Cleans/Front Squats should be heavy. You are meant to move quickly, however, so anything more than two sets (ideally one set) means your barbell is too heavy!
This is one way to get to know someone. Welcome back Nathan!
