Blog – Page 88 – CrossFit Cove

December 30, 2016

Saturday, December 31st 2016

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As we wrap up 2016, there is so much to celebrate… but there is also so much to look forward to! We are hoping 2017 is the best year yet for all of you, filled with boundless happiness and wonderful health.

We will do everything we can to get you there, so if there’s something you need, please let us know. BUT we are scheming a few things to help get you jump started in the New Year:

NEW YEAR NUTRITION CHALLENGE!

With many of us coming off of excessive holiday eating and to kick off the New Year right, we are offering a nutrition challenge unlike any we have done before! Yes there will be food rules, but this is not a “30 Day Paleo Challenge”. This is 5 weeks to a new you… but you won’t be alone! Although sign ups will be individual, we will create teams for greater accountability. There will be some rules, but more importantly, you will be coached on developing the mindset that will transform and ingrain these guidelines into habit and lifestyle. “Eating clean” is one of the least restrictive and most effective pathways to better health. You’ll learn how identify and eliminate processed foods that may be wreaking havoc on your body, and how to replace them with foods that will make you stronger, leaner, and overall better. Most importantly, you will be coached to adopt the mindset that will make this outlook your lifestyle, setting you up for success in the new year and beyond. This Challenge will be led by coach Brittany and will last 5 weeks. This challenge is for those who are willing and dedicated to making a change. The cost is $100 and includes the following: Kick Off Meeting Thursday January 5th at 8:30PM.

The Challenge officially begins January 9th and ends on Sunday, February 12th.

There will be a Mid-Challenge group meeting and potluck on January 22nd.

We will set up a Private Facebook page to post recipes, challenges, successes etc.

InBody body composition analysis at the beginning and end of challenge, providing weight and % body fat analysis. The value and accuracy of this, similar to a BodPod, would be $50 PER use. So the $100 would cover the analytics alone! (InBody Body composition analyzer is a tool we secured for the New Year clean eating challenge. See the InBody analysis below for an example of the information you will get: inbody

Teams will be set up to increase accountability. Each week Teams will accrue points based on following food criteria, working out and weekly bonus challenges. There will be a can and can not eat list as this is a time to reset the body and clean out the sludge from the holidays. And instill healthy eating habits that can be pulled through all year long. This challenge is for those that are looking for fat loss, muscle gain and increased performance and just overall enhanced nutrition. Winning team gets a 45-min one on one goal setting and personalized nutrition plan. Health-supportive dietary recommendations, as well as coaching and support to keep you on track We will post more information about the challenge over the next week. Space in this challenge will be limited and sign ups are live now. CLICK HERE to hold your spot!

ROW, RUN, RIDE: GO THE DISTANCE!

Caught the rowing bug after the 100,000 Meter Challenge? Want something new to challenge you in 2017? We have a great opportunity for you, and it’s for a great cause! Our very own Nassim E., inspired by Garth C’s Million Meters and the 100K row challenge she did herself, has partnered with CrossFit Federal Hill and Geo’s Rockwell’s “Community of Strength Project” to turn meters into opportunity for these deserving kids. If you don’t know about this program, read more HERE!

And now, The Community of Strength Project (COSP) is partnering up with Baltimore City Community College to raise money to send the COSP students to college!

You can help by joining this year-long challenge where you can chose to row, run, or ride 1,000,000 (that’s right, one million) Meters by the end of 2017.

All you need to do is create a team through this link, advertise the campaign on social media, and start rowing, running, or riding. All the money will go directly to Baltimore City Community College exclusively for the Community of Strength Project kids. In turn, we will be able to send our students to college, all expenses paid!

Read more about this awesome opportunity on our Team Page.

Spread the word; this is open to anyone wanting to set an awesome goal for themselves in 2017!

More information about events, participation, and details to come!

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

New Year’s Eve (Saturday): Regular hours 9, 10 and 11am

New Year’s Day: Modified Open Gym Hours 11a-2p

New Year’s Day Observed (Monday): Modified Schedule. No 5:30/6:30am classes.

9:30am will be the first class!

WOD

1 Rope Climb

7 Push Up Burpees

5 Back Squats (bar comes from rack)

7 Sit Ups

7 Rounds

Fitness: 155/105

RX: 205/135

RX+: 225/155 (Legless and GHD sit ups)

Coach’s Tip: This is not a sprint through it type of workout. It is more of a strongman/woman style workout. The rope climb will be a slower movement where you should get set up and focus before jumping up to the rope. The push up burpees are just like they sound. Do a strict push up every time you drop. The back squats should be heavy and will come from the rack. Try to keep each round around 3 minutes. Putting this workout well below the time cap of 25 minutes.

J-Tab showing a nice front rack position for his squats!

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December 29, 2016

Friday, December 30th 2016

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

New Year’s Eve (Saturday): Regular hours 9, 10 and 11am

New Year’s Day: Modified Open Gym Hours 11a-2p

New Year’s Day Observed (Monday): Modified Schedule. No 5:30/6:30am classes.

9:30am will be the first class!

PARTNER WOD

250 M Row Partner Runs 1 Cove Suicide with Med Ball Switch until as a team you reach 3,000 meters. Rest 1 minute 100 Slam Balls Rest 1 minute 20 Unbroken KB Swings Partner runs 1 Cove Suicide Alternate until as a team you reach 160 KB Swings **For the partner 1 should be done their suicide before partner 2 is done the row or KB Swing. The should have time for a quick rest before switching stations. For the 100 Slam Balls just work as a team to get it done with one person working at a time.

Katie R. showing us how to ‘hang loose’ on the box!

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December 28, 2016

Thursday, December 29th 2016

STRENGTH WOD

Take 15 minutes to find a heavy Thruster

WOD

“Fran” 21-15-9 Pull ups Thrusters

Coach’s Tip: We did “Fran” just over two months ago (10/21 to be exact). For those of you who did it for the first time, we hope you learned a bit of strategy of how to attack it again. And for those of you who haven’t done it yet, PLEASE come in as it is a quintessential benchmark workout! For some reason, when we did it in October, we saw fewer athletes than we normally do, so now’s your chance to come in and get your Fran on! Fran is a SPRINT, so you need to be very efficient on the barbell — most people fear the barbell but it is the pull ups that will get you (so you will need to conserve energy for them). Because the bar is held in the front rack position and it is a difficult position to hold for some, athletes have a tendency to drop the bar to the floor on rest periods. Dropping the bar causes you to lose precious time. Fight the urge to drop it, and get used to taking deep breaths in the rack position when you need to recover. Go for big sets on the pull ups, but when you start to fatigue, quick small sets with very little rest are the way to go!

Brooke Z rocking some box jumps!

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December 26, 2016

Tuesday, December 27th 2016

STRENGTH WOD

EMOM for 8 minutes 3 Power Cleans Fitness: drop each rep RX: Hold onto the bar

WOD

9 Deadlifts 6 Hanging Power Clean 12 Box Jumps 6 Rounds Fitness: 135/95 RX: 155/105 RX+: 175/115

Three men and a baby!!!

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December 25, 2016

Monday, December 26th 2016

OH, WHAT A NIGHT!

Thanks to everyone who turned out for Friday night’s Holiday WOD and Potluck. Congrats to ALL the athletes who tackled it ALL day long and a special thanks to those who came with beer, wine (vodka!) and tons of food. It was an amazing night and a great primer for the holiday week ahead!

We are open with a full regular schedule tomorrow, so let’s get back at it!

SKILL WOD

Floor Press 8/8/8/8 Chin ups 6/6/6/6

WOD

1 Minute at each station: Wall Balls Push Ups Ball Slams Rest 30 Seconds at each station Wall Balls Push Ups Ball Slams Rest x 3 Score = Total Reps

Yet another epic WOD at the Cove!

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December 24, 2016

Sunday, December 25th 2016

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

OPEN GYM 9a – NOON

Come on in and make up a missed WOD, work on some skills or tackle those mobility issues! And of course, get those meters in! The gym will be open from 9a – Noon. Yep, even on Christmas Day!

Nobody works harder or smarter than this guy…

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December 23, 2016

Saturday, December 24th 2016

CHAG URIM SAMEACH!

What a wonderful start to the holiday season… Friday’s Holiday WOD and potluck leading right into the first day of Hanukkah (which is also Christmas Eve!). We hope every one of you, regardless of your religion or lack thereof, has an AMAZING end of year. It’s been a great one for us, and we consider each of of you family! Spend time with your loved ones and revel in all the good you’ve done for yourselves. And help spread that goodness to those around you! We hope to see a lot of you at the gym in the coming days as we OPEN for the holidays!!!

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

Here’s our (slightly) modified holiday schedule (next week through the New Year): Saturday (Christmas Eve): Normal hours: 9, 10 and 11a class Christmas Day – OPEN GYM 9a-Noon December 26 – 30th: Normal hours New Years Eve: Normal hours: 9, 10 and 11a class New Years Day (Sunday) – Delayed Open Gym 11A- 2P

WOD

EMOM for 25 minutes Min 1: 15/12 Cals on the Rower Min 2: 10 Slam Balls Min 3: ___ Rope Climbs Min 4: 2 Cove Suicides Min 5: Rest Fitness: 1 RC RX: 2 RC RX+: 2 RC

Coach’s Tip: We love a good EMOM and here’s why. In case you don’t know what it is, on each scheduled minute, perform the described exercise (EMOM=Every Minute On the Minute). You then rest for the remainder of each minute. When the second minute starts you get back at it again. Repeat this process until the time specified is over. This way of structuring a workout is very intense and time efficient. But the ticking clock could mean you get careless about form (and you know that’s never a good thing). Always complete every repetition correctly and properly, even if it takes longer, and you have less time to rest between each set. EMOM workouts are guided by the clock, which makes them easy to track your pace. You can always see how many seconds you needed for each rep, and determine whether you get faster over time. BUT make sure that there is always a rest break between the last rep and the beginning of each minute. SCALE VOLUME if you are not finding at LEAST 15 seconds (ideally more) of rest before the top of the next minute! The goal is to do fast work, then have a short window of recovery. Sprint, quick rest. Sprint, quick rest.

Poor Ryan W…

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December 22, 2016

Friday, December 18th 2016

IT’S HERE! HOLIDAY WOD AND POTLUCK!

Please join us for the 6:30p Friday class and stick around after for the Holiday WOD and Potluck after! Celebrate the holidays with your Cove Family and get in a great workout! Or, feel free to take an easier class (the same WOD will run all day in regular classes) and come back later for the festivities around 7:30 after the WOD! PLEASE BRING A DISH OR BEVERAGES TO SHARE. There’s nothing worse than an army of hungry athletes with nothing to eat! We want you to come… but please bring something!

For those of you familiar with this tradition, it will be a “12 Days of Christmas WOD”. Like the song the “12 Days of Christmas”, you will complete each exercise in ascending order then work back down to 1, adding one exercise per round. Like this: 1; 2-1; 3-2-1; 4-3-2-1; etc (just like the song) – for a total of 364 reps. Again, All classes Friday will be the “12 Days of Christmas WOD” so if you can’t make it that night, you’ll still be able to tackle this awesome workout!

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

Here’s our (slightly) modified holiday schedule (next week through the New Year): Saturday (Christmas Eve): Normal hours: 9, 10 and 11a class Christmas Day – OPEN GYM XX-XX December 26 – 30th: Normal hours New Years Eve: Normal hours: 9, 10 and 11a class New Years Day (Sunday) – Delayed Open Gym 11A- 2P

WOD

12 Days of Christmas 1 Burpee 2 Toes-to-Bar 3 Kettlebell Swings #53/35 4 Hang Cleans #95/65 5 Push Press 95#/65# 6 Front Squats #95/65 7 Push Ups 8 Sit Ups 9 Wall Balls #20/14 10 Box Jumps 24/20 11 Pull Ups 12 HSPU

30 MINUTE HARD TIME CAP!

Please note it can be completed individually, as a team or scaled in a VARIETY of ways. Talk to your coach about how to scale for your level of fitness… it should be FUN… not brutal!

Fitness: 75/55 (25/26) RX: 95/65 (53/35) Coach’s Tip: We did this same WOD last year on 12/18, so if you were here, check out your times and scales as this will help you with picking out how to tackle this workout. Last year’s times ranged from 22 minutes to 40-ish minutes. We will be doing a HARD stop at 30 minutes, so please pick weights you can move unbroken for every set! This is a great WOD and has tons of movements and is meant to be FUN! For the 6:30p class we will be running more than one heat, so if you can’t get there until 7p, no worries… you can still do it! For the larger evening classes we will set up designated areas for the various equipment so you will need to move from station to station, but it shouldn’t affect your time (trust us, you will want a few seconds rest between movements!)

Warming up for last year’s “12 Days of Christmas” WOD…

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December 20, 2016

Wednesday, December 21st 2016

WEDNESDAY WINS!

Today we celebrate Misa S., a multi-tasking mother of two who seems to be unstoppable. She’s fast, strong and moves beautifully… and now she forever holds the title of being the first women to ever get a ring muscle up here at the Cove!

BUT she started out like most everyone else. She had never done a pull up… never done a double under. But after three years at the CrossFit thing (with a couple of kids in between), you’d never know that. Newer CrossFitters get to experience this wonderful thing called the “PR Honeymoon”. Almost every time you walk into the box you are lifting heavier, crushing benchmark WODs and surprising yourself with what you are capable of. But then that levels out eventually – and you are fighting for a 5lb PR on Clean and Jerk. Some get frustrated by this… others get FOCUSED. While the “PR honeymoon” is over for Misa, she says “I hit them periodically but it’s no longer a common occurrence. At this point, it’s more about tweaking form to make movements better or more efficient. It doesn’t always show on the PR board but I know that I’m constantly trying to improve.”

How does she do it? She sets realistic goals for herself in bite-sized pieces. “I tend to focus on one thing that I’m struggling with at that time. Then I try to set goals and actually work at them.” This is why you’ll see her at the barbell club, drilling technique at open gym and programming her own “Goat WODs” (‘Goats’ are movements that are your weaknesses). That’s how she got so good toes-to-bar and this is how she will continue to increase proficiency in her handstand pushups. It’s already in her plan. People often say “I don’t have time” and somehow that becomes an acceptable excuse. No one has less time than Misa. But she will MAKE the time because she knows it is important for her health (and her sanity). And the result is that, two kids later, “I am approaching 40 and never knew I could do the things I’m doing now. Age should not stop anyone. I think setting small and realistic goals and working towards them – over time (that’s important – this stuff takes time as you know) – is the best way to becoming a better CrossFit athlete. Whatever your situation or perceived limitations, you can set attainable goals and even surprise yourself!” And while she has her hit list of things to tackle, her overall fitness continues to improve. She said “In the Open last year when bar muscle ups came up, couldn’t do them. But I tried last week. And just through consistency and overall conditioning and tried one last week “suddently I could do that”.

And her first one was caught on film!

[video width="360" height="640" m4v="https://www.cove-fitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/IMG_2287.MOV.m4v"][/video] Just like many of us, there were so many things she couldn’t do. She scaled everything. Got stronger. Got those pull-ups. And now has her bar AND ring muscle ups. Just remember (even though it’s hard to believe)…“I started out like everyone else”.

METHOD BEHIND THE MADNESS

As you probably know, we take great pride in the programming here at the Cove. We carefully consider the development of each athlete (and the gym as a whole). We strategically use a combination of movements, time domains and loads to deliver on that CrossFit promise of “constantly varied, functional movements performed at high intensity”. Often times our movements are combined together to give a workout using opposite muscle groups. Think of Fran, for example, a lower body and upper body push (thruster) combined with an upper body pull (pull up). It makes for a deadly combo because you can keep moving through it. You are using opposite muscle groups so your CNS (central nervous system), muscles and cardio get worked. I mean really worked. But today in the skill work today you will see we have an upper body pulling movement paired with another upper body pulling movement. They do not compliment each other like a traditional CF workout. Lets call Fran a “Game Day” workout. The other 90% of workouts should be looked at as practice or training. Think about any other sport, you practice and you play. Think about sports that beat up your body and require an extreme amount of physical endurance and preparation. Football, soccer, skiing, rugby; these athletes practice, practice, practice… then play. It is all about training for game day. In the sport of fitness it is the same thing. Everyday should be looked as practice then one day a 1 RM is programmed, or your favorite workout, or you enter a competition, now it is game day. The skill work today is a small example of a training day, not game day. If we train an upper body pull with a different type of upper body pull we will be much better at this movement pattern. This focused couplet of movements will allow us to get a stronger training effect. The key for this is focusing on form and range of motion. Do not get frustrated if you loose your chin ups and feel stuck at 4 reps. Find a good progression and finish the set. It is all about the long game. Taking small steps each day in route to a higher goal, to a stronger better version of yourself. And thank you for trusting the process!

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

Since so many of you are staying local for the holidays, we have done our best to give you every opportunity to work out. The last thing we want to do is close shop when so many people are off, so we hope you can find lots of opportunity to come in for a WOD (or anything else you want to do to shake off that holiday indulgence): Here’s our *slightly* modified holiday schedule (this week through the New Year): Friday: Regular schedule with special Holiday WOD and Potluck in lieu of 6:30p class Saturday (Christmas Eve): Normal hours: 9, 10 and 11a class (sitter coverage 9a) Christmas Day – OPEN GYM (9a – Noon) December 26 – 30th: Normal hours New Years Eve: Normal hours: 9, 10 and 11a class (sitter coverage 9a) New Years Day (Sunday) – Delayed Open Gym 11A- 2P

STRENGTH WOD

A1) Bent over Barbell Row (overhand grip) 8/8/8/8 A2) Chin ups with a 1 second hold at the top of each rep 8/8/8/8

WOD

Buy In: 50M Farmers Carry (as heavy as possible) 10 Deadlifts 8 Toes to Bar 5 Rounds Cash Out: 50M Foot Farmers Carry (as heavy as possible) Fitness: 185/125 RX: 205/135 RX+: 225/155

Teresa F. is a coach’s dream! She listens to advice, scales appropriately and focuses on form first!

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December 19, 2016

Tuesday, December 20th 2016

MORE SWAG FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

Just as you break in your new hoodies, our new T-Shirts and Tanks have arrived. We’ve got several options for both ladies and gents, so pick up one as a gift for yourself or a loved one!

We’ve got ladies’ racerback tanks in “Scarlet” and scoop-neck cap sleeved T-Shirts in “Charcoal”. Both have the shell and “athlete” printed on the back. Both options are $25. For men, we’ve got two tri-blend options (meaning, ultra soft) in “Cardinal” and in “Charcoal”. They, too, both have the Cove shell and “athlete” printed on the back. Both are $30.

Per usual, just fill out a form in the small green binder on the front desk with what you bought and how you want to pay and we will process it for you. We have a liberal return policy so if you grabbed the wrong size, feel free to bring it back for an exchange!

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

STRENGTH WOD

A1) Front Rack Reverse Lunges 6/6/6/6 A2) Weighted Low Plank (30 second hold) 4 times

WOD

AMRAP in 5 minutes 750/600 M Row Max Effort KB Swings Rest 4 minutes AMRAP in 5 minutes 750/600 M Row Max Effort Double Unders

Coach’s Tip: The goal is to get off the rower as quickly as possible, so approach this as a sprint. You will be fatigued, but try to get right to the next movement. Quick transition out of the rower to the KB or rope will be a must!

He’s only been here a short while, but is crushing it at the Cove. Mohammed is an evening regular…if you haven’t met him yet, introduce yourself when you see him and tell him WELL DONE!

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