WEDNESDAY: Regular schedule but NO 7:30PM class. Sitter coverage 5:30p per usual.
THURSDAY (THANKSGIVING DAY): 10am ONLY. No sitter coverage.
FRIDAY: Noon, 4:30p and 5:30p. Sitter coverage 5:30p per usual.
SATURDAY: Regular schedule. Sitter coverage 9a per usual.
SUNDAY: Regular Open Gym 9a-Noon
Black Friday Sale 11.25-11.27
All men’s T’s and women’s tanks and T’s will be 30% off next Friday (and Sat/Sun) only. If you can’t make it in but want us to hold one, shoot us a note (assuming we have your size).
Coach’s Tip: Technique is key with high rep sets of push press and power cleans. Focus on keeping an upright torso for the push press and keep the bar in contact with your shoulders. For the hang cleans the hook grip is a must to save your grip.
Wodify has made some upgrades to their system that should be helpful to those athletes that are planning on traveling over the holidays. Your wodify account is now linked to your email address instead of your username. This will allow you to login into any gym that uses Wodify and be able to video your performance history and ear PRs across all the gyms you visit.
We know many of you will be traveling over the break and in our minds it’s not cheating on the Cove if you are going to another box in a different zip code.
HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY: Regular schedule but NO 7:30PM class. Sitter coverage 5:30p per usual.
THURSDAY (THANKSGIVING DAY): 10am ONLY. No sitter coverage.
FRIDAY: Noon, 4:30p and 5:30p. Sitter coverage 5:30p per usual.
SATURDAY: Regular schedule. Sitter coverage 9a per usual.
SUNDAY: Regular Open Gym 9a-Noon
Black Friday Sale 11.25-11.27
All men’s T’s and women’s tanks and T’s will be 30% off next Friday (and Sat/Sun) only. If you can’t make it in but want us to hold one, shoot us a note (assuming we have your size).
PARTNER WOD
0-10 Minutes
10 KB Swings
10 Box Jumps
10-15 Minutes
Max Cove Suicides
15-25 Minutes
10 Pull ups
10 Ball Slams
25-30 Minutes
Max Cove Suicides
Score = total reps across all 4 sections
**1 Partner works at a time. 1 Person completes a full round then the next person completes a full round. 1 Person does a suicide then the next person does a suicide. *
Coach’s Tip: Each Cove suicide sprint starts with a high five between partners. You two are in this together.
Hanging out at the rig and doing some presses. Paul K staying tight as drives the bar overhead.
There is a lot happening over the next few weeks and months and want to make sure EVERYONE puts some key dates into their calendars!
Thanksgiving Day WOD 11.24
Gobble Gobble! We hope you take the time to reflect on all you’ve accomplished both here at the box and in your day to day life. We feel so lucky to be surrounded by such driven, caring and supportive people every day we come to the Cove — and this year we are thankful to have each and every one of you as part of this crazy family.
Let’s get together for one big WOD in the morning at 10am (this will be the ONLY class on Thanksgiving) and get that metabolism revved for the damage we’ll do later that day.
There will be NO coverage in the kids room for the 10 AM Class.
Here is the complete modified holiday schedule:
WEDNESDAY: Regular schedule but NO 7:30PM class. Sitter coverage 5:30p per usual.
THURSDAY (THANKSGIVING DAY): 10am ONLY. No sitter coverage.
FRIDAY: Noon, 4:30p and 5:30p. Sitter coverage 5:30p per usual.
SATURDAY: Regular schedule. Sitter coverage 9a per usual.
SUNDAY: Regular Open Gym 9a-Noon
Black Friday Sale 11.25-11.27
All men’s T’s and women’s tanks and T’s will be 30% off next Friday (and Sat/Sun) only. If you can’t make it in but want us to hold one, shoot us a note (assuming we have your size).
The 100,000 Meter Holiday Challenge
You have the day AFTER Thanksgiving (November 25th) until Saturday, December 31st to accumulate 100,000 M on the Erg (rower).
Slap your name on the front Whiteboard under 100,000 meter challenge and you are in! You can do the math on your own, but it is a healthy amount of meters per day (average of 2,700 per day). You can chip in any increments you’d like. Any rowing we do in WODs counts to your total. Your only requirement is to update your total meters on the whiteboard as you make progress.
Why are doing this? Because strength doesn’t come from what you can do. Strength comes from overcoming the things you thought you couldn’t. And a little extra work over the holiday does a body good. Plus we will be making a donation on behalf of everyone who participates toThe Community of Strength Project.
Second annual Holiday WOD and Potluck 12.23 at 6:30P
In lieu of the regular 6:30pm class we will be holding our annual Holiday WOD and Potluck. For those of you who are on the blog awaiting the workout every night at 8p (or who did this last year), we CAN tell you that this one 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 – for a total of 364 reps. But of course we won’t reveal ALL of it. The movements will be a secret and taunt you for the next month — just like that wrapped present you’re not allowed to touch until the big day!
Saturday February 18th will be our 2-Year Anniversary Bash!
It is hard to believe but we will be celebrating two years and to mark the occasion we will be throwing a party on Saturday evening from 7p – 10p (or later??). This will not incorporate a WOD, so doll yourselves up and show your fellow athletes what you REALLY look like outside in the real world. More details to come, but this will be an adult-only evening, so line up those sitters and get ready for a really fun night.
STRENGTH WOD
Back Squats 8/6/4/4/4
Then Take 60% of your 4 Rep Max and do as many reps as possible in 1 minute
Rest 1 Minute
Then Take 40% of your 4 Rep Max and do as many reps as possible in 1 minute
WOD
5 Power Cleans
5 Bar facing Burpees
5 min AMRAP
Fitness: 95/65
RX: 115/75
RX+: 135/95
Coach’s Tip: The first piece should take about 20 minutes to complete, so think of this more of a ‘lifting day’. It will be good endurance work for our 10 rep back squat cycle we are currently in. The second piece is an all out sprint. Start fast and finish fast!
In the spirit of Throwback Thursday, here’s a shot of Katie R. from last year’s Holiday WOD…
Today we shine a light on Nassim E., one of our most committed athletes here at the Cove. Nassim came to us as part of our first six-week challenge and hasn’t missed a beat since. When she started this journey, most would have described her as “thin” and “in shape”… but she knew she could be so much more fit and strong — and made it her mission to be so.
A lifelong athlete, she knew what her body was capable of, but it took a backseat in her adult life of parenting, jobs and ‘grown up’ responsibilities. Getting into CrossFit reminded her of her days in team sports and she thrived from day one.
But a few months ago, she had a “setback”. Years of competitive volleyball and overuse of her shoulder reared it’s ugly head and caused her should pain while lifting. Injuries happen… and often times, we don’t know that they existed for YEARS — until we start to challenge our abilities. But in typical Nassim fashion, she turned this “setback” into a growth opportunity.
She is the example of how to do everything “right” while recovering. She did PT. She focused on her mobility. She continued to come to Cove to keep her routine and scaled EVERYTHING. In her words, “Nowhere else would tailor and adjust every single workout, with coaches that are so supportive and patient and that push me appropriately and LISTEN”. We appreciate her saying this, but she’s the one who put in the REAL work.
As she said “With any other sport I played (volleyball, tennis, soccer) this injury would have meant that I had to sit out while I rehabbed. Not CrossFit! I’m able to come in at my regular time and participate in each workout in my own way. I’m still able to log my scores and track my progress. I’m able to continue making gains and meeting goals (full squat depth, 53# kb squat, easily do GHDs without swinging my shoulders, etc.) while doing my PT exercises. I’m incredibly thankful to be around a community that encourages me and supports me in a way that is unlike any other team or gym I’ve ever experienced.“
In a world of very little “ME time”, she relies on this community and this place to satisfy that need. She says “it’s a gift I cherish”. We think she’s the gift.
Here’s a ‘before’ and ‘after’. Day one at the Cove vs. month 6. Damn girl.
STRENGTH WOD
EMOM for 8 minutes 1 Power Snatch + 1 Hanging Power Snatch + 1 Overhead Squat
WOD
25 Pull Ups20 Ring Dips15 Power Snatch 10 Overhead Squats2 Rounds15 Minute Time CapFitness: (95/65) RX: (115/75) RX+: (135/95) (chest to bar)
Coach’s Tip: Build up in load on the strength portion and use it has a good warm up. You should be hitting more weight then you attempt in the Metcon. Be sure to have your shoulders warm and primed for the workout so continue to stretch in between your sets. Using an empty bar or a PVC pipe for OHS is totally fine. Good range of motion and solid position is more important than load.
The generosity of this community never ceases to amaze us. From people buying water bottles for people who forget them to offering to fold towels to restocking beer when we let it run low. What?! Go to a restaurant and tell them you really liked the meal and you want to wash the dishes. Or maybe set the table for the next guest. They will look at you like you have six heads. But here these kinds of gestures happen all the time. For that, we are eternally grateful.
A few weeks ago one of awesome athletes, Brent L. brought up that he builds satellites (yes, that’s right) and can do great fabrications with metals. In the same conversation we had talked about how our entrance sign “the best part of your day starts now” was just a temporary one. And we put it up with crappy sticker letters because we wanted to ‘live with it’ for a while and see if it felt right. It did. It does. It feels really right. We see people walk in the box and touch it like it’s for good luck or some kind of stadium ritual. We LOVE this. But every time we think to ourselves “those stickers might just rubbed off” or “uh oh, would it be BAD luck if a letter fell down?!”
The next day Brent and Travis (another awesome athlete here at the Cove) started scheming. And they asked for our logo. And our font. And then this happened…
This new sign is going up tonight (and of course is being hung by Brent and Travis). This line has always meant a lot to us… and now suddenly it means so much more. Thank you Brent. Thank you Travis. And thank you to EVERYONE at the Cove for making this such a special place.
STRENGTH WOD
Bulgarian Split Squats- 6 per leg (go heavy)
RDLs- 6 (go light, and focus on using the hamstrings)
3 Rounds
Coach’s Tip: The split squats and RDLs are a great compliment to our back squat cycle. In the WOD think about how you would attack these same movements with their different rep schemes. How does that change your plan? While the time domains are the same, the approach will likely be very different. It is only a minute of rest, so savor every second and pre-think your strategy!
Snatch work must run in the family. Scott W. showing great position; weight on the heels, tucked in rib cage, full extension, head through the ‘window’ and straight wrists. Great job from top to bottom!
A week ago we asked for hand raisers for a sweatshirt order and got an OVERWHELMING response! Given so many said “yes”, I want to CONFIRM who really wants them (vs. “yeah, I like ’em”). With that said, there are FOUR ways to let me know YOUR SIZE and THAT YOU ARE COMMITTING so we can guarantee a) you will get one and b) it is the right size! Final order will be made THURSDAY, 11/17.
1. Sign up on the Google Doc spreadsheetHERE.2. On Facebook you can direct message me with your size and if you want to be charged to your Wodify account when they come in. 3. You can email me at marina@cove-fitness.com with your size and if you want to be charged to your Wodify account when they com in. 4. You can sign up (old school style) to the white board by the sample size table at the gym. Yes, we have samples of almost every size — so grab one, slip it on and find the one that works for you. Then just fill out the form attached to the upper right corner!
SKILL WOD
For 12 minutes Minute 1: 8-12 Toes to barMinute 2: 6 Single Arm KB Row (use a bench or box) Minute 3: 3 Inch Worms (hold bottom for 5 seconds)
WOD
20/15 Cal Row15 Sit Ups10 Shoulder to Overhead 4 RoundsFitness: 95/65RX: 135/95RX+: 165/110
15 Min Time Cap
Coach’s Tip: Pick a weight that you can do the first round unbroken with (or close to it). After that you should be doing at least sets of 3. You can get it overhead any way you’d like, but we highly recommend you Jerk it from the beginning (even if you can push press that weight). It will save your shoulders for when you’ll REALLY need it in the fourth round! The row should be fast and recover during your sit ups. Throw those arms to not just help with momentum on the sit up, but to shake off the shoulders to get them ready for the barbell.
Coach Chris working some Squat Therapy with the evening class…
Yep, that’s the name of the first team that signed up for the Gemini Games! Liz Barr and Angela Davis are gonna rock the F/F scaled Division. Coach Marina and Old Man Michelotti will be competing in the Masters RX division and Kim M. and Coach Brian are hitting the M/F Scaled division. Let’s get signed up people!
For those of you that missed last nights post the Gemini Games is a PARTNER ONLY competition on January 14th and 15th. http://www.titancompetitions.net/gemini-games. We love this competition because it offers a WIDE variety of divisions and pairings (and you only compete on ONE day, not both). Saturday is the ‘same gender pairings’ and Sunday is the ‘mixed gender’ pairings.
Saturday, January 14th
Men/Men Elite
Men/Men RX
Men/Men Scaled
Female/Female RX
Female/Female Scaled
Sunday, January 15th
Men/Women RX
Men/Women Scaled
Men/Women Masters RX (40+)
Men/Women Masters Scaled (40+)
The best way to decide if you should go Elite, RX or Scaled is to consider what you do on a day to day basis here at the Cove. Can you perform most of the Girls or Hero WOD’s as Rx’d or do you scale? This would be a good indicator of what level you are. No minimum standards will be given. To check out last years WOD’s click here!
Another great competition is the Battle of Baltimore! It is a thrown-down hosted by our very own Geo Rockwell at CrossFit Federal Hill. It is a THREE person SAME GENDER team format and will be held on January 28th. We had NUMEROUS Cove athletes participate in this last year and they all had a blast. Standards are not yet released, but here are the workouts from last year:
We will post more information as it become available!
SKILL WOD
Spend 10 minutes working on Double Unders
WOD
5 Hanging Power Cleans 7 Sit Ups9 Ball Slams 7 Rounds Fitness: 115/75 (14 Sit ups)RX: 135/95 (7 GHD Sit ups)RX+: 155/105 (7 GHD Sit ups)12 Minute Cap
Coach’s Tip: Attack this WOD in bite-sized pieces. It is a small volume of reps for each movment, so challenge yourself! And just because you challenge yourself on one thing, doesn’t mean you have to hit them all that way. For example, if you are a guy who can thinks they can gut through the 5 Cleans at 135 but it will leave you gassed, do regular sit ups as your ‘rest’. And if the barbell is easy for you but you don’t hit the GHD often, today’s your day. With a 12 minute time cap you’ll have to find a combination that lets you move FAST (less than 90 seconds per round). Play around with the pieces and find a scheme that works for YOU!
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in the First World War, then known as “the Great War.” Commemorated as Armistice Day beginning the following year, November 11th became a legal federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became Veterans Day, a holiday dedicated to American veterans of all wars.
Not only is today a day to recognize all American servicemen and servicewomen, we would like to take a moment toespecially thank our MANY Cove athletes who have served (and are currently serving) this country. We are forever grateful for what you do.
COMPETITION TIME!
Many of you got the taste of what a competition is about at the Clash of the Cove, and now its time to think about hitting one outside the box! There are two competitions coming up and we would LOVE to have Cove representation at both of them!
The Gemini Games is a PARTNER ONLY competition on January 14th and 15th. http://www.titancompetitions.net/gemini-games. We love this competition because it offers a WIDE variety of divisions and pairings (and you only compete on ONE day, not both). Saturday is the ‘same gender pairings’ and Sunday is the ‘mixed gender’ pairings. Coach Marina and Old Man Michelotti will be competing in the Masters RX division and Kim M. and Coach Brian are hitting the M/F Scaled division (both on Sunday). We’d LOVE to have a big group representing!
Saturday, January 14th
Men/Men Elite
Men/Men RX
Men/Men Scaled
Female/Female RX
Female/Female Scaled
Sunday, January 15th
Men/Women RX
Men/Women Scaled
Men/Women Masters RX (40+)
Men/Women Masters Scaled (40+)
The best way to decide if you should go Elite, RX or Scaled is to consider what you do on a day to day basis here at the Cove. Can you perform most of the Girls or Hero WOD’s as Rx’d or do you scale? This would be a good indicator of what level you are. No minimum standards will be given. To check out last years WOD’s click here!
The Battle of Baltimore is a thrown-down hosted by our very own Geo Rockwell at CrossFit Federal Hill. It is a THREE person team format and will be held on January 28th. We had NUMEROUS Cove athletes participate in this last year and they all had a blast. Standards are not yet released, but here are the workouts from last year:
We will post more information as it become available!
PARTNER WOD
100 Cal Row 100 Deadlifts 80 Cal Row 80 Front Squats 60 Cal Row 60 Push JerkFitness: 95/65RX: 115/75RX+: 135/95
Coach’s Tip: Both partners are working at the same time. As a team, you must complete each section before moving on. One partner starts rowing and one partner starts deadlifting and you can switch whenever you want. If the deadlifts are done first the partners must wait until the row is done to move onto front squats.
Trevor has been working on full hip extension before dropping under the bar and bending his elbows on his Snatch. It’s clear hard work pays off!
There’s only one spot left for the barbell club! If you’ve been on the fence, now’s your time to go for it! As a reminder it will run Tuesday and Friday evenings from 6:30 PM to 7:30/7:45 PM. The cost is $100 for Cove Members (Non Members $200).
The course will run for 6 weeks. It will start on November 15th and last for 6 weeks. Each class will be focused on training and developing the technique around the two Olympic lifts, the Clean and Jerk and the Snatch. Email us at info@CrossFitCove to reserve your spot.
PISTOLS!
We were blown away with all of the athletes that did pistols (or a version of them) in Wednesday’s WOD. It is a highly skilled movement and it was the first time we’ve ever done them in a workout and you guys CRUSHED IT!. CrossFit’s guiding principal it that we want to be ‘generalists’ and we specialize in ‘not specializing’. Given that we’re always working on our squats and our mobility, balance, etc…you were well prepared for this movement. But it is still just amazing that so many people did them for the first time. It shows that this crazy thing we do called CrossFit actually works! For those of you who did not make it in, talk to a coach and we’ll help you with them (or progressions to get there!).
STRENGTH WOD
8 Ring Rows into 8 Ring Push Ups x 4Or 20 Ring Muscle Ups
WOD
10 Burpee Box Jumps20 KB Swings30 Double Unders4 Rounds20 Minute Time Cap FX: 35/26RX: 53/35RX+: 70/53
Coach’s Tip: If you have doubles at ALL we want you to try them in this WOD. 30 might be a big number if you are new to them, so pick a number that is manageable for you in around a minute and set that as a goal for yourself each round. The KB weight should be something that you can at least do in sets of 10. This is the kind of workout where you need to pace yourself and just keep moving!
Ashley D. has made such progress since she’s been at the Cove. And now with less work travel, expect to see more of her and even more gains!
Today we shine the spotlight inward and celebrate our very own Coach Brittany. Many of you know her from leading great classes or through F.L.E.X. Nutrition, but because she is one of the most humble people out there, we want to shout from the rooftops about her own personal accomplishments on her behalf!
Coach Brittany and her three-woman team just qualified for Wodapalooza! For those of you who don’t know what this is, it is a three day CrossFit competition in Miami for elite level athletes. A) it is a VERY big deal and b) it attract’s the world’s best, so the competition is FIERCE to even qualify (top 30 teams in each division are invited to compete).
Some of you might look at Brittany and think, “I’m not surprised. She’s a beast”. Yes, that’s true. But that wasn’t always the case. Most of us assume that when you see someone fit they were always that way (and maybe even resented them a bit). But you have no idea journey they may have been on. Brittany’s journey is an amazing one (and she has had so many struggles we can all relate to), so it’s no surprise she is an inspiration to so many. It certainly isn’t easy… and it takes a LOT of work… but she is proof that anything is possible when you put your mind to it.
She was not born a naturally gifted athlete nor blessed with the genetic make up of a six pack. She never played sports and couldn’t hang from a bar for ten seconds. For most of her life, she struggled with her weight, her body image and her eating… and tried every trick in the book to “fix it”. But the struggle was real and not going away.
In 2011 she discovered CrossFit and for her, it refined ‘beauty’ and what it meant to be ‘skinny’. She shifted the lens through which she viewed herself. She focused on the weight she added to the barbell vs the weight that appeared on the scale.
She cleaned up her eating and started fueling her body with the nutrients it needed (in fact, she’s now built a business off of this simple principle!). And while she’s a beast for sure, she’s not a machine. She is human. She might have too many drinks on a night out. She might fall face first into a Ben and Jerry’s pint on occasion. But she realizes that 1) life IS about balance and 2) you just have to get back on track before you derail.
Brittany is an experienced CrossFitter by almost any definition. She’s far past that “CrossFit Honeymoon” where every day is a PR, yet she is proof the romance doesn’t have to end. Even at an elite level, her growth is staggering. She went into this past year’s Open without bar muscle ups and got her first in that workout. And then proceeded to hit four rounds of them. She is a regular person doing exceptional things. Scratch that — she is an exceptional person doing things a “regular person” can do — with a lot of work and heart. And we couldn’t be prouder of her.
STRENGTH WOD
1 Minute at each stationHollow hold (15 seconds on 15 seconds off)Bench OH Stretch (stretch for 1 minute)Scap Push ups (shoot for 15 reps)2 rounds
WOD
6 Power Cleans
12 Toes to Bar
1 Rope Climb
12 PistolsAMRAP 12 minutesFitness: (95/65) RX: (115/75) RX+: (135/95)
Coach’s Tip: Worry less about the clock and focus more on the SKILL involved in today’s workout. Pistols should be alternating (so 6 per leg) and you should strive for big pulls on the rope to cover a lot of distance. If it normally takes you 4 or 5 pulls, shoot for 3-4. The coaches will cover lots of scaling options for those new to these movements and give good tips to those more proficient to move efficiently!
This is not an optical illusion. Taylan, at full extension, practically reaches the ceiling!
She cleaned up her eating and started fueling her body with the nutrients it needed (in fact, she’s now built a business off of this simple principle!). And while she’s a beast for sure, she’s not a machine. She is human. She might have too many drinks on a night out. She might fall face first into a Ben and Jerry’s pint on occasion. But she realizes that 1) life IS about balance and 2) you just have to get back on track before you derail.
