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September 27, 2016

Wednesday, September 28th 2016

WEDNESDAY WINS! We love to celebrate the ‘wins’ of our athletes (both big and small) but we especially love when these wins affect life OUTSIDE the box. Today we celebrate Robyn Z, who continually improves her fitness by working hard, attending regularly, taking rest days when needed and always putting form first.

Some of you might not know she is Air Force, but you probably DO know that this means she HAS to maintain a level of fitness for her job (not just for her life). Well, she’s doing a GREAT job at both!

In addition to her service with the US Air Force she is also a mother of two great boys. Part of her military responsibility is to regularly participate in PT (which is tested regularly). Not only do you need to meet a minimum threshold with these tests but reaching high level or preparedness is important to her job and advancing within her career. Robyn just took her PT test on Monday and killed it with a 95.5%.

They test many body weight movements, running endurance and also check your weight and waist circumference. Robyn actually weighed the exact same weight but her measurements were much better! Just goes to show you that the scale does not tell the whole story.

One of the big parts of the test most dread is the timed 1 1/2 run. In the past she has had another person to pace against, but this time she didn’t have a rabbit to chase. She ended up just doing her thing and trying her best… and surprised herself as she kept passing most of the 20 year old men. Not only did she finish in the top of the field, she ended up completing the run and realized that she wasn’t even really tired. Great job Robyn and thank you so much for your service to this country and for being a driving force here at the Cove!

FRESH START CHALLENGE

STRENGTH WOD

Work up to a heavy set of 3 Push Press

WOD

“TABATA FUN”

(20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest for 8 rounds each)

Wall Balls Ab Mat Situps Box Jumps/Stepups

What the heck is a Tabata? And why do we love them? There are lots of reasons, but most experts agree that these four are the top benefits:

BURN FAT

Tabata training will raise your metabolism and heart rate in no time. Because you are going at such a high level of intensity, your body has to work much harder to keep up. Your metabolism will stay at a high not only during the workout, but after the workout as well. This means that your body will be burning fat even when you aren’t doing anything.

PROTECTS MUSCLE TISSUE

With the short amount of time that it takes to get a good workout, you won’t be eating away at any muscle tissue as you might during long duration workouts. It places immediate stress on muscle tissue, which tells your body that more muscle tissue is needed. As a result, the ratio of your lean body mass to fat goes up, and by choosing exercises that maximize the muscle mass worked, muscle tissue may increase.

SHORT ON TIME

No matter how busy you are, all it takes is four to eight minutes of this high intensity workout to get a great workout in. The availability of this workout is time saving in itself, as you can ‘tabata’ many movements (they are GREAT for travel WODs!) All you need is your own body weight for many of these!f

AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC CAPACITIES INCREASE

The anaerobic capacity, which represents the maximum amount of energy that can be produced by our body in the absence of oxygen, and the aerobic capacity (the maximum oxygen uptake capacity) are both increased. According to recent studies, participants who underwent a Tabata sprint training had their aerobic capacity increased by over 14% and a 28% increase in their body’s anaerobic capacity.

COVE SKILL WOD

For 8 minutes:

Min 1: 1 Turkish Get Up on each arm

Min 2: 20 Banded Pull Aparts

WOD

800 Run

10 Strict Press

80 Double Unders

1 Round

400 M Run

10 Push Press

40 Double Unders

2 Rounds

200 M Run

10 Push Jerks

20 Double Unders

3 Rounds

Fitness: 95/65

RX: 115/75

RX+: 135/95

22 min Time Cap

Coach’s Tip: Today will be heavy on the shoulders so if you are having any issues, talk to the Coach and we can scale appropriately! Try to stick with the same weight for each movement; while the jerks will be ‘easier’ at the end, you will be fatigued so it will be more challenging than you think!

Brianna looking great during a BIG set of swings!

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September 26, 2016

Tuesday, September 27th 2016

SIGN UP FOR CLASH AT THE COVE! Don’t forget to sign up for our Second Annual Clash at the Cove on October 15th! If you are new to CrossFit, new to the Cove or have never competed before, PLEASE SIGN UP! This is meant to be a friendly and fun day, and even if you think you can’t handle all the standards we outlined, you can STILL SCALE MORE. You just won’t be able to “podium” if you don’t do the workouts as prescribed, but you can still join in the fun. We promise, it will be a blast!! REMINDER: LAST FAMILY CLASS SUNDAY AT NOON! Sunday will wrap the last in our CrossFit Family series of classes. It has been so much fun so far and we’ve had numerous families participate. We’d love to have more of you come try it out (and if you’re an experienced family, come on back)!

STRENGTH WOD Back Squat 6/6/6/6 (all at 70%) WOD 1,000 M Row 50 Sit ups 25 Hanging Power Cleans Fitness: 115/75 RX: 155/105 RX+: 175/120 12 min Time Cap Coach’s Tip: PACE YOURSELF on the row. If you come out of the gates too strong you’ll be sorry when you get to the cleans. The bar should be fairly challenging to begin with, but it will feel even more so after a long row. Consider rowing at a lower damper setting than usual to save your legs and allow for smoother strokes and easier pulls.

Team Farley looking fierce on KB Swings this weekend.

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September 25, 2016

Monday, September 26th 2016

REST DAYS ARE THE BEST DAYS As we head into another week of fun and challenging WODs (and based on a lot of chatter last week about listening to your body) we thought this blog entry from Coach Mike is just too perfect and needs to be shared. We know it is common to read a workout and say “wow, that sounds awesome and I HAVE to do it”… or “wow, that workout has my weaknesses in it and I NEED to work on them”, but at some point you need to say “nope. I’m taking a rest day.” Coach Mike beautifully captures how you should approach this important, yet sometimes VERY difficult decision!

“Rest Days are the Best Days”

One of the hardest concepts to grasp for a CrossFitter, especially a beginner, is the elusive Rest Day. At first glance, it seems counter-productive. I mean, you’re constantly improving and getting better every time you come into the box. Why would you stop? The short answer is because your body needs you to.

Active Recovery vs. “Be the Cat”

In my experience, there are two types of rest days: Active Recovery days and “Be the Cat” days. Let’s start with the latter because it’s my favorite and, if you click the link, there’s a funny picture of a kitty at the end. Be the Cat. I’m not going to claim this as my own but I loved it from the first time I read it 3 years ago, so hop over here to read: http://www.defiancegym.com/articles/be-the-cat/ If you didn’t click the link, then let me briefly summarize. Take a day off…from everything. Relax on the couch, watch a movie, play some video games, read a book, whatever. Don’t come to the box for 1 day (it still pains me to say that) and let your body recover from all of your hard work. For one day, don’t lift, don’t WOD, don’t do burpees (I shouldn’t have to tell you this), and just be the cat. When should you be the cat? These can be planned or unplanned rest days, which we’ll get to later, so use them to your advantage and enjoy them. Sometimes you can plan ahead when you know you’re going to be working out for countless days on end, but other times you can just feel that your body needs it. Regardless, you need to learn to listen to your body. Most grizzled CrossFitters talk at great lengths about listening to their body. We’re not some kind of magical wizards or great spiritual beings that can “sense” a disturbance to our chi. We simply know what over-training feels like. Now, unfortunately, not every rest day can be a “Be the Cat” kind of day. Most rest days, I suggest doing some sort of active recovery. Whether it’s going on a light run, doing a light row, or doing some light mobility. Notice the one word that’s in each of those activities? LIGHT. By light, I mean don’t go anywhere near 100% effort. All I want you to do is move around a little bit, so get out and have some fun. Get outside, go for a bike ride, play with your kids, #bemorehuman…whatever activity you decide, it should leave you feeling energized, not depleted. Yes, you can come into the box for an active recovery rest day, but don’t give into the temptation of your friends or the WOD. This is your time and you are on your schedule. If you can’t think of anything to do, ask a coach!

Planned vs. Unplanned

If you’re as calculated/detailed/neurotic as me, you have all of your rest days planned out for the entire month. Think I’m kidding? Ask Lyndsey and she will show you my spreadsheet. We try to drive home this concept with CrossFit’s recommended workout schedule of 3 days on and 1 day off, and then repeat. The only problem with this is a little thing called life. Sometimes kids get sick, sometimes we get sick, sometimes <insert anything that’s guaranteed to happen in life here>. Just remember that you may have to adjust those planned rest days for the following week(s). Life happens and that’s a good thing. You also have to be reasonable and understand that some days are harder than others. Maybe you just fought through a Hero WOD on a Saturday and then got talked into something crazy like “Karen” at Open Gym on Sunday. Your body is likely wrecked but your scheduled rest day isn’t until Tuesday! Adjust. Take a day off if you need it and most importantly, listen to your body. Unplanned rest days are the epitome of “listening to your body.” On the flip side, don’t take an unplanned rest day because of general soreness. Learn to train sore. Odds are that once that clock starts beeping, that soreness magically goes away. Remember that this lifestyle you’ve chosen isn’t a short-term fix. All of us have tried cutting corners in fitness (damn you Shake Weight!) or nutrition and look how far it got you. You’re in this for the long haul. If you miss a WOD, so what? There’s another one tomorrow. Take care of your body. Cherish your rest days. Meow. -Coach Mike FRESH START CHALLENGE SKILL WOD Double Unders WOD 300M Row “Buy In” 5 Push Ups 15 KB Swings 15 Double Unders (or 30 Singles)

12 Minute AMRAP

COVE SKILL WOD Spend 10-15 minutes working on Kipping and Pull Up progressions. During the skill work stop every 3-4 minutes for 5 I’s, Y’s and T’s. – “Stick to the basics and when you feel you’ve mastered them its time to start over again. This time paying closer attention.” This quote resonated with us as it is a good reminder to wrap your head around honing the “basics”. 10 minutes could be spend on kipping, kipping pull up progressions and kipping pull ups. WOD “14.1” 30 Double Unders 15 Power Snatches 10 min AMRAP Fitness 45/35 RX and RX+ 75/55

Coach’s Tip: This is a re-test from May 20th. The weight is should be something light and something you an move in BIG sets early on! If you are new to doubles, consider scaling the volume as you don’t want to spend much more than a minute on each round on the rope.

Look up “adorable CrossFit chick” in the dictionary, and you’ll find this. Here’s Yessica in pigtails, high socks and rocking a Snatch like nobody’s business!

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September 25, 2016

Monday September 26th, 2016

SKILL WOD Spend 10-15 minutes working on Kipping and Pull Up progressions. During the skill work stop every 3-4 minutes for 5 I’s, Y’s and T’s. – “Stick to the basics and when you feel you’ve mastered them its time to start over again. This time paying closer attention.” This quote resonated with us as it is a good reminder to wrap your head around honing the “basics”. 10 minutes could be spend on kipping, kipping pull up progressions and kipping pull ups. WOD “14.1” 30 Double Unders 15 Power Snatches 10 min AMRAP Fitness 45/35 RX and RX+ 75/55

You might recognize him from the Men’s Challenge Video, but Kevin R. has quickly become regular and is CRUSHING IT! Say hi to him and welcome him “officially” to the Cove!

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September 24, 2016

Sunday, September 25th 2016

OPEN GYM 9A-NOON As always, we’ll be open for play time! Come on in and make up a missed WOD, mobilize or do some active recovery. Or maybe do a run through of a Charm City Throwdown WOD with a fellow competitor?!

Here’s Coach Marina setting a TERRIBLE example of how to keep score during Friday’s Partner WOD.

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September 23, 2016

Saturday, September 24th 2016

STRENGTH WOD Sumo Deadlift 3/3/3/3/3 WOD 21 KB Swings 9 Handstand Push ups 1 Rope Climb 4 Rounds Fitness: 35/26 RX: 53/35 RX+: 70/53

Coach’s Tip: We will have plenty of scales for HSPU and rope climbs, so don’t worry if you don’t have them. Plus, it’s a GREAT time to play around with (and work on!) these fun skills.

You might recognize him from the Men’s Challenge Video, but Kevin R. has quickly become regular and is CRUSHING IT! Say hi to him and welcome him “officially” to the Cove!

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September 22, 2016

Friday, September 23rd 2016

SHOP TONIGHT AT ROADRUNNER SPORTS!

A final reminder that all Cove athletes (and friends and family) are invited to RoadRunner Sports (by Costco and Trader Joe’s) to enjoy 20% discounts and some food and drinks from 6 – 8pm Friday night. If you want to make a night of it, hit the shopping spree and then come back here for a beer and cheer on the Fresh Start women at the 7:45 class. Or come say hi as they sample some paleo grub after class (as their official 30 Day Paleo Eating Challenge starts Monday!).

TWO MORE FAMILY CLASSES TO GO!

We loved seeing so many families on Sunday and hope we get to see more turn out this Saturday for our next CrossFit Family Class! As a reminder, the remaining classes will be at: SATURDAY, September 24th at Noon SUNDAY, October 2nd at Noon FRESH START CHALLENGE STRENGTH WOD Review “Bracing Sequence” Find a Heavy 3-Rep Hanging Power Clean WOD Four Rounds of the Following (:45 of work, :15 rest/transition) Row for Calories Goblet Squats Sit Ups COVE PARTNER WOD 10 min AMRAP Max 400 M Runs (switch on and off) 8 min AMRAP 10 Box Jumps 10 Power Snatch (one partner completes a round then the next partner completes a round) FITNESS: 75/55 RX: 95/65 6 min AMRAP Max Wall Balls 4 min AMRAP Max Ball Slams (must be caught on one bounce to count) Score = total reps across all four AMRAPS (count 400 M Runs as 10 reps)

Coach’s Tip: In the longer AMRAPs you will have a lot of rest, so really go hard then slow that heart rate down while your partner works. As the time domains diminish, so will your rest. There’s no shame in telling your partner to SLOW DOWN!

Allie B. was the only woman to RX+ Wednesday’s heavy Clean WOD. Making 155lbs look easy… she is truly amazing…

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September 21, 2016

Thursday, September 22nd 2016

TWO MORE FAMILY CLASSES TO GO!

We loved seeing so many families on Sunday and hope we get to see more turn out this Saturday for our next CrossFit Family Class! As a reminder, the remaining classes will be at: SATURDAY, September 24th at Noon SUNDAY, October 2nd at Noon As a reminder, these workouts are designed as “partner WODs” where you work out with your child. If you have more than one child, that’s ok… we can work in teams of three (or feel free to bring another adult partner). We typically do fun warmups, some skill work, a work out and a game. While you will get a sweat in, it won’t come with the same “pain cave” feeling of a regular METCON. Ideal ages for our ‘lil beasts is 5 – 10… but if you think your older or younger one will enjoy it, great! Since it is Partner WOD, you’ll be able to assist (or challenge) your child as appropriate for THEM!

COVE SKILL WOD

3 Rounds 1 Min couch stretch (:30 each leg) 1 Min Plank (or as long as possible) 50 M KB Overhead walk. (1 Kb in each hand, arms locked out elbows extended)

COVE WOD

30 Deadlifts 30 Pull ups 30 Front Squats 30 Pull ups 30 Push Jerks Fitness: 95/65 RX: 135/95 RX+: 155/105

Coach’s Tip: Who doesn’t love a good chipper! Try to pace yourself and handle the volume in bit sized pieces. Don’t think of it as 150 reps, just chip away the 30 at a time. Try to hit a big set for the first set of each movement (at least 10). If you are doing singles or really small sets out of the gate, we will ask you to scale back the weight!

Check Meeeoooowwwwtttt! Meet the quickest cat at the Cove. If you haven’t seen Joe T. drop below the bar, you’re missing out!

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September 20, 2016

Wednesday, September 21st 2016

WEDNESDAY WINS!

We love celebrating the wins of our athletes whether it is a new PR set or a personal goal accomplished outside the box. Today we celebrate one our harderst working athletes, Ashley C. She is also a ‘graduate’ of the Fresh Start Challenge and has been committed to her health and fitness since she walked through our doors. And while she continually inspires ALL of us, we hope the ladies of this Fresh Start challenge see where this journey can take them!

Last week at lunch she went dress shopping. She, like many of us have done, was procrastinating — because when you don’t feel good about yourself it’s just not “fun” to shop. It’s easy to push aside or forget all the hard work you’ve been doing and realize that changes ARE happening. Well, this is exactly what happened to her. She kept reaching for larger sizes, as she was accustomed. And she kept having to go smaller and smaller! She said to us “It was literally the best feeling to drop down to a size small and question if I should go down another size!”

She says she’s still not at her ideal “body image” (we think she’s nuts) but says this has been her most favorite journey. And there’s always a common credit to these successes. She said “I wouldn’t have been possible with out the Challenge and the rest of the Cove crew”. As we always say, it IS about you, but it takes about ALL of us. Thank you, Ashley, for sharing this. And thank you all the athletes at the Cove for your unwavering support!

SIGN UP FOR CLASH AT THE COVE!

We are slowly seeing names added to the White Board at the gym… but come on people! This is a GREAT way to test your own limits and stretch a little outside your comfort zone. BUT, you can do it in a completely SAFE and FUN environment! If you’re still uncertain about whether or not this is something you can do, here are last year’s workouts. If you think you could do any of these WODs, you should be signing up!!!!

2015 WODS

WORKOUT 1: “Race to the Rope”

Clock will be set for 11 minutes. In 11 minutes the athlete must complete the following tasks:

Part I: 500 Meter Row (400M for Women), 400 Meter Run, 2 Rounds

Your score will be the time to complete the workout.

Part II: With the remaining time the RX division will attempt to get as many double unders until the clock runs out. For the scaled division – max unbroken single under in the remaining time.

The entire event will be weighted with Part I having twice the value of Part II

WORKOUT 2: “Dance with the Devil”

6 Thrusters at RX 95/65lbs, Scaled 75/55

6 Burpees Over the Bar

6 Pull Ups RX, Jumping Pull Ups Scaled

8 Minute AMRAP

WORKOUT 3: Clean and Jerk Ladder. One minute to successfully lift the following weights. Your score will be the heaviest weight you achieve up the ladder.

Men’s RX 135 – 155 – 175 – 195 –205 – 215 – 225 – 235

Men’s Scaled 95 – 115 – 135 – 155 – 175 – 185 – 195 – 205

Female Scaled 55 – 65 – 75 – 85 – 95 – 105 – 115 – 125

Female RX 75 – 85 – 95 – 105 – 115 – 125 – 135 – 145

FRESH START CHALLENGE

STRENGTH WOD

Work up to a heavy 5-Rep Deadlift

WOD

4 Rounds for Time: 15 KB Swings 10 Box Jumps F: 18lb KB/ 12″ box RX: 26lb KB/ 18″ box RX+: 35lb KB/20″ box

COVE STRENGTH WOD

Take 10 minutes to warm up to a heavy Power Clean weight for the WOD

COVE WOD

3 Power Cleans 12 Sit ups 300 M Row 30 Seconds Rest 7 Rounds Fitness: 135/95 RX: 185/125 RX+: 225/155

Coach’s Tip: No typo above. We are going HEAVY today. We expect very few people will be able to hit those RX and + numbers, so choose a weight that is heavy FOR YOU! Don’t worry about what the person next to you is doing. You will have :30 rest before your next Clean attempts (at the bottom of every round rest is baked in) so let’s see what we can pull tomorrow! And remember, the strength portion is designed to help you make a smart decision.

Jessica M. not only moves beautifully, she is hype focused on form first! We love that!

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September 19, 2016

Tuesday, September 20th 2016

LOTS OF EVENTS HAPPENING… READ ON!

FRIDAY NIGHT SHOPPING SPREE!

RoadRunner Sports has invited all Cove athletes (and their friends) to come in and enjoy some food and drink… and 20% off everything in the store! (except electronics). They have all the things we crazy CrossFitters need; Nike Metcons, Reebok Nanos and Innov8 shoes… plus some kick as apparel. If you’ve been on the fence about buying new gear or have been wanting to try on some CrossFit specific shoes, come on in. NO PRESSURE to buy anything at ALL! Just come browse and hang out with your fellow Cove peeps! So come in between 6 to 8 on Friday night after you crush the partner WOD! And because we know some of you like to hang at the Cove Friday nights and have a beer, hit the shopping early and come back and show us all what you got! We have late classes on Friday night for the Fresh Start ladies so we will be there until 9p. Just sayin’!

BOD POD COMING BACK 10/17

The BodPod is a device that takes super accurate measurements of body composition (body fat vs. lean muscle) to get an idea of where you stand and the amount of calories your body should take in. It is used by both the NFL and NHL in there combine testing. The vendor will be back here on 10/17 from 4 PM to 7 PM. So if you are looking to check your progress from last time or determine a first time baseline, please sign up HERE. If there is enough demand we can pursue opening up more times that evening, but we’ll need to hear from you if can’t find a spot. Here is a link to a PDF on information about the BodPod – https://www.cove-fitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/BeFit-Test-Bod-Pod-brochure.pdf Non-Cove members are welcome to take the test as well. If you have any questions just email Brian@CrossFitCove.com.

IN HOUSE COMPETITION 10/15

We are holding our second annual in-house competition THE CLASH AT THE COVE on October 15th from 10a – 2pm! For those of you who have never done a competition before (or don’t know what an in-house competition is), it is a FRIENDLY and FUN competition and open only to members of the Cove. It consists of three workouts during the day with a final fourth workout for the top five finishers in each division.

The competition is for EVERYBODY in the gym, literally EVERYBODY!!!!

If you aren’t convinced that you can do this event AND have a great time you can still participate as a spectator or volunteer. We will take all the help we can get, and we will be in need of judges! Non-members and family are welcome to come and cheer everyone on too! We plan to make a day out of it and include grilling and potluck get together after the workouts are complete.

CLASH AT THE COVE STANDARDS

Use this guide to find the division that you should choose when signing up for the 2016 Clash at the Cove In-House competition. There is a sign up list on the White Board by the Wodify Station. We want to see that FULL!

For a “working weight” you should be able to perform 4-6 reps (not necessarily unbroken) for each of the movements listed. It does not mean these movements will appear in the workouts, rather it is to help you judge your own individual capacity vs. the load demands of the two divisions:

Scaled

Clean and Jerk 95/65

Deadlifts 135/95

Box Jumps 24/20 (step ups Allowed)

Jumping Pull Ups

Single Unders

Knees to waist

Clean and Jerk 155/105

Deadlifts 225/155

Box Jumps 24/20 (no step ups allowed)

Pull Ups

Double Unders

Toes 2 Bar

STRENGTH WOD

Front Squat work up to 80%-85% of 1 RM 5/5/5/5 Between each set 6-10 wall slides (many of you have done these before but for those who have not, watch HERE)

WOD

“The Goods” 15 Back Squats 15 Burpees 5 Rounds Fitness: 95/65 RX: 115/75 RX+: 135/95

Coach’s Tip: The back squats should be done unbroken and ideally taken from the floor. Take the bar from the rack if lowering on your shoulders is uncomfortable.

Is it possible at 35 weeks Alyissa just got her first bar muscle up?!?

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