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September 18, 2016

Monday, September 19th 2016

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

WELCOME FRESH START LADIES!

We are thrilled to be starting our ladies only challenge today! Their classes will run at 4:30pm and 7:45pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday. PLEASE give them a warm Cove welcome and a hi-five when you see them. If you can remember back to your first day and the anxiousness you felt, remember how much the support of community helped you get through that!

FRESH START WOD

(Workout Of the Day)

5 Push Ups
10 Sit Ups
20 Air Squats
200 Meter Run

12 minute AMRAP

(As Many Rounds As Possible)

You’ll find we have a whole new language here! To count an AMRAP, count the number of TOTAL rounds you did PLUS the number of additional reps. Let’s say you got through the above sequence 3 times completely and were on your fourth push up in your fourth round. That would make your score “3 + 4”. Meaning, three full rounds completed plus 4 reps on the next round! We have tricks to help you count so don’t worry too much about math while working out!

COVE WOD

“Jack” Army Staff Sgt. Jack M. Martin III, 26, of Bethany, Oklahoma, assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, Fort Lewis, Wash., died September 29th, 2009, in Jolo Island, Philippines, from the detonation of an improvised explosive device. Martin is survived by his wife Ashley Martin, his parents Jack and Cheryl Martin, and siblings Abe, Mandi, Amber and Abi. Today we honor him with this Hero WOD… 10 Push Press 10 KB Swings 10 Box Jumps 20 min AMRAP Fitness: 95/65 (25/26) RX and RX+: 115/75 (53/35)

Coach’s Tip: The weights should be light and you should going unbroken in the early sets. A 20 minute metcon will test your engine for sure, so take a few seconds between movements to collect yourself and catch your breath so you don’t fall back to small sets of each movement! In CrossFit terms, this isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon…

Tessa working up to her one rep max box jump at CrossFit Family class!

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September 17, 2016

Sunday, September 18th 2016

OPEN GYM 9a – NOON

(and CrossFit Family Class at Noon!)

We are open for business from 9a to Noon for Open Gym but we know how a lot of you like to linger well past noon. While we usually don’t mind, today we’ll ask you to wrap up so the CrossFit Family Class can start promptly! Feel free to stay and stretch or hang out to the side but safety of our little ones is our number one priority so try to avoid working on the main gym floor. We just ask that you respect the class and let the coaches and our lil’ beasts do their thing!

Coach Holden counts Coach Maria down to her favorite second of the day… 3-2-1 GO!

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September 16, 2016

Saturday, September 17th 2016

REMINDER:

FAMILY CLASS NOON SUNDAY!

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!

STRENGTH WOD

Find a heavy 1 RM Squat Clean

WOD

“Powerhouse” 15 Squat Cleans 400 M Run 3 Rounds Fitness: 95/65 RX: 115/75 RX+: 135/95 Coach’s Tip: For the strength portion, we are not looking for a one rep max, just a HEAVY one rep. Yes, the goal is to build strength and work on form, but it should help you determine what weight to use in the METCON (and should help it feel LIGHT!). Pick a weight for the METCON that allows you to do the first set unbroken.

Tourah and James are regulars again and we couldn’t be happier to have them back!

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September 15, 2016

Friday, September 16th 2016

WE’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER RIG

And the good news is that we are going to have one! If anyone wants to lend a helping hand, we will be expanding the rig on Sunday during Open Gym! We can certainly handle ourselves, but extra hands will make it a lot easier!

CROSSFIT FAMILY CLASS SUNDAY!

We are excited to be starting our cycle of CrossFit Family classes this weekend! To be respectful of our athletes that utilize open gym hours, classes will run at NOON on the following dates:

SUNDAY, September 18th at Noon SATURDAY, September 24th at Noon SUNDAY, October 2nd at Noon

PARTNER WOD

Switch on and off the rower for max distance in 6 minutes Rest 1 minute 3 Min of Max Walking Lunges (both partners work at the same time and lunge together) 3 Min of Max Pull Ups (one person works one person rests) 3 Min of Max Handstand Push ups (one person works one person rests) Rest 1 Minute Switch on and off the rower for max distance in 6 minutes Coach’s Tip: When it’s your turn go hard, but don’t red line. You’ll get some recovery while your partner works, but if you go to the point of failure, you won’t recover in time. The meters on the rower will be scored separately each time you hit the erg, but the reps for lunges, HSPU and pull ups will be one big rolled top number.

Just a man and his rower…

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September 14, 2016

Thursday, September 15th 2016

CROSSFIT FAMILY CLASS SUNDAY!

We are excited to be starting our cycle of CrossFit Family classes this weekend! To be respectful of our athletes that utilize open gym hours, classes will run at NOON on the following dates:

SUNDAY, September 18th at Noon SATURDAY, September 24th at Noon SUNDAY, October 2nd at Noon

STRENGTH WOD

Back Squat Work up to a heavy set of 10 Take 70% of that and do 1 max effort set Record the weight of your heaviest set of 10 as your Wodify “score” and put # of reps for max at 70% of that 10 rep set in the comments. For example, if you back squat 100lbs for a set of 10 (as your heaviest set) and then do a set of 25 reps at 70lbs as your max effort at 70%, put “10olb” as your Wodify score and write “25 reps” in the comments.

WOD

21 Air Squats 15 Ring Dips 6 Power Cleans 3 Rounds Fitness: 115/75 RX: 155/105 RX+: 185/125 14 min time cap Coach’s Tip: Find a scale for the ring dips that will allow you to go heavy on the barbell. We want you fatigued when you get to the barbell, but not TOO fatigued! The coach will help you with scaling but some options include tricep dips between boxes, using dip bars or doing “negatives” on the rings or dip bars. Or there’s always using a band with the rings as an option!

New member and regular “nooner” Benjamin getting ready for snatches! Make sure you introduce yourself when you see him… he’s a beast in the making!

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September 13, 2016

Wednesday, September 14th 2016

WEDNESDAY WINS!

It might sound a bit corny, but you are all winners today! A huge shout out to ALL our athletes who came in to re-test their one rep max Snatch. Not only is the WhiteBoard littered with PR badges, the form and efficiency in your movements improved DRAMATICALLY. During the initial test, we saw a lot of people muscling the bar up and catching in a power snatch (and then lowering down to and OHS). Tuesday we say people dropping under that bar with nice speed and focusing on opening those hips from the power position. The “before” and “after” on this Snatch cycle goes WAY beyond the scores posted today. Take a moment to think about your individual win. Did you feel more confident? Catch the bar at the bottom? Trust that you can catch it overhead? Lock out faster? Lift heavier? Or lift the same but it just felt ‘better’? Revel in those wins. You should all be incredibly proud of the work you have put in over the last few months — it certainly paid off in more ways than one today.

Here’s Dave O. in action. In case you missed it he hit a 225# PR. Damn.

STRENGTH A1) 6-10 Strict Pull ups A2) 25 M Heavy Sled Pull A3) 1 min Pigeon Stretch on a box 3 Rounds

WOD

1 Min Sit Ups 1 Min Box Jumps 1 Min KB Swings 1 Min Rest 5 Rounds Fitness: 35/26 RX: 53/35 RX+: 70/53 (GHD)

Snatches make Ada giggle!

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September 12, 2016

Tuesday, September 13th 2016

SNATCH RETEST DAY!

Today is the day. The end of an epic cycle. Keep the rep count high as you build up to hit your previous 1 RM. After that you probably have 3 good attempts before you start to get too fatigued. Below is a % outline if you want to follow it. Just a guideline as everyone is different… you do NOT have to follow it! But we often hear people don’t know how much to do as they build up so this is just a suggestion of how to use the time. Keep in mind we have a full 20 minutes for this so REST in between sets (especially the later ones). Take at LEAST a full minute in between the heavier lifts!

50% X 3 60% X 3 70% X 2 80% X 1 85% X 1 90% X 1 95% X 1 100-102% X 1 Then crush that PR!

STRENGTH Take 20 minutes to Find a NEW 1 RM Squat Snatch

WOD

4 Min AMRAP 400 M Run Max OHS Rest 1 Min Repeat Fitness: 95/65 RX: 115/75 RX+: 135/95 Coach’s Tip: Today is all about the Snatch, so if your shoulders feel toasty after the Strength portions, go SUPER LIGHT on the OHS! We want people to wrap this cycle feeling strong and not putting too much strain on their shoulders during the METCON.

A man, his barbell and a puddle of sweat. That’s how Paul K and pretty much everyone here at the Cove rolls!

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September 11, 2016

Monday, September 12th 2016

REMEMBERING 9/11

We know many of you honored 9/11 in your own personal ways, but today at the Cove we hope to do something a bit different as a group.

As a Tribute to 9/11 we will try to climb the rope 220 times. Each tower had 110 floors. Our goal will be to get to 220 as a gym throughout the day. Each class will spend 10 minutes on rope climbs to start the class. We will keep running total on the whiteboard.

WELCOME 6-WEEK CHALLENGE MEN!

The men of the 6-Week Cove challenge are rounding the turn on their final week. They have wrapped their separate classes and are now integrating into regular classes! So, if you see some new (or familiar) faces joining in our regular class times, please give them a big congrats on their accomplishments thus far and welcome them to larger Cove community!

CROSSFIT FAMILY CLASS SUNDAY!

We are excited to be starting our cycle of CrossFit Family classes this weekend! To be respectful of our athletes that utilize open gym hours, classes will run at NOON on the following dates:

SUNDAY, September 18th at Noon SATURDAY, September 24th at Noon SUNDAY, October 2nd at Noon

WOD

21-18-15-9 Toes to Bar Front Squats Push Jerks Fitness: 75/55 RX: 95/65 RX+: 115/75 Coach’s Tip: The load on this workout should be low. Pick something you can move quickly. This is a LOT of volume for each movement and we do NOT want tearing on the bar during toes to bar. Drop and re-grip in smaller sets as opposed to re-gripping mid-swing. Feel free to swap in sit ups if you want to protect the hands.

Coach Chris making 70lb swings look EASY!

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September 9, 2016

Saturday, September 10th 2016

THANK YOU MEN OF THE COVE!

A huge thank you to all the men that made Thursday night’s Partner WOD so special. It was amazing to see the progress of our 6-Week Challenge men AND see them sweating it out next to our Cove veterans for a killer partner WOD. They did a version of the Ben Bergeron’s “Open Tester” which includes almost every moment we see in the CrossFit Open. It is designed for his elite athletes to train for the Games and we were in awe of ALL of our athletes last night for taking this one on. Hard to imagine that only five weeks ago these guys did know most of these movements and now they’re banging out sets of 50!

SAVE THE DATES!!!

Two big upcoming events that NEED to go in your calendar!

10/15 IN-HOUSE COMPETITION!

Saturday, OCTOBER 15th will be our second annual IN HOUSE COMPETITION! The Clash at the Cove will have individual scaled and RX divisions and will feature a variety of workouts that will challenge all aspects of your fitness. This is a GREAT way to dip your toe into the competition world in a SAFE and FUN way. Last year almost all of our members participated in one way or another (as athletes or judges) and we are hoping for the same kind of turn out this year! We will be releasing standards and more information shortly. We will start at 10am and likely wrap by 2 or 3p after finals and awards. but PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

10/21 CHARITY GOLF OUTING

A few years ago our very own WODFather, Geo Rockwell, started a charity called “Community of Strength”. The Vision of the Community of Strength Project is to give the youth of Baltimore City a place to go after school where they can be empowered and motivated through CrossFit. Adolescents have a place to go to learn important life skills such as goal setting, problem solving and memory building, and leadership skills through guidance and fitness. These athletes are being prepped for life after high school; given the mentorship, means and confidence needed to find the path that holds them to their highest potential. Community of Strength is raising funds to further its mission by holding a charity GOLF OUTING on Friday October 21st. We are hoping any golfers out there might be interested in making a few foursomes to represent the Cove!

This tournament will help to continue providing financial, physical, and emotional support to the youth of Baltimore City. The proceeds will help fund the program designed to mentor students through fitness. Teens are given the financial means and knowledge base needed to be successful after high school. We are grateful for all of the support and for allowing continue to empower the youth of our city. It is $150 to play and will be an amazing day on so many levels (shockingly, the Cove will be sponsoring the Beverage Cart!)

7:00 – Registration, Check-In, Continental Breakfast
7:00 – Driving Range Open
9:00 – Shotgun Start
1:00 – 19 th Hole BBQ Luncheon
2:00 – Awards, Prizes, Raffles
2:30 – Wrap-Up and Thank You

Additional Amenities: