Wednesday Wins

Today we shine a light on one of the Cove’s favorite couples… Ed and Keisha Montgomery!  Most people at the Cove love one another, but these two REALLY love each other.  So much so that they willingly turn the “me time” we all crave into “we time”!   Part of the reason people find success here is because of the incredible support system inside the gym. But to ALSO have that support OUTSIDE is just awesome. And as a military family who re-establishes roots so often, we are thrilled they now consider the Cove community “family”.  Plus with their two awesome boys in tow, it’s a total family affair.  We asked them about their journey, success inside AND outside the box… and what CrossFit life is like when  you do it with your life partner!  Here’s what they had to say…

Ed and I grew up in or near Galax, VA.  Literally smalltown USA, ha! We met in 1998, but it took us years to get serious.  I am a teacher by trade, but have been blessed enough to stay at home with our two boys Kelan (7), and Kasen (3) since Kelan was born.  Ed is a Lieutenant in the Navy and he has traveled everywhere.  We moved to Maryland in July 2015.  Until that we were in San Diego for 14 years.  Yes, we were spoiled.  We are still hoping Maryland will grown on us…the Cove sure helps!

Our history with fitness… Unless you are a high school athlete, or coach, no one really takes fitness seriously back home.  Ed wrestled, played football and baseball at Grayson County High School and I played basketball about 10 miles away at Galax High School! Other than intramural pick up games in college, I really didn’t stay in shape and it showed.  Ed was always lifting weights here and there and running on a regular basis, especially after he joined the Navy in 2001.

I was working as a teacher at this time and we had a little group that would meet after school 3 days a week in the elementary school gym to do fitness videos.  Looking back now it just cracks me up.  I was 21 years old and just really not taking care of myself, physically.  By the time we got married in 2006 I was at my heaviest weight ever. About 40 pounds more than I am now.  I knew that he was active and when I moved to San Diego, I vowed to get in better shape for him and for the future kiddos we wanted.  I started slow.  Super slow.  One morning we got up to jog together and I couldn’t jog 1/4 mile without stopping.  I stuck with it though and it got easier.  By the time I was expecting our first child I was down about 20 pounds or so and we had completed a P90X series, TOGETHER! When Kelan was about 8 months old I ran my first 5k.  Slow and steady, but I finished.  That January, my resolution was to run a 5k every month for a year (easy to do in San Diego)!

I did it, and was hooked.  Running became my “me” time.  I could put the baby in the stroller and cruise.  Kel did most of the races with me, in the stroller of course! That is when I started putting my health and fitness as a priority.  I also picked up several spin classes that I loved along the way.  I also found that when Ed deployed, which was ALOT over the last 10 years, that I could really focus on my workouts and it helped to have those goals and make the time go by faster.  His last deployment, we signed up for a half-marathon to complete together when he returned.  So…training I went.  Pushing the little guy this time up and down the boardwalk.  Sometimes he would ride 10+ miles so mommy could get her workout in.  We completed the race with no issues and checked that major milestone off the bucket list.  I also noticed that when Ed returned from deployments he would pick up different workout tips/tricks along the way.  We started to gather quite the little Crossfit gym in our garage.  The rower, bumper plates, squat rack, and med balls were accumulating.  He would look up WODs for us to complete together while the kids played in the back yard. It was fun, but other than youtube we hadn’t been taught proper technique. When he was in different cities around the world, like in Panama, he would stop into a box to try a workout, but at home in SD, we did our own workouts, bc we had the equipment.

Things changed when we got here.  All of our equipment had to be stored bc we downsized and had nowhere for it to go so the Box Search began.  The Cove was the third box we tried before actually joining.  I have to say that the kids room was a great draw for me, but the hospitality of everyone just put the icing on the cake. Everyone has been so nice, friendly and helpful.  Cove is our first CrossFit family!

Outside of the gym I can tell that Crossfit is making me stronger.  These boys are ROUGH, and I needed to toughen up to even attempt to hang with them.  I also have to say that I feel like my posture has gotten so much better.  I used to have chronic neck and lower back pain, but it is pretty much nonexistent now.  I’m loving that side affect.

Physically I am noticing changes too. I’m noticing things aren’t as jiggly as they used to be. That makes me super happy.  I always lost weight when I was training for a big run, but nothing ever felt as solid as it does now. I still have a ways to go, but right now I’m happy that my body hasn’t given up on me. Ha! I am probably in better shape now than I was at 20.

“Climbing Diane”

21 Deadlifts

21 Handstand Push ups

3 Rope Climbs

15 Deadlifts

15 Handstand push ups

2 Rope Climbs

9 Deadlifts

9 Handstand Push ups

1 Rope Climb

Fitness: 185/125

RX and RX+: 225/155

Time Cap = 15 minutes

Coach’s Tip:  We want you to get variation of movement today, so don’t try to go RX and do 21 HSPU if that will take you 10 minutes at the wall!  There is NO shame in scaling and this is a TOUGH workout to do RX even without the rope climbs.  Another great scale is to do FEWER reps on any given movement.  We’d hate for people to scale the movement entirely just because they can’t handle quite that volume (i.e. if you have a few HSPU but can’t do 21, don’t do overhead KB presses.  Just do fewer HSPUs!)  Remember the movement standard for RX Diane is no ab mat for the head.  You can use one and still do RX (which we recommend for safety),  you will just need to put your hands on 15lb plates to ‘level’ the ground!

Today we celebrate Katie D, a hard working single mom of two young boys who seems to have found a way to ‘do it all’. While she works nearby, she resides in Frederick and often travels 40 minutes to make it in on the weekends too. No only does she keep a consistent schedule, she gives the men of the “nooner class” a run for their money (often times she’s the only female in a testosterone-laden class).   In addition to keeping many balls in the air, she also had an injury that she successful worked through WHILE making huge gains in her strength and overall fitness.  She embodies everything we seek in an athlete and we feel lucky she picked us. We asked her what CrossFit does for her, why she chose the Cove and what she plans to tackle in 2017…

“Simply put, I love CrossFit.  With a busy life as a Mom of two boys, a full time (sometimes more than full time) job, and a commute…I NEED CrossFit!  I love that there is no “thinking” involved with your daily workout.  Just show up, listen to the coach, and work hard.  I always tell myself… ‘it’s only XX minutes.”  CrossFit has given me results, both physically and mentally, that I didn’t know were possible.  Physically I have never been this lean (there is still work to be done here) and strong.  Mentally, CrossFit gives me a nice break from…life.  There is also such a high when you finish a workout (even more so when you get to click the blue Rx circle) and I never forget the feeling when you do something for the first time.  I remember calling my sister after my first rope climb.  It is such an incredible feeling that you get to own!  I also love that I can do the monkey bars with my kids on the playground!  I am sure I look a little silly but who cares – I am proud of myself!

I spent a few years at another box and while I have nothing negative to say about them, there is certainly something different about the Cove.  Something so different that I often drive the 40 minutes to come on a Saturday or Sunday!  The class structure and programming are different than what I experienced.  I like that the class is always kept within the hour.  The Fx, Rx, and Rx+ was new to me which I also really like.  It helped me benchmark where I was and where I wanted to be.  Last but not least, the coaches at the Cove are wonderful!  I like that they take the time to discuss the workout as a group and often individually which has helped me tremendously.  I’ve told Holden and Maria but for the other coaches (and members), keep pushing/encouraging me.  I like the challenge!

Oh – one last thing.  I LOVE that you keep the floor clean Marina!  I am a neat freak too! 

A few months after joining the Cove I started experiencing shoulder pain.  I had been playing golf and most likely carrying my 40 lb. 3 year old improperly.  Regardless, I was determined to re-hab it while continuing at the Cove (which my doctor supported).  I figured there were so many other parts of my body I could work out while taking it easy on my shoulder and I didn’t want to fall too far from the progress I had made so quickly.  This is another area where I have to give recognition to the coaches.  I was impressed at how they communicated amongst each other.  I would occasionally go to a 6:30 am or evening class where I didn’t know the coach as well but they seemed to remember or know I was going to need a modification and I really appreciated that they were ready with suggestions.  The noon coaches were also great.  There were days they had to completely modify the program for me but it kept me motivated and I always left the class feeling good about my lower-body workout (luckily I like walking lunges)!  Working with the coaches, I slowly introduced shoulder exercises and I would say I am very close to being back at 100%!

I have so many goals for 2017… I signed up for my first sprint triathlon which I am very excited about.  In the gym, I really want to achieve unbroken double unders, strict pull ups, push-ups, hand stand push-ups and really any of the body weight/gymnastics stuff.  Maybe a bar muscle up by the end of the year!  I am very excited for fitness in 2017.  I would also love to do a CrossFit competition (and win)!

Coach Stretch

Band Pull Aparts

5 Squat Therapy Squats

3 Rounds

1 Rope Climb

10 Slam Balls

1 Cove Suicide

10 Burpees

6 Rounds

21 Minute Time Cap

Coach’s Tip:  This what we would call an ‘engine’ WOD.  It’s a longer time domain that requires quick transitions, but also needs heart rate control before you get to the rope.  Pick a solid pace on the burpees you can maintain for each round.  While it’s 60 total reps, it’s really just quick sets of 10!  Just keep moving…

To day we celebrate an awesome athlete, husband and dad of two, Kyle M.   About a year ago, Kyle committed himself to his fitness, and we were lucky that he chose the Cove to reach his goals.

Among other things, he’s improved his back squat by 50lb, built quite an engine and after participating in the barbell club his lifts are not only stronger, they are better.  As we all know quality of movement is more important than the loads we lift, and Kyle has done wonders with his form.  And of course the numbers increased after that. He’s drunk on CrossFit Koolaid and has even installed a garage gym at this home so he can chug it all day long.

What makes Kyle’s circumstance even harder than any other multi-taking professional/family man is that he has a demanding job that requires extensive travel. As we all know, being ‘off schedule’ can destroy consistency in working out and good nutrition. He’s on the road often and the turnaround on his trips is so fast that it is hard to keep a routine.

Thankfully he’s got an amazing support system at home to help him prepare for life on the road (and helps him stay on track when he’s back at home). Caroline, also a Covie, got him a meal prep travel bag that he now packs when he’s heading out. It fits several meals and has ice packs to preserve the food during flights (and yes, apparently TSA allows you to travel with it as look as the ice packs are frozen).   Now instead of booking hotels with great restaurants, he’s on the hunt for hotels with microwaves and refrigerators.

Kyle is leading by example and we are taking notes. Last year his focus was on his fitness and this year his sights are set on adding better nutrition. It’s hard to figure out everything out at once, but if you approach change in ‘bite sized pieces’ (pun intended), you’ll likely see success is much easier to find.
 
And he’s figured out that what works for other people doesn’t always work for him… and that’s just find. As he wisely said “It’s about finding what works for you. If I’m 80 or 90% there, I’m good. I can’t lose sleep over it. It’s a challenge across the board, but we are finding what works best for US”.
 

35 Cal Row

30 Sit Ups

25 Deadlifts

2 Rounds

Fitness: 185/125

RX: 225/155

RX+: 225/155 (20 GHD Sit ups)

15 Min Cap

Coach’s Tip:  This is a fairly generous time cap, but you will still need to cruise through the row and sit ups to leave enough time for the barbell.  If see you are nearing seven minutes after round one, PLEASE consider reducing the number of reps on each movement to ensure you hit all of them.  Or just come out of the gate and consider doing 30/25/20 instead. Your core will be fatigued, so maintain good spine position (lock in that midsection!!) and ensure the only movement is happening at the hip.  The coaches will tell you to drop the bar immediately if they feel you are in a compromised position.  We would much rather cost you five seconds on your score than a week of a sore back.

Ryan W. personifies why the Cove even exists.  If you’ve ever read our story, you know we built this place because “we understand that finding balance among career, family and self is a constant struggle that often feels impossible to reach.”   Ryan struggled with that balance for years, and has finally found it.  And he has done amazing things ever since.  He celebrated his one year anniversary at the Cove, and to celebrate, he re-tested his first ever workout (21-15-9 front rack lunges and bar facing burpees). Last year his time was 11:58 with 55lb for the first 21, then 35lbs from there.  This time he did the RX weight of 115 in 6:44.  Holy crap.

1 Minute on 1 Minute off for 16 minutes:

6 Slam Balls

12 Jumping Air Squats 

Max Doubles 

MU Track- 10 Ring Rows (pull to below your chest) + 5 Dips 

(We are looking for deep pulls and challenge yourself by putting feet up on a box if necessary) 

PU Track- 5 Strict Pull ups (pause at the top) + 8 J-hook Pull ups (slow decent) 

T2B Track- 10 Straight leg kips + 5 Banded Toes to Bar

4 Rounds of each 

**Each cycle should be done back to back.  For example- 5 Strict pull ups directly into 8 seated pull ups with a slow decent.  Then take a minute or two rest and repeat.**

BANDED T2B Video – HERE