Yesterday we saw some amazing lifts to conclude our front squat strength cycle and we are super excited to see what might happen tomorrow as we are hitting our 1 rep max push jerk! One of the things that we are most proud of yesterday was not the weight lifted yesterday but rather the improvements in depth and positions by so many of our athletes. Seeing strength numbers move up is always a great thing but seeing improvement in technique is the pathway to sustained growth.

As this strength cycle closes we want to give you a bit of a programming preview of the next 8 weeks. We will be following a very similar format as to what we have done in this most recent cycle. The basic plan is Monday or Tuesday to squat, Wednesday or Thursday is a pressing movement, and Friday or Saturday is a pulling movement. The upcoming cycle will focus on back squat, strict press, and snatches. And we will follow that with another 4-week cycle of overhead squats, bench presses, and cleans.

We are going to be approaching the cycle in a similar fashion to this past cycle, hitting percentages across 5 sets at timed intervals.For example, on Monday we may see 5 sets of 5 reps of back squats using the same weight across. That would be 5 sets at 80% or slightly above your one rep max for five reps. If you don’t know your one rep max, you can certainly make an estimate from past data (Wodify can make a estimate of your 1 RM based on your past lifts).  You could also use this time to establish a 5, 3, or 1 rep max so you can use that data point.

We are looking for volume in this cycle, meaning for this particular day we are looking for 25 great reps at that 80% level. If you find yourself having a day where you are feeling strong, feel free to add a little weight to those last couple of sets. And the other end of the spectrum, if you are not feeling great (stress, lack of sleep,etc.) don’t be afraid to lower those percentages. Remember we are looking for 25 great reps that day at a load that makes sense for your body at that moment. This is a template for us to follow to build strength but like all things we can make adjustments to maximize that session.

We are super excited about these upcoming strength pieces (we hope you are as well) and ask that you please post your scores in Wodify. We want these data points so we can track the gym’s progress so we can continue to provide you with an amazing experience at the Cove!

One of our newest (and obviously strongest!) members Ben. 

This Wednesday we will have another great workout for you, “”Not so Awful Annie”. It’s a play on the classic “Annie” workout but with a little extra spice with some heavy power cleans.

Beyond just a great workout, we are excited to announce that we are going to have some guest assistant coaches for this class to work on your jump rope skills. We are going to have coaches from “Mute Sports Equipment” (they are a jump rope manufacturer) to help lead the jump rope-specific warm-up to the day. Whether you are still looking to master singles, doubles, or dreaming of triples this is a great chance to get some great coaching from some subject matter experts.

Our partners from “Mute Sports Equipment” will be there for all the classes on Wednesday, so we are hoping to see you then.

For tomorrow’s workout we will be doing a special workout in remembrance for all those people that lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks. It is well over 20 years ago but even today we can still feel it effects. While this was a tragic day filled with senseless loss, it was also a day that united us in ways we could never imagine.

In addition to the day’s honorary WOD happening at the gym, we also hope to accumulate 413 rope climbs as the Cove community. The number is representive of all the first responders (police and fire) who lost their lives during the WTC tragedy. If you don’t have an official rope climb, please do not worry about that. There is always a scaled version that will allow you to participate (for example, two modified rope climbs).

Thank you for participating and paying tribute to the 2,997 people who were killed in the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and on the United Airlines Flight 93.

“9/11”

For Time:

2,001 Meter Row/Ski Erg

343 Double Unders

110 Dumbbell Box Step-ups (20″)

2,977 Meter Row/Ski Erg

FX: 35/25; 20/18

RX: 50/35; 20/18

RX+: 50/35; 24/20

Time Cap: 35 Minutes

**Accumulate: 413 Rope Climbs as a gym.  During 9/11 – 343 firefighters and 71 law enforcement officers died in the World Trade Center and on the ground in New York City.

Last month we completed our 10,000 step walking challenge, which was a great success for so many of our members. It helped create the habit of moving throughout the day and not just days at the gym.  We found that so many members were much more compliant with the challenge knowing that we weren’t doing it alone and with that in mind, we are looking to do another challenge for the month of September.

With it being going back to school, we decided to go back to basics with one of the most fundamental movements in fitness, the plank.  The plank is a movement (or more actually a position or shape) that forces us to engaged and stable through the middle of our body. The challenge will work as follows, each day you will look to get a certain amount of time in a plank position. For example, in week one you are going to look to get 90 seconds of work in the plank position daily. Moving into week two, we move that number up by another 30 seconds for 2 minutes. Holding this position does not have to be in a row, as you can break it up into multiple sets but we think over time you will find that you will be much stronger in these positions.

We will be releasing educational videos throughout the month showing different variations of the plank as well as ways to really tighten up your technique. 
You can do this extra work at home but we hope that many of you will work together before and after class. Planks make time slow down but they seem to happen faster when others are involved.

 We aren’t going to do an official sign-up for this challenge, rather we are hoping you can all just support each other before and after classes as well as virtually. Just a heads up, the Cove will be hosting the CrossFit Level I seminar on September 2nd and 3rd. We will not have classes on this date, although the gym is available for use after 6 PM via the Cove Kastle app. 

This is a huge honor for the Cove and has been an invaluable resource to the gym and our coaching staff.