WEDNESDAY WINS!  KRISSY O.!

“Celebrate your small successes”

Today we celebrate the successes, both big and small, of Krissy O!  She has always been a consistent and solid athlete, but recently has made gains that most would dream of.  But as they say, with hard work and perseverance, dreams CAN come true.

The odds have been stacked against her since day one.  She was born with twisted femurs and had major surgery when she was 10 years old to correct the issues.  In a body cast for two months, she had to relearn movement and rebuild every bit of strength she lost.  Throughout her early years, swimming was the one thing her body tolerated. Having been told she may never walk, not only overcoming it, but also succeeding as a competitive athlete, was a tremendous win.  And while she relished in her victories, by 18 she was burned out.

She joined the YMCA after college and at age 25 was determined to run a half marathon.  Through consistency and focus, she ran and completed the Baltimore Half Marathon.  Then she dabbled with sprint triathlons and hit a few more half marathons after that.  She was proving everyone wrong and seeing successes she never thought she’d have.  But she still lacked the strength piece she knew she needed and landed herself in kettlebell classes and started from the ground up.  “I couldn’t even do a push up.  My trainer had to pull me up with bands.  I knew I was out of shape.  But knew I had to start somewhere. “  And she found success there too. “I remember my first strict chin up.  I was jumping around so happy when it happened.“

Krissy doesn’t find success just because of her work ethic.  It’s because she sets CLEAR AND MEASUREABLE GOALS and holds herself accountable to them. “You HAVE to write them down.  I keep a notebook in my gym bag and write everything down.  Oh, and I’m a book nerd so my goal is read 12 books this year (I’m already on 11 and its only July).”

Two years ago she had a goal to start CrossFit and made it her birthday present to herself.  “I started at another area gym, but needed one with childcare and made her way to the Cove.  Mattie, Brent and I worked out together at our old gym.  We were supposed to be on the same team for the Open, but we all came her together.”  That made for an easier transition to a new box, but by no means did it make any of the hard work she put in ‘easy’.  “It takes me a long time to grasp concepts; or seemingly longer than the people I see around me.  So I know it will take a lot of effort and I have to be patient.”

She also makes the time.  Arguably no one is more time starved than she is.  She’s up at 4:30am and at work by 6.  She works full time, has three kids (who all play sports) and works out 4-5 times a week.  “I hear people at work talk about how out of shape they are (and we have free gyms!).  It drives me crazy.  People know that I’m a direct person so I tell them, ‘if I have time to work full time, meal prep, take my kids to sports, and workout – you can too”.

In the last few months she’s spent a lot of effort dialing in the nutrition piece of the puzzle.  “In January I did the Whole 30 Challenge set a goal to start macro counting for 45 days after that.  I started with Brittany (FLEX) in March.  I’ve dropped 16 lbs and I just feel so much better.  And with that comes confidence.  And I’m seeing the results not just on scale but with my workouts too.  I’m hitting goals more quickly.”  In the past she’d see incremental improvements over several months, and now it can be seen over several classes.  “And I’m now in the best shape I’ve been in years.  This summer was the first time I’ve worn a two-piece in 10 years. “

While she’ll admit macro counting was hard at first, she’s got it down now.  “At work there are so many temptations too.  Donuts, pizza, candy – are all easy to find.  And for birthdays my Chief brings in your favorite thing to eat as a treat.  Most people do cake or cookies, but this year she came in with veggies and a bowl of fruit for me. She said ‘normally people want cakes and sweets.  But today is about you, not us.”

So what’s on her goal list?  “My first workout was half Murph.  Well, a SUPER SCALED half Murph (laughing).  Push-ups on a high box and tons of bands. This year I want to do full Murph with my bodyweight.”  And she’s well on her way.  “Last summer I worked with Coach John and my goal was 1 kipping pull up.  Last week I did a workout and did 60.  I got time-capped on that workout, but I did all 60.  I don’t focus on the fact that I was time capped; rather the fact that I did 60 pull-ups was the victory.  I mean, holy crap!  I just did 60 pull-ups!  That’s the one thing I’ve learned to do — celebrate your small successes.   Now it’s about getting more proficient.”

And for this busy mom of three (whom are often in tow), this place is her sanity.  “I can reason with my kids now.  We tell them we do so much for them and now I need need to do something for me. This is my hour and I need it. I’m constantly telling people this is what energizes me and makes me whole again.  I’m incredibly introverted.  I spend my whole day, starting at 4:30a focused on other people and I spend most of the day talking.  I sit in an open environment, with a big group of people and we talk all day.  Meetings. Desk conversations.  I have zero personal space.  And absolutely no personal time.    The Cove is an investment in me.  People tell me they can’t believe I spend so much every month on fitness, but for me that’s a small price to pay for my sanity.”

There’s been a mental shift for Krissy too.  Being an introvert and not liking attention, “ I used to hate to come in last in any workout. Not that I’m embarrassed to come in last, but I’m embarrassed to be the center of attention and have people cheering for me.  So I used to scale my weight because I didn’t want to be that that last one standing.  But now I go with what I know I should do and know that I can pull the weight off.  I actually used this as a lesson to my kids recently.  Annie told me that she is last a lot in swimming I told her ‘I’m last all the time at the gym. All I care is that you push yourself to be your best and put your best foot forward’.

Once I heard her say to someone ‘I want to be strong like my mom’.  I always tell her ‘you can do whatever you want and break the glass ceiling if you put your mind to it’.”  And that’s what Krissy does every day when she steps in the Cove.  She puts forth her best every time and is doing things she never thought possible. Her coach’s see it.  Her fellow athletes see it.  And most importantly her family sees it.  Keep setting the goals Krissy.  And keep crushing them too!

STRENGTH

Deadlift

5 x 3

*same weight across

 Fitness: During extra time perform rounds of this with an empty barbell:

5 Good mornings, 10 empty barbell Lunges, :30 second high plank, rest

P/PP:

No bracing / breath holding. OH grip, no mixed grip – really focus on posterior chain, engage glutes + hamstrings and lats during set up. If necessary, you can pull sumo versus conventional to accommodate for belly. Then, modified accessory work.  Avoid high plank to prevent belly coning / excess pressure in core – focus on side planks instead

METCON

5 Rounds:

____ Doubles

12 Single Arm DB Hang Clean and Jerk (6 on the right, 6 on the left)

Rest 1 minute 

5 Rounds:

____ Doubles

15 Sit ups

*14 minute Time Cap

Fitness: 20 doubles/40 Singles

Performance: 30 Doubles

Open: 40 Doubles

P/PP:

If still jumping with no pressure or leaking, can modify volume and / or sub singles OR sub 2x volume of battle ropes.

**** Coach Maria’s Words of Advice: If you are in your second trimester, it’s really time to start considering WHY you are still jumping rope. This is the time to shift to a risk versus reward mindset – is it worth the risk of potentially damaging your pelvic floor to continue jumping during a WOD? In my opinion, no. Will you ‘lose’ your skill? No. It may not come back immediately, but the school of thought that ‘if you lose it you will lose it’ is not completely accurate – just be mindful during this time, the skill will return once you have recovered postpartum. What will be challenging, however, is trying to get the skill ‘back’ if you have done damage to the pelvic floor – that will result in a longer recovery process, likely with physical therapy.

DB Clean and jerks are great! Focus on keeping ribs stacked, use hips and shrug shoulders to get weight into the front rack position, avoid ‘swinging’ the weight

 Coach’s Tip: Trying our Fitness add on for the strength work today.  It is getting them some strength work and some more focus on movement patterns and core development.  Focus on working with some heavy weight for the Deadlifts but as always, form over weight.

Krissy flying through the air with the greatest of ease…

WEDNESDAY WINS!  JESSICA M.!

If you’ve met her, you likely love her. If you’ve seen her move, you’re likely in awe. Jessica M. is just one of the best on every level and we couldn’t be more lucky to have her at the Cove. Most of us just see her kicking butt regularly, but what you may not see is the persistence, consistency and commitment to what she does. And it’s not just because she loves it, it’s because she NEEDS it. Yes, NEEDS it.

“I always tell people, “exercise keeps me sane,” and I’m in no way exaggerating. I’ve been bipolar II since adolescence, and a combination of daily exercise and 7-8 hours of sleep is the medication that keeps me sane. I’ve been active most of my life, but the few times that I fell off the exercise/sleep wagon, I became seriously ill­—suicide attempts, hospitalizations, and unhealthy behaviors. Of course, there were other stressful things going on in my life that contributed to those events, but without exercise and sleep, my brain chemistry is unbalanced, and I am less able to deal with the normal ups and downs of life. I encourage anyone with any kind of affective disorder to get regular exercise and sleep; meditation also helps a lot, but I don’t do that as regularly.”

This physical outlet has been one that she’s used to manage her illness for a long time. “I have always been active; I grew up playing a lot of soccer. I also ran some track and took dance classes. In college, I started working out at the gym and doing a lot of running and cardio kickboxing. After college, I continued to use the gym, but I focused mostly on cardio. Throughout my pregnancy, I ran. After having my daughter, I took her running in the jogging stroller on weekends. During the week, getting to the gym just seemed too difficult, so I began using Beachbody DVDs at home. I spent about two years alternating between various Beachbody workouts like Insanity and P90X. I began getting bored with my workouts, and my relationship with Shaun T and Tony Horton felt one-sided—they talked and I listened; I missed the social interaction of team sports and group fitness classes. That’s when I began adding hot yoga classes and SkyZone fitness classes to my routine. I tried CrossFit once at a local box and had a horrible experience; I vowed to never do CrossFit again.

In 2016, I got my 200-hour yoga teacher certification, but afterwards I was totally burnt out on yoga—the training had been very intense. I was ready to add something new to my routine, so I began seeing a really great personal trainer one to two times a week; however, it was expensive, and I felt like I needed the energy of others working out with me. A coworker and neighbor of mine did CrossFit and kept telling me about their workouts, and I began getting jealous; their workouts sounded so fun. So, I tried out the foundations class at Cove, and it was love at first class. The barbell scared the hell out of me, but all of the new movements challenged my body and my brain—I was hooked.

Currently, I do CrossFit five to six times a week, hot yoga once a week, and run about four miles with a 10lb weight vest once a week. I also roll out sore spots for 20 minutes prior to every workout.

For most of us, that seems like a LOT. And it is. But no one listens to her body more than Jessica. And she’s the first to mix things up when she needs to– and back off when she needs to. “With my other workouts, I always felt that I plateaued. I don’t feel like I’ll ever plateau with CrossFit—there is always room for improvement—become faster, develop better form, acquire new skills, lift heavier weight, etc. And, the workouts are always different, so I never get bored and my body is constantly having to adapt. In addition, we get coached by awesome coaches—they give each of us personal attention, they cheer us on, they look out for our safety, and they’re just really cool individuals.

Plus, CrossFit (specifically at Cove) provides the thrill and camaraderie of competitive team sports. At 37 years old (almost 38) with a job and family, I really didn’t expect to develop new and genuine friendships, but I’ve found exactly that at Cove.”

We asked what other itch the Cove scratches for her. “There are so many exciting things about this journey—new friends, getting stronger, acquiring new skills, going to awesome parties with hours of dancing. The Cove is now my social life—something about sharing in the exhaustion and sweat of a workout really brings people together. Also, I don’t know what is about Cove, but the people are just awesome. I feel fortunate to have found Cove; it has enriched my life in so many ways.

In the beginning, I wasn’t sure how much stronger I would get or how many new skills I would acquire. I mean, I’ve been working out my whole life, I wasn’t sure if I was capable of improving much; I kind of thought I had hit my peak. CrossFit has proven to me that I don’t know what my peak is, and that is so freaking cool!”

If you’ve ever seen Jessica on social media or at the gym during yoga, family classes or during off hours, you’ll see a mini-me right by her side. Her daughter Rayna has taken a liking to all aspects of fitness and it is just so special to see. “I want Rayna to know that she can do anything she puts her mind to; I don’t want her feeling limited because she is a female. I want her to be healthy in mind, body, and spirit. I know how important exercise is to me and how much it has helped me emotionally and physically, and I want her to have that same tool to use in her life. Plus, she has so much energy—she needs an outlet.

Exercising with Rayna teaches me so much about her (and about myself). It’s a careful balancing act to figure out how much instruction to give her, which carries over into how to parent her. I love watching her focus and figure out new skills (she just figured out how to jump rope and do cartwheels). I think it brings us closer together too.”

 And as Jessica noted before, she no longer sees that ‘peak’ in her fitness’. There’s a ton on her ‘to do’ list! “I want to get more proficient at handstand walks and be able to do a strict HSPU. I would also like to get better at two of my worst movements—the strict press and squat snatch.

We would argue she is one of the most well rounded athletes at the Cove these days. She lifts heavy, her gymnastics have come such a long way and her engine is rock solid. She’s one of our favorite athletes to train because she’s never focused on being ‘first’ – rather, she’s focused on doing it ‘right’. “I honestly don’t look at the Wodify whiteboard all that often, but I definitely ask Irina and Ashley how much weight they’re using because I would like to get as strong as them. Sometimes I do the same weight as them, but most of time I choose a lighter weight. During the 6:30 a.m. class, I chase Dan P., but I’m not sure that counts since he’s lifting significantly heavier than me. Coach Maria is strong and fast—I’d love to get to where she is one day. We have so many strong and fierce women at Cove—Mattie, Alea, Allie, Brittany, Marina—too many to mention.”

She also took the prize in our last nutrition challenge. Most of us would look at her before and think “there’s nothing to do better”. But even Jessica has room to improve. “The nutrition challenge taught me a lot. I didn’t eat unhealthy before, but I didn’t count my macros at all. I honestly didn’t think changing my diet would do much for me, but I’d heard other people say it improved their performance, so I thought I’d try it. I discovered that I had been living in a calorie deficit during the week and then making up for it (and more) on the weekends. The nutrition challenge forced me to learn how to cook, not necessarily well, but much better than before the challenge. I spend a lot of time food prepping, but it’s so worth it.

With the nutrition challenge came a new movement—muscle-ups! I ended up losing about 6 pounds—and it was all fat because my lean muscle mass stayed the same. I think losing that weight allowed me to get my first muscle-up. And now, I can string eight of them together. In fact, losing that weight while maintaining muscle mass definitely played a factor in my Murph time too. Next year my goal is to do it with a weight vest.

I didn’t intend to transform my body through the nutrition challenge—but it turns out I did. I’ve never been this muscular and strong in my life. I’m still counting my macros and food journaling, and I intend to keep it up because the results have been incredible. Thank you, Brittany!”

If I can offer any advice it would be to be consistent; show up to the gym and do the workout. Consistency pays off.

We could not have said it better ourselves.

STRENGTH WOD

Deadlift

5 x 5

*same weight across (70-80%)

WOD

For time:

60 Cal Row

30 Burpee Box Jump Overs

 Coach’s Tip: Think about today as a strength day with the focus on the deads.  Today is about getting some volume under our belt at a heavy load.  It should be a challenging the first few sets, but very hard on the last one.  The metcon should be an all-out sprint and leave you on the floor after.

Loved having this guy coach some evening classes!

WEDNESDAY WINS! SEAN F.

“YOU GET OUT OF IT WHAT YOU PUT IN”

Each Wednesday we highlight a Cove athlete who is making changes (big or small) in their lives as a result of being part of this awesome community. Today we shine a very bright light on Sean F., arguably one of the nicest guys out there – but also one of the busiest.

As a teacher and recent first-time dad, his days are often not his own. Like most in his profession, he spends his days taking care of other people. But this one hour a day is all his. He is one of our most consistent athletes and the hard work is paying off. Big time.

It only took two years of prodding (and a final push over drinks one night) from his brother and sister-in-law (Brendan and Hallie F.) to make the plunge – and he has never looked back.

“Brendan had been going for a long time and he’d been after me to try it since the day he started. I thought CrossFit was just tire flipping and strong man stuff. And the perception is that was like a cult. But it is so different than that. Some people come for community, but for me it is about having an hour release where I don’t think anything. I don’t think about the bullshit of my day. It’s almost Zen. I know it sounds weird, but I zone it all out, even the loud music — and it’s such a release.

I’ve been going to gyms since I was 25. But now I’m 39 and I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted. My body was changing, I was getting older and I wasn’t seeing the same changes I saw when I was 25. In late August I took my first foundations class.  We did PVC pipe work and wall balls with sit ups. I didn’t know I could be that sore. The next day stairs were even a challenge. I had never felt like that after a workout at my old gym.

The workouts here are just so different than anything I used to do. It’s an hour to get the best workout you can get; and whatever you put into it you get out of it.”  And the changes he’s seeing are pretty remarkable.  “I have so much more energy after I workout now.   On Thursdays I typically take a rest day, but I find myself wanting to work out to get that energy. I have more strength too, especially in my core.  Even the running, which I hate, has gotten so much better. My engine gets going and I have so much more stamina to keep going. I’ve never pushed myself like this before. And as my brother said, ‘it will be the best hour workout you’ve ever had’. And he was right.

I also love that I basically get a ‘coached workout’, which is so much for helpful than going to a regular gym. The coaches are so attentive. I went four or five times a week to my old gym but I never got the results I wanted. (At the Cove) I finally learned how to squat properly and my years of degenerative back pain has actually gone away. I’ve been going to the gym for years and years and my back has always hurt. Squatting is still a challenge, but I’m overall just stronger and I’m doing things properly.   I also really think it’s because we do so much core work here. I always thought working out your core mean sit-ups or ab work, and here it’s a total body thing.

I was hesitant in the beginning because I’ve never trained with a group. But everyone is here to help. You’re not here competing against everyone else; you’re competing against yourself. Again, you get out of it what you put into it.

Yes, some things are getting easier. But I think the hardest workouts are when we do something heavy (like cleans) and then a run. Oh, and burpees. Don’t get me wrong — it’s all still hard, but not as hard as it used to be. I still laugh when I think about how last year I got tricked into doing the Clash at the Cove when I first started. I was about a month in and Brendan signed me up (editor’s note: we think we tricked them BOTH into doing it). I had never done a thruster or a jerk… and that bike sucked. So next year the goal is to do the Clash at the Cove and come in second to last instead of last!

As life settles down at home and when I’m off for the summer, I plan to come in five times a week.”

And based on his consistency and commitment thus far, we can’t wait to see what happens next! Give Sean a HUGE congrats when you see him. It’s so clear to us he IS getting out of it what he puts in!

WOD

EMOM for 12 Minutes:

Odd- 17/12 Cal Row

Even-  10-14 Pull ups

*Rest 2 Minutes*

Every 2 Minutes for 12 Minutes:

20 Med Ball Squat Cleans

10-14 Goblet Lunges

Fitness: 35/26

Performance: 53/35

Open: 70/53 (Chest to bar)

 Coach’s Tip: We go from a pull on the rower to pull ups. Rowing should be a push with more legs but it always wears the pull out. Then a squat to a lunge. Most of the time we go opposite muscle groups, today we have a different challenge.  Make sure you are prepared to work for it.  The two minutes should get challenging.  There is a range today because it is hard to nail down a solid number for everyone.  There should be about 20-30 seconds rest after each 2 minute stretch.

Andrea demonstrates that patience (on on the pull) is a virtue…

WEDNESDAY WINS!  LEN S.!

From the day this guy stepped foot in the gym, we knew it was meant to be.  He came in with an incredibly enthusiastic attitude and a desire to listen, learn and find success.  And boy, has he.  We are so happy to shine a light on Len S. for his incredible accomplishments inside (and outside!) the box!

Len is the kind of athlete that uses his fitness to live a larger life.  For him, it’s been about being in shape to enjoy ‘other things’.  “I was never a “gym rat.” Anything I did fitness-wise had some type of skill component: Snowboarding, mountain biking, rock climbing. I also did a ton of martial arts over the years: Japanese ju-jitsu and kung fu, primarily. Generally if I did any working out, it was usually to be better at one of those skill things. I did spend a good amount of time doing P90X at various points. I’m happy to quote Tony Horton lines to anyone.”

His fitness journey included some previous CrossFit, but something didn’t click for him until he came to the Cove.  “I actually was at another affiliate about two years ago. It was okay and the coaching was good, but I just didn’t vibe with that particular place. It felt really hard to go consistently. Some of it was job-related travel, but when I was in town, I just couldn’t psych myself up. I also got injured in an unfortunate Thanksgiving folding table incident, which took me out of everything for months. Moving to a job that featured a mind-numbing two-hour-one-way commute also left me little time to do any working out. Heading into fall of last year, I was feeling pretty unhealthy, and I knew I had to do SOMETHING that would give me some accountability.

Because I had about six months of CF several years ago, I thought I knew what it was going to be, BUT like I said…at the other affiliate I struggled with my willingness to go. I knew if I was going to give it another try that I’d have to tough out it and go no matter what. I knew that the only battle I had to wage was getting into my car. If I got into the door each time and didn’t chicken out going, most everything else would take care of itself, and it has.

But the main battle I fight every day is with my own ego. I don’t generally put energy into things I’m not already sort of “at least okay” at. And I knew was gonna SUCK! I had to be willing to not be good. In my mind I had to be willing to be judged negatively and suck it up. This was going to be for me. But I was pleasantly surprised that my peers border between not paying any attention to me at all and being super encouraging.

I think a watershed moment was doing Barbell Club. That was where I felt I was at my worst. My ego was getting battered every time I went. But that was a signal to me that I had to stick it out. And those skills are so foundational to safely do CrossFit, I felt I needed to focus on them. I’m STILL terrible at oly lifts, but slowly I’m getting slightly better. And everyone in that class was amazingly encouraging.”

Like most of us, it’s really easy to celebrate our weakness and show up when there’s a movement you love.  But Len really understands that the only way to get better and round yourself out to be a better athlete is to work on your weakness.  We often say people need to “trust the process”, and Len is a prime example of that.

“I think overall the willingness to embrace the programming, when it sometimes REALLY exposes my weaknesses (I’m looking a you high rep power cleans) has just made me more resilient. I’ve found one meta-skill I’m gaining is learning to work out to more of my real capacity or willingness to be uncomfortable. To be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

I’m also learning how to be okay with being older in a community full of younger very skilled and strong athletes. Fortunately there are some older Covies that are badasses that are role models and benchmarks for me. I am also becoming more accepting that there are things I’m decent at and other things I’m not, and being okay with that without getting lazy about it. My weak areas need work. My stronger areas are just probably average for everyone else, so I need to work on them, too.

There’s a slow, but steady physical transformation going on, and that’s been cool.”

He’s loving his time at the Cove and drawing strength from the community every day.  “I’m honestly getting obsessed with getting good at this stuff. I can’t change my age (I just celebrated my 30th wedding anniversary… my marriage is older than most people here!), or how long it’s been since I’ve started CrossFit. BUT I can benchmark based on this and be as skilled and fit as I possibly can given those realities. he Open was such a blast to do, because I could see how I was doing against others my age. I now look at CrossFi as a bit of a skill thing just like the other things I’ve done in the past. I’ve got a number of skill goals I’d like to accomplish by the end of this year and I’m chipping away at them.

Finally, I don’t need to tell anyone here this. The Cove community is the best. I’m grateful I found it and get to be part of it.”  

Len got that almost right.  WE are the lucky ones!

STRENGTH

8 min EMOM:

1 Power Clean + 1 Hanging Power Clean

*increasing weight

WOD

5 Rounds for Time:

5 Power Cleans

50 Double Unders

10 Toes to Bar

1 min Rest

Fitness: 115/75

Performance: 155/105

Open: 185/125 (15 Toes to Bar)

 Coach’s Tip: Heavy power variations of the Clean today for strength, hitting both regular and hang positions.  Try to increase weight each round if possible.  Start heavy and make smaller jumps to end up accumulating more heavy work.  The metcon has a built in rest to help you attack each round hard.

Taking her parenting skills to a whole new level…