We are excited to announce that this weekend that our friends at the Alpha Project Phyzio and Performance and hosting a free Pelvic Floor Workshop for the gym at 11:30 AM.  This is a free clinic and a great opportunity to get learn and get help on this important health issue.

Below is a description from Coach Veronica and Coach Matt

You can sign up for the clinic here.

There will not be our regular 11:30 AM Saturday class but all other classes and the kids program are still on.

Yesterday we announced Coach Carolyn as the newest addition to the Cove team and today we get to announce yet another great team member, Coach Kelsey. If you haven’t met Kelsea, she is a wealth of knowledge and experience wrapped around a welcoming smile and a love for life.

We asked Kelsey to give us a little bio on her CrossFit journey, so you can get to know her even more.

Fitness and sports have always played an important role in my story. As life evolved, so too has my relationship with sports. In high school, it was softball and cross country that captured my time and attention. In college, it was racquetball and croquet 😂 During my post-college life in Indianapolis, IN, I tried ALL the different fitness things to make friends and stay healthy (master’s swim team, barre classes, Orange Theory, even pole dancing LOL) but realized I was missing a crucial social element so nothing really stuck. When I moved to Detroit, MI in 2017 for work, I decided to go all in and take a chance on CrossFit.

Life has changed a lot in the 6 years since I began Crossfit in 2017; I’ve switched companies, jobs, significant others, hobbies, friends, hell, even states! But Crossfit has always been a good steadying factor. Amidst change, it’s always a place to find camaraderie. Always a place to find people I respect who work hard to make their life better, one day at a time. Always a place to call a home away from home!

When I found Cove in November 2022, I was looking to fall back in love with Crossfit. Somewhere along my 6 year journey, I experienced gym fatigue, as so many of us do. I knew I needed to step away from my box at the time and take a break from the sport. After a few months away (and having spent entirely too much time traveling to play competitive softball), I was eager to find a new CrossFit home. Cove fit like a glove. Brian and Marina let me take my time easing back into the swing of things, joining as a member full time once I was good and ready. Members were warm and happy to welcome a new athlete to their community. It’s been an easy, comfortable transition coming back to the sport. When Brian asked me if I would be interested in coaching, it felt like CrossFit was greeting me back with open arms. I am so honored to be able to work alongside each of you and hopefully unleash more of your capabilities and potential, not just as athletes, but as humans, friends, and members of your own Cove! I thank Crossfit Cove every day for giving me the opportunity to fall back in love with this sport and share that with this amazing community!

Other Fun Facts:

• What brought me to Maryland?
  • FAMILY! I wanted the chance to give back to my parents and play an active role in my nephew’s life!
• What else do I like to do besides CrossFit?
  • I recently found a new hobby in rock climbing! It’s been a welcome challenge on my CrossFit recovery days! I have tapped into a new community of tree-hugging, Subaru-driving, Chaco-wearing friends that I didn’t know I needed 😂
  • I still play lots of competitive slow-pitch softball, mainly playing in tournaments.
  • I am a coffee snob/lover and try my damnedest to brew the best beans I can get my hands on.
  • Spend time with my adorable nephew JJ!
  • Travel travel travel!
• Fun Life Goals
  • Travel to every US National Park.
  • Eat at every Michelin Restaurant in Washington, DC.
  • Enjoy the heck out of life! We don’t have time to waste

We are so excited to have Kelsey (and Carolyn) as part of the team, looking to continue to bring fitness wrapped in a package of fun, hard work, joy, and community to the Cove.

We have some exciting news at the Cove, as we are bringing on Carolyn P.  to the Cove coaching staff. For the past month, she has been shepherding new CrossFit athletes through our CrossFit 101 program. We all know Carolyn as a fierce athlete and a ring leader of fun both inside and outside of the gym.

To introduce Carolyn to the community, we asked her some questions so you can get a better feel for her as she will be soon hitting a class near you.

How long have you been doing CrossFit?

Over two years

What do you love about CrossFit?

As a member, I have loved the fact that all I needed to think about is getting in my car and showing up. There is already a dynamic workout planned when I arrive, and I get to spend an hour of my day with a group of athletes all tackling that same challenge together. Camaraderie provides a deeper purpose for WODs and builds consistency (showing up again each day) through social accountability. You can’t get the same experience at a regular gym. CrossFit’s dynamic programming elements – gymnastics, powerlifting, and metabolic training have provided a space to practice skills I never thought were possible for me. It’s nearly impossible to be bored.

What do I love most about the Cove?

I never expected to make as many friends of diverse ages, generations and walks of life as I have at the Cove, and it has been the kindest gift. K-12 and higher education systems are designed for you to bond with mostly people your own age. When I left that structure and ventured into the “real world”, it was jarring to redesign a social structure that felt authentic and met my hierarchy of needs. The Cove has become my favorite structure for sustaining healthy habits, taking the correct risks, pushing past limiting self-beliefs and building diverse community that prompts belonging like I had never experienced before.

Why do you want to be a coach?

I was fortunate enough to have been introduced to the Cove through my family and have since built fulfilling relationships of my own that I am very proud of. The connections expand as I lean in and pay attention. I had recently attended the military retirement ceremony of a Covie we know and love, Mike Sears. He is arguably the most resilient and perspective-provoking athlete I have ever had the pleasure to know. Mike had a very tough hand dealt to him yet he strives to overcome every challenge that aims to knock him off course. Mike’s story puts a lot in perspective for me, especially how the sport of CrossFit is so much more than physical fitness. CrossFit is community. It’s so much more than showing up for class each day, it’s about showing up for your people. I want to be a coach because I understand that life is messy, and people keep coming back against odds to get fit AND feel connected to community. I want to continually serve both missions of fitness and community. I am naturally a lifelong learner, and coaching is a great outlet of accountability to refine skills and lean into the stories of members that I can serve. It is my goal to do right by them.

Any things from coaching foundations the past 3 weeks?

Foundations is unique and special from a coaching perspective because it continually allows me to hit the reset button. Each new athlete I meet has a different reason for taking a chance on this program, moreover, taking a chance on themselves to pursue a better life. That could mean getting fit, finding a community, taking a new risk, or anything in between. Whichever reason brings them to consider CrossFit training is valid and it is my responsibility to provide a warm welcome and spur their existing curiosity into tangible solutions that being a member of the Cove can provide. 

This Monday our friends at John’s Fit Meals are going to do a tasting at the Cove on Monday from 5 PM to 6 PM. Their food is great and a really nice option for those looking for a quick, healthy choice.