MUST READ: SOFT OPENING ANNOUCEMENTS
SOFT OPENING
ACCOUNCEMENTS
“Safe, gradual and effective”
Governor Hogan used this term to describe his approach to reopening the state and we are doing everything possible to do the same for the Cove. Over the last two weeks, we’ve watched gyms reopen outdoor classes and do meetups, often with little to no apparent protocol for separation, cleanliness, or organization. There has also been tremendous confusion for business owners as to what is actually permitted (as an example, a May 6th amendment to the Governor’s orders permitted outdoor classes but the May 13th announcement from Hogan and Howard County did not). While we are excited to potentially re-open, getting permission from authorities and getting these operational systems in place has always been front and center for us.
Over the past four days we exchanged several messages with Councilwoman Christina Rigby (Howard County Legislator) and Jennifer Jones (Executive Calvin Ball’s Chief of Staff) in which we outlined our specific plans for outdoor classes and received this in return:
“Outdoor instruction is allowed as long as you are maintaining social distancing and safety protocols. Thank you for your detailed safety plan. Let me know if you have any further questions.”
We want to thank each of you for your unwavering support of the Cove. Your willingness to pay membership, support the community and weather this storm with us allows us to even be in a position to re-open. At a time when business are closing or are at-risk to, words cannot express our gratitude to you all.
Our plan is to re-open the gym with 9-person outdoor classes starting this Saturday, May 23rd (weather permitting) to start. Many of you have expressed eagerness to return, and we want to give you that experience you’ve been missing. But we also know there’s a large group not ready to come back for a variety of reasons. We want to give each of what you what you need to find success. As we’ve discussed, we will also do everything in our power to outfit those who cannot come back to the gym after Saturday with some equipment and additional programming so at-home workouts can be continued and you can continue your fitness and stay connected to the community!
Below is a detailed outline of our what will happen this week:
MONDAY, TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY (5/18 -5/20): TEST CLASSES
Re-opening an outdoor gym will be a huge learning experience for all of us. To help us get better prepared, we will be running a handful of “test classes” on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week. These classes will be limited to 9 athletes per class. With equipment returns happening later in the week, we won’t have equipment here, so the experience will be different than classes we hope to achieve starting Saturday. We are going to ask that you bring whatever equipment makes sense for that day from your home. We also ask that you bring a yoga mat as well (we have a couple of extras at the Cove). If you do not have the equipment necessary for that class, we will have a couple of sets of gear to help those athletes.
Our hope is to use these ‘test classes’ to get smarter abt.out what an outdoor class might feel like — it is about learning, seeking inputs and quickly make adjustments for next week. This means looking at spacing (and ability to be far apart but hear the coach), sanitization procedures, logistics (clock/music), timing, class flow, and more.
Classes will run as follows:
MONDAY at 4p and 6p.
TUESDAY at 9:30am,Noon, 4:30 and 6:30
WEDNESDAY at 9:30am, Noon, 4:30 and 6:30
We will also treat the sign ups for these “test classes” like “real” classes to make sure the systems work. Again, this is a TEST for what real classes might run like starting Saturday and that includes new sign up technologies. Here is a video on how to reserve a spot for a class.
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY (5/21 and 5/22): EQUIPMENT RETURN
On Thursday and Friday, we will hold several windows for equipment returns. As we’ve said, ALL equipment needs to be returned so we can re-inventory the gear, clean it, and prepare to serve all our athletes. If your ONLY or PRIMARY method of working out is at home for the foreseeable future, please email us at info@cove-fitness.com (please don’t use our individual addresses, just info@cove-fitness.com) and we promise we will do our best to outfit you with equipment for home use. Our hope is to turn this around VERY quickly so you don’t miss a beat with your training!
As you can imagine it will be a challenging task to determine equipment needs for people who truly cannot come to the gym while simultaneously building back up for gradual, systematized re-opening. Please be patient with us as we are trying to basically service two Cove locations — one for the athletes at the facility and one the athletes at home. We are also trying to rent equipment from other facilities as purchasing equipment during this time is incredibly difficult with shortages of supply.
If you are unable to return your gear during these windows (times to be determined), please contact us as we can try to make alternative arrangements or can come get equipment from you under extreme circumstances.
For those of you who continue to train at home, in addition to the daily programming, we will also be adding Coach Maria’s “Engine Express” workouts. Engine Express is a body-weight boot camp-style workout that can be done in a small space in a short amount of time. The movements are inspired by the functional movement that we do in CrossFit and also tap in to other unique ways of moving our bodies. The focus is primarily on conditioning and mobility, but strength, specifically core plays a big role in these workouts. These are an incredible addition to the current programming and we couldn’t be more excited about this offering.
SATURDAY & SUNDAY 5/23 and 5/24
On Saturday and Sunday, we will start our official Cove outdoor classes. We are still working on figuring out class times and will be releasing that when we get more information (we are working with our landlord, feedback from test classes, and of course, weather).
MONDAY – FRIDAY (5/25 – 5/30)
Our goal is to apply all the learning on demand and attendance to determine the weekly schedule. We are currently determining the best options for Memorial Day hours and activities as well.
There is a lot here, and we are available to answer any questions you might have. This is a learning process for us all and we ask that we give each other grace during this time. As we stated at the start of this post, doing things in a “safe, effective, and gradual” manner is our goal. And providing options and choices is something we are trying to achieve in this challenging time. Trust us that we are doing everything possible to make the best of this impossible situation.
STRENGTH
Every 45 seconds for 8 rounds
4 Power Cleans
METCON
3 rounds
10 Hang Squat Cleans
10 Bar Facing Burpee
(Test Classes – 15 Burpees)
400m Run
Time Cap: 15 min
If running location not ideal:
3 rounds
10 Hang Squat Cleans
10 Bar Facing Burpees
Buy-out: 1 mile Run