Wednesday, January 25th 2017

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…