September Blue Crab CrossFit Newsletter

What to Expect in September

August was full of excitement, the main highlight being the 1RM attempts for both the Clean & Jerk and Snatch to end our Olympic Lifting Cycle! We continued to see the Phase III focus of “Horsepower” show up in 1-2 SPRINT workouts per week where the only strategy was to drop the hammer! We built pressing volume for both the Push-Up and the Handstand Push-Up that showed up once a week.

We saw some great FLEX bodybuilding finishers to keep the pump alive while working through the summer months and also worked on a short Pistol progression to help build mastery of a very tricky movement! Lastly, we had an opportunity to test the classic Nancy. Let’s talk about what’s in store for September!

September marks the final month of our Horsepower phase! This month we will focus on GPP strength training with 2-3 lifts or lifting complexes per week. These are not a linear progression and will not culminate in a 1RM test, but the continued exposure to various lifts and loads will help us continue to gain strength! Kicking off the month we have Hotshots 19 on Labor Day along with a retest of the classic Kelly. We will also see the Hero workout Amanda workout this month – a classic combo of explosive strength and high skill gymnastics. On 9/11, we will run our tribute workout “Stand Tall” to commemorate the events that took place on that day…this is an important one so mark your calendars.

We will continue to see 1-2 SPRINT workouts to push our pace along with 1-2 FLEX finishers weekly. Our gymnastics focus will center around the Ring Muscle-Up and building efficiency with this high skill movement! Lastly, we will see at least one big chipper workout each week…a format that delivers some of the most fun and exciting workouts!

We’re excited for September! Way to crush August!

September Weekly Workout Commitments

(2-3x/ Week) Strength Work/Barbell Complex

(1x/ Week) Chipper Workout  

(1-2x/ Week) Sprint Workouts

(1x/ Week) Workout of the Week or Benchmark/Classic workout

(1x/ Week) Ring Muscle-Up Skill Work/Focus

(1-2x/ Week) FLEX-style Finishers

The Blue Crab CrossFit Committed Club is for members who attend 15+ classes at the gym each month. Every quarter, if you make the three consecutive months in that quarter, you get added to the quarterly drawing as well! $20 monthly - $50 quarterly towards the BCCF store! Drawing on the 3rd of each month. If there is an asterik next to the name, then you're qualified for the quarterly drawing if you are on the list for September!

Why do we have a Committed Club?

Unlike big box gyms who have a business model of pay for a membership but don’t encourage attending, Blue Crab CrossFit WANTS you to USE YOUR MEMBERSHIP! The more consistently you attend group classes, the better you feel and the more results you’ll see. Our mission is to help you live a stronger, healthier life and in order to do that, you must attend class 3+/week. Our committed club highlights members who made it to the gym 15+ times in a month.

Haven’t made the list? We’re just getting started! You have the year to make 200+ check ins or 11 of the 12 months on the list to get an entry into the Grand Prize!

September Athletes of the Month

Emiily & Brian Betz

Emily and Brian frequently attend the evening classes when they aren’t busy traveling the world to keep us safe! Both in the Army, we’ve loved seeing them embrace CrossFit to supplement their military readiness and always show up with a smile and ready to tackle the workouts! They will be moving soon to their next duty station in the Army - we’ll miss them both greatly and hope that someday they’ll find themselves back in MD :-)

Thank you for being such great members of BCCF! Enjoy their great story below!

Tell us your story - where did you grow up and what kind of activities did you do growing up?

Emily: My parents were in the Army, so I moved every 2-3 years. Some honorable mentions being Landstuhl, Germany (I was born there!), Fort Drum, Fort Meade, Newport, RI, and Fort Bragg. Ironically, I got stationed here as my first duty assignment! Growing up I tried out several different sports, but in High School I was dedicated to swimming. I also was a huge band nerd (marching band, concert band, jazz band, you name it); I played the trombone.

Brian: I had what I consider a pretty normal childhood growing up in New Jersey. Every summer, I’d go to various summer camps from sports clinics to nature conservation weeks. I enjoyed football and baseball, but was never good enough to be on the school team.

Tell us how you were first introduced to CrossFit? How long have you been doing CrossFit - any thoughts/comments on how it’s changed or influenced your life.

Emily: I graduated college in 2020, which was right in the middle of the pandemic. As a "brand new adult" I found myself lost and unfocused in terms of my gym routine/fitness. I wandered aimlessly around Planet Fitness and did boring and unproductive workouts. My friend convinced me to give CrossFit a try, I went to my first class in September 2020! Initially, I loved it because I could show up with no plan and get told what to do by the coach and leave with a challenging workout behind me. CrossFit gave me an outlet to release my competitive nature. I'm secretly very competitive, and that forces me to work harder when I have someone next to me doing the same workout and a coach cheering me on. I loved leaving the gym feeling like I accomplished something great. But now what I really love about CrossFit is the community. No matter where I go, I can find a CrossFit gym and drop in and get a good workout in. We had a huge CrossFit community when I was deployed, and it was awesome being able to instantly connect with Soldiers over CrossFit when I first arrived in country. It took some of the anxiety away for sure!

Brian: Funnily enough, my first CrossFit class was at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, way back in 2022. At the time, I was on a weeklong battlefield circulation with SOJTF-L and got a chance to visit Emily. It took me until Emily got back from deployment to start doing CrossFit seriously in February 2023. At that point, I was reasonably fit, but CrossFit really tied everything together. The movements and techniques that CrossFit requires rounds out your fitness in a way that traditional strength and conditioning alone could not. As a unit Master Fitness Trainer in the Army, I’ve mixed in a lot more METCON-style workouts with those that I train and they’re universally well-received.

What goals do you have within the next year - CrossFit and non-CrossFit?

Emily: I start Physical Therapy school in January! Which is super exciting. My goal in the next year is to balance school and the gym. The thought of being a doctoral candidate is insane to me, I feel like I'm still 15 years old sometimes! So really my main goal is to figure out a new routine that allows me the ability to continue CrossFit (and find a new gym in Texas!) and be a good student!

Brian: I still have yet to get down Double Unders and Ring Muscle-Ups, so those would be at the top of my goal list for CrossFit. I am currently training to represent the 780th Military Intelligence Brigade at the Army Ten-Miler in October, so I’ve been mixing in long runs whenever I can. I hope to wrap up qualifying in two specialties as an Army Cyber Capabilities Developer by the end of the year, which I’ve been making steady, gradual progress on in evenings after CrossFit.

Talk to us about your life outside of the gym - hobbies, favorite meal, music, job etc. Any random facts you want us to know?

Emily: I'm an amateur cyclist, you can find me most weekends going for a bike ride on the B&A or BWI trail. I also love to cook and bake; I love finding new recipes or creating new recipes. I'm known to bring in a huge Tupperware of cookies (or whatever) into work the next day to my coworkers because I experimented with a new crazy recipe and needed some feedback or because I have way too much leftover!

Brian: My day job is a Cyber Capabilities Developer with the Army, specializing in Unix Persistence. Most of my hobby time is taken up by the Georgia Tech M.S. in Computer Science program. I was lucky enough to take the Binary Exploitation class this semester, which is a lot of work, but is enjoyable. The course is structured like a Capture-the-Flag game. I also try to invest a good amount of time into honing in my C programming skills. There’s always something new to learn!

Do you have any advice for people getting started with CrossFit - what's helped you stay consistent and coming back day after day?

Emily: Don't give up on yourself! Crossfit is challenging, but it's the challenge that makes it worth it! Never be afraid to scale a workout, don't let your pride get in the way. You should be so proud of yourself for what your body is capable of and the resilience that you show each day. Sometimes I miss a workout (or two or three) because of whatever reason, but I always try to incorporate movement into my day, even if it is just a walk.  

Brian: No matter what your background, there will be some aspect of CrossFit that’s challenging. It might be the Olympic lifts or gymnastics or keeping up with the volume, but some aspect will push you in a new way. Encourage yourself to stay consistent when possible, but life happens, which is okay. Missing a class here and there and taking rest days are not only okay, but necessary in a balanced life. Find a rhythm that works for you and stick with it!

Congratulations to Coach Mitch!

5th FITTEST 35-39 year old  MAN IN THE WORLD

Coach Mitch competed as an individual in the CrossFit Games Masters Division (35-39) last weekend in Birmingham, Alabama and came in 5th overall!

We know many of you watched what you could and cheered him on along the way! It was so fun to see his hard work pay off - congratulations, Mitch!

When: October 12th

Time: 9:15am

Registration: $35 (shirt, gift bag, raffle ticket); other amounts available.

Lift for Autism was created to support the Maryland Autism Community, raise funds for Pathfinders for Autism, and most importantly, turn a spotlight on the impact of Autism on families and individuals in Maryland and around the world.

Together with local partners, Lift Autism will donate 100% of the event proceeds to the Pathfinders for Autism to help them continue the necessary and important work that they do.

Blue Crab CrossFit is excited to be one of THREE locations who will be hosting this amazing fundraising event on October 12th. This is our first of hopefully many years hosting. Help us reach our first year fundraising goal of $1500!

Donations and registration can be found in the event link. Blue Crab CrossFit will have onsite donations as well that will go 100% to the event. Registrations of $35 by September 20th will receive and event t-shirt, a welcome bag (to include the first 50 get a special gift!), and an entry into a raffle for many items donated by local businesses (think Royal Farms gift cards, restaurant gift cards, etc)!

About Pathfinders for Autism: Their resource center is the cornerstone of our efforts to serve Maryland families by providing timely, accurate autism-specific information and resources; respond personally to inquiries via phone/email/Facebook, and distribute monthly PFA Tips articles. Pathfinders for Autism is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, therefore all contributions are tax deductible.

CrossFit experience not required! All are welcome! The workout is a five minute workout and we'll have a variety of options available for all regardless of what level you are at in your fitness journey!

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