Blue Crab CrossFit December 2023 Newsletter

Blue Crab CrossFit • December 3, 2023

The Blue Crab CrossFit Committed Club Results

Holiday Hours & Workouts

December

22nd: 10 Days of BCCF Christmas WoD

25th: Closed for Christmas

26 – 29th: Light Class Week – due to low attendance during this week last year and to allow our coaches some time with their families for the holidays, our hours will be (all reflected in Wodify):

26th (Tuesday): 8:15 and 10:15am

27th (Wednesday): 7:30am, Noon, 4:20pm, 5:30pm, 6:40pm

28th (Thursday): 6am, Noon, 4:20pm, 5:30pm

29th (Friday): 7:30am, Noon, 4:20pm, 5:30pm

January

1st: 10am class only – let’s kick off the New Year Together!

Congratulations to our December BCCF Athlete of the Month, Ashley Smith! A well deserve nomination, Ashley is consistently at the gym, always showing up with a smile and a great attitude ready to take on each challenge! She’s worked very hard this last year to tackle movements and weights on the barbell she’s has as goals and she’s CRUSHING it! We couldn’t be more thankful and proud to have her as part of the BCCF Family!

Thank you for being such a great BCCF role model and member! Congratulations on a nomination well deserved!

Tell us a bit about yourself!

I grew up in a small town at the very bottom tip of Ohio called Ironton. In third grade, I attempted to try out for cheerleading. I was told I was too big to be a cheerleader and that basketball would probably be a better fit…. so, from then on I was a basketball player. In college, I played competitive Ultimate Frisbee. During my first year teaching, I started distance running and did that until finding Crossfit. I’ve always loved being active and outside.

Tell us about your fitness journey and discovering CrossFit

I was first introduced to functional fitness in 2016 when I signed up for my first Spartan Trifecta. I knew that to tackle the longer Spartan distances I would need to do more than running. Despite being active, I have always struggled with maintaining a healthy weight. In the winter of 2018, I lost my grandfather to complications associated with obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Before he passed he told me, “If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.” So in 2019 while continuing with functional fitness, I completely changed my eating habits and lost about 50 lbs. I had been flirting with CrossFit for a while, but fell in love with it while watching the 2019 Games. I got my CF-L1 in February of 2020… and the rest I guess is history. I found Blue Crab in 2022 and have loved every moment getting stronger and connecting to the amazing community. CrossFit has completely changed my life and made me a better and stronger person all around, not just physically.

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

Over the next year, CrossFit wise I want to build strength in my front squat and core to translate into other movements & lifts. I also want to get a strict pull up. That was my goal this year and I slacked a little bit. Non-Crossfit… one thing Jan and I want to do in 2024 is to commit to hiking a new trail each month and following up the hike with checking out a new brewery.

Tell us more about your life outside of the gym – favorite thing to do when you’re bored, favorite meal, music, job etc.

We moved to Maryland in 2016 when Jan got stationed at Fort Meade. In my professional life I am a special educator. I have been a teacher for 11 years. In my free time I enjoy reading, crocheting, traveling, and watching all the bad reality TV on TLC. My favorite type of food is Thai and most of the time there is probably country music on my radio. (Unless I’m preparing to lift heavy… then the music is very angry…)

What to Expect in December’s Programming

November was filled with highlights! Big workouts, big lifts, and big wins. Not to mention, we raised over $2,200 for the Catch a Lift Fund! We were just shy of our $2,500 goal, however 1) the link is still open through the end of the year (so we can still reach our goal!) and, 2) Mary’s company is matching what was raised, so we just raised A LOT of money for the Catch a Lift Fund, which goes directly to them to support our injured veterans through fitness. THANK YOU SO MUCH – this means the world to us!

We kicked off our final strength cycle of the year and worked through a 5-week wave loading scheme of the Back Squat, Push Jerk, and Deadlift. These lifts will all be retested in December.

We also ‘stepped up’ to victory during Veteran’s Day week by completing Chad – 1000 Reps of Box Step-Up and the Catch a Lift workout, “Coffland.” Our conditioning in November saw well-balanced RPEs and workout types as we settled into more of a General Physical Preparedness focus.

December is all about staying consistent through the final month of the year and prepping to the ground running in 2024! We begin this month by finishing our strength cycle and testing all 3 movements in the second full week of December.

On these testing days, the strength portion will take priority, and the workouts will be short burners to make sure everyone has enough time to lift…and possibly hit some PRs!

For our Christmas workouts, we will see the famous 12 Day of Christmas BCCF Style on the Friday before Christmas, followed by two more themed workouts on Sunday & Monday.

We will also have an NYE-themed workout and an NYD-themed workout to ring in the new year! The final 2-3 weeks of the month will consist of non-stop, tried and true CrossFit programming.

This will give the year a well-rounded finish with classic workout styles and help prime us for January…and the 2024 CF Open!

December Workout Highlights

Strength Focus

Test 1-Rep Back Squat/ Push Jerk / Deadlift

(1) Barbell Complex

(1-2) Barbell Strength Days

Metcon Focus

(2-3) Moderate Time Domains

(1-2) Short Time Domains

(1-2) Long Time Domains

Holiday Themed Workouts

New Years Eve + New Years Day Themed Workouts

BCCF CrossFit Youth – Wrapped up This Month

We’ve had so much fun watching the kiddos tackle the movements and workouts that Coach Sam put together for the class! We’ve officially completed our first six week CrossFit Youth Program and are finalizing the dates for 2024!

CrossFit Youth is led by Coach Sam Harthman and it focuses on ages 5-10. Eventually we plan to build out a program for 11-15 year olds. As soon as we finish ironing out the details, we’ll send it soon! Currently the plan is to run six week programs, 3-4 times a year.

Thank you, Sam, for running this classes! We’re so excited to get our future generations into the gym and inspiring them to be strong like their parents!

The BCCF Countdown to Santa Claws has official begun!

The Blue Crab CrossFit Countdown to Santa Claws officially kicked off on December 1st!

Our competitors are already off to a strong start! Don’t wait too long to get your challenges completed – if you get it completed before the next is announced, you’ll receive bonus points!

If you missed the sign up, you’re still able to sign up, but have missed out on the first two bonus point opportunities. There are still plenty of points on the table, so sign up today and you can work through them to catch up! Sign up here – you must sign up so we can officially track your points!

Don’t forget, it’s up to you to verify your points are submitted. Mandy will assign the bonus points by verifying the social media posts and may update other entries as she sees them completed. Make sure you tag the Blue Crab CrossFit page AND use BOTH hashtags: #bccf #bccfcommunity

Big prizes for our top three finishers! Read about the challenge here.

Committed Club Year End Qualification

At the end of the year, this will be our first full year of the Blue Crab CrossFit Committed Club.

Originally our plan was to have a drawing at the end of the year for people who made the list all 12 months of the year. Mid-year, we changed that to 11 of the 12 months. Now, we plan to have a year end drawing for individuals who have EITHER made 11 of the 12 months OR 200 total check-ins, in 2023.

Reason for the change – life. Sometimes work pulls you away, sometimes you decide to take a much deserved, LONG vacation. Aside from that, you’re consistently at the gym. After all, the club is about consistency and getting to the gym regularly. 200 check-ins is pretty regular, so we want to reward you all for that consistency!

So what we’ve decided – if you meet 11 of the 12 months, you’ll be entered into the end of the year drawing. If you’ve made 200+ check ins, then you’ll receive TWO entries into the end of the year drawing.

Oh yeah, and we’ve decided to change the prize. We’re so dang proud of you all for consistently getting to the gym, rather than the originally planned $100 prize, instead we’ll be drawing THREE names. The first will receive ONE INVOICE CREDIT towards you membership or store credit. The second will receive $50 of store credit, the third, $25 of store credit. And we’ll also do our regularly monthly drawing for December for $20.

So you now know the plan. We have about one final month to receive one of those two goals for the end of the year. Let’s do this and close out the year with the most check ins possible!

By the way, TWELVE of you already have 200+. A number of you are only a few check ins away!

Blue Crab CrossFit Events

December 10th – BCCF Holiday Party (tentative)
Cornhole, pickleball, pizza, and the Ravens. Let’s get together to celebrate the holidays and be thankful for our BCCF Family! Sign up for a dish here !

December 15th & 17th – BCCF Gives Back to the Ronald McDonald House
This holiday season we will have the honor of providing dinner at the Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore for our charity event, giving back to the community! Please RSVP here by November 15th . If you can’t make the food preparations, donations are still welcome to buy extra goodies for the kids.
January 8 – 13th – Member Appreciation Week
Thanking our members for an amazing 2023! Give aways and awards to be presented!
January 15 – 20th – Bring a Friend Week
Spread the word now! Try BCCF for an entire week for free! If your friend signs up for a membership or Foundations, they’ll receive $75 off and you’ll get a $75 credit!

The post Blue Crab CrossFit December 2023 Newsletter appeared first on Blue Crab CrossFit.

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Introducing a new benefit to BCCF Members - Embark Physical Therapy

By Mandy Brezina • November 16, 2024

We’re excited to announce a new partnership with Embark Physical Therapy! We’re always looking for ways to continue to add value to your BCCF membership, so we’re excited to announce that Zach will be offering FREE in-person consultations at Blue Crab CrossFit (aiming for every 1-2 months) in our recovery room. Whether it’s stretches you can do or a specialist you can see, Zach’s goal is to help you feel and move better, so he’s graciously offered his time to help BCCF at no cost to you! Starting November 23rd, you’ll see availability for 15 minute consultations with Zach in Wodify for you to book. Come prepared with questions about what is bothering you or what you’d like to learn more about to help you feel better. Don’t let that lingering pain become a bigger problem. Be proactive and learn how you can feel better therefore perform better during workouts! In 2024, we’ll also start to put some seminars on the calendar, led by Zach, to help you learn more about various subjects that’ll help you feel and move better!

November Blue Crab CrossFit Newsletter

By Mandy Brezina • November 1, 2024

What to Expect in November Looking back on October, we had a lot on our plate! We started our final strength cycle of 2024, working through a Deadlift, Back Squat, and Push Press 5-3-1 cycle that although shorter, it effectively built athletes up to new PRs. We saw one Oly complex a week to keep our skills sharp, and we began to see prep for our Veteran’s Day workout, Chad. We hit some big retests of DT and Jackie, tackled a new Halloween workout, and got after Mary and Cindy for the gymnastically inclined. We saw a broad distribution of workout types throughout the week, meaning that we weren’t focusing on specific time domains or workouts types like previous Phases - October and the next 2 months will be all about as much variety as possible. Looking ahead to November, we have some BIG benchmarks to get us excited. The first thing we have on the agenda is Chad…1000 Weighted Step-Ups is a great way to pay tributes to any and all Veterans around the world and has become the staple workout on such a special day. We will also finish off our 5-3-1 strength cycle right around the same time and take note that because Chad falls on a Monday, we will be splitting the retest days (2 retests the week of Chad, one the week after) to ensure everyone is primed to hit some PRs. On top of these two exciting things happening almost simultaneously we will be doing the NCFIT Lift-Off right around this time as well. Think of this similarly to the Mid-Year Challenge…3 consecutive Fridays (11/8, 11/15, 11/22) that will prioritize a longer strength session. This is just for fun and no extra work has to be done, just getting excited to lift heavy! For the rest of the month, we will still see a broad range of workout types to get us as much variety as possible. We will end the month with a 12 Days of Thankfulness and Black Friday workout. We have stuffed a lot into this month, so hang on for the ride! 5-3-1 Strength Cycle 10/7-11/18 (Deadlift/ Back Squat/ Push Press) W1 - 1RM Tests W2 - 3x5 @ (RPE 7) W3 - 3x3 @ (RPE 8) W4 - 5-3-1 @ (RPE 7-8-9) W5 - Deload W6 - 1RM Retests November Weekly Workout Commitments (3x/ Week) Back Squat/ Deadlift/ Push Press Strength (1x/ Week) NCFIT Lift-Off (11/8, 11/15, 11/22) (1x/ Week) Workout of the Week or Benchmark/ Classic workout (1x/ Week) Optional Partner Workout Chad Hero Workout 11/11 12 Days of Thankfulness + Black Friday Workout

October Blue Crab CrossFit Newsletter

By Mandy Brezina • November 1, 2024

Happy 11th Birthday, BCCF! Blue Crab CrossFit just hit 11 years of helping people become healthier, stronger versions of themselves. Many members have recent celebrated a decade with us - thank you to everyone who has supported us over the years and made it possible to keep our doors open so we can continue helping people live healthier lives! Here’s to many more years of fun workouts with the Blue Crab CrossFit Family!

Thinking of the Hofstetter family - thank you, Kyle for the beautiful photos.

September Blue Crab CrossFit Newsletter

By Mandy Brezina • September 6, 2024

September events, athletes of the month, what to expect in crossfit group classes.

August Blue Crab CrossFit Newsletter

By Mandy Brezina • August 22, 2024

What to Expect in August July was a jam-packed month, so before we start looking ahead at what’s to come, let’s first take a look back at everything we accomplished last month. We have to start off by highlighting the start of our third strength cycle, which is all about the Snatch and Clean & Jerk. We kept things simple, working on building percentages week to week with triples, doubles, and singles before testing a 1RM for both movements in August! We also changed from Phase II, which was focused on longer GRIND workouts, to Phase III, which is going to be all about SPRINT workouts. We will still see a variety of workouts across the weeks, but the focus will be dropping the hammer 1-2 times per week. We saw a focus on the Pull-Up, chest-to-bar, and Bar Muscle-Up, along with tests of a new Benchmark workout/ Hero workout and a retest of the Filthy 50 from April. Looking at August, let’s first mention the three things that will carry over into this month. First, we will be finishing our Oly cycle with our heavy 1RM tests the week of 8/12. We also will be continuing with our Phase III SPRINT focus, which means we will see 1-2 faster workouts each week to build everyone’s anaerobic base. Lastly, we will still see 1-2 Flex Finishers per week to carry us through the second half of summer. Looking at some changes in the programming, we will have a greater emphasis on the Push-Up and the kipping handstand push-up. We focused on Strict HSPU in June, took a slight break in July, and now we are going to use that shoulder strength and add in some kipping! We will also test Nancy as our Benchmark for the month and retest Kelly from back in May. On top of those workouts to look forward to, we will also see an NCFIT Classic, Supersonic, and a new Hero workout for this month! Let’s keep our foot on the gas this month and keep training hard! Weekly August Workout Commitments (2x/ Week) Oly Strength Cycle (1x/ Week) Deadlift or Back Squat (1-2x/ Week) Sprint Workouts (1x/ Week) Workout of the Week or Benchmark/ Classic workout (1x/ Week) Push-Up/ Kipping Handstand Push-Up Capacity/ Focus (1-2x/ Week) FLEX-style Finishers

July Blue Crab CrossFit Newsletter

By Mandy Brezina • July 29, 2024

What to Expect in July We are OFFICIALLY in the second half of the training year, but before we talk about what is to come let’s reflect back on the month of June! Everyone got after the three Mid-Year Challenge workouts that highlighted some of the themes we will see in the second half of the year. We completed a few named workouts - a test of Cali Bear and a retest of Fran. The Handstand Push-Up was our main gymnastics focus. We saw it once a week to help continue building confidence and capacity. We also saw two GRIND workouts a week during the final month of our “Towing Capacity” cycle. This solidified our more anaerobic system (shorter duration, higher intensity), so we can now switch gears and build our aerobic (longer, lower intensity) system during our next phase. Lastly, we saw a barbell complex once a week to set us up for our next strength cycle (Oly Cycle) that will be all about the Snatch + Clean & Jerk! In July, our strength cycle is going to start in the second week of the month. This is to account for the Fourth of July holiday week(end), when we traditionally see lots of athletes traveling. The first week of the month will see some nods for what’s to come, but the cycle won’t officially start until the following week, 7/8! This Oly cycle will center around the Snatch + Clean & Jerk, culminating in a 1RM test! Week 1 will be an opportunity to build to something heavy that can be used to base percentages on for the remaining weeks. From there, we will see triples, doubles, and single reps leading into a deload and a 1RM test! We will also see alternating weeks of Back Squats and Deadlifts, which are supplemental lifts - the stars of the show are our two Oly lifts! Our conditioning phase will switch to a focus on shorter, more explosive efforts, which means we’ll see more sprint workouts each week. The intent is to take the long-distance base we established in the last phase and now work on dialing up the intensity with these shorter, more explosive workouts. Getting uncomfortable with speed in a workout is required and that's what this phase is all about! Our first benchmark, Jackie, highlights this concept perfectly! We will also see a retest of the Filthy Fifty, a hero workout on July 4th, and the classic Crossfit workout: Fight Gone Bad. The last big note for this month is a higher exposure to Pull-Ups, Chest to Bars, and Bar Muscle-Ups! Olympic Lifting Cycle 7/8-8/18 (Snatch + Clean & Jerk) Week 1: 3-3-3-2-2-1-1* (Sets of 3 in 60-70% range. Sets of 2 in 70-80% range. Sets of 1 in 80-90+% range) Week 2: 5x3 @ (60-70%) Week 3: 5x2 @ (70-80%) Week 4: 5x1 @ (80-90+%) Week 5: Deload Week 6: 1RM Snatch + Clean & Jerk July Weekly Workout Commitments (2x/ Week) Oly Strength Cycle (1x/ Week) Deadlift or Back Squat (1-2x/ Week) Sprint Workouts (1x/ Week) Workout of the Week or Benchmark/ Classic workout (1x/ Week) Kipping PU, C2B, Bar Muscle-Up Capacity/ Focus (1-2x/ Week) FLEX-style Finishers

June Blue Crab CrossFit Newsletter

By Mandy Brezina • June 16, 2024

What to Expect in June We are officially at the halfway point of 2024, which means the Mid-Year Challenge is right around the corner! Let’s first recap May to celebrate everything we accomplished! In the first week of May, we tested our 3RM Bench Press and Overhead/Front Squat, capping off our volume cycle with some great PRs and leading into a phase of general physical preparedness (GPP) lifting! We had a big bunch of named workouts that we tackled - our Mother’s Day partner Workout and a retest of The Chief! We saw Kelly as our Benchmark of the Month, so expect to see her again in three months! Leading up to Memorial Day, athletes had the opportunity to get some last prep work in with the Optional Murph Prep, which spanned four weeks and led right into Murph. Lastly, we really got comfortable with an uncomfortable amount of toes to bar (T2B) with our capacity focus showing up in workouts in various ways! As we shift into June, we have some exciting things on the horizon, so let’s see what’s in store! Let’s kick off this review with the main focus for the month…our Mid-Year Challenge! On Friday, June 14th, and the following two Fridays, we will complete an Open-style workout that is completely unique to the NCFIT programming! Weaved into the month, we will also see a retest of Fran and our Benchmark of the Month: Cali Bear! We will also see Barbara, another Hero Workout, and a Father’s Day workout! Our Toes to Bar volume from last month will shift gears, and we will see a greater focus on Strict/kipping Handstand Push Up(HSPU) practice/volume. The goal will be to build more reps of both Strict and Kipping HSPU into workouts, similar to how we did with T2B last month. This will be the last month of our Towing Capacity Cycle, so we will continue to see 2 Grind workouts each week to finish this phase of training off strong! Lastly, you will see at least one Oly complex per week to prep us for our Oly cycle that starts in July…this will run in tandem with a continued focus on GPP strength work. And finally, we’ll be adding in 1-2 FLEX bodybuilding finishers per week to keep the pump alive going into summer! Weekly Workout June Commitments 3 New Mid-Year Challenge Workouts (2x/ Week) Grind Workouts (1x/ Week) Workout of the Week or Benchmark/ Classic workout (1x/ Week) 1 Oly Complex (1x/ Week) Strict/ Kipping HSPU Capacity/ Focus (1-2x/ Week) FLEX-style Finishers

May Blue Crab CrossFit Newsletter

By Mandy Brezina • May 17, 2024

What to Expect in May We’re closing in on the halfway point of 2024, but before we talk about May, let’s review April and everything we worked on! First, we saw the beginning of our Volume/ Capacity cycle for the Overhead/Front Squat + Bench Press that carried through the month. Each week the reps got a little lower with the intent of increasing the weight.…we also got the opportunity to retest Death Row and see the engine improvement! The Strict Handstand Push-Up (HSPU) showed up a few times during the month, both as a skill session and in workouts…the goal was to develop strength/awareness while inverted, and even if this didn’t result in your first Strict HSPU, it still helped get some practice upside down! We saw a change in the conditioning focus, too…we are working on rowing capacity for the next few months, which means 2-3 GRIND workouts per week! Lastly, we saw the beginning of our four week extra credit Murph Prep, which will lead us up to Memorial Day and make sure everyone is ready to rock! Since we’re talking about Murph, let’s see what May has in store! The first full week of May is going to start on a high note as we test our 3x Rep Max for the Overhead/Front Squat & Bench Press! Once the strength cycle is done, we go back to General Physical Performance lifting, which will consist of barbell complexes and strength days, but there will not be a linear progression behind them. We will continue to get stronger by varying our strength movements! We have a special Cinco De Mayo workout, a great Mother’s Day Workout, our Benchmark workout: Kelly, and of course, we are tackling Murph on Memorial Day weekend! Throughout this month, we will see the gymnastics focus shift from Strict HSPU to building confidence/capacity in the Toes to Bar. This will take the form of skill sessions and higher volume TTB workouts, so prep those lats and midlines! We also will be prepping everyone for the Mid Year Mini Comp that will take place in the final 3 weeks of June! We will see some “Open Style” workouts to help us get ready for the 3-week event! We will still be focusing on longer GRIND workouts 2-3 times a week, so let’s get ready to keep building those engines through the month of May, especially with one of the best examples of an engine workout, Murph, right around the corner! May Weekly Workout Commitments Overhead/ Front Squat + Bench Press 3RM Test (2x/ Week) Grind Workouts (1x/ Week) Workout of the Week or Benchmark/ Classic workout (2x/ Week) Extra Credit Murph Prep (1x/ Week) Toes to Bar Capacity/ Focus