Blue Crab CrossFit December 2023 Newsletter

Blue Crab CrossFit • Dec 03, 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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