Blue Crab CrossFit July Newsletter

Blue Crab CrossFit • July 5, 2023

Congratulations to our July BCCF Athletes of the Month, Karina Dudley! Karina always shows up to class with a smile and a great attitude! She’s impresses us as a busy intern finishing up her degree and still prioritizing her fitness and consistently making it on the BCCF Committed Club! She recently competed in her first CrossFit competition and I think she may be hooked

Thanks for being such a great BCCF role model! Check out her great story below!

Tell us a bit about yourself!

I’m from Omaha, Nebraska. Growing up, I was a very active child. I did tap dance for a couple of years, figure skating for a year or two, gymnastics for 3 years, and soccer for 10 years. Eventually my parents made me choose a singular sport, and I ended up choosing soccer. Since there were not a lot of local soccer teams in Nebraska that were competitive, my soccer club constantly travelled out of town to play games, nearly every weekend during competition season. I used to call the main soccer season “living out of a suitcase for 1.5 months season”! Post-soccer life, I’m majoring in Computer Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and will be returning to Maryland after graduation to work in cybersecurity.

Tell us about your fitness journey and discovering CrossFit

After medically retiring from soccer in high school, I got into weightlifting to stay in shape. However, after a couple of years, I was bored with the monotony of traditional weightlifting programs. I ended up watching the 2021 CrossFit Games while packing up my dorm to move to Maryland for my internship and decided to give CrossFit a try. Blue Crab CrossFit ended up having a Groupon deal and was only five minutes away from my apartment. One Groupon deal and two years later, I’m still doing CrossFit!

CrossFit helped provide structure and fun back into my workout routine. Prior to CrossFit, the monotony of my workouts caused me to be inconsistent with the gym. With a variety of workouts and movements, I regularly make it 3-5 times a week to the gym and no longer dread working out. Well, I guess I dread some workouts but for a different reason (yes, looking at you Fran). Temporarily moving to Maryland every 3-4 months for my internship makes it difficult to form long lasting relationships (even within the interns as people are constantly graduating from the program or rotating at different times), but CrossFit has given me a supportive community to return to.

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

CrossFit – Get muscle ups (bar and/or ring) and strict handstand pushups. These two moves still elude me but look like a lot of fun to do! While I can do kipping handstand pushups, I want to build the strength to be able to do them strictly.

Non-CrossFit – Graduate college! I head back to Nebraska in August to do my senior year before returning to Maryland permanently. Outside of school, I’d like to go snowboarding in Colorado. I’ve gone snowboarding at Killington in Vermont but want to experience the powdery snow in Colorado instead of the icier mountains in the Northeast.

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

I love being outdoors! Hiking, camping, biking. If it’s an outdoor activity, I’m 99% of the time down for it. This year I’ve also gotten into indoor rock climbing and boulder. Maybe one day I’ll try them outside! My favorite meal is a Burmese dish called Mohinga. It’s a rice noodle and catfish soup that, when done properly, takes hours for the broth to be ready. The wait and cooking effort is worth it!

Some random facts: I’m the middle child of 3, I have 2 dogs (German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois and Lab/Boxer/Supermutt) and a leopard gecko, I love to listen to and attend operas and symphonies, my favorite animal is a three-toed sloth, I love to garden/am a plant mom, and I’m a giant bookworm.

We had a busy June giving back to our community and putting our mark on our new space!

Thank you to Megan L. for coordinating the donation of 30 birthday bags to the Howard County Food Bank! These birthday bags will go to families in need – they contain all the basics to throw a birthday party for their children!

We also painted our original slogan, Experience the Molt, along the wall behind the rig. Thank you to the painting crew for showing up and leaving their mark and a special shout out to Coach Tyler for the idea, designing it, and staying up way past your bedtime to get the wall taped up for painting!

What is “Experience the Molt?”

Molt stands for a couple of things in the context of Blue Crab CrossFit and its history. As part of “Experience the Molt,” Molt stood for “Movement of Life Training.” According to the dictionary, Molt is defined as “to cast or shed the feathers, skin, or the like, that will be replaced by a new growth; to cast or shed (feathers, skin, etc.) in the process of renewal.” If you’ve ever heard of a softshell crab, it’s a crab that just molted and is in the process of growing a new shell. Given our logo has the crab, Molt in the context of BCCF is the process of shedding your old skin to be replaced by new growth. When you join Blue Crab CrossFit, you are joining a community of like-minded people who are working hard to live a healthier, stronger life. In the process of that, you are shedding your old skin to replace it with a stronger, healthier version of yourself.

Stop by and see the new wall today. It looks great!

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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