May Blue Crab CrossFit Newsletter

Mandy Brezina • May 17, 2024

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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

Committed Club Results

We just wrapped up the first month of quarter 2 for the 2024 Committed Club!

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!

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!

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

I grew up in Portland, Oregon close to the airport in NE Portland, I would ride my bike around the neighborhood, speed down hills, climb trees and play sports all my life. I played Soccer, Football, Basketball, Baseball, Track & Field, Swimming, and Water Polo. I was a band nerd and played Trumpet, Baritone, and Trombone. In high school I played in the Jazz, Symphonic, and Pep bands, it was a lot of fun. I joined the Oregon Army National Guard in July 2006, and went to Oregon State University, where I did ROTC, joined the Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike) fraternity and studied Business Information Systems and Management graduating with two Bachelors and a Commission in the Army National Guard in June 2011. One of my all time passions was watching airplanes take off and I decided to get my Pilot's license, which I did in May 2013 and got my Instrument rating in Sept 2014. I love craft beer, being from Portland, the city was home at one time to 85 craft breweries and I would attend a lot of the local beer festivals, so much fun. I stayed in Oregon until Aug 2016 where I moved to Norfolk, VA briefly for a job and then moved to Fort Walton Beach, FL in Dec 2016. I moved to Augusta, GA in 2019 for 6 months for an Army school and was mobilized to Fort Meade in Jan 2020. I've been here ever since. I continue to fly airplanes occasionally and work on my lifelong upskilling of becoming a Cloud Security Engineer. I'm still serving in the Army National Guard, in Virginia, where I'm a Major and a Commander of a Cyber Operations company. I live in Hanover, MD with my wife (Sharon) and our dog (Sampson).

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.

I was first introduced to CrossFit by Emily Betz who is actually my next door neighbor, about two doors down. We met each other through my wife and they met walking their dogs in our neighborhood. Emily highly recommended Blue Crab and invited me to join, that was in Jan 2022. I haven't looked back since. It has changed my life for the better. I like how the workouts are always different each day and coming to the gym with other like minded individuals brings a esprit de corps and camaraderie unlike any other. I mean why else would we be here if we didn't want to improve ourselves. I have met some incredible people through the gym and it has been a positive experience. I have seen nothing but positive gains since joining CrossFit.

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

My goals, I want to be able to do a bar muscle up, that is a goal of mine and improve my hand-stand. Being tall does have its advantages and disadvantages and I want to improve that skill.

Non-CrossFit, I want to further my pilot training, get my Commercial license and hopefully one-day (sooner rather than later) purchase an airplane to continue my passion of flying.

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

My hobbies consist of me hanging with my wife and our dog, hiking, playing video games (casually), constantly reading, listening to podcasts or learning a new skill as I'm a Cybersecurity professional and that career field never sleeps. I like winter, as in I like snowboarding and seeing the Mountains during the winter months. I think they are beautiful whereas my wife prefers someplace warm during the winter months, lol. My wife and I like to take adventures and travel, recently we got married in Ireland, and had a blast, highly recommend it to anyone who wants to visit.

I like to watch sports, being from the Pacific Northwest, I'm loyal to the sports teams in that area, Seattle Seahawks (NFL), Seattle Kraken (NHL), Portland Timbers (MLS), and for European football I follow Liverpool FC and Wrexham AFC. I watched the documentary and got hooked. Favorite meal would be a Filet Mignon (medium-rare), with grilled asparagus, garlic mashed potatoes paired with a nice dark red wine to go with it. Music, I believe my taste in music varies depending on the mood. Since I played in the Jazz and Symphonic band, I'm a huge fan of the movie soundtracks from composers like Hanz Zimmer and John Williams along with Classical music. Back in Oregon, I would take my Grandma to the Oregon Symphony to watch them play, it was fun. However, recently I like alternative rock, inspirational instrumental music and lately been getting myself into more heavy metal, courtesy of Blue Crab spotify playlists during the workouts which actually is making my wife happy as she is a die hard metal music fan. For work I'm a Cybersecurity Analyst with a focus on IT networking and Cloud engineering at the fort. I'm always continuing to learn new things daily in the hopes of landing a new job dedicating myself purely to the Cloud computing industry. Random fact, I have a 3rd Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do martial arts.

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

I would say, start light, listen to your body, take baby steps, and gradually improve yourself daily. Everyone started somewhere, and over time, as you improve, you'll be amazed by what you have accomplished. Yet, stay consistent as that is the only way to improve. Consistency creates credibility and I truly believe that. As I continue to get older, it is important to keep your body engaged in physical fitness as it helps mitigate any potential long term illness. Recently my Dad passed away due to Alzheimer's disease and he didn't keep up his fitness. I see CrossFit as a way to not only help your body but your brain, keeping it active and engaged. I come back day after day because I want to ensure I'm staying physically fit to mitigate any illness when I get older into my twilight years. Blue Crab CrossFit has been a positive experience for me and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who's looking for a gym and to gain new friends in the process.

CrossFit Youth Kicks off May 11th!

Join Blue Crab CrossFit for the opportunity to get your kids active and learning the importance of making exercise FUN! Our May 2024 eight-week program is once again led by Coach Sam Harthman! Secure your spot now!

Class Time: 9:30 - 10am - 30 minutes

Price: BCCF Members: $160; Non-Members: $200

Can’t make all eight weeks? As space is available, you child can drop in for $30 each class! Send us an email to let us know when you plan to drop in!

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Previous WODs

The Monthly Catch - January 2025

By Mandy Brezina • January 2, 2025

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

April Blue Crab CrossFit Newsletter

By Mandy Brezina • April 15, 2024

What to expect in April at Blue Crab CrossFit, our April Athletes of the Month, and the March Committed Club Results

March Blue Crab CrossFit Newsletter

By Mandy Brezina • March 10, 2024

What to Expect in March February brought us some exciting training leading into the first week of the CrossFit Open. The first big win was testing a 1-RM Back Squat/ Deadlift POST workout. The idea behind this was not only to make sure we can move heavy loads under fatigue but also to prepare us for the CF Open, where there is almost always a heavy lift post-workout! We continued to see old CrossFit Open retest workouts along with testing out Benchmark for the month: The Chief! Leading into the first week of the Open we saw higher RPE workouts towards the beginning of the week that slowly tapered off into lower RPE workouts + a Thursday quality/ recovery day to make sure everyone was geared up for the Open workout on Friday! Let’s see how we are going to finish the CrossFit Open strong in March and highlight any other training focuses. The first two weeks of March are going to be similarly built to the final week of February. This is to make sure the CrossFit Open workout on Friday is the highlight of the week while also allowing everyone to still get a solid week of training in. Post Open, we will have our Leading Ladies Week, which honors National Women’s Month with a week full of Classic Female Benchmarks and some new NCFIT Female Benchmarks we’ve created ourselves! We will also be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a themed workout that surely will have you leaving the gym feeling lucky. We will be testing Fran as our Benchmark workout this month, and we will also see the Hero Workout Laura during Leading Ladies Week. The final highlighted focus for the month is focusing on the Strict Pull-Up or Handstand Holding in skill/strength sessions which will show up once a week to continue building body awareness and gymnastic strength! Weekly Workout March Commitments (2x/ Week) RPE 9-10 Workouts (2-3x/ Week) Focus on Couplets or Triplets (1x/ Week) Workout of the Week or Benchmark/ Classic workout (1x/ Week) Strict Pull-Up Strength or HS Hold Skill session (1 Full Week) Leading Ladies Week (Classic Female Benchmarks/ NCFIT Female Workouts)