What a year 2020 has been. I want to start off by saying thank you! Everyone has been so great coming to the gym every day with such a positive mindset even on days where you can’t feel your arms or legs, although some of you really enjoy that. I continue to be impressed with the steady progress everyone is making from a conditioning and strength standpoint. Just some quick shoutouts from this past cycle:

  • James Dearborn for crushing this strength cycle. James improved lifetime PRs for his back squat and snatch. He increased his back squat 3RM by 35lbs!
  • Also crushing the back squats was Lis Rosencrum. She improved her back squat by 15lbs, hitting her old 1RM for 3 reps!
  • Two highlights from our Karen retest: Mike Rosencrum improved his Karen time by 36sec and Kelsey Garnett improved her time by 1:34!

Again, seeing everyone crushing their scores has been a real treat. I appreciate the hard work that you all have put in and continue to put in! The month of December fell in a weird in between of coming off of a cycle and beginning the new year. I thought it would be best to not start a new cycle until the new year. Our new cycle will begin on January 4th. This cycle will run from January 4th through March 28th for a total of 12 weeks. The reason for the 12-week cycle is to accommodate the new Crossfit Open schedule. For 2021, the Open will begin the week of March 8th and run through the week of March 22nd. The new format has turned the Open into 3 weeks of fun as opposed to 5 weeks. The new cycle can be considered “Open Prep”. The Open is always a good time to get some fun workouts in and compete with our past years to see improvement!

Now, if you don’t care about the Open, don’t worry! Nothing changes for you or how this cycle will be set-up. We are going to continue to have gymnastics and strength development, some functional bodybuilding pump sessions, and of course some fun conditioning pieces. Let’s talk about what we will focus on over the new cycle:

Front rack box step-ups: I wanted to do this in our previous cycle, but now that we have an established 3RM back squat, we have some numbers to work off of. I want to work on single leg strength again and any imbalances we may have, plus, it will improve your back squat 😉

Accessory work: this is going to range from deadlift, sumo deadlifts, functional bodybuilding, mobility, etc. Taking care of the ole body here.

Gymnastics skill development: this will be more practiced based. Gymnastics take skills and skills take practice. Low-pressure environment to work on basics/foundations to eventually progress.

Longer metcons: cyclical/sustainable efforts here. Steady/consistent pacing. There will be intervals here.

Sprint intervals: high effort/output, but repeatable.

BB complexes: skill/strength development for various barbell movements. There will be DB variations here as well!

Open style: for those of you that like to hurt.

Sundays: will alternate between functional bodybuilding + circuits and partner workouts!

I’m not sure about you, but I’m ready to leave 2020 behind and kick off 2021 with some heavy breathing, gainz, and fun workouts. I appreciate the feedback that everyone has given since we have come back from quarantine. Let’s finish the year strong!

— COACH DAVID