Saturday's Festivities

**REMINDER** All regularly scheduled 9am and 10am classes are cancelled due to the competition.

For those of you competing in CrossFit Generation’s Summer Slam competition, please meet at CrossFit 215 at 7:30AM on Saturday morning if you would like to carpool to the event. Athlete registration begins at 8AM. If you choose to drive separately, please see the attached flyer regarding parking and other event information. If you are meeting at the gym email [email protected] so we know to wait for you.

We still need 1 male and 2 females. Are you still on the fence? If so, what are you waiting for? Don’t you know that competition brings out the best in you? Sign up on the whiteboard in the gym and help rep Team CrossFit215 as we compete against other local gyms in the area.

Here is another update from CF Generation including a schedule of events

The first WOD kicks off promptly at 9AM and the entire event is planned to conclude around 3PM. Afterwards, all 215 members are invited to a BBQ/Pool party beginning at 4:30PM. The address is written on the whiteboard at the gym.

We hope everyone can come join us for one or both of these exciting events on Saturday!

Gym vs Gym

For those of you competing this weekend please review the wods below. We still need guys and girls to fill out our team. Come join us!

For video standards please click the links on the headers below

WOD #1

In 12 min: 200 m plate carry (as a team) Then, AMRAP- ~30 m tire sled drag In addition, each team member must complete 100 DU’s or 300 singles in the allotted time

*Each team gets set of six bumper plates (2 x 45, 1 x 35, 3 x 25) **Must move entire set of bumper plates one sled drag at a time( in any combination) with only one athlete pulling at a time. Each time all six plates have been moved is one round. The sled must be pulled back to the start (empty) to load more plates. After all six plates have been moved, start over and move the set of plates again. Each round (all plates moved) is 200 pounds. ***Score is total pounds moved minus incomplete double-unders

WOD #2

Clean & Jerk Ladder

Females: 75, 85, 95, 105, 115, 125, 135, 145, 155, 165

Males: 155, 165, 175, 185, 195, 205, 215, 225, 235, 245

*Move through with your team, in groups of three (3 males/3 females) **1 min 15 sec to perform lifts, 15 sec to rotate

***Score is total weight of maximum successful lift for all team members

WOD #3

For time: Run 400 (as a team) 300 box jumps Run 400 (as a team) 300 KB swings Run 400 (as a team) 300 goblet squats Run 400 (as a team)

*25 minute cap **Box jumps: 100 reps per box (22, 24, 28) ***Swings/Goblet Squats: 100 reps per bell (35, 45, 55) ****May not start movements until all team members have completed run

Competition
We are less than three weeks away from our Gym vs Gym, which take place at CrossFit Generation in Hatboro Horsham. I know there has not been a whole lot of chatter about this event, but it’s sure to be a good time. 215 needs to show up with 24 athletes and at this time we area little short. We are still in need of a few good men and women.

We, the 215 team, are always encouraging people to try competitions. You would be amazed what you are capable of when put in the right environment. This event is no different. No matter how long you have been training at 215, we want you to join our team. No matter your performance level, we want you to join our team. Whatever your fears or doubt may be, lets face them together and go kick some ass! Those of you that can definitely not compete please come out and support 215.

To sign up, please write your name on the small whiteboard on the gym floor. Following the event, which should end by 3pm at the latest, will be an after party… pool and BBQ style. For more information regarding a few standards that need to be met, please check out CF Generation’s post here.

BBQ / Pool Party
Directly following the gym vs gym, everyone who participated, supported and anyone else part of the 215 community is invited to a come out for some good eats, good people, good times, and water festivities.
Date: July 28th
Time: 4:30pm

July Philly CowShare – UPDATE

***UPDATE***

Thank you to everyone who has shown interest in the cowshare – the responses were quick and overwhelming. I will be replying to individual emails soon with other details and payment instructions.  We are receiving a red angus from Tussock Sedge Farm in Bucks County, PA. The farm only supplies local grass finished beef with no hormones and no antibiotics. Delivery date will be July 18th at the gym. If you are still interested in participating in the cowshare please email me ASAP.

The wonderful people over at Philly CowShare have asked me if our gym is interested in doing another group order for delivery in July. We did an order back in January and the feedback was great! The cost per share will depend on how much interest there is, but a ballpark estimate would be around $350 for 1/8th share or 43 lbs. For more information including what cuts you will receive, please visit Philly CowShare’s FAQ. I have ordered from Philly CowShare twice now and can tell you their product is top notch. If you are not convinced about the benefits of eating grassfed beef vs conventional beef, there is a wealth of informational resources available. I have listed a few below.

Eat Wild

Robb Wolf’s Angry Tirade

The Paleo Mom

If you are interested in being a part of the cowshare please comment or email [email protected].

WODIFY – 215 has gone digital!

Hey 215’ers, welcome to Wodify.

I met these guys only a week or so ago, and I immediately realized they had a product you guys would like. So here it is…

You all should be receiving an email today welcoming you to Wodify. This system will be a resource for you to track your performance in the gym. In the next week or two you will see the disappearance of a couple of our whiteboards and they will be replaced by two kiosks. This is where you will log-in when you get to class and also log your performance at the end of class. You will also be using this system to register for class as well. I know, I know but you love MindBody!!! MB will still be used for billing, but you will no longer need to register for class on MB once Wodify gets up and running (about a week or so).

So what do you do today..?

Log in and set up your profile. Your default program will be “Fitness,” but feel free to change that to Performance or Competition (remember, if you want to do Competition it must be cleared with Micah first). Go in and back log as many of your lifts and/or “Named/Hero” WODs so they are stored. One of the great features of this system is if you come in to class the day one of these workouts is being done, the system will automatically generate your previous numbers for you to compare. There a bunch of other cooler features we will show you once we go live (with programming) but one of which is a leader-board you can access from your mobile or computer to see how everyone has done that day.

This service will be FREE for the first month and then the cost to use it will $3 per month going forward.

CrossFit For Hope

Congratulations to everyone who came out for Murph on Monday.

A special salute to Sarah, Army Reserve, who wore a vest for the run.

An ada boy to Juan, fresh out of On-ramp, for completing his first “Murph”. Hey Juan, welcome to the jungle!

CrossFit For Hope

Hey 215ers, next weekend is CrossFit for Hope. For those of you that are unaware of what that is, it is a fundraiser produced by CrossFit HQ. If you are familiar with Fight Gone Bad, it is the new FGB. This year the local Pennsylvania and New Jersey CrossFits have teamed up to put on large scale event. Your own CF 215 has been spearheading this and the event is taking place in Manayunk at the Starfinder Organization on Main Street.

So what does this mean for you guys…? A couple things….

First, I would love it if everyone came out and participated next Saturday by doing the workout. All you have to do is show up next weekend or you can check back Monday for heat times and request a specific workout time. This workout will be challenging but doable. For more on the the workout and CF for Hope click here.

Second, I am still looking for some help both for set-up and volunteering / judging that day. Next Friday night we will be assembling a pull-up system at Starfinder. The more hands the easier and quicker this will be – fun too! If you can lend a hand meet us there at 7:30 pm or at the gym at around 6:30. The day of we need both volunteers, but most importantly judges. If you are available next Saturday from 8am to about 1pm please come out and help, I could really use your help.

If you have any questions about the event please don’t hesitate to ask. Check out the video HQ did on the Philly affiliates coming together for this event. Video Link

Training Updates, FAQ and Upcoming Events

Training….
Here we are two weeks into our multilayer programming and I would like to check in with everyone  to see how you are feeling. So far so good from a coaching standpoint. Most athletes are handling their training  well and have been selecting the levels appropriate to their ability. There have been a couple questions raised which I feel would be best answered in a FAQ page so check back later this week for details on verbiage and nomenclature.

http://crossfit215.com/f-a-q/

A few reminders about where you are with your layers. Don’t be too anxious to move outside of where you fit right now. You will lose nothing by training in the fitness level if you feel you are on the bubble. The difference between these two layers is not priorities or goals but rather more appropriate use of movements and time under tension given certain lifts. The Performance layer is not meant to be scaled nor are they designed for you as an athlete to cherry pick movements between the two.

Upcoming Events

WOD for Warriors (WFW) – May 27th
This Saturday is WFW and we will not run a normal 9am and 10am class this weekend.  Instead, warming up for this event will start at 9a and  heats will be set up from there. If you need to leave early please let Perrin know when you get there. The workout is a partner WOD just like last year and is sure to be a good one! Hope to see everyone there!

Click here for the WFW workout and their page.

CrossFit For Hope – June 9th
CrossFit for Hope is in two weeks and 215 is hosting this event. The event will take place at Starfinder in Manayunk and a bunch of local affiliates will be there. For those of you that are around next weekend the 215 family wants you there. the workout is the same structure at FGB but this year all proceeds will go to St Jude’s hospital.

There has been some confusion as to where you sign up for this event and unfortunately this is not a simple answer. To help us with organization that day and pre-assigning heats I am asking people to register on Eventbrite at http://pacfffh.eventbrite.com. To sign up to raise money or to make a donation please register at www.crossfitforhope.com.

Resistance Stretching Workshop
When: Saturday, June 23rd, 9AM to 12:30PM
Where: CrossFit215
Cost: $75 per person CrossFit215 members, $100 non-members. CrossFit215 members will receive a complimentary bonus stretching book in addition to a discounted price
Register: www.intrinsichealthsystems.com/events
For More Info: Click Here

Gym vs Gym
Keep your calendar’s open…. July 28th we will be heading up to CrossFit Generation for gym vs gym vs gym between us, KOP and CF Gen.

Holiday Schedule

Sunday – NO Class
Monday – NO AM classes and there will be a 4:30pm class only.
Always check MindBody on holidays for possible workout times.

New Programming Layers

Greetings 215 athletes!
As many of you already know, we are rolling out multiple layers of programming starting today. I wanted to take a minute to fully explain this. Although I have had conversations with most of you, I’m hoping this post will give everyone a little more clarity as to why we are doing this and more over why this is an inevitable evolution of a facility or community such as this.

As we have grown in size, the spectrum of goals and inherent abilities has become vast. In the end, there is no longer one line of programming, that even scaled, is one size fits all. In an attempt to maintain strength gains and intensity in conditioning workouts, programming needs to cater to each person’s goals and abilities. The three layers are designed to group you as individuals as best we can. For example, as early lifters, more time needs to be spent under tension in each set for lifts to strengthen the “supporting cast”.  To maintain intensity, athletes need to be using movements that allow them to move as such.  An example of this would be not trying to work on double unders in a workout but rather specific skill sessions. To explain this further, below is summary of the goals for each layer and assumptions made in both abilities and knowledge for for each.

Fitness
This layer is designed for those athletes who are simply looking to improve overall fitness by using basic strength protocols and high intensity conditioning, including but not limited to some energy system work . High intensity movements will consist of those that allow you to move quickly that have movement patterns you already know, as oppose to ones you are still trying to learn. Skill work time will be allocated to improve those movements that will be necessary in order adopt them within the conditioning portion of your training.

While many people may stay on this layer indefinitely, the underlying goal of this program will be to give you the necessary skills and capacities to be successful on Performance Level. Even if you are just out of on-ramp and know you want to do Performance training at some point, we encourage you stay on Fitness for a while until your body, mind, and skill set reaches such levels.

Prerequisites – completion of CrossFit 215’s On Ramp Program

Performance
This layer is designed for those athletes looking to train with a focus on improving their performance. Within this programming you will see some heavier weights in the conditioning component, as well as some more precision with percentages in the strength lifts. Some of the assumptions being made within the this cycle is that your gymnastics ability is a little stronger, and you have the ability to do most movements without the assistance of bands. In addition, you should the difference that you will feel when doing an 85% compared to a 90% intensity within a conditioning workout. Here you will see more specific work within the energy system training in an attempt to close the gaps on their specific parts, i.e. Anerobic Lactic Power vs Anerobic Lactic Endurance.

Both Fitness and Performance training will have very similar characteristics as far as the same primary lifts most days with some variance in the auxiliary movements from time to time. Conditioning components will have similar structures as well while changing some parts in an attempt to elicit the targeted dose response.

Competition
This will be our highest level of programming. Some of, but not all, of the assumptions here are that you have mastered all the gymnastics movements; including but limited to Muscle Ups, HSPU, high rep Double Unders, etc… These workouts will also usually take athletes closer to 90 minutes to complete, and are also on a specific training schedule as not to allow for over training. Competition training will take more out of you and ask more of you from a recovery standpoint. I am asking that you follow the protocol specifically within fitting it into your individual schedules. Those of you that want to do this training please speak to me individually.

In the end of the day, this is your training and you are free to do whatever you want to do here but I encourage you talk with a coach if you are unsure where to start. The goal at 215 has always been to give you an individual experience that maximizes your success given your goals. Training outside of your capacity and abilities will simply take away from that. The longer amount of time you spend within a specific layer, the stronger you will get, the greater your capacity will be in specif domains, and the more successful you will be once you move on to the next layer of training in 215.

The LAST thing I want to leave you with is if you feel the desire to talk more about your goals, because maybe they have shifted, or it is only know that you feel you have the basis to clearly define them, please schedule on a one-on-one with me and we can discuss this further.

-Micah

Regionals Are HERE!

Armageddon is upon us!

Your team is heading down to Maryland this weekend, and they will do you proud. We are hoping to see a bunch of people this weekend down there for support. If you still have questions about logistics let me know. We will be doing dinner Saturday night, so let me know if you have any questions or if you plan to attend.

Schedule Changes for the Week

Most of your coaches will be at Regionals this upcoming weekend, and we will be leaving Thursday night. As a result of this unfortunately there will be some schedule cancellations later in the week. We are still working on coverage but please stay close to MINDBody (MB) and any class that IS NOT cancelled will show up on the schedule and any class that is CANCELLED will be crossed out on MB. Days to look for are Thursday PM, and Friday ALL day. Everything should be updated by tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon.

Schedule Changes going forward

As we grow and evolve, I have always said we will try new things and do our best to accommodate everyone. Recently we added an 8:30am class on Mondays and Thursdays. It has shown some mixed attendance. The Thursday class seems to be doing OK but Monday not so much… Starting next week there will be a 8:30am class on Tuesday instead of Mondays.

Training updates

Rowing Series

Our rowing series starts next Tuesday night the 17th. This will be a great opportunity to add intensity to your workouts as Jana helps you gain more proficiency on the Erg. The Kinetic sequence of rowing on the Erg will also lend itself to helping with body awareness and control in other movements.  Once this series starts, no additional attendees will be able to join. If you are thinking about doing it or unsure if this is something that you need right now please feel free to contact me. The short answer is EVERYONE in here has room for improvement on the Erg. Some of you may be unaware of how inefficiently you are pulling on the Erg. An opportunity to work with an instructor of this caliber is something that no other CrossFit facility can offer in this area. Don’t miss out, you will regret this as this may be the only time we run this workshop.

Sign up Here!

so you can row half as good as this stud…

Strength CyClE

Next week we will be starting a new Strength Cycle (STC) . We are currently in what could be deemed as our off-season and so it’s time to “pick up heavy shit!” In order to be successful during this STC we need to do some testing first. This week will be testing of various strength lifts plus some benchmark workouts as well. Thursday and Saturday will be make up days and then the gym will be closed on Sunday. Make sure to get in this week and do you individual prep in addition to the group warm-up in order to prepare for Max Efforts (ME). It’s extremely important that you document all of your lifts and workouts so that we can look back on them after the 12 weeks for comparison. You will also need these numbers each week as your lifts will all be based on percentages of MEs. Again, if you have any questions feel free to ask one of the coaches during class this week.

Test Schedule for the week…
Monday – Back Squat 1RM, Front Squat 1RM, Helen
Tuesday – Snatch, Clean 1RM, Grace
Wednesday – Bench, 1 Lap Sprint, Max Reps Pullups, Max Reps BW Bench
Thursday – Make Up / Rest Day
Friday – Deadlift, Press, 2K Row
Saturday – Benchmark (TBD)
Sunday – Make Up / Rest Day

This weekend… Come support your Competition Team

CrossFit BWI ‘s Competition is this weekend. We are all hoping to see some good support from the 215 family for our competition team as we gear up for regionals.