Open Season has Arrived!
The CrossFit Open season has arrived! It’s the busiest two months of the year here at CrossFit Fringe, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. The Open brings our community together more than any other event and is perfect for both new and experienced athletes to test their fitness against CrossFitters from all over the world!
This issue of the newsletter is PACKED with a ton of details not only about the Open but events and announcements for the whole month, so definitely read the whole way down!
CrossFit Open Intramural & Open Series Prep
The Intramural
The CrossFit Fringe Open Intramural is BACK and bigger than ever (As if we would ever do things small)! If you’re a returning athlete, we’ve made some updates to the competition, so be sure to read those over in our official blog post. If you’re new, this blog post fully outlines how the competition is run and how to enter the draft. Draft cards are available at the front desk. Everyone who wants to participate in this year’s amazing competition must have their draft cards turned in by February 11!
The important links to follow and bookmark:
Open Series Prep
In addition to our ever-popular Intramural Team Competition, we are adding an Intramural Prep Series to pinpoint focus on a few of the skills we know often find their way into the CrossFit Open workouts. Beginning this Saturday and for the three weeks until the CrossFit Open begins we will focus on three big areas we think can improve your Open WODs!
Each seminar will take place from 10:30-12:00 at CrossFit Fringe East.The cost to participate is $20 per session. Each Seminar is limited to 12 participants. Seminars are open to outside members of the CrossFit Fringe community, however, members will receive priority.
To Sign Up:
- RSVP to our Facebook series event.
- Click the corresponding Push Press link to purchase your session(s).
- Tell your friends!
Sessions:
COMPLETE // February 3 – 10:30-Noon: Double-Unders
Tired of whipping yourself and tripping on your jump rope? Anxious about the possibility of double-unders every time they pop up in a workout? Want to be on a better path by the Open? Join Fringe Coach Keel for a seminar to nail the position, mechanics, and timing to take that single to a double!
Sign up: https://fringe.pushpress.com/open/event/6c8314fbde611862a0f058a3d3785d4c
THIS WEEK // February 10 – 10:30-Noon: Ring MUs
Feeling ridiculously close to a ring muscle-up and just need a little technique work? Have a goal to nail one in 2018? Join Fringe Coaches Stout and Jes for skills, drills, and mechanic help toward better pulls, turnovers, and dips! Even if you already have a muscle-up, this seminar could be the key to connecting more reps in time for the CrossFit Open!
Sign up: https://fringe.pushpress.com/open/event/9c4d9ea2c18efe2032d919943dec9ada
NEXT WEEK // February 17 – 10:30-Noon: Pacing / Kipping/T2B
Let’s face it, the Open is all about figuring out sneaky Dave Castro’s attempts to trip you up! In this two-part seminar, Fringe Coaches Angelo and Sam will take you through how to approach pacing different types of workouts for optimal performance. They will also cover the gymnastics kip and strength, stretching, and mechanics to finally get those toes to touch the bar!
Sign up: https://fringe.pushpress.com/open/event/d1303f5ff81c3a497c0ae9a7d49c2163
Whole30 Community-wide Potluck on February 10
To celebrate the completion of the Whole30/Nutrition Challenge, we’re having a GYM-WIDE POTLUCK this coming Saturday (2/10) at West at 12:00 pm! It’s been a while since we had a fun community meal together, so grab your dish (doesn’t need to be W30 compliant) to share and join us!
Visit our official Facebook event to learn more and RSVP!
(Note: Open gym will end a few minutes early to accommodate this)
It bears repeating, this potluck is for ALL MEMBERS, not just the ones who did the challenge. Let’s enjoy a beautiful Saturday afternoon of food, fun, and great company!And yes, you can bring your favorite adult beverages as well!
Reminder: New Class and Open Gym Times begin February 5
Now that we’re in February, we are adding more availability to the daily schedule by shifting some classes so there are classes available on the half hour in the evenings. To coincide with having access to two locations, we wanted to expand Open Gym as well. Many of your survey responses indicated you want more open gym time on the weekends and that you’d like to see more options during the week — done and DONE!
Starting February 5th our NEW schedule will be:
West
- Mornings: Monday-Friday same hours
- Evenings: Classes will shift 30 mins back and begin at 4:00/5:00/6:00 pm Monday – Thursday; Friday 4:00/5:00 pm
- Saturday: 9 am class, with Open Gym staying 10:30 am -12:30 pm.
- Sunday: 10:30 am -12:30 pm Open Gym (to match Saturday)
East
- Mornings: Monday-Friday same hours
- Evenings: 4:30/5:30/6:30 pm MTWF remain the same. On Thursday will only have 4:30/5:30 pm classes to accommodate a growing CrossFit Kids Class
- Saturday: 11:30 am class, with Open Gym hours from 1:00-3:00 pm.
- Sunday: 1:00-3:00 pm Open Gym (to match Saturday)
East will be canceling the Thursday 6:30 pm class moving forward to give our Kids program a chance to grow and develop further; and the Kids classes will shift back to a starting time of 6:30 pm on Thursdays to no longer overlap with our adult classes. There are no changes to the Sunday CrossFit Kids classes.
Help Wanted Beginning Summer 2018: Childcare Providers
We are currently looking for members or interested parties to provide part-time childcare for our 5:30 pm class at East (M-F) beginning in Summer 2018. We offer payment or membership trade. If interested, email [email protected] to learn more!
Equipment Additions and Facility – As of February 1
The first month of 2018 has been a blur with all of our projects in planning and executed. It’s hard to believe it’s only just January!
We’ve reinvested nearly $15,000 into our facilities to start the year that includes but is not limited to:
- Flooring patched and fixed at West
- 3 new bikes added to West, 1 new bike to East to bring our totals to 5 at each location
- Repaired holes in walls, touched up paint and added wall ball targets to West
- Added a GHD to West, while incorporating a Reverse Hyper into East
- Resurfaced the basement concrete flooring and coated with epoxy in East
- Revamped the childcare room in East
- Created better flow and added a new wall ball rack at East
- Put together more gymnastics mats for HSPUs with taped lines leading us into the open for both locations
- Added 5 sets of lightweight wooden technique plates to each location to further allow for working on Olympic lifts
- Added new plyo boxes, both smaller and larger to West
- Increased the number of low pull-up bar attachments to each location
- Resurfaced all the existing metal dumbbells at East
- Purchased a plethora of hex rubber dumbbells in preparation for the Open!
Fringe Vitality adding another day
Beginning February 5th, we will be changing the start time for our Vitality program to 10:15 am. Our home base will remain at the West location. Additionally, we are adding yet another class for Vitality members, now offering them a 3-day per week membership option to continue to improve their fitness and work towards their goals. Class offerings will be Monday-Thursday at 10:15 am.
Haven’t heard of Vitality?
Fringe Vitality, our newest class offering, is specifically for older adults, ages 50+. In addition to increased metabolic and cardiovascular fitness, this program will offer athletes a focus on improving mobility, balance, agility, strength, and confidence in all daily activities. This class may also appeal to those who are severely deconditioned and feel they need more of a learning curve before starting regular CrossFit classes.
While there is no specific age limit for this program, we think it may appeal to those athletes who find themselves well into adulthood without previous sport or exercise experience.
Spread the word! Tell your family, colleagues, and friends about this new Fringe fitness opportunity – especially as we approach all those New Year’s Resolutions! If you have questions about Vitality, you can email [email protected] or use the button below!
Congratulations to our newly engaged Coach!
So many engagements to start the year! Congratulations to Coach Mike on his engagement to Drew — we’re so excited for you (unintended rhyme)!
Does Your Healthcare Plan Reimburse for Gym Memberships?
We had this question posed in our Facebook group recently and have been working with members to get them set up or directed to the right place to inquire with their individual healthcare providers. Here is a link to the Healthy Contributions website to begin your search, and we invite you to email us at [email protected] so we can help you get set up!
Upcoming Events
- February 10: Whole30/Nutrition Challenge Closing Community Potluck (Noon at Fringe West)
- February 10: Open Prep Series: Muscle-ups
- February 11: CrossFit Fringe Intramural Open Draft Begins
- February 17: Open Series Prep: Toes-to-Bar and More!
- February 17: 2017 Tough Love Co-Ed Competition (CrossFit Springfield, Springfield MO)
- February 17: The 3rd Annual Showdown of the Young, Old & New (CrossFit Believe, Warrensburg, MO)
- February 22: CrossFit Open 18.1 Announcement at Fringe West
- February 23: CrossFit Open 18.1 FNL – at Fringe East and West
Be sure to check out our Intramural Open post for all the relevant dates for the CrossFit Open at Fringe this year!
FROM THE QUESTION/COMMENT BOX
Question: I got off my game and routine during the holidays and still feel “off”, how do I get back into training without hurting myself?
The most beautiful thing about the fitness modality we have all picked, CrossFit, is that it is infinitely scalable. Sure, you’ve heard us as coaches say this many times, but what does that really mean? It means that no matter what level of fitness you possess, or in some cases don’t possess, there’s a way for you to do any workout and a place for you. When coming back from an extended absence or even injury, there are a couple things to remember that will make your reintroduction as painless as possible.
- Take it slow – don’t think about where you were, instead focus on where you are and how you feel each day and with every workout you do. You can’t win at fitness on your first day back, but you can certainly lose it. The last thing you want to do is risk an injury from lifting too heavy or attempting a PR, or making yourself so sore and run down that you have to take additional unplanned time off. We can always increase the intensity and load as you re-acclimate to everything. Never hesitate to ask your coaches about the best ways to scale to maintain the stimulus of the workout, and how to plan your week of training to feel your best.
- Drop the ego – just because you may be able to do a set of movements or a workout at Rx, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should. Scaling is not a bad word, and in fact is one of your best friends as you return to your normal workout regime and beyond. Take those first few weeks back to really focus on your form, your pacing, your breathing, and your mechanics – aim for perfect movements before trying to overload yourself.
- Talk to your coaches! Let us know what’s been going on in your life and let us help guide you through your return. Remember, we don’t know what we don’t know – so make sure to keep us in the loop
Remember fitness is a journey, not a destination – it’s a continual process that we have our whole lives to improve!
COACH FEATURE: Intern Austin Grega
If you hadn’t already heard, we have two new interns to the start the year, Austin Grega and Isaac Ellis! This month will feature Austin (with questions written by Tyler — they are amazing), and next month we’ll feature Isaac!
You’re from the Springfield area right? What was the first gym you went to and you remember your first WOD?
Yes, I am a Springfield native, Chinese food and Bass Pro Shops course through my veins! The first gym I went to was CrossFit Springfield back in 2009. My mom finally convinced me to go with her to a 6:00 am WOD by tempting me with the opportunity to meet Grant Wistrom – a co-owner of the gym and my favorite football player growing up. I don’t remember much about my first WOD other than that deadlifts were involved and Grant Wistrom was actually in attendance! My second WOD was a killer, involving overhead plate carries and about 250 sit-ups– my abs were totally wrecked for about a week!
So you’re a Boy Scout, an Eagle scout actually, how do you apply that background in the gym?
One of the main components of the Scouting program is earning advancement — you complete requirements to advance in rank throughout the program. Becoming an Eagle Scout shows that you can stick with things for a long period of time and not give up. In the past 2 years especially I’ve been able to apply that mindset to CrossFit. Instead of completing requirements for advancement for advancement, I’ve been working my way up through scales to be able to do more and more movements as prescribed. Last year I was able to complete the entire open RX even if it was just barely, and I’m excited to keep building on that this year. (I’m also excited for the new intramural format, this year is going to be awesome!)
Who do you to for inspiration inside the gym?
One of my coaches growing up always told us “Good athletes practice what they’re good at; great athletes practice what they’re not good at.” Whenever the WOD is full of things that I’m bad at and I don’t want to come in, I try to look at it as an opportunity to get better so those movements will be easier next time. I also frequently have visions of Taylor and Tyler being disappointed in me for not going all out in a WOD.
I’m also a huge fan of the old Cal Strength YouTube video “Donny Shankle is Bigger Than You”– if you’ve never seen it stop reading this and go watch it right now!
What are your go-to Gym-Jams for WOD motivation?
Most recently Sam and I cranked up Bodak Yellow for the 50 calorie row which turned out to be just the perfect song for that workout! But, as many of the Westies know, whenever Taylor Park and I are at the gym together there’s probably going to be 90’s jams playing! We had a pretty good channel curated on Pandora but now we’re finally finding the good mixes on FitRadio.
What’s your favorite CrossFit Workout?
My favorite CrossFit workout would probably have to be Flight Simulator. Its 5-10-15-20-25-30-35-40-45-50-45-40-35-30-25-20-15-10-5 Double Unders, but all of the sets have to be unbroken or else you start that set back over. My calves are usually wrecked for two or three days after but it’s a fun workout! I’m also a big fan of anything with low rep, high intensity olympic lifting or coming into open gym and finding a heavy single for the day on snatch or clean and jerk.
Congrats on graduating recently with a degree in Education, what’s your next step?
Thank you! Believe it or not, a lot of people actually used to think I was in nursing school since we’ve had so many nurses at the gym! They’re always surprised when I tell them that my degree is in Vocal Music Education. Hopefully, my next step will be a music classroom of my own in Columbia or Jefferson City this August! Currently, I’m working as a substitute for Columbia Public Schools and applying for jobs as they come open and working at Scout camp again this summer.
What one random story about yourself nobody in the gym knows?
When I was a senior in high school I was the lead in my school’s musical. I made my musical theater debut as Horton the Elephant in “Seussical the Musical.” If anyone wants to see the pictures I think I have a few on my phone still.
Last one – would you rather be on a survival reality show or dating game show and why?
Definitely the survival reality show. I could control my destiny at least for a little while on that kind of show. Plus I’ve never watched any dating shows so I would be totally flying blind!!
Have an amazing month of love, lifts, and GAINS! As always, if you need anything, you can reach out to us on social media, or email [email protected].