Excited for summer!? We are, because we have some exciting additions to our program and services. Here are all the deets you’ve been waiting for!
OLY Program
Some of you from East probably remember our Olympic Lifting Program (OLY). The last group ended around the time of our move and when coach Mitch Johnson left. We received so much positive feedback about the program and lots of questions about when it would come back.
There’s no better time for the OLY return than now!
This program will be a little different from the previous program. It will consist of 4-week microcycles (12 weeks total) focusing on strength and power development through lots of squatting and unilateral lifts and refining positioning for Olympic lifts.
The class will meet two time a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 p.m. at Fringe West. The class will run for roughly 90 minutes and will include one day of programmed homework to be completed on your own during Open Gym hours. We will also have online progress tracking via Google Docs.
There will be only eight spots available for this program. In order to participate, you will need to submit your current body weight and have established at least 1RMs of C7J/Snatch/BS/FS. Participants must also have at least six months of lifting experience. The cost to participate is $300 for members or $450 for non-members. Of note: You must commit to the entire 12 weeks but there will be a split payment option available.
Now for the best part: This class will be taught by Matthew “Fitz” Fitzgerald, a longtime student of the world-renowned Olympic Weightlifter/Strongman Justin Thacker. Those of you who have worked out alongside Fitz, know he routinely throws around the heaviest weights while making it look easy. He has enormous patience and a fantastic eye for coaching. He can focus on the smallest nuances of both the snatch and clean and jerk to help you improve.
A Note From Fitz:
To all the Pups looking to become Wolves,
This program is extensive and every part is intended to help transform your current weightlifting numbers into your goals. While we all want to hit PR’s every day, it just doesn’t work that way. This sport – Olympic Weightlifting – not CrossFit, is humbling and a grind. Some lifting days are better than others but it is important to stay the course. Because of technique changes, some of you may feel discouraged that your numbers are not getting better, or maybe even seem worse. Don’t give up! I am here to tell you that this is only a microcosm of the way you are going to train in the program.
Olympic weightlifting is about making lifts, this is where your focus should be. The best days are the days where you work up to your top rep with no misses. In this program, with my help, you will become more efficient with your strengths and address and improve inefficiencies. When it comes to the individual we are all different. No two athletes have the same size or shape. While there are certain biomechanical movements in Olympic Weightlifting that are more or less unwritten laws of how to become successful in increasing your lifting efficiencies, we must be able to address and then counter the differences on an individual level. I take immense pride in taking these physical differences into account when addressing your individual programming and homework.
One of the most important things in this program is communication. All that I ask is that you are willing to be open and honest with me. While I am here to help you reach your goals, I can not see everything and I am in no way a mind reader so if you don’t understand something, ask questions, that’s why I am here!
I look forward to working with you and I can’t wait to throw some weights around together in the near future.
Matthew Fitzgerald
Exciting right!? To sign up and start the process of organizing your starting data, email [email protected]! We hope to begin this program June 26th!
COMP Program
As we alluded to in last month’s newsletter and Tyler discussed in the latest programming talk, it’s our hope to expand our current program into competitive athlete programming. We’ve heard your requests and we know in order to grow within Columbia and the greater CrossFit community competitive athlete programming is an area we need to serve more intentionally.
Without further ado, here’s the official announcement: Competitive Programming comes to CrossFit Fringe!
Coaches Tyler and Angelo have vast experience with working with some of the highest level athletes in the sport of CrossFit.
Angelo has almost a decade of experience competing and coaching high-level athletes, notably coaching more than three of his own Regional qualifiers from CrossFit specifically. He has had the privilege to work with Michael Fitzgerald (OPT/OPEX), Max El Hag (Training Think Tank), Kyle Ruth (also Training Think Tank), and Nick Fowler (Brute Strength) who all coach Regional and Games level athletes.
Tyler worked with Brooke Wells for her first two years at CrossFit Fringe and consults with a handful of Regional and Regional-bubble athletes. He does the programming and nutrition for the CrossFit Omnia team out of Denver, Colo. (who just solidified their second Games appearance under his guidance).
It’s no secret, what these two coaches do works.
They have already at work discussing overall macrocycles, the needs of various types of competitors, and how all of this plays into the mix for the sport. In addition, there will also be the influence of some of Fringe’s top competitors when it comes to workout creation! It’s going to be something novel, new, and impressive for those who wish to improve for the sake of competition.
Both coaches have experience with macrocycles, the needs of various types of competitors and how all of this plays into the mix for the sport. In addition, some of our top competitors will assist with workout creation. Our goal for the program is to be novel and impressive for those who wish to improve for the sake of competition.
Because we believe that our current class programming should be the foundation for every athlete, the competitive programming will work in tandem. The competitive athlete programming (comp group) can be done either before or after classes and during Open Gym time. Please keep in mind the classes always have first priority to equipment and space. If you’re performing comp programming please be respectful of the classes and coach and understand that it may take you a little longer than you’d like to get through it all.
Who will the comp programming be for? Our comp group will be 100 percent Inclusive. Tyler is famous for saying “you can never judge talent, work-ethic, or what the future holds.” While there are very few Brooke Wells in this world, everyone is an athlete waiting to be found within themselves. When writing the comp programming, there will not be scales written. It will be higher level skills, heavier barbells, and more strength and conditioning.
It will not always be glamorous (seriously, when is sweat glamorous!) but it will work and work well.
If you’ve been following outside programming from a blog or other coach outside Fringe, this will affect your gym usage moving forward. Because we want to give everyone a chance to participate in this new programming model, outside programming will only be allowed during Open Gym hours. It will not be allowed during regularly scheduled classes. This extends to the Aux room at West, and the soon-to-be-started Annex at East.
We work to provide expertise, coaching and an experience unlike anything else in our region. Having several people doing their own programming while classes are going on creates a disconnect and often an unintentional disruption.
We never want anyone to feel like they are missing out. When we have separate groups doing separate things, it can make people feel like they aren’t as good and foster a sense of discouragement. We never want even one person to feel unwelcome or discouraged.
This policy isn’t meant to be a punishment and no one is being singled out. To reiterate, if you want to use outside programming you are free to do so during Open Gym. The Open Gym times are:
EAST
Monday-Friday: 5:00-7:00 AM
Monday/Wednesday/Friday: 12:00-2:00 PM
Saturday: 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Sunday: 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
WEST
Monday-Friday: 5:00-7:00 AM
Monday/Wednesday/Friday: 12:00-2:00 PM
Saturday: 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Sunday: 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
You can find the Comp Programming in SugarWOD on a separate track and it will be accessible to any member who wants to pursue it. This track will have no additional cost. We are set to kick off our comp programming following Murph/testing week on June 5th.
We know we have the highest level of experience in CrossFit in the greater Columbia area. We know we can tailor the experience to the individual athlete in a safe and responsive way. We know we work to maintain both an old-school approach to CrossFit culture and ideology while also experimenting and evolving in how we approach application and methodology. We are fiercely proud of these things and by choosing to continue to work with us, we know you are too.We hope these two new additions will add some excitement to your summer and beyond. We believe strongly that you pay for these intangibles, not just space and equipment. You could choose any gym you’d like but you picked Fringe. For that, we are grateful.