Lift-Off starting March 27!

Are you ready to take your Olympic lifting to the next level? Get ready for our upcoming cycle, LIFT-OFF, starting on March 27th! We’re taking a 1-week break to gear up for this 9-week program, which will focus on heavier lifts like the Snatch and Clean.

Our goal for this cycle is to help you replicate good quality lifts, rep after rep. To achieve this, we will be lifting three days a week and incorporating other exercises like Jerks, Front Squats, and Deadlifts into our routine. We’ve separated the Jerk from the Clean to allow for better focus on one movement at a time.

Every day we perform a Snatch or Clean, we will go through the Burgener Warm-Up. This warm-up is a great way to ensure proper technique and get your body ready for the heavier lifts to come. We’ll start everyone off with a PVC pipe and progress to an empty barbell once athletes are comfortable.

It’s important to note that if you want to see improvements in these lifts, incorporating the Burgener Warm-Up every Olympic strength day is essential. By the end of this cycle, we want our athletes to be doing these lifts in their sleep!

So, are you ready to take your lifting to new heights? Join us for LIFT-OFF starting on March 27th and see the progress you can make in just 9 weeks. We can’t wait to see what you’re capable of!

State of the Fern Creek CrossFit Community: Growing Stronger Together

Dear Fern Creek CrossFit members,

I wanted to take a moment to update you on the state of our community. Firstly, I’m delighted to report that our community is growing organically, and we’re thrilled to welcome new members who share our passion for fitness, inclusivity, and respect.

As a community, we have seen firsthand the transformative power of fitness and the impact that it can have on our lives. But, we also know that the power of the community can never be underestimated. Together, we have supported each other through challenges, cheered each other on through victories, and lifted each other up in times of need.

We are now in a position to return to out-of-the-gym community activities in the near future. We can’t wait to organize social events, fundraisers, and other activities that will bring us together and strengthen our bonds as a community.

We’re proud to say that our prices remain as low as possible, and we’re continually evaluating trends in the CrossFit community to ensure that we provide you with the best possible experience. It’s worth noting that the prices for local CrossFit gyms are 15-30% higher than our price. Also, we’re currently experiencing an 8-10% higher cost for almost all expenses, but we’re committed to keeping our prices low while maintaining the high standard of service that you’ve come to expect from us.

At Fern Creek CrossFit, we place a high value on our core values of respect, integrity, and inclusivity. We’re committed to demonstrating these values every day, and we believe that it’s our duty to provide you with a welcoming and safe environment that fosters positivity and encourages growth.

We understand that your investment in our community is important, and we’re continually striving to ensure that you recognize a return on that investment. Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or new to CrossFit, we’re here to support you, challenge you, and help you achieve your fitness goals.

Additionally, we recognize that we are always uncertain of what lies ahead, as we have witnessed in past years. However, we believe that by staying committed to our core values and remaining focused on building a supportive and inclusive community, we can weather any storm and emerge stronger together.

We’re proud to have a team of exceptional coaches who are committed to your success, and we’re continually training new staff to ensure that we maintain a high standard of coaching and leadership.

Finally, we remain committed to building a community that prioritizes relationships over head count. Our members are at the heart of everything we do, and we’re here to support each other, encourage each other, and celebrate each other’s achievements.

Thank you for being a part of our community, and we look forward to continuing to grow and thrive together.

Erick

SugarWOD RSVP and Check-In

As a reminder our members can view workouts, log results, interact with our gym community and manage their class reservations all in SugarWOD.

To reserve a class:

  • From the Schedule tab in the Schedule view, tap on the “+” button on the class (use the calendar at the top to go to a future date) > confirm your reservation by selecting Reserve Spot. 
  • Note: the “+” button will be disabled if the reservation window hasn’t opened or if it has closed, and if all spots are taken, including waitlist spots. It will also be disabled if the member has any blocking alerts on their account, such as an unpaid bill or unsigned document. Blocking alerts will need to be resolved through the Zen Planner Member App.

To check in for a class:

  • When the check in window for a class is open, you will see a check in button in the class card for that reservation. This action can be taken from the Schedule or the Reservations tab.

To cancel a reservation:

  • Navigate to the Reservations tab at the top of the page, tap on the “+” button of the class you want to remove, Cancel Reservation. This can also be done on the schedule tab by scrolling to the class you reserved and taking the same action.

Freedom, Independence, and Liberty

Contrary to the the title of this post, we are not discussing what you may think, instead we would like to introduce you to a new way of thinking when attacking your daily workouts.

This is our newly defined 3 tier workout levels. It is a simple system you can use to consistently “modify” workouts for how you feel that day. We are not looking to water-down workouts, but instead provide you daily options when it comes to loading, technical skills, and endurance.


The idea is to create simplicity and provide readily available levels/options that everyone can reliably go back to each class. Athletes may choose to move between the tiers as desired. We will create a stimulus for each workout while allowing everyone to do the workouts together, in the same class, as close to possible to the original stimulus.

We would encourage you to complete the workout as written in each tier, but also understand there may be additional needs to further modify the movements, loading, or repetitions in the chosen tier to accommodate other needs or concerns. Your Coach can assist you when the need arises to further modify one of the tier options.

Does this mean RX and Scale are going away? Not necessarily. First, our workout tracking software, SugarWod, does not support the multi tier system as cleanly as we would like. For tracking and historical data, only the Freedom track should be marked “RX” in SugarWod. For the time being, the other two tiers, Independence and Liberty, should still be marked as scaled.

There is a HUGE push in the community to change the way we look at RX versus scaled. As CrossFit continues to grow and age, we are seeing a shift in the general population of athletes. There are now more variables in the community and the method of tracking needs to improve to support the community. We all know various flaws in the RX versus scaled methodology. What we do not know is how to appropriately change it. Several options are being tested daily in CrossFit gyms across the world, we even saw some changes in the 2021 Open.

With the help and assistance of our Mayhem Affiliation, this is a start. Athletes will be able to see the additional tiers in SugarWod by clicking on the “Workout prep notes” link at the bottom of the workout description.

Freedom:

This tier is your typical “Rx’d” version of the workout. This is a great option for athletes who want to train all the typical skills we see in CrossFit and some of the heavier loads from time to time. The athletes that do this tier may want to train for the Open and/or other competitions.

Independence:


This option is tailored for the “Everyday Athletes” who want to lift and hit the metcon as close to Rx’d as possible, but without the full magnitude of load and skill. This is an excellent, consistent scale for Masters 45+ who want a consistent tier they can come to each workout.

Liberty:

This option will be our very basic workout for athletes just starting off or simply those that want to get a good sweat in. The focus will be on scaling movements, load, and/or equipment to make workouts as clean-cut as possible for athletes who just want to move without heavier loads and complex/skilled movements.

Example Scaling: “Amanda”

Freedom:
9-7-5
Squat Snatch (135/95)
Ring Muscle Ups

Independence:
9-7-5
Power Snatch (115/80)
Burpee Chest to Bar Pull-ups

Liberty:
18-14-10
Alternating Dumbbell Snatch (35/25)
9-7-5
Burpee Jumping Pull Up

What is CrossFit?

You may have noticed the new décor going up on the wall. Our very own, very talented Coach Meg has been working diligently to create, “What is CrossFit?”

As potential new members visit us we often look for visual ways to explain CrossFit. Sometimes a class is going on, other times Coach’s can be creative with their wording but often times new members may be overwhelmed with our technical jargon.

To help explain, “What is CrossFit?” we commissioned Coach Meg to come up with an idea that would communicate not only “What is CrossFit?” but, would show the journey of what we believe.

Coach Meg has spent countless hours crafting this mural, and for that we are so very THANKFUL!

Coach Meg’s creativity is second to none. Her desire for perfection was sometimes overwhelming, but that is just who Coach Meg is.

Coach Meg captured working intently on her creation.

So “What is CrossFit?”

Allow us to take you on a journey, “What is CrossFit?”, well you take constantly varied, functional movements, performed at high intensity while focusing on Nutrition, Metabolic Conditioning, Gymnastics, Weightlifting, and Sport in that order, to develop neurological skills, balance, coordination, accuracy, agility, physical fitness, strength, flexibility, and endurance through short and intense WODS,. And remember to eat meat, vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar. Avoid processed food. Practice and train major lifts, master skills of gymnastics, and bike, run, and swim. But most importantly SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER!

Again, we are so thankful for Coach Meg and her awesome work!

New Cycle July 26, 2021

Here we go! The new strength cycle starts this week; we will perform a version of the Russian Squat Cycle with four lifts performed 2-4 times per week. This means that we will have one strength piece with a longer Metcon on some day’s, and on others, we will have two strength pieces with a shorter Metcon.

With the new cycle, the plan will be to perform strength sessions before or after the metcon to hit different stimulus (lifting when fresh and under fatigue). This cycle will last 8 weeks, with week one being a “Prep Week” and week eight a “Max Week.” Olympic lifting will be thrown in the mix but mainly performed in the metcon or separate sessions.

Remember, these cycles allow for slow and steady progress. It is not flashy or quick. If you add 10 pounds on your squat after a 8 week cycle, and then aim to repeat that progress 4 times per year, that is 40 pounds in one year. That is is the significant progress we are looking for in these cycles.

We hope everyone enjoys it; now let’s get STRONG!

Remember, for newer athletes that don’t have a max to go off of, stay light and work on form, and as you develop through the cycle, we can add additional weight, if mechanics and consistency look good.

Hope the last two weeks went well with the start of Skills and Drills. This week we will continue with the strict pull progression (Friday) and no kipping since we start the new strength cycle. We will cut this down to 1x per week moving forward and will progress into muscle ups next.