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Programming Corner: Olympic Weightlifting Cycle
Olympic Weightlifting: October 14th to Dec 15th
Goal: Increase athlete’s olympic lifts.
This olympic Weightlifting cycle will expose our members to specific olympic weightlifting strength. We will be using weightlifting complexes and traditional lifts to help expose athletes to increased intensity and time under tension while still maintaining a heavy emphasis on technique.
Below is a lift of our priorities of the cycle.
Weightlifting
Snatch, Clean and Jerk
Squats (maintenance)
Back
Front
Overhead
Gymnastics (metcon)
Ring Dips
Pull ups
Pistols
Metcons
Heavy 1-2 x / Week
High intensity, power intervals 1 x / Week
GPP
Accessories
Snatch Pulls
Clean Pulls
Unilateral squat
Isometric Core
Upper Body stability
Tests:
1 Rep Max Snatch
1 Rep Max Clean & Jerk
Training the lifts:
We will be using a mix of complexes and traditional lifts for this cycle. We will vary this from week to week with one week using a complex in the snatch and a traditional clean and jerk session in the same week and the following week will be the opposite in which we’ll have a traditional lift in the clean and jerk and a complex in the snatch. The goal with this is to be more varied in our coaching and delivery.
Context:
This cycle has 1 main goal: Increase athletes’ Snatch & Clean and Jerk. The movement pattern we’re looking for is a SQUAT in both the snatch and the clean and jerk.
A side goal is to increase athletes technical ability on these lifts and their understanding of the nuances of traditional Olympic weightlifting technique versus the higher volume CrossFit olympic weight lifts.
Advanced/Intermediate L2: Olympic Weightlifting
Athletes in this category are those with good technical ability in the two lifts. They don’t have to be the heaviest lifters but their technique is good and more consistent. These athletes want to be as close to the written percentages as possible.
In order for these athletes to get the most out of this cycle, encourage them to get to the gym 5x/week and hitting all the accessory work after class.
NOTE: Athletes with poor technique but are considered to be advanced or intermediate because of their experience and fitness levels will be the toughest challenge for you as a coach. It will be important to work with these athletes to get them bought into the “technique first” approach. If you need to fix a movement pattern (example: athletes who can power more than they can squat because of how they perform their lifts) it will take a lot of finesse and convincing, however it will be extremely worth it if they stick to the process.
Beginner/Intermediate L1: Technical Focus
The biggest roadblock for beginner and intermediate athletes in this cycle will be the use of complexes. These will be simplified as needed during the cycle in the scaling options. Movement pattern is more important than load. This is a great cycle for beginner and intermediate because it can help set them up for success in the long run.
Cycle Priorities:
Snatch and Clean & Jerk : Our target is to increase their lifts. We are testing the 1 rep max of each lift in the first week of this cycle and again in week 8. The more beginner the athletes are, the higher the chances of success in that goal. The more experienced and advanced the athlete, the less chances athletes have to improve the actual number.
Beginner: What will bring athletes to be successful is their technical improvement and confidence in their ability to do the actual lift. Your job with beginner athletes is more technical.
Advanced: Success for advanced athletes can be as little as an RPE change in their 1 rep max. Advanced athletes with impeccable technique rely more on the loading progressions than beginners. But considering that advanced athletes in class are not professional weightlifters, what will hold them back will most likely be bad habits. Having a strong focus on details and dialing back loading when you feel is appropriate will be crucial.
Squats (Maintenance): There will be one squat dedicated session every week. The squat will change every week from back to front to overhead. The percentage for this squat will be around 80-85% or so which is heavy for the amount of reps we’ll be doing.
Metcons: Our metcons will include one heavy metcon per week, one interval specific per week that will aim to help athletes maintain their power endurance. Otherwise, our metcons will be more classic CrossFit with a GPP focus.
Accessories: The accessories in this cycle are closer linked to the goals of the training cycles than the previous cycles. Anyone who wants to really improve their ability to lift heavier in these technical lifts should look to include these accessories in their training for the next 8 weeks.
September 2024 Newsletter
September 2024 Bells & Bars
The Monthly CFTC Newsletter
CrossFit bench press during a morning class at CrossFit Tysons Corner
CFTC Team-
Woohoo! Let's keep that crisp fall air coming, a welcome change afffter some sweltering days in August.
In August, we refreshed a bunch of equipment, following up with our commitment to invest in and continually improve our revamped new space. See the highlights below.
In addition to that, members rescently asked how they can best support us. All of the following are a huge help!
Bring a frend - stay tuned for a bring a friend day later in September
Last thing - Open Enrollment is around the corner for many companies. Did you know you can use HSA/FSA funds to pay for CrossFit? Take advantage of this potential tax benefit. Learn more >>
Interested or know someone who is looking to a instructor-led approach to fitness? Sign up here >>
Happy September!
-Jon & Marcus
Announcements
Thank you for being patient throughout the transition to our revised layout. We're upholding our end by continuing to update our equipment and facility.
CrossFit Tysons Corner equipment updates
We love getting our members excited about fitness by having quality equipment. Check out the list of recent updates:
New rower to replace an aging model
New bike to replace an aging model
New wooden box
Additional "long" Ab Mat
6+ new dumbbells
Four additional 10 lbs., 25 lbs., 35 lbs., 45 lbs. plates
Improved labeling and organization
Refreshed yoga mats
Stay tuned for a bring a friend day and other social events in the Fall
August Committed Club results - Congrats to those who achieved Committed Club Gold level for August 2024. Allen H. is the winner of the August prize - Nike apparell of choice! See insta for committed club details >>
Congrats to Danya A. and Emily P. for making it on the board for the first time
August Results
Gold (17+ attendances in the month) - Meg M., Allen H., Natalie A., Abigail R., John L.
Silver (13+ attendances in the month) - Danya A., Emily P., Max G., Daphne G., Jake O.
Events
Be on the lookout...
Bring a Friend Day
Fall Happy Hour
Programming Corner - Next Phase - Power Endurance
Power Endurance: August 12th to October 13th
Goal: Increase athletes' ability to produce submaximal force over a longer period of time or over more volume.
Summary: This Power Endurance phase is about getting our members exposed to more volume of power specific olympic weightlifting and increasing their resistance to fatigue both in power output and in technique. It’s also important to understand what POWER is. We’re looking to increase an athlete's ability to produce force QUICKLY relative to an external object (barbell in this case).
Coach's Eye
Shout-out to Pat Chaing and family. Pat was a regular member with us for several years, coming as a drop-in more recently. Unfortunately for us (but big step for him), he and his family will be moving from the area, but we wish them the best. Pat joined us for a bunch of Open competitions and our internal throwdown several years back, always rising to the occasion. Happy trails Pat - you are always welcome!
Programming Corner: Power Endurance Cycle
Power Endurance: August 12th to October 13th
Goal: Increase athletes' ability to produce submaximal force over a longer period of time or over more volume.
This Power Endurance phase is about getting our members exposed to more volume of power specific olympic weightlifting and increasing their resistance to fatigue both in power output and in technique. It’s also important to understand what POWER is. We’re looking to increase an athlete's ability to produce force QUICKLY relative to an external object (barbell in this case).
Power Endurance has us implementing limited rest and a controlled percentage in the hopes of increasing their work capacity and maintaining their technique at a relatively heavy load for the volume requested.
Tests:
30 Bar Muscle ups for Time / 30 Kipping Chest to Bar Pull ups for Time - This test will be done in Week 1 of the cycle and in Week 8
For Time: 20 Snatches @ 75% & 20 Cleans @ 75% - This test will only be done in Week 8 Context: This cycle has 2 main goals that we can prioritize based on the level of our members:
Power Endurance: Increase athletes endurance at submaximal loading (75%)
Technical Endurance: Increase athletes ability to execute technically sound movement at submaximal loading or intensities
Advanced/Intermediate L2: Power & Technical Endurance Athletes in this category are those who have a good understanding of the movements and the nuances between the power and the squat lifts.
They understand the main goal of the power lifts as increasing their ability to generate vertical force & speed. They may not be technical masters but they can execute a Power snatch or Clean AND a Squat Snatch or Squat clean quite well. They also have a good understanding of the Bar Muscle up skill although they may not have a ton of endurance.
For these athletes, the goal of the cycle is truly to focus on the actual power output (Reps executed at the desired %) & the technical endurance is always a focus but for these athletes it’s less of an obstacle.
We may have to adjust the % up or down based on their capacities. An example of this is to lower the % for your most advanced athletes who have a very powerful profile. 85% in a power snatch may not be possible for multiple reps. Athletes may need to have their % increased, especially athletes who may have slightly less technical ability and as a result their max olympic lifts are lower than their potential.
No matter what however, technique is always a priority with olympic lifts since the movement pattern is CRUCIAL for improvement. If you have athletes in this category that consider their % light but have major technical flaws, increasing the % to match the RPE is not appropriate.
August 2024 Newsletter
Saturday class lead by Coach Kevin. Start the weekend right!
August 2024 Bells & Bars
The Monthly CFTC Newsletter
CFTC Team-
Let's keep this short and sweet:
Bring a friend, get 50% off the next month
If a friend you refer signs up for an unlimited monthly membership (and you also have an unlimited monthly membership) then the referring existing member will receive a month 50% off!
PR test week this week!
Thanks to those who came out to Happy Hour at Starr Hill this past Wednesday
Be on the lookout for some additional equipment - details to follow
Scroll down for more
Interested or know someone who is looking to a instructor-led approach to fitness? Sign up here >>
Happy August!
-Jon & Marcus
Announcements
CrossFit Games this week! Check out games.crossfit.com for how to watch.
CrossFit Games happen this weekend
Check out the action on games.crossfit.com (and ESPN for some event windows)
We will throw down on our own version of Event 4 later this week:
The real event
50 Deadlift (225/155)
5 Rope Climb
50/30 Cal Ski Erg
5 Rope Climb
50 GHD Sit-ups
5 Rope Climb
50 GHD Sit-ups
5 Rope Climb
50/30 Cal Ski Erg
5 Rope Climb
50 Deadlift (225/155)
Our version
30 Deadlift (225/155)
3 Rope Climb
40 Slam Balls (20/15)
3 Rope Climb
40 Sit-Ups
3 Rope Climb
40 Sit-Ups
3 Rope Climb
40 Slam Balls (20/15)
3 Rope Climb
30 Deadlift
We are still offering our Pilates Mat Class - Tuesdays and Thursday 7:30AM - 8:15AM
Non-members - sign up here >>
Current members sign up for a single discounted class >>
Thanks to Omid and Isha for helping with our overview video to be posted soon
July Committed Club results - Congrats to those who achieved Committed Club Gold level for July 2024. Magdi A. is the winner of the July prize - a NoBull gift card! See insta for committed club details >>
July Results
Gold (17+ attendances in the month) - Allen H., John L., Omid R., Isha P., Daphne G., Abigail R., Magdi A., Natalie A. (Burpees)
Silver (13+ attendances in the month) - Meg M. Paul G. (first time), Jane S.
Events
1Rep Max Testing this Week
Congrats to all the athletes who marked PRs in Wodify so far - keep them rolling for the Deadlift on Friday
Back Squat PRs: Magdi, Max, Natalie, Ryan, Daphne, Ian, John L, Tyler,
Shoulder Press PRs: Danya, Isha, Natalie, Ben
1000 Burpees in July
Congrats to Natalie A., Omid, Juan, Meg and Marcus who did some of the work for this challenge.
Programming Corner
We finish this first week of August in our Base Strength training cycle! Get ready for our second test week in the beginning of August, testing the Back Squat, the Shoulder Press & the Deadlift
The next training cycle is Power Endurance 8/12 - 10/13
Incruease athletes' ability to produce submaximal force over a longer period of time or over more volume
Focus movements: Power clean/snatch, push jerk, squats, bar muscle ups, high box jumps
Coach's Eye
Shout-out to Paul G. for getting 13+ attendances in July. Paul joined us at the end of April with great movement quality and a commitment to learning. We hope he continues the great progress.
July 2024 Newsletter
Saturday classes are hardly easing into the weekend - we have a great group of people willing to team up and throwdown to celebrate their fitness heading into the heat of summer.
July 2024 Bells & Bars
The Monthly CFTC Newsletter
CFTC Team-
We hope everyone enjoys a (hopefully) more relaxed summer schedule - whether it's taking a trip, waking up a little later or getting in a few pool days.
We are happy to announce and focus this month's newsletter on our launch of a new offering - group Pilates Mat Class. Strengthen your core, improve flexibility, and boost your overall well-being. This is open to members, and we really want to broaden our reach to those who may want to add strength but without a barbell. Interested or know someone who is looking to a instructor-led approach to fitness? Sign up here >>
Happy July!
-Jon & Marcus
Announcements
Pilates class summary (left) and Coach Robin (right)
Introducing Pilates Mat Class - Tuesdays and Thursday 7:30AM - 8:15AM
Non-members - sign up here >>
Why Mat Class?
Build a strong core for better balance and stability
Improve flexibility and range of motion
Increase muscle tone and definition
Enhance posture and alignment
Reduce stress and improve body awareness
What Does it offer to our current members?
If you want to get a workout in in the morning but 6:30AM is just too early, this gives you a chance to sleep in a bit and prepare your body for a CrossFit class the next day or later in the day
Single classes or discounted membership addition
Current members sign up for a single discounted class >>
Meet Coach Robin
Robin Lehman has been a fitness professional for over 20 years, specializing in mat Pilates and barre, as well as multiple other formats. She is a multi-unit fitness manager in Washington, D.C., and lives in Vienna, VA
June Committed Club results - Congrats to those who achieved Committed Club Gold level for May 2024. Natalie A. is the winner of the June prize - a CFTC travel mug! See insta for committed club details >>
June Results
Gold (17+ attendances in the month) - John L., Daphne G., Meg M., Juan R., Abigail R., Jeanna K., Natalie A.
Silver (13+ attendances in the month) - Ryan G., Allen H., Isha P.
Interested in CFTC Apparel & Merch? Click here >>
EXTENDED: $14 Tees + up to 35% Off Everything: 7/1 12 PM - 7/8 5 PM CDT
20% off Sitewide Code: SUMMER20 : 7/18 10AM - 7/23 5PM CDT
Events
1000 Burpees in July
Those that complete the challenge will get an entry in our committed club monthly raffle
You can always do one more burpee, right?
Keep track of your burpees, and accumulate about 250 burpees a week to get to 1000 in July
Burpees during workouts and warm-ups count toward your total. Any type of burpee counts.
Record your burpees complete in Wodify each Friday
Sample breakdown
Week 1 Goal: 200 Burpees
Week 2 Goal: 250 Burpees
Week 3 Goal: 275 Burpees
Week 4 Goal: 250 Burpees
Week 5 Goal: 25 Burpees
Why this challenge?
Summer is full of travel and other commitments, but you can get a few burpees in here and there to keep your fitness on track
Summer Winery Happy Hour
Dates and location to be announced toward late July or early August - do you have a favorite winery friendly to families? Let us know! >>
Programming Corner
We continue July in our Base Strength training cycle! Get ready for our second test week in the beginning of Auguet, testing the Back Squat, the Shoulder Press & the Deadlift
Be sure to listen to your coach and record your numbers in Wodify this week especially so we have something to compare to in a few weeks
Happy Trails - Denis, Dolores, Max
June unfortunately had a few members transition from the immediate Tysons area. Denis and Dolores bought a house nearby and will still drop in from time to time and Max is moving out of the area.
We are thankful for all of their time at CFTC and wanted to take a moment to wish them well (and encourage them to come back as much as possible). Thank you for your dedication!
June 2024 Newsletter
June 2024 Bells & Bars
The Monthly CFTC Newsletter
CFTC Team-
Congrats to everyone who joined us for Murph last Monday and for the Forging Youth Resilience IGNITE fundraiser the previous Saturday. Shout-out to Juan for his generous donation.
On Memorial Day and the days prior, we had 20+ people rise to the challenge to complete this daunting push-up, pull-up and squat-filled workout. For the 10th year, CFTC was proud to be an official host, and you'll see the 2024 Murph banner hanging soon. Congrats for finishing, whatever version of the workout you did! Check out a short video of everyone's effort >>
Know someone who wants to try CrossFit? Send them to our revised intro page >>.
Happy June!
-Jon & Marcus
Announcements
Welcome Coach Kevin!
Coach Kevin comes to us with a passion for fitness and a more recent commitment to be the best CrossFit coach possible
With background in endurance sports like swimming, track and triathlon, Kevin is now just as excited to get people strong through CrossFit, whether adults or kids
Look for Kevin in our morning classes (lots of personal attention with smaller class sizes recently) and in the evenings
Kevin will also be assisting us providing more value to our clients. Ask him about setting up additional private training sessions to break through on a skill or lift. More on private training >>
No-Sweat Intro Sessions - We get it, CrossFit can be intimidating. We have transitioned our introduction process to a 30-minute no-sweat intro where we walk people through the basics of the gym, a few sample movements, answer questions they may have and follow up with a specific package to make them successful. The above picture shows some recent new athletes. Know someone who you'd love to introduce to CrossFit? Send them here >>
Events
Commit to your fitness this summer -
Attend 17 or more classes in any month and be entered to win a raffle prize
Lots of our regulars have already won, so this is your chance to be the next one up (priority goes to new winners)
December 2023: John L
January 2024: Juan R
February 2024: Jeanna L
March 2024: Abigail R
April 2024: Isha P
May 2024: Meg M
June 2024: This could be you!
June prize: CFTC Water Bottle
Reminder that those that get Silver or Gold status for the year get an end-of-year reward
May Committed Club results - Congrats to those who achieved Committed Club Gold level for May 2024. Meg M. is the winner of the May prize - a gift card to Rogue Fitness! See insta for committed club details >>
May Results
Gold (17+ attendances in the month) - Meg M., Daphne G., Isha P., Alyson W.
Silver (13+ attendances in the month) - Abby R., Allen H., Jake O., Natalie A. Dolores J., Omid R., Jeanna K
Programming Corner
We start June with the first week of our new Base Strength training cycle! We are going to start off with a test week, testing the Back Squat, the Shoulder Press & the Deadlift
Be sure to listen to your coach and record your numbers in Wodify this week especially so we have something to compare to in a few weeks
DekaComp programming has changed affiliation to HWPO Affiliate programming. The workout focus and training cycles will be similar as the past few years, just with more resources behind their creation
Coach's Eye - Natalie
Natalie joined us a few months ago, looking to get into fitness and also find some friendly people in the area. She braved this year's 2024 CrossFit Open and has become a regular in the morning and noon classes. Keep up the hard work Natalie!
Natalie gives a wave after Open workout 24.2 and our April happy hour
Programming Corner: Summer Strength Cycle
Test Week: June 3rd to June 9th, Week 23
Tested Lifts: Back Squat, Shoulder Press, Deadlift
Re-Test Week: August 5th to 11th, Week 32
9 total weeks, one test week, 7 training weeks, 1 Re-test week
Goal: The goal of this Strength Phase is to have a focus on increasing our athletes' general strength using the CrossFit total lifts: Back Squat, Shoulder Press & Deadlifts.
Back Squats: The Back squat will be following a linear progression. This means the first weeks we’ll be using lower percentages and higher volume to begin with focus on consistent mechanics & volume accumulation. This will progress towards lower volume and higher intensities until our last week of the cycle in which we aim to re-test our 1 rep max.
The Shoulder Press will be a mix of linear progression and max efforts. We will work up in volume to a 6 x6 effort, then each press session will be a heavy/max effort for 5 then 3, then a back off finally a 1 rep max test.
The Deadlifts will have a more volume based approach with lower percentages since the movement is higher risk. The focus for the deadlifts will be on time under tension and getting athletes’ back endurant in the pull off the ground.
These lifts will be present every week and staggered as to avoid athletes with fixed schedules to only tough base on some of the movements of the cycle.
The days that do not include these strength focuses will have either a gymnastics strength or skill, or a longer metcon.
Metcons
The metcons in this cycle will be maintained and will accommodate the priority of this phase being the strength movements. You should expect slightly less high skill gymnastics as well as heavier / more technical olympic weightlifting. There will be snatches and cleans but most likely will stay light and manageable.
Time domains
On the days with the strength focuses, expect the metcons to stay under 15 minutes.
Extra / Accessories
These will be designed to compliment the strength bias by focusing on core strength & endurance
Saturdays & Sundays
These will be excluded from the training cycle. Saturdays will have the option for an individual workout OR a Team WOD. Sundays will be mainly conditioning focused days with some strength training.
Empowering Health, Fitness, and Longevity: The Gift That Keeps on Giving
In the pursuit of a fulfilling life, health, fitness, and longevity stand as cornerstones of true well-being. By gifting our fitness gift cards, you're not just providing access to world-class facilities and expert guidance; you're investing in a lifetime of vitality, empowering your loved ones to unlock their true potential and achieve their long-term health goals.
Unleash the Power of Health
Our fitness gift cards offer a gateway to a healthier lifestyle, fostering a deep connection between mind and body. With our diverse range of classes and personalized training programs, your loved ones will embark on a journey of transformative fitness, enhancing their overall well-being and reducing the risk of chronic diseases.
Embrace Fitness for a Lifetime
Fitness is not just about achieving a certain physique; it's about cultivating a lifelong passion for movement and self-care. Our gift cards provide the foundation for a lasting fitness journey, igniting a spark that will keep your loved ones motivated and engaged for years to come.
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By prioritizing health and fitness, we lay the groundwork for a longer, healthier life. Our gift cards empower your loved ones to make informed choices, adopt sustainable habits, and age gracefully, extending their active and fulfilling years.
Gift Goals, Not Just a Gym Membership
Our gift cards are more than just a pass to our facilities; they're a tangible representation of your support for your loved ones' health goals. With every workout, every challenge overcome, and every milestone reached, they'll be reminded of your belief in their potential.
Invest in Their Well-being: A Gift That Matters
By gifting our fitness gift cards, you're sending a powerful message: their health and well-being are a priority to you. This investment in their future will yield dividends in the form of increased energy, improved mood, and a greater sense of self-confidence.
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November 2023 Newsletter
Congrats to Coaches Alyson and Daphne who competed in the Festivus Games this past month at Black Widow CrossFit in Sterling!
November 2023 Bells & Bars
The Monthly CFTC Newsletter
CFTC Team-
A simple message for November: We'd love for your help to head into 2024 with a full house by choosing at least one of the offers below.
Review - Chance for a $30 Gift Card - All those who leave a review between September 1 and December 1 will enter a raffle for a WholeFoods Gift Card.
Re-engage - Get 33% Off - If you're on this list and your time at CFTC ended in the past, we'd love to have you back. Use code IMBACK2023 here to receive 33% off any membership for the first month. Limited to the first 10 that use the code for those that have had a gap of 3 months of longer in their membership.
Refer a Friend - Get 50% Off - For current members, if you refer a friend, and they sign up for any monthly membership, receive 50% your next month's membership.
Gear-Up - Get snazzy gear - Pre-order some winter apparel
Gift-It - Show a loved one you care - a CFTC gift card to give the gift of fitness
-Jon & Marcus
Announcements
This month we wanted to pass along a shout-out to one of our members' companies, New Story Lending, led by Juan Rodas. As a thank you to the community, New Story Lending will contribute $500 towards a new or existing members' gym membership cost for CFTC or TysonsBJJ upon their loan closing with New Story Lending.
In addition, they have an additional promotion (you can only be eligible for one or the other) for New Story Heroes. See flyer below for details.
Programming Corner
The current programming phase is a fitness-focused phase.
Overview:
Dates: Oct. 23 - Jan 31
Approach
At the core of this phase is the CrossFit method. We will specialize in being as broad and competent as possible across the 10 physical skills and the components that represent them. Since we spent a long time building a strong and capable foundation by separating the components of fitness, we can now transition nicely into the broader focused fitness phase. We will work towards increasing our ability to maintain efforts over broad time and modal domains. Essentially we are improving the sustaining of rep cycle speed and duration.
Phase Overview
Building volume and intensity
Testing via benchmark workouts and previous Open workouts
New Story Lending New Story Heroes promo details.
Programming Corner: Fall & Winter 2023 Fitness Phase
FITNESS PHASE
Post courtesy of DekaComp
Duration: 9 Weeks
Includes Prep for the CrossFit Games Open & Quarter Finals
Welcome to the Deka Comp Fitness Training Phase, a phase where we will build off of the training phases that we’ve done all year with a focus on blending together the components of fitness with progressively natured, functional movement, executed at varied intensities.
This cycle is where you will notice the least amount of distinction between sections.
At the core of this phase is the CrossFit method. We will specialize in being as broad and competent as possible across the 10 physical skills and the components that represent them. Since we spent a long time building a strong and capable foundation by separating the components of fitness, we can now transition nicely into the broader focused fitness phase. We will work towards increasing our ability to maintain efforts over broad time and modal domains. Essentially we are improving the sustaining of rep cycle speed and duration.
Perform Athlete notes:
This is an intensity progression from a load and metabolic standpoint. So overall you will notice a little bit of progression in the weightlifting reps and percentages week to week but you will also notice that we will ask you to increase your metabolic intensity week to week systematically. To do this we will use 80% of the weekly training session as high volume / 20 % of the sessions as low intensity sessions. You will do this for 3 weeks at a time then enter a 1 week 50/50 volume/intensity focus in order to allow for the maximum supercompensation of the year to occur for you. It’s important to note that all athletes are different and respond to different tapering methods differently. Please reach out if you need a more personalized approach to your training.
Class Progression
We will be adapting the volume and intensity formatting that perform athletes are doing in order to keep classes reasonable. On high volume days, the cues will be to hold back on super high intensity in order to sustain rep quality. On some days we will include a strength or skill piece and on other days we will have a metcon only that will be long and slow.
Overall however, you will not see as clear of a contrast from day to day as the perform athletes but rather more variety than in previous cycles.
Perform Testing
Our testing will be unlike the rest of the year, due to the nature of this phase. We will use actual CrossFit.com+ workouts and competition tests, rather than testing for specific physical skills and they will appear in a different format than we normally use. We generally book end the phase with a week of testing, the fitness phase includes multiple cycles within the phase and we will simply conclude each cycle with one test based on the cycle focus. (see ‘cycle focus’ below)
Class Testing
In this phase we will not be testing but we will use benchmarks and some Open workouts to touch base on fitness levels. RPE is your freidn in this phase. If athletes have been with you for a while, the question they should ask themselves constantly as they progress in this phase is what was my perceived effort for today and how would that have differed from 2-4-6 weeks ago or last year.
Specific Goals and Focus Breakdown
*Keep in mind these are biases and focuses not periodization.
Weightlifting: Increase max output work capacity
Snatch + Clean & Jerk: High percentage lifts under fatigue paired with low percentage cycling
Strength:
Squats: We will include 1 squat session per week at least.
Pressing: We will vary the bench press by using DBs or barbells and some weeks include different versions of pressing
Pulling off the ground: Weightlifting will be very demanding so we will reduce the frequency of heavy loads here but will maintain this integrity via metcons and accessories.
Accessory: Post Chain + Core focus on strength and stability
Gymnastics: This will be more included in the metcons
High skill movements under fatigue paired with low skill, high rep cycling
GOAT days: We will return to our GOAT EMOM in which we will offer movements to chose from so that members may practice or “Pick their Poison”.
All in all, the Fitness phase is the most varied and close to the true CrossFit values of constantly varied, functional movement, perofrmed at high intensity. Some metcons will be about VOLUME which means intensity MUST be lower This will allow athletes to gains endurance in movement cycling and increase their overall work capacity. Higher intensity workouts should be just that, and these session focus on speed of execution. This format of training has been extremely successful for our athletes including Patrick Vellner and we are very excited to have this in action with you and your members!
October 2023 Newsletter
October 2023 Bells & Bars
The Monthly CFTC Newsletter
CFTC Team-
Let's keep the intro short and sweet this month - we're in the heart of Fall, and we're excited to kickoff our revised quarterly progress check-ins which starts with the CFTC Baseline workout this Wednesday. Although it's a simple workout, it's something we will repeat 2x per year to concretely track how we're progressing.
We'd also love for everyone to join us for some apple picking this coming Saturday. Details below.
For October, the rest of the highlights are:
Join us for Apple Picking Saturday 10/7 at 11:00AM - Meet at the gym if you're interested. Be sure to send a quick note to the gym to let us know to wait for you. See destination below.
CrossFit Kids continue through 10/29 - sign up here for individual classes
Progress check-ins... in progress - The first batch of progress check-in appointments have been sent out. We're going through our member list alphabetically with 4-5 appointments scheduled each week. Be on the lookout!
New equipment received - We hope you've enjoyed the new slam balls, medicine balls, additional ab mats and bands.
Love CFTC? Remember to leave a review.
-Jon & Marcus
Events
Join us for Apple Picking Saturday 10/7 at 11:00AM - Meet at the gym if you're interested. Be sure to send a quick note to the gym to let us know to wait for you. Destination is Marker-Miller Orchards in Winchester, VA. Sign up via email >>
Thanks to local fitness dance club Sensazao for joining for a private sample CrossFit class. Member Nathalie offered CFTC's services to introduce like-minded fitness folks to CrossFit! They had a great time and may stop by in the future for a drop-in class. Sensazao meets right up the road in Tysons and offer a great dance/cardio workout (not your average Zumba class). Do you have a local group you'd like to introduce to CrossFit? Let us know >>
Programming Corner
The current programming phase is a gymnastics-focused phase.
Overview:
Dates: Mon, Sep. 18 - Oct. 22
Approach
In this short training cycle, athletes will be exposed to a dosage of gymnastics volume based on a mix of maximum repetitions and high intensity.
Phase Overview
We will focus on base movements that have transferability throughout most other gymnastics movements.
Just like when we use basic lifts in a strength cycle. These movements are:
pull up/chest to bar pull up
handstand push up/ push up
ring muscle up
toes to bar
dips
Announcements
CFTC Baseline workout this Wednesday 10/4 All Classes - The baseline workout consists of foundational CrossFit movements with a chance to prove your ability to grind. Be sure to be honest with your movement quality with this one, listen to your coach for tips on great V-ups. Don't have pull-ups yet? Use our current gymnastics cycle to focus on developing this skill and we'll test again in the future!
CFTC Progress process - As a reminder, we have been gradually revising our onboarding and quarterly check-in process to ensure we're meeting your fitness goals. The first batch of progress check-in appointments have been sent out. Appointments will be 4:30PM in person on Thursdays or 4:30PM via phone call on Fridays. We're going through our member list alphabetically with 4-5 appointments scheduled each week. Be on the lookout! CFTC's approach to fitness can be summarized as follows: Comprehensive and personalized fitness for all levels
Free trial session with dedicated coach
Group classes, private training, or punch-card options
Encouragement to commit to two months of consistent attendance
Quarterly benchmarks and progress checks
Individual coaching to fine-tune plans and ensure meaningful progress
CrossFit Kids continues through 10/29 this Fall! - Sign up by 9/6
Only a few spots remaining. Sign up for a single class >>
Coach's Eye - ClassPass
Did you know that most of CFTC's classes are open to ClassPass users? We have a few regular attendees - Shakira, Shuying and others. Thank you for finding us! Of course, we'd love for everyone to eventually become a member, but we're glad to keep our classes full and lively. If you already have ClassPass our know someone who does, they can find us here >>
Programming Corner: Fall 2023 Gymnastics Cycle
Post written by Michele Letendre, @DekaComp
CLASS GYMNASTICS PHASE: SEPT 18TH TO OCT 22ND
5 WEEK PHASE
Welcome to our Gymnastics phase! In this short training cycle, athletes will be exposed to a dosage of gymnastics volume based on a mix of maximum repetitions and high intensity. We will focus on base movements that have transferability throughout most other gymnastics movements. Just like when we use basic lifts in a strength cycle. These movements are: the pull up/chest to bar pull up, handstand push up/ push up, ring muscle up, toes to bar and dip.
THE MOVEMENTS WE WILL SPECIFICALLY TEST FOR CLASS ARE:
Ring muscle up
Handstand push up
Strict pull up
Pistol
ATHLETES
When it comes to our gymnastics phase, it is important to understand how to categorize athletes. Although athletes fall on a spectrum and no one is EXACTLY beginner or intermediate or advanced, we still need to put our athletes in some form of box in order to help streamline our class management.
So here are our definitions of the beginner, intermediates and advanced athletes and what we will focus on for their scaling options.
Beginner: The beginner for this phase are those who cannot perform 1 unassisted movement for lack of strength. Their scaling options will be focused on gaining strength therefore they will be given more structured sets and reps for most strength sections. It will be important to look for quality in the eccentric portions of their gymnastics movements. In metcons, we will try to include more gymnastics volume by heavily decreasing the degree of difficulty per rep.
Intermediate L1: The intermediate level 1 are the athletes who are not consistent in performing the movements listed above or can only perform them kipping. These athletes will be mostly given a volume approach with a progression towards the RX movement in order to gain more consistency when they progress towards the intermediate L2. This will especially be the case in the metcon scaling in which we will keep the volume as written or as close to RX as possible but provide them with a lower degree of difficulty movement in order for them to gain more time under tension.
Intermediate L2 (This is the “Rx” version at CrossFit Tysons): The intermediate level 2 athletes are the athletes that can do RX movements but require scaling in volume in order to be exposed to more volume of the RX movements. In strength portions they will be modified based on the context but the main goal is to get them to perform more RX movements with focus on quality. In metcons, we will be mindful of the format for these athletes since some formats aren’t forgiving enough to risk muscle failure.
Advanced: The advanced athletes are those who are proficient in the RX movements and can perform them technically well. We are focusing on a volume progression approach for this cycle and they will be able to fully benefit from the cycle as written. This does not mean they cannot improve! The challenge with the advanced athletes may be to fix a bad habit or movement pattern therefore technique should be a huge focus for them.
PROGRESSION
This is mainly written as a volume progression. So overall you will notice a linear progression in the percentages of reps week to week. Just like percentages in a weightlifting progression, it should start off very doable then progress to become more and more difficult each week. Note: Beginners and sometimes intermediate athletes will not necessarily follow the exact volume progression.
We will divide each week into 4 Gymnastics focused sessions:
Strict hspu volume progression
Ring mu volume progression
Strict pull up volume progression
Pistol strength progression
Any of your athletes who are looking to really increase their strength and stamina in basic gymnastics should do their best to include the extra and accessories that are included in the Class track. We chose the accessories to complement the strength portion of the day and this can really improve their chances of seeing great results.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Below we’ve placed our gymnastics movements in a 5 week schedule. This schedule is tentative and may be subject to change based on movement interferences or any other logistical decision. Our goal with this schedule is to make sure athletes will be exposed to all the movements in the cycle no matter their workout schedule.
OTHER TRAINING MODALITIES
Weightlifting
Barbell cycling focus on the olympic lifts + Strength hypertrophy squat cycle where we will prep for the next power endurance phase with controlled eccentrics, through a volume progression (adding reps to this for 3 weeks). Controlled eccentrics are a necessity in preparation for producing any type of force. If you want to produce large concentric force, you must be able to eccentrically absorb the load first.
Metcon
These will be as balanced as possible as far as the time domains and stimulus go. But keep in mind we will need to avoid the shoulders to a degree during this phase. The metcons will be meant to compliment the cycle, not hinder it.
Gymnastics Accessories
Balanced between:
Strength endurance
Overfatigue in common body parts
Power Endurance
Accessories
Focused on hypertrophy, strength endurance, power, speed, as well as joint and tendon health in the following areas of the body:
Midline/Core
Shoulders- Vertical and horizontal push/pull
Hips/Knees
post chain- Lower/Upper.
September 2023 Newsletter
Join us as a group runs the Arlington Police, Fire, Sheriff and ECC 9/11 Memorial 5K on Saturday 9/9 at 6:00PM. Details below.
September 2023 Bells & Bars
The Monthly CFTC Newsletter
CFTC Team-
Can you believe it's September already? We're waking up and feeling a little cripness in the air - for some that's a sad day, for those of us who sweat more than we'd like to admit, it's definitely refreshing. We hope you caught some of the CrossFit Games action in August. There were some inspiring events and we would highlight catching up on the accomplishments of Arielle Loewen, the top American finisher (male or female), a mom and impressive athlete. Her humility and unassuming approach to training are something we can get behind.
For September, the rest of the highlights are:
CrossFit Kids classes start back on 9/17 - sign up here by 9/6
Join us for the Arlington Police, Fire, Sheriff and ECC 9/11 Memorial 5K on Saturday 9/9 at 6:00PM - After the official sign up and arriving to the event, text or call the gym number to make meet up with our crew: (571) 354-8348 - sign up here
New equipment on the way - We're in the process of updating some equipment - slam balls, medicine balls, additional ab mats and bands. Thank you for your continued support, we always want to improve so if there's something you'd like to see, let your coach know.
Thanks for those that voted on the CrossFit Games workouts to try - We are trying a few Rogue Qualifier events this week, but when we get an additional SkiErg in October, we will be trying the Ski-Bag workout shortly thereafter
Highest summer attendance award update
Love CFTC? Remember to leave a review.
-Jon & Marcus
Events
Thanks to RxWellness for coming out on Saturday Aug. 12 - RxWellness is a chiropractic care and wellness provider that are our neighbors across the street. We may have them back in the future for some additional free consults and getting to know their team.
Join us for the Arlington Police, Fire, Sheriff and ECC 9/11 Memorial 5K on Saturday 9/9 at 6:00PM - We've participated in this race since ~2015 and would love to have a strong showing. For a bonus challenge, run it with a weight vest. After the official sign up and arriving to the event, text or call the gym number to make meet up with our crew: (571) 354-8348 - Sign up >>
Programming Corner
The current programming phase is an olympic-lifting focused phase. The Weightlifting phase, follows the previous Base Strength Phase with a focus on the Snatch and Clean & Jerk.
Overview:
Dates: Mon, Jul 17 - Sun, Sep 10
Approach
We will make sure our classes include a linear progression of clean and jerk and snatch every week but this may be on different days of the week.
Phase Overview
This upcoming week is Week 8, test week! This is your chance to put all of those lifting drills to the test. We've also increased our capacity on deadlifts and wall balls.
Announcements
CrossFit Kids Returns this Fall! - Sign up by 9/6
Our goal with CrossFit Kids is to leave every class on a high point for the kids and coaches. Each progressive session aims to learn CrossFit basics while increasing strength, balance and body control. This means that we end each session with a fun game.
Whether your kids are going to play a different sport in the future, or continue with CrossFit, the CFTC Kids program will give a great basis for fitness and movement.
Only a few spots remaining. Sign up here by Wednesday 9/6 >>
Summer Attendance Awards - For those who can make it in regularly, we're giving away a piece of CFTC merchandise for the highest non-coach attendance in each weekday class time. Congrats to the winners below! If your name is listed, click on the apparel picture below, choose t-shirt or tank design you want, size and color and send that info to crossfittysonscorner@gmail.com
Final Results
6:30AM - Isha!
Noon - Allen
5:30PM - Jeanna
6:30PM - Magdi
Honorable Mention - 2nd place attendance or top for a coach
Crossfit Results - Tyler
6:30AM - Julieta
Noon - Abby R
5:30PM - Jon T., Daphne, Kevin
6:30PM - Jane
Coach's Eye - Isha
Isha has made a commitment to attending the morning class more regularly, and we love to see it! Way to make this commitment Isha, and the progress is evident. The attendance aware is just a glimpse of this commitment, we know 6:30AM is a tough time to make consistently. Keep up the hard work :)
August 2023 Newsletter
We had a coaches meeting in July to plan for the upcoming year and review how we can make the CFTC experience better for everyone.
August 2023 Bells & Bars
The Monthly CFTC Newsletter
CFTC Team-
Where has this summer gone? We know on our side, things are flying by and hope you've gotten to have some down time. We're happy to see members returning after some time off and are excited for a new class offering starting in September.
Thanks to everyone who came out to our social event at a winery in July. We'd love for people to join in for the 9/111 Memorial 5K in Arlington in September
Keep reading for some other news and notes.
For August, the rest of the highlights are:
Vote for your favorite CrossFit Games event to try at CFTC! - Vote here
Highest summer attendance award update
Hyrox classes to launch at CFTC soon
Coaches meeting summary
Love CFTC? Remember to leave a review.
-Jon & Marcus
Events
Vote for your favorite CrossFit Games workout to do at CFTC! - The CrossFit Games are this week from 8/1 - 8/6. Many of the events have been announced, and we would love to try our own version of one or more workouts in an August class. Be sure to vote, or Coach Marcus will choose the 5K workout :). Cast your vote >>
Speaking of 5Ks... the Arlington 9/11 Memorial 5K is coming - Join CFTC members for a 5K for a good cause. Race is 9/12/23 at 6PM. CFTC isn't affiliated with this race, but with our history of supporting firefighters and first responders, we heartily endorse it. If a normal 5K just isn't spicy enough, make it spicy with a weight vest. Sign up >>
Programming Corner
The current programming phase is an olympic-lifting focused phase. The Weightlifting phase, follows the previous Base Strength Phase with a focus on the Snatch and Clean & Jerk.
Overview:
Dates: Mon, Jul 17 - Sun, Sep 10
Approach
We will make sure our classes include a linear progression of clean and jerk and snatch every week but this may be on different days of the week.
Phase Overview
Weeks 2 - 7: Rotate through one of the following each day so that they occur on a different day on different weeks:
Squat, Gymnastics, Clean and Jerk, Snatch, Pull
Week 8: Test week!
Announcements
Whay is Hyrox? The above image explains the fitness competition.
Hyrox Classes at CFTC - Beginning this fall we will have some additional class times focused on preparing for a Hyrox event.
What is Hyrox?
Hyrox combines both running & functional workout stations, where participants run 1km, followed by 1 functional workout station, repeated eight times. Accommodating both professional athletes, and everyday fitness enthusiasts looking to take their training to the next level, Hyrox is the sport for everybody.
Why do we like it?
We want to expand the reach of CFTC to those who may be intimidated by barbell movements but still want to work hard.
The team and partner option for the event also make this a great goal to train for for our current CrossFit members.
What are the details at CFTC? We are finalizing our planning and will share a detailed announcement soon with more information. These classes would be an additional price to normal CFTC memberships but with trial classes provided to members. Let us know you're interested >>
Summer Attendance Awards - For those who can make it in regularly, we're giving away a piece of CFTC merchandise for the highest non-coach attendance in each class time. over June, July and August. The September newsletter will announce the final winners.
Current results for June and July:
Weekday 6:30AM: Julieta (with Mollie right behind)
Weekday Noon: Allen (with Abby right behind)
Weekday 5:30PM: Kevin (with Jeanna right behind)
Weekday 6:30PM: Magdi
Honorable mention:
Friday 4:30PM: Denis
CrossFit Results: Tyler
July Coaches Meeting - Periodically, CFTC coaches meet to improve what we do for our members. In our most recent meeting, we walked through:
Reminders of how to address fundamentals
Approaches for more advanced movements
Opportunities to further CFTC
Suggestions for further credentials
Coach's Eye - Magdi
Magdi has been a CFTC member for more than four years, and continues to work to improve his strength and technique. You wouldn't know it by his fine head of hair, but Magdi is in the Masters 55-59 age group and is a model for what continuous movement and exercise can bring.
Programming Corner: Olympic Weightlifting Phase
Post courtesy of Deka Comp
Phase duration: Mon, Jul 17, 20234:30 PM Sun, Sep 10, 20235:30 PM
WEIGHTLIFTING PHASE: 8 WEEKS, JULY 17TH TO SEPT 10TH
Become one with the barbell!
Welcome to the Deka Comp Weightlifting phase, where we will follow our Base Strength Phase with a focus on the Snatch and Clean & Jerk. The Base strength phase was very polarizing with the 10 general physical skills, we worked a lot on all of them individually. You should notice the focus here is stepping towards blending these components together, with our macro goal at the end of the year during the fitness phase, to blend them together almost completely.
Our main goal will be to increase capacity for intensity in the two lifts. We have lined up our phases this way for two reasons:
1. Sharpen the “strength blade”
After building strength with a focus on application of force there are no two better lifts that can display it and transfer it like the snatch and Clean & jerk. Therefore, this weightlifting phase is not only meant to focus on the two lifts but have the two lifts facilitate more explosive force that your body is capable of translating from the base strength phase.
2. Specificity
If we are going to be specific in our sport about anything, getting better at these two lifts is crucial because they are extremely common and routinely included in workouts and translate to overall better power output.
Note: this training phase will be largely focused on weightlifting, but this is a focus and a bias. This means our goal to stay varied will have our classes touching base on more lifting without neglecting other modalities and components.
Perform Progression
This is an intensity progression. So overall you will notice a linear progression in the percentages week to week.
You will notice two waves of progression, where we focus on linear intensity progression for the first wave, then a volume progression where we cycle back on the intensity and build it back up again using complexes. We will divide the week into 3 sessions: A snatch day, a clean and jerk day, and a combination day; where the combination day is always focused on intensity and the others are focused on driving up intensity through higher volume.
You will notice A LOT of weightlifting accessory. These are drills and will mainly be positional pulling and overhead strength/mobility drills that become progressively more athletic, and therefore challenging, as the weeks go on.
Class Progression
We will make sure our classes include the linear progression every week but this may be on different days of the week. This means we can have athletes who are on set schedule touch base on the key elements of this phase but i also means some athlete may not be able to follow the progression so linearly, depending on their schedule.
What will be different this year is that the PERFORM programming schedule WILL NOT ALIGN with the class schedule. We will do our best to stay true to the metcons of the day but this will sometimes not be possible. We made this decision to help class members with set training schedules touch base on different movements. Below we’ve outlined the Perform schedule for the next 8 weeks as well as the class schedule for the next 8 weeks.
Weekly Schedule (Perform)
Monday: Volume Snatch OR Clean & Jerk session + Metcon (Strength endurance stamina- triplet/couplet) + Accessories
Tuesday: Gymnastics Pulling OR Pushing focused session + Metcon (Anaerobic Threshold- high intensity) + Accessory + Power Conditioning
Wednesday: Volume Snatch OR Clean & Jerk session + Metcon (Aerobic Threshold- Longer intervals) + Accessory
Thursday: Active Recovery Day
Friday: Intensity Snatch + Clean & Jerk + Squat + Metcon (Speed intervals) + Accessories + Power Conditioning
Saturday: Gymnastics Conditioning + Gymnastics accessory + Metcon (Long endurance focused) + Odd Object/Conditioning (Power focused) + Accessories
Sunday: Rest Day
Weekly Schedule (Class)
This schedule is an outline of what the strength focuses will be (part A)
Week 1, Test week: Monday Snatch, Tuesday Gymnastics, Wednesday Clean and Jerk, Thursday Pull, Friday Squat
Week 2: Monday Gymnastics, Tuesday Clean and Jerk, Wednesday Squat, Thursday Snatch, Friday Gymnastics,
Week 3: Monday Squat, Tuesday Gymnastics, Wednesday Clean and jerk, Thursday Gymnastics, Friday Snatch
Week 4: Monday Clean and Jerk, Tuesday Squat, Wednesday Snatch, Thursday Hang clean, Friday Squat
Week 5: Monday Snatch, Tuesday gymnastics, Wednesday clean and Jerk, Thursday pull, Friday gymnastics
Week 6: Monday Gymnastics, Tuesday Clean and Jerk, Wednesday Squat, Thursday Snatch, Friday clean and jerk
Week 7: Monday Squat, Tuesday Gymnastics, Wednesday Clean and jerk, Thursday Gymnastics, Friday Snatch
Week 8: Test week
OTHER TRAINING MODALITIES
Gymnastics
We will focus on gymnastics capacity within the weightlifting focus because this is a CrossFit program and we need to be balanced. Gymnastics will be present 1-2 times/week as a part A section for strength & power. There will also be gymnastics in our metcons but we will reduce some volume on certain movements to avoid overuse on the shoulders since the snatch and clean and jerk are both present every week and have a big demand on the shoulders.
Metcon
Our metcons will need to be dialed back on heavy percentage intensity for the CNS, especially on the weightlifting days. Metcons will vary in time but we will make sure to keep the time frame under control to allow for proper teaching of the weightlifting movements.
Extra/ Accessories
The classes will remain a two part class schedule. The extra/accessories will vary between normal accessories designed to target specific muscle groups and weightlifting pieces from the perform programming for those who want to get more weightlifting specific training in.
Accessories will focus on hypertrophy, strength endurance, power, speed, as well as joint and tendon health in the following areas of the body:
Midline/Core
Shoulders- Vertical and horizontal push/pull
Hips/Knees
post chain- Lower/Upper.
June 2023 Newsletter
CFTC's June newsletter highlights include a coach appreciation dinner, a summer happy hour, a strength-building programming phase, and a promotion for new members.
A few shots from our Murph event on Monday, 5/29. Nice work to everyone who came out! See below some more photos.
June 2023 Bells & Bars
The Monthly CFTC Newsletter
The start of 9:30AM Murph on 5/29/23
CFTC Team-
The summer is in full swing now, and we have one big ask of you. We celebrate this week with a thank you dinner for our coaches. Please share your favorite memory or quality about your favorite CFTC coach before Thursday 6/8.
Murph was a great event this past Monday with over twenty people completing the workout over the weekend (shout-out to the Friday evening crew who did it early), and we all ended with smiles and remembrances for fallen soldiers.
Keep reading for some other news and notes.
For June, the rest of the highlights are:
Coach Celebration - Tell Your Coach Thank You - We will have a coach's dinner to say thank you to our coaches on Thursday, June 8. Share a few words for what you love most about one or more coaches and we'll share it with them. Note the 6:30PM class on 6/8 will be abbreviated and end at 7:00PM. Share here >>
Summer Turn Up - Turn up the music, and just turn up to your classes. Like last year, we want to encourage everyone to keep coming out to the gym in the summer. We will have three tiers of prizes for those with the highest attendance in June, July and August. Stay tuned to social media for progress tracking. Follow CFTC >>
Join in June - Get a friend to sign up by June and get a month free! Sign up >>
Love CFTC? Remember to leave a review.
-Jon & Marcus
Events
Coach Appreciation Dinner - Thursday 6/8
We will have an appreciation dinner with coaches and owners. While we can't invite the whole gym, we would love to pass on your fond memories and highlights of our coaches.
Note Thursday 6:30PM class on 6/8 will be an abbreviated 30 minute class
Summer Happy Hour - Date TBD
We are planning on a summer happy hour since there are a lot of new faces around, and we'd love to get to know everyone better. Stay tuned for more details. If you have an idea for a great bar or place to gather, let us know :)
Programming Corner
The next programming phase is a strength-building phase with the goal to "get stronger while still maintaining a good level of fitness".
Upcoming Benchmarks:
Strength
@90% or Above:
Box Back Squat - Mon. 6/12
Jerk - Fri. 6/16
"Grace" - Mon. 6/12
30 Clean and Jerks (135/95) for Time
"Nasty Girls" - Fri. 6/16
3 Rounds For Time:
50 Air Squats
7 Muscle-Ups
10 Hang Power Cleans (135/95)
Announcements
Join by June - Promotion for new members through the end of June
Help people find CFTC - receive a free month! For those with an existing unlimited monthly membership, receive a free month when a friend signs up for a membership.
The best way you can support CFTC is to be a great example of fitness by showing up, and after that, let the people you care know about what you experience at CFTC and bring them along for the ride.
Welcome to Summer Hires and Interns!
We are excited to welcome college students and interns who are in the Northern Virginia area for the summer. If you have a valid student ID, we welcome you to sign up for this 10-week option that provides access to any of our normal Group CrossFit classes.
Coach's Eye - Chris D.
Although he has a hectic travel schedule, Chris is a steadfast part of the 5:30PM class. The workout may get some commentary, but Chris puts in his best effort and will speed through the run, so get him on your team if you want to share the metcon load. Keep up the hard work Chris!
May 2023 Newsletter
CFTC's May newsletter highlights include the Murph Challenge, the launch of Progress Sessions, and a promotion for new members.
May 2023 Bells & Bars
The Monthly CFTC Newsletter
CFTC Team-
May is here, and with that comes a reminder to stay hydrated - bring a bottle of water with you to class, and try to drink at least a third of your bodyweight in ounces of water each day. We started a new strength cycle back in April, and we're excited to see where everyone's squat, deadlift and press end after a few weeks of dedicated training. Get ready for Murph in just a few weeks!
Keep reading for some other news and notes.
For May, the rest of the highlights are:
Murph is around the corner - Join us for a challenging workout on Memorial Day. Sign up for a class as normal or join the official challenge >>
Launch of Progress Sessions - we're rolling out our first progress sessions included with all monthly memberships. Sign up >>
Join in June - Get a friend to sign up by June and get a month free! Sign up >>
Love CFTC? Remember to leave a review.
-Jon & Marcus
Events
The Murph Challenge (with Mimosas) - Monday 5/29 - 8:30AM, 9:30AM
For the 9th year, we're excited to be an official host of The Murph Challenge.
"Murph" is a workout consisting of:
1 mile run / 100 pull-ups / 200 push-ups / 300 squats / 1 mile run, weight vest optional
We will have scaling options for those that attend
Enjoy some Mimosas after the workout - we'll bring the bubbly, you bring your favorite snack to share or just your sweaty self.
Sign up for a class as normal or join the official challenge >>
Join by June
Help people find CFTC - receive a free month! For those with an existing unlimited monthly membership, receive a free month when a friend signs up for a membership.
The best way you can support CFTC is to be a great example of fitness by showing up, and after that, let the people you care know about what you experience at CFTC and bring them along for the ride.
Programming Corner
The next programming phase is a strength-building phase with the goal to "get stronger while still maintaining a good level of fitness".
Breakdown by day:
Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday a mix of strength percentage work and fun Metcons
Thursday will become “Technique Thursdsays” in which we will include a skill or technique dedicated to go over a variety of techniques and skills
Friday will be strength building and a fun metcon
Saturday we will continue our volume days with options for Team workouts
Sunday (you can review Sunday workouts on Wodify even though there is no class) - we will have a “Sweaty Sunday” vibe with a aerobic style conditioning piece.
Announcements
Welcome to Summer Hires and Interns!
We are excited to welcome college students and interns who are in the Northern Virginia area for the summer. If you have a valid student ID, we welcome you to sign up for this 10-week option that provides access to any of our normal Group CrossFit classes.
Introducing our progress sessions
Talk one-on-one with a coach or owner to celebrate what you've been successful at and lay out a plan for the future. We'd love feedback on what could make these sessions great, so please sign up soon! We'll be reaching out to our newest members first if you don't sign up.
Progress sessions are available quarterly to all monthly members.
Coach's Eye - 24/7 Members
Did you know you can get 24/7 access to CFTC? We wanted to take a second to shout-out some of our most regular 24/7 members - Tonya and Sean. You may not see them in classes too much, but they always put in hard work and we love that they're a part of the CFTC community.
Curious about 24/7 access? Find out more >>
Programming Corner: Base Strength Phase
Post courtesy of Deka Comp
BASE STRENGTH PHASE
Phase duration: Mon, Apr 10, 2023 - Sun, Jul 2
Important note: Below is an outline of our Base Strength Phase for the Perform athlete. In our classes, we will do our best to respect this cycle without sacrificing variety and fun. Our goal with this cycle is to get your members stronger while still maintaining a good level of fitness.
Throughout this cycle some changes may occur if we feel that certain movements in the Perform programming are too repetitive or we feel that there could be too much strain for our class members.
In addition, we will be using the Perform Rest days to implement session that can counter the linear progression that comes with a strength cycle.
Our class weekly schedule will include:
Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday taken from the perform programming
Thursday will become “Technique Thursdsays” in which we will include a skill or technique dedicated to go over a variety of techniques and skills
Friday will stick to the Perform Programming
Saturday we will continue our volume days but will be very inspired by our Perform programming
Sunday will include a piece missed from classes from the Perform track but we will have a “Sweaty Sunday” vibe with a aerobic style conditioning piece.
BASE STRENGTH PHASE: BY COACH KEVIN BOWLES
In this portion of the year, we will focus on Base strength, including but not limited to: force developement- Velocity and max effort + muscle hypertrophy, gymnastics isometrics. As well as aerobic base development, using a 20 minute FTP: Functional Threshold Power, and a CrossFit friendly version of the wingate test to base our endurance training from. The goal is to increase your thresholds in every aspect in the future but first we must first build a capable base to build these thresholds in order to really smash through these plateaus. This cycle will allow the body some restoration from the specific aerobic intensity experienced leading into and during the open, as well as prepare the motor patterns, CNS, and muscle to be ready to fire quickly and with strength for the rest of the year's training.
This is our off season Strength & Endurance phase. I realize a lot of athletes will do summer competitions, this is great for their experience and encouraged because the beautiful thing about this cycle is that we will not neglect any of the 10 physical components. We are going to cycle our program in three week phases with a deload or general week between phases for a four week cycle, at the 12 week mark we will have a deload week and then we will test your strength gains & Endurance gains using the original tests you see on week 1. It is felt that this method of cycling weeks will allow for enough variance to allow athletes to train optimally for a long term approach without getting ‘rusty’ with the physical components that might be outside of our scope of focus for the cycle. For the affiliate, we will make sure that we cycle our daily micro cycle on different days from week 1 through 12 in order to accommodate this variance for your members.
3 cycles (12 weeks) of 3 week waves + 1 deload week:
Example week:
Day 1: Lower Max effort: High intensity
Day 2: Upper High Volume
Day 3: Lower Speed & Power
Day 4: Active Recovery
Day 5: Upper Max Effort + Speed & Power
Day 6: Lower High Volume
Overview:
Weightlifting: Dynamics and speed
Strength: Strength & Hypertrophy
Gymnastics: Body control: strict + Isometric focus
Metcons: Fun. Some old school workouts, some benchmarks, and some creative new ones.
Accessories: Isometrics: Focus on the core daily, weekly on building bulletproof shoulders, hips and posterior chains, improving strength.
The three weeks will wave up linear progressions you will see in the max effort days, herein lies the mini cycles within the major phase. The mini cycle is what will allow us to go 12 weeks without feeling too beat up and to make and track progress.
Remember that this program is a strength bias and not a full strength program, we will be a CrossFit program where everything comes up together, with a slight lean of focus toward strength methods in specific points in our training. However, we will look to maintain all other areas as we cycle through the 12 weeks.
I think a lot of varied leveled athletes will see some good strength gains from this cycle while having fun with some old school metcons and benchmarks along the way!
Have fun!
April 2023 Newsletter
An overview of events at CrossFit Tysons corner with highlights for our CrossFit Open leading team and a welcome to new coaches.
April 2023 Bells & Bars
The Monthly CFTC Newsletter
CFTC Team-
Thankfully the weather is warming up, and with that comes a reason to get together outside of the gym. We encourage everyone to come out to a happy hour this Friday right after the 530PM class at The Perch / Star Hill Biergarten in Tysons.
Congrats to the Blue Team above for winning this year's Team Intramural Open.
Keep reading for some other news and notes.
For April, the rest of the highlights are:
Welcome new coaches - We welcome to new female coaches to the roster - long-time member Coach Alyson, and Coach Sam, another experienced CrossfFtter
Murph prep continues - Murph is an annual Memorial Day challenge involving running, pull-ups, push-ups and squats. We will be incorporating these movements in various ways leading up to the May challenge. We are an official Murph Host for the tenth year in a row, meaning we also welcome friends and drop-ins to complete the workout with us for an official score and support of The Murph Foundation.
A review of the Open at CFTC - check out our awesome competitors
Congrats to Coach Meg - for completing the next round after the Open. More below.
Love CFTC? Remember to leave a review.
-Jon & Marcus
Events
Happy Hour at CFTC: Friday 4/14 ~6:45PM
We encourage everyone to come out to a happy hour this Friday right after the 530PM class at The Perch / Star Hill Biergarten in Tysons.
Future Events - Ever Heard of Hyrox?
We're exploring participating in an upcoming Hyrox event as a gym. Stay tuned for more details, but think of Hyrox as a mix of an obstacle course race but heavier on the CrossFit side of things and much less mud (OK, no mud). There are individual, partner and team options. We'd love to know what you think about joining in this fitness race.
CrossFit Kids Continues
Our CrossFit Kids class continues to meet Thursdays at 4:40PM. We have a great, motivated group these days, and they are making great progress. There are 2 remaining weeks (4/13 and 4/20) for the Spring session, we'd love for you to join and will make an announcement for the next session soon.
Programming Corner
The next programming phase is a strength-building phase that begins on April 10th.
Be sure to log your strength numbers this week as we start out!
Announcements
Welcome to Our New Coaches!
Welcome to long-time member and new Coach Alyson (pictured above)!
Alyson started CrossFit in 2017 as a lover of group fitness classes and quickly got hooked on weightlifting and strength training. She is enthusiastic about helping athletes get stronger than they ever thought possible.
Welcome to new Coach Sam (picture to come)!
Sam started her CrossFit journey in the beginning of 2018 with the goal of getting stronger. She fell in love with the variety and camaraderie that CrossFit has to offer and hopes to exude that passion when she coaches.
Coach's Eye - Meg
Congrats to Coach Meg for qualifying for and competing all of the Age Group Online Qualifier (AGOQ) workouts - this was the next step after the CrossFit Open for the top 10 percent of athletes.
Some feats of note:
Meg's best finish for the AGOQ was on a workout that had 14 rope climbs. Meg achieved her first rope climb at CFTC a few years ago
One workout had wall-facing handstand push-ups, an unusual movement that still got Meg her second-highest placing of the weekend
The last workout was a repeat workout from 2015, and even after all of the work for the weekend, Meg improved by over 2 minutes on the workout below, finishing in just over 11 minutes. Do you want to give it a try?
27-21-15-9
Calorie Row
Thruster (95/65)
Meg has made great progress at CFTC as an athlete and coach, and all of us can make great strides with consistency and dedication.
March 2023 Newsletter
March 2023 Bells & Bars
The Monthly CFTC Newsletter
CFTC Team-
Whew - that was a busy February and start of March. Following the Open, we needed to take a quick break to regroup after all the activity of the last few weeks so we apologize this is getting out a little late. Did you know we started coordinating this year's Open back in December?
We had 15+ people join us for our Friday Night Lights Open Scored Sessions, in addition to workout setup, rescheduling makeup sessions and making sure everyone met the workout standards. We're especially grateful to Coach Daphne for leading all of the Open work and to Coaches Abbey and Brandon for assisting with the workout explanations and to Nathalie for the great photos. (Thanks Christian for the great group shot above.)
Interested in improving on what you learned from the Open?
The last follow-up from the Open - doing these workouts can be a humbling experience. Is there anything that came up in the Open that you'd like to work on more? Please let us know!
For March, the rest of the highlights are:
Improved free trial process - the perfect chance to spread CrossFit to those you care about
Murph prep begins - Murph is an annual Memorial Day challenge involving running, pull-ups, push-ups and squats. We will be incorporating these movements in various ways leading up to the May challenge
CrossFit Kids resumes - our first Spring class was Thurs. 3/9 but there's still time to sign up
A review of the Open at CFTC - check out our awesome competitors
Love CFTC? Remember to leave a review.
-Jon & Marcus
Events
Improved Trial Process
We love welcoming new faces to CFTC, and we want to also continue giving the attention deserved to our core classes. So moving forward, trial clients will have a dedicated coach to walk them through their first workout. Let us know if you or someone you know wants to check out CFTC.
The only other difference is trials will only be available to sign up a week ahead of time so we can plan accordingly.
CrossFit Kids Continues
Our CrossFit Kids class continues to meet Thursdays at 4:40PM. We have a great, motivated group these days, and they are making great progress.
Programming Corner
The next programming phase is a strength-building phase that begins on April 10th. Until then, we have a few things we'll work on:
Integrate some "forgotten" CrossFit movements like the Sumo Deadlift High Pull and Inverted Burpees we tackled this week
Build endurance volume for Murph, particularly for push-ups, pull-ups and running
Execute two additional CFTC benchmarks to help us track progress
Announcements
A Review of the 2023 CrossFit Open
We had 3 teams participate -
Black Team - Abby R, Bill, Daphne, Jean, John L, Nathalie and Noah
Blue Team - Abbey B, Jeanna, Juan, Julieta, Marcus, Meg
Green Team - Angelica, Denis, Jane, Magdi, Paul, Sam
Drop-In Member - Chris P
Spirit of the Open and final team standings will be announced soon
Meg made it to the 90th percentile for her age group!
Drop-In Member Chris P earned a 66th place finish in the 55-59 for the Scaled division in the world
Doing these workouts can be a humbling experience. Is there anything that came up in the Open that you'd like to work on more?
Coach's Eye - Noah
Congrats to CrossFit Teens athlete Noah! Although he's still too young for an official CrossFit Teens Games age group, Noah participated in the Open this year and tackled each workout with a hard-working attitude. Since joining our Teens class, last Fall, Noah has been consistent and brings fundamentals learned from a CrossFit New England gym to our VA gym. Although our Teens class is pausing for a bit, we're glad Noah could join for a litte while. Watch for him on the leaderboard next year.