Whenever I go somewhere new my internal monologue is always yelling at me: “What if you do something wrong? What if you don’t know where things go and someone yells at you? What if you mix up the times and you go really early and then it’s awkward and you just sit there?* What if? What if? What if?” The first time I went to...
I work in the mental health field as a clinical social worker/therapist. One of my most favorite things to do is sit down with someone in a therapy session, help them feel comfortable being vulnerable with me, and then attempt to untangle their history of anxiety, depression, and trauma. While I may love helping others battle their own struggles, I often don’t share that I...
It's time to recognize our August athletes of the month, Meghan Casey and Ray Ringer! Meghan Casey has shown amazing consistency and dedication to her own training and to the community. Her confidence has soared over the last year as she has thrown herself into not just exercise but nutrition, mobility, and mindfulness. Coach Ariel says "she never gives up. She keeps consistently showing up, trying new suggestions,...
I don’t like CrossFit and you don’t have to either. Let me explain. It’s hard, sometimes painful. There is a lot of physical, mental, and emotional discomfort and just when you think you are getting stronger and faster, the discomfort increases. It sucks. I mean when does this get easier right? I used to think it was supposed to get easier. Now I don’t. Now...
July slogan at Solcana: Get Rad; Be Like Eik. Our two Athletes of the Month, Sara Radjenovic and Jen Eik, have a few things in common, including formidable reserves of strength. These two beasts both bench press like it's going out of style, have troublemaker knees that they've had to work around, and if you put their names together, "Eik and Rad" could be a dymanic duo from a superhero comic or a...
I was introduced to the snatch and clean & jerk in 2006, as a senior in high school. My girlfriend at the time was the captain of our Olympic weight lifting team, and she convinced me to give it a shot, despite the fact that I’d never intentionally squatted or tossed a barbell above my head in my life. I still remember my first practice:...
I’ve been an athlete my whole life. Athletics came naturally to me, and I loved the feeling of complete exhaustion and collapse at the end of a workout. If I could still stand when it was over, I knew I hadn’t done enough. The more sore and wrecked my body felt, the better, and I told myself the pain indicated weakness that meant I needed...
CrossFit: The sport of lumberjack hands and porn star asses. I read that on a t-shirt a few months ago, and it's been stuck in my head ever since. CrossFit has a well-deserved reputation for transforming people physically (hundreds of squats and burpees will do that to a person), and I certainly feel stronger. The most significant change for me, however, has been psychological. I’ve dealt...
June is a special month at Solcana as we celebrate our 2nd anniversary! We are also excited to announce our two Athletes of the Month for June, Kyle Andrew and Kaitlin Korbitz. These badasses diligently prepared for and competed in our Beginner Oly Meet (at which both of them went 6 for 6, making every attempt on the platform!!!) and are known for putting themselves out there fearlessly....
Every Monday from the years 1991-1995 (ages 18-22), at 4pm in the afternoon, I stepped on a scale in front of 20 other women. Already sounds horrible right? I don’t think I understood enough about myself and life at the time to comprehend what kind of damage was being done in these moments, but 21 years later, I’m still untwisting these emotional adhesions gnarled around...
The sun is finally out this week, and how appropriate because this month we are honoring two athletes with the sunniest dispositions in the gym. You’ll have to rise early to catch their megawatt smiles, as both of them usually work out in the a.m. If you are lucky enough to bask in the radiant auras of Allyson Farrell or Chris Larkin, give them a high...
I’m a butterfly. Yes, you heard me right…I’m a butterfly and not ashamed to say that I am. You are probably like, “What the heck is he talking about and what does that have to do with an athlete blog post?” Well, until I joined Solcana I never knew I was a butterfly and what that meant to me in the gym or in my...
My Story: Madhu Bangalore Back in India, I started going to a gym when I was 16 and went regularly for a year and a half. I then decided to take a couple of months break to prepare for my finals. After which I was never regular, if it was lack of motivation at some times, it was lack of company at other times. Sometimes procrastination, sometimes...
Happy April Solcanauts! We have jumped head first into the spring cycle and it is going splendidly so far. Now that we have entered a new month it's time to set some new goals AND announce our April athletes of the month. This month we are honoring Charlie Delbridge and Amy Highness Charlie has been lobbying for the position of Athlete of the Month for a...
My Story: Samaria Cate I had been going to crossfit for 8 months when I found out I was pregnant. When I first arrived at Solcana I was inspired. So inspired by the amazing Crossfitters who make Solcana great. People who do WEIGHTED pull- ups and lift hundreds of pounds and have thighs like tree trunks, but you know, in a good way. I was inspired, but...
16.5 is over, which means we are officially DONE with the CrossFit Open! What a whirlwind 5 weeks. So much fun was had, and so many accomplishments were witnessed. This workout was SO BRUTAL, and I am so impressed that you all followed through on your commitment to complete all 5 workouts, despite how challenging it was. Winners: Top (non-coach) athletes this week were James Kindle and...
My Story: Abe Dickison This is my Solcana story. I feel fairly confident saying that many of my fellow Solcanauts would likely agree; I feel like this gym was made for me. I’ve been an athlete throughout my life, but individual sports have never been my thing, and I’ve always especially despised weight lifting. Let me take that even one step further and say I have always had an especially strong...
My Story: Qannani Omar I think I’m similar to most people where I envision a “future me” in terms of the person I would like to be. I’m currently 27 years old still imagining what I am going to look like when I “grow up”. Every year, twice a year (usually New Years, and then again in June on my birthday) I create a list of things I want to...
Happy March crew! February really flew by, and now we are IN THE THICK OF IT with the Open taking up a lot of space in our brains (and glutes, quads, lats, ugh). March has arrived and it's time to announce our new Athletes of the Month. This month, we are honoring the March maxim of "In like a lion and out like a lamb"...
This is the third in a series of three posts about being a participant in the Essential You program from member Kate O’Reilly, a writer and strategist who lives in Minneapolis with her two children and partner. Around the middle of last summer, I was having daily pain in my head and neck that I could no longer ignore. I started seeking help of doctors of...
My Story: Laurel Turek Every time I come to Solcana I am transformed. Really. Every. Single. Time. I am transformed. And I am still changing. Sometimes I am only transformed into a sweat mess.Sometimes the transformation is only in my head, where stress and fear are conquered by burpees and squats. I have been transformed into someone who looks at things differently; sees scary WODs and signs up anyway. I am transformed. I...
This is the second in a series of three posts about being a participant in the Essential You program from member Kate O'Reilly, a writer and strategist who lives in Minneapolis with her two children and partner. Smack in the middle of starting the Essential You plan, I had a trip to Mexico planned. I mean, it's February in Minnesota, soo of course I did. So far...
My Story: Felipe Diaz I have spent most of my childhood in a gym. Growing up, my dad got me lifting weights when I was about 10 years old. We would go to the gym just about every night. The gym we belonged to was geared toward power lifting and bodybuilders. They were very encouraging and motivating. We had a power lifting team and competed all...
This is the first in a series of three posts about being a participant in the Essential You program from member Kate O'Reilly, a writer and strategist who lives in Minneapolis with her two children and partner. Chances are high if you're already a part of the Essential You nutrition program or thinking about enrolling in the upcoming March course, you've already done a great deal...
Happy February everyone. Some people say this is their least favorite month in MN, but I LOOOOOVE February. Why? Because Valentines day, and chocolate, and friendship. Also, we are having our 90's Grunge Anti-Prom Party on February 12th, so we all have something awesome to look forward to. February also means it is time to announce our new athletes of the month. This month, we...
My Story: Mindy Fisdel Lifting weights has changed me physically, mentally, and emotionally. When I joined a global gym in 2013, it became a coping mechanism after a difficult experience. It worked well for a while but bodybuilding can be a lonely sport and very isolating. As cheesy as it sounds, I feel like Solcana saved me. Solcana gave me a sense of community and has...
My Story: Alex Fink I’ve never belonged in a gym. I like being outside, but I’ve always identified as a nerd; and as far as I’ve always heard, nerds don’t belong in gyms. The rest of my pre-Solcana story is pretty cliche: I’ve never kept up an exercise routine for more than a few months, I felt guilty about not getting in shape, and a friend...
It is time to announce our amazing January athletes of the month. This month we honor Tamra Hoy and Filiberto Nolasco Gomez! Tamra has been coming to the gym for about 8 months now, and has been crushing it. Tamra is the type of athlete who keeps her head down and gets the work done. She is often quiet, so you may not notice what a...
December Athletes of the Month By Coach Hannah It is December! The month of too many holiday cookies and SO MUCH PIE. It's also #squateveryday month and people have been TOTALLY CRUSHING IT. December also means it's time to announce our athletes of the month! This month we are honoring athletes Brady Eubank and Beth Gibbs! Brady has been hopping around from class to class since he has...
November is here and with it comes the wind filled with gusts of dappled red leaves and the debilitating anxiety of whether it is okay to start listening to holiday music yet. It's also time to announce our athletes of the month! This November, our athletes of the month are Pat Tracy and Kaeti Hinck! Kaeti Hinck has been a member since August of 2014, and her performance in both...
