Congratulations to our September Athletes of the Month, Rachel Peterson and Bruno Lima! Rachel Peterson is a superstar of the 5:30am class. She has worked quietly and consistently to build her strength and skills with very impressive results. When she first came to the gym, she had one of those kinda scary squats(!), but she has trusted the process, taken it one class at a time,...
This year, CrossFit HQ has moved the CrossFit Open to October. So this year we get a double dose of the Open! Now is the time for you to register to be part of the 2020 Solcana Open Team Challenge, AKA the most fun time of year. What is the Open? The CrossFit Open is an international competition that happens annually. Starting this year it will occur in...
Welcome to July, it's getting hotter and we have lots of summer fun planned for you, so get in here and enjoy the good company and the A/C! We are so excited to announce our July Athletes of the Month, and it's been a long time coming for both of them: Pat McCann and Sasha Yunginger! Pat McCann is the best rower in the gym. He...
Hey everyone! I wanted to take some time to break down what to expect in the next chunk of programming because it will be slightly different from what we typically do this time of year. When creating a block of programming, one of the top priorities should be what is called specificity. Specificity in an exercise sense just means that the elements included in your training...
Happy June, everyone! So many reasons to celebrate this month: It's summer, it's Solcana's 5th birthday, and it's PRIDE month! This month we are recognizing two very special athletes, Ruben Soto-Acosta and Ry Macarayan! They are both inspiring people who have been working hard so give them a high five when you see them around! Ry is nominated by Coach Jenn: "Ry is a body adapt...
The 2019 Open is done! Congrats on making it through. Everyone did an awesome job and I saw a LOT of people do things they thought they couldn’t. If you take a year at Solcana and zoom it way out, you’ll see that the end of the Open coincides with a solid Olympic-centric cycle. This is because we have the beginners weightlifting meet in May,...
Welcome Spring, and congratulations to our April Athletes of the Month, Pat Staiger and Margaret Perry! "Pat joined us after doing CF at another gym for a while, and once he tested the waters with us, he was hooked" says Coach Hannah. "He is now an integral part of our community and I can't remember what it was like before he was here. Pat is a...
19.5 is over, and that is officially a wrap on the 2019 season! In my humble opinion, 19.5 was pure torture. 20 minutes of lung-burning, arm-killing torture. Glad it's done! Even at 35# doing ring rows I was ready to throw in the dang towel about 6 minutes in. Great job to everyone who completed this and all of the other open workouts! I had...
19.4 is over and hopefully that means we are done with burpees this open season! This workout was super fun. I don't think I have ever seen an open workout before with built-in rest. That added component really pushed people to burn through the first part as fast as possible, to leave as much time remaining for those harder skills. It was also really amazing...
Another week down, and we over halfway done with the Open! I don’t know about all of you, but 19.3 was the hardest for me so far. Those weighted box step-ups were something else. I was so super impressed watching so many people try a really challenging variation of the pushup. Some people got their first few handstand push-ups, and for most people the hand-release...
What a fun week! 19.2 was a repeat of 16.2, and it was a great opportunity to see folks hit new heavy numbers on their clean. Plus, a handful of people actually finished the workout, which was really cool to see. This workout was particularly hard because it combined a high-rep gymnastics movement (toes to bar), a difficult skill (double-unders), and heavy weights (squat cleans)....
Welcome to MARCH! It may look like a moonscape outside right now but the promise of spring is in the air! I am thrilled to announce our Athletes of the Month for March: Sparkle Jones and Martin Van Boekel! Sparkle started with Body Adapt about a year ago and has shown SUCH consistency in showing up and doing the work! Coach Hannah says "Sparkle is one...
The first CrossFit Open workout 19.1 is in the books! What an excellent way to start the season off, with a simple yet painful burner. A lot of you challenged yourselves to use a heavier ball than usual and a higher target than you are used to, and that was really incredible to see. I personally did the workout in a mostly empty gym in...
Welcome to February! This month is short but winter is starting to feel long. This time of the year I'm grateful for the warmth and sweaty cameraderie inside of the gym, as well as bright sunshine when the temps are frigid. It's also time to announce our February Athletes of the Month, Katie Paro and Brad Evans! Coach Hannah nominated both of these athletes and...
It's crazy to think that the 2019 Open is rapidly approaching! Now is the time for you to register to be part of the 2019 Solcana Open Team Challenge, AKA the most fun time of year. What is the Open? The CrossFit Open is an international competition that happens yearly in February and March. It’s an opportunity for CrossFit athletes across the world to test out their...
I joined Solcana in April 2017, when I was twelve weeks pregnant. If you’ve ever been pregnant, known anyone who was pregnant, or somehow gotten sucked up in the (awful) social conversation surrounding pregnancy, you probably know two things. First, you’re not supposed to try new physical activities because you might hurt yourself or the fetus. Second, lots of people have Opinions -- Strong ones!...
Happy New Year! As we head into the new year, we are also heading into a new programming cycle. This cycle is our 2019 Open Prep Cycle. In our year-long macrocycle, this time of year is our "performance" cycle. The rest of the year we are in cyclical strength training cycles, and now is the time of year where we put all of that training...
Happy New Year and welcome to 2019! All of you athletes are the reason we are here, and we're thrilled to be on your journey with you for another year. Thanks for lighting up these rooms with your energy and your sweat and hard work and for making Solcana such a special place! Congratulations to our January Athletes of the Month, Kate Anders and Teresa Schuld! Kate...
Hi. Lauren here. You know, once in a while, there are some rare mornings when I wake up, without being prompted by my over-active bladder. I lie there nestled in my bed, and realize I am awake just moments before my alarm starts its round of annoying beeps and boops. And on these rare mornings, I am not bothered by the loss of those precious few...
The Fall Challenge has officially wrapped! This year was incredible, we had so many athletes complete the challenge and really put everything they had into those final test out days. Testing your lifts and metcons for 3 days in a row is so rigorous, and you all really rose to the challenge in a way that testifies to your internal strength as well as your...
This year we were able to make enough money on our Black Friday sale to sponsor 10 athletes of color for a full-year membership with us in 2019! We are so excited to do this again. Last year we gained some incredible athletes and we are so thrilled to add even more. A couple of important changes to our process this year: All selected athletes will...
As we approach the holiday season, Solcana Fitness wants to give back to our community by supporting Good in the 'Hood's Shopping with Dignity Program. Last year, nearly 1,000 families that included more than 2,500 children, had a merrier Christmas because of this program. Our friend Kira is helping to run this awesome effort! How does it work? Unwrapped donations are placed at seven host sites where parents...
Happy December! As we wrap up 2018, we get to reflect on how strong and amazing our Solcana family is. This month we get to honor two people who light up the gym and bring a lot of sunshine to every class: Skye Vang and Jessie Johnson! "Skye is so awesome!" says Coach Hannah. "They have been so committed over the last year. They did the...
I can’t believe it’s been a year already. It’s been a year since my early morning trial workout with Morgen and even more notably it’s been a year since I walked into a Wednesday evening Powerlifting Team training for the first time. Folks were working on the bench press. I was all sorts of lost, but Coach Sampson explained it to me and I gave it a try. I mean, you get to lay down, it couldn’t be that bad! (It wasn’t At the time I had only lifted casually at the YWCA after spending most of the year recovering from some minor hip issues. I would deadlift and squat alone; sending videos of my progress to a couple of friends who would do their best to help me virtually. They were my safety net, but I knew I wasn’t going to...
The fall challenge is over, and we are diving headfirst into the next cycle! I will post fall challenge results next week, but so far it's been incredible watching people PR their lifts and improve in a million different ways. The next cycle will start Monday Nov 26th and run until January 6th. Believe it or not, that is only 6 weeks long! The theme of...
Hi Homies! Emma Vasseur here to introduce a super fun, super cool idea to help you reach your goals and make meaningful changes happen in your life: SOLCANA-BILI-BUDDIES! Solcana - a space full of inspiration, growth, change, strength, transformation,... Accountability - an essential element to making change happen, as we are social creatures afterall Buddies - Solcana’s badass, compassionate, caring, connected community! Combine these three components and you have a...
It's the most wonderful time of the year! We love fall, cool breezes, colorful leaves, and our amazing athletes. Congratulations to our October Athletes of the Month, Andrea Shaker and Shannon Kerr! Andrea "Dre" Shaker Written by coach Morgen Dre has been doing CrossFit for many years, and wound up walking through our doors in January of this year, looking to switch it up. What I notice about...
For years, I would compile an empowering playlist on my iPhone, double-knot my shoes, and embark on a solitary evening jog. Running was always my primary method of exercise. I relished exploring new frontiers outdoors, discovering new running paths and learning the intricacies of each hill. Running was my method for escaping from my thoughts and life stressors, losing myself in the verdant green of...
The fall challenge starts testing next week! I wanted to post a few quick updates so you knew what to expect. First, A BONUS. A handful of eager athletes asked me last week, "where is the metcon?" Apparently, these folks loooooooved them some beep test (last year's fall challenge metcon), and were hoping for something like that again. Well, I am happy to oblige! A reminder...
It is time for the annual Solcana Fall Challenge! The Fall Challenge is a really awesome opportunity to crush some goals, reinvest in your fitness and put your skills to the test. It’s meant for everyone, all levels of experience, from brand new athletes to long-haul Solcanauts. This year our Fall Challenge is the combined total of: Deadlift + Snatch + Shoulder Press I am calling this...
