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...
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...
Welcome to November, and congratulations to this month's Athletes of the Month, Beth Hilliard and Krystal Harper! Beth is thoughtful, kind, empathetic and endlessly loving toward other people. She has so much heart to give and she is not stingy about it. She moved here from Arkansas (I am almost positive), and immediately joined the gym because she knew she wanted to keep this style 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...
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...
Currently Minneapolis is dealing with a health crisis right in our own Solcana neighborhood, and we have the opportunity to help. Close to Solcana, on the intersection of Cedar and Hiawatha is a very large and growing homeless encampment made up of mostly American Indian folks who are currently unable to access the resources they need. This encampment has been here for years, but recently...
We’re willing to bet most Solcana members know the “what” part of the equation when it comes to a healthy eating pattern. But, like many others, they might lack an understanding of “how much” of that healthy food is enough to support their goals. If you’ve got goals for your health, body composition or athletic performance, it’s important to get more precise about that side...
Emily Field RD has been unofficially partnered with the Solcana community for the last year, as she works one-on-one with head coach and owner, Hannah, and many other members on their nutrition. Her non-traditional methods include behavior change coaching and flexible dieting by tracking macros so, when tailored around Solcana’s effective programming, her clients are getting stronger, feeling leaner and more confident. They’re ditching depriving...
At the end of this week, we are closing the mobility building on the corner. Starting June 1st that building will be demolished and that area will be turned into a communal courtyard and garden area. As a result, we are moving our mobility classes into the Vulcana room, and making some other changes to the schedule that you should check out! There is a lot...
According to Psychology Today one of the main reasons people don’t exercise is their desire to avoid any experience of discomfort. Regardless of the discomforts we know that a consistent workout regimen reduces stress and increases your mental well-being. When you work out regularly, your body releases endorphins that enhance your mood. You have probably experienced these positive feelings after finishing a cardiovascular workout. You...
It's crazy to think the Open is actually over! That 5 weeks went very very quickly. I have to say, this has been my favorite Open season yet. I think it's because the gym was bumpin' every Friday, and I got to see so many athletes absolutely crushing workouts they never thought they could do. It might seem silly or even crazy to do a...
18.4 is in the books! I have to say, this one was by far my favorite. I love heavy deadlifts, and it was fun to pair it with something challenging like a handstand pushup. I wish I had made it to the handstand walks because it would have been really fun to try those in a workout, but alas. I tried to convince Josh to...
The energy in the gym on Friday was palpable for 18.2. This is my favorite type of workout, a fast burn followed by an opportunity to hit a big weight. It was incredible to watch so many people hit a PR on their heavy cleans. I was also so impressed by the number of people who tried the Rx weight. When we did the scores this...
I am excited to announce a new strength series we are offering at Solcana called [Em]Power strength. This 5-week series is built for folks who workout on their own, but want to learn the basics of strength training from a professional coach. As an [Em]Power athlete, you will learn the basics of lifting, and walk away with a 6-week program you can use to train...
18.1 is in the books, one workout down and four to go! Nothing says "GET TO WORK" like starting off with a 20 minute AMRAP. I personally loved this workout even though it was torture, because the rep scheme was totally manageable and kept you moving without too many breaks. This first week started off SO STRONG with 92 people completing the workout. Just a...
We have invited the super smart and talented Dr. Alyssa George from Motion Minnesota to come to Solcana and provide a 90 minute seminar on pelvic floor health. This seminar will involve some instruction, along with lots of time for practicing techniques to improve your pelvic floor strength. If you are someone who pees their pants while working out (or doing other things), this is...
I started doing CrossFit 8 years ago, when the sport was in its infancy and the number of athletes worldwide was only in the thousands. Flash to today, there are 13,000 CrossFit gyms in more than 120 countries, thousands of other gyms who offer CrossFit-like programming, plus athletes who workout from their own garage. When it first started, there was a lot of trial and error. Over the last...
If you read my most recent post, you know that my experience with food and dieting has been up and down for a long time. Recently I went through a 6-month long elimination and reintroduction process to finally figure out which foods make me feel awesome, and which don't. Once I finished that process, I knew I wanted to invest in some time in using...
Congratulations to our February Athletes of the Month, Rica Highers and Bradley Machov! Rica Highers brings a fierceness and brilliance that is undeniable. She has embraced crossfit as a practice, and balances her drive and discipline with an attitude of mindfulness, patience, and self love. She pushes herself hard and holds herself to high standards, but she also takes time to celebrate herself and fellow athletes...
I've been a coach for 8 years, and in that time I have tried A LOT of different ways of eating; vegetarian, strict paleo, keto, zone, high-carb, low-carb... just to name a few. The problem I always found with these strict and restrictive diet plans was always the same: I could commit to something for maybe 3-6 months, and then I would rebound, HARD. I...
InBody is a quick and easy way to get metrics about your body composition, using a very simple machine that you can use while fully clothed. Every 6 months we bring in our friend Will Dahlgren into the gym to use his InBody machine in the gym and give you all an opportunity to get some numbers about your body that you can use to...
Recently, we raised over $17,000 in funds from our Black Friday sale, that we are able to use to support 9 POC athletes to join us for a full year at no cost. The application opened on Dec 1st and in the time it was open, we got 49 incredible applicants. From that all-star list, a small committee of 5 Solcanauts selected the 9 recipients....
Congratulations to Hallie Olson and Mike Grewe, our January Athletes of the Month! Hallie Olson walked in the door one day in August and said "I'm here to sign up" and she has become a staple at the gym since then. Hallie is someone I am always happy to see in class. She is honest, gentle, and hilarious. If you ever need to be encouraged through a...
