This month we have something special to announce here at Solcana..... *drum roll*.......... THE 1000 CLASS CLUB! We have two athletes, Kira and Mike, who have surpassed this incredible accomplishment during their years at Solcana. They are such dedicated athletes and we wanted to honor them this month!! They both live in the neighborhood in sweet Seward houses. Mike has two kitties and Kira has two pups! Kira...
We are stoked to announce Sam Taitel as our December Athlete of the Month. Sam is as a total badass in and out of the gym. They can lift some pretty heavy stuff here and outside of Solcana they practice Aikido. Coach Hannah says "Sam is such an inspiration. They have been through so much in this last year, with overcoming an injury and dealing with...
We are thrilled to announce our Athlete of the Month: Angelica Perez! Coach Hannah says, "Angelica is SO GREAT. She joined us from a silent auction win, and she has been a consistent member ever since! It was so fun to watch her compete in the powerlifting meet and absolutely crush her lifts. She has been a great ambassador for powerlifting and welcomed lots of new...
We are elated to announce that our October Athlete of the Month is (drum roll)........ the fabulous Liz Behnke!! Liz is such a light in class so read more to hear about her experience at Solcana and what our coaches have to say. Liz says, "Previously to Solcana, my relationship with movement was that I was never ‘enough’ and that I needed to use movement to...
We are pumped to announce Levi Weinhagen as our member of the month for September!! What a true gem Levi is! Coach Garrett H says, "Omg Levi. First off, he's funny AF, so that's always welcome energy. Levi cares deeply for the communities to which he belongs and shows that through genuine engagement and investing time and energy in learning about people and building relationships. He...
We are so excited to announce our July Athlete of the Month: Brigit Boler! Brigit first started at Solcana because they wanted to be more committed to exercise but struggled to find a direction where they didn't get easily bored. They were drawn to Solcana because of the Pride/Trans flags and BLM sign on their door, which they hadn't seen at a gym before. The benefit...
Shout out to our June Athlete of the Month: the incredible Britt Johnson! Britt joined the gym in January 2019 and can mostly be found bright and early at the 6AM Indoor classes! Coach Jeff says "Britt is as kind as they are strong. Which is to say, incredibly kind. They are so much fun to have in my classes even though it makes their spouse, Lisa,...
Hooray for the April Athlete of the Month - amazing Amanda Lovelee! Amanda joined the gym in January 2019. Coach Kk says "Amanda’s spirit is so bright, encouraging and fun. From the moment she walked in the gym, she’s given workouts her all. She’s passionate, creative and I love watching her dedication to learning new movements and correcting old movements. I can’t say enough about how...
We've got so much love for March's Athlete of the Month: Allison Johnson Heist! Allison joined Solcana in January of 2018. You'll usually see her in the mornings, but her dedication means you'll find her at 5pm when her schedule requires it. She lives close by with her husband Kevin and "a super cutie little son," according to Coach Hannah. "She became a mom right...
Congratulations to Lily Thiboutot, Solcana's February Athlete of the Month! Lily joined Solcana in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic as a way to create accountability and community for her fitness. Coach Garrett Hoffman says "Lily and I met in 2004 (!) and she has been an incredible force of good and hope in my life since the beginning. When she joined Solcana I was...
Our first Athlete of the Month for 2021 is the wonderful Rachel Moritz! Rachel and her wife Juliet joined Solcana in early 2019 after their child Finn took our classes, and has stuck with us through all the pivots of 2020 - including showing up online consistently week after week! You'll most likely catch her in the morning or noon classes, but she is committed to...
December's Athlete of the Month is the wonderful Riley Haberland! Riley has been a part of the morning workout crew for over two years. If you've not made it to a 6am or 6:30am class you've missed out on a serious lifting buddy and some serious laughs. Coach Jeff says "I met Riley doing Ragnar trail in 2018. Right away, I knew they needed to be a...
Name: Amanda Leeman Pronouns: She/Her Where are you from originally? Richfield, MN How did you get involved in fitness? I was always athletic as a kid, I played hockey growing up (14 years to be exact) and dabbled in softball, cross country, lacrosse. When I found CrossFit, it was because I was bored with body building and wasn’t getting any stronger…. I guess I just always wanted to lift...
Congratulations to Matt Decuir, November Athlete of the Month! Matt has been a Solcana member since day one, consistently showing up with a smile on his face. Matt's affability has helped set the tone of the gym for so many members. Coach Jerik says "Matt is a fantastic ambassador for the gym community. Since we opened, I think any time there has been someone new in...
Our October's Athlete of the Month is Jessica Tokunaga! Jess and her husband Brian joined Solcana a little over a year ago after moving here from the Bay Area. "In the gym Jess is super consistent, a hard worker, and always open to feedback from a coach. I love seeing her in my classes and I am so grateful when I see her name on my...
September's Athlete of the Month is the one and only Marlee Leebrick-Stryker! Marlee has been a member at Solcana for a year and a half. According to Coach Kk, "Marlee started off as an athlete who wanted to improve their technique and strength for derby, due to an injury. Since starting, I’ve watched them expand their desire to be a better derby athlete into being the...
I originally wrote this post three months ago. It slotted in nice and easy as the next in a long string of “My Story” posts on this blog, and the first since COVID-19 shut down, well, everything. Then George Floyd’s murder woke up me, and millions the world over, that nothing about this is nice and easy. It hasn’t felt right to take up space...
August's Athlete of the Month is Heather Stratton! Heather's been a Solcana member for over a year and is committed to putting in the work of her fitness journey. Coach Garrett Hoffman says "Heather is an incredibly consistent and dedicated athlete whose drive and motivation are enviable! I love watching Heather as she constantly strives to improve her form on each and every movement." Heather lives in...
Congratulations to July’s Athlete of the Month, Matthew Rubbelke! As Coach Hannah says, "Matt is the kind of person you immediately want to get to know. He is warm and open, and makes you feel special right away! He is an incredible energy to have in class and probably won "best smile" in his high school superlatives." Matt joined Solcana last fall to supplement his existing...
With so many amazing athletes showing up to online classes, we have to celebrate two for May! Congratulations to Ewan Scotto and Josh Humphrey - both super consistent athletes who are stepping up to home workouts. Coach Hannah says "now that we are virtual, Ewan has totally embraced this time in their fitness journey and even brought their partner Elly on board for classes. It's...
"Hello?!" Carrie just uttering "hello?!" is enough to get giggles out of her fellow athletes. Spend a whole workout with her and you're sure to laugh. Coach Jenn says "I knew Carrie before she came to us and I am SO GLAD she is here. She took body adapt and beginner strength and then transitioned to CF. She’s such a bright light and her humor is incomparable....
Mimi joined Solcana in 2017 with a strength training interest, looking to lift more seriously on a Powerlifting team. She's become a staple of the Solcana lifting community; attending meets, challenging herself and supporting her fellow lifters. Mimi focuses on Strength and Power Lifting, attending CrossFit and Mobility classes to support her training. Coach Jenn says to "watch Mimi stretch sometime - it is so...
Levels of Performance...
Mike Carri came to Solcana in early 2019 for [Em]Power Strength, and quickly became a fixture of almost every class. He dives in to everything from Active Mobility to Olympic Weightlifting, frequently taking two classes a day to chip away at each area he wants to improve in. His dedication moved him quickly from a novice to a Game Day competitor. According to Coach Marijke,...
Growing up, I was far more of an academic achiever than an athletic one. (In junior high, I was voted “little Einstein” by my classmates. True story.) I was terrible at most of the school gym class activities, and my friends were mainly the kids I knew from choir, theater, and uber-geeky clubs like “Future Problem Solving” (yep, it’s a thing). I did not particularly...
Well, the Crossfit Open is over. 2019 was a bit wild with TWO Open seasons in one year, but it is finally on the shelf for another year. So what’s next? Normally we have an annual Fall Challenge, but the weird double Open this year sort of messed that up. Not wanting to double down on a gym-wide challenge AND the Open, we’ve decided this year...
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...
Well, it was bound to happen eventually, a workout with a very difficult technical movement - the muscle-up. In this case, 18.3 was also paired with another difficult movement, the double under. I know a lot of people really struggled with this one, it presented a serious challenge. That being said, I saw some incredible things happen, like first-time muscle-ups, first time doing double-unders in...
Hello! I hope you have been having a great summer! We are looking forward to bringing you another year of great programming and fun for kids ages 3-12 on Saturday mornings. This year we are offering a new format. We will have three 6-week sessions throughout the school year for your family to choose from. Sign up for one, two, or all three of them. Fall: Oct 14th...
POTENTIAL RIGOR WARNING By: Lauren Anderson A few Christmases ago, my mom, my step dad, and myself were about to head over to my step-grandparents house to celebrate. We had been tasked with bringing a dish to share. My mom got this great recipe for cold cheese tortellinis that you dip in this special sauce. It was a twist on finger food and they were delicious. Since it was...
