Hey Old Cityzens!

First off, reminder that NEXT Monday is Memorial Day, and we only have 2 classes on the schedule – 9AM and 10:30AM – where we’ll be doing the Hero WOD “Murph”.

Next, thanks for all of those who made it out to the picnic on Saturday. It was a great chance to get outside of the gym and nosh on some chips and guac somewhere other than on my sofa in front of the tv..

On that note, we already have our June event planned, so mark your calendars! We’ve secured a group of tickets to watch the DC Breeze take on the Philadelphia Phoenix on Saturday, June 22nd. If you’re not familiar, the DC Breeze is DC’s very own professional ultimate disc (re – frisbee) team. Tickets are free for members plus 1 guest. The game starts at 4pm and is played at Carlini Field at Catholic University, not far from the Brookland Metro. If you’d like to join us, just SIGN UP HERE to secure your ticket(s).

More information will follow, with more events to put on your calendar, but add this to your June ‘to do’ list.

I’m gonna build on that and reference the link I posted on the FB Community page about the Rogue Invitational. You can see the video on You Tube (this is the start of it, but watch the next 10 min for the commentary, too) here’s the condensed version of it on their Instagram page. The tl;dr version is that a member got hurt in the first event, another member from the gym was allowed to fill in for her on the next event, and she crushed it under immense pressure having never lifted that much weight before.

This person was Caitlin Meade from CrossFit Balance here in DC. And one thing the commentators said about her was that she was ‘just a member of their gym, she’s not a competitor whatsoever’ (2:31:00 of the video). In a post on IG, she used the hashtag #justagymmember, and I thought that was pretty cool.

But then I got to thinking that it sounded a bit demeaning.. “just a gym member” sounds like someone who shows up to do work and then go home. At Old City, we’re working to build a community. Think about it – picnic this past weekend, DC Breeze event in June, Friday Night Lights for the Open workouts. And in the past we’ve gone on hikes, a DC United game, axe throwing, CF competitions, helped others move, happy hours, etc, with more in the pipeline. We have the Patriot Club to reward and celebrate those who show up consistently, and we email you to find out WTF you are if you haven’t been in to workout in what might seem like 3-4 days. We WANT to see you in the gym. We WANT you to get quality coaching. We WANT you to join us at events outside the gym. You are more than ‘just a member of the gym’. Wear your Old City shirts with pride because you are an Old Cityzen — a member of a great community.

*Woah.. lordy.. look at me getting all emotional and stuff! Better stop now before the AM peeps think I’m getting soft. On that note, it must be time to see what’s coming up this week..

Monday – double strength – back squats (EMOM) and RDLs

Tuesday – one of two long workouts. Some barbell cycling, toes to bar (take care of your hands) and running. Good Murph prep.

Wednesday – Front squats and a plate (not plant, you vegans) based workout.

Thursday – Another long workout, a good little ‘do work’ chipper/triplet. No new movements here, but it’ll be a good grind.

Friday – Getting back to some bench pressing, volume work today, and a nice little dumbbell complex to wrap up the work week.

Saturday – Snatching and overhead squats with a HeroWOD for you folks that don’t make it to the Sunday PM classes.

Sunday – MORNING ONLY. Open gym (I’ll still post a HeroWOD in case you want to do something other than Murph) and Gainz club. Also remember that gainz club is actually a class. And as we ask you to show up on time Mon-Sat, keep that in mind for Sunday, too. It might be a day of rest for some, but it’s a day of building strength, and it starts with getting to CLASS in a timely manner.

Let’s have another great week!

– Jen