Hello Fort Collins CrossFit awesome members! 
Man- where in the world did this summer go? Hard to believe that we are in the middle of August and summer is wrapping itself up. It was a weird summer for sure- many of our normal summer activities were altered or cancelled all together but one thing remained this summer- the amazing community that I  get to experience each time I walk through the doors of Fort Collins CrossFit! Hopefully you found that the normalcy of being back at the gym and throwing down barbells and weights with friends helped make this summer suck a little less. As we look ahead to the rest of August and into September there are a few things I want to draw your attention to.

1. We are going to host a nutrition challenge for the gym starting September 8th. Some of us might be feeling a bit fluffier than normal after perhaps loosening up on our diet during these past stressful months. But as the stress seems to continue on we are hopeful that this nutrition challenge will give you the tools needed to keep your diet on track no matter what situations you are presented with. Or maybe you've seen yourself stall in progress at the gym and you are wondering how to get yourself to your next PR? Dialing in nutrition is a key component to getting yourself over the PR plateau that comes at one point or the other in all of our fitness journeys. 

2. In conjunction with the nutrition challenge we are going to have Hannah Hermstead on board to help us with setting our nutrition goals. Hannah has her master's degree in nutrition and also does CrossFit herself so she is very knowledgable on what we need to put into our bodies to get the most out of our time at the gym. Hannah is going to be giving us a kick-off talk about nutrition, macros, stages of diet adjustments, and also other health factors to consider when trying to optimize our health. This talk will be happening on WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19TH AT 5:30 PM AT THE GYM!!!! Please try and make this talk if you want to participate in the nutrition challenge. This talk will give you a much better idea of how we will run the challenge. 

3. We are nearing the end of our summer board workout series. I hope you all have gotten in to try at least one or two board workouts this summer. One of the beautiful things about CrossFit is the ability to measure our fitness progress. These yearly workouts are a great way to assess what gains you have made in the past year and what areas you still could improve upon. I personally have loved seeing the gold stars popping up next to names in Wodify whenever one of these workouts is programmed! So get ready to finish the summer strong by having a fun time with Fran, Karen, and the CrossFit total! 

4. Throughout this pandemic the gym has been a safe haven for so many of our members. And also having the baseline fitness has provided all of us with extra protection against falling very ill if we were to contract a virus. I have started to see a real shift in the outside of CrossFit world with people re-evaluating their own health and realizing that adding a fitness regimen to their lives can no longer be just an idea, but has to become a reality. The time to invest in your own health and fitness is now. And to help people achieve this we want to invite anyone to come try out our gym. But to do that we need to show the outside world that CrossFit isn't scary, and no you don't automatically get hurt when you walk in the door, and you can still become really fit without spending an hour doing cardio. The best way for us to show the outside world this is through you, our members. You all are the best testament to the gym and the potential to improve your health by starting a functional fitness program. So we want you to be our community liaisons. Tell your friends and neighbors about all the things you love about Fort Collins CrossFit. Perhaps write a review for the gym on Google if you haven't already. Or better yet, bring your friend in for a workout! And if you do those things we've got something in it for you!! Through the months of September-October we will be running a little contest.

• Write a review on Google for gym = 1 raffle entry
• Bring a friend to a Saturday class = 2 raffle entries
• Refer a person who signs up for a monthly membership (person must have previous CrossFit experience) = 3 raffle entries
• Refer a person who signs up for a 101 or Prep course = 4 raffle entries

And the raffle prize will be a new pair of CrossFit shoes! The winner will get to choose what type of shoes they want (i.e., Nike MetCon, Reebok Nano, No Bull trainer, etc) up to $150!!!! Who doesn't need to add another pair of CrossFit shoes to their closet??? And don't worry, if you have referred a person to our gym in the last month we will put your name in the raffle as well. Just come tell me if you referred someone recently or brought someone to a clas and I will make sure we get your name in the drawing. And...if the person you referred signs up for 101/prep course and then goes on to sign up for a monthly membership after their 101/prep course you will get 7 raffle entries- BOOM!!!! 
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Okay, another long email chocked full of good information must come to an end. Don't forget, nutrition talk this Wednesday, Aug 19th at 5:30 pm. New kicks for one lucky person- the more you refer the greater your chances to be that lucky person. And Karen and Fran are lovely ladies so don't miss your chance to meet them!!
Peace, love, and health-
Erin

Hey guys,
Gosh- hard to believe that today we start the month of July. June flew by! We started back up with our "board workouts" in June and got ourselves re-familiarized with some of our favorite ladies like Helen, Cindy, and Annie along with the grossest workout ever, Filthy 50. And man oh man, you guys are crushing these re-test workouts!! So many PR's are happening and it really is a testament to the baseline fitness you have built up over the years that has stuck around even when the gym and our regular routine was disrupted. So if any of you are leery of coming back to the gym because you are afraid that over quarantine you lost too much of your fitness- get yourself back in the gym!! You will be surprised at how little you lost and that it comes back just like riding a bike. 

Speaking of coming back to they gym, June brought more and more members back into the community and classes. It has been great seeing more members walk back through those doors!!! Classes keep growing in size and some are even outgrowing their class limits (ahem, 6 am). So just a reminder to sign up ahead of time (reservations open 72 hours before the class) and if you cannot make it cancel as soon as possible as many people actually keep an eye on the class size before they sign up. And if you're one of the 6 am people and haven't been able to get into that time, there are always spots open in the 5 am and 7 am classes so if your schedule allows maybe give one of those times a try. The 10 person limit is not something that we have in place because of COVID regulations from the county but we have decided as coaches that we can better coach a class when it is 10 or less and also we are somewhat limited by equipment to keep our classes at 10 or less to minimize any sort of equipment sharing. So for the foreseeable future the 10 person limit is going to stick around for classes. 

Starting July 6th we begin a new session of our CrossFit 101 introductory course. This course will be meeting on Monday and Wednesday evenings at 6 pm and there are 6 intro sessions being taught by Coach Kendree. After the 6 sessions members can attend regular CrossFit classes and they have 3 weeks of unlimited CrossFit class attendance included in the $125 course fee. If you know of anyone looking for a new gym or fitness routine please pass along the information to them regarding this class. The 101 course is really the best way to introduce people to CrossFit as they get the group camaraderie of suffering and learning together. 

Also we have quite a few new members in our gym. We have the college kids- Autumn, Maddie, Jaqueline, and Spencer along with new members Shannon, Sumer, and James (Phil's brother!). And we have two of our favorite ladies back with us- Becky and Brittany!! Let's be sure to make all of our new members feel welcomed and part of the FCCF family! We are happy to have all of you with us!! And we also have a new coach on staff- Max Brandt! Max is coaching the 5 and 6 am classes on Tuesday. Max is a human, I think, with superhuman powers to do fitness really, really fast. And he moves super well so we are excited to have Max share his knowledge (and secrets of being really, really fast) with all of you! 

Last, but certainly not least, I think we can all say that the gym got some really great improvements over the past few months. Minus the men's bathroom floor, but that too will be improved soon enough. And if you don't know already- organization makes me a very happy lady! I'm totally an Enneagram 1 for those of you who follow that stuff. But we all can do our part to make sure the gym stays organized and clean! So just like I tell my kids- if you take something out then you need to put it back where you found it when you are finished. Example- if you take a dumbbell off the rack please put it back on the rack in the same spot when you are done. If you are running late and don't have time to put away your equipment then please find someone who can help you out (us coaches are usually willing to help if asked) but please don't just leave without having a plan to get your equipment back in the right spot. 

And if you made it this far- thank you!! And thank you for sticking with us these last few months. Though we can't get all of you Reebok Nano's to thank you for sticking around please know that we appreciate your support more than we can say. Phil and I are having so much fun watching the community grow and come back together! It's been a rough couple weeks for the CrossFit brand and community and we really think there are only good things on the horizon for us!! 
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Peace, love, and health,
Erin


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Hello Fort Collins CrossFit members,
On this upcoming Monday, May 25th we have an annual tradition upon us. Each Memorial Day we honor the fallen soldier Michael Murphy by performing the hero workout "Murph". Murph consists of a 1 mile run followed by 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, and all capped off with another 1 mile run. Athletes are encouraged to wear a weight vest while performing the workout (20 lbs for men, 14 lbs for women). The workout is as much about having mental toughness to persevere along with physical stamina. As you perform the workout I encourage you to think less about the pain/suffering you may momentarily be in and shift your focus to the sacrifices made by those who protect our freedom and safety in this amazing country where we get to live. 

This year with the current conditions we are living in, Murph will have to be run differently. We want to continue this annual tradition and hope that we can accommodate as many of you as possible in the gym. That being said, currently we will offer class spots on Monday, May 25th to members first before opening up any spots to outside athletes. Phil has been hard at work this week making pull-up stations outside the gym. We will have 6 pull-up stations that can be used by athletes to perform Murph while not being required to wear a mask. Inside we can have up to 8 people in a class performing Murph but those athletes will be required to wear a mask while inside the gym. There is a sign-up genius (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040A45ACAD29A2FE3-murph) where you can sign up for a time slot and also a pull-up station for Murph on Monday. Also there is a spot to note if you will be borrowing a weight vest from the gym for this workout. We have 2 ladies 14 lb vests and 3 mens 20 lbs vests that you may borrow. Time slots are 60 minutes and there are 15 minutes between heats to pick yourself up from the floor, clean equipment, and leave the gym before the next heat arrives. If you think it will take you longer than an hour to complete this workout I suggest you sign up for the last heat of the day which is scheduled for 1 hr 15 min. Otherwise if you are signed up for an hour long slot we will have to time cap you at 60 minutes so we don't throw off the following heat times. Please come fairly warmed up to the gym and be ready to start on time. You may arrive up to 15 minutes ahead of your heat but please stay out front of the gym and a coach will come out, take your temperature, run through a quick warm-up with you, and get everyone briefed on their heat. Usually we celebrate with a post-Murph cookout but given the ban on gatherings over 10 people we will not be able to have this cookout. 

Also, this year it is more important than ever to really evaluate your current level of fitness before deciding how you want to tackle Murph. Many of us have not touched a pull-up bar in 2+ months so knocking out 100 pull-ups as one small part of a long workout might not be the best practice. The last thing we want is for any of our athletes to push themselves to a point of damaging their body. So please, if we suggest a scaled option of the workout don't be offended. We know all of you are rockstar athletes but Murph might not be the best re-entry into that rockstar life. Or perhaps there have been extra cookies, banana bread, ice cream, etc in your diet during this quarantine and you are rocking a built-in weight vest? Awesome, no need to throw a weight vest on top then! Whatever route you choose to go when taking on Murph be proud of yourself for putting in the work to do hard things! And if you are looking for scaling options talk to a coach. We've got all sorts of different scaling options that will still give you a good physical and mental challenge. 

Last but not least, Murph shirts have been shipped and are scheduled to be delivered today. I will have shirts at the gym on Friday and if you are coming to class you may pick up your shirt then. Otherwise you may pick up your shirt on Monday. Also, things related to mask wearing inside may change before Monday if the state of Colorado grants variance to gyms in Larimer County. If I hear any news regarding this I will relay that information to members as quickly as possible. Fingers crossed....

So if you are in for Murph on Monday get yourself signed up for a heat time! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040A45ACAD29A2FE3-murph
First come, first serve on heat times. Weather forecast looks perfect for Monday. Cloudy and 62 degrees! 
​
Peace, love, and health,
Erin 

Alright FCCF members,
Here is the information you have all been waiting for. Without further rambling…I’m happy to say that we have made the decision to open the gym back up on May the 4th!!! And yes, you are required to come dressed as your favorite Star Wars character! Now, things are going to look a bit differently in terms of class times, how classes are run, and what you have to wear while working out. 
First, we are following the guidelines set forth by both the State of Colorado and also Larimer County to open the gym and run classes in the safest manner possible. Current guidelines allow a maximum of 4 people to 1 trainer in a personal training environment. BOTH THE TRAINER AND THE TRAINEES WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A MASK AT ALL TIMES WHILE ON THE PREMISES OF FORT COLLINS CROSSFIT!!!!!!!!
HOW CLASSES WILL BE RUN:

• Classes will be capped at a maximum of 8 athletes and 2 coaches
• Classes will run for 60 minutes. One half of class will be a WOD done outside with 4 athletes, while the other 4 athletes will be inside doing a strength workout. 25 minutes will be given to each component and then those who were outside will come in for the strength component and those who were inside will go outside for the Metcon. Equipment will be cleaned between the two groups switching. 
• There will be 15 minutes between classes to clean all equipment used by the individual and to allow time to leave the gym before the next class arrives
• Please do not arrive more than 5 minutes before your class is scheduled to start. Upon arrival after sanitizing hands, you will be directed by a coach as to whether you will start with the outside workout or the inside strength
• Please leave promptly after your class has finished and you have sanitized your equipment. You must exit out the door in the lounge area that is just north of the double glass entrance doors. 
• You may sign up 72 hours in advance of classes using Wodify
• I will continue to post an at-home workout option on the webpage for those who do not feel comfortable working out in a mask or coming back to the gym yet. We will not have Zoom times for the at-home workout though. 

CLASS TIMES:
We are going to try this schedule out for the week. Things may change if classes are not full or we receive changes in guidelines from the county or state.
Class Times:
M-F: 5:45 am, 7:00 am, 9:00 am
M-W-F: 12:15 pm, 4:30 pm



SIGNING UP FOR A CLASS TIME:
You must sign up ahead of time for a class. You can sign into a class up to 72 hours before the scheduled class time on Wodify. To sign up for a class on Wodify you need to click on “Schedule” at the top of the page. You will then see a list of classes for the week. These classes are all labeled as "time of class COVID wod". There is a calendar icon to the right of the class time and you simply click on the calendar to register for that class. Once the class has reached capacity a wait list will be generated and if there is a cancellation those on the wait list will receive an email. Let’s be kind and only sign up for classes we can attend and if something comes up and we can’t attend please cancel as soon as possible. 
GYM PROCEDURES:

• MASKS ARE TO BE WORN THE WHOLE TIME YOU ARE ON THE FORT COLLINS CROSSFIT PREMISES!!! 
• The gym has taped off large sections which are to be used by the athletes during the workouts
• You will be given a shower caddy to carry with you through both the inside and outside parts of the workout. The shower caddy will contain hand sanitizer, a bottle of spray disinfectant and cleaning cloth, and a whiteboard with marker. Please clean these items when you are finished with class
• 6’ of space must be maintained between individuals while inside the gym. 
• Please bring your own water bottle filled with water to class. The water fountain will be off limits
• Also no sharing of the chalk bucket. You can bring your own chalk to class or we will sell you a block of chalk ($3) or a pair of one time use hand grips (3 pairs for $5).
• At this time we will not allow children to come with you to the gym. We realize this may be an inconvenience to some but we do not have childcare currently at gym nor do we feel that we can provide childcare and safely comply with the regulations regarding social distancing set forth by the State of Colorado

WELLNESS PROTOCOLS:

• Temperatures will be taken upon entering the building. Any person with a temperature of 99.5F or greater will be asked to return home
• If you have had a cough or a fever we ask that you remain home and quarantine yourself for 14 days prior to returning to the gym
• Upon entering the gym and before touching any equipment we ask that you sanitize your hands via soap or hand sanitizer
• If you aren’t feeling well, stay home. Period.

Whew- it's a lot I know. We've have been really working hard to get the right system in place so that we feel comfortable opening up. There will be some hiccups along the way and the first class on Monday might seem super disorganized. Let's keep our fingers crossed that we do really well with this set of guidelines that the county and state open things up a bit more in a few weeks. 
Last but not least- we need equipment back to run classes! If you have borrowed equipment from us we most likely need some if not all of it back. First priority of items we need back are:

• Rowers (need at least 4 of these to be returned)
• Boxes
• Barbells
• Bumper plates
• Assault bikes (be honest I bet you are ready to get rid of that devil contraption!)
• Ab mats (at least 4 returned) and any outdoor horse stall mats 
• Benches
• Db's and ketttlebells

You are probably thinking- geez that sounds like they need all the equipment back! If you think you will be coming to the gym to workout we kindly ask you bring back all the equipment that you borrowed. But if you are not ready to come back to the gym and would like to continue doing the workouts at home then please feel free to keep the equipment you have borrowed for the time being. If we find that we really are short some equipment needed to complete the workouts at the gym then I will reach out and request return of those pieces of equipment. 
EQUIPMENT RETURN AT THE GYM TOMORROW (5/2) FROM 9 AM-3 PM. IF YOU CANNOT MAKE IT TOMORROW REACH OUT TO ME TO SCHEDULE A DIFFERENT TIME. 

To all our Fort Collins CrossFit members,
Wow, to say that the world is a crazy place to live right now would be a severe understatement. Times like these are great at showing us what things and people are priorities and non-negotiable’s in our lives. And if you are at all like me, having a gym to work out at and people to share that hour of my life with is a non-negotiable. Working out alone is hard and I have come to appreciate the value of having each and everyone of you present at Fort Collins CrossFit even more during this closure. 


As of April 1st, Phil Kamps and myself will be the official new owners of Fort Collins CrossFit. I know that when we sat down together and decided to purchase the gym as business partners we never thought we would encounter such a test of keeping a gym afloat during the most turbulent economic time in our lifetimes. But it was the love of the gym and the community that drove us to purchase the gym, and it is these same things that will get us through this mandatory closure. We cannot wait until we see all of your faces back in the gym and we’ve been working hard to make some cosmetic improvements (and cleaning, lots and lots of cleaning) so when you come back the place will be ready and better than ever! 


To show how much we value you, our FCCF members, and your loyalty to the gym we are offering discounted membership rates to any member who keeps their gym membership active throughout the closure. Starting April 1st, active gym memberships will be charged at the rate of $100/month for an individual unlimited membership and $75 for an additional family membership on the same account. We will keep this pricing for 3 months as our way of thanking you for sticking by us through the gym closure. So April, May, and June will be priced as outlined above. We will also have an offer to new gym memberships so if you know of anyone interested in trying out Fort Collins CrossFit please pass along the offer to them. New members who sign up by April 30th for a 3 month commitment to Fort Collins Crossfit and pay upfront for two months of membership will receive their third month of membership for free. This deal will include 6 sessions of the CrossFit 101 course for those who are new to CrossFit. 


If you are struggling with financial implications due to covid-19 closures please reach out to myself (erin@fortcollinscrossfit.com) and we will do our best to work with you. Now more than ever we need to lean on the support of each other to get through this time healthy and happy. 


Peace, love, and health,
Erin and Phil

One of our favorite things about running Fort Collins CrossFit is our ability to bring our community of gym goers an opportunity to better themselves and get away from the stress of work, home, and life in general. That is why it was such a tough decision to close our doors until further notice. FCCF will be closed the remainder of the week and will make a decision this weekend for our plans next week. There are many moving factors with this decision and we are going to try our best to evolve with the rest of the world and will be monitoring things closely throughout. In the meantime we will continue to program on our website and in Wodify with at home workouts.
Thanks to our wonderful community for their continued support.

In good health, 
​Ted