News & Notes 📰
Upcoming schedule changes:
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Thursday April 3: There will be NO 8 am Open Gym due to our monthly coaches meeting.
🏆 And the winner is… GREG’S TEAM! 🏆
They held onto the lead and came out on top! Every member of Greg’s team wins a free O2—well earned! 🎉💪 Just grab it at the gym.
Huge shoutout to Micah’s team for making an incredible comeback, jumping from last place to 2nd place! That’s the kind of effort we love to see! 🔥
This year’s Open was a blast, and we’re already looking forward to next year. But first—the Community Cup is coming in June! Get ready for another round of competition and team spirit!
Congrats again to Greg’s team, and amazing work to everyone who gave it their all! 💙👏
Bring a Friend Week Starts TOMORROW! – Monday, March 24 – Saturday, March 29
CrossFit is fun but it’s more fun with friends. This is a whole week where you get to bring a friend or as many friends as you’d like so they get to experience CrossFit with you. They can come for free all week!
Don’t worry, we will make sure all the workouts this week are doable and not so technical for beginners (while still giving those of you with experience a challenge).
And for the exciting part…if your friend signs up for a membership you get $65 cash and your friend gets $65 off their first month! 🤩💵💰 If you want to give your friend $100 off instead, please reach out to Alie for a special $100 bill that you can give your friend!!
Please send your friends this UPDATED link to sign up.
- You can invite as many friends as you’d like.
- They can come as much as they’d like.
- They don’t have to come to the same class as you.
New Thorne Products Available to Try! 🤩
Exciting news—I’ve stocked the gym up with some of my favorite Thorne products, and now you can try them for just $2 each (per individual packet)! Just use WheelPay to check out and grab what you want.
Here’s what’s available (click each link to learn more about the benefits of each product):
✅ Magnesium – My absolute favorite! This helps me get high-quality sleep and wake up feeling refreshed. If you struggle with sleep or recovery, you NEED to try this.
✅ Creatine – The ultimate performance booster. Supports strength, power, muscle recovery, and promotes lean body mass—perfect for CrossFitters!
✅ Chocolate & Vanilla Whey Protein – Clean, high-quality protein to help you recover faster and hit your goals. Both flavors are 🔥!
If you love what you try, you can order directly from Thorne online with a 10% discount for being a CFLKW member. Plus, if you subscribe to 3 or more products, you’ll get 20% off! If you don’t already have a Thorne account use THIS LINK to get 10% off!
Check out the retail area next time you’re in and see which products work best for you!
— Alie
Recent Member Wins 💪🏽🏆
- Raiford G. checked in to 50 classes!
- Sarah Mu. got 28 unbroken double unders!
- Sarah C. got a strict chin-up!
- Jesse B. hit a 265 lb back squat PR!
- Kenyate B. hit a 130 lb back squat PR!
- Tabatha H. hit a 160 lb back squat PR!
- Staci M. got 12 calories on the 1 min bike benchmark workout!
- Carrie C. got 14 calories on the 1 min bike benchmark workout! (Same as Vince 😏)
We’re extremely proud of all these members for accomplishing great things!
*Remember to let a coach know if you hit a PR so we can highlight you each week. We know this is not an all-inclusive list of wins so be sure to share your wins with a coach so we can celebrate you!
Birthdays this Week 🥳
- 3/25 Dani C.
- 3/27 Jeremy B.
- 3/28 Sarah C.
CrossFit Lake Wylie Anniversaries 🤩
- 3/27 Brad G. – 4 years
- 3/30 Jay G. – 1 year
- 3/30 Shreya D. – 1 year
Nutrition & Wellness 🥑🧘🏽♀️🛌
The Role of EAAs in Sprints and High-Intensity Work
Sprints are a true test of speed, power, and stamina. These explosive bursts of effort require careful fueling strategies to optimize performance, delay fatigue, and promote efficient recovery. One often-overlooked nutritional tool is Essential Amino Acids (EAAs), which can provide a competitive edge for athletes engaging in high-intensity activities. Here’s a breakdown of how EAAs can enhance your sprint sessions and how to strategically incorporate them into your nutrition plan.
Essential Amino Acids are the nine amino acids your body cannot produce on its own—they must be obtained through diet or supplementation. During high-intensity sprints, your muscles endure micro-damage and deplete glycogen stores rapidly, leading to fatigue. EAAs play a pivotal role in:
- Muscle Protein Synthesis: Helping repair and build muscle after intense sprints.
- Energy Provision: Certain EAAs, like leucine, can be used by the body as an energy source during exercise.
- Fatigue Reduction: EAAs help prevent the breakdown of muscle tissue, sparing energy reserves and reducing muscle soreness.
Strategic Fueling
To maximize the benefits of EAAs, timing and combination with other nutrients are key. Here’s how to be strategic about fueling for your higher intensity workouts:
- Carbohydrates Are King: Pair EAAs with fast-digesting carbs before ensuring glycogen stores are topped off. This combination primes your body for intense work.
- Hydration: Include electrolytes to maintain proper hydration and avoid cramps during high-intensity efforts
- EAA Supplementation: Taking EAAs 20-30 minutes before your session can promote muscle protein balance and stave off early fatigue.
Intra-Workout Support
- Stay Fueled: For longer sessions, consider sipping on a mixture of EAAs and electrolytes to sustain energy and prevent muscle breakdown.
- Quick Absorption: EAAs in liquid form are quickly absorbed, making them ideal for maintaining performance during high-intensity intervals.
Post-Workout Recovery
- Protein and Carbs Combo: To replenish glycogen stores and accelerate muscle recovery, follow your session with a recovery shake combining EAAs, protein, and carbs.
- Focus on Leucine: This amino acid is a critical trigger for muscle protein synthesis and should be a priority in post-exercise nutrition.
Benefits of EAAs for High-Intensity Training
- Enhanced Recovery: Sprinting takes a toll on your muscles—EAAs help repair tissue, reducing downtime between sessions.
- Reduced Fatigue: By sparing glycogen stores and minimizing muscle breakdown, EAAs keep you performing at your peak for longer.
- Improved Adaptation: Consistent EAA intake supports training adaptations, helping you build endurance and power over time.
Practical Tips for Incorporating EAAs
- Whole Foods: Incorporate EAA-rich foods like eggs, chicken, turkey, fish, and soy products into your daily diet to ensure a solid nutritional foundation.
- Supplements: If you’re on the go or need an extra boost, EAA supplements can bridge the gap. Choose products that contain all nine essential amino acids for maximum benefits.
Fuel Smart, Perform Strong
Sprinting demands a fine-tuned balance of power, speed, and recovery. By including EAAs strategically in your nutrition plan, you can elevate your performance, delay fatigue, and ensure your body is primed for success. Combine EAA supplementation with smart carbohydrate intake, hydration, and post-session recovery to unlock your full potential.
Get ready to fuel smarter, recover faster, and reach new heights in your high-intensity training!
Make it a great week!
— Coach TJ
Tell Me About CrossFit 📚👩🏻🏫
CrossFit is constantly varied, functional movement executed at high intensity.
The Afterburn Effect: How CrossFit Helps You Burn Calories Post-Workout
High-intensity workouts don’t just burn calories while you train—they keep working long after you finish. This is called Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), or the “afterburn effect.”
When you push yourself in short, intense bursts (anaerobic training), your body has to work harder to recover, using extra oxygen and energy for hours after your workout. This means:
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More calories burned at rest
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Improved fat loss and muscle retention
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Greater overall conditioning
Steady-state cardio (like jogging) burns calories during the workout, but CrossFit’s intensity keeps your metabolism elevated for much longer. That’s why short, powerful efforts are so effective for both performance and body composition. It’s why the majority of CrossFit workouts are in the 5-20 minute range (though we certainly venture outside of that for even shorter or longer workouts from time to time).
So next time you’re tempted to pace it too much, remember—the harder you push, the longer the benefits last! 🔥
Programming Summary 🏋🏽♂️
Monday: Today’s workout is the Classic CrossFit benchmark, Fran (pull-ups and thrusters). This workout is known for being a potent dose of fitness in a small package.
Intended stimulus:
- Finish in 10:00 or less; potentially 3:00 or less for advanced athletes.
- Thrusters should feel moderate-to-light, completed in 1-3 sets per round.
- Advanced athletes should aim to complete the pull-ups unbroken or in large sets.
- Intermediate and beginner athletes should target a challenging but sustainable rep range that they can try to maintain throughout the workout.
- CAP benchmark last tested in 10/16/24; will retest in Sept. 2025. Results are in Push Press so be sure to go back and see what your time was!
Tuesday: Today you’ll take on a classic heavy day, building on last week’s heavy back squat triples. This time we’re doing 10 sets of 2 front squats!
Intended stimulus:
- Build from a moderate to heavy load by the 6th or 7th set, then continue building as able or reduce load as needed.
- See 02/10/25 for last heavy front squat day.
Wednesday: This workout is a couplet that descends in reps from 10 down to 1. Complete 10 burpees, then 10 snatches, and continue working through sets with 1 fewer rep each round. Before the workout though, we’re doing a snatch complex!
Intended stimulus:
- Finish in 7:00-11:00.
- Burpees at a steady pace.
- Light-to-moderate hang power snatches in unbroken sets each round.
Thursday: Today’s workout builds off of a workout from March 5. Expect this effort to be a bit more cardio- and stamina-intensive (bike, box jumps, and rope climb).
Intended stimulus:
- 3-5 rounds for most.
- Bike in 2:00 or less.
- Box jumps and rope climbs in 2:00 or less combined.
- Similar to the 03/05/25 workout, but extended to include bike calories.
Friday: Today, you’ll take on 8 rounds of wall-ball shots followed by a max-calorie row.
Intended stimulus:
- 1:00+ for row calories per round.
- Advanced athletes should push to hold 20+ calories per round; intermediate and beginner athletes should start at a pace they can easily maintain and gradually try to increase the pace as able.
- Unbroken wall-ball shots without excessive straining.
Saturday: Something fun, partner option optional! Today we honor Eva Mireles, 44, who died on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, while shielding her fourth-grade students from a gunman at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
No single workout can develop all aspects of fitness and training different time domains helps develop different metabolic pathways. That’s why CrossFit workouts vary daily.
Effectively harnessing elements of variance is key to developing a broad fitness. Keep showing up so you can be the best and fittest version of yourself! 😎
Upcoming Events 📆
🏋️ Save the Date: Ryze Above Fitness Fundraiser – Saturday, May 31 🏋️
Mark your calendars! Sometime in April or May, we’re hosting our first-ever fundraising event at CFLKW to support Ryze Above Fitness—a great cause helping make fitness accessible to more people.
This will be a fun and friendly competition with divisions for everyone:
✅ RX – Bring your A-game
✅ Scaled – A challenging but approachable option
✅ Fun For All – No pressure, just a good time!
Whether you’re here to compete, cheer, or just be part of something bigger, we want everyone involved. Stay tuned for more details, but for now—save the date and get ready to throw down for a good cause! 💪🔥
🥾 MammothMarch 20-Mile Hike! 🥾 – Saturday, May 10 @ 7:45 am
Let’s kick off 2025 with an adventure! Coach Greg, Jesse B., and Ben D. are taking on the MammothMarch 20-Mile Hike at Kings Mountain State Park – and they want YOU to join them!
This epic hike is a chance to push yourself, enjoy the great outdoors, and bond with your fellow CFLKW members. Don’t worry if you’re new to hiking – all levels are welcome and encouraged!
🌟 Details:
📅 Event Date: Saturday, May 10 @ 7:45 am
📍 Location: Kings Mountain State Park, 1020 Apple Rd, Blacksburg, SC 29702
🎟️ Tickets & Info: Get your ticket here
Greg, Jesse, and Ben will also host shorter rucks and hikes leading up to the event, so you can train and prepare together.
👉 Interested? Let Coach Greg know, and check out the event page on FB for more details. Let’s tackle this challenge as a team and start the year with an unforgettable adventure!
Member Perks 🤩
Being a member of CrossFit Lake Wylie has it’s perks and here are all the discounts and benefits you get for being part of our gym family!
- Get 10% off at Thorne. You can get anything from prenatal vitamins and probiotics to creatine, whey protein, health tests and so many other high quality supplements.
- Save 30-40% on your CrossFit Lake Wylie membership by using your HSA/FSA dollars to pay for your CrossFit Lake Wylie membership.
- Get 10% off at Inov8 – use code CFLAKEWYLIE at check out. They offer everything from barefoot training shoes and lifters to running shoes and more, including the F-Fly shoe, perfect for CrossFit with its lightweight feel and wide toe box.
- Get 10% off a GOWOD Premium subscription. Get in touch with one of our coaches! Our partnership with GOWOD will enable you to receive a subscription link that will save you 10% on your subscription!
- $1 per minute massages with James Jones from Zenergy Massage Therapy ($60/60 mins or $90/90 mins). Just let him know you’re a member of CrossFit Lake Wylie and show him your active membership in PushPress (click Memberships in the PushPress app). Text (803) 526-3550 or book your appointment here.
- Get $10 off your first bag of Modballs clean energy bites – use code CFLW at check out. They have two flavors, almond coconut and peanut butter, which has been described as a healthy Reese’s Pieces. 😋
- Save $$ and help our community grow. Check out our Referral Program and thank you for your support.
- Check in at least 16 times (12 for Masters) a month and you make it to our Committed Club! If you make it each month your name goes in the monthly drawing for a prize.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” — Proverbs 27:17
