News & Notes 📰
The CrossFit Open Is Coming
Registration for the 2026 CrossFit Open is officially open, and this is one of the most exciting times of the year in our gym.
The Open runs from February 26 through March 16 and brings together the worldwide CrossFit community. For three weeks, one workout is released each week. Athletes everywhere complete the same workout and submit their scores. Every workout includes options, so newer athletes and experienced athletes can participate side by side.
If you’re new to CrossFit, the Open can sound intimidating. It isn’t. You don’t need to be competitive. You don’t need years of experience. You just need to show up and try. Many members are surprised by what they’re capable of when they commit and lean into the process. Classes feel different during the Open. The energy is higher. People cheer louder. The gym feels more connected.
At CFLKW, we run an Intramural Open alongside the official Open. We divide the entire community into teams, each led by a coach. Everyone competes together for the full three weeks, whether you officially register for the Open or not. It’s about showing up, earning points for your team, and having fun together.
Open workouts are done during Friday Night Lights, which is a highlight for many members. The music is loud, the gym is packed, and the community shows up to cheer each other on. Our final Friday Night Lights ends with a pizza party, and it’s always a great way to wrap up the Open.
We also host a Thursday Throwdown during the first week of the Open. Two coaches go head-to-head, along with two Rx athletes and two scaled athletes, with both male and female matchups. Bruce Williams will be there capturing the night, and the energy sets the tone for the weeks ahead.
If you’ve done the Open before, you know how fun it is to track progress and share the experience. If this is your first one, this is one of the best ways to plug into the community and really understand what CrossFit is about.
Registration is open now at games.crossfit.com.
If you have questions, ask a coach.
This is for you, and we can’t wait to do the CrossFit Open together!
What’s the energy like during the Thursday Throwdown? Check out this throwback from the 2023 Open.
Whoop Group Reminder 👀
Some of you still haven’t joined the gym’s Whoop group.
If you wear Whoop, this is for you.
Why join the group
- See how your recovery stacks up with the community
- Add a layer of accountability to sleep and habits
- Spot trends between training days and recovery scores
How to join
- Open the Whoop app
- Search groups for CrossFit Lake Wylie
- Join the official gym group
- Use the invite code from the PushPress social feed
Quick Whoop refresher
- Tracks sleep, recovery, strain, and heart rate
- Shows how stress, workouts, and habits affect you
Ask yourself
Are you pushing workouts but guessing on recovery?
Whoop helps you figure it out!
Visit whoop.com to see how it works and what it tracks
Time for Your Free InBody Scan! 📊
January is here, which means it’s time for your quarterly free InBody scan!
📅 Available: Monday, January 5 – Saturday, January 31
📍 Location: At the gym, ready for you to use
Important Reminders:
✔️ Best time to scan: Early morning before eating or drinking anything
⚠️ Not for use if you have a pacemaker or life support device
⏳ Self-service: The machine will be on—you are responsible for completing you own scan
Download the InBody App
Please download the InBody app before your next scan. When setting it up, be sure to use the same phone number you input into the InBody machine so your results sync correctly.
Need help understanding your results?
📲 Scan the QR code at the gym or click here.
💬 Want a deeper breakdown? Book a goal-setting session for a full review!
Recent Member Wins 💪🏽🏆
- Jazmin M. checked in to 25 classes!
- Lon A. checked in to 500 classes!
- Congratulations to Patsy S. who won last week’s plank challenge with a 9 minute plank and shout out to everyone else who participated!
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. Also keep in mind that this is not a full list of wins, so share your progress with a coach so we can celebrate you!
Birthdays this Week 🥳
- 1/24 Greg S.
CrossFit Lake Wylie Anniversaries 🤩
- 1/20 Ceci G. — 4 years
Nutrition & Wellness 🥑🧘🏽♀️🛌
CrossFit’s stance on nutrition: Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.
Tell Me About CrossFit 📚👩🏻🏫
CrossFit is constantly varied, functional movement executed at high intensity.
Programming Summary 🏋🏽♂️
January Focus
This month, our focus is getting you ready for the 2026 CrossFit Open. You’ll see skill work aimed at sharpening technique and improving how efficiently you move through patterns that show up often in the Open.
Throughout the month, you’ll also work through our January CAP benchmarks. We’ll test a one-rep-max snatch, a three-rep-max front squat, and Grace. These benchmarks give you clear feedback on where you are and what to build as we head deeper into the season.
Monday: Today’s workout is a triplet that will help prepare you for the Open, challenging you to hang onto the barbell for a higher-volume workout. We’re doing deadlifts, hang power cleans, and bar muscle-ups!
Intended stimulus:
- Finish in 8:00-13:00.
- Deadlifts in under :30; unbroken reps.
- Hang power cleans in under :30; unbroken reps.
- Bar muscle-ups in :45 or less.
- Open prep focus + hanging onto the barbell for higher-volume workout.
Tuesday: Today, you get to lift heavy relative to your capacity. The effort should require all of your focus and attention to execute each set. We’re doing 5 sets of 3 front squats!
Intended stimulus:
- Heavy day relative to each athlete’s capacity.
- Load should be challenging, relative to the athlete’s strength and experience levels with this movement.
- Those less comfortable with the front rack position should prioritize improving rack position before adding significant load.
- Jan. CAP Benchmark.
- Lift once every 3:00-4:00.
- Retest from 11/18/25.
Wednesday: Today’s workout is a sneaky upper-body pressing stamina day. Expect these shoulder presses to be a bit more challenging with an elevated heart rate. We’re doing running and shoulder presses!
Intended stimulus:
- Finish in 12:00-16:00.
- Run efforts in 2:15 or less.
- Shoulder presses in 1-2 sets, but unbroken to start.
- Press load is dependent upon the pre-workout strength.
- Mental and physical challenge.
Thursday: Today, we have a short AMRAP with some intended pressing interference between the snatches and overhead squats. We’re also doing some lateral jumps over the DB.
Intended stimulus:
- 3+ rounds.
- Hang dumbbell snatches in 1:00 or less.
- Dumbbell overhead squats in :30 or less/arm.
- Lateral jumps over the dumbbell in :45 or less.
Friday: Today, we have a longer workout that will test your consistency and challenge you to maintain efficient movement. We’re rowing for calories, burpees, and toes-to-bars!
Intended stimulus:
- Sub 18:00.
- Row in 2:30 or less.
- Continuous movement through the burpees; 4:00 or less.
- Toes-to-bars in sets of 5+. 2:30 or less
Saturday: Something fun!
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. Therefore, keep showing up so you can be the best and fittest version of yourself! 😎
Upcoming Events 📆
The CrossFit Open — February 26 – March 16, 2026
The CrossFit Open is a worldwide event that brings the entire CrossFit community together. Athletes of all levels complete the same workouts during a set window and submit their scores. You don’t need to be competitive or experienced to take part. You just need to show up and try.
This year, the Open runs for three weeks, from February 26 through March 16. Each week, one workout is released. You’ll complete it here at the gym during Friday Night Lights (more on that later). Every workout includes options so new and experienced athletes can participate side by side.
The Open is an exciting time in our gym. Classes feel different. Energy is higher. Members cheer each other on. Many people surprise themselves with what they can do when they commit to the process.
If you’re new, this is one of the best ways to plug into the community and learn more about CrossFit. If you’ve done it before, you know how fun it is to track progress and share the experience with others.
You can read the full overview and details here:
games.crossfit.com
If you have questions, just ask a coach. This is for you.
Member Perks 🤩
Being a member of CrossFit Lake Wylie has its perks! Here’s a look at all the discounts and benefits you get as part of our gym family.
- First, get 10% off at Thorne. You can grab anything from prenatal vitamins and probiotics to creatine, whey protein, health tests, and many other high-quality supplements.
- You can also save 30-40% on your CrossFit Lake Wylie membership by using HSA/FSA dollars to pay for it.
- Plus, get 10% off at Inov8 by using code CFLAKEWYLIE at checkout. They offer everything from barefoot training shoes and lifters to running shoes, including the F-Fly shoe—perfect for CrossFit with its lightweight feel and wide toe box.
- Another great benefit is 10% off a GOWOD Premium subscription. Just reach out to one of our coaches to receive your subscription link.
- If you need CFLKW apparel or other goodies check out our online store at crossfitlakewyliestore.com where you can order anytime!
- For recovery, enjoy $1 per minute massages with James Jones from Zenergy Massage Therapy ($60/60 mins or $90/90 mins). Simply show him your active membership in PushPress (click “Memberships” in the app) and let him know you’re part of CFLKW. Text (803) 526-3550 or book your appointment here.
- You can also save money and help our community grow through our Referral Program. Thank you for spreading the word!
- Finally, check in at least 16 times a month (12 for Masters) to make it into our Committed Club. Each month, your name goes in the drawing for a prize when you hit your check-ins.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” — Proverbs 27:17
