News & Notes 📰
HYROX Simulation Recap
Several of us took on a HYROX simulation Saturday at Charlotte Strength. We all raced the partner version.
Teams:
- Alie and Brad
- Christine and Kevin
- Mary and Sasha
HYROX is a fitness race built to test endurance. You alternate long runs with demanding workout stations. It’s simple on paper. It’s not easy in practice.
The workout followed the classic HYROX format:
- 1 km run
- Ski erg
- 1 km run
- Sled push
- 1 km run
- Sled pull
- 1 km run
- Burpee broad jumps
- 1 km run
- Row
- 1 km run
- Farmer carry
- 1 km run
- Lunges
- 1 km run
- Wall balls
All stations were shared between partners.
Here’s the fun part. None of us trained specifically for this race. No long run build-ups. No HYROX prep cycles. We showed up and raced anyway.
Every team finished strong. Each race took about an hour and twenty minutes.
That matters.
HYROX includes far more running than most CrossFit workouts. CrossFit pieces are usually shorter. The demands shift faster. Even so, our training carried over. We handled the volume. We kept moving. We stayed composed when things got uncomfortable.
That’s CrossFit doing its job.
It prepares you for a wide range of physical challenges, even the ones you didn’t plan for.
The CrossFit Open | February 26–March 16
Registration is live, and this is hands down one of the best times of the year in the gym.
The Open runs for three weeks. One workout is released each week and completed by CrossFit athletes all over the world. Every workout has options, so no matter your experience level, you can participate. You show up, do your best, and that’s enough.
You do not need to be competitive.
You do not need years of experience.
You just need to jump in.
Once people commit, the gym feels different. Energy goes up. Classes get louder. Members cheer harder. The sense of community is hard to miss.
Alongside the Open, we run our Intramural Open, an in-house competition that makes it even more fun. We split the gym into four teams, each led by a coach and a member team captain. You earn points by doing the Open workouts, judging at Friday Night Lights, throwing down on Fridays, and showing up to support your team, even if you don’t register for the official Open. More details are coming soon.
We’ll kick things off with our Thursday Throwdown during Week 1. Expect head-to-head matchups, a packed gym, and big energy to set the tone for the entire Open. Athletes will be announced soon.
Friday Night Lights will run each week with loud music, big crowds, and tons of support. We’ll wrap up the final week with a pizza party.
If you’ve done the Open before, you know how fun this is. If this is your first one, there’s no better way to plug into the community.
Register at games.crossfit.com.
Questions? Talk to a coach.
This is for you. We can’t wait to do the Open together.
Be sure to check out the throwback reel from our 2025 Throwdown.
New Member Perk: Saatva Mattresses
I wanted to share a new perk that I’m genuinely excited about.
We now offer 20% off Saatva Luxury Mattresses for CFLKW members.
This came from personal experience. I recently switched to the Saatva Classic Mattress (Plush Soft), and my sleep has been noticeably better. I’m honestly just more comfortable during the night and tossing and turning a lot less. With how much we train, better sleep makes a huge difference!
We talk a lot about recovery, and sleep plays a big role in that. This has been a simple upgrade that’s already paying off.
If you prefer to try a mattress before buying, there’s a Saatva showroom in Charlotte, so you can test them out in person. I 100% went there first because I’ve never bought a mattress online and I had to test them out!
You can use this link to get the 20% discount, or mention CrossFit Lake Wylie at the showroom to receive the same offer.
— Alie
Recent Member Wins 💪🏽🏆
- Katrina N. checked in to 50 classes!
- Anthony W. checked in to 100 classes!
- Coach RJ checked in to 50 classes!
- Katrina N. got her first full rope climb!
- Coach Christine strung together kipping chest-to-bar pull-ups!
- Reagan S. got her first kipping handstand push-up!
- Congratuations on all these split jerk PRs!
- Alie K. — 155 lbs!
- Amy L. — 127 lbs!
- Ana R. — 90 lbs!
- Angie C. — 80 lbs!
- Anthony W. — 155 lbs!
- Ashley G. — 135 lbs!
- Ben D. — 175 lbs!
- Brad G. — 215 lbs!
- Christine B. — 125 lbs!
- Courtney R. — 95 lbs!
- David P. — 165 lbs!
- Esther R. — 125 lbs!
- Jagan S. — 205 lbs!
- JeriLynn Y. — 40 lbs!
- Jerry Y. — 145 lbs!
- Katrina N. — 65 lbs!
- Kiya R. — 120 lbs!
- Liz R. — 95 lbs!
- Lucas A. — 205 lbs!
- Mary W. — 120 lbs!
- Neil H. — 225 lbs!
- Nicole T. — 175 lbs!
- Oliver G. — 95 lbs!
- Patsy S. — 110 lbs!
- Russ T. — 125 lbs!
- Stefani C. — 150 lbs!
- Tabatha H. — 120 lbs!
- Tara B. — 65 lbs!
- Tracy R. — 200 lbs!
- Congratulations to everyone who participated in last week’s 1 minute max burpees challenge! Coach Brad took the win with an astounding 31 burpees! Don’t mind that crossed out 35 next to Anthony’s name. He had burpee brain and miscounted during that intense minute. 😂
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 🥳
- 2/9 Luis C.
- 2/15 Daniela P.
CrossFit Lake Wylie Anniversaries 🤩
- None this week
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 🏋🏽♂️
February Focus
February programming prepares you for the CrossFit Open starting February 26. Expect workouts, skills, and accessories that build confidence for Open-style training, plus benchmarks like a 1RM deadlift, Fight Gone Bad, and Open Workout 18.1 to help you track progress.
Monday: Today, you’ll take on a gymnastics strength and stamina day, combining upper-body pull, upper-body push, and midline flexion movement functions. We’re doing strict pull-ups, strict ring-dips, and ab mat sit-ups!
Intended stimulus:
- Gymnastics strength and stamina day.
- Upper-body pull, upper-body push, and midline flexion movement functions.
- Perform as many reps as possible within each minute.
- Minimum targets: 7 pull-ups, 7 ring dips, and 15 sit-ups.
Tuesday: Today is a running interval day where you’ll move through four different running interval distances.
Intended stimulus:
- 18:00-24:00 total working time.
- 1,200 meters in 8:00 or less.
- 800 meters in 6:00 or less.
- 400 meters in 3:00 or less.
- 200 meters in 1:30 or less.
- Retest from 10/30/25.
Wednesday: Today, we retest Open Workout 11.3. This workout may only be 5 minutes, but it packs a punch. We’re doing squat cleans and shoulder-to-overhead. Then we’re building to a heavy clean and jerk!
Intended stimulus:
- Top score in 2011 was 93 reps.
- Aim to perform 2 reps every :15. 40 total reps.
- The squat clean and shoulder-to-overhead are each 1 rep.
- Moderate barbell loading.
Thursday: Today’s workout combines rowing and dumbbell box step-overs in an interval format that is intended to encourage a very-hard effort on each interval.
Intended stimulus:
- Four full sprints.
- Complete each row in 2:15 or faster.
- Aim to perform 1:00 dumbbell box step-overs in each set.
- Loading of the dumbbells should be moderate. You may have to rest the dumbbells 1-2 times during your step-overs.
Friday: Today’s workout is a descending ladder of snatches and double-unders with an ascending snatch load.
Intended stimulus:
- Finish in 8:00-15:00.
- Descending ladder of double-unders and snatches.
- Snatch loading increases as the reps decrease.
- Loading of the final barbell should be no heavier than 80% of your 1-rep max.
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
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.
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.
- We also offer 20% off Saatva Luxury Mattresses. We personally sleep on the Saatva Classic Mattress, Plush Soft, and the difference in sleep quality has been huge. Better sleep. Better recovery.
- 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
