Kick Mo’s Butt at CrossFit Renew

As I traveled to CrossFit Renew, I was curious and excited about this KMB session. It had been a minute since I did a CF workout, and I was excited to put myself to a new test. Also, my 18-year-old goddaughter, Daisa, got to tag along for the workout since she is still working remotely for school and was able to participate with me.

The location was easy to find and, since we had already downed our favorite beet pre-workout, we were ready to jump in the action. 

Coach Sadie greeted us and quickly helped us set up the proper seat height on our bikes. We got started on the warmup almost immediately.

This warmup consisted of a handful of exercises that I was familiar with, and I enjoyed how they flowed:

3 rounds:

• 10 arch rocks
• 3 inchworms
• 10 kips (she modified this for those of us who do not regularly do kips)
• 10/7 cal bike

After the warmup, I was feeling good, warm and ready to move into the 20:00 E2MOM workout. 

For those who might not be familiar with the term “E2MOM,” it means “every two minutes on the minute.” If this is your CrossFit workout of the day, then you would perform the specific exercise or pattern for two minutes. Any time that remains after you have finished can be used to rest.

Prior to starting the 20-minute session, Coach Sadie dedicated some time to modify the “toes to bar” movement and ensured we had the correct form for a “knees-up” method instead. The actual workout did not “look” like much, but I soon realized that looks can be deceiving and geared up.

The following is the outline of the 20-minute set:

• 6 “toes to bar,” or, in my case, “knees up to chest” (side note: I can bring my toes to the bar, however, not fast enough to make this the type of movement Coach Sadie wanted it to be, hence the modification).
• 12 seconds for max calorie bike (again, this does not look like much, but once started, I could feel the burn). 

Part of this challenge was to excel on the bike and go for the max calorie count. Even though this is s-p-e-l-l-e-d out, it did not register completely in my mind prior to starting the session, and at the end, I felt I could have pushed the bike stronger to incur more calorie burn. Even though Coach Sadie confirmed my calorie count was typical of female numbers, if given the chance again, I would push for a larger number — this is just the competitor in my blood.

The energy of the co-ed group was pumping, and everyone seemed to have the same attitude about fitness with lots of smiles and sweat!

After the session, I had the chance to do a quick interview with Coach Sadie and loved that she has a long-term passion for CF and teaching proper form, which to me is vital in fitness. It is no secret that many have been injured due to improper or lack of instruction, but with Coach Sadie, this is not an issue. 

Ending our fun session, we doubled up for a quick handstand video, and my goddaughter and I felt renewed and energized leaving this well-maintained training facility.

This was a fantastic overall experience and, had I pushed the bike stronger, it may have ended for me with 100% kicked butt! Next time I encounter the bike and calorie max combo, I will certainly step it up! 

Thank you, CrossFit Renew for allowing me, Daisa and the AFM team to join you all for the session!