We wanted to share some of our favorite memories from 2017 and reflect on the awesome year we had. In no particular order, we present to you our top 10 favorite moments of 2017!
The 2017 CrossFit Open
The CrossFit Open approached quickly after the start of the year. We started preparing for the open mid-January. Our classes began doing “Open prep” work, we chose the team captains for the 2017 season, and picked all the themes for our Friday Night Lights. Before we knew it, the first week of the Open had arrived and we were all sitting in the box on that Wednesday night watching Dave Castro announce the first workout. Throughout those 5 weeks we got to watch our community bond, watch members get out of their comfort zones and push themselves through some tough workouts, and watch plenty of our athletes get new skills and hit new PRs. It was a great 5 weeks and we can’t wait to do it again coming up soon in 2018!
Wine n’ Wods
Once again in 2017 we had 2 Wine n’ Wods (spring and fall). We invited all of our lady members and their friends to the box for a special Friday night full of fitness, and (of course) wine! In spring, we were joined by our friends at Balance Oshkosh who brought some awesome apparel, and we were lucky to have Freshii bring delicious protein balls to both the spring and fall event! Our Wine n’ Wods always start with a fun, yet challenging, partner workout, and are followed by free wine and snacks for all! We love being able to provide the women of our box this time to be able to unwind, get a good workout in, hang out with their friends, and get to know other members of our community!
Memorial Day Murph
Memorial Day Murph is something our community has been participating in since 2014 (our first Memorial Day open as a box). In 2017, we did some really cool stuff to make sure it was our best Murph yet. We got some awesome t-shirts, and proceeds went towards Got Your Six k9’s, a Wisconsin based organization who provide access to trained service dogs for Wisconsin veterans. Throughout the morning, we sent out three heats of athletes to complete the extremely challenging workout (1 mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, 1 mile run). Some of our members were completing Murph for the first time, while others were trying to beat their score from previous years, and some did the workout while wearing a weighted vest. The workout was followed by a cook out at the box where members got to refuel and bond with the rest of the community! This day is always extremely special to us, as it’s a great way to remember and honor those who sacrificed their lives for our country.
CrossFit Kids
We ran our yearly CrossFit Kids program this summer, along with a new CrossFit Kids Camp in December for kids on winter break! Both were sessions were full of eager and energetic kids, ready to learn the basics of CrossFit! Ran by Coach Sue and Coach Mary, the kids got the chance to learn gymnastic and weightlifting skills, work on strength and agility, improve aerobic capacity, and even got to play a few fun games. Even though the people in this program were rather small, the gains were definitely not!
Barbell Mock Meets
New in 2017, we had our first Barbell Mock Meets in the box. Ran by Coach Ali and Coach Reagan, the meets were the final event of 2, 6-week long barbell courses (summer and winter). During the 6 weeks, members of our barbell classes worked on Olympic lifting technique (clean and jerk, snatch) as well as spending a lot of extra time building strength. No doubt there were a lot of PRs during the Mock Meets, but the coolest part was watching everyone’s improved technique on 2 lifts that are extremely complex!
Nutrition Challenge
We have offered nutrition challenges in the past, but in 2017 we switched it up a little bit. Not only did our members participating in the challenge get points for keeping their diet on track, they also got points for other beneficial experiences that improve overall quality of life. These included daily exercise, 8 hours of sleep, proper water intake, and a daily stress-reducing activity. The challenge started and ended with an InBody scan, so members could measure differences in not only body weight, but also muscle mass and body fat percentage. The participants of the challenge got a simple meal plan to follow. By following their meal plan and programming at the box, all members who participated in the challenge lost fat and gained muscle!
Granite Games
CrossFit Oshkosh has been sending athletes to compete at the Granite Games ever since Coach Austin’s first trip in 2013. In 2017, we sent four teams. Some were veterans, while others were rookies and got to experience the 3-day CrossFit competition for the first time. One thing that was a first for almost everyone, however, was competitive swimming, as it was incorporated into the competition for the first time this year. We loved watching everyone train hard for not only the swim event, but the whole competition in general. And we especially loved watching their hard work pay off over a tough weekend.
The Gauntlet
The Gauntlet, hosted by CrossFit Depere, was another competition this year that we had many athletes participate in. Since it’s a little closer to home, we had a larger group go up and compete in the one-day, team competition. For many, it was only their first or second competition ever. It was incredible to watch everyone push themselves outside of their comfort zone, and also watch our members support and cheer one another on. All of the teams had awesome performances throughout the workouts. We even had three teams finish on the podium!
Holiday Wrapping Party
Our Holiday Wrapping Party is one of our favorite community events every year. Each holiday season, we adopt a family as a box. Then, in mid-December, right before the craziness of Christmas starts, we get together as a community to wrap the presents for the family and simply enjoy each other’s company. Although you see many members of your gym every day, we think it’s so nice to be able to spend time with them outside of working out. Every year lots of laughs are shared and memories are made.
Growing our Community
Of course, one of our favorite things every year is being able to watch our community grow. This year we welcomed new members to CrossFit Oshkosh, watched old members reach their 3 or 4 year anniversary with us, and welcomed some members back who had been out of town or taken some time off. We have such a special bond within our community, and we love to welcome new people to the gym who become a part of that bond. We mean it when we say we are truly more than just a gym! We also loved watching all the improvements made by our members this past year. There were PRs, new skills, improved times on WODs, and so much more. We are so extremely proud of you all and can’t even begin to express how much we love watching you all do your thing!
Here’s to more gains and more memories in 2018!