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CFSV April 2014 Newsletter

JT Scott | 04/25/2014 |

Hey CrossFit Somerville!  We’ve got a lot of exciting things happening in and around CFSV and the larger community and we want to let you know all about them.  Our first Community Cooks event was a big success, and by now I’m sure most of you have met the new resident’s of CFSV’s own chicken coop!  Keep reading to learn all about these things and more!

CONTENTS:

  • ANNOUNCEMENTS

    • Community Cooks April 30

    • Planting Party May 3

  • PROGRAMMING NOTES

    • Next Cycle Begins April 21

    • Coaching Schedules

  • CFSV COMMUNITY PROJECTS

    • Community Cooks Recap: April 1

    • Urban Ag: Meet the Chickens

    • Urban Ag: Bounty Sharing

    • Volunteer Opportunity: Harvard Recycling Center May 30

    • Your Input: Community Involvement

  • FUTURE NEWSLETTERS

Announcements

Community Cooks April 30

The second installment of Community Cooks will be happening on Wednesday, April 30.  Like last time, we will be meeting at JT’s house at 8:15pm to cook a hot meal for Windsor House Somerville, a local adult day program for seniors with physical and other disabilities. We still need help with menu items, so if you’d like to volunteer please email projects@crossfitsomerville.com.

Urban Ag Planting Party May 3

With spring starting to show it’s beautiful face for the past week, it’s just about time to start planting our vegetables into the garden beds that we have built.  Come get some dirt under your fingernails on Saturday, May 3 at 11am.  In addition to planting, we’ll be finishing up a few loose ends with the compost bin and setting up our newly acquired rain collection barrels.  Email brian@crossfitsomerville.com if you will be able to help.

Programming Notes

1 RM Front Squat and “The Girls”

Our next cycle started on Tuesday, April 22 and will focus on a lot of “classic CrossFit”.  There will be a benchmark WOD every Monday (many that we tested about 6 months ago) and we’ll be testing/re-testing our 1RM Front Squat. While running isn’t specifically part of this cycle, it will be making more and more of an appearance as the weather becomes more generally pleasant for outdoor activities (at least in my opinion).  And in between, get ready for a lot of, well, CrossFit!

For a look back on the past 10 months of programming at CrossFit Somerville, here’s a quick recap of the cycles we’ve been through:

  • June 25 – July 25, 2013: Max height box jump test and gymnastic skills

  • July 29 – September 13, 2013: 1 Mile run test and running skills

  • September 16 – October 25, 2013: Back squat 1RM test and “The Girls”

  • October 28 – December 20, 2013: Shoulder series test and overhead stability

  • January 6 – February 21, 2014: Deadlift 1RM test and posterior chain

  • February 24 – April 18, 2014: Snatch 1RM test and unilateral loading

CFSV Community Projects

Community Cooks Recap

On Wednesday, April 2, the Community Cooks group gathered to cook their first meal for the Windsor House Somerville.  The team cooked a meal of pulled chicken, rice with veggies and apple spiced cake for the 25 residents of the adult day program for seniors with physical and other disabilities.  Lynn (a nurse at Windsor House) told us that the clients are really thrilled to have a special meal prepared by friends from outside the program, and that it really makes a positive difference in their days.

In addition to providing a good service to our community, the cooking events are a great way to spend an evening with your fellow CFSVers.  The next event will be on Wednesday, April 30.  If you are interested in getting involved email projects@crossfitsomerville.com

Urban Ag: Meet the Chickens

By now I’m sure you’ve all had a chance to meet the chickens that have taken up residence at CFSV.  They are six beautiful hens, and they have already started to produce eggs.  For those of you who weren’t around when Khrysti came to drop the chickens off, or if you need a reminder, a checklist is posted in the corner with their feed about how to care for them.

In addition to their regular pellet-based feed, chickens love to eat scraps from your own kitchens.  Almost all produce is okay for them (except avocados and banana peels) and yogurt or cheese can be a special treat.  In addition, chickens are omnivores and they will devour meat scraps of any kind (including chicken!!).  The occasional egg shell is also good for them to replenish their calcium, but make sure the shell is crushed so that they don’t make the connection to their own eggs and start pecking them.  Also, garlic and onions can make their eggs take on those flavors, so try to stay away from them.  If you want to bring them a treat and are unsure if it is good for them, please refer to the list here: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-treat-chart-the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens

Urban Ag: Bounty Sharing

I’m sure many of you are also wondering how we are going to share the wonderful fresh eggs that the chickens will be providing us, as well as the produce that will be coming out of our gardens once we plant them.  We are going to have a rotating schedule with teams of 4-5 people.  Each week, one team will be responsible for cleaning the chicken coop and doing the garden maintenance for the week.  That team will then be able to split all of the available eggs and produce at the end of that week.  Obviously we cannot guarantee a certain amount to each person every week, but hopefully over the course of the entire season, everyone will have 4-5 chances to collect their bounties and it will even out.

This is going to be an opt-in system, and the benefits of the chickens and gardens will be going to those community members who put in the work to take care of them.  If you would like to be a part of a care team and reap the delicious benefits of all of your hard work, please email brian@crossfitsomerville.com and he will assign you to a crew!

Volunteer Opportunity: Harvard Recycling Center

We have a wonderful opportunity to help a dozen worthy charities, rescue lots of reusable items from the landfill, and get a great work-out at Harvard.  Friday, 5-30-14 from 2 – 8 PM, hundreds of Harvard students will be moving out of the River House area at the intersection of JFK Street and Memorial Drive. The Harvard Recycling Center tries to gather their discarded goods and get them to those in need. They anticipate picking up an estimated 10 truckloads of furniture, clothing, books, cosmetics and other goods. The Friday after graduation on the 30th is an especially difficult day getting around in the Commencement Week traffic.  This is where we can help!

They need “boots on the ground” to march their handy 6-wheel hampers from JFK St to Mill St to Plympton St to Cowperthwaite St to Flagg St to fetch all those goods from the Donation Station bin boxes, load ‘em up and bring them back again to the truck-accessible pickup spot. They will already have 20 Harvard students from the Dorm Crew. They need an additional “Resource Force” to pick up, monitor, and safeguard goods. To do the job right, they need another 80 volunteers on these two days.

Volunteers will get a small token of their appreciation plus whatever donated items you can carry home. Can we put together a CrossFit Somerville Team to wade into the mayhem of move-out day? JT in particular thinks this is going to be great fun (and an opportunity for a little mischief); email projects@crossfitsomerville.com if you’re interested in joining him for the single most chaotic day of the year on Harvard campus!

Your Input: Community Involvement

As you can probably tell, we do a lot! As the summer starts up, there will be even more opportunities for us to get involved in friendly competitions and other community events.

CrossFit Somerville is a place where community members come together to do some pretty awesome things. Do you have ideas for ways that CrossFit Somerville can improve? Are there specific programs or seminars that you would like us to offer? Do you have ideas for volunteering opportunities, projects, group trips, or social events?

If you are passionate about making something happen, we will work with you to find the resources to make it a reality.  Contact projects@crossfitsomerville.com to start making the most of your CFSV experience!

Future Newsletters

Now that you’ve read what we had to tell you about, tell us what YOU would like to read about!  In addition to announcements about events happening at CFSV and schedule updates, what would interest you in a monthly update from your Coaches?  Tell us what you think and why!  Email projects@crossfitsomerville.com with ideas and suggestions.