BTSCF Newsletter - March 2021
The back doors have been opened! It’s getting warmer and things are heating up in the gym. Check out what’s going on this month at BTSCF.
Big Things Coming
We are always looking to provide the best experience for our members. Programs, merchandise, equipment, and other things all contribute to our community, and we have some new things on the way. We can’t let the cat out of the bag just yet, but stay tuned for announcements in the near future. Just a hint, one of those things might have to do with picking up heavy things.
PJ Stone Challenge 2
It may have been a few months later than originally planned, but the PJ Stone Challenge 2 was held on March 13, 2021 and was another great success.
BTSCF Trainers Sean Addy and Alex Zahorsky came up with an idea a little over a year and a half ago. Racers would run down a mountain, pick up a stone and carry it back up to the top. After a successful race, they began planning the PJ Stone Challenge 2 and ways to make it bigger and add a second, more challenging race to the event. We can’t wait to see what they come up with for the PJ Stone Challenge 3.
As with the first event, BTSCF Members showed up in numbers, with a few finding their way to the podium. Congratulations go out to all of our members who participated.
Special congratulations also go out to our BTSCF Family that earned places on the podium:
Kristine Brennan-Goin
Women’s Heaviest Stone Winner, The Challenge
Mia Mesnick
Women’s 2nd Place, The Challenge
Brandon Gurda:
Men’s 1st Place & Heaviest Stone Winner, The Challenge
Bryan Tormey
Men’s 3rd Place, The Challenge
Bonnie Hull
Women’s 1st Place & Heaviest Stone Winner, The Provocation
Liliana Hendrix
Women’s 2nd Place, The Provocation
Kevin Mesnick
Men’s 1st Place, The Provocation
Kevin Mesnick Jr
Kids’ 1st Place, Fastest Time Winner and Heaviest Stone Winner, The Challenge
Riley Fernald
Kids’ 3rd Place, The Challenge
The CrossFit Open
It’s been a while since we were able to say it was Open Season, 16 months to be exact. The CrossFit Open is the first stage to qualify for the CrossFit Games and took place over the course of 3 weeks from March 11 - 29, with workouts being announced each Thursday to be completed by the following Monday.
As always with the Open, we look forward to seeing our members take on the tough workouts and try to raise their bar. This year we saw a new movement, the Wall Walk. We saw a repeat of an old Open workout. We also got to see a heavy barbell in final week. Endurance, Aerobic Capacity, Gymnastics, and Weightlifting were all tested.
Our members rose to the challenge. We had the chance to see them accomplish new things. For some it was double unders. Others it was a gymnastic movement or a box jump. Then there are the barbell PRs. The effort we witnessed is inspiring to watch, and we are proud of each of our members.
BTSCF Spirit of the Open
Each year, we like to recognize two of our members who exemplify what it means to be a BTSCF Community Member by putting forth their best effort towards personal growth while maintaining a supportive attitude throughout the CrossFit Open.
It’s difficult and uncomfortable to sign up and put your name next to a result, especially when you don’t know what it is you’ll be facing, but this year’s recipients went for it.
Our two winners of this award pushed themselves and held a high standard. They tackled all of the workouts, not focusing on the result, but the effort they put into the competition each week. When they weren’t on the floor competing, they would come back to the gym to support and cheer on others or volunteer to help judge. It is well known that the Open has magic that leads to great accomplishments. The Spirit of the Open is what creates the magic.
Congratulations go out to Melissa Newhauser and Larry Chiocchi.
BTSCF Feature Athlete
Meet Dan Senior: Dedication
When did you start CrossFitting?
About 10 months ago at BTS.
What brought you to CrossFit?
I golf with Peter Smith, he talked me into it. I was playing golf everyday, then going home and lifted. I wanted to do more and get into better shape, CrossFit did it.
What have you learned from doing CrossFit?
That I’m getting OLD!!! But seriously, proper ways to do exercises, as well as new exercises, especially the Gymnastics part. I need a lot of work on that part.
What would you say to someone who is on the fence about starting CrossFit?
It takes commitment and that everything you thought you knew, you need to be willing to relearn the proper way, or at least the CrossFit way.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Free Time? What’s that? When I have time I like to Golf, I like to walk the courses.
What do you do for work?
I’m a Network Engineer.
We put Dan through some rapid fire questioning. Here’s what he had to say:
Q: What super power would you give yourself?
B: Flexibility, need more of that to do the gymnastic part of CrossFit.
Q: What's your favorite healthy food?
A: Chicken, yogurt, and Watermelon (when is season).
Q: What's your favorite not so healthy food?
A: Pizza and Pasta
Q: What TV Sitcom family or group would you be a member of?
A: Cheers
Q: If you were famous, what would you be famous for?
A: Making a fool of myself at the bar.
Q: If you could write your own fortune cookie fortune, what would it say
A: No pain no gain.
Q: If you were a professional wrestler, what would you finishing move be called?
A: Death Headlock. I don’t watch it, but when I wrestled my favorite move was that. Once I got you in that it usually ended in a pin.
Q: Who do you look up to for inspiration at BTSCF?
A: All the people there inspire me. I’m learning that I’m older than 99% of the people that do go there and cannot keep up with most of them, but I try. My head says yes, but the body says NO!!. I’ve lifted weights or played sports most of my life and I am very competitive, and my goal is to win the Open someday, which I just finished my 1st. The hardest part is realizing that I am getting older, when I was younger I could lift more than most of the people at the gym, but that isn’t the case anymore. As long as I lift more that Pete, I’m happy!!! But to tell the truth and honestly, Jennifer Kleh, who goes to the gym almost as much as me, and my goal is to lift more than her, but it is tough!!!
Q: What is your favorite movement?
A: Rowing and Dead Lift, but basically doing anything that involves weights.
Q: What is your least favorite movement?
A: Overhead Squat—My body will not do it and running, I’ve always hated running. I have a bad knee and now whenever I run, it seems I pull a calf muscle in my good leg. Also, I hate burpees.
Q: What is the one thing you've done at BTSCF that your old self wouldn't ever believe?
A: Gotten my 6 pack back. It has taken a while, but it’s there. Dedication. It’s a takes lot to get up at 4:20am every morning to go to the gym and basically get my butt kicked each and every day. But I do enjoy it. I’ve met a lot of new friends and don’t regret any of it.