Dear Roots Crew,

Each time you come into CrossFit Roots, you’re committing to doing something hard. As coaches, we acknowledge that and respect it. CrossFit is hard.

The hard work you put in at the shop extends into other areas of your life as you strive to prioritize, protect, and create opportunities to put your health and fitness first.

At Roots, you schedule your workouts, prep your food on the weekends, and get babysitters so you can attend that fifth class for the week. You log 225 classes in a year, year after year. You run outside when it’s cold, rainy, and snowy, and you think cherry picking is for the weak. You’re OK putting yourself out there because in this house, you’re around your people, and that’s when breakthroughs happen. You know the value and daily motivation that comes from being around other like-minded athletes.

Yes, YOU are an athlete.

The ability to work hard doesn’t have a body type, an income bracket, a specific profession, or an athletic prerequisite. It’s a mindset, a belief, and a commitment – and it’s not normal. For people who don’t want to work hard, this community isn’t for them.

Fall is the time to put your head down and grind, re-establish routine, and get after it. It doesn’t matter where you are right now; it matters what you do next. Check out the newsletter for lots of ways to put in the work!

Embrace the grind. Don’t settle for normal.
Nicole

---

QUICK HITS

• Hell Week and Next Training Phase
• Clovis
• Fall Chalk Talk Series
• Next Olympic Weightlifting and Strength Cycle
• Bring a Friend Day
• Coworking Open House
• Summer Membership Winner
• In Case You Missed It

---

HELL WEEK: September 8-13

Who’s ready for Hell Week?

What is Hell Week, you ask? Just a particularly nasty week of workouts, sure to test your fitness, your preparation, and your fortitude, with the aim of bringing a little extra focus and motivation to your efforts next week and into the fall.

What are the workouts, you ask? Well, we’ve got Ladder to Hell, Relay to Hell, Heavy as Hell, White, To Hell and Back, and Highway to Hell. It’s going to be a hellish good time.

DISCLAIMER: If reading this section makes your heart rate increase and your nerves tingle – relax, it’s just fitness, and it will be a good time!

And, get ready for the next Misfit phase at the shop – ARKHAM!

---

CLOVIS

Join us on Saturday, September 27, as we take on the CrossFit Hero workout “Clovis” for the third consecutive year.

U.S. Army Second Lieutenant Clovis T. Ray, 34, of San Antonio, Texas, assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, was killed on March 15, 2012, in Kunar province, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He is survived by his wife Shannon, son Dean, parents Bob Ben Sr. and Cecilia, brothers Eddie and Bob Ben Jr., and sister Jennifer.

The Workout

Clovis
For Time:
10 mile run
150 burpee pull-ups
Partition the run and burpee pull-ups as needed.

Whether you plan to do the entire workout or partner up with a teammate, we encourage everyone to mark their calendars for this awesome workout that pushes beyond the normal 60-minute group class. 

Doors Open: 7:00 am
3-2-1-Go!: 7:30am

This workout IS the workout of the day for September 27th and will replace ALL class times this day. Grab a partner or plan to do it solo! We’ll see you there.

Calling all volunteers! We’re looking for a handful of members to support at our super hoppin’ aid station. Email us at [email protected] for more info.

---

Fall Chalk Talk Series!

What is CrossFit anyway? Is it just another exercise program? Nope.

At Roots, we want you to know and understand the training methodology behind what you do each day at the gym. Throughout the fall, join me for a series of talks to understand CrossFit and Roots better. The better you understand your training – the better you will be able to apply it to your efforts in the shop!

September: What is CrossFit? // Sunday, September 21st at 10:30am
CrossFit is so much more than a “good workout.” It’s not Orange Theory, Hyrox, or “functional fitness training.” It’s a methodology, rooted in exercise science, that works to achieve an unparalleled level of work capacity and general physical preparedness. Come learn the definition of CrossFit, how we define fitness, and how understanding your training methodology will make you a better athlete and a fitter human.

Whether you’re new to CrossFit or have been doing it for a decade – this talk as something for you.

October: Culture // Saturday, October 18th at 10:30am
Why do we write every name up on the board every single day? Why didn’t we just go digital like many gyms? Why does every athlete report their score amongst all the athletes every day? Why do we have a Sportsmanship Award? Why don’t the coaches coach while they are taking class? Why isn’t there an Rx+ option? Why don’t we sub like movements, what’s the big deal if you do bar muscle ups if you don’t have ring muscle ups? And why can’t we step-up if you can jump on a lower height?

Culture.

There are many elements of Roots training, coaching, and community that are a small but integral part of who we are and what we do and the training environment we wanted to create. Come learn about our culture, why it’s important, and why it delivers on a higher level of health and fitness for YOU.

November: Relative Intensity // Sunday, November 16th at 10:30am
CrossFit is constantly varied, functional movements, executed at high intensity. Take out any ONE of those three elements from your training protocol and you will land on a program that is less effective and doesn’t deliver the results possible for the time and effort put in.

But intensity is relative. It’s relative to the individual’s physical and psychological tolerances. It’s not a “intensity over everything mentality” but it’s also not a “show up and mail it in” mentality either. Whether you just tipped over the 50 years mark, are 20 and want to get jacked, or are a 40-something woman and everyone is telling you that gentle exercise is the only way to go to make it through something called peri-menopause – this talk is for YOU.

---

New Olympic Weightlifting and Strength Cycles Start September 9th!

We’re excited to debut two new cycles next week – Olympic Weightlifting and Strength!

Olympic Weightlifting: Tuesdays at 5:00pm / Fridays at 6:30 am

• The next Oly cycle will work timing and positions for both the clean & jerk AND the snatch, working to deliver consistency and improvement in both of the Olympic lifts.
• Whether you’ve been lifting for years or have only been doing CrossFit for a handful of months, attending these classes will help develop proficiency in the lifts! And yes, you can do this class AND the workout of the day back to back.
• Class times: Tuesdays 5:00 pm or Fridays 6:30 am (note: attend one, not both, as the classes are the same programming within each week).

Strength: Thursdays at 4pm / Fridays at 11:30am

• The next Strength cycle will focus on the deadlift and working to get more comfortable both physically and mentally with the upper ends of loading.
• While the main event will be the deadlift, the class will rely heavily on accessory exercises to support variance in the development of your deadlift.
• And abs, always abs to finish…
• Class times: Thursdays at 4pm / Fridays at 11:30am (note: attend one, not both, as the classes are the same programming within each week).

---

Bring a Friend Day

Do you have a friend or family member who is interested in joining CrossFit Roots? Invite them to Bring a Friend Day, Thursday, September 18!

Send us their first and last name, email address, and which class they will attend with you and we’ll take it from there!*

*Bring a Friend Week is not for out-of-town visitors. Thank you for your understanding!

**We are not currently accepting members or friends at 5:30am.

---

Coworking Open House September 8!

Cut the commute times, spend more time at the shop, up your training, easily get in multiple sessions in a day, and meet new people!

Join us for the Coworking Open House on September 8 where coworking will be open to all members this day.

Join Nicole at 9am for coffee, a meet and greet, and to learn more about integrating your work and workout life at the shop.

---

Summer Membership Winner!

In May, we announced that members who kept their membership for June, July, AND August this summer would be entered to win three free months of membership for the Fall of 2025. 257 of you stayed consistent and committed this summer! You utilized Travel Workouts while you were off in faraway places and upped the ante by combining summer outdoor fun with consistency in the gym.

The winner of the Summer Membership raffle is…

GREG HERTZ!

---

In Case You Missed It

Have you checked out our Instagram page recently? There’s some awesome stuff happening at the shop that you don’t want to miss!

• Athlete Spotlight: Rae Vita
• The Truth About Intensity In CrossFit
• Amy Jo Crushes at the CrossFit Games!

---

The Great Attendance Challenge of 2025

Attend 225 classes in 2025 and be entered to win a FREE YEAR of membership at CrossFit Roots! Learn more about the challenge HERE.

Members who attend 19 or more classes each month stay on track to attend 225 in one year. The following members attended 19 or more classes in August!

---