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Congrats to Jill Stinson for receiving AOTM for May! Jill joined 12 Labours after having multiple pregnancy losses and needed something to get back into an exercising routine to feel strong again. Jill had considered joining CrossFit and found 12 Labours closest to her, once she took the first class it helped her realize truly how strong she was! "It was intimidating initially walking in the doors, but the coaches are so kind, knowledgeable and helpful in finding the right option for you and where YOU are at. This allowed me to focus on myself and my goals, while also supporting others." Jill is a physical therapist full-time and regularly attends the 5:30pm class. Her biggest goal right now is to do a strict pull-up and is improving on headstands (thanks for Erin and Sunday yoga). Her favorite 12 Labours memory is Resolution Games 2025, and enjoys the friendships built and daily laughs. Jill thrives off of the community at 12 Labours and encouragement from the coaching staff and other athletes. "That’s what makes it so wonderful. Even on your hardest day everyone is cheering you on, and pushing you to be your best self. This place is truly a community I never had before!" Jills advice to anyone hesitant to start is to do the hard thing, because it will 100% be worth it. Don’t compare yourself to others, you are on your own journey and showing up each day is a win. Congrats Jill!

On October 1, 2024, we launched something truly special at 12 Labours Annapolis: the Silver Lions—a fitness program designed specifically for adults aged 55 and up. We kicked things off with a small but mighty crew of six athletes, all in their 60s and 70s. With a rich mix of life experience, personalities, and fitness backgrounds, this group is both inspiring and interesting and brings something special to our gym community. The Silver Lions program is grounded in CrossFit’s proven methodology and supported by the latest research on aging and physical fitness. Here's what we know: Staying active later in life isn't just about fitness - it's about living well. Older adults who train regularly report a higher quality of life, fewer falls, and lower rates of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension and cancer. Many effects of aging can actually be reversed with consistent training. That's why we prioritize weightlifting, strength and mobility. Research shows elite older athletes outlive their non-athletic peers. Injury prevention matters: rotator cuff tears are the most common issues among older athletes, so we're smart and cautious with overhead movements. Perhaps most importantly, the social connection is a huge motivator for the community. The friendships built here are just as powerful as the workouts We started slow and steady. Then week by week, they surprised us. They got stronger, moved faster, and pushed harder. So, we put more weight on the bars, increased the wall ball weight, and added height to the step-ups. They’ve done it all—deadlifts, push-ups, front squats, thrusters, burpees. They even crushed “Silver” Fran (21-15-9 DB thrusters to a box + ring rows), and everyone came in under 7 minutes! Eight months in, the impact is undeniable: “We thought we’d have to sell the house because stairs were getting too hard. But now? I can take the steps with ease—we’re staying put.” “We emptied our parents' house—moved furniture, lifted boxes—and kept saying, ‘Thank God for CrossFit. We’d be dying if we hadn’t started.’” This crew never backs down from a challenge—and let’s just say, bench press day, things get a little spicy with friendly competition. They inspire us every single day. They’ve taught us that aging is just another chapter—and with the right mindset and support, you can meet it head-on and come out stronger. The truth is: we never stop becoming a better version of ourselves. Join us. Be bold. Be strong. Be a Silver Lion.

Meet Coach Carrie Dare –12 Labours USAPL Coach A 12 Labours member since 2023 and USAPL lifter since 2019, Coach Carrie brings a lifelong love of sport and a deep passion for strength training to the platform. With a background in swimming, track, boot camps, and triathlons, she eventually found her home in CrossFit and powerlifting. Coaching since 2024, she’s especially drawn to the deadlift for its raw power—but lately, the bench press is gaining ground as her technique and confidence grow. Her favorite piece of gear? A classic Texas leather belt that’s been by her side since day one of heavy lifting. Born in Cleveland, OH and raised across six states and Germany as a military dependent, Carrie thrives on adaptability and connection. Outside the gym, she works as a National Account Executive in corporate relocation, enjoys reading, painting, and traveling to her family’s lake cabin in Minnesota. Her most memorable coaching moment? Watching a young lifter transform from shy and reserved to bold and confident through her first meet—proof that the barbell builds more than strength. Coach Carrie is here to help others grow stronger, more confident, and discover their potential—on and off the platform. The future is looking strong!

New for this year, CrossFit HQ has announced the Community Cup. The Community Cup will run the week of June 9-15, and will consist of 3 workouts. These workouts will be programmed as part of the class programming for the Columbia District, so everyone will have the opportunity to complete them. This post is just meant to give a deeper understanding of what the Community Cup is, how to sign up if you want to compete, and how to see where you stack up against others in your skill bracket. If you completed the CrossFit Open, you will be placed into a competition level based on those Open scores. Your competition level can be found by logging in to your CrossFit Games Profile. This level will then be associated with a level for the workout, what the standards are, weights, and movements for you. If you want to be on the leaderboard, you will need to sign up, but again this is not necessary to complete these workouts, as they will be within our class programming. More info can be found here are signing up! Below are the workouts that will be placed into the week of June 9-15 programming! Just to reiterate, it is not necessary to sign up, but if you want to be on the leaderboard for CrossFit, then you will need to sign up on your own. If you sign up you will need to get your scores entered by 8:00pm on June 15th.

Nearly 200 athletes showed up across the 12 Labours locations this past Memorial Day to honor our fallen heroes. Year after year, Murph is an event that takes over fitness locations across the country, and not just CrossFit gyms. People can be seen ripping it in their local commercial gyms, running around the neighborhood doing pullups in the garage, on military bases, and more. I got asked an interesting question the other day by someone who was newer to the fitness space, and they asked why Murph is such a popular workout. My initial answer was that it is in remembrance of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, but later on that day, I thought a little deeper into that question. When hero workouts were first brought to the fitness space, they were created to remember those who were lost. Whether those were soldiers, first responders, police officers, etc, they were meant as a way to remember, usually through shared suffering of something difficult. Murph was developed specifically for Lt. Michael Murphy, a Navy SEAL who gave his life for his fellow soldiers during Operation Red Wings. Since that time, Murph has transcended the idea of representing a single person, and is now done on Memorial Day across the globe, remembering all those who have lost their lives in service to this great country. But why is this specific workout so popular, and why Murph? I think the answer goes a little deeper than just the words, Memorial Day Murph sounding good. As humans, we inherently like to be challenged, and we search for that feeling of accomplishment at the end of something difficult. Murph gives every single person, no matter the skill level, the opportunity to go through something extremely difficult, and gives them the sense that they pushed themselves to their limit as a token of appreciation and thanks for those heroes we lost. Can't run? There are rowers, bikes, or you can walk. No pullups? Whether due to strength constraints or injury, there are ways to scale that. Pushups too difficult? Knee pushups or pushing off a box it is. Feeling extremely fit? Let's throw a vest on and see how that goes! No matter the issue, there is a way to alter this workout to meet the needs of every single person of every single skill level. I know what some of you are thinking: all workouts are scalable, and I would agree with you. But sometimes that takes a little bit of expertise to choose the correct scales in order to get the desired response. For Murph, those scales are very obvious, require very little equipment, and ultimately make it easier for everyone to be able to challenge themselves in a manner that would make those we are doing this for proud. What we have now is a gigantic group of people pushing themselves to the limit, regardless of what that limit is for their level, honoring those who gave their all for our freedom. In the end, this is what makes the CrossFit community so special, and Murph truly embodies that idea. Whether we are doing to same weights or not, whether we are scaling up or down, we are all showing up and giving our best in an effort to keep moving forward. Constantly moving that needle, and consistently pushing the limits to be better are the values that those heroes were fighting for. Keep that momentum going, treat every day like it is Murph...not by trashing yourself in the gym, but in the idea of striving for excellence, of getting better every single day. And the best part about it all is that we are doing it together, keeping each other accountable and supporting our team. Thank you to all for showing up and giving it your all. Every single year, I am amped up after Murph to get after it, and this year is no different. I feel inspired by this group and will continue to push on to be better today than I was yesterday. Let's get it!

Murph warm-up and recovery By: Christy Asonglefac On the day of Murph, a good warm-up to make sure your body is ready to endure a long workout is key. A suggested warm-up will be provided by our coaches on the day of Murph, so please make sure you arrive at the gym 20-30 minutes early to make sure you can fully participate in a suggested, yet independent warm-up. Post-Murph recovery is just as important as the warm-up and participation in Murph. Hydration will be key, especially if it is a warm day. Consider adding electrolytes to your post - Murph hydration to assist with muscular recovery. Between the running (possibly with a vest), pull-ups (shoulder/lat intensive), push-ups (chest/pec intensive), and air squats (lower body intensive), mobility of the legs, trunk and shoulders will be key to help reduce post - exercise soreness. The following flow of exercises would be a great way to work on post - Murph recovery and gently mobilize the areas that will be taxed throughout the workout. Cat/cow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmKhCTz0y8w Purpose - mobilize the spine Perform 10 slow reps. Child’s pose https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCUdObTyByg Purpose - mobilize the lower back and lats, which were used heavily for pull-ups. Perform 3 sets of 10 - 30 seconds Sidelying open books https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHZJns1bXPM Purpose - mobilize the chest and pecs, which were used heavily for push-ups. Perform 10 reps, holding for 5 seconds in the open position, per side. Seated 90/90 hip stretch https://youtu.be/ON18y992WDY?si=MZj-a8B10i2EJZaA Purpose - mobilize the hips after running and air squats. Perform 10 reps, holding for 5 seconds in the forward leaning position, per side.

The Future of Barbell Club Part 2 - Powerlifting Focus Written by Carrie Dare Since launching Barbell Club in Fall 2024 at our Annapolis location, we’ve built something special for our community, and we are proud to say that the powerlifting side is growing stronger every week. As you read in our Future of Barbell Club blog part 1 - our Monday and Wednesday 5:30 PM sessions have become a great learning opportunity for lifters looking to improve their technique, build real strength, and work toward personal goals under the bar. Wait, this post is about powerlifting, and it occurred to us that you may not know a whole lot about this sp ort or what it is - so let’s start there! Powerlifting is a strength sport focused on the three foundational lifts - back squat, bench press and deadlift. Powerlifting has very specific standards related to each lift, which we will go over later in this post. 12 Labours Barbell is a member of the USAPL federation, a drug-tested powerlifting federation that hosts events at the local, state, regional, national and world level. Now you know what the sport is, let’s talk a little bit about what is happening in Barbell classes! Currently, much like our Olympic weightlifting program, our powerlifters have spent time on bracing, bar path, depth, setup. During our class sessions we’ve continued to build on the technique and introduced more members to the sport while refining technique under load and building strength in a structured way. The results? Better movement and more consistent training. And now, we're ready to take things further. What’s Next for Powerlifters in Barbell Club? As we grow, we’re creating a clearer path for lifters who want to move from recreational training to competitive powerlifting—and we’re building the support structure to help you get there. Whether your goal is to compete or just get stronger, here’s what you can expect moving forward: Powerlifting Training Structure For lifters who are considering training for a local meet and/or simply want to get more focused coaching in the 3 power lifts: 2x/week Barbell Club Classes (Mon & Wed at 5:30 PM) 1 additional Squat/Accessory Day (programmed for independent training) Focus on technique, strength development, and consistency Opportunities to compete in 2–3 local USAPL sanctioned meets per year (optional) For lifters who are considering training for at the national level or want to invest more time and focus to compete at the state and regional levels, we offer the following training plan: 3–4x/week programming, including peaking phases and comp prep Must be actively working toward a meet and have previously competed in a local event Coaching support for registering, weighing in, commands, and meet-day strategy Guidance on entering federations (USAPL) and selecting a weight class Our Barbell Club is currently very active in the local powerlifting scene with competitors on platforms at 3 upcoming events and many qualifying for regionals in September. Keep an eye on our socials for more information about opportunities to come cheer them on! If you are interested in competing this summer our next open event is July 12th in Gambrills - see Coach Carrie asap for more information. Do I Have to Compete? Absolutely not. Competing is an option, but not a requirement. Plenty of our lifters train just to get stronger, feel better, and learn to move with real control. The same attention to detail we give our competitors, we give to anyone walking into Barbell Club. We coach lifters of all levels, all you need is the willingness to show up, put in the work, and trust the process. We’re just getting started—and the future is heavy.

Day Before Murph Nutrition Prep Murph is one of the most physically taxing workouts. It is important to properly fuel the day before to avoid cramping, feeling sick or even heat exhaustion. Follow these 5 tips to stay fueled for the entire workout: 1. Drink half of your body weight in ounces of water while adding in 1 packet or can of LMNT electrolytes. 2. Avoid more than 2 alcoholic drinks the day before. If you do plan to drink, consume a glass of water after each drink. 3. Eat a large dinner with a big handful of carbs (rice, potatoes, pasta, beans) along with a handful of protein (chicken, beef, seafood, pork) and a vegetable. 4. Stretch for 15 minutes right before bed and eat a banana. 5. Pack your bag with a few extra snacks such as gummies, fruit squeezers, electrolyte packet/ LMNT or a Gatorade, and bring a large water bottle (24 oz at least).

🎉 Congratulations to Annapolis’ Athlete of the Month: Emily Holian! 🎉 Emily joined the 12 Labours crew back in 2022, but over the past year, she’s truly hit her stride by consistently showing up to the 4:30 PM class. Her dedication and perseverance have paid off—she CRUSHED her years-long goal of achieving a strict pull-up! 💪 With the support of our coaches and the amazing 12 Labours community, Emily continues to push herself—and we can’t wait to see her conquer her next goal: 10 strict pull-ups in a row! When asked what she loves most about 12 Labours, Emily shared: “Being a part of such a caring and encouraging community of people. Everyone has a shared desire to work hard, to push each other to be better, and to have fun—no matter what the day outside the gym has held.” Emily’s impact reaches far beyond the gym. Outside of 12 Labours, she’s actively involved in her local church, works closely with Maryland's refugee community, and is on a mission to travel to all seven continents—a goal that’s nearly complete! Emily, your hard work, heart, and adventurous spirit inspire us all. We’re proud to have you in the 12 Labours family!