Newsletter #24 March 2024
COMMUNITY UPDATE
FEAST MARATHON ROW EVENT is back. proceeds will go to scholarship athletes and equipment fund.
We’re organizing our second annual Feast thROWdown marathon row, with net proceeds going to help cover:
membership costs for members who are temporarily out of work
competition expenses for athletes who would not otherwise be able to compete
an equipment fund, to replace or add gym equipment.
Here are the details. On Sunday, April 14, at 9:30am, Feast will host a Team of 10 Marathon Row (42,195 Meters). We’ll be asking Feast members to volunteer to be Captains of Teams, and they’ll be recruiting team members. So jump aboard with one of them, or create your own team, and sign up!
Friends, Family, and Other Gyms Welcome to Sign Up!
Sunday, April 14
9:30am start
Event t-shirt if you pay $60, or skip the t-shirt and pay $40
Coffee and fruit during the race; beer and seltzer after
Sign Up Through this Link by March 30 if you want a t-shirt, or later if you don’t want a t-shirt
Zelle $60/team member (t-shirt) or $40/team member (no t-shirt) to greg@feast-fitness.com
results of our end of year member survey.
Thanks so much to everyone who responded to our end of year member feedback survey!
We had 47 responses, down from 61 last year. Per requests from last year, we made the survey anonymous, but gave members the opportunity to identify themselves if they wanted to. Here’s what we learned:
As it was last year, the most important survey attribute was Coaching Quality, scoring an average of 4.8 out of 5 on the importance scale. According to the responses, we’re doing pretty well on Coaching Quality, and half-a-point better than last year, scoring an average of 4.62 on the satisfaction scale. We’ve still got areas to improve, of course, and we’re already addressing specific comments we got in the feedback.
Programming quality jumped over Equipment Quality/Amount and Facility Quality this year, with its importance average increasing from 4.54 to 4.69. Programming satisfaction remained consistent, at 4.33. Written feedback was diverse, but gave us some direction of things to work on—mainly more variety across all aspects of Programming.
Last year, the second most important survey attribute was Equipment Quality/Amount, scoring 4.56 on the importance scale, followed closely by Facility Quality, scoring 4.35. This year, the importance of those attributes sat at 4.66 (Equipment Quality/Amount) and 4.53 (Facility Quality). Satisfaction is about equivalent to importance, at 4.53 (Equipment Quality/Amount—down from 4.76 last year, with a request for more aerobic equipment) and 4.72 (Facility Quality—roughly the same as last year). We would be happy to get more aerobic equipment, but right now, we don’t have room for it in the gym!
Culture was next most important, at 4.44, and the satisfaction score of 4.53 for Culture outpaced its importance.
Nutrition Coaching received the lowest average importance score, at 2.89 (down from 3 last year), and Nutrition Coaching satisfaction averaged 3.25 (also down from last year’s 3.49). The scores and the comments reflect that the vast majority of members are only sporadically interested in nutrition, and some remain unaware of what our nutrition program involves. For the record, here’s the Nutrition Coaching that is included in your Feast membership:
Intro Nutrition Consult: When you start at Feast, you get a one-on-one meeting with a Feast Nutrition Coach to discuss your current nutrition and changes that would be advisable, and to get a benchmark of skeletal muscle mass on the InBody.
Unlimited Access to the InBody Machine: We recommend benchmarking your skeletal muscle mass every couple of months.
Feast 50 Nutrition Challenges: Every January and July we run a 50 day healthy habit adoption challenge for every Feast member who wants to sign up.
Produce Give Aways: When we find some interesting produce in the store we think you might like to try, we bring it in to share on Saturday mornings.
And, of course, if you want individual nutrition coaching, we can pair you with a coach who can help you reach your performance, body composition, or health goals.
Some specific comments.
MORE SOCIAL EVENTS: Check out our Calendar of Events at the end of our Programming Calendar for all the events we’re offering this year!
EQUIPMENT AND SPACE: You want more! We would love to have a bigger gym so we could store even more equipment in it, but we’re currently tapped out on space, and on the amount of equipment that will fit in it. We’re constantly exploring ways to maximize our space, and add more. But in the meantime, we love sharing equipment and working out up close with each other. We think it creates community and allows for athletes to learn from one another. So buddy up with a friend in class and share!
“BRING A FRIEND WEEK” IS BACK STARTING SATURDAY APRIL 13 . . . your friend works out for free!
Our next Bring a Friend Week starts Saturday, April 13. During that week:
Your friend works out for free (and other members will bring their friends in, so your friends will be with other athletes who are also new to CrossFit, or new to Feast)
The workouts will be designed to be easily modified for all levels
And of course, if your friend joins, they get $100 off their first month membership, and you take $100 your next month’s membership
This is a great opportunity to help a friend who wants to get healthy in 2024! Introduce them to Feast, and we’ll help them get in great shape in a fantastic community.
Just have your friend sign up through this link.
there’s still time to sign up for the idaho trident
Former Feast Coach and current McCall, Idaho resident Ryan Heywood is once again hosting an amazing hiking adventure in the backcountry around McCall. He’s guiding two trips in 2024:
IHT-Adventurer is June 20-24, 2024, and is for the more experienced hiker and endurance athlete who wants to test themselves in the mountains.
IHT-Traveller is July 25-29, 2024, and is for the beginner hiker or athlete who wants to hike at a more relaxed pace while enjoying the beauty of their surroundings.
Just e-mail rdh.endurance.training@gmail.com for more details and to sign up!
FITNESS UPDATE
YOU CRUSHED THE OPEN 2024
What an Open! 68 Competitors (+6 from last year) signed up to represent Feast in the Open. We’re still waiting on confirmation of how many advanced to Quarterfinals, and Val’s finish at 2nd in the World, so stay turned for more updates. Congratulations to all who celebrated their fitness by competing.
Among those competitors were this year’s Rookies: Brendan Devine; Nick Winter; Ferd Libunao; Alex Shingleton; Arthur Schildgen; and Griffin Berlin.
We’re also thrilled to recognize our Spirit of the Games winner Meredith Fileff, and our Most Improved Athlete, Stephanie Andrews. Meredith showed up at every Friday Night Lights to throw down, to help with equipment setup and breakdown, and to judge and cheer on other athletes. After struggling with a 35lb DB snatch last year, Stephanie just kept showing up to class and getting stronger and stronger, allowing her to slay 24.1. Her hard work and dedication is an inspiration!
NEW: PROGRAMMING OUTLINE FOR THE 2024-25 SEASON!
Feast programming is varied, but never random. We’re often asked how we structure our programming to make sure our Feast Fam is getting as fit as possible, as quickly and safely as possible. So we asked Coach Anna to put together her programming outline for the 2024-25 Season so you have an idea of how we approach your fitness, and what’s in store.
EXTRA PROGRAMMING TO HELP YOU GET YOUR FIRST STRICT PULL UP
For many of us, getting that first strict pull up is a big goal. We promise you’ll get there if you show up to class on the regular, follow the challenging scales the coach gives you, and do your accessory work after class.
But we also want to offer you the opportunity to participate in a 6 week program specifically designed to help you get your first strict pull up. We can’t promise you you’ll have your first strict pull up at the end of this program, but we can promise you you’ll get much stronger in the areas needed to get that first strict pull up.
The program kicks off with an intro seminar, Sunday, April 7, at 10:00am. You don’t need to be at that seminar to participate, but at that seminar, we’ll do a baseline assessment of where we’re currently at with our strict pull up, go through all the exercises you’ll see in the program, and answer any questions you may have.
Then, over the course of the next 6 weeks, you’ll have 2 days of supplemental strength work to do outside of class. These exercises will be specifically designed to improve your pull up strength. Your success will be directly correlated with doing this extra work.
We’ll retest our strict pull ups May 19 to see how much progress we’ve made.
This Strict Pull Up Supplemental Program is being programmed and coached by Coach Andy, and will cost $119/person to help compensate him for his time. If you just want to attend the Seminar, that’s $30. If you just want the programming (and not the seminar), that’s $99.
To participate, simply sign up here, and Zelle your $119 to greg@feast-fitness.com.
AND THE FIRST PROGRAMMING CYCLE OF THE 2024-25 SEASON IS: SteadFast
The first cycle of our next year of programming is named ‘Steadfast’. After pushing the limits during the past few weeks of the CrossFit Open, this cycle’s name symbolizes the unwavering dedication each of you has to continue to persevere and progress. Here's to another year of building our grit, gratitude, and humility!
Monday - Back Squat
Tuesday - Handstand Skills
Wednesday - Endurance Building
Thursday - Squat Clean + Accessories
Friday - Bench Press
Saturday CrossFit - Partner WOD
Saturday Oly - Overhead Squat + Accessories
Sunday - Sweat Class
As always, although the whole week is programmed, you need to listen to your body, prioritize recovery + take rest days! Need help deciding when to rest or with effective recovery strategies? Reach out to any coach.
NUTRITION UPDATE
congratulations to january’s FEAST FIFTY CHALLENGE winners
In January, we launched the Feast Fifty Challenge for all Members who wanted to participate. Members scored themselves daily on their progress at adopting the following healthy habits:
Good Night = Good Morning! 2 points if You Were in Bed Lights Out for More than 8.5 hours. 1 point if You Were in Bed Lights Out for 7 - 8.5 hours.
Savory Breakfast: 1 Point if Your Breakfast Had at Least One Card Deck Protein (4 ounces) and 0 added sugars
Protein and Produce Lunch: 1 Point if Your Lunch Had at Least One Card Deck Protein (4 ounces) and at least One Fist Produce
Protein and Produce Dinner: 1 Point if Your Dinner Had at Least One Card Deck Protein (4 ounces) and at least One Fist Produce
Healthy Fat Bonus: 1 Point if each of your meals contained one of the fats from the "Protein, Produce, Fats" sheet
Water Intake Bonus: 1 Point if you drank at least half your bodyweight in ounces of non-caffinated, non-sweetened liquids
Meal Prep Bonus: 2 Points if you prepared all of your meals today. 1 Points if you prepared 2 of your meals.
No Sweeteners Bonus: 2 Points if none of the foods you ate today included added sugar or sweeteners
At the end of 50 days, everyone won by making progress towards adopting these habits that will keep them fit for life. And our top scorers were
Ashley Phelps: 455
Susie Lesher: 390
Griffin Berlin: 388
Ashely won a personalized nutrition consult with Coach Terri, including a macro Rx if she wants it ($100 value), as well as a Feast apparel item of her choice. Susie and Griffin both won Feast apparel items of their choice, or a 12 pack of a FitAid flavor of their choice.