Bound Newsletter 5.17.2026
Touching the Void: What Hero Month Teaches Us About Endurance
We are officially halfway through Hero Month at CrossFit Bound.
At this point, the excitement from week one may be fading. Your body is sore. Your hands are torn up. Your legs feel heavy walking into the gym. Motivation comes and goes, and looking ahead at another two weeks of hard training can feel overwhelming.
That feeling is normal.
It also reminds me of the documentary Touching the Void.
The film tells the true story of two climbers descending a mountain in the Peruvian Andes after a catastrophic accident leaves one of them severely injured. Stranded, exhausted, dehydrated, and alone, Joe Simpson survives not because he focuses on the entire impossible journey ahead—but because he narrows his attention to one small goal at a time.
Get to that rock.
Make it to the next ridge.
Take one more step.
Then another.
That mindset is powerful, and it applies directly to Hero Month training.
At the beginning of Hero Month, it’s easy to focus on the challenge as a whole:
Four straight weeks of demanding workouts
Murph prep
Long endurance pieces
Heavy lifts
Recovery demands
Balancing family, work, and life responsibilities
When viewed all together, it can feel overwhelming.
But progress rarely happens by conquering the entire mountain at once.
It happens through small daily victories.
Focus on the Next Step
Instead of worrying about the next two weeks, focus on today:
Show up to class
Warm up with intention
Move well
Recover properly afterward
Eat quality food
Drink enough water
Get to bed earlier
Spend 10 minutes in the recovery room
Improve one small thing
That’s how momentum is built.
The athletes who grow the most during Hero Month are not always the fittest or fastest. They are usually the people who stay consistent despite fatigue, discomfort, and doubt.
Recovery Is Part of the Mission
In Touching the Void, survival depended on managing energy carefully. Every movement mattered.
The same principle applies during Hero Month.
Training hard is only one side of progress. Recovery is what allows adaptation to happen.
This is why we continue emphasizing:
Hydration
Quality nutrition
Sleep
Mobility work
Sauna and compression boots
Listening to your body
Managing intensity wisely
Pushing hard every day without recovery eventually catches up to you. Real fitness is built through balancing effort and restoration.
Hero Workouts Are About More Than Fitness
Hero Month is not simply about surviving difficult workouts.
These workouts honor sacrifice, resilience, perseverance, and courage under adversity.
The challenge is supposed to teach something deeper:
Discipline when motivation fades
Gratitude for what your body can do
Mental resilience during discomfort
Confidence earned through consistency
Community support when things get hard
Nobody completes Hero Month perfectly.
But everyone has the opportunity to improve.
One Day at a Time
If you’re tired right now, you’re not alone.
But don’t focus on the entire mountain ahead.
Focus on today’s workout.
Today’s recovery.
Today’s habits.
Today’s effort.
One small step repeated consistently over time can carry you farther than you think possible.
Just keep moving forward.
Bragging Board
Congratulations to Lee and Heidi on their marriage
They may not be current members but I want to them know we still appreciate their support over their years and wish them the absolute best!
Eriko Moore set a new Front squat and Back Squat PR this week following the Bound Build Cycle
Hope Haugh accomplished her 1st bar muscle up after Saturdays workout !
Havana PRs
Mary Turner by 30 Reps!
Matt Schuster completed the workout Rx for the First Time (so many double unders)
DT PRs
Dylan Porter 7:31 (almost one minute faster)
Mary Turner 8:33 (26 second PR)
BAM first time Rx and sub 10 minutes! (9:51)
Casey Linch clost to sub 10 but still PR (10:27)
Natalie Gordon first Time Rx and tied her previous score with 90#s at 10:45
Hannah Spratlen went up 20lbs from last years DT and almost sub 10 minutes with a 10:21
Welcome our New Member
Douglas German
Where are you originally from?
Born and raised in Midtown, went to Whitefield Academy in Mableton GA
What do you do for work (or what keeps you busy during the day)?
I'm a licensed GC, currently VP of Construction for D Build Inc which is our GC company under my uncle's development arm in Midtown. Also have my own company - German Development, for small side projects.What made you decide to join CrossFit Bound?
Heard great things about it and after speaking with Brandon and learning that he does all the programming, that solidified it for me.Have you done CrossFit before, or is this your first experience?
I was previously at CF 11:24What are a few goals you’re working toward right now?
Always looking to get stronger, but also would like to become more proficient in some of the gymnastics movements (RMU's, BMU's, handstand walks, etc). Have yet to get a RMU and the 2026 Open crushed me, so I would like to have a better showing for 2027 Open.What’s something fun or interesting about you most people wouldn’t know?
I went to The Citadel and played 4 years of college football and was Company Commander for the Athletic Cadre (all the incoming Freshman athletes) my senior year.
Meet two new coaches - Andrew & Christy Mitchell
We are excited to have Andrew and Christy join our team at CrossFit Bound. Andrew will be coaching the early morning classes on Monday and Fridays mainly and Christy will be helping with our kids summer program and continuing that in the fall. Below you will find their bios
Christy Bio
I started Crossfit in 2014 after signing up for a Tough Mudder as a way to make friends in a new city. In fact, my husband, Andrew, asked me on our first date after a Saturday morning workout! I struggled with fitness throughout college without the routine of high school sports. At first I was intimidated by aspects of weightlifting, but with the encouragement of my coach, I overcame my fears and fell in love with Crossfit. It has truly helped me become the best version of myself. I’m in the best shape of my life AFTER having three kids, and it is all because doing Crossfit consistently works!
Our family lived overseas in North Africa for 8 years. After 4 years of humanitarian aid, we decided to make a change and serve the community in a new way— opening the first CrossFit gym in our country! I started coaching when our 2nd child was 4 months old, often carrying her in the Ergo during the early days of the gym! Fitness has always been a family affair. I'm motivated every day to teach my kiddos to prioritize wellness in all areas of life. I was honored to come alongside women at our gym to help them experience real, lasting life change. After 4 years of successful gym ownership, we handed the business off and began a new adventure in America. Since our transition stateside, I’ve been leading CrossFit kids classes and am motivated to encourage fitness and health in our next generation!
Andrews Bio
I grew up playing club soccer in Dallas, Tx, so I didn’t spend much time in the weight room until college. Things changed in 2012 when I tried CrossFit for the first time. That first WOD—100 thrusters with a 20-minute time cap—got my competitive juices flowing and I was hooked. After winning over my future wife, who was clearly impressed by my fitness, we moved to Mauritania and opened our country’s first CrossFit gym. It was there that I experienced a community transformed by CrossFit. Imagine a group of people, who had never even heard of CrossFit, falling in love with the same program we love. You come in with goals, looking for physical results, which yeah, who doesn’t want to look good in front of a mirror. But then you discover so much more; a genuine community that encourages one other to pursue health and push past limits together. That’s what I love most about CrossFit—its ability to create friends for life and truly change lives. CrossFit has become more than just fitness for our family; it’s a lifestyle. My wife and I are raising our three kids around the gym community, and I want them to grow up seeing fitness, hard work, and supportive relationships as a normal part of everyday life. That’s ultimately why I coach: to help others experience the same kind of community and life change that CrossFit has given us.
Weekly Training Highlight Reel is in the Works
Upcoming Birthdays & Anniversaries
Anniversaries
6+Years
Tyler Cory
Michelle McCrary
Michael Guelfo
Ken Wysocki
Miguel Chavez
Michael Jamorski
Meghan Willis (9)
Eriko Moore
Dylan Dejesus
Brittany Karneol (12)
Missy Ureda
Nathan & Mary Cox (8)
Julie Chambers (8)
Katherine Garey (12)
Mary Lubbers (12)
Kara Everill
Miles Pettit (9)
Amber Buettner (alot)
3-Years
Sarah PB
Sergio Rivera
Sidney HIghtower
Emily Conaster
2 Years
Ryan Stratche
Chuck Carter
Katie & Ryan Allen
Brandon Brooks
1 Year
Lee and Elizabeth Tillman
Grayson Young
Birthdays
Ryan Boone May 19
Elysian Dunlap May 22
Elber Albaladejo May 27
Justin Rutland May 29
Bound Hybrid is CrossFit Bound’s new hybrid training program designed to blend strength, endurance, and functional fitness into one challenging and rewarding class experience.
Each session combines:
Running
Rowing & Ski Erg
Functional strength work
Carries, sleds, and bodyweight movements
Aerobic conditioning
Interval training
Performance-focused workouts
This class is built for athletes of all levels looking to:
Improve endurance
Increase work capacity
Build mental toughness
Develop sustainable fitness
Prepare for HYROX-style events or endurance challenges
Become a more well-rounded athlete
No competition experience required. Just bring effort and consistency.
Starting Sunday, June 7 at 9:00 AM with Coach Sergio Rivera.
From the CFB Member Vault - Our Value, Culture, & Rules
CrossFit Bound is more than a place to work out.
It’s a community built around accountability, discipline, effort, and growth.
When you become a member of CrossFit Bound, you are joining a group of people committed to improving themselves physically, mentally, and personally. Our culture is built on showing up consistently, supporting the people around you, and putting in honest work regardless of your current fitness level.
We believe fitness should prepare you for life outside the gym. That means building strength, endurance, confidence, resilience, and the ability to handle challenges both inside and outside of training.
At CrossFit Bound, we VALUE: (Bound Values)
• Respect for coaches, members, and the training environment
• Effort over ego
• Consistency over perfection
• Accountability to yourself and your teammates
• Community over comfort
• Discipline through daily habits
• Learning and improving continuously
Our members range from complete beginners to competitive athletes, but everyone is held to the same standard:
👉 Show up
👉 Work hard
👉 Support others
👉 Continue improving
We take pride in creating an environment where people feel challenged, encouraged, and capable.
Being a member of CrossFit Bound means embracing the process:
learning movements properly
building healthy habits
fueling your body well
staying consistent long enough to see real change
It also means respecting the culture of the gym. (GYM Rules)
We expect members to:
• take care of equipment
• respect coaches and fellow members
• maintain a positive training environment
• leave ego at the door
• contribute to the community
This culture is what makes CrossFit Bound different.
The workouts matter—but the people, habits, accountability, and standards are what create long-term success.
Whether your goal is:
• improving health
• losing weight
• building strength
• competing
• becoming more confident
• or simply becoming more capable in everyday life
CrossFit Bound is here to help guide you through that process.
Lift Heavy
Breathe Heavy
Develop Skill
And most importantly:
Show up consistently.
Build strong habits.
Support the community.
*If you are member and need access email info@crossfitbound.com to get the password*
Upcoming Events & Summer Kids Class
Memorial Day Schedule
8am and 930am only - if you plan on bringing a friend of family please have them fill out the Free Class or Waiver and notify me.
☀️ CrossFit Bound Kids Summer Classes – Starting June 2–3! ☀️
Keep your kids active, confident, and having fun all summer long with our CrossFit Bound Kids program! These classes are designed to build coordination, strength, and confidence through age-appropriate fitness, games, and movement.
Mini Movers (Ages 3–5)
A fun and energetic introduction to movement! Kids will learn basic motor skills, balance, coordination, and body awareness through games and structured play.
🗓 Wednesdays: 10:15–11:00 AM
💲 $85/month or $150 for the full summerJunior Jumpers (Ages 6–12)
Perfect for developing strength, fitness, and confidence! These classes introduce foundational CrossFit movements, teamwork, and discipline in a fun, supportive environment.
🗓 Tuesdays & Wednesdays: 9:00–10:00 AM
💲 $120/month or $200 for the full summerSpots are limited—secure your child’s place by using the QR links below and give them a summer full of movement, growth, and fun!
Age group 6-12 yrs old - Junior Jumpers - will meet Tuesday & Wednesdays from 9-10am.
Cost is $120 monthly or $200 paid in full (+$50 for sibling)
Age group 3-5 yrs old - Mini Movers - will meet on Wednesdays from 10:15-11am
Cost is $85 monthly or $150 paid in full (+$50 for sibling)
Education: CrossFit Journal Article “Wait, So Am I Actually Fit?”
By Stephane Rochet, CF-L3
Most people who exercise have never stopped to ask the one question that should drive everything: What does “fit” actually mean? It’s not a simple question, and the fitness industry has done a poor job of answering it, usually defaulting to whatever their program happens to measure.
CrossFit’s “What Is Fitness?” article was the first attempt to answer that question rigorously. We’ve recast it here as a conversation between a seasoned coach and someone who’s been working out for years and is starting to wonder whether all that work is actually adding up to something complete. If you’ve ever felt like something was missing from your training without being able to name it, this conversation might name it for you.
“I’ve been working out for years. Running, some weights, and the occasional spin class. Are you telling me I’m not fit?”
I’m telling you that “fit” is a word almost nobody actually defines, including the magazines, the trainers, and the organizations that are supposed to know. Ask 10 people what fitness means, and you’ll get 10 different answers, usually shaped by whatever they happen to be good at. Runners think endurance is fitness. Powerlifters think strength is fitness. The problem isn’t that they’re wrong exactly; it’s that each is holding one piece of a much bigger picture.
“OK, so what’s the full picture?”
Ten physical skills: cardiovascular endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. Real fitness means competence across all 10, not mastery of all 10, but genuine competence. Most training programs develop three or four of them really well and quietly ignore the rest. That feels fine until the day life asks you to use one you’ve been skipping.
“That seems like a lot to ask of a workout program.”
Does it? Think about what your body actually gets asked to do, not in the gym, but in your life. You need endurance to get through a long day on your feet. You need strength to move things. You need power to react fast. You need balance to not get hurt doing any of it. Coordination to do it all efficiently. Why would your training only prepare you for some of those things?
“OK, but how do you even measure something that broad?”
CrossFit uses three different lenses, and together they give you a complete picture. The first is those 10 physical skills — are you actually developing all of them? The second is what we call the hopper test. Imagine every possible physical challenge — known and unknown — thrown into a bucket and drawn at random. How do you perform on something you’ve never specifically trained for? That’s a real test of fitness. The third lens is your energy systems. Your body has three metabolic pathways — one for short explosive efforts, one for moderate sustained work, and one for longer low-intensity efforts. Total fitness means training all three, not just the one your favorite workout happens to use.
“The energy systems thing is new to me. What do most programs get wrong?”
Most programs live almost entirely in one system, usually the aerobic one, the long, slow stuff. And aerobic fitness has real value. But if that’s all you train, you’re leaving power, speed, and anaerobic capacity on the table. Worse, too much volume in the aerobic system can actually erode the other two. A program that only trains one pathway isn’t complete fitness; it’s one dimension of fitness mistaken for the whole thing.
“OK, but isn’t a marathoner really fit? They can run 26 miles. That’s a feat.”
It is. But here’s a question: can that same person do 20 pull-ups? Sprint 400 meters at full effort? Pick something heavy off the ground? In most cases, no, and not because they’re lazy, but because their training specifically and deliberately didn’t develop those capacities. That’s a choice their program made for them. CrossFit’s position isn’t that endurance athletes aren’t impressive; it’s that endurance alone isn’t the full definition of fit. A decathlete who runs well, jumps well, throws well, and lifts well is a better picture of complete fitness than a specialist in any single discipline, including running.
“What about health? Is fitness actually the same as health, or is that just a tagline?”
It’s not a tagline; health is something you can measure. Look at any marker of health: blood pressure, body fat, bone density, cholesterol, muscle mass, resting heart rate. Every single one of them exists on a continuum from pathological to normal to exceptional. And elite, broadly fit athletes tend to sit at the exceptional end across all of them. Fitness done right isn’t something separate from health that you do in addition to taking care of yourself. It is taking care of yourself at the highest level. A program that’s making you work hard but not actually improving your health markers isn’t really doing its job.
“What does CrossFit actually train, then, to hit all of this?”
Three things that work together. Metabolic conditioning — running, rowing, biking, swimming — but not just long and slow. We vary the intensity deliberately to train all three energy systems. Gymnastics, which in our world means anything that develops body control — pull-ups, push-ups, handstands, and ring work. The kind of strength and coordination you can’t get from a machine. And weightlifting, especially the Olympic lifts, which build explosive power and the ability to move efficiently under load. Rotate those three constantly, scale them to the individual, and you get the broadest possible fitness base.
“I think my hesitation is that I’ve built a routine. It works for me. Why mess with it?”
Because routine, by definition, is the thing your body has already adapted to. The workouts that feel comfortable are the ones producing the least change. That’s not a CrossFit opinion; that’s basic physiology. So, the only question you need to answer is this: Is what you’re doing making you better across the full range of what your body can do? If the answer is no, the next step is obvious.
Still not sure? Bring this question — Am I actually fit? — to your next class and ask your coach. The answer might surprise you.
Recipe of the Week: High Protein Chicken Style Wrap
Macros (Per Wrap)
Calories: 365
Protein: 41g
Carbs: 38g
Fat: 6g
Instructions
In a small bowl, mix together Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic powder, dill, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Warm the tortilla in a pan or microwave for 10–15 seconds until soft and pliable.
Spread the yogurt sauce evenly over the tortilla.
Layer lettuce, chicken, cucumber, tomato, and red onion onto the tortilla.
Fold in the sides and roll tightly into a wrap.
Slice in half and enjoy.
Tips & Swaps
Swap chicken for turkey breast or extra-firm tofu.
Add hot sauce or chili flakes for extra flavor.
Great for meal prep — wrap in foil and refrigerate up to 2 days.
Ingredients (1 Wrap)
Wrap
120g (4 oz) cooked chicken breast, grilled and sliced
1 whole wheat tortilla (8 inch)
1/2 cup shredded lettuce
1/2 cup diced cucumber
1/2 cup diced tomato
2 tbsp diced red onion
Yogurt Sauce
3 tbsp plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried dill or parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
This weeks meals from WodFuel
Weekly Training Breakdown
