Bound Newsletter 5.31.2026
Summer Surge: 9 Weeks to Build Strength, Fitness, and Confidence
As we head into the summer months, many people start thinking about their fitness goals. Whether your goal is to get stronger, improve your conditioning, build consistency, or simply feel better in your everyday life, having a plan is essential.
That's exactly why we're excited to launch our Summer Surge Performance Program at CrossFit Bound.
Beginning June 1st, Summer Surge is a 9-week training cycle designed to help athletes of all levels improve their overall fitness through structured strength training, conditioning, skill development, and community-driven workouts.
Why Summer Surge?
One of the biggest mistakes people make in fitness is constantly changing direction. They jump from workout to workout without following a progressive plan.
Results come from consistency.
Summer Surge provides a clear roadmap for the next nine weeks, allowing athletes to build strength, improve conditioning, develop new skills, and track measurable progress along the way.
This isn't about perfection. It's about showing up, putting in the work, and becoming a little better each week.
What We're Focusing On
The Summer Surge program is built around several key pillars of fitness:
Lower Body Strength Development
Athletes will follow a Front Squat and Back Squat cycling progression throughout the program. This combination allows us to develop leg strength, core stability, posture, and overall power production.
Stronger legs don't just improve your lifts—they improve your ability to run, jump, move efficiently, and perform better in nearly every workout.
Upper Body Push and Pull Strength
We'll spend dedicated time building upper body strength through pressing and pulling movements. These sessions will help athletes improve foundational strength while supporting gymnastics movements, barbell work, and everyday functional fitness.
Olympic Lifting Skill and Power
Olympic lifting remains one of the best ways to develop coordination, speed, balance, and explosive power.
Throughout the cycle, athletes will work on positional drills, movement efficiency, and technical development in the snatch and clean variations. Whether you're a beginner or experienced lifter, there will be opportunities to improve.
CrossFit Conditioning
Fitness isn't just about how much you can lift.
Our conditioning sessions are designed to improve work capacity, stamina, pacing, and recovery. Athletes can expect a mix of interval training, mixed-modal workouts, aerobic development, and classic CrossFit-style conditioning.
Team Training
One of the things that makes CrossFit Bound special is the community.
Every week includes team-based workouts designed to challenge athletes while creating an environment of encouragement, accountability, and fun. Working alongside others often brings out your best effort and reminds us that fitness is more enjoyable when shared.
Aerobic Capacity and Gymnastics Skills
Building an aerobic engine is one of the most important components of long-term fitness.
Throughout the cycle we'll focus on developing cardiovascular endurance while also improving skills such as pull-ups, toes-to-bar, handstands, rope climbs, and other gymnastics movements.
How the Program is Structured
Summer Surge follows an alternating weekly schedule to keep training balanced and effective.
Odd Weeks
Monday: Lower Body Strength + Weightlifting Circuit
Tuesday: Conditioning and Skill Work
Wednesday: Upper Body Strength + Weightlifting Circuit + CrossFit Workout
Thursday: Conditioning and Skill Work
Friday: Full Body Strength + CrossFit Workout
Saturday: Team Conditioning
Even Weeks
Monday: Conditioning and Skill Work
Tuesday: Upper Body Strength + Weightlifting Circuit
Wednesday: Conditioning and Skill Work
Thursday: Lower Body Strength + Weightlifting Circuit
Friday: Conditioning and Skill Work
Saturday: Team Lifting or Partner Workout
This format allows athletes to develop strength, conditioning, skills, and recovery without overloading any one area.
The Four Phases of Summer Surge
Weeks 1-3: Foundation
The first three weeks are all about building the foundation.
Our goals are to:
Build training volume
Establish movement quality
Improve aerobic fitness
Develop positional strength in Olympic lifting
This phase sets the stage for everything that follows.
Weeks 4-6: Build
Once the foundation is established, we'll begin increasing the challenge.
Athletes can expect:
Increased training intensity
More advanced gymnastics progressions
Moderate to heavy lifting
Faster conditioning efforts
This is where confidence starts to grow and noticeable progress begins to appear.
Weeks 7-8: Performance
These weeks represent the highest-intensity portion of the cycle.
The focus shifts toward:
Heavier lifting percentages
Higher skill demands
Threshold conditioning
Performance-focused workouts
Athletes will have opportunities to see how far they've come while continuing to push their capabilities.
Week 9: Test and Celebrate
The final week is about measuring progress.
We'll reduce overall volume and focus on:
Retesting key lifts
Benchmark workouts
Performance assessments
Celebrating improvements made throughout the cycle
Regardless of where you start, the goal is to finish stronger, fitter, and more confident than when you began.
More Than a Workout Program
Summer Surge is more than sets, reps, and workouts.
It's an opportunity to train with purpose, build healthy habits, connect with an amazing community, and discover what you're capable of when you commit to a process.
Whether you're brand new to CrossFit or have been training for years, this program is designed to meet you where you are and help you move forward.
The next nine weeks can be transformative if you're willing to show up and do the work.
Summer starts June 1st.
Let's build strength. Improve fitness. Create momentum.
Let's make this your strongest summer yet.
Bragging Board
Murph PRs:
-Hannah Spratlen: first time Rx
-Sheri Kindred: first time with vest and unpartitioned
-Natalie Gordon: first time with vest and unpartitioned
-Dylan Porter: No vest PR unpartitioned
-John Hanson: completed his first murph
Jerry PRs:
-Hope Haugh with blistering 22:42 time
-Sergio Rivera: 23:12 PR
-Sheri Kindred: 24:38 (previous was 26:37)
-Mary Turner: 24:59 (3:28 faster than last year)
-Natalie Gordon: 25:35 (previous was 27:26)
Falkel PRs:
-Jeb Buffington and many others completed the most SHSPU/HSPU in this one workout, than ever before: Jeb with 88 total
Big Shout out to Eric Robinson for completing 24 Unbroken Double Unders! Casey Lynch and Matt Schuster can attest to how exhilarating it is for new Double under PRs!
New Members
We have had quite a people join our community recently - hoping to get their pictures and bios out soon to introduce to everyone!
Class Attendance Breakdown For Hero Month
1,497 total clients/drop-ins/visitors were checked into a class
Class Averages:
5:30 am - 13.05 avg
12 pm - 12.05 avg
4 pm - 8.2 avg
9 am - 8.16 avg
5:15 pm - 7.75 avg
6:30 pm - 6.27 avg
6:30 am - 4.5 avg
Committed Club
Meghan Willis - 18
Emily Conatser - 18
BAM - 18
Alex Willis - 18
Jeffrey McDonald - 18
Chris Kibbe - 18
Sergio Rivera - 18
Chris Mench - 17
Riley Padgett - 17
Jim Blackhall - 17
Jen Wells - 17
Adam Rowe - 17
Kate Davis - 16
Hannah Spratlen - 16
Jamie Spratlen - 16
Brandon Brooks - 16
Kyle Sulkowski - 16
Elaine Dunbar - 16
Stephen Wilcox - 16
Julie Chambers - 26
Jeb Buffington - 26
Michael Jamorksi - 26
Sheri Kindred - 26
Tyson Kimm - 25
Mary Turner - 25
Matt Schuster - 25
Brian Chambers - 25
Kyle Rice - 23
Natalie Gordon - 22
Dylan Porter - 21
Ryan Boone - 21
Elysia Dunlap - 20
Michael Rivera - 19
Dylan Dejesus - 19
Weekly Training Highlight Reel is in the Works
Upcoming Birthdays & Anniversaries
Anniversaries
1- Yr
Michael Rivera June 23
Wilson Washington June 22
2- Yr
Mandi Nobis June 26
Logan Hawkins June 4
Walter Davila June 11
Brian Lawler June 11
3-Yr
Jesus Mundo June 12
Hannah Spratlen June 9
Ryan Boone June 21
4- Yr
Matt Gray June 11
5- Yr
Ryan Kangiser June 23
6- Yr
Raquel Freitas June 14
Erin Jones June 30
Chris Mench June 8
Birthdays
Eric Robinson June 1
Andrew (Seth) Hamlin June 5
Lee Tillman June 9
Alex Markelov June 14
Ashton Phillips June 24
Michelle McCrary June 25
Fanny Pack (Stan Garey) June 25
Paul Hansard June 28
Michael Rivera June 29
From the CFB Member Vault - What the CrossFit Bound Member Vault Can Do For You
The CrossFit Bound Member Vault was created to be much more than a collection of articles and resources.
It's designed to be your complete guide to success inside and outside the gym.
Whether you're walking through our doors for the very first time or you've been training with us for years, the Member Vault provides the education, structure, and tools to help you continue making progress.
For New Members
Starting something new can be overwhelming.
Questions like:
What should I focus on?
How often should I train?
What should I eat?
Am I doing this right?
Why are we doing these movements?
The Member Vault was built to answer those questions.
The Vault Gives You a Roadmap
Instead of trying to figure everything out on your own, you'll have access to:
✅ New Member Orientation
✅ First 90-Day Success Roadmap
✅ Daily Habit Tracker
✅ Beginner Nutrition Guides
✅ Meal Plans & Grocery Lists
✅ Training Education
✅ Movement Tutorials
The goal is simple:
Reduce confusion and increase confidence.
Rather than wondering what to do next, you'll always know your next step.
Learn Faster
Many new members spend months learning information through trial and error.
The Member Vault accelerates that process.
You'll learn:
How classes work
How to scale workouts
Basic nutrition principles
Why we train the way we do
How to build sustainable habits
This allows you to focus on what matters most:
Showing up consistently and improving each day.
Build Better Habits
Most results don't come from workouts alone.
They come from:
Sleep
Nutrition
Hydration
Daily movement
Consistency
The Habit Tracker and Habit Building resources help you establish the behaviors that create long-term success.
For Long-Time Members
The Vault isn't just for beginners.
Experienced members often benefit from it even more.
As training evolves, goals change.
The Vault helps provide direction for the next phase of your fitness journey.
Continue Learning
The best athletes never stop learning.
Inside the Vault you'll find:
Advanced nutrition strategies
Training philosophy articles
Recovery resources
Performance tools
Strength ratios and percentage charts
Endurance development resources
The more you understand your training, the better your results become.
Identify Weaknesses
The Performance Tools section helps experienced athletes:
Analyze lifting ratios
Track progress
Improve conditioning
Build strength systematically
Instead of guessing, you'll have data and tools to guide your training.
Break Through Plateaus
When progress slows down, most people assume they need more training.
Often they need:
Better habits
Better recovery
Better nutrition
Better structure
The Vault provides resources to help identify and solve those problems.
What Makes the Member Vault Different?
Most gyms provide workouts.
CrossFit Bound provides:
Education
Understanding why you're doing what you're doing.
Structure
Clear systems for habits, nutrition, and training.
Accountability
Tools that help you track progress and stay consistent.
Community
Shared standards, values, and expectations.
Long-Term Development
A roadmap that evolves as you grow.
A Living Resource
The CrossFit Bound Member Vault is not a static ebook.
It's a living resource that will continue to evolve and improve.
We'll continue adding:
New nutrition guides
New meal plans
New recipes
Training spreadsheets
Performance tools
Movement tutorials
Educational articles
Member resources
As our coaching improves, the Vault improves.
As your needs change, the Vault grows.
The Real Goal
The goal of the Member Vault isn't to give you more information.
The goal is to help you:
Build consistency
Create better habits
Improve your health
Increase your confidence
Become more capable
Whether you're trying to lose weight, build muscle, improve performance, or simply feel better, the Vault provides a clear path forward.
*If you are member and need access email info@crossfitbound.com to get the password*
Upcoming Events & Summer Kids Class
☀️ 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)
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.
This class will be included into your membership (ie: this will count towards 3 day week memberships)
Starting Sunday, June 7 at 9:00 AM with Coach Sergio Rivera.
Education: CrossFit Journal Article “But I Do Cardio Every Day — Isn’t That Enough”
By Stephane Rochet, CF-L3
This is the conversation that tends to create the most friction and the most converts. Because almost everyone comes into CrossFit with a story about cardio. They run. They bike. They swim. They’ve been told for years that steady-state aerobic work is the foundation of health and fitness. And they’re not entirely wrong.
But they’re not entirely right, either. The “Metabolic Conditioning” article laid out the science behind CrossFit’s approach to “cardio,” why intensity beats duration, why anaerobic training does things aerobic training can’t, and what the research actually says about the most efficient path to cardiovascular fitness. We’ve put it in conversation form because this particular topic deserves to be argued out loud. Read it, then go find your favorite distance runner and have the conversation yourself.
“I run five days a week. My heart rate is great, and my weight is under control. Why would I need to change anything?”
I’m not here to tell you running is bad. It’s not. But let me ask you something: when you say your heart rate is great, what are you comparing it to? Because cardiovascular health isn’t one number; it’s a full picture. And if the only thing you’re training is your aerobic system, you’re getting one piece of that picture. A pretty good piece, sure. But one piece.
“What am I missing?”
Your body has three ways to produce energy, and if you’ve read the earlier articles in this series, you’ve met them already. The phosphagen system for short explosive efforts, the glycolytic system for moderate-intensity work, and the oxidative system for sustained aerobic efforts like your runs. Most people think “cardio” means training the third one. CrossFit trains all three. If you’re only running, you’re only training one energy system, and the other two are quietly deteriorating.
“But I feel fit. I can run for hours. How is that not fitness?”
It’s a form of fitness. A real one. But here’s a question: can you sprint? Can you pick something heavy up off the ground without your back complaining? Can you do 10 pull-ups? Those things require capacities your running isn’t building. And in some cases, your running may actually be working against them. Excessive aerobic training eats muscle and reduces strength and speed. It’s not a theory; you can see it just by comparing the physique of a sprinter to a marathoner. Same sport, different distance, completely different body. That difference is a direct result of how each person trains.
“That feels a little harsh toward endurance runners. Are you saying long runs are bad?”
I’m saying they have a cost that most people don’t account for. Long, slow aerobic work improves endurance. It also reduces power, speed, and strength over time if it’s all you do. For a dedicated distance athlete who only needs endurance, that trade-off might make sense. For people who want to be strong, fast, capable, and healthy across a full range of physical demands over the course of their entire lives, it doesn’t. You’re paying a price for a benefit you could get another way, without the trade-off.
“What other way?”
Interval training. High-intensity work alternated with real rest. Short bursts, hard effort, recover, repeat. This is anaerobic training with structure, and the research behind it is genuinely remarkable. A researcher named Dr. Izumi Tabata tested a protocol: 20 seconds of all-out work, 10 seconds of rest, repeated eight times. Four minutes total. His results showed significant improvements in both anaerobic and aerobic capacity. More importantly, his high-intensity group outperformed a group doing 60 minutes of moderate steady-state work on VO2 max — the gold standard measure of cardiovascular fitness. Four minutes beat 60. That’s significant.
“That sounds too good to be true. Four minutes can really replace an hour of cardio?”
The research says yes, under the right conditions. And before you dismiss it, this wasn’t a fringe study or a fitness industry claim. It was published in a peer-reviewed journal and has been replicated and built upon since. The mechanism makes sense, too — high-intensity anaerobic effort stresses the cardiovascular system at least as much as sustained aerobic work, often more. Your heart doesn’t know whether you’re sprinting or jogging. It knows how hard it’s working. Intervals make it work very hard, adapting without the muscle loss that comes from long-duration aerobic training.
“So, CrossFit is basically just interval training?”
It includes interval training, but it’s bigger than that. The key is variation across modalities; not just varying the intensity of one thing, but training completely different movements, skills, and time domains. Running intervals, rowing intervals, lifting, gymnastics, bodyweight work. Every time you shift to a new modality, your body faces a new cardiovascular stimulus and has to adapt again. Stack those adaptations across dozens of different physical demands, and you get a cardiovascular system that’s broad and robust — not just good at running or biking or rowing, but good at all of it. And at things you haven’t specifically trained for, which is where it really counts.
“What’s the actual evidence that this works for endurance specifically? I’m a runner, and I care about running.”
Here’s one that tends to surprise people: CrossFit athletes have improved their endurance performance without doing endurance training. And police training programs that replaced distance-run-based conditioning with CrossFit found that recruits actually posted better run times than the groups that had been running all along. Not despite the absence of long runs but because of what replaced them. The broad fitness base transfers directly to endurance performance.
“What would I actually feel different doing CrossFit versus my current training?”
Power. The most immediate thing people notice is the ability to produce force quickly. To sprint, to jump, to move something heavy fast. Running doesn’t give you that. CrossFit does. And then over time, you’d notice that your running doesn’t suffer. Your times don’t drop. In most cases, they improve because your engine is bigger, your body is stronger, and you’re drawing on capacities that a single-modality program never built. Think of it like this: a slow, fuel-efficient car and a fast, powerful one can cover the same distance. But only one of them can do everything else you’d want a car to do.
“But can I still run?”
Absolutely. Plenty of CrossFit athletes run. The question is whether running is the whole program or part of one. Come in, try a few workouts, and see what you notice. My guess is that within a few weeks, you’ll start to feel capacities you didn’t know you were missing. And once you feel them, you won’t want to give them up.
Ready to find out what you’ve been missing? Find a CrossFit gym near you.
Closing Note
If you made it through all four of these conversations, you’ve just done something most people rarely do: you challenged your own thinking, opinions, and beliefs.
That matters. Not because the concepts are complicated, but because it’s easy to show up, do the work, and never fully connect what you’re doing to why it works. The whiteboard makes sense. The movements make sense. The soreness the next day definitely makes sense. But the deeper logic and the framework underneath all of it is what separates people who do CrossFit from people who truly understand it. And understanding it changes how you train.
You chase intensity differently when you know why intensity is the variable that matters. You stop dreading the movements you’re worst at when you understand that those are exactly the ones making you better. You stop asking, “What’s the point of this workout?” because you already know: it’s building capacity you don’t have yet in a domain you haven’t fully trained.
That’s the gift in these articles. Not information but perspective. And perspective compounds the same way fitness does. Come back to these again in a year. You’ll be a different athlete, and something new will land.
Recipe of the Week: Lean Steak Fajitas (Family of 4)
A high-protein, moderate-carb, low-fat meal that's perfect for a healthy family dinner.
Macro Amount (per serving - 4 overall)
Calories~470
Protein~42g
Carbs~31g
Fat~14g
Fiber~5g
Instructions
1. Marinate the Steak
In a bowl, combine:
Lime juice
Garlic
Chili powder
Cumin
Smoked paprika
Oregano
Salt & pepper
Add sliced steak and toss well. Let sit for 20-30 minutes.
2. Cook the Vegetables
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add olive oil.
Add peppers and onions.
Cook 6-8 minutes until slightly charred and tender.
Remove and set aside.
3. Cook the Steak
Increase heat to high.
Add steak to the hot skillet.
Cook 2-3 minutes per side until browned.
Avoid overcrowding the pan.
4. Combine
Return vegetables to the skillet and toss with steak for 1 minute.
5. Serve
Fill tortillas with:
Steak
Peppers and onions
Salsa
Cilantro
Fresh lime juice
Ingredients
Protein
1.5 lbs lean flank steak or sirloin steak, sliced thin
1 tbsp lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
Vegetables
2 bell peppers (any color), sliced
1 large onion, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
Serving
8 small flour tortillas (or corn tortillas)
Fresh cilantro
Lime wedges
Salsa or pico de gallo
Weekly Training Breakdown
