Can you believe it’s October? Neither can we. 

September felt momentous and full. We graduated Foundations athletes, maintained impressive and consistent attendance, celebrated staff birthdays, and watched Brian Simmerman and Jason Bienko PR their deadlift with 705lb on the bar. We had a good month.

While we’re not ready to leave warm weather behind, here’s what we’re looking forward to this month!

SAVE THE DATES.

Sunday, 10/3: Yoga at 11:30AM

Sunday, 10/10: Foundations at 10:20AM

Sunday, 10/17: Yoga at 11:30AM

Sunday, 10/24: Foundations at 10:20AM

Sunday, 10/31: Yoga at 11:30AM

Saturday, 11/6: Strength Doubles Day at 9:10a

Sunday, 11/7: Foundations at 10:20AM

YOGA IS BACK!

We’re excited to announce that Yoga has been added to our schedule. Led by our very own Maggie Corcoran, this recovery hour will take place on alternating Sundays in October and November. Registration is live in Zen Planner!

*Open Gym will resume at 11:30AM on Sundays when Yoga is not scheduled

Maggie has been practicing yoga for over 14 years and teaching since 2017 after completing her 200 hour teacher training program.

She teaches an inviting vinyasa/ hatha style yoga class where organic movement, alignment and a lighthearted attitude are encouraged. You’ll leave feeling a little more inspired, grounded and compassionate towards yourself, your body and others.

IT’S OFFICIAL: WELCOME COACH DANA!

*Our Defined coaching team just got stronger. (Like, a whole lot stronger.)

Dana is a talented athlete, experienced competitor, and highly knowledgeable coach. She’s a true teacher and supportive teammate: always happy to help, listen, and share to better us all. We’re lucky to have her, and even more grateful she chose us.

Look for Dana on Monday nights, Thursdays, and Saturday mornings!

DANA PARAN | Coach

FROM: All over. Chicago’s homebase.

YOUR GO-TO FOR: Sneaker recommendations.

EXPERIENCE: CF-L1, CF-L2, USAW Sports Performance Coach, US Olympic Training Site Resident – Northern Michigan, Jr. Pan Ams Team Member, Jr. Nationals Champion, B.S. Exercise/Sport Science from Northern Michigan University with a concentration in Nutrition. DIY Ironman Finisher (12:43:42).

LIKES: Cardio

LOVES: Strength. Gymnastics. COFFEE. Food.

Before CrossFit, Dana was aspiring to be a D1 basketball athlete in North Carolina. After burning out, she found bodybuilding;  and like the bro science, vowed to never do CrossFit. Her first CrossFit experience was terrible, and resulted in a beautiful gutcheck of “what fitness truly is.”

Since switching over from Olympic Weightlifting in 2019, she is now a competitive CrossFit Sanctionals/Semifinals athlete and her accomplishments include: Asia CrossFit Championship (Individual, 6th place), Dubai CrossFit Championship 30×30 (Individual, 4th place), Warhorse Games (Individual, 1st place), Melanin CrossFitters BLACKOUT (Individual, 1st place).

Dana became a coach after seeing the impacts of CrossFit and sport on her own health and well-being. She aims to utilize the knowledge that she accumulates through her own journey to assist and guide others on the pursuit of their potential.

When she’s not training, she can be found leading daily training, DEFCON, or Strength Cafe.

ZEN PLANNER UPDATES + REMINDERS

  • Effective Friday, 10/15, all training times will allow for 22 sign-ups. Athletes can attend Daily Training or Open Gym during these times; just check-in with your coach at the top of each hour. We’ll no longer be specifying sign-up types in Zen Planner.
  • The following training times will allow for 16 sign-ups to accommodate our Foundations program: Tuesdays at 7:30PM / Sundays at 10:20AM.
  • Please be mindful of your “no shows!” If you need to miss a training session, try to cancel your class at least 2 hours prior to its start.

Have a great month!

Stay strong.

Team Defined

Defined

Member Links That Are Important
ZenPlanner (membership platform) Desktop & App
SugarWOD (programming platform) App
** password for our gym is: morethanagym