2026 New Year Newsletter
Fitness updates
Our new cycle & the 2026 Open Open
Our new cycle: BURN
Burn is a 5-week performance-focused cycle. We’re not building new skills; we’re sharpening everything athletes have developed this year and learning to apply it with confidence. You can expect short-to-moderate length workouts, familiar Open-style movements, and repeatable intensities with built-in pacing.
Goals for athletes include: applying strength while breathing hard, moving well under fatigue, pacing smart to push at the end, and repeating strong efforts week to week.
Whether or not you plan to participate in the Open or the Feast Open Open, this cycle will teach you about your capabilities to improve your training approach and workout strategy.
The Feast Open Open returns!
Our inclusive, in-house competition returns.
For the second year in a row, your $20 registration fee will be donated to GLSEN, a national organization dedicated to improving experiences for LGBTQ+ students in physical education, sport, and play environments.
As a community, we’ll tackle the CrossFit Open workouts together on Friday nights, after our 4:30p class: 2/27, 3/6, and 3/13. Scores will be logged using our integrated leaderboard on StreamFit, allowing everyone to participate: members, non-members, neighbors, and even friends from other states.
community news
Recapping our member survey, new tag for payments, and welcoming our new members
Member survey recap
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Member survey recap 〰️
Thank you to everyone who participated in our annual member feedback survey! We read every one of your responses, and appreciate what you share about your experience at Feast: things that are going well and things you'd like to see more of. This year, your responses highlighted the importance of programming and community.
Programming (The WHY behind the work)
At Feast, our approach has always been rooted in the long game, which is why we intentionally push back on “go hard every day” culture. Our wall reads Fit for Life, and that remains our mission.
We program for athletes living real lives: humans with jobs, families, and stress who want to train for 12+ years, not just 12 weeks. So our goal is to bring you smart, sustainable programming that helps you get fitter without leading to burnout or injury. This is where the minimal effective dose (MED) comes in.
The MED is the smallest amount of training stress needed to create a positive adaptation. When we exceed this dose too often, recovery lags, performance stagnates, and the risk of injury and burnout increases. When we meet this dose, we adapt, stay consistent, and progress compounds over time. We want you to feel worked, not wrecked, able to use your fitness, have energy for the rest of your day, and come back the next day feeling ready to train again.
As our community grows, we’ll continue to refine workout variety while making sure the hour you spend with us is intentional, effective, and fun. Our community is at the center of our programming and we hope you feel that.
Community (It matters—and we know it)
We hear you: Events that bring us together make a real difference, and we’re leaning into that in 2025. Expect a variety of training and social events, including several centered around charitable giving. Check out our upcoming events and plan to join us:
January: Bring-a-Friend Week, Feast Healthy Habits Challenge
February: The Feast Open Open
March: March Madness
April: Bring-a-Friend Week, thROWdown fundraiser
May: Murph
July: Bring-a-Friend Week, Feast Summer Nutrition Challenge
September: Rumble on Ravenswood
October: Bring-a-Friend Week
November: Friendsgiving
December: Adopt-a-Family, Secret Santa, Feastivus
New Email for Payments!
Feast fam, we’re changing our EMAIL address for zelle. Instead of using greg@feast-fitness.com, Please send all payments going forward to payments@feast-fitness.com.
Welcome, new members!
We’re thrilled to have so many new members join our Feast Fam! The gym feels full with strong hearts and good vibes, and we’re truly grateful to have each and every one of you with us. Thanks for being on our team!
And don’t forget: Our referral discount happens all year ‘round. When you refer a friend to Feast and they join, both you and your friend receive $100 off one month of an unlimited membership.
nutrition corner
Coach Joe’s hot takes on fueling for your performance
With Coach Joe leading our Healthy Habits Challenge, we wanted to ask him a few questions about nutrition. Check out this brief Q&A to learn a few things about fueling for your performance—and some of Joe’s go-tos!
Feast Fitness: What are the top 3 things you prioritize when it comes to nutrition? And why!
Coach Joe: 1. Eating mostly whole minimally-processed foods. This is an easy one; I always feel better and have more energy when I eat whole foods. 2. Fueling workouts and recovery with protein and a lot of carbohydrates around my workouts. I want to hang out at Feast as much as possible. This gives me the energy to do that! 3. Eating a high protein breakfast. I always find having protein and fruit early in the day gives me a lot of energy, and I don't crash as hard in the afternoons.
FF: What are your favorite high-protein foods or snacks?
CJ: Ground beef! I love it. On mornings I’m not at Feast, you can find me with a bowl of ground beef (seasoned with Trader Joe's taco seasoning) drizzled with honey and a banana for breakfast. I also enjoy chicken thighs, eggs/egg whites, greek yogurt, and beef jerky!
FF: What’s your advice for someone who doesn’t have time to cook?
CJ: Use a crockpot/slow cooker! Most weekends, I'll put a few pounds of chicken into the crockpot with a jar of salsa and let it sit on low for 7-8 hours. Then I'll just shred it. It takes about 10 minutes to shred and then I have chicken for lunch for the week! I am a big fan of meal prepping on weekends, so I don't have to spend time cooking/doing dishes every night!
FF: Any guilty pleasures? Are you a dessert guy?
CJ: For sure! The cold weather cannot stop me from eating ice cream. You can also usually find a pack of Trader Joe's Scandinavian Swimmers in my gym bag as a post-workout snack! Within an hour or 2 of a workout is my favorite time for dessert!