back squat

Quarterly Check-In week wraps up

It’s been a busy week in the gym, testing several benchmark workouts including the Baseline. Congrats to everyone who conquered the Baseline this week…as a warm-up to the regular WOD, no less! SO MANY PRs! Be proud of your achievements over the past quarter and be sure to set some goals for the quarter ahead. Before we know it, November will be here, we’ll be wrapping up the Whole Life Challenge, and retesting all these workouts again. Good luck with today’s CrossFit Total!

REMINDERS:

Hooverball Sundays

Weekly Hooverball continues Sunday at the Piedmont Park active oval. Be there by 10 am to help claim a court. You can parallel park on Piedmont, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, or in the deck (access off Monroe). Come out and play!

CFM 2.0

We’re already getting a facelift! This weekend we’ll be knocking down a few walls in order to expand the gym floor and install a new pull up cage with squat racks, dip stands and more rings… as well as a few other improvements. We’ll still have Saturday morning classes at 10 and 11, but they’ll be outside, so come prepared for some fun with tires and sledgehammers!!!

Whole Life Challenge update

Team CFM is up to 12 Whole Life Challengers! Alison D, Erin, Beth, Dyer, Bri, Brianne, Laura S, Uran, Vabs, Courtney, Jeremy and Lis are in the game. Who else is joining us? We’re shooting for 40. Get in the game!Register here.

Mark your calendars:
Saturday, September 8 at noon- WLC Pre-Challenge Huddle
Friday, September 14- WLC Eve Not-Paleo Potluck
Saturday, September 15- WLC Prelims
Friday, October 12- Paleo Potluck
Saturday, November 10- WLC Finals, Awards Ceremony and Finals Party

Hooverball Sunday. Be there.

Workout of the Day

If it’s your first class of the week: Warm Up & retest Baseline

CROSSFIT TOTAL:
1RM Back Squat
1RM Strict Press
1RM Deadlift

Work up to your one rep max of each lift, in order: Back squat, then strict press, then deadlift. You’ll have 12 minutes at each lift, including warm up and three attempts. The heaviest of your three attempts will be your score for that lift. Add up the scores of the three lifts for your CrossFit Total score.

CASH OUT: 1 minute max effort AirDyne sprint for calories

Good Luck!

FRI 08.17.12 CrossFit Total Read More »

Thank you Rira!

Thanks to Dermot and the gang at Rira Irish Pub for hosting us on Saturday to watch the Olympics and roll some dice. And happy birthday to Uran & Graham!

Food as Fuel

Need some help with your nutrition but don’t know where to start? Be at the box Saturday at noon for CFM’s next Food as Fuel class. We’ll discuss the basics of the paleo lifestyle, review food logs and answer questions. If you plan to attend, email Alicia to get your food journal, complete it by Saturday and bring it with you to the event.

Massage deal

Here’s a note from Monica Miller (LMT, CCH, RYT200), CFM student and resident massage therapist, about her August special. Check it out:
As an avid Crossfitter & Massage Therapist I know what our bodies go through!
I’m offering a special for Midtown CrossFitters for the month of August: $49 for a one-hour massage
My specialty is the professional and amateur athlete & any tightness/pain that comes with the territory.
My clients include NASCAR & Le Mans racing drivers, NFL players, NBA & WNBA players,
and most importantly the owners, trainers & members of more than 10 CrossFit affiliates.
CrossFitters are my clients, my friends and the athletes I understand the most, because I am one of you!
I am trained in over a dozen types of massage including what I’m best know for…using ceiling mounted bars for back-walking!
Monica is located at the corner of 14th & Piedmont. Call or text 404.731.3891 to make an appointment.

Scott D & Jared

Workout of the Day

Back squat3 sets of 10, Rest 3:00
Helen
3 Rounds:
400m run
21 kettlebell swings 1.5/1 pood
12 pull ups
Cash Out:Wall stretch, 2 min each side

MON 08.06.12 Read More »

The Whole Life Challenge starts next month!

Can eight weeks change your life? Absolutely. From September 15 to November 10, CrossFit Midtown and other affiliates around the world will be buckling down to make positive changes and create healthy habits for ourselves. Read more here.
YES, eight weeks is a long time. But this challenge isn’t about eating perfectly paleo for 56 days. It’s about holding yourself accountable, tracking your behavior (workouts, nutrition, supplements, mobility) and IDEALLY, creating some healthy habits for yourself.
We’ll be having a Whole Life Challenge orientation at the gym in early September, to answer questions, discuss things like grocery shopping and meal planning, and set you up for success for this eight-week period. Registration opens August 15.

New classes

For the month of August, we’re trying out an 8pm class on MONDAY & WEDNESDAY nights. We’ll also add a 4pm class on Fridays. The 7pm Friday class has been cancelled due to very low attendance. If attendance is good, we’ll keep the classes on the schedule.

31 Heroes

This Saturday is the 31 Heroes Fundraiser WOD at 10 am. It’s a fun 31-minute partner WOD. If you don’t have a partner, don’t worry about it! Check out the link on the sidebar of this page to register. Dyer has offered to bring post-WOD adult refreshments. THEN we’ll head down the street to Ri-Ra…

Olympics Watch Party

This weekend: Sat, August 4th, 1-5pm at Rira Irish Pub. Get to know your fellow CFMers outside the gym as we watch some Olympics coverage of weightlifting, rowing, swimming, volleyball and more. THEN the party rolls right into URAN DAY… Uran’s bday celebration is Saturday night at Cypress Street Pint & Plate.

Baio shows the AirDyne who’s boss.

Workout of the Day

Back squat:4×5, 3 minutes rest
FOUR ROUNDS
12 Goblet squats 2/1.5 pood
6 Box jumps 30″/24″
CASH OUT:Wall stretch, two minutes each side

THURS 08.02.12 Read More »

Food as Fuel & Paleo Potluck is Saturday, August 11th

Mark your calendars for the next Food as Fuel nutrition class, on Saturday, 8/11 from 12 to 1:30 pm. Everyone bring a dish to share while Lis hosts a paleo Q&A discussion. Bring your questions and your paleo grub!

CrossFit Endurance & POSE Running workshop is THIS THURSDAY

Do you want to improve your running technique and race times?
Are you clueless on how to work CrossFit Endurance workouts into your exercise routine?
Or do you just hate running and wish to improve your form to make it less painful and more enjoyable?
Join James Taylor, CrossFit Endurance-certified trainer and former Georgia Tech cross country and track & field athlete, for a 90-minute workshop to learn how to improve your technique, become a more efficient runner, and learn how to train for your next race.
Workshop includes:
-Pre- and post- workshop video evaluation of running technique, discussion of individual technical issues and identification of long-term solutions
-Discussion of general technical principles and methods to prevent common injuries
-Practical drills to improve running technique
-Detailed, sample programming ideas for various training goals
-Q&A
Price: $25
When: Thursday, 7/19, 7-8:30 pm
Register here or at the gym with cash or check.

In one of my favorite moments from the Games, pictured above, the athletes did Fran to cap off a grueling weekend of competition. It came down to the final event to decide who got the final (3rd place) spot on the podium between Kristan Clever and Talayna Forunato. In the final set of nine pull ups, Kristan was a rep ahead, but a break in her butterfly kip gave Talayna the chance to pull ahead, finishing all her reps unbroken and claiming the title of 3rd Fittest Woman in the World. Considering how challenging a WOD we all know Fran is (especially as we train for it over the course of our Fran Challenge), watching these athletes complete it so quickly, after ALL the other work of the weekend, was pretty amazing.

Workout of the Day

1. 3×5 Back Squat

2. FOR TIME: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Lateral box jumps* 24/20 & Wall Balls 20/14

For lateral box jumps, each side equals one rep. In other words, jumping over and back is two reps.

CASH OUT – 2 min wall stretch each side; 5 min lax ball love on achilles/calves

WED 07.18.12 Read More »

Wayne powers through the row during Fight Gone Bad.

Athlete Profile – Wayne Morrissette

Hometown:Montgomery, Alabama
Age: 38 (39 on August 15. Another Leo…Hey Uran!)
Occupation: Global Supply Chain Learning Project Manager
When did you first start CrossFitting?: I am entering week 4
Favorite WOD: I can’t remember the name but the one with the sprints where you pulled people with the big rubber band thingy (Editor’s note: Wayne is referring to RESISTED RUNNING… coming up again next week!)
Least Favorite WOD: anything with pull ups and burpees
Three words to describe you: introverted, funny, meteorologist
Tell us about your sports & fitness background: Have “worked out” off and on for years, have played softball in various city leagues since ’98 and have also played on local soccer and flag football teams. Weekend warrior extraordinaire.
How did you first get exposed to CrossFit? Take us back to your first WOD… what was it, and how did it feel? My first introduction to CrossFit was the Baseline workout. Sounded pretty harmless and it was a “baseline” so it couldn’t be SO bad, right? Going from exercise to exercise without stopping, and starting out the gates way too hard made the last part of the workout very challenging. I felt like I was going to die and it took me about an hour to finally cool off and catch my breath. It wasn’t cute but right then I knew that CrossFit would be more than just “working out” or “going to the gym” and that this was going to be a heckuva journey.
What sort of changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting CF (before/after)? After 3 weeks, I’ve already noticed my work pants getting noticeably looser. I’ve also noticed that I’m able to recover and catch my breath a lot faster after workouts and I’m able to get through the warm up (bear crawls and inchworms sucked balls at first) with a lot more energy to spare now. For me, that’s progress.
What sort of changes in your life have you experienced out of taking on something like CrossFit that were totally unexpected? I tend to live life in my comfort zone. CrossFit has shown me that I have a lot more in me than I give myself credit for, and that I can experience a lot more success and fulfillment in the things I do when I’m willing to push past where things are comfortable. There’s a whole new world out there.
Please share with us any favorite CrossFit / CFM moments: I haven’t done many of the “extra curricular activities because of other things I have going on, but in the time I have spent in the box, I’m incredibly inspired watching the more “Elite” and experienced Crossfitters bang through their WODs. These guys have also been very encouraging and helpful to me and that means a lot to me just starting out.
Any advice for people just getting started? Just go and get into it. Listen to what people say and ignore the voice that says “Are you crazy? You can’t do that?” Before you know the workout is over and you’ve accomplished more in an hour than you ever did with the 3 sets of 10-12 for 1 hour plus
What are your hobbies, interests and/or talents outside of CrossFit? Softball, soccer, extreme weather, storm chasing, weather forecasting, people watching, politics, sports spectating, theater, symphony, joke cracking
What did you eat today? So far just 4 eggs and sauteed spinach cooked in coconut oil, raw pecans a litte later
Do you follow the paleo or primal lifestyle? What is your nutrition philosophy? Since a couple of weeks before starting Crossfit I’m about 60-70% Paleo (higher during the week, lower on weekends). Try to stay away from processed fake crap and try to stick with eating stuff that burns clean and doesn’t leave a nasty residue.

Hooverball is Sunday at 10!

Join us Sundays at 10 am for Hooverball in the park (meet in the Piedmont Park Active Oval, nearest the Botanical Gardens/14th St gate). It’s lots of fun. Don’t forget to bring water, sunscreen and a towel. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll do a short pre-Hooverball warm up WOD.

CrossFit Endurance and POSE Running workshop

-Do you want to improve your running technique and race times?
-Are you clueless on how to work CrossFit Endurance workouts into your exercise routine?
-Or do you just hate running and wish to improve your form to make it less painful and more enjoyable?

Join James Taylor, CrossFit Endurance-certified trainer and former Georgia Tech cross country and track & field athlete, for a 90-minute workshop to learn how to improve your technique, become a more efficient runner, and learn how to train for your next race.
Workshop includes:
-Pre- and post- workshop video evaluation of running technique, discussion of individual technical issues and identification of long-term solutions
-Discussion of general technical principles and methods to prevent common injuries
-Practical drills to improve running technique
-Detailed, sample programming ideas for various training goals
-Q&A

Price: $25
When: Thursday, 7/19, 7-8:30 pm
Register online or in the gym.

Workout of the Day

1. Back Squat – 3 sets of 3 reps at 30X0 tempo
(30X0 means 3 seconds down, no rest at bottom, EXPLODE up, no rest at top)
2. Three-minute Fran:
21-15-9
Thrusters
Pull Ups
Select thruster weight and pull up modifications accordingly to finish all reps AS CLOSE TO THREE MINUTES AS POSSIBLE.
To do this workout “Rx” you must finish all reps between 2:50 and 3:10.
3. Cash-out: 3 attempts – max hang from pull up bar

FRANDAY 07.06.12: Athlete Profile – WAYNE MORRISSETTE Read More »

HOOVERBALL!

What a great showing for Hooverball yesterday! Congrats to the team of Fred, Jon, Cameron and Scott for winning the round robin tournament. Come on out next week for more fun Sunday at Piedmont Park!

Class Levels

Beginning this week, we’re enforcing class levels. Starting Tuesday, 6/26, the 7PM TUESDAY, 6PM WEDNESDAY and 5PM THURSDAY classes will be for Beginners. These classes will focus on fundamental movements and we’ll do a scaled or modified version of the daily WOD. If you are an advanced athlete, you’re welcome to attend this class for some “back to basics” work, or you can attend a different class that day or take a rest day.
Refer to the schedule on the website or email Lis with questions.

Paleo Night at Urban Pl8

Tomorrow is Paleo Night. Post in the comments if you want to join the CFM table at Urban Pl8 for a delicious four-course paleo meal for just $25. We’ll make an 8:30 reservation so people can head straight there after the 7pm class.

Workout of the Day – CrossFit Total

1 Rep Max Back Squat
1 Rep Max Strict Press
1 Rep Max Deadlift
Add up your three lifts for your score.

MON 06.25.12 CROSSFIT TOTAL Read More »

Grand Opening Party is Saturday, June 16th!

Please RSVP here if you haven’t already. We’ll be celebrating all our awesome members AND DOING THE WOBBLE. Dancing won’t be required, but it will be highly encouraged. Please begin practicing now:

I can’t believe this was the first video I embedded on our blog.

BUT we can’t WOBBLE until we get 500 FANS. Please share our page on Facebook and help CrossFit Midtown hit the 500 fan milestone!

SAVE THE DATE: Goal-Setting Workshop, Wed July 11th at 7pm

Rachel from the new Lululemon Howell Mill store is hosting a goal-setting workshop at CFM on Wed, 7/11 at 7 pm. We’ll work on some short- and long-term vision building and goal setting. Mark your calendars now to set some BHAGS (awesome acronym, right? Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals!).

Free Piedmont Park WODs

Did you know we do a free WOD in the park every Sunday at 10 am? Join us this Sunday at 10 for a WOD (open to the public and suitable for all skill levels). We’ll meet in the meadow near Park Tavern for a WOD, THEN we’ll head over to the sand volleyball courts to play HOOVER BALL. Don’t worry, if you don’t know what Hoover Ball is, we’ll teach you. Carlos is a pro and will be coaching the crew this Sunday!!
So meet in the meadow at 10 am OR at the sand volleyball courts at 11 am. See you Sunday!