handstand

Today’s schedule

6a: All Levels CrossFit- Stacy
7a: All Levels CrossFit- Stacy
8a: Open Gym- Michael
12n: All Levels CrossFit- Stacy
4p: Open Gym- Anthony
5p: All Levels CrossFit- Anthony
6p: All Levels CrossFit- Anthony

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Handstand Walk: Spend 15 minutes practicing HS walk progressions.

B. 3 Rounds [21 Minute Time Cap]
100m Walking Lunges
20m HS Walk
50 Kettlebell Swings**

**Kettlebell Scale:
L3 = 16/12kg
L2 = 12/8kg
L1 = 15/10# dumbbell

Post time for WOD. Ex: 18:45 L3

And coming Saturday…

“Steel Hands”
Partner WOD
28 Minute AMRAP
12 Toes-to-bar
15 Hang Power Clean (165/105#)
21 Slam Balls (20/15#)
50m Farmer’s Carry (32/24kg)

All rounds and reps are team totals. 1 partner working at a time and teams may partition the rounds and reps any way except 1 one partner may complete the entire Farmer’s carry each round.

Post rounds and reps completed. 50m = 1 rep. Ex: 5+31 Rx.

Saturday Schedule

8a: Open Gym- Michael
9a: All Levels CrossFit- Michael
10a: All Levels CrossFit- Michael
11a: All Levels CrossFit- Michael
12:15p: Yoga- Monica Miller

Sunday Schedule

8:45a: Weightlifting- Anthony
10a: All Levels CrossFit- Neal
12:15a: Yoga- Lana Wilson
5p: Strength Training/Open Gym- Tina
6p: Strength Training/Open Gym- Tina

FRI 09.29.17 Read More »

Today’s schedule

6a: All Levels CrossFit- Stacy
7a: All Levels CrossFit- Stacy
8a: Open Gym- Michael
12n: All Levels CrossFit- Richard
5p: All Levels CrossFit- Richard
6p: All Levels CrossFit- Anthony

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Max Distance Handstand Walk

B. “Sage at 20” (20-minute work capacity test)
20 minutes as many rounds as possible (AMRAP):
20 Thrusters (135/95)
20 Pullups
20 Burpees

Post max distance and rounds and reps for AMRAP. Ex: 24ft, 2+52 Rx.

And coming Saturday…

A. Baseline:
500m Row
40 Air Squats
30 Situps
20 Hand Release Pushups
10 Pullups

B. Partner WOD: 16 Minute AMRAP
2 minute AMRAP Calorie Row
15sec Dead Hang L-sit Hold
50ft Kettlebell Farmers Carry (32’s/24’s kg)

1st Partner starts on the row. Partner 2 starts on L-sit hold and then completes farmers carry. At the 2 minute mark partners switch and Partner 2 continues row where Partner 1 left off. Partner 1 must complete dead hang hold and farmers carry before returning to the row. Continue this pattern for 16 minutes.

Post time for Baseline and calories rowed. Ex: 3:56 Rx, 228 calories Rx.

Saturday Schedule

9a: All Levels CrossFit- Tom
10a: All Levels CrossFit- Tom
11a: Open Gym- Tom
12:15p: Yoga- Annie Harbison. Click here to reserve

Sunday Schedule

9a: All Levels CrossFit- Richard
10a: All Levels CrossFit- Richard
11a: Open Gym- Richard
12:15p: Yoga- Annie Harbison. Click here to reserve

FRI 05.27.16 “Sage at 20” Read More »

Get to know our new Head Coach Michael!

Michael takes over as our full-time Operations Manager & Head Coach next week. He’s already been coaching classes for a few weeks, so you may already have met him.
Welcome to the team, Michael!
Name: Michael T. Aaron
Age: 29
How long coaching CrossFit? I started coaching in 2010.
Other coaching certifications: MovNat Level 1 Certified Trainer. I went through the certification course this past weekend at here at Crossfit Midtown, so if you saw a group of us running barefoot, balancing on 2x4s, crawling, or vaulting boxes on Saturday or Sunday, this is what I was doing. Any one interested in MovNat (www.movnat.com) feel free to ask me next time at the gym.
Day job: I’m the new operations manager and head coach at Crossfit Midtown. I look forward to meeting all of our members in the next few weeks!
Athletic background/achievement: I was a multi-sport athlete growing up: swimming, baseball, basketball, soccer, track & field, football; then 4 years of rugby in college. I play rugby now for Atlanta and our team has had national success finishing in the top 16 in the county in Rugby 7s (new Olympic version of rugby) in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013 as well as top 16 in Rugby 15s in 2009 and 2013.
How long doing CrossFit: I was introduced to Crossfit in 2008 through rugby as a way to becoming a fitter, more powerful athlete. I quickly became convinced that CrossFit is the best General Physical Preparation program in existence, and have been turning others on to CrossFit ever since.
Favorite CrossFit movement:one-arm dumbbell snatch
Favorite movement to coach: deadlift
In my spare time I enjoy: reading, watching movies and tv shows. Anything scifi/fantasy. Game of thrones, the walking dead, Star Trek. Avid chess player and card and board games.
Favorite quote: “A warrior does not give up what he loves, he finds the love in what he does” — Dan Millman: Way of the Peaceful Warrior
Advice to new CrossFitters: Be patient with your progress: building strength, developing technique with each movement, and increasing your endurance takes time. Have a positive attitude and give your best every day at the gym. Don’t avoid WODs because you don’t like them. Most of the time that is exactly what you need.

Coach Michael

Today’s schedule

6a: All Levels CrossFit- Rebecca
7a: All Levels CrossFit- Rebecca
8a: Open Gym- Jason
12n: All Levels CrossFit- Amy
1:45p: College CrossFit- Jason
4p: Open Gym- Michael
5p: All Levels CrossFit- Michael
6p: All Levels CrossFit- Michael
7p: All Levels CrossFit- Raul
8p: Open Gym- Raul

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Deadlift: 5×3 workups
B. 5 rounds for time:
15x burpees
50x double unders (sub 150 singles)

And coming tomorrow…

A. Skill work: 10 min handstand practice
B. As many rounds & reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
2 handstand push ups (modify: strict press)
4 kettlebell snatch R
4 kettlebell snatch L

WED 02.26.14 Coach Spotlight: Michael Read More »

Gratitude

by Coach Amy
This time of year it’s easy to remember to be thankful. That’s what Thanksgiving is all about right? One night where we sit around and stuff ourselves silly and maybe mention what we’re thankful for before we dig in.
But what about daily gratitude?
Do you remember to feel grateful for the mundane things, like grocery shopping?
Because thank goodness you have access to an organized store that has fresh, healthy food, and a lot of it.
And the money to pay for all that good food.
And the working car (or legs!) that got you there on a safe street.
And a warm, cozy home where you can store your food and keep it fresh for days.
And the physical ability to walk to your car, the mental capacity to get you to and through the store, the strength to pick up all of those grocery bags (thanks CFM!).
The list can go on and on.
So before you start to complain about the traffic, or the idiot that cut you off, or the lady standing in front of you paying with a check…take a deep breath and smile.
Because you’re alive.
And while even that is beyond our control, we can be thankful for every day we have here.
Starting now.
A good way to start your daily gratitude?
Start a list. Add three things every day that you’re grateful for. They can be little things that made you smile throughout the day, they can be big things that you don’t want to take for granted.
Heck, you don’t even need to write them down. Think of something before you get out of bed in the morning. Be grateful for the simple fact that your eyes opened again. And remember to give your loved ones a hug/call/high five when you think of them. Tell that person you’re sorry. Release the grudge from ten years ago.
Don’t assume there’s a later, or tomorrow, or next week.
Live now. And be grateful for today.
Noon class Jackie

Today’s schedule

6a: All Levels CrossFit- Tirzah
7a: All Levels CrossFit- Tirzah
8a: Open Gym- Tirzah
11a: Yoga- Amy
12n: All Levels CrossFit- Amy
4p: Open Gym- Lis
5p: All Levels CrossFit- Ben
6p: All Levels CrossFit- Ben
7p: All Levels CrossFit- Raul
8p: Open Gym – Raul

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Mobility or skill review (thrusters, power cleans, jerks)
B. “Master’s Triple Take”
As many rounds as possible in 3 minutes:
10 Thrusters, 95/65
10 Pull ups
rest :30
As many rounds as possible in 3 minutes:
10 Power Cleans, 95/65
10 Burpees
rest :30
As many rounds as possible in 3 minutes:
10 Jerks, 95/65
10 Box Jumps, 20″

And coming tomorrow…

A. 10 minutes rope climb skill work
B. As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:
:30 handstand hold
:30 l-sit
:30 chin over bar hold
:30 bottom of squat hold

WED 11.20.13 – Gratitude Read More »

Soak it in!

I am so proud of the coaching team we’re building at CFM. Our team is devoted to helping you all achieve the highest level of fitness you can. Make the most of the access you have to these amazing coaches!
We’re SO FORTUNATE to have Olympic Bronze medalist Cheryl Haworth working with us to coach Olympic Lifting now. Join Cheryl for Open Gym this Saturday from 12n-2p to work on Olympic Lifting.
You’ve also got a few more rock star coaches in Cassie & Lindsay, leading specialty classes tonight.
Cassie’s new weekly gymnastics class starts tonight at 8p. Do you need help with handstands, rope climbs, pistols, muscle ups or some other body weight movement? Well NOW is the time to improve your gymnastics skills. Cassie is a former youth gymnastics coach & college cheerleader. She is also CrossFit Gymnastics certified and JUST attended Carl Paoli’s Movement Mechanics seminar on Sunday.
The class will feature a 15-minute warm up, mobility & flexibility work, followed by 30 minutes of skill work and about 15 minutes at the end for a workout.
Here’s tonight’s Gymnastics WOD:
As many quality reps/rounds in 8 minutes of:
6 Pistols
8 Push ups
10 V-Ups
AND, back again this week, you can check out Lindsay’s Ninja Training class tonight at 7p. Lindsay was a track star at UNC Chapel Hill. Her class focuses on running technique, sprints and Meet for class at CFM at 7p or over at Piedmont Park in the Active Oval at 7:15.
Here’s tonight’s Ninja Training WOD:
A. A Skip, B Skip, C Skip, Alternating Fast Leg, Duck Walk, Crab Walk, High Knees, Butt Kicks. Each drill 50m with 50m jog x2.
B. Fire Hydrants, Scorpions, Iron Cross, Shoulder Rolls & 5 min stretch
C. 10x100m with 60 seconds rest between each sprint.

Enjoy the expertise!

Specialty classes this week:

Tues 7p – Ninja Training w Lindsay
Tues 8p – Gymnastics with Cassie
Wed 12n – Yoga with Beth
Wed 7p – Rowing with Uran
Thurs 8p – Beginners CrossFit with Cassie
Thurs 8:15p – Yoga with Laura
Sat 9a – Beginners CrossFit with Cassie
Sat 12n-2p – Olympic Lifting Open Gym with Cheryl
Sun 6p – Yoga with Monica

CFM’s newly appointed Social Chair Alison is hosting a Happy Hour this Friday at Steamhouse Lounge. Join her for a post-WOD (or just post-work) beverage from 6 to 8pm at Steamhouse on Friday!
Which way to the Happy Hour, Lee?

Workout of the Day

A. Clean: 2-2-2-2-2
B. For time:
6 Power Cleans 135#/95#
2 muscle-ups*
4 Power Cleans 135#/95#
4 muscle-ups
2 Power Cleans 135#/95#
6 muscle-ups

*Sub 3 dips & 3 chest to bar pull ups for 1 muscle up (or 6 of each in round 1, 12 of each in round 2, 18 of each in round 3)

And coming tomorrow…

A. Weighted pull up: 3-3-3+ OR Strict pull ups OR negatives (with last set of burnout pull ups in a band)
B. As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
:30 handstand hold
:30 L-sit hold
:30 bottom of squat hold
:30 chin over bar hold

*Count accumulated time holding position only. Rest time doesn’t count!

TUES 06.04.13 Gymnastics class starts tonight! Read More »

The Sayers of Nay

by Coach Jeremy
For those of you making big life changes with CrossFit and the Paleo diet, reinvention is hard–not just for you but for those around you. You’ll hear, “You’re doing what?”… “You’re eating how?”… “That’s not good for you!”… and so on.
So why are people so resistant to your transformation? You’re the one putting in work. They’re not waking up early to hit the gym before work, or turning down the company-sponsored bagel breakfast. You are. You’re putting in work, and a lot of it, which can create mixed emotions for those around you.
Part of the resistance you see is from people genuinely concerned with your well-being. But the overwhelmingly salient reason people resist your reinvention is fear–fear of losing you. Look at cultures and family. The underpinnings of these structures lie in language and food, and you just changed both.
You’re pumped about doing Fran and your heavy snatch and your grass-fed, lettuce-wrapped burger. Who ARE you?
So, how should you deal with this? The easy way is just to stop. Quit CrossFitting. Eat the Standard American Diet.
But nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Reassure loved ones that you are still inherently you. CrossFit won’t change your political ideology or your religious beliefs. It will, however, make you a stronger, healthier and happier person.
You can only spend so much energy pleasing everyone. Just be yourself, and with time friends will accept these new ‘strange ways’ as part of you… just one of those things that makes you more lovable and quirky.

Yoga Thursday

Monica’s yoga class has been moved to Thursdays at 8:15pm. Join her tomorrow to stretch those sore muscles and work on mobility, balance and mental focus.

CFM Holiday Party IN TEN DAYS!

Ten days left! Uran & Dyer are recruiting a few more elves to help them with final party plans, decorations, playlists and set up. Post in the comments below if you can help. JUST WHEN IS THIS AWESOME PARTY, you ask? Why it’s next Saturday from 7 to 10 pm, right here at CFM. We’ll provide the main course and beverages. You bring your favorite appetizer or dessert to share (paleo optional!).
Handstand drills in last night’s gymnastics class.

Workout of the Day

A. Push Press: In 8 minutes, build to heavy set of 5
B. Every minute on the minute for 20 minutes:
On odd minutes, do 1 muscle up & 3 ring dips OR 3 supine ring rows and 3 ring dips.
On even minutes, do 5 med ball slams.

WED 11.28.12 The Sayers of Nay Read More »

Grand Opening is TOMORROW

Saturday from 5 to 8, join us at CFM to celebrate our Grand Opening and get to know your fellow members a little better. We’ll have some food, drinks and a DJ, and some of us will be going out to dinner afterward over at Steamhouse Lounge, so please join us. The more, the merrier!

The Quest for 500…27 to go!

If you’ve visited the CFM Facebook or YouTube pages, you know someone had the freaking awesome idea to do a dance to celebrate for every 100 Facebook fans we get. We’re 27 fans away from 500, and hoping to hit the big 500 milestone BEFORE SATURDAY night so we can make one big dance video of party guests doing the WOBBLE at the Grand Opening. PLEASE spread the word on Facebook, ask your friends to LIKE our page (if you go to the CFM page and click SHARE, you can post a status update spreading the word), AND THEN, learn the Wobble for Saturday. Here’s that video again:

Fran Challenge Prelims (NEW HEATS)

Sat 10 & 11am are the main heats. We prefer you do Fran then, BUT if Saturday AM doesn’t work for you, we’ll be running additional heats on Friday at 5:30 and 7pm (arrive at 5:30 or 7 to warm up…WOD ~6/7:30).
The sign-up sheet is in the box, or you can sign up here. EMAIL LIS TO CONFIRM YOUR HEAT, DIVISION AND T-SHIRT SIZE!

Recovery Day

Today is a recovery day for those who have trained hard all week and/or are doing Fran tomorrow. This will still be a great training day to work on mobility, recovery and some gymnastics skills. If you’re super sore, take it a little easier today. Feeling good? Get after it: push a little harder on the row and the AMRAP.

A few reminders to help your soreness & recovery –

Take a rest day every two to three days. You can still work on mobility on these days.
Get 7-9 hours of sleep in a COOL, DARK room.
Supplement with fish oil and magnesium to reduce soreness/decrease inflammation (Natural Calm or a magnesium citrate supplement will also help you sleep and keep you regular. Epsom salts baths are another great way to aid recovery w magnesium…active ingredient: magnesium sulfate).
DO NOT take pain killers like ibuprofen which wreak havoc on your body and inhibit muscle growth.
Drink plenty of water.
Post-workout nutrition: eating plenty of protein (about a gram per pound of bodyweight) will drastically help recovery and muscle growth. This is especially important immediately post-workout. Use a clean protein supplement within 45 minutes of finishing a WOD. My favorite is the SFH Recovery formula, which we sell in the Pro Shop in chocolate, vanilla and natural flavors. John from SFH is here this weekend with some samples of post-WOD protein and fish oil so check it out!

SundaySundaySunday

Free Park WOD – Sun 10am. Meet at the Piedmont Park sand volleyball courts
HOOVERBALL! – Sun 11am on the sand volleyball, er, HOOVERBALL courts.

The mural is ALMOST finished. Thanks to our Melvin for helping to decorate the gym with your artwork!

Workout of the Day

Recovery Day
Start with 10 minute easy row

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
30 second Handstand hold
30 second Squat hold
30 second L-sit hold
30 second Chin over bar hold

Finish w 10 minutes mobility and foam rolling