power clean

Kerry and Anna rocking some cleans.

Athlete Profile: Kerry M.

Hometown: LaGrange, GA
Age: 40
Occupation: Regions Private Wealth Management
When did you start CrossFit?: I started CrossFit about 4 years ago with an instructor for 3 months and then thought I would try just using Crossfit.com to get my WODs and instruction. BIG MISTAKE. Finally, after
lackluster results and poor form that nearly shredded my shoulder, I was just about ready to quit. Then, I moved to Atlanta and a few weeks later CrossFit Midtown opened up only a block away. I joined in June and have loved it!
Favorite WOD: Call me crazy but I like WODs with pull ups.
Least Favorite WOD: Any AMRAP.
Three words to describe you: God, Family, Work
Tell us about your sports & fitness background: I played varsity tennis, wrestling, soccer and football in high-school. Even managed to be selected for GA All-State Football in 1994. After that high point, I went to college and basically stopped doing anything that closely resembled exercise. About 10 years ago I reached a peak of slothfulness and finally decided to get moving. I enjoyed spinning and exercise classes until I heard about CrossFit.
How did you first get exposed to CrossFit? Take us back to your first WOD… what was it, and how did it feel?
I went in on a Saturday and the WOD was “Fight Gone Bad”. I gave it my all, was beat by most of the girls and still nearly croaked. No really. Turns out I had “rhabdomyolysis”, which is where muscle fibers are damaged and released into the bloodstream, often causing kidney damage. Seems that it’s often seen in 30+ year old guys who think they’re still 18. I haven’t done Fight Gone Bad since!
What sort of changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting CF? I can carry my 9 and 6 year old kids around the house while dodging our barking dog.
What sort of changes in your life have you experienced out of taking on something like CrossFit that were totally unexpected? I have more confidence in all aspects of life and have met some really great, interesting people.
Any advice for people just getting started? You will second guess your decision to start CrossFitting for the first few weeks. Don’t give up! Follow your instructor’s guidance. Push yourself every day and you will soon be missing the days you can’t make it into CFM!
What are your hobbies, interests and/or talents outside of CrossFit? Living my life for Jesus Christ and spending as much quality time as possible with my wife and kids. I also enjoy bird hunting and scuba diving.
What did you eat today? Well, I thought about eating 3 cookies but I only ate one. That counts as progress–right, Lis?!
Do you follow the paleo or primal lifestyle? What is your nutrition philosophy? No. I might try it one day but for now I eat healthy “family” meals with lots of chicken, fish, veggies, nuts…and cookies.

Labor Day Weekend

CFM is open for Labor Day… please check out the following schedule updates:
Saturday, September 1 – regular scheduled classes at 10 & 11 am
Sunday, September 2 – Hooverball at 10 am, Piedmont Park sand volleyball courts
Monday, September 3 – regular classes cancelled. Join Jeremy for open gym from 10am-12noon.

Workout of the Day

A. 10 minutes to a heavy power clean single
B. Deadlift: 3 sets of 15, 2 min rest
C. Three rounds:
8 Kettlebell Single Leg Deadlift R, 30 sec rest
8 Kettlebell Single Leg Deadlift L, 30 sec rest
8 Glute-Ham Raises, 30 sec rest

TUES 08.28.12 Athlete Profile: KERRY M. Read More »

Member survey

Thanks to everyone who already completed the member survey emailed out yesterday. As you probably noticed, CrossFit Midtown is growing! So we’re constantly making changes to accommodate the growth and make sure CFM continues to be an awesome place to train. We’ll be modifying the schedule some for the month of August, just to test out a few new class times and see what works. We’re also ordering more equipment, which will be arriving in waves over the next month…including…drumroll…additional rowers, AirDynes, pull up bars, climbing ropes, barbells and more!
If you haven’t already filled out the survey, please do so, and give as much detail as possible when responding. It’s ONLY NINE QUESTIONS! Thanks for your feedback in making CFM better and better!
Email Lis if you didn’t receive the survey.

Paleo Diet

What is this paleo diet you CrossFitters speak of? I know, I know, CrossFit has a language of its own… *WOD, AMRAP, 3RM*… PALEO.
Here at CFM, our goal is to educate you about making healthier life choices, beginning with being active, but also in other parts of life – like your food choices. Take advantage of the resources we offer to learn more about eating better, so you can look, feel and perform better on a daily basis.
Library – did you know CFM has a library of books on various topics, including the paleo and primal diets? Ask a staff member how you can “check out” a book like Mark Sisson’s The Primal Blueprint, Robb Wolf’s The Paleo Solution, Melissa & Dallas Hartwig’s It Starts with Food, and many more.
Nutrition counseling – did you know your membership includes basic nutrition counseling? Once a month, you can send Lis a three-day food log to get her evaluation and feedback. Email Lis and she’ll send you the Google document for you to track everything you eat/drink, moods, sleep and activity over three days.
Paleo Night at Urban Pl8 – it’s next week. Join us Tuesday night, 7/31 at 8:30 pm for a delicious four-course paleo meal at Urban Pl8, to see how delicious paleo eating can be! Sign up for dinner in the gym or by emailing Alicia.
Food as Fuel – Saturday, August 11th, 12-1:30 – free to members, $25 for guests. We offer this workshop every other month to help you make better nutrition choices, teach you grocery shopping tips, what to order at a restaurant and other ways to make eating WHOLE FOODS a habit.

***CrossFit acronyms decoded: WOD – Workout of the Day; AMRAP – As many rounds/reps as possible; 3RM – 3 rep max (in weightlifting, the maximum amount of weight you can lift for three consecutive repetitions).

Bri, Carolyn and Matt C on power cleans.

Workout of the Day

3 sets of 10 strict press, rest 3:00
3 Rds (1 minute round, 1 minute rest):
5 wall balls
10 kb swings
20 double unders or singles
4 min rest
3 more rounds (1 minute round, 1 minute rest):
5 wall balls
10 kb swings
20 double unders or singles

-Select medicine ball, kettlebell and jump rope modifications based on a goal of a 1:00 round.
-If you cannot complete 20 double unders unbroken (or with no more than 1 break), do singles.
-If you do singles, you will complete 5 wall balls, 10 kettlebell swings, and then jump rope for the remainder of the minute.

-After each round, rest one minute… with the exception of round 3 (four minutes rest between Rd 3 & Rd 4). Complete six total rounds.

Don’t worry, we’ll explain in class!

WED 07.25.12 Read More »

Grand Opening Celebration

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 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

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 50 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. I expect you all to be practicing in your offices today. DO IT!

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!

Dontcha wanna be Stronger, Faster and Healthier?

John from Stronger, Faster, Healthier will be here this weekend with some post-WOD protein and fish oil samples for you to try! Are you wicked sore since starting CrossFit? A good fish oil supplement will drastically reduce your inflammation and aid recovery. Try some this weekend… we have SFH Fish Oil in Vanilla, Tangerine, Lemon, Mint, and my personal favorite, Chocolate.

SundaySundaySunday

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

WELCOME to Brianne, Erin and Marshall!

WELCOME to brand new members Kerry and Anna (KILLING the power cleans this AM). Great work guys!

Workout of the Day

Perform 2-3 Power Cleans on the minute for 15 minutes.
*Start the clock. At the top of every minute perform 2 Power Cleans. If you are working with less than 3/4 body weight, do an extra rep each minute (3 instead of 2).
*Use a maximal weight. 80% – 85% of 1 RM
*For every rep not completed, perform 5 burpees during rest time.

Thurs 06.14.12 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!