Michael Aaron

Those poor plates…

We have an epidemic lately of 10# & 15# plates splitting in half, so we’re kicking off the new SAVE THE BUMPERS awareness campaign, immediately.
I KNOW taking weight overhead gets heavy. But from now on, no matter how fatigued you are, when your barbell is loaded with only 10# or 15# bumper plates, please escort it back to the ground.
Do not drop it from overhead and leave that poor bumper plate to fend for itself against the mean ole hard floor.
Then your coach has to take the pieces of that poor plate and put them in Lis’s office. And then Lis comes in and stumbles over it, almost breaking her neck, only to realize yet another of her beloved bumper plates has gone to an early grave.
Bless their little bumper hearts.

Congrats to Marvin who got his muscle up Wednesday night after a mere five minutes of prep with Coach Raul. Get it!

Today’s schedule

6a: All Levels CrossFit- Dyer
7a: All Levels CrossFit- Dyer
8a: Open Gym- Lis
12n: All Levels CrossFit- Lis
4p: All Levels CrossFit- Jim
5p: All Levels CrossFit- Jim
6p: All Levels CrossFit- Jim

Workout of the Day (WOD)

13.1: Do as much of the following as possible in 17 minutes-
Proceed through the sequence below completing as many reps as possible in 17 minutes of:
40 Burpees
30 snatches 75/45#
30 Burpees
30 snatches 135/75
20 Burpees
30 snatches 165/100
10 burpees
As many snatches as possible at 210/120

And coming tomorrow…

A. Skill work: 10 minutes of practice on PISTOLS (one-legged squats)
B. Partner workout: 3000m Row* (partners switch every 500m)
*Non-rowing partner does as many rounds & reps as possible while partner rows:
10 Pull Ups
15 Ab Mat Sit-Ups
20 Thrusters (95/65)

***For score, take total time to row the 3000m, then subtract :45 per round of AMRAP completed (subtract :01 per rep).

FRI 01.10.14 SAVE THE BUMPERS! Read More »

Quarterly Progress Checks are the week of Jan 27!

If you’ve been at CFM awhile, you know what that means… if you’re new, this is the time each quarter when we retest a few different metcons, and max out on several lifts, including clean & jerk, snatch, back squat, strict press and deadlift.
This is an important week to measure your progress and see how far you’ve come since starting CrossFit. It’s also good to retest your max lifts since our strength training is usually based on a percentage of your 1-rep max.
Just in case you needed some motivation to get back in here and get after it, there it is! If you got out of your exercise routine over the holidays, this gives you a few weeks to get back in the swing of things before retesting.

Anastasiya, Wes, Anna and the rest of Monday’s noon crew

Today’s schedule

6a: All Levels CrossFit- Lis
7a: All Levels CrossFit- Lis
8a: Open Gym- Lis
12n: All Levels CrossFit- Lis
4p: Open Gym- Lis
5p: All Levels CrossFit- Ben
6p: All Levels CrossFit- Ben
7p: All Levels CrossFit- Lis
8p: Open Gym- Lis

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A1. Bench press: 5@65%, 5@70%, 5@75%, 5@80% of 1-rep max
A2. Ring rows: 4 sets of 8
B. As many rounds & reps as possible in 12 minutes:
20 double unders or 60 singles
15 hollow rocks
10 box jumps

And coming tomorrow…

THURS 01.09.14 Quarterly progress checks at the end of the month! Read More »

The CrossFit Open starts February 27th

The CrossFit Open is the online qualifier for the CrossFit Games Regionals competition. Each week, for five weeks, a workout will be announced and athletes will have four days to complete & submit a score for that workout.
The first Open workout will be released on Thursday, Feb. 27. The fifth and final Open workout will be released five weeks later on Thursday, March 27.
Whether or not you choose to register online & pay the entry fee, if you train at CFM on Saturdays during the Open, you’ll get to do the workouts & see how you stack up against other athletes around the world.
If you’re competing in the Open, a judge will count your reps & verify your score for submission online. After the Open, the top 48 men, top 48 women, and top 30 teams in the Southeast will be invited to compete at Regionals in Jacksonville in May. Then the top athletes at Regionals will compete at the CrossFit Games in July.
There is also a Masters division for athletes over 40, with slightly different qualifying standards (details here).
For a taste of what Open workouts are like, we’ll be doing the workouts from last year on Fridays leading up to the 2014 Open… Beginning with 13.1 (burpees & snatches!) this Friday.
Get ready!

Congrats to Sarah M on a deadlift PR last night. She pulled 200#!

Today’s schedule

6a: All Levels CrossFit- Rebecca
7a: All Levels CrossFit- Rebecca
8a: Open Gym- Lis
12n: All Levels CrossFit- Amy
4p: Open Gym- Jim
5p: All Levels CrossFit- Lis
6p: All Levels CrossFit- Lis
7p: All Levels CrossFit- Raul
7p: Group Intro- Lis
8p: Open Gym- Raul

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Skill work: 10 minutes your choice of rings skill work: muscle ups, static holds, L sits, skin the cats, dips, ring push ups, etc
B. Row: 5x500m repeats
Rest 3:00 between efforts
Shoot for consistent times

And coming tomorrow…

WED 01.08.14 The 2014 CrossFit Open Read More »

Bring A Friend Day

The next Bring A Friend Day is next Thursday, Jan 16. We’ll do a partner workout that day, so invite your friends, family & co-workers to join any class that day for a workout… Including 8:15p yoga with Samantha!

We hope you had a great holiday season! If you didn’t receive a CFM holiday card via snail mail, please let us know so we can update your mailing address on file!

Today’s schedule

6a: All Levels CrossFit- Dan
7a: All Levels CrossFit- Dan
8a: Open Gym- Lis
12n: All Levels CrossFit- Lis
4p: Open Gym- Jim
5p: All Levels CrossFit- Lis
6p: All Levels CrossFit- Lis
7p: All Levels CrossFit- Lis
8p: Open Gym- Lis

Welcome back Coach Dan!

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Snatch: 2-2-2-2-2
B. 5 rounds for time:
10 walking lunges (5 ea leg)
10 Russian kettlebell swings 70/53
10 hand-release push ups

And coming tomorrow…

TUES 01.07.13 Bring a Friend Day is Thurs 1/16 Read More »

Big 2014 goals:

by Coach Lis
Just like every month, we’ve erased the Goals board at the gym & there’s a blank slate just waiting for everyone to add new goals for the month & the year. Think of it as your community accountability partner. That goal will be up there all month, encouraging you to get after it with every training session!
I’ve got some big goals to post on the board that I also want to share here on the blog, using you guys as my unofficial accountability partners moving into 2014.
This year I’ll be stepping back from the day-to-day operations of CrossFit Midtown to explore a few of my other passions… business coaching & personal training.
I’ll still be coaching classes, leading intros & training regularly at CFM. I’m also starting a local business coaching group to help Atlanta area CrossFit affiliates & other small gyms become better businesses. And I’ll be doing some personal training at CFM & around the Atlanta area.
I often marvel at the power of the CrossFit rumor mill & the awesome stories I hear about myself! So I just want to set the record straight that I am NOT leaving CrossFit Midtown. I’m still part owner of this business & will continue to be an active part of this community I love so much.
This month we’ll be hiring a full-time Operations Manager to take CFM to the next level.
If you want more details on the Operations Manager position (maybe you know someone who’s a great fit!?!), or have any feedback or questions at all for me, please email me or snag me at the box.
What are your big goals for 2014? Post in the comments!

Congrats to all who set & achieved goals in December. Post your new ones at the box this week!

Today’s schedule

6a: All Levels CrossFit- Rebecca
7a: All Levels CrossFit- Rebecca
8a: Open Gym- Lis
12n: All Levels CrossFit- Lis
4p: Open Gym- Jim
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. Back squat: 5 @ 65%, 5@70%, 5@75%, 5@80% of 1-rep max
B. As many rounds & reps as possible in 12 minutes:
10 lateral box jumps 24/20″
12 wall balls 20/14#
14 abmat situps

And coming tomorrow…

A. Snatch: 2-2-2-2-2
B. 5 rounds for time:
10 walking lunges (5 ea leg)
10 Russian kettlebell swings 70/53
10 hand-release push ups

MON 01.06.13 Big 2014 goals Read More »

Full house with 17 people in the 5p class last night. Great way to start the new year!

Today’s schedule

7a: All Levels CrossFit- Beka
8a: Open Gym- Beka
5p: All Levels CrossFit & Open Gym- Amy
6p: All Levels CrossFit & Open Gym- Amy

Workout of the Day (WOD)

“Grace”:
For time –
30 clean & jerks 135/95#

Deciding between Scaled or Rx? Or debating how to scale the weight? Shoot to finish in under 8 minutes. Use between 50-65% of your clean & jerk one-rep max.

Holiday Travel Workout

Death by 10 meters (shuttle run):
In minute 1, sprint 10m.
Minute 2: sprint down & back (10m x2).
Minute 3: 10m x3… Continue adding another 10m shuttle run until you cannot complete all the runs within the minute

FRI 1.3.14 Last day of holiday schedule! Read More »

Monday’s 7a crew working hard on “DT”

Today’s schedule

7a: All Levels CrossFit- Beka
8a: Open Gym- Beka
5p: All Levels CrossFit & Open Gym- Beka
6p: All Levels CrossFit & Open Gym- Beka

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Back Squat: 3@70%, 3@80%, 3@90%
B. For time: 1000m Row
-then-
21-15-9
Russian Kettlebell Swings (70, 53#)
Burpees

And coming tomorrow…

“Grace”:
For time –
30 clean & jerks 135/95#

Deciding between Scaled or Rx? Or debating what to scale the weight to? – Shoot to finish in under 8 minutes. Use between 50-65% of your clean & jerk one-rep max.

Holiday Travel Workout

3 rounds for max reps:
Max unbroken push ups, rest 1 min
max reps hollow rocks, rest 1 min
max reps mountain climbers, rest 1 min
max reps supermans, rest 1 min

For each movement, go to failure, then rest 1 minute and move on to the next exercise.
Repeat for three total rounds.
Post reps to comments.

THURS 1.2.14 Limited schedule today. Back to normal Saturday! Read More »

We wish you a healthy, happy 2014 full of big PRs, personal growth & love! Thanks to all of you for making CFM an amazing place to train since 2012. We look forward to many more amazing memories with you!

CFM is closed Tues & Wed.

We’ll reopen again Thurs at 7a! Have a safe & happy New Year’s Eve & Day!

Holiday Travel Workout

TUES:
5 rounds of max effort – handstand hold, then plank hold.
Score is total time in handstand & total time in plank hold.
Rest as needed.
Post score to comments.

WED:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 –
Squats
Walking lunges (10 ea leg, then 9 ea leg, etc)

And coming Thursday

A. Back Squat: 3@70%, 3@80%, 3@90%
B. For time: 1000m Row
-then-
21-15-9
Russian Kettlebell Swings (70, 53#)
Burpees

TUES & WED 12.31.13 & 01.01.14 Happy New Year! Read More »

cassieteaka’s video on Instagram

Embed by embedinstagram.com

Congrats to Alyssa on getting her first strict pull up (and then 5 MORE!) back on 12/20

Today’s schedule

7a: All Levels CrossFit- Beka
8a: Open Gym- Beka
5p: All Levels CrossFit & Open Gym- Ben
6p: All Levels CrossFit & Open Gym- Ben

Workout of the Day (WOD)

“DT” – 5 rounds of:
12 Deadlifts 1155/105#
9 Hang Power Cleans
6 Push Jerks
Use same bar for all lifts.

CLOSED TOMORROW & WED

And coming Thursday

A. Back Squat:

3@70%, 3@80%, 3@90%
B. For time: 1000m Row
-then-
21-15-9
Russian Kettlebell Swings (70, 53#)
Burpees

Holiday Travel Workout

Tabata:
Do 8 rounds of each movement-
:20 work, :10 rest for max reps…
Squat
sit up
push up
mountain climber

MON 12.30.13 Congrats on your first pull up Alyssa! Read More »

Congrats to CFM alumni Amanda & Adam on getting engaged this week! Amanda will be back training with us next month, so congratulate the happy bride-to-be when you see her!

Today’s schedule

7a: All Levels CrossFit – Tirzah
8a: Open Gym – Tirzah
5p: All Levels CrossFit & Open Gym- Amy
6p: All Levels CrossFit & Open Gym- Amy

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. 10 min goat work
B. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of:
Deadlifts (60% of 1RM)
Burpee Box Jumps 24/20

And coming tomorrow…

Dirty Girls Mash Up
Complete in teams of 2 (split the work however you choose)
“Fran”:
21-15-9 reps of
Thrusters 95/65
Pull ups
THEN –
“Diane”
21-15-9 reps of
Deadlifts
Handstand Push ups
THEN –
“Grace”
30 Clean and Jerks 135/95