Michael Aaron

Best. Summer. Ever.

As I laid at the pool Sunday until almost 8pm with FULL SUN, it hit me that summer is here. All the good – pool & lake time, sunshine, afternoons at the park… and the bad – thunderstorms, mosquitoes, muggy days (and nights!) are here to stay for the next few months.
At CFM, we’ve got lots in store for you: the Helen Challenge, another CFM Happy Hour each month, Quarterly Progress checks in July, another Food as Fuel session in August, some fun with our neighbors Fab’rik & Big Peach Running Co and more Olympic Lifting awesomeness with Cheryl Haworth.
I’m personally looking forward to seeing everyone’s progress with the Helen Challenge. I’m also gonna finish settling into my new apartment, take a few weeks vacation next month (part work – USAPL Nationals, the CrossFit Games & a BIZ seminar… and part play – visiting my family & hitting the beach!), and celebrate my birthday in August!
What are your plans for summer? What’s important to you between now and Labor Day? Let us know what’s important to you this season. Post in the comments. How will you make this your best summer ever?

Congrats to Big Dan F & his wife Nancy on the birth of their BIG 10# BOY, John Jackson, born 6.24.13!

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Back squat 3-3-3+
B. 6 rounds for time –
5 Handstand push ups
5 Lateral box jump L (step down)
5 Lateral box jump R (step down)
Rest 1 minute between rounds

And coming tomorrow…

A. Max reps chin up: 3 sets, rest 5 min between sets (DO MOBILITY WORK DURING BREAKS)
B. Rope climbs: 10 min of skillwork
C. Time trial: 2k row

WED 06.26.13 Summa’ summa’ summatime Read More »

Schedule updates

This Saturday’s 10 & 11a classes will be cancelled for the To Helen Back Summer Challenge Prelims. if you’re not doing the Challenge (you can still register!), your only training option Saturday will be in the 9a class.
CFM will be closed on Thursday, July 4th. Friday, July 5th AM classes are also cancelled… So your training options on 7/5 will be 12n, 4p, 5p & 6p. Sat & Sun, 7/6 & 7/7, will be a regular schedule.
We’re discontinuing Ninja Training for the time being. But stay tuned for details on a few running workshops to help your Helen times!

Gymnastics class is tonight at 8:

Skill: Handstand Review – Holds, Push-Ups, Walks
Workout: For Time, 10-8-6-4-2 reps of –
Air Squat
Burpees
Superman Rocks
Push Ups
Candlestick Pistol Rolls

Krystol crushing cleans at last fall’s AAL competition.

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. 3-position clean: 10 rounds, every minute on the minute. Use last week’s high hang clean weight OR 50% of your clean one-rep max.
B. “Elizabeth”
21-15-9
Cleans 135/95
Ring dips

And coming tomorrow…

A. Back squat 3-3-3+
B. 6 rounds for time –
5 Handstand push ups
5 Lateral box jump L (step down)
5 Lateral box jump R (step down)
Rest 1 minute between rounds

TUES 6.25.13 Schedule updates Read More »

Matt getting a muscle up on his first attempt Friday…in his first week of CrossFit!

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Deadlift 3-3-3+
B. 12 min AMRAP –
10 atomic situps
10 overhead walking lunge steps
10 burpees, jump to plate

And coming tomorrow…

A. 3-position clean 10 EMOM
B. “Elizabeth”
21-15-9
Cleans 135/95
Ring dips

MON 06.24.13 Read More »

Happy Friday!

Join the CFM community this weekend for several active options:
Saturday classes 9 10 11a
Saturday Olympic Lifting Open Gym w Cheryl, 12n-2p
Sunday Hooverball at Piedmont Park Active Oval, 9-11a
Sunday Free Park WOD at Piedmont Park Active Oval, 10a
Sunday class at 12n & Open Gym w Dyer 1-2p
Sunday yoga with Beth at 6p
Have a great weekend!

Carl Paoli - muscle up prog. — Beka, Carlos and Cassie attended Carl Paoli’s Freestyle Connection Movement Seminar a few weeks ago… here are a few photos of Carl teaching the muscle up progression. Focus on driving your hips up!

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Front Squat: 3-3-3+
B. 10 min snatch skill work
C. Amanda:
For time – 9-7-5
Snatch 135/95#
Muscle Ups

*Sub 3 ring dips & 3 chest-to-bar pull ups for each muscle up.

And coming tomorrow…

A. Strength: Make up a lift you missed this week.
B. Team WOD: In teams of 4, rotate through all stations 4 times… Don’t rotate until all teammates are finished:
1. 20 box jumps
2. 20 wall balls
3. 200 meter row
4. 20 hand-release push ups

FRI 6.21.13 Happy Friday! Read More »

She’s kind of a big deal

Okay. I can’t stop gushing. Cheryl. Mother. Effing. Haworth. is part of the CFM community (google it, bro… Best female US O-lifter there is). Her fiancé Kalin is also pretty cool.
Cheryl is leading another Olympic Lifting Open Gym session this Saturday from 12-2. This caliber of O-Lifting athlete/coach is very rare in our WHOLE freaking country. I hope you guys will take advantage of this resource someday soon. See you Saturday!

Congrats to Casey on getting her first pistols in yesterday’s workout!

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Press: 3-3-3+
B. 3 rounds for total time & load: 3 heavy unbroken push press
6 heavy unbroken kettlebell swings
30 double unders (sub 90 singles)
Rest 3 minutes between rounds

And coming tomorrow…

A. Front Squat: 3-3-3+
B. 10 min snatch skill work
C. Amanda:
For time – 9-7-5
Snatch 135/95#
Muscle Ups

THURS 06.20.13 Open Gym Sat w Cheryl! Read More »

Wed specialty class reminders:

Yoga at 12n with Beth & remember Uran’s weekly rowing class is cancelled. We’re working on a rowing event, so stay tuned for details soon!

No, that’s not Luigi, that is Dan. The. Man.

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Weighted pull up: 3-3-3+
B. Goat work: 10 minutes to work on a skill of your choice
C. 5 rounds for time:
3 wall climbs
10 pistols (5 ea leg)

And coming tomorrow…

A. Press: 3-3-3+
B. 3 rounds for total time & load: 3 heavy unbroken push press
6 heavy unbroken kettlebell swings
30 double unders (sub 90 singles)
Rest 3 minutes between rounds

WED 06.19.13 Read More »

Grab a Kelapo coconut oil sample at the box this week!

The generous folks at Kelapo sent us some coconut oil samples to share with the CFM community, so come & get ’em!
If you’re new to the Paleo diet or haven’t yet attended a Food as Fuel workshop, you may not realize that CFM recommends you eat a diet of meat & vegetables, nuts & berries, some fruit, little starch & no sugar. That, my friends, is the Paleo diet in a (coco)nut shell.
But seriously, if I have to retrain one more former low-fat dieter’s brain that THE RIGHT FATS ARE GOOD FOR YOU, I’m gonna scream. Eat more fat, people!
And coconut is one of the best fats for you. It’s my favorite cooking oil. And for the CFMasseuses out there, it also makes a lovely massage oil. Hubba hubba.
Read more about it from Dr. Mercola here, or for the click-thru lazies out there, I’ll bring an excerpt directly to you:
According to Nubo Beauty, coconut oil is also nature’s richest source of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), also called medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs. By contrast, most common vegetable or seed oils are comprised of long chain fatty acids (LCFAs), also known as long-chain triglycerides or LCTs.
LCTs are large molecules, so they are difficult for your body to break down and are predominantly stored as fat.
But MCTs, being smaller, are easily digested and immediately burned by your liver for energy — like carbohydrates, but without the insulin spike. MCTs actually boost your metabolism and help your body use fat for energy, as opposed to storing it, so it can actually help you become leaner.
That’s right, fat can help you get leaner! So snag a sample at the box and sauté up some veggies with it… Or give that lucky someone a massage. Thanks Kelapo!

Lee M crushing Fight Gone Bad back during Bring-A-Friend Days

TONIGHT: Ninja Run Club at 7 & Gymnastics class at 8!

Gymnastics class –
Skill: Handstands & handstand walk progressions
Workout:
4 rounds for quality of :
10 chin up L-hold on bar
5 push ups
6 rope pull ups (3 each arm)

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. High hang clean: 2-2-2-2-2
B. As many rounds & reps as possible in 12 minutes:
5 Kettlebell snatch R
5 Kettlebell snatch L
10 burpees

And coming tomorrow…

A. Weighted pull up: 3-3-3+
B. Goat work: 10 minutes to work on a skill of your choice
C. 5 rounds for time:
3 wall climbs
10 pistols (5 ea leg)

TUES 06.18.13 Free coconut oil! Read More »

To Helen Back shirt order deadline today

Recommit to your training this summer by participating in our Summer Challenge as we take on “Helen”:
3 rounds for time –
400m run
21 kettlebell swings
12 pull ups
You decide to participate at the scaled, Rx or Rx+ levels. On June 29th, we’ll do our preliminary testing. Then we’ll bust our butts in the gym over the next six weeks, with some specialized programming focused on improving our running, kettlebell swings and pull ups. We retest Helen again on August 10th at the Challenge Finals, doing the exact same version of Helen you did at prelims. Prizes will be awarded in all three divisions for most improved & fastest times.
For $30, you can get in the game with a chance to win cash and other awesome prizes! And we’ll cap it all off with our Finals Party that afternoon.
Challengers also score a Tshirt (ladies get a choice of tank or T), access to weekly Ninja Run Club sessions to work on your running form (without counting toward your weekly attendance!), and bonus skill sessions.
Register by the end of the day today online or at the box to guarantee yourself a shirt. Let’s all go TO HELEN BACK!
***In case you have conflicts with the Challenge dates, don’t fret! We’ll also offer some makeup testing dates for those who can’t attend on 6/29 & 8/10.

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Back squat: 3-3-3+
B. “Michael”:
3 rounds for time –
800m run
50 situps
50 back extensions or supermans

And coming tomorrow…

A. High hang clean: 2-2-2-2-2
B. As many rounds & reps as possible in 12 minutes:
5 Kettlebell snatch R
5 Kettlebell snatch L
10 burpees

MON 06.17.13 To Helen Back shirt orders due today! Read More »

Food as Fuel recap

We had a great showing for last night’s Food as Fuel session. The basis of the paleo diet: eat meat & vegetables, nuts & seeds, little starch, some fruit and no sugar.
After you master those basics, I shared my TOP 6 NUTRITION RULES TO REACH YOUR GOALS:
1. Drink more water.
2. Drink less booze. When you do drink booze, stick to red wine or clear liquor mixed with with club soda or water. Sawwwwwy beer snobs. DISCLAIMER: alcohol is still broken down as sugar in your body. And it’s a neurotoxin, so if you wonder why you’re so depressed/anxious/ADD after a bender of a weekend, MAYBE it’s the booze (But maybe it’s also all the $ you spent. I digress).
3. Sleep 8 hours in a cool, dark room. If you have trouble with this, try winding down earlier, turn off the TV/computer/smartphone, turn down the lights and try a natural supplement that includes magnesium sulfate, melatonin, zinc and/or GABA… different stuff works for everyone.
4. Eat breakfast. It doesn’t have to be “breakfast food.” I often eat dinner for breakfast. Eff all that breakfast for dinner noise. Unless it’s bacon. Bacon goes with every meal.
5. Then throw in a few supplements: fish oil, vitamin D3, probiotics & digestive enzymes.
6. Post-workout is NOT the time to skimp on calories. Get some protein into your system within 45 minutes… preferably a high quality supplement like SFH.

Rowing class is taking the summer off

We’re gonna give Uran a few months off to make way for you guys to take advantage of our Tuesday Ninja Training & Gymnastics classes. But we have a super fun rowing event in the works for the fall, so stay tuned for details!

FREE PARK WOD SUNDAY AT 10a!

Join the Instructor Training Program students for a free park WOD in the Active Oval at Piedmont Park on Sunday morning.

Matt C won these abdominal muscles in last year’s Summer Challenge. You could be CFM’s next abtastic member. Register by Monday & you also get an awesome new CFM shirt!

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Deadlift: 3-3-3+
B. 10 min goat work
C. Grace:
30 clean & jerks for time 135/95#

And coming tomorrow…TEAM WORKOUT

Team Chipper:
20 hands-behind-head abmat sit ups (strict: don’t swing arms for momentum)
20 supermans
20 air squats
20 double unders (sub 20 burpees)
20 kettlebell swings 53/35
20 pull ups
20 hand-release push ups (MODIFY WITH BAND ON HIPS)
20 mountain climbers
20 walking lunge steps
200m row
Teammate 1 starts at station 1. Teammate 2 goes to station 1 once teammate 1 moves on to station 2. Teammate 3 goes to station 1 once teammate 3 moves to station 2 and teammate 1 moves to station 3. Teammate 4 moves to station 1 once teammate 3 moves to station 2 and teammate 2 moves to station 3 and teammate 1 moves to station 4. Athletes cannot advance stations until station in front is clear.

FRI 06.13.13 Food as Fuel recap Read More »

Join the Summer Challenge!

Need a way to recommit to training this summer? It’s time for our Summer Challenge – a six-week event during which we’ll test & then retest “Helen”, a benchmark workout with running, kettlebell swings & pull ups.
On Saturday, June 29th, we’ll hold our prelims event when everyone will do Helen. Then over the six weeks that follow, we’ll offer a few skill workshops and do some specialized programming to improve your Helen score. On Saturday, August 10th, we retest Helen again, give prizes to the most improved & fastest players, AND throw a nice lil party afterward to celebrate!
Get in the game: $30 gets you a tshirt, access to Lindsay’s weekly Ninja Run Club each week (without using one of your weekly classes, so you can work on your form fo’ free!), a chance to win cash & other prizes, and invite to the Finals party!
Register HERE or in the box by Monday to get your shirt!