WOD

Help us update the CFM website!

CFM is less than a year old, but we’ve already heard so many success stories of our students getting stronger, leaner, braver, and mastering all sorts of skills like double unders and pull ups! We’re adding some testimonials to the web page to help visitors understand the awesomeness that happens inside our box on a daily basis. If you’re willing to let us share your CFM story, please email it to Tirzah. Thanks in advance!

Upcoming Events

Beginner classes with Coach Cassie: We’re already two classes in. Join Coach Cassie now on Tues & Thurs at 8pm and Sat morning at 9 for a focus on fundamentals as well as a workout!
SUNDAYS! Starting FEBRUARY 3rd, join Coach Dyer for Open Gym from 12n-2p. This class will have supervised coaching, but won’t have a structured group warm-up. Show up and tell us what you want to work on, and we’ll help you select a good workout or skillwork to achieve your goals!
Yoga on Weds @ noon! Join Beth in the front room on Wednesdays at noon for yoga, starting Feb 6th. Thursday night yoga at 8:15 with Monica will also continue. Yoga is free with your CFM membership, so all students are welcome to attend… it doesn’t count as one of your weekly visits.
Ayurveda workshop with Anna Russ: Sat, Feb 2nd, 12n-2p. More details below…
Quarterly Progress Checks: Don’t miss the week of Feb 4-8th at CFM! We’ll be retesting the Baseline, maxing on several lifts, as well as doing a few other benchmark workouts. AND OH YEAH: Goal setting! We’ll reflect on the past quarter and set some new goals to crush over the next three months.
Mardi Gras WOD: Join us on Fat Tuesday, February 12th at 8pm. This WOD is open to the public so bring a friend if you wish. It won’t count as one of your weekly visits. The Beginner’s class will be cancelled on Fat Tuesday, but everyone is welcome to join the party (all levels!) and LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULER!
Bring a Friend Days are coming back at the end of February. Bring a buddy along to class on Thursday, Feb 28, Friday, March 1 & Saturday, March 2 for a partner or team workout suitable for all fitness levels.

Finding Your Zone:

A Lifestyle Overhaul using Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science
Are you in a winter funk? Ever feel out-of-balance or so stressed out and overwhelmed you just don’t know what to do?
Has it ever occurred to you that self-care (taking time to nourish and nurture your body) will enhance your quality of life and improve your well-being?
Ayurveda, the science of self-healing, will teach you about your natural tendencies, how to tune into what your body needs, and how those needs change throughout the seasons of the year and various times of life. Anna Russ will lead us through a two-hour workshop with a basic Ayurveda overview on the following topics:
-Passion = Purpose
-Focusing on You!
-Nutrition for the mind, body and soul
-Taking your fitness to the next level
-Stress management tools for work and home
This workshop lasts two hours and costs $20 for CFM members and $30 for guests. Read more about Anna & register here.

New student Tish, Lis, and new student Kimberly work through the push up madness in Cassie’s Beginner class Thursday night.

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Deadlift: 8 reps every 90sec, 7 rounds
B1. 8min to find Press 1 rep max: Rest 2 minutes, then complete B2.
B2. Tabata pushups for reps:
8 rounds of :20 push ups, :10 rest. Count total reps. Rest 2 minutes, then complete B3.
B3. Kettlebell swings: As many reps as possible in 4 minutes at 53/35#

And coming tomorrow…

A. Squat clean: In 15 minutes, work up to a heavy squat clean triple
B. 5 rounds for time:
12 thrusters 95/65#
18 box jumps 24/20″

MON 01.28.13 Read More »

February is upon us!

We’ve got lots of great things in store next month, and we kicked off some of them early:
Beginner classes with Coach Cassie: We’re already two classes in. Join Coach Cassie now on Tues & Thurs at 8pm and Sat morning at 9 for a focus on fundamentals as well as a workout!
SUNDAYS! Starting FEBRUARY 3rd, join Coach Dyer for Open Gym from 12n-2p. This class will have supervised coaching, but won’t have a structured group warm-up. Show up and tell us what you want to work on, and we’ll help you select a good workout or skillwork to achieve your goals!
Yoga on Weds @ noon! Join Beth in the front room on Wednesdays at noon for yoga, starting Feb 6th. Thursday night yoga at 8:15 with Monica will also continue. Yoga is free with your CFM membership, so all students are welcome to attend… it doesn’t count as one of your weekly visits.
Ayurveda workshop with Anna Russ: Sat, Feb 2nd, 12n-2p. More details below…
Quarterly Progress Checks: Don’t miss the week of Feb 4-8th at CFM! We’ll be retesting the Baseline, maxing on several lifts, as well as doing a few other benchmark workouts. AND OH YEAH: Goal setting! We’ll reflect on the past quarter and set some new goals to crush over the next three months.
Mardi Gras WOD: Join us on Fat Tuesday, February 12th at 8pm. This WOD is open to the public so bring a friend if you wish. It won’t count as one of your weekly visits. The Beginner’s class will be cancelled on Fat Tuesday, but everyone is welcome to join the party (all levels!) and LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULER!
Bring a Friend Days are coming back at the end of February. Bring a buddy along to class on Thursday, Feb 28, Friday, March 1 & Saturday, March 2 for a partner or team workout suitable for all fitness levels.

Finding Your Zone:

Check out Fred, J-Herm, Calin, Jason & Colby crushing some push ups. It was awesome watching these guys motivate each other through the late rounds of yesterday’s push up extravaganza.

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Split Squat (w rear foot elevated): 4 sets of 8-10 @3010 tempo, every 4min
B. Handstand push ups: 4 sets of AMRAP(-2)* Rest 2 min between rounds
*AMRAP(-2)=two reps shy of as many reps as possible.
C. 6 rounds for time*:
15 pullups
10 air squats
*Change of plans since there’s a 50% chance of rain today. We’ll tackle “HELEN” next Friday instead!

And coming tomorrow…

9 am Beginner class, 10 am Partner WOD and 11 am Makeup WOD/Open Gym

Partner WOD: Partner 1 (P1) – 30 wall balls, 30 box jumps, 300m row. Partner 2 (P2) rests. Then P1/P2 switch for 10 total rounds or 5 rounds each.

FRI 01.25.13 Happy Animal Warm-Up Friday! Read More »

Cherish every moment

Recently, I’ve been working on being more mindful, enjoying each moment, being good to myself and being grateful for my friends, family, the CFM community and all my blessings. I challenge you to do the same. Don’t waste a day without counting your blessings, loving yourself, sharing your love and making someone smile. When I met with Anna Russ last week, she taught me about using Ayurveda to achieve these goals.
I am SO excited to have Anna join us at CFM next week to teach us to incorporate Ayurveda into our lives to achieve balance, feel better and enjoy life to its fullest!
BOLD STATEMENT: I predict this will be one of the best CFM events of the year. Top three. I know. It’s early in the year. That’s how sure I am this stuff can change your life. More details below…

Finding Your Zone:

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A1. Close Grip Bench Press: 4 rounds of 8-10 reps @2110 tempo, 60sec rest
A2. Weighted pullup OR pullup negatives: 4 rounds of 2-3 reps @2112 tempo, 2min rest
B. Every minute on the minute for 20 minutes:
odd – 15 pushups
even – 10 med ball slams

And coming tomorrow…

A. Split Squat (w rear foot elevated): 4 sets of 8-10 @3010 tempo, every 4min
B. Handstand push ups: 4 sets of AMRAP(-2)* Rest 2 min between rounds
*AMRAP(-2)=two reps shy of as many reps as possible.
C. “Helen”: 3 rounds for time of –
400m run
21 kettlebell swings 53/35
12 pull ups

THURS 01.24.13 Cherish every moment Read More »

Mental Toughness

by Uran
It’s pretty widely accepted among CrossFitters that in order to get in better shape, you have to put your body under stress. And since the human body will continually adapt to stress, the constantly-varied programming CrossFit offers keeps us on our toes and keeps our bodies working to get stronger and fitter. It wasn’t until I joined CFM, however, that I heard of “mental toughness”. I had no idea that some workouts were designed not only to be physically challenging, but to challenge your will to get through them as well.
Don’t get me wrong – I’ve definitely experienced my fair share of workouts where I’ve had a lengthy mental dialogue with myself on how there was no way I could finish, and at times, even convinced myself that I needed to quit. But it wasn’t until I looked at mental toughness as a component of fitness that I really started to see those dark moments as something I could improve. Suddenly, it wasn’t something random and uncontrollable. Just like learning a lift or a movement in the gym, it’s something that can be managed and practiced (if and when it does hit), and that’s pretty damn empowering. So the next time you’re in the middle of a particularly nasty WOD that feels like it will never end, remind yourself this is an opportunity to overcome a mental obstacle as well. It might just give you the push you need.

Lindsay leads warm-up… good luck to Lindsay & Dyer, heading to their CrossFit Level 1 Certification course this weekend at CrossFit Downtown ATL!

Workout of the Day

A. Front Squat: 5 rounds of 6-8 reps @3010 tempo, every 4min
B. Pistols (one-legged squats): As many reps as possible in 5 minutes. Rest 5 min, then…
C. Double unders: As many reps as possible in 10 minutes.
Not great at double unders? Do as many as you can, or sub singles.

And coming tomorrow…

A1. Close Grip Bench Press: 4 rounds of 8-10 reps @2110 tempo, 60sec rest
A2. Wtd Pullup OR Pullup negatives: 4 rounds of 2-3 reps @2112 tempo, 2min rest
B. Every minute on the minute for 20 minutes:
odd – 15 pushups
even – 10 med ball slams

WED 01.23.13 Read More »

I broke

That’s right. I gave in. I enjoyed a not-so-paleo brunch on Sunday, complete with two Irish coffees. And do I regret it? Not one bit. I’m working on putting less guilt/stress on myself. I had 20 days of strict paleo in there, and I won’t revert back to the gluttonous Holiday Lis I turned into for a few weeks back in December. Okay, today when I saw my bloated belly rather than those abs I was working on, YES! THEN I regretted it a little.
So WHY did I fold, you ask?
Last week, I meet with Anna, the Ayurveda consultant doing a workshop here in a few weeks, about some personal issues I’m having and how to achieve some balance in my life. She recommended that I go a little easier on myself, and until I work through some things, stop depriving myself or going to any “extremes”… this means taking a break from typical INTENSE CrossFit WODs in exchange for some more moderate activities. And it means relaxing my diet.
The science of Ayurveda encourages regular cleanses or detoxes, similar to the Whole 30… just nothing so extreme right in the dead of winter (or summer for that matter). So those of us working toward 30 days of strict paleo this month kind of have the moon & stars stacked against us, so to speak.
If you’ve already come this far, I’m not telling you to quit – just trying to explain why this time around & this time of year might be a little tougher to stick to a cleanse or a strict diet, when it’s gloomier outside and temperatures are colder than usual.
So who’s still staying strong? Wayne? Stella? Jason? DLP? 10 DAYS LEFT! Let us know who we can cheer to the finish!

Tiff <3 AirDyne

Workout of the Day

Power snatch:15min to find 5RM Power Snatch, touch & go
Every minute on the minute for 20 minutes:
Odd – 3 power snatch
Even – 2 muscle-ups OR 2 dips & 2 pull ups

And coming tomorrow…

TUES 01.22.13 10 DAYS TO GO! Read More »

CFM Beast Mode!

New CFM gear is in! We ordered more navy zip hoodies ($45) & these long-sleeved American Apparel BEAST MODE Ts ($30). If you pre-ordered, pick up your goods at the gym… we also ordered some extras! Water bottles & tech tees will be in by Monday.
LADIES: Stay tuned for pre-orders of our new I <3 SQUATS tanks, coming next week!

Workout of the Day

A. Deadlift 5 sets of reps every 4 minutes
How do you measure up with the CFMers on the CF main site on Monday?
B. CF Open WOD 12.5 & 11.6
As many rounds & reps as possible in 7 minutes:
3 thrusters 100/65
3 chest-to-bar pullups
6 thrusters 100/65
6 chest-to-bar pullups
9 thrusters
9 chest-to-bar pullups
… (continue increasing by 3s until time expires)

And coming tomorrow…

Partner Chelsea: Between you & your partner (one person works at a time), complete 5 pullups, 10 push ups & 15 air squats every minute on the minute for 30 minutes.
Scale up: wear a weight vest.

FRI 01.18.13 Read More »

Resolutions

by Urán

We’re fresh into 2013, and with the New Year comes New Year’s resolutions. Resolutions get a pretty bad rap, likely due to the fact that only about 8% of Americans keep them, but countless people still make them every year. Why? Because a new year brings hope. We’d all like to press a reset button from time to time, and the promise of a new year provides a wonderful opportunity to do just that. The problem is, most people think that they will magically wake up a different person on January 1st, and so their New Year’s resolutions lack any real resolve.
But it doesn’t have to be this way!
Here at CFM, you probably hear a lot of talk about goal-setting. It’s important to know what you’re committing to and why, but those things should and will change over the course of the year. Goals aren’t static, and they shouldn’t be set on a particular day with the only possible ends being achievement or failure. They should be revisited and altered often as needed to keep up with YOU, the ever-changing person who set them. They should be challenging, meaningful, measurable, and designed to create the life you want for yourself. So whether you call them goals or resolutions, I challenge you to make some. And if you’re feeling really bold, share them here on the blog!

Did you post your January goals yet?

Day 16 of Eat Clean January!

Getting sick of the same old recipes? Check out this post from Nom Nom Paleo, recapping the Whole 30 she did last year complete with a new paleo recipe for every day of the month. Have you discovered a new paleo recipe this month? PLEEEEEASE share the knowledge & post it below in the comments…

Workout of the Day

A. 4 rounds of Back Squat 8-10 reps @3010 tempo, every 3min
B. As many reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
BEGINNER – 75 kettlebell swings, 50 wall balls 20#/14#, 25 pull-ups
ADVANCED – 75 pwr snatch 75#/55#, 50 wall balls 20#/14#, 25 muscle-ups

And coming tomorrow…

As many rounds & reps as possible in 20 minutes
9 hand-release pushups
12 toes-to-bar
15 kettlebell swings 53#/35#

WED 01.16.13 Read More »

Get your ROW on!

Rowing class starts tonight at 7! There are only five spots in class, and three are already reserved. So if you want to check out Uran’s rowing class tonight, save your spot now in Zen Planner. If you can’t get a spot in class tonight, you’re welcome to join the fun next week. You’re not required to attend every week… as long as you reserve a spot, you’re welcome to drop in whenever you can make it to work on your rowing technique and get some interval or endurance work in.

Day 15 of Eat Clean January!

Holy smokes, I almost broke on Sunday! I REALLY wanted a margarita. But I refrained. Well I’ve got good news: if you made it this far without cracking, the Whole9’s Robin tells us that it’s smooth sailing from here on out! Check out her timeline for what to expect throughout the Whole30. And for the love of Gran Marnier, everyone PLEASE keep me away from tortilla chips and tequila for the next 16 days.

WOD demo & extended WOD footage videos from yesterday’s CrossFit HQ website. Top YouTube comment on this video: “Hey HQ, could we get a ‘Meet Woody Harris’ video? Thanks!”

Workout of the Day

A. Every 3 minutes for 5 rounds:1 push press & 3 push jerks
B. Power cleans:
Beginner –
5 power cleans every minute on the minute for 5 minutes

Intermediate –
As many reps as possible in 5 minutes of
15 power cleans at 95#/65#
15 power cleans at 125#/95#
15 power cleans at 155#/125#
15 power cleans at 185#/155#

Advanced –
As many reps as possible in 5 minutes of
15 power cleans at 135#/95#
15 power cleans at 185#/125#
15 power cleans at 235#/155#
15 power cleans at 285#/185#

And coming tomorrow…

TUES 01.15.13 Read More »

CFM is famous!

Check out the CrossFit HQ site today to see CrossFit Midtown featured doing the WOD demo of five sets of five deadlifts. Your friends Lis, Carlos, Lindsay, Walter, Woody & Cam are deadlifting supah-stars!

Day 14 of Eat Clean January!

So now that we’re getting exercise and nutrition down, what are the other factors that lead to a balanced, healthy life? Here’s what the Whole 9 considers when counseling clients on how to improve their lives.
The final results from today’s CFHQ WOD demo

Workout of the Day

A1. Front Squat Four rounds of 8-10 @3010 tempo
A2. Weighted pullup Four rounds of 3-4 @2112 tempo, 2min rest
As many rounds & reps as possible in 10 minutes of:
15 burpees
60 double unders (sub 120 singles)

And coming tomorrow…

A. Every 3 minutes for 5 rounds:1 push press & 3 push jerks
B. Power cleans:
Beginner –
5 power cleans every minute on the minute for 5 minutes

Intermediate –
As many reps as possible in 5 minutes of
15 power cleans at 95#/65#
15 power cleans at 125#/95#
15 power cleans at 155#/125#
15 power cleans at 185#/155#

Advanced –
As many reps as possible in 5 minutes of
15 power cleans at 135#/95#
15 power cleans at 185#/125#
15 power cleans at 235#/155#
15 power cleans at 285#/185#

MON 01.14.13 Read More »

CFM is gonna be famous!

Last month, after Lis won gold at her first powerlifting meet, CrossFit Media contacted us to ask if they could spotlight these mad deadlift skills on the main site. So they sent a cameraman to town and we filmed a 5×5 deadlift demo, which will debut Monday on crossfit.com. Be sure to visit their site sometime after the blog is updated (Sunday night or all day Monday) to check out your friends Lis, Carlos, Lindsay, Walter, Woody & Cam deadlifting!

Classes are growing!

Maybe it’s the New Year’s Resolutions, or maybe it’s all the new members CFM has these days, but you may have noticed class sizes are growing. Just a reminder that classes are capped at 14 students, so use your Zen Planner log in to RSVP in advance to ensure yourself a spot in class. Otherwise, if you arrive and class is already full, you may have to hang around for the next one, or work out another day. If you can’t find your ZP password, email your coach to get a reset.

Day 11 of Eat Clean January!

Join us tonight in the box from 7 to 9 for the perfect Paleo Potluck Party. We’ll all share the recipes for what we make, to give you ideas to get through the last few weeks of our January challenge.
Check out the AM classes, fillin’ up!

Workout of the Day

A. Lunge Squat*: 4 sets of 10-12 @3010 tempo, 2min rest
I LUNGE BURPEES!
6 Rounds for time:
20 walking lunge steps w/ kettlebells or dumbbells
20 burpees

*Like a split squat, without the rear foot raised.

And coming tomorrow…

A. Kettlebell Push Press: 5 rounds of 4-6, every 3min
In teams of 4, everyone starts at a different station and rotates until all teammates hit each station twice:
1. 500m row
2. 40 box jumps
3. 40 hollow rocks
4. 30 pull ups

FRI 01.11.13 Read More »