crossfit

Increasing Your Rowing Intensity

by Rowing instructor & ITPer Uran
If you’ve been coming to rowing class or just checking out the programming, you may have noticed a trend. We did a 2k time trial on May 1st, and the past couple weeks’ workouts have been based on your average 2k split time, or the time it takes to row 500m. The focus this month is on increasing our rowing intensity.
Even if you have no interest in rowing specifically, it’s still built into some of the CrossFit programming. Whether during the warm-up or “Jackie” (or in tomorrow’s 1k time trial during the regular class WOD), good technique goes a long way, and it never hurts to be faster, particularly if being on the erg makes you cringe!
Once you’ve established safe rowing technique, you can start to work on rowing more efficiently by applying more power and slowing the recovery. On the drive back from the starting position, increase your power by engaging the legs at the start. Only when the legs are almost completely extended should you open the hips and follow through with the arms. On the recovery, do that in reverse, but take your time. You’re not doing yourself any favors by rushing back up for another pull. Remember that it’s called recovery for a reason, and a good rule of thumb is the recovery period should be twice as long as the stroke. Here’s what that looks like:

Rowing class tonight at 7p!

Here’s the workout: 1 x 6 min at 2k split time
2 x 5 min at 2k split minus 1 sec
3 x 4 min at 2k split minus 2 sec
2 x 3 min at 2k split minus 3 sec
1 x 2 min at 2k split minus 4 sec

Rest 1:30 between each segment.

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Bench Press: 5-5-5+
B. As many rounds & reps as possible in 15 minutes of:
5 situps
6 box jumps 30/24
7 kb swings 53/35

And coming tomorrow…

A. Max ring rows: 3 sets max reps ring rows or supine ring pull ups. Rest 5 min between sets.
B. Double unders: 10 min double under skill work OR
Advanced athletes attempt OPT’s “FLIGHT SIMULATOR”:
5 unbroken double unders
10 unbroken double unders
15 unbroken double unders
20 unbroken double unders
25 unbroken double unders
30 unbroken double unders
35 unbroken double unders
40 unbroken double unders
45 unbroken double unders
50 unbroken double unders
45 unbroken double unders
40 unbroken double unders
35 unbroken double unders
30 unbroken double unders
25 unbroken double unders
20 unbroken double unders
15 unbroken double unders
10 unbroken double unders
5 unbroken double unders

You MUST stop in between sets (the rope must stop).
Once you miss at one level three times in a row, work back down the ladder.

C. Rowing time trial: 1k row for time (LEADERBOARD WOD!)

WED 05.21.13 Increasing your rowing intensity Read More »

Rowing class rescheduled THIS WEEK ONLY

This week’s rowing class will be held on Thurs night at 7p instead of Wednesday… we’ll be back on regular schedule next week.

Self-Defense seminar SATURDAY

CrossFit alone won’t protect you on the mean streets of Midtown… no seriously.
Learn to avoid, escape and evade violent persons and situations. This seminar is designed to teach students of all defensive skill levels basic, but effective techniques to subdue/overcome would-be attackers. Not only is the emphasis put on the physical techniques necessary for personal protection, but attention is drawn to the number one means of self-preservation: avoidance. Attendees will delve into the psychology of violence, learn how not to become a victim (in & outside the home), develop a means for effective striking and power production, and understand the importance of fitness (particularly CrossFit) to fighting. This self-defense course is designed specifically to empower people with the strategies and tactics to survive a violent situation.

Seminar Goals:
• Improve your understanding of violence
• Dispel some popular myths about self-defense
• Teach proper and effective striking
• Teach you how to avoid and/or escape common threats/attacks

When: Saturday, May 18th, 11a-1p
Where: CFM front room
Cost: $60 for CFM students, $70 for guests
Register here.

Last night’s birthday WOD… congrats to all who survived. Especially those who took the shot-drinking option.

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Weighted pull up: 3-3-3+ (same weight as last week) OR 3-3-3+ strict pull ups OR 3-3-3+ negatives (add weight to negstives if possible)
B. “THE DONALD”:
For time – 21-15-9
Hang clean 135/95
Double unders (singles x 3)
As his farewell gift, I asked Don to write today’s workout. This is a farewell WOD for Coach Don & his lovely fiance Nina, moving away this week to Charlotte, NC. We’ll miss you crazy kids! Especially Nina!

And coming tomorrow…

A. Back squat: 5-5-5+
Three sets. Rest 2-3 minutes between sets. Use same weight all sets. Last set is a BURNOUT set. Go to FAILURE. Use 75% of 1RM OR adjust last week’s weight according to Thurs blog).
B. 5 Rounds for max reps: 1) One minute max reps wall ball two-fers 20/14# 2) One minute max reps rope climb 3) Rest
Start at any station & rotate for 5 rounds
Beginners: sub wall balls & ring rows

ROWING CLASS AT 7… moved to Thurs night this week only!

WED 05.15.13 Farewell Don & Nina! Read More »

NEW YOGA CLASS Sundays at 6p

Starting this weekend, Monica will be teaching yoga Sundays at 6pm at CFM! This expands our yoga offerings to three classes a week – Wed at 12n with Beth, Thurs at 8:15p with Laura, & Sun at 6p with Monica! Yoga is included in your membership. It DOESN’T count toward your weekly class limits, so you’ve got no excuse to skip it. Come on in and get your yoga on!

NO CLASSES AT CFM SATURDAY!

We’ll hold ONE WOD Saturday at 10am over at the Piedmont Park Active Oval. So come for that OR PLEASE join us for the entire Field Day, Saturday morning from 9a-12noon. All proceeds benefit Strong4Life. Email Tirzah if you’d like to volunteer or if you still want to register a team.

Field Day will happen RAIN OR SHINE!

Stay tuned to the blog this week for announcements & the CFM Facebook page Sat AM for updates. If necessary, we’ll relocate the games back to CFM.

Speaking of the CFM Facebook page…

Did you know we film a new silly dance video to post on YouTube for every 100 new fans we get on Facebook? Welllll, we’re hoping to score ONE THOUSAND…1,000… FANS before Saturday so that we can enlist the help of our new student Antony (He’s a breakdancer. How cool is that?) to make the BEST VIDEO EVER at the Anniversary Party. Please help us recruit more fans. Share the CFM page on your FB page and help us break the 1000 mark!

ANNIVERSARY PARTY SATURDAY 7-10p AT CFM!

Here’s why you should come:
These guys will be here from 7 to 9p dishing up some BBQ for ya (paleo & not-paleo options available :)). We’re picking up the tab from 7 to 8, so get here early!

Yoga today at noon!

Rowing class tonight at 7p

Here’s the rowing WOD:
1 x 5 min at 2k split time
2 x 4 min at 2k split minus 1 sec
3 x 3 min at 2k split minus 2 sec
2 x 2 min at 2k split minus 3 sec
1 x 1 min at 2k split minus 4 sec
Notes: Rest 1:30 between each segment. If you do not know your 2k split time, it’s ok. I will work with you to figure out a good pace for the workout.

Workout of the Day

20 min to find 1-rep max bench press THEN…
2 min to find max standing broad jump THEN…
2 rounds:
1 min max plyo push ups
1 min max overhead lunges 45#/25#

No rest between movements/rounds.

And coming tomorrow…

A. Pull ups: Weighted pull ups – 5-5-5+ at 75% of last week’s 1 rep-max OR
Negatives 5-5-5
Rest 3 minutes between sets
B. As many rounds & reps as possible in 10 minutes:
5 ring dips
5 wall balls 20/14
5 box jumps 24/20

WED 05.08.13 Sunday Yoga! Read More »

New Strength Program:

It was great seeing everyone’s progress last week as we retested several benchmarks for quarterly progress checks!
This week, we’re starting a new strength cycle, based on a percentage of your 1-rep max on certain lifts. We’ll also be establishing a max on a few more lifts (bench press & overhead squat this week) to use for future strength work.
We’ll be doing lots of lower-rep sets, to put a focus on great technique and lifting HEAVY and explosively.
On today’s back squats, use the 1-rep max chart (or a calculator) to figure out 80% of the 1RM you established on Friday. If you didn’t max out, we’ll work with you to determine a good starting weight.
For the first two sets, lift five reps at 80% of last week’s one-rep max. On the third set, you’ll do as many reps as possible (5+)… shoot for at least 5, then as many as possible beyond that, in the same set, until you fail.
Don’t worry, we’ll practice proper technique to bail out/dump the bar once you get to failure.
RECORD TODAY’S RESULTS. Your performance this week (and specifically how many reps you get on your 3rd set) will determine how much weight you add (if any) next week. More on that later…
GET STRONG!

Congrats to all who set new PRs and set and/or achieved goals in April. Now it’s time to help us update the board for May. Add your goals this week if you haven’t already!

Workout of the Day (WOD)

A. Back Squat: 5-5-5+
Rest 3 minutes between sets. DO 1-2 WARM UP SETS. Use 80% of your 1 rep max on all sets. On the third “burnout” set, go to FAILURE… as in, until you fail a rep and must bail/dump the bar. Record weight and reps on set 3.
B. 7 rounds:
Handstand hold for max time
10 supine ring pull ups

Score is total time accumulated in handstand hold.

And coming tomorrow…

A. Snatch: 2-2-2-2-2
Rest 2-3 minutes between sets. DO 1-2 WARM UP SETS. Use 80-85% of your 1 rep max from last week.
B. For time: 20 rounds
10 double unders or 20 singles
10 abmat situps

MON 05.06.13 May Goals Read More »

Goal Setting

Next Wednesday night at 7 pm, Rachel from lululemon howell mill is hosting a free goal-setting workshop at the gym. Join us as she leads us through some exercises to visualize ourselves in the future and set some BHAGs – big, hairy, audacious goals!

Fran Challenge

Fran Challengers, check your inbox! You received an email Tuesday confirming your prelims Fran time and t-shirt size. We’re placing the shirt order this week so email Sam ASAP to confirm your shirt size! EVERYONE – save the date and plan to attend the Fran Finals Party on Saturday, July 28th at noon. We’ll be grilling out, celebrating everyone’s improvement and awarding prizes, so don’t miss the fun!

Rachel pushes through her Fran thrusters as Betsy and Vabs cheer her on.

Workout of the Day

1. Squat cleans – take 15 minutes to work to a heavy single
2. 5 Rounds –
Max Push Ups
1 60-yd shuttle run*
Rest 2:00
*Begin sprint from the push-up position.

Cash-out: 3 x 1:00 plank hold (1 min each – center, L & R side, for three rounds)

THURS 07.05.12 Read More »

Good News:

Congrats to Dyer and Patrick on big snatch PRs yesterday. Patrick only beat his previous best by… oh, let’s see… 60 POUNDS! Atta boy. We love seeing new CrossFitters make huge gains as technique improves.
AND Dyer claimed the top spot on the leader board this morning with his new PR: a 1:33 500m row. Can anyone take him down? For those keeping score at home, Dyer is three for three on setting PRs when he delivers or makes coffee for Lis. LOOOOOVE the new coffee maker in the gym!

Piedmont Park Hooverball

Come out to the Piedmont Park sand volleyball courts on Sunday for HOOVERBALL at 11am. Don’t forget sunscreen and water. If you’ve never played before, we’ll teach you. It’s tons of fun. Let’s keep the momentum building from last weekend’s big turnout! We’ll go out for some lunch afterward.

GRIPS

Next week we’ll place an order for gymnastics grips from Again Faster. Many of you have complained about sore hands and calluses. Use of gloves or grips is a personal preference. I usually train bare-handed with some tape, but I like these grips for high rep pull-up/toes-to-bar/knees-to-elbows, or barbell/kettlebell work if my hands are already tender.
Shoot Lis an email if you’re interested in ordering a pair (check out the link above first for how to measure/determine your size). We may get a price break on quantity, but I’ll confirm once I know for sure…they’ll likely be in the $15-25 price range.

Class Levels

Beginning next week, we’ll be enforcing class levels. Starting Tuesday, 6/26, the 7PM TUESDAY, 6PM WEDNESDAY and 5PM THURSDAY classes will be for Beginners. These classes will focus on fundamental movements and we’ll do a scaled or modified version of the daily WOD. If you are an advanced athlete, you’re welcome to attend this class for some “back to basics” work, or you can attend a different class that day or take a rest day.
Refer to the schedule on the website or email Lis with questions.

Paleo Night at Urban Pl8

Next Tuesday is Paleo Night. Post in the comments if you want to join the CFM table at Urban Pl8 for a delicious four-course paleo meal for just $25. We’ll make an 8:30 reservation so people can head straight there after the 7pm class.

Snatches

Check out some snatches from yesterday’s 6pm class with Jon, Fred, Rocky, Vince, Foula, Rohan and Chang… As usual, the video quality is phenomenal:

Workout of the Day – Row & FRANDAYFRANDAYFRANDAY

Part 1: Max effort 500m Row
GET ON THE LEADER BOARD!

Part 2: Thrusters & Pull Ups
Three Rounds –
1 minute max thrusters 115/85
1 minute rest
1 minute max strict pull ups
1 minute rest

FRI 06.22.12 HAPPY FRANDAY! Read More »

Good News:

Welcome to Graham!
Great job to Marshall on his first class today, and to Tess on making it back for her second class. CONGRATS to Dyer on a new power snatch PR! Everyone is making HUGE progress at the Olympic lifts. Remember we’ll focus on these every Thursday.

GRIPS

Class Levels

Paleo Night at Urban Pl8

CrossFit Midtown is excited to become community partners with lululemon howell mill.

Workout of the Day – SNATCH

Part 1: Work to a heavy power snatch single (1 rep) in 10 minutes.
Part 2: Using 80% of Part 1 weight, perform three sets of power snatch clusters:
1.1.1
(1 rep, then rest 10 seconds, then 1 rep, then rest 10 seconds, then 1 last rep)
Rest two minutes between sets.
Beginner WOD: Snatch intro, skill work, practice

Here are some pretty awesome snatches:

THURS 6.21.12 Read More »

Good News!

Welcome to Crystal and Rohan!
And great job to Matt on his first muscle-ups yesterday… and 2nd, and 3rd, and 4th, and… well, he did ALL 12 in the WOD! Also, Sam hit a new personal record (PR) on his 3 rep max deadlift. Congrats!

T-shirts and tumblers

See Lis if you missed the Grand Opening Celebration and didn’t receive a tumbler AND/OR if you haven’t picked up your new member t-shirt yet. New shirts are also in at the Pro Shop… get an American Apparel track shirt (unisex) or a ladies racerback tank for $25 each!

Class Levels

Paleo Night at Urban Pl8

Next Tuesday is Paleo Night. Post in the comments if you want to join the CFM table for a delicious four-course paleo meal for just $25. We’ll make an 8:30 reservation so people can head straight there after the 7pm class.

CFM member Dr. Austin Cohen hooks Lis up with an adjustment after posting a 3:29 Fran time!

Workout of the Day – Triple B Tabata

A tabata is 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest for eight rounds.

Tabata row
Rest 1 minute
Tabata squats
Rest 1 minute
Tabata plank hold
Rest 1 minute
Tabata lateral hops

WED 06.19.12 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

Fri 06.15.12 FRAN CHALLENGE & GRAND OPENING WKND!!! Read More »

Nutrition page!

Check out our new Nutrition page for a taste (haha, get it?) of what Jasmine and Lis will cover at tomorrow’s Food as Fuel workshop. Don’t miss it – Saturday at noon in the box.

This weekend:

Saturday
Classes – 9, 10, 11 am
Food as Fuel – Saturday, noon-1:30

Sunday
FREE WOD at lululemon howell mill – 10am
Hooverball at Piedmont Park sand vball courts – 11:30am

Congrats to Carlos on YET ANOTHER PR (personal record) last night.
We have temporarily renamed the bell in his honor 🙂

Workout of the Day

A. In 10 minutes, find your 1 rep max weighted pull up (strict) -OR- 10 minutes of pull up skill work

B. The Wobble
20 Walking Lunge steps (total)
20 Pull ups
20 Box Jump 24/20″
20 Ring Dips
20 Knees-to-elbows
20 Double Unders
20 Kettlebell Swings 2/1.5 pood
20 Sit ups
20 Back Extensions
20 Wall Balls 20/14 lbs
2 Rope Climbs

FRI 06.08.12 Read More »