AFS CrossFit, Andover - WOD: Monday 23 December

Warm Up:

Shoulder mobs

Strength:
Shoulder press 5-5-3-3-1-1-1

Skill:
2minute muscle ups/chest to bar pull ups

WOD:
15min AMRAP - 
Row 500
25 lunge steps
15 pull ups 
1mim rest

AFS CrossFit, Andover - WOD: Friday 20 December

Warm Up:

Ankle and thorasic mobs

Strength:
Bench Press 5x5 
L1-.75 BW 
L2-1xBW 
L3-1.25xBW

Skill:
1min Air Squat

Wod:
21-15-9 
Strict pull ups 
GHD Sit Ups

Accessory Work:
Ring Fly 4x8

AFS CrossFit, Andover - WOD: Thursday 19 December

Warm Up:

Shoulder mobs for overhead position

Strength:

Max Power Snatch in 15mins

Skill:

5x5 plyo push ups increase height where possible

WOD:

Isabel - 

30x Snatches for time.

L1-40/25

L2-50/35 

L3-60/45

Results:

AFS CrossFit, Andover - WOD: Wednesday 18 December

Warm Up:

Shoulder mobs for front rack

Strength:

Max Power Clean in 15mins

Skill:

Muscle Up drills 

L1-Kneeling 

L2-Banded 

L3-Negatives

WOD:

Nate  

20min amrap 

2-4-8 

L1-Ring Rows/Push Ups/KB Swings 20/12 

L2-Pull Ups C2B/Handstand hold (secs)/KB swing 24/16 

L3 Muscle Ups/Handstand push Ups/Swings 32/24 

Accessory Work:

4 x10 high box step ups

Results:

AFS CrossFit, Andover - WOD: Tuesday 17 December

Warm Up:

Thorasic mobs

Strength:

Shoulder Press 

5x3-5 @90%

Skill:

3-5x10 Ring Dips

WOD:

15min max distance row

Every 250m perform 5x burpees 

Results:

AFS CrossFit - WOD: Monday 16 December

Warm Up:

Wrist and ankle mobs

Strength:

5x3-5 Front Squats @85%

Conditioning:

Tabata Row for Distance

WOD:

3x3min AMRAPS 

2min rest between each 

-3x Power Cleans (60/40) 

-6x Hand release press ups 

-9x squats,

Accessory Work:

3x3 Thruster @60% FS 

AFS CrossFit, Andover: The Attitude Nation Weightlifting Seminar with Jon North

For months we have been anticipating Jon and Jessica North flying over to start their UK tour with us here at AFS(c) CrossFit.  The c is in brackets as Jon made a few videos calling us AFC and we will have to wait to see how good his editing skills are ;).

On the lead upto the course you may or may not be aware but we moved gyms, and had to do a lot of work to get the gym upto par to accommodate 25 hairy asses weightlifters (sorry Verity, snowy and Maria lol).

Before:

After:

We worked right up until 2230 Friday to get it sorted and I have to say a big thankyou to Ryan, Dave, Steve and our new Danish friend Lacee for helping me get it done.

The morning started around 0900 after Jon had gotten his first UK 4 shot espresso.  I have to say I was impressed that his head didn't explode and so we sat down and started the the course.

Intro:

Jon started his intro and having worked closely with Americans for many years it never ceases to amaze me how animated and passionate they are.  We lost track a few times which was understandable due to being in a new country with all these foreigners speaking a funny language ;).  Jon soon relaxed and the story is and was very touching.  From meth addict to American champion thanks to Pumping Iron was a true fairy tale all the while taking the journey with his lovely wife Jessica.

As part of the intro Jon asked if everyone new that we would be learning the Catapult technique.  Most nodded but have to admit I had no clue and instantly had to adapt and say "just give this crazy shit a go and let's see what happens".  Some in previous course apparently have struggled with this.  The triple extension vs the catapult argument.  I don't understand what all the fuss is about but apparently it's a big deal.  I cracked on and opened my mind, I can see many of you rolling your eyes at that. 

The Snatch:

Jon led most of the day with Jessica demoing expertly throughout and pitching in with some gems of advice.  We moved from the the Pendlay hang, to the Angel, to Angel Drops, to hip and catch, to above the knee and finally the floor.  

Having followed Muscle Driver USA  for some years and taken the BWL courses and a couple of workshops with Kazeem Panjavi, Anna Hopcroft and Giles Greenwood I did see some similarities with the drills.  

The most radical or extreme for me was the Hip and Catch.  Having just spent 3 months following the adobe of Giles and building my lifts back to where they were pre injuries about 2 years ago this drill was a head fuck.  Apparently I got it perfectly but I wasn't comfortable.  Smashing the bar so close to my nuts was nerve racking.  All my members are in for a treat next week ;).

I have to say that having snatch for the best part of 5 hours my shoulders were in relatively good shape. No pain and my turnover was looking lightning quick, well it felt that quick.  

Lunch:

Now I'm no travelling gypsy but I'm fairly confident that Jon and Jess will be visiting more culturally blessed places then Andover in the next few weeks but I thought we would take a trip into town.

The whole of Andover had unexpectedly decided to descend on the town centre at 1430 on Saturday.  The market was busy, there were carousels spinning, the hog roast was up and I actually thought Jesus,  Andover looks cool.  Jon had his camera around his neck and snapped away, every now and again getting a video to send back to Donny Shankle (a big deal in US weightlifting).  We couldn't leave before they tried a bratwurst a hog roast and a Gregg's iced ring doughnut and I couldn't leave them to sample it alone so put my paleo diet to one side for a 24 hour period.

Max Effort Snatch:

On returning after lunch we headed straight into a dynamic warm up.  Duck walks weren't Jamie's best friend and he was feeling pretty low after I had got some massive props from Jon with an empty bar.  He got his own back with some awesome lifting.  Hayley, Lizzie, Maria, all took to this new style like ducks to water.  My brother Dave snatched 90kg for the first time since his china trip and many of the other participants hit PB/PR's also.

my lifting wasn't so great.  The new lower  starting position was very awkward as I have developed a splendid power belly.  To add to this I was shifting my weight so far back I was contemplating stealing a pair of high heels just to balance.  Once I started this Angel position was actually the devils bitch with me struggling to connect my elbow pull to my hip drive but on the good side my catch position was nice.  The earth wasn't quite my sofa but it was definately a bar stool for the day.  I worked upto 74kg and if I'm honest it started getting easier and more comfortable by the end but or 20min ME session turned into an hour and we had to stop.

The Clean & Jerk:

Jon started the clean by saying we had already covered it.  We brought our grip in and sure enough all the positions and drills were the same.  After 5 hours of snatching my hips didn't know what they were doing.  The bar was definately telling me what to do now and I was its bitch.  We covered the jerk by sorting our feet position and doing a kind of jerk balance drill which again was very useful to add to my melting pot of tools.

Our Welsh brothers had to leave around now as it was 1715 and they had a Christmas party to to.  We got our course photo:

Clean & Jerk Maz Effort Session:

Once the photo was out the way we got the plates out for our Clean and Jerk ME session.  This was electrifying.  I jumped in with Jared,  an ex member who is now running his own CrossFit Gym up in Leeds called CrossFit Defiance.  We moved up to 100kgs which I made but 111kgs which was a 2year PB was beyond me. My brain was fried, I didn't know what my legs were doing and I was ball bagged.  Jared went on to a PB clean of 120kgs I think which was mega impressive.  

Our other members all did brilliantly.  Angry Rob hit 90kg,  Hayley smashed a 4kg PB of 71kg clean and I'm pretty sure Lizzie added a kilo to her PB with 58kg.

I didn't quite see what the guys hit but some of our welsh brothers who stayed had 130+ on their bar and I think Verity was close to PB territory also.

My brother teamed up with Jamie and Henry from Crossfit Guildford.  Those guys stole the show. Dave hit a PB 125, I think Henry got under the 120/125 4 times but couldn't quite stand it up. (Correct me If I'm wrong).  Jamie clean and jerked 137kg or 300lbs and on the last lift of the day cleaned 140kg after Jon showed him how it's done with no warm up, no stretching and couldn't be bothered to make it even look remotely hard with a power clean lol.

Conclusion:

Once again I have come away from a seminar completely head fucked.  What I thought was right may now not be and I have a lot of work ahead of me to find my way.

Jon and Jessica delivered one of the best seminars I have attended.  The course content was both well put together, informative and precise.  Everything was put into context with regards to how they taught it compared to other techniques which was brilliant for any newcomers.  The subject matter experts i.e Jon and Jessica were both extremely knowledgeable,  dealt with every question thoroughly and gave brilliant answers that everyone could understand.  They also shared some fantastic stories and have the attendees a real look at who they are and why they are so passionate about teaching the sport if weightlifting, there inspirations, there journey and there future plans were touching and heart warming and really made me feel like I had known them for ever.

We got our certs,  we took them to dinner and wished them well for the rest of there journey.  I can't recommend this course highly enough and if you get the opportunity to go jump at you won't be disappointed.

Good Luck Jon and Jessica 

Love

AFS(c) Crossfit x

AFS CrossFit, Andover - WOD: Wednesday 11 December

Warm Up

3x5 hip thrusts

Strength:
Work up to 2RM Push Press

Conditioning:
Min on Min off x3 max double unders

WOD:
6min AMRAP 
10 x Box Jumps 
10x Sumo Deadlift High Pull 
L1-40/30 
L2-50/40 
L3-60/50

Results:

AFS CrossFit, Andover - WOD: Tuesday 10 December

Warm Up:

Shoulder mobility

Strength:
Max Overhead Squat 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Conditioning:
Row 1km L1-4:20/4:55 L2-3:31/4:15 L3-3:15/3:56

WOD:
10-1 Deadlifts 
1-10 hang cleans 
5x push press after each round @40/25

AFS CrossFit, Andover - Christmas Plans

TAFS,

We are winding up to Christmas and i'm sure you all have ordered your custom nano's, knee socks, and power wraps for your stockings.  Historically Christmas has been a very slow period for us as so many of you will be away or carb loading for the January push ;).

As such here is what I propose.

Tuesday 24th December - 0630-1900
Wednesday 25th December - 1000-1200
Thursday 26th December - 1000-1200
Friday 27th December - 1000-1200
Saturday 28th December - 1000-1200
Sunday 29th December - CLOSED
Monday 30th December - 1000-1200
Tuesday 31st December - 1000-1200
Wednesday 1st January 2014 - CLOSED
Thursday 2nd January - 0900-1100 / 1800-2000
Friday 3rd January - 0900-1100 / 1800-2000
Saturday 4th January - 0900-1200
Sunday 5th January - Closed
Monday 6th January - Normal hours resume 0630-2100

I hope that all makes sense.

Lift Large, Die Large, Leave a massive coffin.

Gareth

AFS CrossFit, Andover - WOD: Monday 9 December

Warm Up:

1k row steady pace wrist mobility

Strength:
3 x cleans on the minute for 5 minutes 
L1-60 / 30
L2-75 / 40
L3-90 / 50
Must be touch and go.

Skill:
3x max effort ring rows

Wod:
In Pairs Complete 30 rounds of cindy
While partner is rowing perform 30 rounds of cindy in 5 round intervals, while partner works row for max calories.
Score is time for Cindy and Calories for row.

Accessory Work:
4x8 BNPP@75% 1rm sp 

AFS CrossFit, Andover - AFS JANUARY CHALLENGE!!

WIN 1 YEAR FREE MEMBERSHIP!!!

To give you a bit of motivation to get fit we are offering to new members the opportunity to win 1 years free membership. We have some fitness tests that we have for our members to achieve. The newbie who makes the most progress and ticks off the most skills will win. the challenge starts on the 3rd January so sign up quick. No money willchange hands as January will also be a free trial month for anyone wanting to dip their toes in the CrossFit pond 

It wouldn't be fair to not offer something for our current members so here is your little carrot:

Every Saturday in January will be a Bring a Friend day. Some might struggle (Ryan ;)) but for every member that signs up as a result of your intro we will give you £25.

We will give a t-shirt to the member who introduces the most people to the gym also.

New Year, New You!
Lets have it 2014

AFS CrossFit, Andover - WOD: Friday 6 December

Warm Up:

Hip mobility for workout

Strength:

Incline DB Press 

4x8 Heavy as possible

Skill:

Pull ups 3-3-3-3-3 

Add weight where possible

WOD:

21-15-9 

2 for 1 wall balls

box jumps (L1-30/L2-24/L3-20) 

KB Snatch (L1-24/16 L2-28/20 L3-32/24)

Accessory Work:

4x8 Shoulder Press

AFS CrossFit, Andover - WOD: Thursday 5 December

Warm Up:

Shoulder prep

Strength:

Shoulder Press 5x3-5@85%

Skill:

Strict HSPU 

L1-5/3 

L2-10/5 

L3-15/10

Wod:

10Rds of 

-5x Deadlifts 

L1 .5BW 

L2 BW 

L3 1.5BW 

-30s Handstand hold 

AFS CrossFit, Andover - WOD: Wednesday 4 December

Warm Up:

Rear delt and rhomboid activation

Strength:
Max 18inch Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Skill:
5x5 rebound box jumps as high as possible

Wod:
(20min CAP)
5 rounds 
20x Push Ups
30x Sit Ups 
40x Walking Lunge

Accessory Work:
5 x Prowler Push (75/50)15m

AFS CrossFit, Andover - WOD: Tuesday 3 December

Warm Up:

Shoulder mobility

Strength:

Snatch Balance work up to a heavy double

Skill:

Pistols 

L1-5/leg 

L2-15/leg 

L3 25/leg

WOD:

10min AMRAP 

10x Hang Snatch 40/30 

30x Double Unders 

AFS CrossFit, Andover - WOD: Monday 2 December

Warm Up:

Wrist and ankle mobility

Strength:
Max Front Squat 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Skill:
500m Row 
L1-2:00/2:18 
L2-1:36/1:52 
L3-1:24/1:44

Wod:
5mins max squat clean and jerks 
Level 1 45/30 
Level 2 60/40 
Level 3 75/50

Accessory Work:
4 x 8 Walking Lunge 
work upto heavy 8

Results: