Another cracking day today. Over 40 people giving Angie a good seeing too. I'm sure you will agree the 10rds is a lot better then the standard way of doing her!
Today I had a member (she knows who she is) ask me why she and indeed a couple of others who have asked for more advanced programming don't get mentioned on our blog and feel left out of the gym.
The major underlying point here wasn't so much about the program but that over the past few weeks our CrossFit program has received a fair few lines and indeed pictures and videos showcasing the achievements made in the front squat, clean and snatch etc.
My advanced class is nearing test week. We will have trained for 8 weeks following a 5x5 type squat program, a strength development phase very much geared towards giving us a solid foundation for competition time.
Much of my focus while writing out this program has been to develop the following skills:
Squats
Clean & Jerk
Snatch
Pull Ups
Handstand push Ups
Today has seen us all PB on our shoulder press. A key exercise in developing the HSPU, we have seen 3-5 kg improvements on both the olympic lifts but not only that our technique has proved even more noticeably.
Here is Lizzie's SP today:
Next week sees us take on the CrossFit Total, Isobel, ME Pull Ups, ME HSPU, 500m row best effort, and Annie and I'm extremely confident we will see many more PB's.
The biggest concern I see my members having is with understanding the plan. Training is exactly that, training. We are moving very strongly towards Divided We Fall 2013. Our progress will be measured by the Inch's we gain each and every day towards our targets. We will have off days. Just this afternoon myself and Pedro were discussing the benefits of training when every inch of you wants to go and sunbath. I believe that at these times you hit the beach, crack open a cold one and let the body recover. But we will also have our awesome days when everything clicks. And trust me those days will not be too long in coming.
With out a doubt our best day to date. In 3 years of operating I have never been so impressed by the commitment and improvements pretty much everyone has made. Not only in technique, skill and strength development but on the mental side as well. I saw focus and determination from each and every one of you today and the results speak for themselves.
We are about to embark on a new training cycle so we have been retesting our Clean & Jerk today. We had Ellie (12), Livvie(14), Stratos(???), Toni(3??) and Alex(16) all hit new PB's as well as Lizzie in the 11am session raising her pb to 52kg. Here are a few videos of the lifts. Let us know what you think in the comments:
Hi, and welcome to our blog. You may have read the Andover advertiser and seen our WOD for today - Fran. 21-15-9 Thrusters and Pull Ups and wanted to give it a go. Below is a video of Graham Holmberg, CrossFit Games Champion 2010 showing you how it's done.
Hopefully you enjoy the WOD and please feel free to post your scores in our comments section to compare with some of our members who are going to give it a go over the next few days.
What is CrossFit?
Many of us are avid gym users. We train 2-5 times per week through the standard program of 20 mins running, followed by 20mins rowing followed by a few light weight / high rep exercises then go home. If this is you then ask yourself how you are progressing? Are you stronger? Are you Fitter? Do you have more work capacity? When was the last time you had your program updated. Here is a little video explaining a little bit about CrossFit.
CrossFit advocates a mix of aerobic exercise, body weight exercise, gymnastics, and Olympic weight lifting. CrossFit describes its strength and conditioning program as “constantly varied, high intensity, functional movement, with the stated goal of improving fitness (and therefore general physical preparedness), which it defines as "work capacity across broad time and modal domains. Workouts are typically short—30 minutes or less—and intense, demanding all-out physical exertion. They combine movements such as sprinting, rowing, jumping rope, climbing rope, flipping tires, weightlifting, carrying heavy objects, and many bodyweight exercises; equipment used includes barbells, dumbbells, gymnastics rings, pull-up bars, kettlebells, medicine balls, and boxes for box jumps. These elements are mixed in numerous combinations to form prescribed "Workouts of the Day" or "WODs". Hour-long classes at affiliated gyms, or "boxes", typically include a warm-up, a skill development segment, the high-intensity WOD, and a period of individual or group stretching. Performance on each WOD is often scored and/or ranked to encourage competition and to track individual progress. Some affiliates offer additional classes, such as Olympic weightlifting, which are not centered around a WOD. The aim of CrossFit is to physically prepare people for whatever life might throw at them. It is not about following a particular routine, but about constantly varying workouts. Who are AFS? We have been around now for 3 years delivering a very well rounded CrossFit Program. We have many good athletes and the initial perception of CrossFit is that it is for the Elite. We, as well as all CrossFit gyms advocate CrossFit for all. No matter what your fitness level we can get you involved in a class and moving forward towards achieving your Fitness goals. Our opening hours are 0630-2100 Weekdays /1000-1200 Weekends. As part of our timetable we run CrossFit Classes at 0630/0930/1100/1800 and 1900. We hold our On-Ramp (Intro to CrossFit Course) Every 2 weeks on Wednesdays @1900 and Sundays @1100 (1-2-1 sessions are available).
As a very family orientated gym we have been running our kids program for 2years now. We advocate teaching our children the proper techniques to lifting weights. We start with everyday objects such as rucksacks and build them up while adapting all the time to the growth spurts all kids have. We run a safe and conscientious program which has resulted in 3 of our kids representing the gym at the British Schools weightlifting competition earlier this year. We run our Angry Gorrilla's club Tuesdays and Thursday @1630 for 11+year olds and 1600 Fridays for -11's.
Grace, Livvie, Alex and Ellie pictured with Zoe Smith - British record holder at the British Schools Championships.
Our U11 class getting the guns out while the sun was out (Briefly). To the other end of the scale we have classes that cater for the over 55's although many of them actually join in with our standard classes now as they have progressed so fantastically. Many slips trips and falls can be avoided through keeping fit and the variety of strength training we use to help develop balance, co-ordination and agility have seen many of our members recover from long standing injuries and push forward with a new found lease of life. Jill (pictured below left) has recovered with us after having a serious back operation. With regular visits to her consultant we received very high praise with regards to the speed of Jill's recovery following our CrossFit program.
If you would like to come and try CrossFit for free please drop me an email, a facebook message me at facebook.com/AFSCrossFit, or pop in for a tour and we can arrange a trial.
We have evolved over the past 3 years and now find ourselves in a very unique position. We have CrossFitters, Powerlifters, Weightlifters and bodybuilders all using our gym. As a result we are making a few changes to our program, our open gym time and our Weightlifting Club. As most of you are aware we now run two CrossFit programs. One to cater for all our CrossFit needs and the other to prepare for competitions. Our CrossFIt program will be sticking the the fundamental principles of ready for anything at anytime and the cost will remain £50 per month. This is the perfect keep fit programme for those who just love to come into a class see whats on the board and get stuck in. Our Advanced Programme is a little more Strength and Conditioning orientated to prepare for competitions such as the DWF and the Manchester Games. The volume is greater with a bigger emphasis on basic strength and skills. The weightlifting club is included in the membership which rises slightly to £65 per month as a result. Our Weightlifting Club is working towards achieving Clubmark status. We will be splitting it away from the CrossFit membership to give it its own identity. Dave and Darren have just completed their Club Coach Qualifications so the standard of coaching will be extremely high. Membership to the Club is £50 per month for Adults and £30 for Under 18's. The club runs Tuesday's and Thursdays at 1900 and Saturday mornings at 0900. We have some of the best kit in Andover and attract interest from a lot of people just wanting to body build or Powerlift. As a result we are introducing a membership that caters for members who just want to use the gym at Open Gym times (1200-1800 &1930-2100). This membership will be £30/month. No induction will be necessary and programme design will be at a cost of £35/hour hour. As we move forward there will be new booking in procedures for all to follow once we get the new website online. Get after it TAFS Gareth