FAQ

To follow the Hybrid Programming you will either need to train in a fully outfitted facility or a garage gym stocked with the minimal equipment below. You can get away with having less and making modifications using our exercise substitutions page.

For our Specific PDF programs less equipment will be required and will be listed on the purchase page.

• Barbell, preferably an Olympic Style bar
• Bumper Plates 45,25,10lbs
• Steel Plates 5,2.5lbs
• Collars
• Squat Rack with settings low enough to Bench Press
• Bench
• 1 Kettlebell appropriate to strength (Males 16-20kg / Females 12-16kg)
• Pair of Dumbells appropriate to strength (Males 25-35lbs / Females 15-25lbs)
• Sandbag appropriate to strength (Males 60-80lbs / Females 40-60lbs)
• Slam Ball (Males 20lbs, Females 10lbs)
• Pullup Bar
• Tire Set up for Dragging – Make one
• 12-14” Box (can also use Stacked Plates)

Outfitting a garage gym is an investment.  For most athletes you will need to build it piece by piece.  Picking through Craigslist will be the cheapest way to outfit your garage gym.

For those of you that want to purchase new we suggest buying from Fringesport.com.  They already have the above pieces packaged up for Atomic Athlete.

AMRAP – Stands for As Many Rounds As Possible. Complete the prescribe exercises in the AMRAP for time.

DB – Stands for Dumbbell.

DBD – This stands for ‘Difficult but Doable’ or challenging, but not to failure.

EMOM – Stands for Every Minute On the Minute. Start a new round every minute.

e/s – Perform exercise prescribed amount on each side.

F/B – Stands for Forward / Backward.

KB – Stands for Kettlebell.

KG – Kilograms, the unit of measurement used for Kettlebells.

Rounds – Aka ‘sets’ or number of time you complete each group of exercises.

SB – Stands for Sandbag.

W1RM – Working one rep max or 90% of your actual 1RM.  This is a load that the athlete can hit anytime, under any condition.

10x – Noted for repetitions of exercise. Complete each exercise 10 times in this.

20/10lbs – Males starting weight/ female starting weight.

30/20/10lbs  – Strong male starting weight/ male and strong female starting weight / female starting weight.

4x/2x – Male reps / female reps

SMOC – Single mode of choice (run, stepups, row, airdyne, jump rope)

AROC – Active rest of choice (mobility, soft tissue, corrective)

MPOC – Movement prep of choice

What separates us from Crossfit is our belief that the only way you can truly build your fitness is through structured and well thoughtout programming. There are no random sessions or exercises in our programming. Every session is field-tested on hundreds of athletes prior to its inclusion on the website. This ensures that we provide our athletes with a quality product that improves their fitness level and keeps them safe and healthy.

You will need at least basic training equipment (barbells, racks, and dumbbells) for most of our Hybrid Sessions. We often give recommendations through our coaching comments for where you can substitute exercises that require more unusual equipment. We are also developing programming for athletes with limited access to equipment. Click Here for Exercise Substitutions

We believe that three days in the gym provide more than enough volume for strength facilitation. Because the gym is an artificial environment, we encourage you to get out of it for at least one session a week. If you have a sport, we encourage you to play or practice your sport. We do offer optional fourth- and fifth-day sessions outside the gym. These optional sessions focus on Single-Mode Stamina (i.e., running, swimming, biking) and Durability.

Our sessions are designed to be done sequentially, so as long as you are doing them in order you will maintain the benefits of our programming. During the transition weeks you can catch up then jump on board the next cycle.

Durability is a focus on prehab — or prehabilitation — the goal of which is to prevent injuries and extend the athlete’s career. We base our Durability on the knowledge of Grey Cook, Gary Grey, Mike Boyle, Kelly Starrett, Kevin Browne, and Mark Verstegen. We believe that this is what keeps our athletes healthy and performing at a high level. Like the rest of our programming, it is constantly evolving to keep our athletes in the fight. Some of it looks dorky and can be confusing, but it is put on this website to make you a better athlete and keep you performing for as long as possible at a high level.

For us, Olympic lifting is a means to an end. It is the best tool we have found to increase strength and athleticism. That being said, it does require instruction and proper equipment. If you don’t have access to either one of these, we have Substitutions for all the Olympic lifts. While we think the Olympic lifts are one of the best ways to increase fitness, they aren’t the only way. Don’t think that not performing the Olympic lifts will limit your progress as an athlete.

Rob Shaul mentored us in our early coaching days and helped lay the foundation for what Atomic Athlete has become. As Military Athlete Strength and Conditioning Coaches we worked alongside Rob training soldiers and elite level mountain athletes across the nation. Our programming model is heavily influenced by his concept of Fluid Periodization. Atomic Athlete remains a partner gym with Military Athlete.

Our programming is designed for anyone, male or female, with a desire to achieve unprecedented gains in their physical and mental fitness. Women make up 40 percent of the athletes who train at our gym in Austin, Texas. Training protocols are the same for men and women, they only difference is the loading.

• Be an adult and eat real food – meat, fruit, nuts, and vegetables
• Don’t drink calories
• Good nutrition simply takes discipline

Yes, we offer a Coaching Seminar – there are no seminars scheduled currently. To be a certified coach you must attend the coaching seminar then intern in the gym for 2-4 weeks.

Our programming, while intense, is designed to promote strength without mass gain. You might get leaner, but if you ended up looking like a bodybuilder, you would be our first athlete ever to do so.

Email: jordan@atomic-athlete.com to cancel membership.

Contact us here.