CrossFit South Brooklyn

Established 2007

Low Bar Back Squat

Posted on

Fitness: 3×5 Across
Add 2.5-5 lbs to last exposure.

Performance: 2×5 Across Followed by a rep out capped at 10
Fight to get at least 5 on your rep out, if not more.

Post loads to comments.
LBBSQ Wednesday e 6/6
___________________

5 Rounds, Each for time of:
Row 250m

Rest about 2:1 between attempts. All out efforts on each.

Post each interval to comments.
compare to 2.5.12

Home

CFSBK Athlete of the Month

David Turnbull

        If it seems like this is long overdue, it’s because it is. The guy has been over on the platforms pushing and pulling iron with the Strength cyclers for so long that I hadn’t really realized how long he’d been an SBKer. I was very pleased to sit down with David and find out more about him. So pleased, in fact, that I lost my interview notes on purpose and asked him to meet with me a second time. Ok, so that statement is only partly true. SBK, I give you the man known (by David at least) as D-Turn.

Fox – So tell me, again. How and when did you wind up at Crossfit South Brooklyn?

DT – Well I guess that it’s coming up on about three years now, I believe I was in the first Foundations class in the new space at Degraw street in February 2010. It was David and Laurel who coached it. I’d read an article in the New York Times on the Paleo lifestyle and was intrigued. I already was eating kind of that way and believed it made sense and remember thinking that I should also learn how to train my body in a more sensical manner. Crossfit seemed to make evolutionary sense. So an internet search led me to David, and the gym was right nearby. After a few email exchanges with him I signed up for Foundations.

Fox – What had you been doing before Crossfit, fitness-wise, and why did you stay with us?

DT – I’d done Shotokan Karate for a long time and attained a brown belt, but sustained a back injury that made me re-think what I was doing there and why I was getting bruised up on a regular basis. The back injury probably wasn’t from Karate alone. I was travelling a lot for work and had pretty poor posture, but it gave me pause. After that I became a gym regular for a long time. I imagine I was kind of like a farm animal in there, moving from station to station without any feeling about it and no real reason or purpose. Nothing bad was happening but nothing good was happening either. I eventually hit rock bottom when I did Bikram Yoga for a year. It was my year in the fitness wilderness. Not that yoga can’t be great, but it was not good for me as my only fitness routine. I lost any strength I’d had and needed something new. I knew when I signed up for Foundations that I would begin training this way. What I found was technically sound instruction, and a community of generally solid people. That’s worth staying.

Fox – You did classes for a year and then landed in Strength with Coach Jeremy. How’s that process been?

DT – It’s been really amazing. Barbell training makes sense to me. It’s the right tool to use and I have the right coach to teach it. I really enjoy the process, that it’s difficult, and that I get to learn new aspects of the lifts all the time. I did my first cycle in September of 2011 and I remember having struggled with 95 pounds on a back squat not too long before that. My most recent CFTotal I hit a 380 lb squat, a 150 lb press (PR is 165), and a 420 lb deadlift for a 955 lb total.  My goal for 2013 is a 1000 lb total. I think that there is virtue in being strong and physically prepared. Obviously I have a strength bias in my physical preparedness but I am happy with the thought that I could protect a loved one by virtue of being strong. I remember a  sensei said to me that if someone tried to pick a fight with you take three steps to end it. One, you try to talk your way out of it. Two, you run away. Three, if the person runs after you, you annihilate them because if they’re crazy enough to still keep coming they need to be dealt with. Another part of my goal for 2013 is to incorporate prowler and erg work in my training to develop my conditioning so I don’t have to go from ‘talk’ to ‘annihilate’.

Fox – Virtue in strength. I like that. Tell me a bit about you outside the gym.

DT – I work for the Nielsen Company as a research consultant. Basically I help companies connect data to their needs. I’ve been with them for 9+ years now and find value in my work. In my personal time outside the gym and work, I enjoy traveling with my wife Tracy. We recently visited Ireland which was an amazing trip. Among the highlights was visiting the monument Newgrange and also seeing the imagery throughout the country. Berlin, where I lived for a period in the early 90’s, is next on the list. I want to show Tracy my Berlin. Aside from that I also practice Tibetan buddhist meditation. I work with a group called Nalandabodhi here in New York.

Fox – I haven’t noticed you squatting in orange and red robes. How did you come to meditation and Tibetan buddhism in particular?

DT -After 9/11, I like many, was looking for something. I’m not a native New Yorker, I’m from Oregon, but I felt that event in a profound way. It seemed like there was this great spiritual panic where we all looked for something to turn to. I had read Zen in college and found myself having conversations about it once again and eventually found the writings of Choygum Trungpa.  Our group is mostly a bunch of regular folks in practicing together, hence, no robes.

Fox – Alright D-Turn, last question. What should we look for in a future AOM?

DT – I’ve thought about this. I think we should appreciate people who care about themselves and the community at large. Someone who cares about bettering themselves in multiple ways and also does what they can to help others is worth the honor of AOM.

__________________________
Shotokan: The Art Of War

Comments

  3. TURNBULL! Great choice for AOTM.

    I can't tell you the number of times I've struggled with some perceived failure on the platform, then turned to David and had him contextualize it in a way that made me feel relieved, understood, and simultaneously motivated to lift again.

    So glad to have him recognized for his efforts, his spirit, and his generous soul.

  7. DT! I had the honor of sharing the platform with the great one on Monday night, and I loved every second of it. Well played, management.

  9. Yay for David! Such a nice man, perfect for AOTM.

    DAMMIT! 5 x 250 row?!?!? Awesome, bummed I'm going to miss it – smashing and bashing again today at Far Rockaways. You better go extra for me KH!

  13. Congrats David!

    Up 5lbs to 260 today. Probably about my max for 10 for this cycle, which means that I chose my weights well.

    5x250m row was brutal. Don't remember my times exactly but rounded they were

    44, 47, 49, 51, 51

  17. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turnbull!!!!
    Great choice for athlete of the month. A very level headed, earnest and great guy. TMNT for president!

    Warm-Up
    Row easy 1500m
    Some light Foam rolling

    Power Clean
    Wanted to hit 235 today but it wasn't clicking for me. Worked up to 198 and did a bunch of singles there working on my catch which was inconsistent today. Felt like I came away with some good body cues for myself to really hit that sweet spot under the bar.

    Back Squat
    (45x5x2, 135×5, 185×3, 205×2, 225×2, 240×1)
    250×5

    Not as organized as I would have liked it to be, but still a good set. My last rep was actually the best. 250 is an old 1RM so this makes me pretty happy. Onward to 255

    5 Rounds NFT
    3 HSPU to 3" Deficit
    8 Strict T2Bs

    This felt pretty good. The third HSPU got hard each time but I felt happy about my organization on them.

  18. 6am with Josh and McDowell. Squats: 45×5, 135×5, 225×3, 255×2, 270×5, 270×5, 270×9. That's 5# more than last week and 1 rep more on the rep out. Felt solid.

    5x250m row: 43.3, 45.?, 46.? 48.?, 49.5. It's been a while since I've felt that bad after a workout. Arms and thighs destroyed.

    Ran the Prospect Park inner loop yesterday: 24:27. Haven't run outside in a while. Cold. Stiff.

  21. Congrats, David!

    8pm last night with Josh/MeLo:

    I'm particularly excited about last nights back squat. 2×5, 1×9 (I think it was 9) at 165#. My previous 1RM from the last Tough Titsday was 160#. So, hell to the yeah for doing 165# 19 times! I definitely need a new 1RM.

    Also, a huge shout out to Josh for spotting and rooting me on during my rep out. I had no idea I had 9 in me. In last week's 160# rep out, I only managed 7. Thanks, Josh!

    The 250m pieces last night were brutal. It was really hard to reset, do some math and then watch the clock for rest since we weren't in pairs. My fastest piece was my second one at 53 seconds (1:46 split). The others hovered somewhere between 1:48-1:55.

  22. Congrats David! I had the pleasure of sharing a platform with the man of the hour this morning. It's pretty amazing to see how far he's come since committing to the strength cycle. I also find it inspiring that he has has steady goals that he just chips away until he hits them. I have no doubt he'll total over 1000 in the coming year. Today's work:

    Squat: 320lb x 5 x 3
    Bench: 215lb x 5 x 2, 8 on the rep-out
    Clean: 205lb x 2, 185lb x 3 x 2

    Our group moved at a deliberate pace today since things are getting heavy. Squats felt pretty solid overall and I was getting a decent bounce out of the hole. Bench felt alright but I disappointed with how light I have to go to hit my numbers. Cleans were a mess today. Not sure if I was fried from the squats or if it was just an off day, but I just felt like I was frankensteining the bar up and couldn't get under it. We knocked the weight down and I was able to knock out 2 sets of clean reps.

  24. TMNT! One of my favorite Osorio quasi-nicknames and an all around good dude.

    I remember looking over at him on the platform and wondering when David had gone from squatting a plate and change on each side to 3 plates (315+) regularly. It seemed like the blink of an eye, although I'm sure it felt much longer and more arduous for the man involved. Congrats, looking forward to the Total.

  25. great AOTM article! congrats david!

    squatted last night at 7pm with josh. hit 100# for 5×3 worksets which was my goal for this exposure of squatting. i am totally happy with that and looking forward to keep building on it! (WU 45#x5 75#x4 85#x3 95#x2, drop set of 75#x10)

    did 2x 18min CRASH-B rowing instead of all that 250m fun. i think i've found my drag rate setting at 130. hooray! 1) 3755m/2:24split/16spm/160bpm 2) 3707m/2:25split/16spm/160bpm

  26. Couple of things.

    1. Congrats David!! That is awesome and SO well deserved!
    2. I really need CFSBK to get out of my head. I just saw the post from yesterday regarding meal delivery service, which is crazy, because I've been thinking on getting in on one recently and have been googling information for the last week.
    3. I am still flu-sick. Because of this combined with Spanksgiving, I haven't been to the gym in 8 days and i"m having withdrawal.

  27. Shaye –
    Dan and I both have had the EPIC SICKNESS. I managed to get in last night, fail multiple times at reasonable weighs and then cough all over everyone. It was GREAT!

    Also.. Jen Stopka.. that video….!!!!!!!!!!!

  30. Yeah David! Definitely one of my fav people at sbk. Margie is so right about the giggling.
    🙂

    LBBS
    215x2x5, 1×10

    Hells yeah! Worked with Noah B today, which was a pleasure. Very happy to hit this rep out. It felt better than last week, maybe a little less organized than I wanted. I was moving my feet around a bit much in set up, not rising as smoothly and uniform as I like. But, overall it was good, felt pretty fast. Stoked to see Noah B hit his ten and Matt K too!
    This has been a pretty rad cycle.

    Taking a look at it I have been conservative about my loading and conscious about really trying to sleep adequately before coming in. I took Monday/Tuesday off, partially because I was beat down from how much work I did on Sunday, but also due to scheduling.

    I think all my hamstring/glut work is really helping. Funny it took me so long to commit to doing some accessory stuff. Training is always a learning process.

  31. @Asta – Oh noes!!! I hope you both feel better! My fever broke today, so I'm hoping that I should be back for pressing tomorrow. I'm sure it will be miserable considering i've either been not eating or eating like crap. So looking forward to completely failing on everything and sharing my germs. Good times!

    p.s. Oh my god Jennifer Stopka – that video! Chino-shorts bench press and rower are my favs

  33. David Turntable. A super nice guy with a few surprises up his sleeves. I enjoyed sitting down with him, as much as I enjoy watching him move big weights around on the platforms. I also really enjoy watching as positive comments accumulate on these AOM articles, sometimes from members who don't even know the person. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to hear people complementing and being generally supportive of each other. We're not the only place like this on the interwebs but there sure are a lot of blogs where vitriol is the norm. Congrats, DT. Well deserved! I've no doubt that a 1000+ CFT is in your near future.

  35. Dave Turnbull – The Zen Master of the Platform. It's been a privilege sharing the platform with you in the past, and I look forward to it in the future. Congrats brother.

  36. Squat: 295# 5,5,10
    Row: 1×18 @ 16SPM @ 2:22.4 @ 3794m @ 156 HR
    1×18' @ 16SPM @ 2:21.3 @ 3824m @ 158 HR

    Dave is well deserved as AOTM

    Haven't been in this all this week, for no good reason either. Squats were fine the weight was ok. I think there's a good amount left in the tank. After not liking the rep-outs I'm liking them enough to push them for a few more weeks until I can't get ten. The rows were very tough today, I'm sure the rep out did had something to do with it. The first 18 minute piece was just tough throughout, had a hard time maintaining form and split times. Splits were a full 7 seconds off what I usually do on the first interval. The second was much better, less pain and I was able to maintain decent form and split times. The rowing is getting close to the point where it's gonna be a totally separate session.

  37. Wow! Thanks all for the amazing show of love, friendship and props. Training with you all is almost too good to be true! D-Turn

  38. Guys! I found a bus to Far Rockaways that takes 20 minutes to FOB Hope where we all meet for Sandy Recovery shenanigans. 2/5 to Brooklyn College/Nostrand then the 35 bus from Avenue H/Nostrand. It leaves every 12 minutes. I'll be there Friday then again Monday if anyone wants to come along! Jumping the bus at 9am. Email me at julie.barnard "at" gmail.com if interested! I will give the full rundown. Of course riding in a car is optimum but who the heck has one of those? So come along as the wheels on the bus go round and round.

    Today gutted two homes. The first was a doozy and took most of the day – two floors, basement then her entire first floor as 20' of water came in from the storm. We had a big group, a team of co-workers from the city came down, and we worked triple time. I fully utilized a sledgehammer, claw hammer, crow bar to take apart walls and her floor. Second was a basement, that we took down and cleaned up in 40mins.

    Am on my second toddy, they really do save the day.

  39. Congrats, Dave! Great choice.

    Solid night tonight.
    1) 1 18' piece on the erg. 4038m, 2:13.7/500, 16spm. Feeling pretty run down from work but was surprised how good this felt.
    2) Volume squats: (45×5, 95×5, 135×5, 185×3, 205×2) 225: 5, 5, 10. Ten pound jump from last week. Again, felt surprisingly good but exhausting.
    3) Row sprints: just did two rounds of this. 47.7, 48.0.

  41. I rested ALL DAY yesterday. This is big news for me. As a consequence I felt amazing today.

    I did Front Squats instead of back squats. I hit a 30lb PR of 305 for one rep (granted i havent tried to hit a one rep max for a couple months)…nervertheless, pretty psyched.

    The rowing was great. Fastest-45seconds, slowest-50 seconds.

  42. LBBS 235x3x5 These were heavy, but room for 5# in the last exposure on Saturday. Slightly to a bit more than slightly concerned about the clicking noise my knees make in the bottom of the squat. Not sure if there is anything to do about that or what it means…

    Rowing with best time of :44 and worst of :49. This was TOUGH. After the last set, all I could do was collapse on the floor and pant.

  43. I've got to start posting my work again. Squatted with Marco today. I went back to squatting barefoot, with chucks on the way. I found that I couldn't get good external rotation in my hips and track my knees out with a normal-width stance, engaging my adductors and glutes, while wearing my lifting shoes. I feel a bit like a batter or fielder with the yips right now, just trying to find the groove because things have definitely been grindy and not exactly right. I might start significantly lighter next cycle and really try to dial in the movement. That being said, I worked at 295 and hit 6 on the rep out.

  44. 8pm with McDowell and Noah.

    Jumping jacks and burpees to warm up.

    Squatted with James.
    [45×5, 135×5, 185×3, 225×2] 255(3×5)

    Last five exposures have been PRs. Still felt good, especially the last set. 260 on Saturday would mean +50lbs on the cycle.

    Holy crap the rows were hard. Hit my goal on the first and second pieces, and focused on staying nice and long on four and five after three was a mess.

    :41.7/:42.5/:44.1/:45.4/:46.4

  45. Almost forgot to post!

    Thought I'd aim a little higher on the squats and the last rep of the first work set was a grind, so I backed off.

    45×5, 95×5, 135×4, 165×3, 185×2, 205×1, 215×5, 205×5,6

    Then the rows, wanted to hit it hard but even since it was my first time rowing since FGB, stayed super consistent on all my splits:

    48.1, 48.8, 48.9, 49.1, 48.5

×