4 Rounds NFT

15 Erg Pulls
5-10 Pull-Ups
5 HSPU or 2-3 Wall Kick-Ups/Walk-Ups

Start the HSPU with 3 AbMats and work your way down to the ground.

Post work to comments.
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2011 Regionals Event #1

For Time:
1000m Run
30 Handstand Push-Ups
1000m Row

At the 2011 Regionals, there was a 15 minute time cap on this event. We will not be imposing the 15 minute time cap but aim to use a Handstand Push-Up version that allows you to move through them relatively smoothly without failing early on. Kipping is allowed but you must maintain control of your bodyweight with your arms, i.e., no crashing or resting on your head. The 1000m Run is 1 lap + 4th Ave. to 3rd Ave. and back. All runs start in the direction of 4th Ave. Subs for Handstand Push-Ups are as follows:

Reduced ROM: 2 AbMats, 1 AbMat
Reduced Load: Box Piked HSPU, Dumbbell Push Press

If substituting with DB Push Press, then choose a challenging weight that you can perform 7-10 reps unbroken when fresh.

Post time and Rx to comments.

Like the looks of this seafood bounty? Then sign up for our seasonal fish CSA!

• Today’s 9am Yoga class with Jaclyn K. is cancelled. Thursday Yoga with Jaclyn will resume next week.
• Don’t forget that our CrossFit Kids progamming is on a one-week hiatus. We’ll be back Monday with a new schedule!

Sign Up for Our Seasonal Fish CSA! Discount for Early Birds + Call for Co-coordinator!

Last summer, we brought in a new fish CSA partner and were blown away by the quality and freshness of their fish! Lucky for you, registration is now open for the 2016 season, which runs weekly from June 11 til late fall.

Big City Fish Share, now in its fifth season, delivers sustainably caught, never-frozen, super-fresh seafood from Montauk to New York City. You can sign up for a weekly share of either 1 pound or 2 pounds of filleted fish, littleneck clams, or oysters.  Sign up by June 7th, and lock in $16 per pound for the whole season.  After June 7th, the price will go back to $17 per pound.

The delivery window will be Saturday mornings, 10am to 12pm, starting June 11. This is a weekly, not monthly, share.

Customers can sign up for 4 deliveries at a time, and can easily place their orders on hold through the website if they go out of town. Any funds left in your account at the end of the season will be returned to you by check. Expect a good variety of fish, including big-eye tuna, squid, founder, fluke, swordfish, black sea bass, bluefish, porgy, and monkfish.

If you are interested in splitting a free share in exchange for volunteering to run the Saturday morning pickup every other week, contact Michele, below.

Any other questions? E-mail bigcityfishshare [at] gmail.com. For general CSA questions, e-mail Michele at mignyc [at] gmail.com.

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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Nasty Girls V2
Bill Starr on Overtraining
$1240 Dumbbells? Yes, $1240 Dumbbells

2014 Regionals Event #3

Nasty Girls V2
3 Rounds for Time:
50 One-Legged Squats (Pistols), Alternating
7 Muscle-Ups
10 Hang Power Cleans 175/115

or

Nasty Girls
3 Rounds for Time:
50 Squats
7 Muscle Ups
10 Hang Power Cleans 135/95

or

3 Rounds For Time:
50 Squats
20 Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups
15 Burpees
10 Hang Power Cleans 95/65

Coach David enjoying some cliff diving in Jamaica. We are not jealous! Definitely not jealous at all…

• Schedule Change: Today’s 4:30pm CrossFit Kids class is cancelled. Our kids programming will return with a new schedule next week!

“Smart in DUMBO” Trivia Night

Evan H. rowing at Fight Gone Bad 2015. Read on to learn more about Evan!

• Are you on the list to get our newsletter? You can sign up using the widget to the right, just above the link to CrossFit Journal. Don’t miss out on important news and events!

Better Know a Member: Evan Hunt

Welcome back to a newish feature on the CFSBK blog, Better Know a Member! (The name is a play on an old Stephen Colbert segment, Better Know a District.) You all love Underneath the Hoodie and Behind the Desk, and now, in a similar vein, we’ll be profiling members from across the CFSBK community. In our previous installment, we introduced you to Meredith R. Today it’s time to meet Evan H.! 

Name (and any nicknames) Evan Hunt, aka Big E, aka Evie Doug, aka De-De La (if you’re my mom or dad).

Where were you born and where did you grow up? I was born in the south burbs of Chicago. I grew up in the burbs and Chicago proper.

How long have you been CrossFitting, and how did you arrive at CFSBK? I have been at CFSBK for just over a year. I CrossFitted for a bit while I was living in the D.C. area, but really I was just having large amounts of money deducted from my bank account each month so that I could tell people I was doing CrossFit.

What are you up to when you’re not at 597 Degraw Street? I work in HR at The Plaza, which usually amounts to me telling Eloise that she is not supposed to steal or be mean to her colleagues. When I’m not at work, I love wandering around Brooklyn. My favorite is to grab a coffee and just start walking.

What’s the first movie you ever loved? I believe it was Flight of the Navigator. It seemed to have all the elements a child of the 80’s would love. I haven’t seen it in about 20 years, so I’m not sure if it stood the test of time.

You have friends or family coming to visit from out of town. What  do you take them to do in NYC? Cookies from Levain on the Upper West Side. Olive oil cake and a latte from Abraco on the Lower East Side. Pizza from Luigi’s. Ice cream from Ample Hills. They are just coming to eat, right? I guess we should probably spend some time in all of the wonderful parks, too.

Favorite and least favorite lift: Favorite – Deadlift. Least favorite – Thruster (If I wasn’t sure of it before, after 16.5, I certainly am.)

Any advice for new CFSBKers? If you’re like me, you probably aren’t good at much (i.e. Push-Ups, Pull-Ups, Squats… running). At first I spent a lot of my time avoiding workouts that “I wasn’t good at.” The problem was, I wasn’t good at anything, so I skipped a lot of workouts. The beautiful thing about CFSBK, is no one cares.  (Obviously the coaches do, but you know what I mean.) If you need to do Push-Ups from your knees, do them from your knees. If you need to do ring rows instead of pull-ups, knock yourself out! There is a beauty in conquering something new and that can only happen if you put in the work.  Also, always do what Coach Ro says. It’s not up for discussion.

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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: 2014 Regional Workout #6
The History of the Burpee Task & Purpose

2014 Regionals Event #6

For Time:
50 Calorie Row
50 Box Jump Overs 24/20
50 Wall Ball Shots 20/10, 14/9
50 Ring Dips
50 Wall Ball Shots
50 Box Jump Overs
50 Calorie Row

Scaling Option
For Time:
30 Calorie Row
30 Box Jump Overs 24/20
30 Wall Ball Shots 20/10, 14/9
30 Ring Dips or Push-Ups
30 Wall Ball Shots
30 Box Jump Overs
30 Calorie Row

There is a 21-minute time cap on both workouts.

Post times and Rx to comments.

Changes to our CrossFit Kids programs are adorably afoot! Read on to learn more.

• Schedule Change: Today’s 4:30pm CrossFit Preschool and 5:30pm CrossFit Kids classes are cancelled.
• Packer is still looking for some runners to participate in a Ragnar Trail Race at the end of September. E-mail david [dot] packer [at] gmail.com if you’re interested!
• Don’t forget that Inka H. is back in town and taking appointments for bodywork!

CFSBK Kids Program Anniversary and Changes to Come!

This month we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the launch of our CrossFit Preschool & CrossFit Kids programs at CFSBK. Over the course of the year, we have doubled our weekly class offerings, added birthday parties, hosted a school field trip, offered day off from school camps, and have served over 100 children between the ages of 3 – 12 years old!

We’re excited to announce some changes to our current programming. Beginning Monday, 4/11 we will be offering new age groupings for our classes.

CF Preschool (3 – 4 years old): Run! Jump! Skip! Roll! Through playful games and fun activities, children learn to move safely and gain basic coordination and body awareness. Together we explore tumbling and movement using fun, kid-friendly scenarios and games. Your preschooler will flex their mini-muscles as they build their confidence and develop their fine and gross motor skills.

• Mondays, 4:15 – 5:15pm
• Sundays, 9:00am – 10:00am & 10:00am – 11:00am

CF Kids (5 – 7 years old): Building on the skills they developed in CrossFit Preschool, our new Kids classes are designed to further develop coordination and strength, and encourage a lifelong love of fitness. Age-appropriate programming includes calisthenics, basic tumbling, running, climbing, throwing, and other modalities to stimulate bone density and vestibular system development while improving fine and gross motor skills, coordination, and flexibility. On top of physical development, social and cognitive growth is encouraged through teamwork, problem-solving, and building the confidence that helps kids make healthy choices. 

• Sundays, 11:00am – 12:00pm

CF Preteens (8 – 11 years old): Our preteens program is focused on building strength, stamina, endurance, and grit. These classes are structured similar to our teen and adult classes and include a group warm-up, skill practice, WOD, and a class ending challenge/game. Classes will include calisthenics, tumbling, running, rowing, climbing, throwing and basic barbell and kettlebell movements. On top of physical development, social and cognitive growth is encouraged through teamwork, problem-solving, and building the confidence that will prepare them for the CrossFit Teens program.

• Wednesdays & Fridays, 4:30pm – 5:30pm

CF Kids/Pre-teens (combined age groups):

• Mondays, 5:30pm – 6:30pm

CF Teens (12 – 17 years old): CrossFit Teens is a strength and conditioning program that is specifically designed for teenagers and helps them develop a lifelong love of fitness. In a group setting, teens participate in fun and engaging workouts that deliver measurable results and prepare them to be well- rounded athletes. The workouts consist of constantly varied, functional movements that deliver a fitness that is broad, inclusive and general and scalable for any participant at any level. Each class will include skill practice and a strength development aspect, specifically designed to be accessible and appropriate to teenaged athletes. Classes will finish with a WOD, or Workout of the Day, designed to test work capacity, endurance, skill, and strength in a fun, competitive, but inclusive environment. (E-mail Coach Noah at noah [at] crossfitsouthbrookly [dot] com for more info.)

• Tuesdays & Thursdays, 4:30pm – 5:30pm

As we prepare for these changes, our CrossFit Preschool & Kids programs will be on break from Friday, 4/1 – Sunday, 4/10. Classes will start up again on Monday, 4/11 with our new age groups. CrossFit Teens classes will run as scheduled.

We are so proud to bring a love of fitness to so many children! Thank you for being a part of our program. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns. We’ll see you after the break!

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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Back Squat | Toes-to-Bar, Power Snatch, Row
How To Do Handstand Push-Ups: 5 Simple Drills WODPrep

Back Squat

10-10-10

Build up to a heavy 10 on the Back Squat. Use spotters, but the goal is no failing. Suggested starting weight is about 60% then go by feel from there. When heavy enough, on longer sets like this, you won’t simply bounce from one rep to the next all the way through. Take your time and get set at the top for each one. Stay tight and work on controlling your breathing.

Post loads to comments.

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For Time:
25 Toes-to-Bars
15 Power Snatches 95/65
30 Calorie Row
15 Power Snatches 95/65
25 Toes-to-Bars

Scale the Toes-to-Bars as needed to Hanging Leg or Knee Raises. The Snatch weight is meant to be light enough to go unbroken on the fast end, with no more than 3 sets on the slow end. Don’t sandbag the row!

Post times and Rx to comments.

Coach Ro on the podium at the 2016 National Masters Weightlifting Championship. We’re proud of you, Ro!

Next Level Weightlifting Club at CrossFit South Brooklyn

Want to get better at Olympic lifting? Next Level Weightlifting Club at CFSBK offers Olympic lifting, strength training, and mobility all in one. Weightlifting classes are held in two-hour windows and taught by Coach Frank Murray, one of the best weighlifters in the country. While there is a start to every class, you are allowed to show up at any time during the two-hour training session to lift. Those involved receive the week’s programming. which they can either do during the training session or on their own during Open Gyms. If you are unable to participate in class on a regular basis, you also have access to Coach Frank via e-mail and can submit videos to be evaluated and critiqued. Think of him as your personal coach.

Next Level Weightlifting Club has been running at CFSBK for several months with great success. Frank recently answered some frequently asked questions about the program. Enjoy!

Do I need a lot of experience to participate in Next Level Weightlifting Club?

NLWC is for all levels. In fact, we encourage beginners to join! The sooner you start, the better foundation we can build. If you spend too much time trying to teach yourself or waiting until you’re “good,” it will be harded to break bad habits. So, the sooner you join the better! 

Why should I join NLWC?

The Olympic lifts are among the most practiced exercises in CrossFit and are some of the most technically challenging movements. Learning how to lift properly will improve overall coordination, build strength and flexibility, and reduce your chance of injury. The Olympic lifts are also full-body movements with high transferability to other CrossFit skills. Look at athletes such as Matt Fraser.  With only a background in weightlifting, he was able to become a top CrossFit athlete within a year!  

I don’t want to stop CrossFitting. Can I do both?

Yes! In fact, we created the program just for that reason! CrossFit and weightlifting should be done in conjunction. That is, CrossFitters should always be practicing the Olympic lifts (with greater or lesser degrees of frequency, depending on training goals, of course).

Is this program just for weighlifting, or would I do strength training as well?

In short, YES, we do a lot of strength training! Olympic weightlifters are the strongest athletes on the planet, and while their technique, speed, and flexibility are tremendous, it’s their strength that separates them from other athletes! We can teach you proper technique. but without additional emphasis on strength training, it would be possible to reach your full potential. That’s why we incorporate exercises such as Back Squats, Front Squats, Presses, Snatch Pulls, and Clean Pulls into the program. Our goal is to make you as strong and as technically proficient as possible.

What are the pricing options? What if I can’t be there on a regular basis?

We offer 2 classes per week, which last 2 hours per class. Classes meet on Monday and Wednesday nights from 7 to 9pm. Our recurring monthly membership rate is $150. That option gets you access to our weekly programming and to me as your coach!

If you can’t make those times on a regular basis, we also have 10-class punch card ($250) and drop-in ($30) options!  Finally, if you want to keep CrossFitting at CFSBK, you can add 2 group classes/Open Gym sessions a week (8 classes total) for an additional $100 a month!

If I can’t make it regularly, is it really worth it?

Absolutely! Even if you only drop in occasionally, I can give you important feedback that you can take away and work on outside of NLWC. In just one class, we can identify what aspects of your lifting need work and how best to improve. 

What if I can’t make it on time or can’t stay for the entire class?

Not a problem. NLWC is an Open Gym-style class. The idea has always beenthat members could do just that: come in when they can and work on the lifts they want to work on while being coached. You can show up at anytime and leave at anytime. Also, we’ve tweaked the schedule a bit: Classes now run from 7 to 9pm!  

Can I follow a different program but still get feedback on my form?

As long as the program is safe and you’re practicing Olympic lifts, that’s fine!

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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Muscle-Ups | Kettlebell Swings, Burpee Box Jumps
Can an Outsider Ever Truly Become Amish? Atlas Obscura

Muscle-Up Work

Fitness
Perform 10-15 transitions on the low rings.

Focus on achieving the correct positions throughout and not just getting from A to B.
Watch these 2 short videos before coming to class: Video 1 Video 2

Performance
Every other minute on the minute x 7:
3/2/1 Strict Muscle-Ups

Use a false grip and be sure to start with extended elbows.

Post work to comments.

________________

In teams of three with one person working at a time, partners alternate full rounds…

30 total rounds for time of:
12 KB Swings 32/24kg
6 Burpee Box Jumps 24/20″

Post times to comments.

Lauren B. after cranking out a set of Deadlifts in 16.4. Isn’t it weirdly satifying to bail a Deadlift? | Photo by Thomas H.

• Schedule Change: Today’s 11am Active Recovery class is cancelled, but you can still get your AR in on Sunday at 11am!

Inka H. Is Back!

Our beloved Inka H. is back in Brooklyn for a hot minute and available to do some bodywork at CFSBK. Many members can attest to her magic! Here’s what she’d like you to know:

“I left Brooklyn about 2 years ago to study some of the most cutting edge techniques in bodywork, and I am excited to be in NY for a short time to offer some bodywork to my old CFSBK fam!  I have been fortunate to study the KMI method of Structural Integration (AKA Rolfing) with Tom Myers, Nerve and Artery Manipulation with Kirsten Schumaker, Anatomy in Motion (AIM), and advanced biomechanics and visceral work with Liz Gaggini.

I’ll be offering sessions April 2nd through the 5th, and April 11th at the gym . Please email me directly for times and to set up appointments: inka.hodes [at] gmail [dot] com. First sessions are typically 1.5 hours ($140 per session).”

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Crazed Heavy-Metal Drummer Accompanies “I’m a Little Teapot” Boing Boing

Coach Fox congratulates Brad D. on finishing 16.2. And we congratulate everyone who competed in the Open!

This Week at CFSBK in Review

1. Tomorrow’s’s 11am Active Recovery class is cancelled, but you can still get your AR in on Sunday at noon!

2. Brooklyn-based filmmaker Jessie Auritt is making a docmentary called Supergirl, the coming of age story of an 11-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl who is a world record holding powerlifter. The Supergirl team is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds they need to finish the film.

3. We caught you up on the CFSBK Classifieds. And speaking of which, Paul A. is looking for a place to sublet from May through August and perhaps even a long-term lease. Let’s help him out!

4. In the lastest installment of Underneath the Hoodie, Kate Reece profiled the wonderful Whitney Hubbard. Ever think, “Damn, Whitney is a good coach?” Read and find out why she’s such a good coach.

5. Sign up now for the Common Hands Farm CSA. No dillydallying!

6. In its first year, the CFSBK Open Intramural Team Competition was a total success. Go here to read the final recap.

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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Snatch | Push Presses, Pull-Ups, Double-Unders
Exercise Makes Our Muscles Work Better With Age NY Times

Snatch

Every other minute on the minute for 15 minutes (8 total reps):
1 Snatch

Work up to a max for the day.

Post loads to comments.

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5 Rounds for Time:
10 Push Presses 95/65
10 Pull-Ups
25 Double-Unders

Scale weight as appropriate so the Push Presses are light enough to be done unbroken. Scale volume or degree of difficulty (Ring Rows, or Banded or Jumping Pull-Ups) with the same intention. The sub for Dubs is 10-15 attempts + makes, or 50 Single-Unders if your Doubles are a work in progress.

Post times to comments.

CFSBK Open Intramural Team Competition: Final Results

The run up to Open Workout 16.5 was shrouded in secrecy. After Your Pace Or Mine? had punched, kicked, and eye-gouged their way into a one-point lead by Week 4 over The Little Lebowski’s Urban Achievers, both team captains denied the media access to their practices and locker rooms.

Sources close to the team have indicated that Urban Achievers captain Duane Roggendorff banned the soothing California soft rock of The Eagles from his locker room and repeatedly held mandatory screenings of The Big Lebowski until his players ran out of the room screaming “Mr. Treehorn treats objects like women, man!” And according to another source, Your Pace captain Michael Crumsho reportedly took his team members’ smartphones away while gruffly muttering “Smartphones weaken knees,” although that sounds like Mick from Rocky to me (probably shouldn’t trust that source).

The Open Intramural Team Competition was decadent and depraved, if you consider ending in a tie to be decadent and depraved, which I absolutely do. There’s an old saying in sports: “A tie is like kissing your sister.” It’s a pretty weird saying when you think about it, unless you’re this dude from Yahoo Answers who thinks the tie is a necktie. In that case, it’s extremely weird. Anyway, both teams brought their best in Open Workout 16.5. Your Pace posted an excellent score of 18 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Urban Achievers backboard-shattering 15 points, their best score of the competiton. After rounding, both teams finished with 21 points. You are encouraged to suggest comical tie-breakers in the comments. 

Around the rest of the league, All Castro Oiled Up successfully defended their claim to 3rd place. You guys can stop being oiled up now. No, seriously. Please stop. It’s worrying everyone. The Sore Winners weren’t far behind in 4th place and were nearly disqualified after rumors swirled that Barbara K. was using PEDs (turned out it was PEZ, the candy). In the battle for 5th, Blue Steel prevailed over It’s My Open. The lesson here is that trash talking kind of works but not really.

This inaugural season was a complete success. Thanks to everyone who competed, captained, cheered, and made it fun.

Current Ranking – Team – Overall Average (Week 5 Points)

1. Your Pace or Mine?: 21 (18)

1. The Little Lebowski Urban Achievers: 21 (15)

3. All Castro Oiled Up: 25 (22)

4. Sore Winners: 28 (21)

5. Blue Steel: 30 (26)

6. It’s My Open and I’ll WOD If I Want To: 31 (30)

Open Leaderboards

Wondering how you stacked up against your fellow CFSBKers in the Open? Here are all of our leaderboards!

• Overall Leaderboard
• Men’s Leaderboard
• Women’s Leaderboard
• Men’s Masters Leaderboard (40-44)
• Women’s Masters Leaderboard (40-44)
• Men’s Masters Leaderboard (45+)
• Women’s Masters Leaderboard (45+)

(NOTE: There are technically a few divisions between 45 and 60; however, in the latter two, we only had a couple of competitors in each division. We combined everyone 45+ to make it easier to view.)

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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Row/Front Squats
The Deranged True Story of Heavy Metal Parking Lot Deadspin
Exercise Slows Brain Aging By 10 Years Time

Row/Front Squat

Every 5 minutes:
In 3 minutes…
20 Calorie Row
7 Front Squats, as heavy as possible

Row the 20 calories hard and get right to the Front Squats. Work up to a max 7-rep Front Squat for the day.

Post times and loads to comments..

Do you love veggies as much as Coach David does? Read on to find out how you can acquire the veggies!

• Did you catch Adrian Bozman repping CFSBK during 16.4?
  
• Schedule Change: This Saturday’s 11am Active Recovery class is cancelled, but you can still get your AR in on Sunday at 11am!

Common Hands Farm CSA: Sign Up Today!

Happy Spring! Getting fit and eating well starts now. We have your direct hook-up to fresh produce grown upstate, and its time to sign up to reserve your membership today!

In its fifth year, Common Hands will deliver CSA shares right next door to 575 Degraw (Brooklyn Boulders) on Tuesdays from 6 to 8:30pm.

What is a CSA Share?

It is a membership to a farm where you get an exclusive deal on fresh organically grown vegetables delivered straight from the farm to you! Once you pay the upfront membership fee (payment plans available) you receive a weekly delivery from the farm starting in June through November.

Why Should You Join?

Beyond receiving freshly harvested and health-giving food, grown cleanly with no pesticides or herbicides, you are also putting your money where your mouth is, and supporting the local food economy. This is food from real farmers, and by buying a share you are supporting small organic farms. We grow food for you, period. We are not a distributor or large conventional farm with lots of employees, but real down to earth people. On our farm, a team of less than ten people work to grow food for upwards of 200 members each year… and we care what you eat!

We offer Full and Half Vegetable Shares that can be paired with the optional Full or Half Fruit & Egg Share. A Full Share picks up weekly, while the Half Share picks up bi-weekly. Veg shares are $615 for a weekly (“full”) share or $375 for an every-other-week (“half”) share. Fruit and eggs can be purchased in addition to Veg Shares and are bundled together: a full share is $280 and a half share is $140. Pending interest, Flower Shares may be available as well.

Remember, your pick-up location is just down the block at Brooklyn Boulders!

Go to CommonHandsCSA.com for details or click here to sign up directly!  Questions? Email the farm at commonhandsfarm [at] gmail [dot] com, or the gym’s CSA coordinator, Michele, at mignyc [at] gmail [dot] com.

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Chris Spealler on the “Chest Up” Cue Instagram
The “Not Face” is a Universal Part of Language Science Daily

Video of the Week: A T-Rex did the Open. Hilarity ensued!

• Team Captains: please submit your team score to the intramural spreadsheet by 12pm tomorrow.

Chasing Rx: When To Scale and When To Go Heavier

An interview with David Osorio and Jess Fox, edited by Kate Reece

Editor’s Note: As we reflect on this year’s Open and approach the end of our current 8-week programming cycle, now is a good time to revisit this piece we published last year. It was originally posted on 3.17.15. Enjoy!

If you don’t know why workouts are named after women, Greg Glassman, the founder and President of CrossFit, explained it like this: “I thought that anything that left you flat on your back, looking up at the sky asking ‘What just happened to me?’ deserved a female’s name. Workouts are just like storms, they wreak havoc on towns.” 

Regardless of whether you welcome or abhor that feeling of being wrecked (particularly when it doesn’t happen in your bedroom), we all know what it’s like to approach a nasty WOD from the mindset of wanting it to be over before it even starts. But sometimes, the desire to cruise through a workout can cause us to take shortcuts, maybe not go as heavy as we could, and ultimately sacrifice our long-term strength goals on the altar of feeling like a beast in the moment. Hopefully, we all do want to get stronger. In that case, it’s important to realize that the lifting segments of group classes are not your only opportunities to achieve your goal. You should aim to get stronger through the conditioning portion of class as well.

Maintaining excellent technique should always be your priority, but if you want to close in on the Rx-ed loads for a WOD, you need to gradually increase your base numbers—which might involve surrendering a bit of the metabolic stimulus of some workouts. (“Rx” refers to the prescribed, standard weights for a workout, or those scary numbers written after each weighted movement on the blog and whiteboard.) Simply put: you need to lift heavier and go slower so that you can eventually lift heavier and go faster. 

I sat down (i.e. emailed a lot) with Coach David and Coach Jess to ask them everything you wanted to know (but were too scared to ask) about chasing Rx in workouts. The bottom line: don’t be complacent about the weights you choose for any given workout. Getting stronger is a process. Here are David and Jess’s experiences with exactly that.

CFSBK: When did you start Rx-ing all the WODs? What did your journey look like to get there?

David: When I started CrossFit, I was self-teaching myself the movements, so I did what I could and then practiced the movements that I didn’t know how to do yet. It took me about a year before I was doing almost everything Rx-ed. I definitely was biasing a heavier weight and slower times in the beginning, which helped me develop the requisite strength to be able to eventually move the Rx-ed weights faster. I still occasionally scale some of the weightlifting loads in WODs when appropriate 

Jess: I’d say the first things I could Rx fairly quickly were workouts with deadlifts, double-unders, box jumps, and kettlebell swings. I knew my road to Rx-ing weights in the Olympic lifts would take some time, and honestly we weren’t doing as much of those when I started. So, I chose to target kipping pull-ups as my first big goal, since they tend to come up in so many WODs—and what girl doesn’t want to do pull-ups! My road to getting them meant practicing them EVERY time I was in the gym. I started out with thick green-band but over the course of a few months, I was able to get my rhythm down enough to get a few unassisted kipping pull-ups in spurts. They weren’t consistent enough though so I always resorted back to the band for workouts.  

However, that changed when I visited my other “home” CrossFit in Ohio. The WOD was “Cindy” and although I knew that I could get a few rounds Rx-ed, I still set up a band. During the workout, when I started to slow down on pull-ups, I reached for the band. The coach there stopped me and just told me it was okay to move a little slower. Sure, I didn’t get a high number of rounds but it allowed me to continue to work on that skill and it gave me a baseline for “Cindy” Rx-ed. After that experience, I got rid of the band. That didn’t mean I did every pull-up workout Rx-ed right away though. Until I got better at them, scaled volume was my friend. 

CFSBK: If I’m moving fast and getting a good workout in the WODs, why should I worry about what weight I’m doing? 

David: The balancing act between performing workouts with their intended metabolic stimulus, versus going heavier or sticking to a calisthenics version that slows you down considerably, can be somewhat nuanced. Ideally, you want to be able to keep moving at a somewhat reasonable pace. If you’re shuffling your feet, looking at the pull-up bar for a minute, you’re probably not getting the most out of your time on either end. But if you’re not at the Rx-ed weights and want to start pushing toward them, you’ll just have to accept that you’re going to be slower and the workout probably won’t be as spicy. In my opinion, that’s fine. Recently, I told a member that would have rather her go with a heavier dumbbell and get capped versus going lighter and getting a good time. As long as you can perform about 3/4 of the workout before getting capped, you should be fine. If you want to get stronger in the WODs, you’re always going to have to bias a little heavier and slower, technique permitting. 

Jess: As CrossFitters, we’re all a little Type A and want to move fast through workouts. However, our training should include different stimuli and heavier weights—higher skilled movements can provide that. As I mentioned before, it took a little nudging from coaches, and a little/lot of swallowing my WOD pride to not scale those pull-ups in “Cindy.” Looking back though, I’m so grateful for that intervention. Not just because it was my first Rx-ed “Cindy,” but because I didn’t really realize that I had the strength and skill to do it. I see this a lot with push-ups in workouts as well. Though I see many of you work your strict push-ups like a boss in our warm-ups and even start a workout with strict pushups, as soon as the going gets tough, the knees drop down. Sometimes you just have to gut it out (provided your movement is technically sound), knowing that you might need to scale volume and accepting that you might be the last person to finish.   

CFSBK: How do I know when to go heavier during WODs?

David: When you feel like you “own” a weight that is below Rx-ed, then it’s time to bump it up. Don’t get complacent with certain loads. For example, if you’re a guy and you always do 65-pound thrusters, even if it still feels difficult, you need to start gradually adding five to 10 pounds to push your strength and comfort level with the movement and load. If you always swing the 16 kg kettlebell, start voyaging out to heavier territory. As long as you feel confident in your technique, which might mean going a bit slower or breaking up reps more, then the weights or your modification should feel heavy.

Jess: This is where logging your workouts comes into play. Early on in your CrossFit life, you will and should start lighter than you think. Use the warm-up time to pick a load that you know you’ll be able to move consistently well through. Then, take note of how that felt in your logbook so that you know what to aim for next time. Also, listen to the advice your coaches give you. I think we do a pretty good job of talking about the intention of the workout and providing scaling options or percentage markers to help guide you in determining an appropriate weight. If it’s ever not clear, just ask! 

CFSBK: If I want to set a goal to get to Rx or heavier weights (and I know I should!), what should my battle plan or strategy be?

David: As Jess mentioned, make sure you’re logging and writing down both qualitative and quantitative data! You’ll never remember to go heavier on that barbell if you can’t refer back to previous experiences. Focus on writing notes specific to how heavy things felt and if you think you could have gone a bit heavier and kept your technique together. You’ll have to dip into loads or movements that intimidate you a little if you want to get better.

Jess: Be consistent in your practice. If it’s barbell lifts, then aim to make each rep at lighter weights perfect and slowly increase the weights from week to week or from WOD to WOD.  If you did the past three thruster workouts at 75 pounds and flew through them, then go for 80 next time. If you’re training a skill, then lay out a specific plan to help you get there.  Also, tell a buddy and have them help keep you accountable, or better yet, have them join you! Note though, that skill is singular. Don’t be the person that has a list of 10 skillz and can never really devote enough time to any one of them. 

CFSBK: Any parting thoughts?

David: Use your coaches as a resource! We want you to improve and always will let you know how a movement looks and whether you should scale up or back down. Let us know you’re trying to get stronger and we can give you some thoughts about how to modify your workout intelligently.

Jess: Know that for most of us, this stuff doesn’t come naturally and that some of us might never hit Rx-ed weights. We’re now in the CrossFit Open season, so now you can compare your WOD scores to people around the world. But just remember that ultimately you’re competing with yourself. In the beginning, focus on establishing your baseline. Keep a good logbook, set realistic goals, set time aside to practice, and then use your training to beat yourself. 

(An important caveat: Rx is not an advisable goal for all athletes. It can serve as a point of reference to make the process of choosing your weights easier, and enables our coaches to help you scale appropriately at the whiteboard.)

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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Rack Jerk | Split Squats, Ice Cream Makers, Run
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