Coach Ro leads a group class through DROMs over in 608. Do you know why we spend so much time warming up before class? Coach David wrote an article about standardized warm-ups at CrossFit affiliates on his blog, Inside the Affiliate. Check it out! | Photo by Thomas H.

• Happy birthday to Greg A. and CrossFit Kiddos Siena S. and Taran R.! 

Need a break from group class, or want to maximize your rest day? Here are a few other options you can explore tonight instead!

Active Recovery at 6:30pm

This class is designed to give your muscles and mind a rest. For an hour you’ll be guided through a combination of soft tissue work, mobility techniques, and general restorative movement. This class is perfect as a rest day for the heavy hitters, or as a light day’s work for beginners, and those of us somewhere in the middle. This class is also great for non-CrossFitters who could use a little soft tissue love. Want to learn more? We wrote a detailed article about this class on Coach David’s blog, Inside The Affililiate, called “Running an Active Recovery Class.”

Pilates with KH (a.k.a. Cage) at 7:30pm

Have you ever been told by a coach or PT that you have a weak core? Are you not sure what “keep your ribcage down” means? Do you suffer from a tweaky lower back after lifting heavy weights? Help is on the way! The Pilates Method can be great “accessory work” for a Crossfitter, not only because it improves flexibility and strengthens the abdominal and back muscles, but mainly because it can help you figure out HOW to use these muscles properly. Come join Kristin Hoesl (KH) in CFSBK’s first ever weekly Pilates class. We’ll go over neutral pelvis, engaging the transversus abdominis (say WHAT?), stabilizing the rib cage, and finding good shoulder girdle positioning. So if any of this sounds intriguing to you, come drop in on!

Schedule: Tuesday nights at 7:30pm upstairs in the CFSBK Annex
Price: Individual classes and 5-packs can be purchased here, or you can use your regular CrossFit group class membership to attend 

Learn more about KH in our interview with her, called “‘Mad Abs, Yo!’ How Pilates Complements CrossFit, and Getting to Know Kristin H.“

Anti-Gravity at 7:30pm (or Sundays at 2pm)

Is your kip krap? Are you muscle-ups more like muscle downs? Are your pistols mere pop guns? Coaches Noah and Arturo have designed Anti-Gravity: an hour-long gymnastics strength, skill, and conditioning class.

The class will focus on the gymnastics skill and strength components that are most commonly demanded in CrossFit workouts, using a variety of skill exercises, progressions, weighted and strict practice, and other techniques to teach, develop, and perfect your bodyweight movements. Our goal is to improve not only skill, but gymnastic work capacity and muscular endurance. 

When: Tuesdays at 7:30PM and Sundays at 2PM 
Cost: This counts as a regular group class

Each class will consist of skill work, strength development, conditioning, and flexibility training. Every class will include dedicated strength work and a WOD, so its intention is to be a complete workout of the day on its own.

Email Noah [at] CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com or Arturo [at] CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com with any questions!

_____________________ 
Can We Reverse the Aging Process By Putting Young Blood into Old People? The Guardian 
An Open Letter to CrossFit HQ T Nation
Chest Dip ExRx 

Bench Press

Performance: Low Intensity: 65-70% x 7 x 4
Go a bit by feel and perform 4×7 at 65-70% of your 1RM. 

Fitness: 3 x 5 Linear Progression
Start light enough to add weight throughout the 8-week cycle. 
_____________________ 

Deadlift

Fitness and Performance: Work up to one heavy set of 10 using perfect form.
Aim for 60-70% of your 1RM. Dead start, no touch-and-go. 

Exposure 1/8
Post loads to comments.
_____________________ 

For Time:
500m Row
400m Run
30 Burpees 

Post time and Rx to comments.

CFSBK’s Swole Crew representing at CrossFit Virtuosity yesterday. There are only two events left in the Subway Series competition, one at CrossFit Long Island City, and the last one at home. You can still sign up here!

Did You See the Programming For Our Upcoming 8-Week Cycle? 

At CFSBK, we program 8-week cycles that culminate in a Crush Week—when we bias longer, higher volume or benchmark workouts and overlap elements that were programmed on particular day. In training weeks one to eight, we work off a basic distribution of lifts and skills (which you can learn more about in an article Coach David wrote for his blog, Inside the Affiliate, called “Effective Programming Strategies For CrossFit Affiliates” and in an article Coach Fox wrote, pasted below). The intention of these next eight weeks is to target particular movements while still biasing general fitness as the overarching goal of training. 

Training Cycle Dates: M 8/10 – Su 10/4
Crush Week: M 10/5 – S 10/11
Transition Week: Will be the first week of the following cycle, starting October 5, 2015

Cycle Goals:

• Add rep/set variety to barbell strength training
• Incorporate more gymnastics strength training
• One dedicated WOD day each week

Monday: Bench Press + Deadlift + WOD
Wednesday: Squat + WOD
Thursday: Snatch + Gymnastics Strength Bias EMOM + WOD
Saturday: WOD, no dedicated lift with a Clean and Jerk bias
Sunday: Squat + WOD 

Get even more details on the Current Programming Cycle tab, which can always be accessed in the left-hand column under Member Resources.

The Underlying Philosophy Behind Programming at CFSBK

By Chris Fox 

At CFSBK, we program for long-term health and fitness utilizing strength training, Olympic lifting, gymnastics, and mostly CrossFit-style couplet and triplet conditioning work. While some days look a bit different, a routine day at CrossFit South Brooklyn looks like this: DROMs, Warm Ups, Lifting, WOD prep, followed by a WOD. Let’s look at some of the reasons why we structure and program this way in terms of what each segment offers. 

DROMs: A general, light, dynamic warm up of joints and soft tissue will get your heart rate up a bit and help you enter a training mindset. It starts to get the sleep out of your eyes or the emails in your inbox out of your head. It also offers time for the QOD [LINK], which can lighten the mood and let you get to know a bit about the people you’ll be working hard with. 

Warm Ups: You need to be warmed up properly to move well and help prevent injury. Standardized warm ups move you through a wide range of motion, get you sweaty, and give you an opportunity to develop some strength in basic gymnastics and barbell movements you’ll regularly see in classes. Focused barbell drills review the positions and intentions of the lift you’ll be working on that day. We structure the drills so that you also get warm as you’re doing them.

Lifts: You need to be stronger, as strength is the physical adaptation with the greatest carryover to the rest of your training and to life in general. You may have noticed that we squat twice each week. We’ve been programming this way for years and for good reason. I can’t say it any better than Mark Rippetoe so here’s a quote from the man himself:

“There is simply no other exercise, and certainly no machine, that provides the level of central nervous activity, improved balance and coordination, skeletal loading and bone density enhancement, muscular stimulation and growth, connective tissue stress and strength, psychological demand and toughness, and overall systemic conditioning than the correctly performed full squat.” 

We agree. 

The Olympic lifts train power, strength, coordination, flexibility, and overall athleticism. If you can throw a heavy weight overhead, catch it in a rock bottom overhead squat, then stand it up (PR bar slam optional), almost all of the other things we do will be easier. As far as the other lifts go, the bench is the best upper body strength developer and is simply fun. The press is another great upper body strength developer—it keeps the shoulder girdle healthy and works the muscles that stabilize your trunk extremely well. Every few cycles we’ll program an upper body gymnastics movement as a strength developer, as this allows us to have some fun and vary the stimulus a bit. The deadlift will get your back stronger like no other exercise can, and it’s almost always the lift where you’ll be able to move the most weight, automatically making it pretty cool. The average lifter should be able to deadlift more than they can squat. If that’s not the case for you, we recommend coming in on days when we’re pulling weights off the floor. 

WOD Prep and WOD: We discuss the intent of the WOD at the whiteboard, along with scaling options and strategies. The WOD is where we get our conditioning and develop the ability to work at high intensities for longer than a set of squats can take us. As stated above, we use mostly mixed modal couplets and triplets. Our conditioning tends to range from short, high intensity three- to seven-minute efforts, to medium intensity eight- 15-minute efforts on most days, with a lower intensity 20-minute-plus WOD thrown in once a week or so. 

Even when the total time is above 15 minutes, we’ll often use interval work so that intensity stays high, given that high intensity (anaerobic) training has positive carryovers to low intensity (aerobic) training and offers other benefits. High intensity training can develop and preserve muscle mass, whereas long slow distance training can cause you to lose it if used exclusively. High intensity training creates EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption), which sets your metabolism up to burn slightly more fat after exercise compared to endurance-type training—a boon if you’re looking to lose extra fat. Plus it’s time effective. If you can get the same or better benefit metabolically with shorter high intensity training, then the only reason to do the long slow stuff is if you don’t want to work that hard. 

Consider that maybe you don’t need more “cardio,” but actually need to work harder. I’d argue that hard work will also make you stronger in non-physical ways. We throw something like “Murph” at you a few times each year since we know you secretly love it and it’s cool to see that you haven’t lost your ability to go that long in spite of all your gainz. If we programmed hero type WODs all the time however, we’d likely have an oft-injured population with a narrow scope of fitness. Time and intensity have an inverse relationship in that the longer you work, the lower the intensity must be. By intensity, I mean power output. I know a marathon can be an intense experience, but you’re not working as hard on those miles as you would be while doing 800m repeats. Furthermore, the longer you go, the more reps you’re going to be doing and the more fatigued you’ll be. You don’t move better on the 69th deadlift compared to the 9th, trust me. Remember: we’re programming for our general population to be fit for the long term—not to crush a week’s worth of hero WODs followed by six weeks of PT. 

Cool Down: This portion is largely up to you, but you really don’t need us to babysit while you run, row an easy 1000 meters, or spend some quality time with a foam roller. 

To wrap up, CFSBK’s programming is designed to give you the most training value. We do these things because they are effective, not because they are in vogue or even because our members demand that we do things a certain way. We’ve withstood a few silly fitness trends in favor of what science and experience says works and will continue to do so, evolving as we learn. Training here is hard, it’s consistent, and it isn’t always exciting or sexy, but it works. We’re lucky to have so many of you who seem to agree and are willing to put in the hard work!

_____________________
How’d Crush Week go? What did you think of the programming last cycle? Give us your thoughts in the comments below, or through our online feedback form (always located in the left-hand column at the bottom of Member Resources). We love hearing from you!  

“Danny“

AMRAP 20 minutes:
30 Box Jumps 24/20
20 Push Presses 115/75
30 Pull-Ups

Scale load and volume as appropriate, but this should be a bit of a slog. If you can jump on the Rx’d box and do 5 reps at a time of the Rx’d push press and pull-ups, then Rx today. If not, scale some volume and or load and pull-up variant.

Post rounds and Rx to comments.
Compare to 2.2.2011

Check out Episode 2 of CrossFit’s “Road to Conviction” series! While incarcerated, Fletcher Tholin discovered CrossFit. Watch his rehabilitation in this eight-part series.

• Kids Club is CANCELED today, since Coach Janelle is out of town!

Good Luck to Our Subway Series Competitors!

The Subway Series is happening over at CrossFit Virtuosity today. Here are the CFSBKers that will be representing for us:

Pierre D.        
KLove
Brendan N.    
Alex N.          
Brad D.
Jason M.
Mare L.
Coach K HarpZ
Lauren S.
Coach Jess
Coach Whit

_________________
A Tribute to the Incredibly Swole Bro Who Plays Gaston at Disney World GQ 

Open Workout 12.4

AMRAP 12 Minutes:
150 Wall Balls 20/10, 14/9
90 Double-Unders
30 Muscle-Ups

Substitute chest-to-bar or kipping pull-ups for muscle-ups.

Post time and Rx to comments.
Compare to 11.10.14 and 5.29.14 

Coach Jeremy competed in the USAPL meet last weekend, and his bench press was an all-time competition PR (video above)! Here’s his report: “The meet went well overall. The 424# squat ties the best I’d ever done in competition, but it was way easier this time than the last time (2 years ago) and I weighed in much lighter at 178lb versus 196lb. The bench was an all-time competition (pause) bench PR. I had hit 325 2 years ago (at that heavier weight), getting 330 (150kg) was a longstanding goal, so I was really pumped to hit it. DL was blah.  It was late in the day and I was kinda done with the meet.  Hit my opener, the 451, but my 2nd attempt was ugly and I gave up on it quick and passed my third.” 

• Want to try something other than group class today? Check out Yoga for Athletes at 10am, Active Recovery at 11am and 12pm, or Open Gym from 2-4pm!
• Kids Club is CANCELED tomorrow, as Coach Janelle is out of town!
• Happy birthday, Simon H.!

Check Out Our Upcoming Training Cycle Template!

Training Cycle Dates: M 8/10 – Su 9/27
Crush Week: M 9/28 – S 10/4
Transition Week: Will be the first week of the following cycle, starting October 5, 2015

Cycle Goals:

• Add rep/set variety to barbell strength training
• Incorporate more gymnastics strength training
• One dedicated WOD day each week

Monday: Bench Press + Deadlift + WOD
Wednesday: Squat + WOD
Thursday: Snatch + Gymnastics Strength Bias EMOM + WOD
Saturday: WOD, no dedicated lift with a Clean and Jerk bias
Sunday: Squat + WOD 

Performance Bench Cycle

Weeks:
1 and 4: Low – 65-70%x7x4
2 and 5: Medium – 75-80%x5x4
3 and 6: High – 85-90%x3x4
7: Heavy 3
8: 1RM Test 

Fitness Bench Cycle

3×5 Linear Progression
Last exposure is a 1-3RM test 

Fitness and Performance Deadlift Cycle

Increasing loads through the 8-week cycle, warm up to one top set of:
1 – Heavy 10
2 – Heavy 8
3 – Heavy 5
4 – Heavy 5
5 – Heavy 5
6 – Heavy 3
7 – Heavy 3
8 – 1-3RM test 

Performance Squat Cycle

Back Squat first and then Front Squat. 4 total work sets of squats each squat day.
Low – 65-70%x7x2
Medium – 75-80%x5x2
High – 85-90%x3x2
15 Rotating Exposures (Wed-Low, Sun-Med, Wed-High)
Last exposure is a 1RM test 

Fitness Squat Cycle

Goal is to add weight each week.
Wednesday Front Squat
3×10 (start at about 75% of your best 3×5 from last cycle, or 60-70% of a 1RM)
3×10
3×8
3×8
3×5
3×5
Heavy Triple Test
Heavy Single Test

Sunday Back Squat
3×10 (start at about 75% of your best 3×5 from last cycle, or 60-70% of a 1RM)
3×10
3×8
3×8
3×5
3×5
Heavy Triple Test
Heavy Single Test

Want to learn more about CFSBK’s programming? Check out these articles:

• The Underlying Philosophy Behind Programming at CFSBK Chris Fox
• A New Dawn for CFSBK Programming: Fitness and Performance David Osorio
• Low Bar and High Bar Back Squats David Osorio  

_________________ 
Orphaned Kangaroo Finds Comfort in Teddy Bear CBS News 

Coach K HarpZ owning all the weight at the CrossFit 718 Summer Games | Photo by the multitalented Coach MeLo

The 2015 Subway Series Continues This Sunday at CrossFit Virtuosity 

The event isn’t full yet—you can still sign up here! The workout is below:

“Deficit Diane”

Rx Division
For time (15 minute cap):
28 deadlifts, 185/125
28 HSPU, to floor / 1 abmat
21 deadlifts, 225/155
21 HSPU, to 1″ deficit / floor
15 deadlifts, 275/185
15 HSPU, 2″ deficit / 1″ deficit
9 deadlifts, 315/205 
9 HSPU, 3″ deficit / 2″ deficit

Scaled Division
For time (15 minute cap):
28 deadlifts, 135/95
28 incline push-ups, 18/36″
21 deadlifts, 185/115
21 incline push-ups, 12/24″
15 deadlifts, 215/135
15 incline push-ups, 6″/12″
9 deadlifts, 235/155 
9 push-ups, no incline

For CFSBK’s event on August 23, we still need judges and a score keeper! Judges are expected to monitor range-of-motion and reps for each workout. Coach David will do a session to review movement standards and protocol before the event. The score keeper needs to do data entry on the scoring system and should be comfortable with spreadsheets. Please email David [at] CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com if you’re interested.

_________________ 
How CrossFit (and a Little Cancer) Helped Me Grow a Bit… Down There The Huffington Post
Exercise May Make Tumors Less Aggressive, More Likely to Respond to Treatment American Cancer Society 

AMRAP 30 Minutes:
10 Hang Power Snatches 115/75
10 Toes to Bar
270m Run

Post time and Rx to comments.

Did you know we also teach the kiddos to fly in our CrossFit Preschool and Kids programs?? Just kidding. But Coaches David and Janelle do teach physical development through games and kid appropriate “workouts.” Most importantly, they’re all about having FUN! Learn more and sign your offspring up here for our August classes. Tristan D. is pictured above. 

• Check out Active Recovery at 7:30pm tonight!

Catching Up With CFSBK Classifieds

• CFSBK family Jay (JayStar), Adele, and Niko are looking for a new family for their nanny of 9 years, Hazel. Ideally they would like to keep her on part-time and share with another family, but are open to a full-time position if they find a wonderful family who needs full-time help. Check out CFSBK Classifieds for details.
• Dr. Mike wants to buy a used Concept II Erg! More details here.
• Nino needs to find a podiatrist in the NYC area. Any recommendations for him?
• Muxx is looking for a good motorcycle mechanic. Come on CFSBK Moto Club, help her out!

FoxTrot 5K Race for Parkinson’s Research

Team Fox, the community fundraising arm at The Michael J. Fox Foundation, is hosting a FoxTrot 5K race on Thursday, August 13th in Riverside Park (103rd Street) at 7pm. Registration is $35 and includes free beer at the post-race party in Cafe Ellington right in the park!

100% of the proceeds will go directly to funding Parkinson’s research! You can register online by 8/11 here.

If you have any questions, please contact CFSBK OG Steph P. at shpaddock [at] gmail.com.

_________________ 
Grilling Meat and Cancer, an Infographic Precision Nutrition
Real World Overhead Mobility for Weightlifting Catalyst Athletics 

Performance
3 Rounds, For Time:
5 Deadlifts 365/255
10 Alternating Pistols 35/25
then,
30 Handstand Push-Ups 

Fitness
5 Rounds, For Time:
8 Deadlifts 185/125
8 Front Squats 185/125
8 Feet Elevated Push-Ups 24/20″

Post time and Rx to comments.

CFSBK’s crew took this adorable photo at CrossFit Queens’s Subway Series last weekend. There’s still time to sign up for the upcoming events (see our right-hand sidebar for the locations of each). All athletes MUST register for each individual event in advance in order to participate. REGISTER HERE

• Happy birthday, Malachy M. and Jesse S.!

Want to Get Better at Olympic Lifting? Join the Next Level Weightlifting Club at CFSBK

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

While there are universal weekly workouts, they can and likely will change from person to person depending on each individual’s needs. All people are different and therefore require different things to be successful. At Next Level Weightlifting Club, we take that into account and make adjustments as needed to optimize progress. 

Typical Sessions Include:

• Group Warm-up
• Heavy Lift (Snatch/Clean/Jerk)
• Light Lift (Snatch/Clean/Jerk)
• Squats
• Pulls/Presses
• Mobility 

Schedule:

Monday 7:30-9:30pm
Wednesday 7:30-9:30pm
Friday 6:30-8:30am

Pricing:

Drop-In: $30
10 Class Punch Card: $250 ($25 / Class)

Recurring Monthly Memberships:
3x/Oly $200 (Weightlifting Club only)
2x/Oly $150 (Weightlifting Club only) 

Group Group Class Add Ons:
If you’d like to combine Olympic Lifting with our Group class offerings, you can include an add on to your membership which can be used on CrossFit, Open Gym, Yoga, Pilates or Gymnastics Class.

+2x Group Class Add-on $100
+3x Group Class Add-on $150

REGISTER HERE  

This program is ongoing so participants may sign up whenever they want.
Your credit card will be charged immediately at a prorated rated for the rest of the current month. This membership will then automatically renew on the first of every month moving forward until cancelled.

Any questions regarding this program can be sent to info [at] CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com and olympiclifter88 [at] gmail.com.

_________________
Hilarious Highlights of Toddler Gymnastics Babble
Can You Beat Top European CrossFit Athlete Will Kane in This Tough Workout? Joe (Find more UK CrossFit lovin’ here) 
See How Healthy Your State Is By How Often People Tweet About Donuts and Exercise Fast Company

Charlie N. at her first USAPL meet last Saturday. She took third in her weight class, and shared some thoughts from the experience with us below! 

• Happy birthday, David G.! 
• If you’re not too wiped from Crush Week already, check out AntiGravity tonight at 7:30pm (or Sundays at 2pm). This class focuses on gymnastics skill and strength components that are most commonly demanded in CrossFit workouts, using a variety of skill exercises, progressions, weighted and strict practice, and other techniques to teach, develop, and perfect your bodyweight movements. Hit up Coaches Noah or Arturo with any questions! 
• Or check out Active Recovery at 6:30pm, or Pilates with KH at 7:30pm!

August CrossFit Preschool and CrossFit Kids Classes Are Now Available For Registration!

CrossFit Preschool and CrossFit Kids emphasizes physical development through games and kid appropriate “workouts”. Most importantly, we’re all about having FUN! Developing a positive association between fitness, physical activity, and the joy of movement is the primary goal of our program. Our classes are comprised of obstacle courses, relay races, basic gymnastics, games and other engaging physical activities. Think of it like the gym class you wish you had growing up!

Mondays (8/3 – 8/24):
CF Kids – 4:30p – 5:30p  

Wednesdays (8/5 – 8/26):
CF Preschool – 3:30p – 4:30p
CF Kids – 4:30p – 5:30p 

Fridays (8/7 – 8/28):
CrossFit Preschool – 10:00a – 11:00a

Sundays (8/9 – 8/30):
CrossFit Preschool – 10:00a – 11:00a

Pricing:

Non-member:
1x/week – $120
2x/week – $200 

Member:
1x/week – $102
2x/week – $170

20% for older sibling

REGISTER HERE

Email Janelle [at] CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com if you have any questions or need help registering.

Charlie N. Shares Thoughts From Her First USAPL Meet

Congrats to all our CFSBK folks who competed in the USAPL meet last Saturday, including Coaches Fox (read his post-meet reflections in yesterday’s comments), Jeremy, and Margie, and Rob Is. Front Desk superstar Charlie N. also competed, and sent us this cool write-up about her first experience at a meet.

Saturday was a crazy, intense, emotional, nerve-wracking but incredible rewarding experience. To say I was out of my comfort zone would be a massive understatement. 

I somehow came third in my weight class. (72kg) Because it was my first big meet, I assumed I would be somewhere near the bottom or floating in the middle of my weight class and I had no idea how well I was doing because I wasn’t looking at anyone else’s numbers at all. This was how I missed them calling my name to give me my medal- I was upstairs eating sardines at the time. I really couldn’t believe it when the woman who came second found me and told me to go get my medal.

There were so many people and the whole meet felt extremely disorganized and chaotic. Luckily Coach Margie had made it easy for me and given me my attempts beforehand with Plan A if I felt amazing and Plan B if things did not feel so great, so I really didn’t have to think very much about anything. All of my attempts aside from the last ones, were weights I had done recently.

I had all of my warm-up sets figured out in KG and even color coded so I would know exactly what plates to use so the warm-up would be easy but unfortunately the warm-up area was a disaster. There were not enough plates there at all, so I had to wing it a bit and I am not sure I warmed up very efficiently at all.

I thought I would be completely freaked out with that many people watching but in the end it was just me and the judge in front of me. In a way I want to do this again and get better at that part. Everything felt heavier to me on the day because it was such unfamiliar territory. I feel it is something I could learn to do a lot better with more practice.

I missed my second squat attempt on depth, but still added weight. I sank my last attempt as much as I could and it was a very ugly squat, but I fought with everything I had and somehow made the lift. That was definitely one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life, but there was no way I was missing that lift. Pretty sure there was an American Record attempt happening at the same time on the platform beside me so there probably weren’t even many people paying attention but I could hear Coach Jeremy shouting behind me to keep going. He later said something along the lines of that that was more of a test of will than of physical strength.

I also missed my first bench press attempt. The safeties were high and the bar hit them at the same time as my chest which distracted me and so I missed the rack command. I went with my Plan B after that and made the following two lifts after getting the spotters to move the safeties down.

By the time we got to the deadlift I was really tired. I did the warm-ups too fast and could probably have done with a couple of extra sets and rest between. I just felt the pressure of so many people sharing the space. Everything felt heavy and I was sore from the other lifts but I did it and I went with my Plan B and PRed. It wasn’t the PR I wanted but it was the right decision on the day. 

If I do this again, which I probably will, I will take my time—not only warming up but also setting up for each lift. I think that might have made my Plan A more achievable.

I want to thank Margie for not only believing in me and helping me to get so much stronger but also for being the voice of reason throughout my training and all day on Saturday even as she was participating and kicking ass herself. I have a tendency to want to always go heavier but I have learned in the last while that just because I can lift something, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I should. And of course thanks also to the Squat Whisperer for his squat whisperin’.

Still can’t believe I went home with a medal.

Charlie’s Numbers:
Squat: 275.6
Bench: 137.8
Deadlift: 325.2

Total: 738.6

_________________ 
Natural Gatorade Electrolyte Eixir Ginger Newtrition 
Robbie Maddison’s Pipe Dream Transworld Motocross 

2015 Games Event #10

The Triangle Triplet
For Time, 15-10-6: 
Thrusters 165/115
Bar Muscle-Ups

or

“Fran”

For Time, 21-15-9:
Thrusters 95/65
Pull-Ups  

Compare to 10.17.2014 

Post time and Rx to comments.

Dan making running look fun. Need some running training tips? Check out this article from CFSBK’s old Endurance Program coach, Mike O., who left us for the West Coast | Photo by Thomas H.

News and Notes

• Did you lose something? Check out the most recent photo from the lost and found bin and claim your gear!
• Happy belated birthday to all our folks that we missed in July! If you want us to know about your birthday and give you a shout-out on your special day, make sure the Front Desk has your info!

Chasing Rx: When To Scale and When To Go Heavier

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

We ran this interview back in March, but since Crush Week begins today (!), we want to share it again in the interest of helping you figure out how to approach the WODs today and the rest of this week. Check it out, and get after it this week!

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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Work up to a heavy single or attempt a PR today.

e8/8
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In 4:00, complete as many reps as possible of the following couplet/rep scheme:
1 Power Clean 185/125
5 Burpees
2 Power Cleans
5 Burpees
3 Power Cleans
5 Burpees
4 Power Cleans
5 Burpees
…

Rest 2:00

7 Intervals of Row for max meters :20, rest for :10

Post how for you got in the ladder as well as your best and worst rowing score.

Congratulations to all the new PR’s achieved by folks who participated in the Total yesterday!

• Also congratulations to all the lifters who competed in the USAPL Meet yesterday. Meet details and videos to follow!
• Good luck to Mary M, Alex B, Alex N, Joe W and Brad D who will be representing CFSBK at today’s Subway Series competition at CrossFit Queens!

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Alan Cheuse, Novelist And Longtime NPR Contributor, Dies At 75
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