2015 Regionals Workout #6

Performance
5 Rounds for Time:
25 Calorie Row
16 Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups
9 Strict Deficit Handstand Push-Ups

HSPU Rx: Use 4.5″ for Men, 3″ for Women

Fitness
5 Rounds for Time:
24/16 Calorie Row
16 Pull-Ups or Ring Rows
8 Handstand Push Ups, Box Piked Push-Ups, or Push-Ups

Post time and Rx to comments.

Just another day at the office for Coach Jeremy and Clio | Photo by Thomas H. 

CFSBK FAQs

As you may have noticed we’ve added a Frequently Asked Questions page accessible under Member Resources on the blog (to the right). Many thanks to Coach Chris Fox for writing this page! To draw your attention to the FAQs and to refamiliarize everyone with some important stuff, we’ll be reposting some of these questions and answers to the blog. Next up…

How Do I Decide Whether to Do Fitness or Performance Programming?

All of our new Foundations graduates follow Fitness programming for at least 2 cycles (3-6 months) and some will follow it indefinitely depending on goals and training consistency. If your goals are simply to be pretty fit and you don’t necessarily have any performance goals in CrossFit, then you may just be fine doing the Fitness workouts for the long haul. They’re quite potent in their own right and coupled with sound nutrition and recovery practices (sleep and relaxation techniques), they can likely get you where you want to go. This is especially true if you tend to fall in and out of a consistent gym schedule.

If you’re starting to nerd out on CrossFit and have some performance related goals, or maybe want to up your skill set and possibly compete, then you might benefit from our Performance programming. If you’ve been training consistently for at least 6 months and have “hit a plateau” that isn’t related to other factors like poor nutrition and recovery practices mentioned above, then ask a coach if you should give Performance a shot. The switch may not be 100% at first, though. Say you’ve made all of the Fitness squat exposures for 3 cycles and are maxed out on that lift, you should probably progress to Performance on the squat. If during the same time period you weren’t as consistent with another movement, say the Snatch, then you might hang back and follow the Fitness programming for that lift. Furthermore, from day to day, the Performance metcon might have a skill component that you don’t possess yet. On those days you might choose to do Performance during the lifting segment, then do the Fitness version of the metcon. Again, if you’re not sure then ask a coach.

Helen for Houston Results

Thanks to everyone who did Helen for Houston this past weekend. 77 of you posted your workouts to the blog. While we originally planned to donate $1.50 per round, in the spirit of giving, we bumped it up to $3 per round. That makes our total contribution $693! 

CFSBKer Moe  N. of beyond the whiteboard generously offered to give free merch to 3 randomly chosen people who posted their results. Those people are: Daniel Rocha, Brad Larson, and Jen Bokoff. The front desk will be in touch with more info!

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Rest Day
Eddie Hall’s Single-Arm Human Shoulder Press BarBend
Garage Mind: The Spirit of American Weightlifting Catalyst Athletics

Athlete of the Month: Katie Egan

By Chris Fox

This month we recognize Katie Egan, a pocket-sized Bostonian who has really impressed the coaches lately. Not that we’re all that surprised, though. We could see her potential right away when she first started with us. Since then she’s shown great patience, dedication, coach-ability, and ability. Read on, and don’t forget to ask her to tell you a cheesy joke!

Fox: Congrats! Your name has been mentioned for a few months now for AOM and finally, here we are. When and how did you first start CrossFit?

Katie: Thanks! I’m almost embarrassed about this. I’d done CrossFit a few times up in Boston in 2014 when my ex-boyfriend, Scott, convinced me to try it out. When I moved to Brooklyn that year I came to CFSBK and started coming regularly that October.

Fox: Exes can always be good for something. I’m glad we got you in the split! What were your first impressions of CrossFit, and what were you doing before?

Katie: Well my first impression during my “test out” class with David, was that I really sucked at some stuff and that I didn’t really know what a Squat was. I remember the workout was some intervals of 270m runs and 20 Pull-Ups. I couldn’t do 4 Chin-Ups with the help of a green band. I’d done “weight training” in college but quickly learned that those Squats were bullshit. It was humbling but also frustrating enough to make me want to improve. Before coming here I was doing a bunch of random stuff: SoulCycle, home bootcamp video workouts like Insanity, and the occasional run. In college I played soccer (with fellow CFSBKers and roomies Toni and Allie!) and used the student gym, but I hadn’t been going to a gym regularly since school.

Fox: I’ve heard someone say that you are the best athlete they’ve ever been around. You must be pretty impressive on the soccer pitch! Were you always into sports and physical activity?

Katie: That’s quite the overstatement! I have always been around athletics though. My two older brothers were wrestlers, and I played multiple sports once I was old enough so a lot of our time as a family was spent traveling to and from youth sporting events. In high school I played soccer, basketball, and despite my lack of talent at it, became the captain of our tennis team. (Ask me about the time I took a speeding tennis ball to the eye.) Even between the three of us, our parent’s somehow managed, in addition to both working as full-time nurses, to make time to support us in sports. I’m really grateful for that.

Fox: That’s awesome that your parents helped keep you all involved in being physical. What was it about CrossFit that made you stick to it?

Katie: Besides that fast that I’m a bit stubborn and wanted to get better at Pull-Ups and do real Squats? In college I played on a D1 soccer team that was pretty competitive, and I’ve always loved to compete. CrossFit filled that hole for me that was missing once I wasn’t in team sports anymore. It also reminded me a little bit of a class that our high school gym teacher would run that he called “Gut Check.” It was just a mix of HIIT type exercises, but it was fun and I always felt like I was working hard.

Fox: Where’d you grow up? And what brought you to Brooklyn?

Katie: I grew up in Hanover, Massachusetts which is a suburb of Boston. My parents and brothers are all still there. I came to Brooklyn in 2009 for college when I attended the nursing program at LIU. I honestly always thought I’d return to Massachusetts but I did an internship that led to employment and started working right after school. Between school, soccer, and work, I’ve developed some strong friendships that have kept me here. I didn’t love Brooklyn at first, but I do now. I also didn’t love that first job, but I recently switched to another location and things are looking up.

Fox: What do you do outside of work and working out?

Katie: I love my time spent playing under the Brooklyn Bridge Park lights with the CFSBK soccer team, and also love our after-game drinks at Sweet Polly. I like going on long runs, regularly covering miles in Prospect Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park. I also like to travel with friends when we can. I’ve got a group of 5-10 girls from my college soccer team who travel once or twice a year together. We’ve recently been to Nashville, New Orleans, and Denver. I’m usually the one trying to plan outdoorsy stuff like hikes but we’ll often just spend time chilling out, laughing, and catching up.

Fox: You mentioned that you love to compete. Have you done any CrossFit comps?

Katie: Yes! KHarpz and I recently took first place at Hail to the Team! Granted there were not many Rx’d women’s teams but it was still fun. We’re also doing Flex on the Beach together with Brett and Phil, which I’m excited for. I’ve only done team competitions so far so I’ll have to sign up as an individual at some point, I guess.

Fox: What were some things you first worked on in CrossFit, and what are you currently working on?

Katie: Pull-Ups and Chin-Ups, as I mentioned before. Now I’m working on consistent Butterfly Pull-Ups. It’s kind of funny: I always thought I’d just be one of those people who can’t do Pull-Ups, so it’s really cool to see the progress there. I’ve even done a few Bar Muscle-Ups but would like them to be consistent as well. I’m doing an Active Life Performance Care program, Bulletproof Shoulders, that I was given from the last seminar. Then also, like everyone, Olympic lifting is always a work in progress. I like to set different goals for each training cycle, it helps to keep me focused on making small progress throughout. I’m also working on simply getting stronger. Last cycle I made a point to do harder versions of the workouts and not to modify or scale if I could do the Rx’d loads and movements. I accepted that my times would be slower, and I wouldn’t worry about about my speed as much.

Fox: What’s something about you that most people don’t know?

Katie: Hmmm… I love to sing and dance to just about every kind of music, from 70’s rock to current teeny bopper stuff. I also love cheesy jokes and one-liners. I heard a great one recently when a random guy approached me on a grocery store checkout line: “What do you call a line of rabbits marching backwards?” … “A receding hairline!”

Fox: HAH! I love awful jokes. Last question… What should we look for in a future Athlete of the Month?

Katie: Someone with good training habits, who’s always pushing and doing a little bit extra to improve. I think positively affecting others is also important, whether it’s verbally supporting a classmate when they could use it or inspiring people through your actions to perform to their very best.

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Why Black Holes Could Delete the Universe Kurzgesagt
Moving When Young May Strengthen the Adult Brain NY Times

“Tommy Mac”

2 Rounds for Time:
12 Burpees
12 Thruster 115/75
12 Burpees
12 Power Snatch 115/75
12 Burpees
12 Push Jerks 115/75
12 Burpees
12 Hang Squat Clean 115/75
12 Burpees
12 Overhead Squats 115/75

In addition to the 120 Burpees, “Tommy Mac” involves 24 reps each of 5 different barbell lifts: Thrusters, Power Snatches, Push Jerks, Hang Squat Cleans, and Overhead Squats. The barbell weight should be a medium-heavy, manageable load, allowing each set of 12 do be done either unbroken or in 2-3 quick sets. The Power Snatches are the exception here. If you’re not great at cycling these, then quick singles is appropriate. Aim to keep moving through the Burpees at a steady pace.

Post time and Rx to comments.

It’s a bird, it’s a plane… no, wait… it’s Coach Brett. Still good! | Photo by Thomas H. 

LABOR DAY SCHEDULE

Happy Labor Day from CFSBK. We’ll be running on a modified schedule today. We’ll offer 9am Short Circuit, 11am Fit 55+, and 10am, 11am, and 12pm group classes, plus Open Gym from 9am to 1pm. Starting Strength Program classes will run at 10am and 12pm. Everything else is cancelled.

Monday, September 11th: Own Your Eating Seminar at CFSBK

CFSBK is thrilled to announce that we’ll be hosting an Own Your Eating Seminar on Monday, September 11th from 6 to 8pm.

Own Your Eating’s mission is to educate as many people as possible about flexible eating and give them the tools they need to set them up for long term success with their nutrition. Seminars typically last 2 hours from start to finish including time for questions and the chance to chat with hosts Roz & Jason one-on-one.

Please bring a pen and paper to take notes.  We also recommend downloading My Fitness Pal to your smartphone in advance.

This seminar is just $25 if you sign up ahead of time, so what are you waiting for?

Register Here!

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Kick Soda, Drop Diabetes Drugs CrossFit Journal
Ammonia, Deadlifts, and the Splits: A Day with Jujimufu BarBend

Clean and Jerk

Fitness
Heavy Single
1-1-1-1-1

Performance
1RM
85%, 90%, 94%, 97%, 100%… 100+%

The pull from the floor should be purposeful and balanced, with your weight balanced over mid-foot. Same for the dip and drive on the Jerk. Aim to make 3-5 reps above 85%, more if you’re feeling good. If you have a miss, you get another shot at it. Another miss means take a few pounds off. This is a testing day. If you’re feeling good then go for it. If not, then get a few heavy reps in and live to lift another day. In either case, end on a make.

Post loads to comments.

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20 Minutes Not for Rounds:
100 Single-Unders
20/15 Calorie Row
10 Paused Dumbbell Thrusters

Move at a maintainable pace, choosing a light-medium weight for the Thrusters. Pause for a 2 count at lockout on the Thrusters.

Post work to comments.

Sasha and Ariel showing off that balance. Check out more of Thomas H.’s recent work here! 

Register Now for the 2017 Subway Series

Another year has gone by, and it’s time once again for an NYC affiliate throw down: the seventh annual Subway Series! All NYC affiliates are invited to participate—the affiliate with the best overall score at the end of four events wins the Subway Series Trophy and bragging rights for a whole year! Here’s the whole schedule:

Saturday, September 16th: CrossFit Gantry
Saturday, September 30th: CrossFit Queens
Saturday, October 14th: CFSBK
Saturday, October 28th: CrossFit Virtuosity

This year’s Subway Series is using a team format (M/M and F/F) and there are both Scaled and Rx’d divisions, so we hope as many CFSBKers as possible will sign up. As you can tell from last year’s photos, it’s a fun day. You can register here, but hurry: early bird pricing only lasts through September 5th!

Labor Day Schedule

We’ll be running on a modified schedule for Labor Day tomorrow. We’ll offer 9am Short Circuit, 11am Fit 55+, and 10am, 11am, and 12pm group classes  that day, plus Open Gym from 9am to 1pm. Starting Strength Program classes will run at 10am and 12pm. Every thing else is cancelled. Happy Labor Day!

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Squat Test | “Helen for Houston”
20 Elite Lifters Share Their Pre-1RM and PR Thoughts BarBend
Why You Need Better Ankle Mobility Girls Gone Strong

Back Squat Test

Performance
1-1-1-1-1

Fitness
3-3-3-3-3

Warm up and establish a new 1RM or 3RM. No tempo today!

Post loads to comments.

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“Helen for Houston”

3 Rounds for Time:
400m Run
21 Kettlebell Swings, 1.5/1 pood
12 Pull-Ups

Post time and Rx to comments.

Helen for Houston

For today workout, we’re teaming up with our friends at beyond the whiteboard to support their Helen for Houston initiative to help CrossFit Affiliates affected by Hurricane Harvey rebuild their gyms and communities. CFSBK will donate $1.50 for every round of “Helen” completed at the gym on Friday and Saturday. You must post your workout results to the comments section of today’s blog post in order for your work to be counted. As beyond the whiteboard says:

It’s important to remember that the people who own and run these affiliates are small business owners. They are not part of a big globo gym system. It’s your mom-and-pop gym that happens to be the best gym in the area. If you’re a member of a CrossFit Affiliate, then you know what we are talking about. This is their passion project.

100% of money raised will be donated to affiliates in the Houston area who need help. Join us this week for #HelenForHouston. Helen is one of the most popular benchmark workouts in CrossFit and has been done over 126,000 times on btwb.

As an added bonus, BTWB will be picking three random blog commenters today and giving them their choice of CFSBK merch (hat, shirt, socks, whatever!) as a thank you for participating!

Additionally, we’ll have a computer set up so you can donate to this and other relief organizations like the Red Cross, UNICEF USA, Houston Food Bank, and Texas Diaper Bank if you need that extra nudge to donate to any organization providing relief. Every little bit helps!

This is a  good time to recognize that staying fit makes us all better citizens, more equipped to help ourselves and those in need in times of crisis. So come on in today or tomorrow, do your best “Helen,” and don’t forget to note your results on today’s blog post!

TODAY: Prospect Park Potluck

Celebrate the end of summer with your CFSBK buds. This afternoon, CFSBK will be hosting a potluck at Prospect Park. Come lounge on the grass, throw some frisbee, toss the ol’ pigskin, and hang out with your gym buds. What better way to celebrate Labor Day weekend?

We’ll be on the hill south of the Picnic House from 2pm on. Bring a dish or drink to share. Friends, family, and dogs are, of course welcomed. We can’t wait to see you there!

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Rest Day
The Real CrossFit Fight T-Nation
Single-Minded Devotion to a Task Zen Habits

Helen for Houston

For Saturday’s workout, we’re teaming up with our friends at beyond the whiteboard to support their Helen for Houston initiative to help CrossFit Affiliates affected by Hurricane Harvey rebuild their gyms and communities. CFSBK will donate $1.50 for every round of “Helen” completed at the gym on Friday and Saturday. You must post your workout results to the comments section Saturday’s blog post in order for your work to be counted. As beyond the whiteboard says:

It’s important to remember that the people who own and run these affiliates are small business owners. They are not part of a big globo gym system. It’s your mom-and-pop gym that happens to be the best gym in the area. If you’re a member of a CrossFit Affiliate, then you know what we are talking about. This is their passion project.

100% of money raised will be donated to affiliates in the Houston area who need help. Join us this week for #HelenForHouston. Helen is one of the most popular benchmark workouts in CrossFit and has been done over 126,000 times on btwb.

Additionally, we’ll have a computer set up so you can donate to this and other relief organizations like the Red Cross, UNICEF USA, Houston Food Bank, and Texas Diaper Bank if you need that extra nudge to donate to any organization providing relief. Every little bit helps!

This is a  good time to recognize that staying fit makes us all better citizens, more equipped to help ourselves and those in need in times of crisis. So come on in today or tomorrow, do your best “Helen,” and don’t forget to note your results on Saturday’s blog post!

Tomorrow: Prospect Park Potluck

Celebrate the end of summer with your CFSBK buds. This Saturday, September 2nd, CFSBK will be hosting a potluck at Prospect Park. Come lounge on the grass, throw some frisbee, toss the ol’ pigskin, and hang out with your gym buds. What better way to celebrate Labor Day weekend?

We’ll be on the hill south of the Picnic House from 2pm on. Bring a dish or drink to share. Friends, family, and dogs are, of course welcomed. We can’t wait to see you there!

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Snatch | NFT Work
38 Things You’ll Hopefully Learn from Weightlifting Catalyst Athletics
Optimistic Nihilism Kurzgesagt

Snatch

Fitness
Heavy Single
1-1-1-1-1

Performance
1RM
85%, 90%, 94%, 97%, 100%… 105%

The pull from the floor should be purposeful and balanced, with your weight balanced over mid-foot. Aim to make 3-5 reps above 85%, more if you’re feeling good. If you have a miss, you get another shot at it. Another miss means take a few lbs off. This is a testing day. If you’re feeling good, then go for it! If not, then get a few heavy reps in and live to snatch another day. In either case, end on a make.

Post loads to comments.

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4 Rounds Not for Time:
100′ ea Single-Arm Farmer Carry, as heavy as possible
Max Unbroken Ring Dips

Scale the dips to the Matador or to Push-Ups as needed. You should be able to do a set of at least 8 reps to start out.

Post work to comments.

TBT: This week(ish) 3 years ago, Coach McDowell lifted Coach MeLo during the Dirty Dancing portion of the Subway Series at CFSBK. Help us celebrate 10 years of strength, community, and conditioning at our 10-year Anniversary Party on September 30th! And don’t forget to sign up for this year’s Subway Series! You’ll have the time of your life. (Sorry.)

This Saturday: Prospect Park Potluck

Celebrate the end of summer with your CFSBK buds. On Saturday, September 2nd, CFSBK will be hosting a potluck at Prospect Park. Come lounge on the grass, throw some frisbee, toss the ol’ pigskin, and hang out with your gym buds. What better way to celebrate Labor Day weekend?

We’ll be on the hill south of the Picnic House from 2pm on. Bring a dish or drink to share. Friends, family, and dogs are, of course welcomed. We can’t wait to see you there!

News and Notes

• CFSBKer Nathan Englander has a new novel out called Dinner at the Center of the Earth! There are a couple of launch events coming up that we want you to know about. The first is the official launch at Joe’s pub on Tuesday, September 5th at 4:30pm. You can RSVP for that here. The second is Nathan’s reading and conversation with Jonathan Safran Foer on Wednesday, September 6th at 7:30pm. You can buy tickets for that one here. Huge congrats, Nathan!
• We’ll be running on a modified schedule for Labor Day this Monday. We’ll offer 9am Short Circuit, 11am Fit 55+, and 10am, 11am, and 12pm group classes  that day, plus Open Gym from 9am to 1pm. Starting Strength Program classes will run at 10am and 12pm.

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Front Squat Test | Box Jumps, C2B Pull-Ups, Double-Unders
About That Ass Rash CrossFit Journal
Volume and the Masters Lifter Starting Strength

Jason C. on his way to a podium finish at last year’s Subway Series at CFSBK

Register Now for the 2017 Subway Series

Another year has gone by, and it’s time once again for an NYC affiliate throw down: the seventh annual Subway Series! All NYC affiliates are invited to participate—the affiliate with the best overall score at the end of four events wins the Subway Series Trophy and bragging rights for a whole year! Here’s the whole schedule:

Saturday, September 16th: CrossFit Gantry
Saturday, September 30th: CrossFit Queens
Saturday, October 14th: CFSBK
Saturday, October 28th: CrossFit Virtuosity

This year’s Subway Series is using a team format (M/M and F/F) and there are both Scaled and Rx’d divisions, so we hope as many CFSBKers as possible will sign up. As you can tell from last year’s photos, it’s a fun day. You can register here, but hurry: early bird pricing only lasts through September 5th!

Chas C. Performing Off-Broadway!

Bench Press

Performance
1-1-1-1-1

Fitness
3-3-3-3-3

Warm up and establish a 1RM or 3RM for the day. All of your attempts should be heavy—heavier than last week’s 4s. And, good news…no tempo. If you’ve been consistently benching for a while and feel comfortable testing a 1RM, then go that route. If not, then perform a heavy triple instead. Use spotters on all work sets. Remember that on strict upper body pressing movements, small increases in weight can make a big difference. Don’t be this guy.

Get through your lighter warm ups quickly and drop volume as you approach your opener. Sample warm ups and attempts below:

Opening at 95 for 1 rep:
45 x 5
65 x 5
75 x 2-3
85 x 1
95 x 1, 100 x 1, 105 x 1, 107.5 x 1, 110F

Opening at 245 for a triple:
45 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 1
245 x 3, 255 x 3, 265 x 3, 275 x 2F, 275 x 3

Post loads to comments.

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30 Minutes Not for Rounds: 
10 Max Effort Strokes on the C2 (score your highest calorie split)
270m Jog
10 Shoot Throughs

Use parallettes and /or boxes for the shoot throughs. Aim to keep moving the whole time. Push hard on the row and recover on the 270m jogs. Play around with Push-Ups and Dips on the shoot throughs.

Post work to comments.

Better Know a Member: Roosevelt Marthel

As summer draws to a close, we’re excited to continue bringing you a blog favorite, Better Know a Member! You all love Underneath the Hoodie and Behind the Desk, and, in a similar vein, we’ll continue to profile members from across the CFSBK community. Last time, we talked to Charles S. Today, let’s get to know Roose M. a little better!

Name (and any nicknames):

Roosevelt Marthel. Most people call me Roose. I’ve gotten several nicknames over the years including Prez, President, and Theodore (Teddy)

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY.

How long have you been CrossFitting, and how did you arrive at CFSBK?

I’ve been doing CrossFit for 4 years now. I did my Foundations course with Jess Fox in August 2013 and started group classes right after in September.I barely did any physical activity growing up and had a serious weight issue until CrossFit. At my heaviest I weighted 270. When I graduated from college in 2012, I ended up getting hired by my current company. Many of them had recently started CrossFit and offered to pay for my membership. I tried another NYC affiliate in September 2012 but didn’t continue after Foundations. I had a lot of confidence issues at the time and didn’t feel comfortable. I didn’t try another gym for a year. I ended up finding CFSBK because of two of my colleagues (and former CFSBK members) Crystal and Todd. They loved the gym and knew I would too. I had a much better experience in Foundations and decided to stick around. It’s changed my life, and I’ve lost close to 100 pounds since. The best decision I’ve ever made.

Program your nightmare workout:

This was a tough one. I’ve had quite a few workouts that I’ve labeled as nightmares.

Do you have any unusual rituals/superstitions or habits related to life or CrossFit?

• I take my pre-workout shake in thirds in 15 minute intervals. Example times: 7:15, 7:30, and 7:45. If I don’t do it, I feel like I’m more likely to have a bad workout.
• The shirt that I wear to the gym usually determines how I feel and does affect my performance. My favorite shirt is from the Spartan race I did last year. I’ll wear it usually on Squat and Clean and Jerk days.
• I have three songs I listen on repeat on my way into the gym.  It’s been the same for a month (in order): “Blue Sky” by Common, “Hello/Goodbye” by Lupe Fiasco, and “Stronger” by Kanye West (yeah, it’s a bit cheesy).

If you had to switch careers today, what would you choose to do?

Favorite and least favorite lift:

Any advice for new CFSBKers?

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Why People Put Off Learning Self-Defense CrossFit Journal
Do Dogs Know Themselves? Scientific American