Workout of the Day

Clean

Intermediate/Advanced: 1 Rep Max
Beginner: 8 x 2, building

Notes
Today’s lifts are intended to be full/squat cleans, and int/adv lifters will do percentage/wave loading this cycle based on their heaviest load today.

If you are brand new to CrossFit, or to this lift, choose the beginner track. Do one set of 2 reps every 2 minutes or so, building in weight as feels appropriate for today and settling in when you find a load that feels like it gives you feedback, but you can still move through clear positions as you explore the technique.

For int/adv lifters, today is a day to see what you can do! Whether or not this is your favorite lift, set yourself up for success. Be intentional with each rep in your warm up and choose a positive mindset before attempting your heavy singles. Some athletes will want to relax, clear their minds, and trust their technique. Others will need to get revved up and just send it. Either way, let’s make some memories!

ICYMI scroll down to see coach Jeremy’s wisdom on the 1RM

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CrossFit Group Class Programming Template (WK2/8)

Charles walking those walls

Murph Potluck sheet

As always, we’ll be firing up the grill for Murph! CFSBK will provide the essentials—meat, veggie options, buns, water, seltzer, beer and some n/a beer as well. We’re asking members to help round things out by bringing a side dish (think fruit, chips, salads, etc.) for a post murph communal potluck.

To help us avoid too many duplicates, let us know what you’re bringing by filling out [this form]!

Feel free to BYOB if you’d like something special to sip on.

Workout of the Day

AMRAP 20:00
6 Strict Chin Ups
12 DB Bench Press OR DB Strict Press
18 AbMat Sit Ups
24/20 Cal Row OR Bike

Notes
Intent: 4-6 Rounds. Employ scaling options so your first round is complete around the 3:00-3:30 mark and adjust as needed.

A few options to choose your own adventure today! With a combination of full body movements and a long timestamp, take your first 10 minutes at a steady effort with smooth transitions, which will set you up for success on the back half.

Chin Ups:
RX+ Chest to Bar Chin Ups
A. 3-6 Chin Ups
B. 6 Box Piked or Toe Assisted

DB: Choose a moderately challenging weight for a consistently unbroken set of 12 reps, keeping in mind the total volume of work.

Row/Bike: <1:45 at an 80% aerobic effort.

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CrossFit Group Class Programming Template (WK2/8)

Coach Erick getting some Front Squats and Vitamin D in.

Dude, Where’s My 1RM?

By Coach Jeremy
(originally posted in 2011)

Everyone has had the experience:  Your working up to a new 1RM on singles day, you load up the bar with a weight equal to you your existing 1RM, you get psyched up, unrack the bar, go into the hole, and……nothing.  It doesn’t come back up.  Why?  Did you get weaker?  Are you doing something wrong?  Why can’t you do what you’ve already done?

Think of a 1RM not so much as a measure of strength capacity but as an act of strength performance.  Veteran lifters will speak of owning a weight versus hitting a weight.  Owning a weight means that you can get under a bar just about anytime you want and move that weight (assuming a proper warm-up and having not done back-to-back hero WOD’s that week).  Hitting a weight is a much less reproducible feat.  It means that on a day where you felt good, were well rested, timed your eating properly, had your weight belt sitting just right, heavenly bodies were aligned properly, and you managed not to fuck anything up,  you were able to squeeze out a higher weight than ever before. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that a weight that you have only hit isn’t something that you can just do on command.  It’s an act of strength and will; repeating it doesn’t just happen.  No sprinter expects to hit a PR every time they run a given distance, not in competition and especially not in training.  There is no reason to just assume that every time you get under a barbell you’re going to PR.

We should also consider that not every one’s best event in lifting is the 1RM.  Consider again, sprinting.  All sprinters are fast, that’s why they are sprinters.  However sprinters have different specialties, some are better in a 60m dash, others are better at the quarter mile.  If we took a random group of sprinters and tested their best times at a series of distances, say 60m, 100m, 200m, and 400m, we would probably find that the rankings would look very similar across the events: the faster runners would tend to do well at all of them.  However, you would also expect to see some shuffling of rankings based upon the individual strengths of the sprinters.  Some are better at accelerating, some run the turns well, some finish well, etc. To bring this back to lifting, imagine a group of powerlifters from the same weight class.  If you tested their 1RM, 3RM, and 5RM squat you would see something very similar:  The strongest lifters would tend to be at the the top of each ranking, however you would also see some move up or down the leader board as the reps changed based upon their individual characteristics.  This is relevant to us because the better you are at an event, the 3RM versus the 1RM for instance, the more likely you are able to reproduce your best effort.  We should test our strength at 3RM’s and 5RM’s for precisely the same reason that Track and Field tests more than just the 100m dash as a measure of speed.

Weighlifting, Powerlifting and Crossfit Total’s are all tests of 1RM. This isn’t because 1RM’s are magical, it’s just that they are easier to quantify, they are the highest weights (and everyone wants to see big weights), so they lend themselves to being tested. All this being said there is certainly nothing wrong with going after 1RM’s and when game day comes, you want to break some records. Set yourself up for success by working hard at a good program, resting up in the days leading to the event and getting your head inside your lift when you get under the bar.  Once the day’s lifting is over, let it go.  A sprinter isn’t suddenly slow on the day they don’t PR; you’re not weak on the day you don’t either.  Allow for the fact that not everyday you try to PR is going to be the perfect day to demonstrate that amount of strength.

Workout of the Day

STRENGTH

Back Squat
Heavy 3, then AMRAP @ 85%

Notes
In roughly 6-8 total sets, work up to a heavy set of 3 reps, then take your highest successful 3 rep weight, drop to 85% and perform 1 max effort set. The AMRAP should leave you with 1, maybe 2 reps in reserve.

Example:
35×10
65×6
85×4
95×2
– – –
105×3
115×3
120×3
– – –
102xAMRAP

PARTNER METCON

6 Rounds For Time (3 each)
40′ DB Front Rack Walking Lunge @ 50/35/20# ea
200m Run

Notes
Intent <13 min

Steady on the lunges, easy out the door, fast on the run. There’s only 3 rounds each here; don’t hold back.

Lunge: Heavy load that you can do unbroken with consistent mechanics.

Run: <1:15
A. 130m
B. Run for 30 sec in any direction at a sustainable pace, then run back.

Run substitute = 400-500m Bike

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CrossFit Group Class Programming Template (WK2/8)

The calm before your Murph heat starts

Register for your Murph Heat

This year will be our 18th annual Memorial Day “Murph” event! As always, we’ll be running heats of this workout all morning with the CFSBK community. The event is on Monday May 26th and we’ll be blasting off heats every half hour from 8am until 11am. Are you scurred? It’s okay! We’ll have plenty of scaling options available and you can learn more about the event here.

Sign ups so far!

8am 13/25
8:30am 2/25
9am 23/25
9:30am 24/25
10am 25/25
10:30am 16/25
11am 8/10 (15 spots reserved for the Phoenix)

Register here (scroll to the end of the page for all heats) to claim your spot.

Potluck Contributions for Murph

As always, we’ll be grilling for Murph! CFSBK will provide the meat (and meat alternatives) buns and beverages but we ask that CFSBK members bring a side (fruit, chips, etc) for our Murph potluck! For beverages we will provide water, seltzer and some beer, but feel free to BYOB if you’d like.

Workout of the Day

FLOATER STRENGTH

A. Back Squat: Heavy 5, then AMRAP @ 90%
B. Snatch: 6-9 sets x 2 reps
C. Bench Press: 4×6-8, building or across
D. Deadlift: 4×6-8, building or across
E. Strict Pull-Ups: 4-5 sets x Max Reps (-1)

Notes
Tomorrow we have back squats, running, and wall ball shots.

You may superset your main lift with another DB/KB or bodyweight movement.

If you are looking to keep up with your strict pull-up or chin-up strength, use the following progression to guide you in working productively:

If you have…
> 10 unbroken reps: consider adding load.
5-10 unroken reps: perform as written.
< 5 unbroken reps: perform a cluster of 2+2+2 or 1+1+1, with 20 sec of rest between mini sets.
0 body weight reps: perform 5 box pike or toe assisted reps, using legs as little as possible

METCON

For Time:
750/600m Row
60 Alternating DB Snatches @ 50/35#

Notes
Intent < 8 min

Today’s workout is quick and dirty. Choose your pace wisely on the erg so you can attack the DB Snatches. Have a good mental gameplan in place for making your way through those 60 reps.

Athletes who are very comfortable with this movement and typically finish RX’d workouts at the head of the pack might consider scaling up to a heavier DB today.

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CrossFit Group Class Programming Template (WK1/8)

Asta watching Charlotte do some extra high Wall Ball Shots back when we were operating out of the Brooklyn Lyceum (2008?)

Richard Greenspan and BCHS inviting you to their Gala

Hello CFSBKers, longtime gym member Richard Greenspan here. I’m excited to invite you all to the Brooklyn Community Housing & Services’ Pathways to Home Gala on May 21 at the Brooklyn Museum! This special evening raises critical funds to provide safe housing and supportive services for formerly homeless individuals and families in Brooklyn.Especially important this year because of the targeted cuts to Medicaid being considered in Washington.

You might remember BCHS from CFSBK’s Fight Gone Bad fundraiser in October.

For over 40 years, BCHS has empowered 1,200+ individuals and families annually to maintain health, independence, and dignity—work that’s more crucial now than ever. As a board member of this incredible organization, I invite you to join me in celebrating the work BCHS is doing to end homelessness in Brooklyn.

Join us for an inspiring night with great food, drinks, and company—all in support of ending homelessness. Tickets and sponsorships are available at bchands.org/2025gala.

2019 Rogue Invitational | Snatch & Press

Looking for some pre or post workout inspiration? Check out the best of the best performing this DB Snatch / HSPU workout from the 2019 Rogue Invitational. The video is cued up to start on the final men’s heat.

3 Rounds for Time
20 Dumbbell Snatches (100/70 lb)
9 Strict Paralette Handstand Push-Ups (4/2 in)

Workout of the Day

“The Chief”

Max rounds in 3 minutes of:
3 Power Cleans
6 Push-Ups
9 Squats

Benchmark loading 95 / 135 lb

Rest 1 minute. Repeat for a total of 5 cycles.

Notes
Track back to 4/2/22!

This is an oldie but a goodie, first posted to the CrossFit mainsite in 2008. Click the link to learn more about who this workout is dedicated to. If you’ve met the chief before, reflect back on previous efforts and see if you can squeeze out a few more rounds/reps today.

At the start of each interval, begin with the power cleans regardless of where you left off on the previous cycle.

Power Clean: Light to moderate, either quick singles or touch and go. There will be people doing push-ups in front of you so control your barbell!

Push Ups:
A. 3 reps on toes
B. 6 Elevated

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CrossFit Group Class Programming Template (WK1/8)

Eduardo all smiles after completing Murph!

“Murph” is 10 days away!

This year will be our 18th annual Memorial Day “Murph” event! As always, we’ll be running heats of this workout all morning with the CFSBK community. The event is on Monday May 26th and we’ll be blasting off heats every half hour from 8am until 11am. Register here (scroll to the end of the page for all heats) to claim your spot.

There will be grilling, a potluck, some games, good times and a hard workout.

The workout:

For time:
1-mile run
100 pull-ups
200 push-ups
300 air squats
1-mile run

Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed.
If you’ve got a 14/20-lb vest or body armor, wear it.

Scaling: We will provide several modified versions of Murph which you can choose from to get a challenging but appropriate experience. While this workout will be challenging, the event is completely inclusive and everyone will be able to participate regardless of ability.

Who was “Murph” and our benefactor K9s for Warriors

Memorial Day recognizes the human cost of war. We perform this workout to reflect upon the realities and ultimate sacrifices service members have made while serving in the United States Armed Forces. For some additional context about this event check out these reflections about Memorial Day Murph from CFSBK coaching alumni Noah Abbott.

This workout is dedicated to United States Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy who perished in 2005 during combat in Afghanistan. Michael Murphy was posthumously awarded the medal of honor and purple heart for his service. He was also CrossFitter who created this workout which he originally called “Body Armor” because he would perform it with his body armor vest that would be worn during deployment. This workout was later renamed “Murph” in his honor and is performed all over the country and beyond on Memorial Day.

Murph is a free event and we request that members make a donation on behalf of team CFSBK to K9s for Warriors which trains service dogs for veterans suffering from PTSD.