“Badger”

3 Rounds for Time:
30 Squat Cleans 95/65
30 Pull-Ups
800 Meter Run

45 minute cap

Another long one where the total Rx volume needs to be considered. This Hero workout involves 90 full Cleans with a light barbell alongside a mile and half of running and 90 Chin-over-Bar Kipping Pull-Ups. Consider scaling volume to 15-20 reps on the Cleans and Pull-Ups and/or the runs to 400-550m. The first round should take under 8-12 minutes.

Post time and Rx to comments.
Week 3 of 8

May 11th: Kids’ Night Out at CFSBK!

Do want a night off for yourself and your kids? Of course you do! So sign up for our CFSBK Kids’ Night Out on May 11th! Your kid will engage in fun movement activities and games, eat pizza, and watch a movie.

What:  We’ve organized a night of CrossFit Kids physical activities, creative stuff, and games. We’ll all share a pizza dinner and then watch a movie on our big screen.
When: Saturday, May 11th from 4pm to 8pm
Who: Kids ages 4-12
Cost: $60 per child with a 50% discount for additional siblings. Dinner will be provided.

RSVP Required. Email Coach Lynsey at cfsbkkids [at] gmail.com. Space is limited so RSVP soon!

Register Here!

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Team Metcon
How to Travel with Kids Outside
Humans, You Must Be Able to Carry Breaking Muscle

Partner WOD

In teams of 3, complete the following for time:
90 Power Snatches 75/55
60 Calorie Row
60 Power Snatches 115/75
60 Calorie Row
30 Power Snatches 145/95
60 Calorie Row

30 minute cap

Post time, Rx, and Partners to comments.
Week 3 of 8

Coach KHarpz is competing at the Mid-Atlantic Affiliate Challenge on an Rx team this weekend. She will be representing team Wags & Weights both Saturday and Sunday. Follow her progress HERE, and let’s give her some CFSBK love in the comments!

This Week at CFSBK in Review

1. This week we announced the winners of our 2019 Look, Feel Perform Better Challenge. Cathy K. and Dan H. took 1st place!

2. Carter G. and Cadria H. took 2nd place. 

3. Suzanne Y. and Jay R. took 3rd place. Congrats, everyone! Follow these links to read all about their experiences!

4. Eric Arbitman is our April Athlete of the Month. Congrats, Eric!

5. Next Level Weightlifting Cycle is an Olympic lifting program focused on the development of the Snatch, the Clean, and the Jerk. Think of it as an Olympic lifting version of our popular Starting Strength Program cycles. During this 8 week cycle led by Coach Frank Murray, there will be a heavy focus on strength and technique. Details are here!

6. Next Level Weightlifting Cycle is an Olympic lifting program focused on the development of the Snatch, the Clean, and the Jerk. Think of it as an Olympic lifting version of our popular Starting Strength Program cycles. During this 8-week morning cycle led by Coach Frank Murray, there will be a heavy focus on strength and technique. Class starts April 17th. Details are here!

Anti-Gravity Cancelled Today

Today’s 12:30pm Anti-Gravity class is cancelled.

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Clean and Jerk | Double-Unders, Wall Balls, Bike
Watch CJ Cummings’ Jaw Dropping 185kg Clean Into Two Jerks BarBend
An Antidote for Wanting to Do Everything zen habits

Clean Complex

Every 3:00 x 5 Reps:
Power Clean + Hang Clean + Front Squat + Jerk

Build to a medium-heavy but perfect load.

Post loads to comments.
Exposure 3 of 8

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For Time:
50 Double-Unders
30 Wall Balls 14/10, 10/9
10 Calorie Bike

Note the lighter-than-usual Rx on the Wall Balls. All out effort, unbroken on the fast end.

Post time and Rx to comments.

Join Callie for the women-only Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Fundamentals course. We’ll learn the basic body movements, mechanics, and techniques of submission grappling. By the end of the the 4 weeks, you’ll have a solid sense of the Jiu Jitsu fundamentals and how it can continue to enhance your life

Women’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Starts Sunday

Vote for Adam!

A note from CFSBKer Adam Scher, the Scherbear:

My company was nominated for a Webby (the Oscar’s of the internet)! The Believer, a website we designed and built has been nominated for Best Magazine Website. The nomination has two parts, a critic’s choice and a people’s Choice. That’s where CFBSK comes in. If the community could vote it would be so helpful as we are up against a little old magazine called The New Yorker. Thanks for the help! Voting takes 60 seconds and can be done here.

Let’s do it, gang!

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Back Squat | DB Hang Power Clean and Jerk, Dumbbell Box Step Ups, Toes-to-Bars
Sitting for More Than 13 Hours a Day May Sabotage the Benefits of Exercise NY Times
Can You Squat Too Deep? Starting Strength

Back Squat

Fitness
3 x 5

Sets across. Add 5-15 lbs to last week.

Performance
5-5-Max

2 sets of 5 across and a 3rd set for “max” reps (capped at around 15). Heavier than last week. Move perfect and leave a few in the tank.

Post loads to comments.
Exposure 3 of 8

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5 Rounds for Time:
10 Single-Arm Dumbbell Hang Power Clean and Jerk 50/35
10 Alternating Leg Dumbbell Box Step Ups 50/35, 24/20″
10 Toes-to-Bars

The SA DB C&J are 5 on one arm then 5 the other. For the step ups you can hold the dumbbell anyhow a la 19.3 and you must alternate legs. Modify the TTBs to HKRs as needed.

Post time and Rx to comments.

Kathy before (left) and after (right)

THE LOOK, FEEL, PERFORM BETTER CHALLENGE WINNERS: 1st PLACE

We’re so proud of everyone who recently completed the 2019 Look, Feel, Perform Better Challenge, our collective kick-start toward healthier nutrition and recovery habits in the New Year. Among the dedicated CFSBKers who rethought their diets, counted macros, and put in quality time meditating, 3 women and 3 men stood out to us as winners, and we’ve been announcing them this week. We’ve also asked them to tell us a bit about their experience and the “secrets” to their success. Today we’re pleased to announce the 1st place winners: Cathy Kolcun and Dan Halioua.

Cathy K.

It sounds so stupid to say (management strongly disagrees), but one of the greatest realizations I had was how connected each part of the Challenge was. The less I drank, the better I slept, the harder I worked out, the more I needed to get my proteins and carbs and veggies. I added vegetables in places where they hadn’t existed before (hello omelets with whatever vegetable I have the fridge for breakfast) and stopped being terrified of carbs (goodbye turkey lettuce wraps, hello quinoa and farro for lunch). I started drinking alcohol again during the Challenge, and had approached this with the thought that I’d go dry for at least these 12 weeks and that I didn’t feels like a bit of a failure to me. That part of my life is still a work in progress, and though I didn’t succeed like I’d set my goals for, I do know it was “better.”

Over the course of this Challenge, I stopped thinking about how I look in terms of weight I’ve lost and started thinking about it in terms of how my face looks (sleeping and hydrating does wonders for the skin). I stopped think of how I feel in terms of how skinny I think I might be and more in terms of how my attitude and approach to the day is (so present and in the moment with my family, at work, with friends) and my performance. I’ve been skinny before. I’ve been scary skinny before. But I’ve never in my life been strong, and I am getting there. When I first started coming to the gym I did a Short Circuit with Fox, and we did Weighted Bear Crawls. It hurt so bad. I used 5 pound weights and made it 7 “steps.” I literally cried. As it happens, we did this again in Brett’s class last week and I did 10 pound weights and made it the whole 25 feet… and I didn’t cry! And even “better” than that is the idea that I could have done more, and that I want to do more.

Here’s one of the things I’m most proud of. We got home from a trip to New Orleans today. It was in many ways a much less egregious trip than it has been in the past, and in many ways such an egregious change from the past 12 weeks. I wouldn’t have chosen to end the Challenge with an indulgent four days in the Quarter, but that is how my life turned and so that is what happened. But, we landed at 3:15 today and by 7:15 I’d grocery shopped and meal prepped and made myself a farro salad for lunch tomorrow, because vacation is over and regular life is back and I am really proud that I know the difference.

I wanted these 12 weeks to be a reset button for me and they have been, just in ways I didn’t even imagine. I’m slowly (SLOWLY) shifting from a frame of reference of wanting to be skinny to wanting to be strong. That feels like a simple statement, I know, but trust me YEARS of therapy hadn’t gotten me there. Yet here I am. This has literally been a life changing event for me, and I’m so grateful and appreciative of the support. Thank you so much, Fox! I am so excited for the rest of this year and already thinking of the different ways the Challenge can impact me next year.

Dan H.

Dan before (left) and after (right)

This experience was super positive for me, and personally, I think there were a few major adaptations. Meal prep was a major one, and snacking throughout the day was vastly decreased due to eating a decent sized breakfast. I also came across new carbs that I loved like muesli, and was able to use that instead of jams and preservatives with my yogurt in the mornings. My overall weight dropped from a starting point of 210 to 192. My performance in the gym from a recovery standpoint is noticeably different. I don’t feel achy as often, and my metrics on all exercise related items went up. My “Jackie” time went back down to 7:34. Another big adaptation was that instead of snacking while making my kids food at night, I’d eat a small meal when I got home with them and then eat again after going to the gym. This routine was satisfying and feels sustainable, as does the meal prep. I found my alcohol intake was greatly diminished as I did not drink much during the Challenge. There were few weddings where I had some wine and a drink, but rarely if at all did I have more than one. I also really enjoyed the next decision mantra. I felt no guilt about eating any “bad foods,” and I ate so many vegetables, which is now baseline for me. I’m incorporating them into almost every meal, even breakfast a majority of the days. Overall I feel good! I plan on continuing much the same, but having a slice of pepperoni pizza with Hazel this weekend. Meal prep Sundays will continue to be important and if I can do that on 75% of my Sundays both my wife and life will be happier!

Nutrition Coaching with Alchemy Nutrition & Wellness

By Chris Fox

Now that the 2019 Look, Feel, Perform Better Challenge is all wrapped up, I want to let you know about an upcoming opportunity for ongoing nutrition coaching that might interest you. As many of you are aware, I’ve been working with clients to improve their nutrition for as long as I’ve been in the fitness business. I always viewed this practice as secondary to having a solid exercise training program and thus never really put it out there as it’s own service. Boy, was I wrong. So I learned more and got better. The principles I’ve learned over the years (and used with great success, both personally and with clients) have been making their way into the CFSBK LFPB Challenge for some time now.

I’ve come to realize that good nutrition and wellness practices are the bedrock of well-rounded fitness. It’s true, that “you can’t out train a bad diet.” You need to learn how to eat quality proteins, veggies, fats, and carbs in quantities that are appropriate for your goals. Yet it’s not so simple, right? What you put into your body is only part of the equation. HOW and WHY you eat is just as important… possibly even more so. Sleep, recovery, stress reduction, facing food “issues,” and making mindful food choices will affect your health more than (or at least as much as) some “perfect” number of calories or grams of protein, fat, or carbs. When we focus only on nutrients, we’re missing half the picture. We have to take care of our whole self. If you’ve tried to follow any traditional “diet” my guess is you have an idea what I’m talking about.

I’m super excited to announce that after a few years of refining our skills, in 2018 we (my amazing wife Coach Jess and I) launched Alchemy Nutrition + Wellness. ANW is our platform to work individually with clients to finally get off the diet train. And we just opened up a limited number of coaching spots set to start in just a few weeks in late April 2019. Are you ready to commit to your nutrition and wellness from the inside out, rather than trying another restrictive diet? Would you like your own personal nutrition coach to work alongside through the inevitable ups and downs of a habit change program? Maybe the past 3 months feel like the start of something bigger, or maybe the pressure of changing in only 12 weeks caused an early exit. Either way, Alchemy Nutrition + Wellness could be a great fit.

• Click to read more about Jess and to sign up!
• Click to read more about Chris and to sign up!
• Contact Alchemy for more info here!
• Alchemy at CFSBK!

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Press / Carry | Row, Run, Burpees
“Hyperscans” Show How Brains Sync as People Interact Scientific American
You Have to Eat to Grow Muscles Breaking Muscle

Press / Carry Superset

A1) Press

Fitness 
3 x 5

Sets across. Add 2-5 lbs to last week. Should still be moving fast.

Performance 
5-5-Max

2 sets of 5 and a 3rd set for “max” reps (capped at around 15). Move perfect and leave a few in the tank. Add 2-5 lbs to last week.

A2) Farmer Carry
3 x 200′

Build to a heavy load on the carries. Okay to put them down at the turnaround as long as you pick ’em right back up!

Post loads to comments.
Exposure 3 of 8

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2 Rounds For Time:
1000m Row
800m Run
25 Burpees

Move at a sustainable pace today. Check your splits and aim for the second round to be consistent with the first. Scale the row/run as needed to 800/550m respectively to be able to complete them in under 5 minutes. Similarly, scale the Burpees to No-Push-Up or to 25 per round to complete them in under 3 minutes.

Post time and Rx to comments.

Carter before (left) and after (right)

THE LOOK, FEEL, PERFORM BETTER CHALLENGE WINNERS: 2nd PLACE

We’re so proud of everyone who recently completed the 2019 Look, Feel, Perform Better Challenge, our collective kick-start toward healthier nutrition and recovery habits in the New Year. Among the dedicated CFSBKers who rethought their diets, counted macros, and put in quality time meditating, 3 women and 3 men stood out to us as winners, and we’ll be announcing them this week. We’ve also asked them to tell us a bit about their experience and the “secrets” to their success. Today we’re pleased to announce the 2nd place winners: Carter Gill and Cadria Hibbert.

Carter G.

During the first month I felt better than ever. Huge gains and progress in both mood, performance, and appearance. I felt overall great and that encouraged me to keep going strong. During February I upped my gym frequency from 3 times per week to 5 times per week and that adjustment proved more taxing than I thought. I was more tired and more pressed for time. The cold month of February didn’t help any. I traveled for a few days and fell back into old habits (drinking more socially and eating out/junk food). When I returned getting back on the horse took a couple of days and I definitely felt that my progress had slowed. This seemed like a plateau and I wasn’t as motivated by my own growth any more. I felt the slog, but I kept it up. During March I got a bad cold which set me back, too. Adding the Open Workouts to the Challenge was tough for me. They crushed me and the recovery took longer than I was used to. I was disappointed in my “Jackie” time, but overall knew that I was MUCH faster (14:16 before, 11:43 after!) and stronger during it. The row and the Thrusters felt like nothing compared to January.

The biggest successes for me were seeing the incremental successes and letting those count one day at a time, which added up. I was able to to eat much more consciously with more complete nutrition. I was able to give up the vape pen I used. I cut back on alcohol and coffee consumption. My goal was to give it up all together, but that proved harder than I thought, socially. And alcohol and coffee consumption directly affected my sleep and mindfulness. BUT I walked away having rediscovered the person that I love so much. I feel like my old self again. I went through a very sad break up two years ago and since then have not taken the time to care for my body, mind, or spirit. This challenge reintroduced me to the Carter Gill that I love so much. Hadn’t seen him in a while. Thank you.

Cadria H.

Cadria before (left) and after (right)

So with the food, I generally know what is good for me and what is bad, which doesn’t mean that in the past I would always follow it. I loved not counting calories or macros. I’ve used counting calories in the past to the extent that I’ve panicked if my FitBit broke as I didn’t know what I could eat. So I’ve been checking in with myself to see if I am hungry or thirsty. I’ve also cut down on snacking, thinking if I really want a snack and then taking the time to enjoy the snack. Portion sizes are now smaller for me instead of serving myself up the same amount as my husband, I’ll also break when eating to see if I want to continue. Hydration is challenging. I now have a bottle with lines on it to keep me in line.

Sleep: I have a baby. For mindfulness I would do a guided sleep meditation which I love, used to do this when I travelled for work really enjoyed doing it again. I also have a confession that I didn’t always fill in the tracker, like most of February.

Alcohol was a big thing for me, since moving to New York, when not pregnant, I would pretty much drink every day. While other people are emotional eaters I think I can be an emotional drinker! Boredom, stress, wanting to let off steam and party, reward myself for surviving the day or just thirsty. During the challenge I did cut back a lot and also thought about things like why I want a glass of wine when I’m cooking. I’ve noticed the difference. I sleep better, I go to bed earlier as I no longer have “beer power” to keep me up, and I’m sure that after this week’s long run my legs have recovered faster despite being 18 miles vs 15 miles. I’m not saying I’ll never drink again, but there is a cost associated with it that I am now more aware of.

Another thing that I have loved is getting stronger and fueling properly, I don’t think I’ve ever had defined quads before. To put this into context, I have a friend who is a proper “runner,” with a runner’s physique, she ran track at school, back in 2017 I couldn’t beat her, I had to stop running in May 2017 because of stress fractures and then pregnancy. She continued running throughout her pregnancy. But by focusing on strength as well as cardio and fueling properly I have started to beat her on races and intervals!

I didn’t do the official capacity test. I still only do Diapers & Dummbells and need to do my Foundations, so getting to a normal class is challenging. However, at the start of January, I did a pace test for my marathon training and I repeated it on the 23rd of March. My January pace was 5:01 minutes/km, and now I’m at 4:24 minutes/km, which I’m ecstatic with.

Congrats, Carter and Cadria! Check the blog tomorrow for our 1st place winners.

New Classes Starting in April!

• Next Level Weightlifting Cycle is an Olympic lifting program focused on the development of the Snatch, the Clean, and the Jerk. Think of it as an Olympic lifting version of our popular Starting Strength Program cycles. During this 8-week morning cycle led by Coach Frank Murray, there will be a heavy focus on strength and technique. Class starts April 17th. Details are here!
• This one’s for the ladies! Our women-only Brazilian jiu jitsu class kicks off on April 14th.Same BJJ Level 1 starter pack we’ve been offering, with a stronger focus on self-defense. If you’ve been curious about BJJ but are apprehensive about rolling around on the ground with a bunch of dudes, this is your chance to get started!

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Snatch | Burpees, Front Squats, Row
Working Wounded CrossFit Journal
Photographing the NYC Subway Cars That Retired as Artificial Reefs Atlas Obscura