Back Squat

3 x 1 @80-85% of last week’s weight

Post loads to comments.
Exposure 8 of 8

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5 Rounds for Time:
21 Russian Kettlebell Swings 24/16kg
15 Burpees
9 Kipping Pull-Ups

Post time and Rx to comments.

Rachel and Daniel at Powermonkey Camp

Two intrepid CFSBKers attended a recent weeklong Powermonkey Camp in Tennessee, and today we’re grateful that Rachel H. and Daniel R. were gracious enough to answer a few questions about their experiences. Let’s find out how it went!

Why did you attend the camp?

Rachel: I wanted to get hands on coaching from high-level experts in each of the various fields that I love—gymnastics (rings, bar work, handstands, tumbling) and weightlifting. I was also looking for a way to unplug and have fun.

Daniel: Isn’t a week training in an amazing gym with Olympics-level coaches everyone’s ideal vacation?!

What did you learn?

Rachel: Oh man, I learned so much. Here’s a shortlist just based off of what I can think of right now…

• The real meaning behind the term “active recovery”
• How to program workouts either for increasing aerobic capacity or anaerobic capacity
• Specific, personalized drills for my handstands, after a hands on assessment of my current weaknesses and strengths from Dave Durante
• Specific, personalized cues for a better Snatch, Clean, and Split Jerk from various olympic champions
• Jump rope technique to improve efficiency
• Kettlebell grip technique
• A more nuanced and detailed understanding of the 3 different kip swings for Bar Muscle-Ups (CrossFit, gymnastics glide kip, and a hybrid)
• Specific, personalized cues for a better swing on rings + specific progressions and cues to work up to a Ring Muscle-Up (e.g. swing into a Ring Row)
• Specific drills to improve the pulling and transitions for my Ring and Bar Muscle-Ups
• A better understanding of the weaknesses in my running form, plus best practices for running technique to improve my form and efficiency
• How to row more efficiently, especially as a shorter person, and where my specific weaknesses are
• How to build empathy for adaptive athletes and program adaptive workouts
• My personal aerobic / anaerobic thresholds and recovery rate, along with guidance on where I can improve (through a VO2 capacity test)

….. uh ok I think there’s more but I’ll stop there for now.

Daniel: SO MUCH. We got 2 hours of classes across 10 different modalities (Clean, Jerk, Snatch, Handstands, Kettlebell, Rings, etc). It’s a lot of material. A good chunk of it are progressions that are inline with what CFSBK teaches, but most of them are things we don’t usually practice with enough time in group class (e.g., a good kip swing from the rings, Double Kettlebell Snatches, etc.)

Another part of it is around things we’d never see in a group class. For instance, we spent multiple hours working out and then learning from Chris Hinshaw about different metabolic systems and how to train them. It’s information that’s very valuable if you’re a coach, but also valuable to understand your own basic athletic performance – am I good at recovering, what’s the expected stimulus of this workout, etc.

Would you recommend it?

Rachel: If you haven’t been before, and you’re looking to get a taste of elite level coaching across a wide range of the movements we do in CrossFit (gymnastics, weightlifting, kettlebell, rowing, etc) then hell yes. It’s expensive but also a one-of-a-kind learning opportunity, not to mention so incredibly inspiring and rejuvenating. I left feeling super excited to start working on incorporating what I learned into my regular training, which, given how much I learned, will probably take me a good 6-8 months.

Daniel: Yes. It’s not cheap, but they do provide lodging and (surprisingly good!) food. You get to work with excellent coaches, be part of a group of people that share your same enthusiasm for all things fitness, train with some games athletes (we trained with Alec Smith!), see other games athletes (Matt Fraser stopped by for dinner!).

One of the worries I had was whether I’d feel out of place. Is this gonna be all super fit people and semi-pro athletes? That was NOT the case. Sure, there were people fitter than me, but the culture was very inclusive and nobody really cared about what you can or can’t do.

Thanks, Rachel and Daniel! Check out more photos from their trip on Flickr. 

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Yesterday’s Results Board: NFT Work | Press
To Move Is to Thrive. It’s in Our Genes NY Times
Tastier Tomatoes May Be Making a Comeback Smithsonian

WOD 5.15.19

4 Rounds for Quality:
5 Strict Toes-to-Bars (or Knees-to-Chest)
5e Dumbbell/Kettlebell Windmills
400m Sandbag Carry

Perform the carry with a partner and trade off as needed.

Post work to comments.

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Press

Fitness 
3 x 3

4 sets of 3 reps. Sets across. Add a few pounds to last week. Okay to move to a few heavy doubles or singles as needed.

Performance 
3 x 1 @ 85-90%

3 singles at 85-90% of what you made last week.

Post loads to comments.
Exposure 8 of 8

Photo by Robert C.

Weekend Events

We have not one but TWO awesome community events on tap for you this weekend. Here’s the deal:

• This Friday at 7:30pm, we’re hosting an evening of friendly cornhole competition. Haven’t played before? Don’t worry! It’s pretty simple, and this video explains everything. All are invited!
• Join us the night of Sunday, May 19th from 8:30 to 10:30pm for a Game of Thrones final episode viewing party! Stick around after Open Gym to experience on of the biggest events in TV history with your fellow fitness fiends. The show starts at 9pm.

The Return of the Vegetable CSA: Discount available!

A few years ago, we offered a vegetable CSA in partnership with Brooklyn Boulders and Common Hands Farm in Hudson, NY. They were our most popular vegetable CSA vendor, so we were sad when they took a few summers off to move farms and re-organize. Happily, the program is back and stronger than ever!

The CSA offers two options: every week or every-other-week deliveries of a wide range of seasonal vegetables. Pickup will be Wednesdays, 4-8, at Brooklyn Boulders.

The full share (every week) is available at a special price for CFSBK members who sign up by Wednesday, May 22nd: $655.

The half share (every other week) is $365 if you sign up by May 22nd.

Sign Up Here!

If you are interested but unable to commit to the whole summer, consider splitting a share with someone (post on the blog to find a buddy!) Folks who pay for a half share (every other week) do get to swap some weeks for others to accommodate for vacations, etc.

If you want help finding a buddy, have questions that the farm’s website doesn’t answer, or want to talk to someone about strategies and recipes for seasonal produce, contact CFSBK’s CSA coordinator, Michele Knaub, at mignyc [at] gmail [dot] com.

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Snatch | Bike, Row, Run
Watch Julius Maddox Bench 600 Pounds for 8 Reps BarBend
I Now Suspect the Vagus Nerve Is the Key to Well-Being NY Mag

Snatch

1-1-1-1-1 

Work up to a max for the day. Be patient and stay over the bar from the floor through the mid-thigh, before finishing your pull vertically as in previous weeks.

Post loads to comments.
Exposure 8 of 8

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For Time:
15 Calorie Bike
21 Calorie Row
270m Run

Sprint pace.

Post time and Rx to comments.

Murph Day 2019: Sign Up Now!

On Monday, May 27th from 8am to 1pm, we’ll be doing our annual Memorial Day “Murph” workout. This is a great community event where we perform this classic CrossFit benchmark workout followed by some grilling, side dishes, and beers. The workout is tough—very tough—but it can, of course, be scaled to meet everyone’s capacity.

“Murph”

For Time:
1 Mile Run
100 Pull-Ups
200 Push-Ups
300 Squats
1 Mile Run

In memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005.

This workout was one of Mike’s favorites and he’d named it “Body Armor.” From here on it will be referred to as “Murph” in honor of the focused warrior and great American who wanted nothing more in life than to serve this great country and the beautiful people who make it what it is.

Partition the Pull-Ups, Push-Ups, and Squats as needed. Start and finish with a mile run. If you’ve got a 20-pound vest or body armor, wear it.

There is no charge for the workout, nor will it be deducted from your weekly class limit.

Register Here!

We are looking for volunteers to help out with set up and break down on the day of. Please add your name on the sign-up sheet above if you’d like to help us out! 

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Deadlift | Push Press, Front Rack Carry, Front Squat, Farmer Carry
Ditch the Rigid Meal Plan Breaking Muscle
Training at a Starting Strength Affiliate Gym Starting Strength

Deadlift

Fitness
Heavy Triple

One work set. Heavier than last week. NOT max effort

Performance
Heavy Single 

One work set. Heavier than last week. NOT max effort

Post loads to comments.
Exposure 8 of 8

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20 Minutes or 5 Rounds for Quality:
Using either 2 dumbells or 2 kettlebells…
8 Push Presses
160′ Front Rack Carry
8 Front Squats
160′ Farmer Carry

Use one load for all 4 exercises per set. Work up to a challenging load.

Post work to comments.

Feeling smooshed? In this new vid, Coach David offers some tips on how to unsmoosh yourself through the magic of traction! 

This Sunday: A Totally Radical Total

By Chris Fox

On Sunday, May 19th we’ll be wrapping up our current group class programming cycle with a bang… with a CrossFit Total! You’ve been building your low-end rep strength over the past 8 weeks, and now we’ll be testing at the very lowest end, the 1-rep max (1RM). Classes will start on the hour but expect them to take about 75 minutes instead of our normal 60-minute schedule. The extra 15 minutes will allow enough time to warm up properly and have sufficient rest between your attempts. Programming for the day will look like this:

Back Squat 1-1-1
Press 1-1-1
Deadlift 1-1-1

What this means is that after your warm ups, you will have 3 attempts at a 1RM on each lift. You can take fewer attempts if you wish but not more. You will “declare” an “opener” (your 1st attempt) and have 2 more attempts after that. Misses count as attempts. Knowing this, come prepared with a plan. Your plan can (and should) be somewhat flexible but we don’t recommend playing it entirely by ear on the day of. Use the last few weeks as a guide on what your opener should be and what you want to make by your 3rd lift (hopefully a new 1RM!).

In the end your score is the sum total of your best successful Squat, Press, and Deadlift. We’ve done some heavy singles and triples on all three lifts recently, so use those numbers to guide you (more helpful links below) on where to open and what to shoot for. I cannot recommend enough to choose an opener that you feel 100% confident you can make. The confidence you’ll build under the bar by nailing that first successful lift cannot be understated.

• Preparing to 1RM
• Heavy: A Response
• Heavy Thoughts
• Set Your Back (But What’s My Back?)
• Settling for a New PR

“Hope”

3 Rounds for Max Reps of:
1) Burpees
2) Power Snatches 75/55
3) Box Jumps 24/20
4) Thruster 75/55
5) Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups
6) Rest

“Hope” has the same format as “Fight Gone Bad.” In this workout you move from each of 5 stations after a minute. This is a 5-minute round from which a 1-minute break is allowed before repeating. The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of “rotate,” the athlete must move to next station immediately for good score. One point is given for each rep. Score total reps completed for all 3 rounds. Track score for reps per round, not per movement, and add up total at the end.

Post total reps and Rx to comments.
Week 7 of 8

Next Sunday, May 19th: Game of Thrones Finale Viewing

Join us the night of Sunday, May 19th for a Game of Thrones final episode viewing party! Stick around after Open Gym to experience on of the biggest events in TV history with your fellow fitness fiends. The show starts at 9pm.

All are welcome. Bring friends! This event is BYOB and snacks.

News and Notes

• A new cycle of Coach Ro’s Anti-Gravity Strength class starts May 18th, and there are still spots left. Go HERE to learn more and claim one!
• Put yourself in the expert hands of a certified Wim Hof Method Instructor to learn the 3 pillars of the Wim Hof Method: Breathing Technique, Cold Exposure, and Commitment. Find out how you can utilize oxygen and cold exposure to optimize body & mind, and learn about the underlying physiology. The first workshop we hosted back in March was such a success, so we’re bringing the Wim Hof Method team in May!

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Watch Vice’s Documentary About the Struggles of Transgender Powerlifters BarBend
4 Ways to Eat Quinoa for Breakfast Outside