Team 10k Row

In teams of three, with one partner working at a time, complete a 10k row for time. Trade off every 200-500 meters—your choice. This isn’t meant to be sprints, so aim to keep the pace aerobic throughout.

Post time and partners to comments.

Coach Frank of our Next Level Weightlifting Club just casually Front Squatting 407 lb to the sweet sounds of Whitney Houston | Video by Coach Nick

Good, Better, Best: Making Healthier Choices

By Chris Fox

Editor’s Note: The following are Coach Fox’s notes from a recent LFPB Info Session. We think they’re of interest to everyone, so we’re reposting them here. Enjoy!

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”—Thomas Edison

Some of you might feel like you’re failing with this Look, Feel, Perform Better Challenge. You’re not!

When you mess up on a movement in the gym, you don’t decide that you failed at exercise. You simply use the information as feedback and adjust in the future. Keep trying until you find the habits that work for you. Remember that developing healthy habits takes practice.

There are no “good” or “bad” foods, simply those that are better or worse choices for us depending on our goals.

Better Choices share a few qualities like: being natural and unprocessed (or less processed), nutrient dense (provide a large amount of vitamins, minerals, and micro nutrients for their caloric load), high in fiber, generally thought of as healthy, and hard to overeat

Worse choices also share a few qualities like: being highly processed, low in nutrients, low in fiber, generally thought of as unhealthy or indulgences, easier to overeat.

Using the above guidelines, you can assess where any food is on the spectrum from better to worse. For example:

Corn > whole grain corn tortillas > homemade tortilla chips > store bought tortilla chips > Doritos

Steel cut oats > old fashioned oats > quick oats > homemade oat pancakes > Cheerios > Fruit Loops

Soft boiled eggs over beans and spinach > fried egg sammy with lettuce and tomato on sprouted grain bread > ham, egg, and cheese on whole wheat > bacon, egg, and cheese on plain bagel

Using that method, you can take just about any meal or food item and move it just a little bit along the spectrum from worse to better! For example:

Loaded nachos from a restaurant (deep fried corn chips, re-fried beans, ground chuck, pico, iceberg lettuce, loads of cheese and Sour Cream)

Can move towards:

Homemade nachos (baked tortilla chips, black beans, diced chicken breast, homemade pico, shredded cabbage, pickled jalapeños, low-fat pepper jack and guacamole)

Play around with this and see how you can make some of your favorite “unhealthy” meals just a little bit better!

The next Look, Feel, Perform Better Challenge Meeting/Q&A has been moved to SATURDAY 3/17 at noon in the Annex. This is the final meeting of the Challenge, and we’ll cover: taking a break from “dieting,” adjusting habits to meet goals, end of Challenge submissions, and moving on.

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Reverse Hyperextension BarBend
To Boost Sports Performance (and Annoy Your Opponents), Grunt NY Times

Open Workout 18.3

2 Rounds for Time:
100 Double-Unders
20 Overhead Squats 115/80
100 Double-Unders
12 Ring Muscle-Ups
100 Double-Unders
20 Dumbbell Snatches 50/35
100 Double-Unders
12 Bar Muscle-Ups

18.3  Scaled

2 Rounds for Time:
100 Single-Unders
20 Overhead Squats 45/35
100 Single-Unders
12 Chin-Over-Bar pull-ups
100 Single-Unders
20 Dumbbell Snatches 35/20
100 Single-Unders
12 Chin-Over-Bar Pull-Ups

14 minute cap on both versions

Masters 55+ Rx’d is Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups, 75/55 OHS, and 35/20 DBs.

Masters 55+ Scaled is Jumping CTB Pull Ups, 45/35 OHS, and 20/10 DBs.

18.3 will be a workout in which many of you will get a “first.” Maybe it’ll be your first Doubles or a new unbroken Double-Under PR. Maybe you get that first Muscle-Up that you’ve been working on and are oh so close to getting, or your first Pull-Ups. Take an honest look at the workout and decide what the workout will be for you. If you’re close to getting a Ring Muscle-Up, then try and ride some Open magic and get one! If you think you can get through the Double-Unders and Overhead Squats Rx’d but are nowhere near a Ring Muscle-Up, then when you finish the 2nd set of 100 Doubles take an Rx’d score of 220 and move on to Pull-Ups.

The Scaled version is no joke! Even if the weights are light for you and you have muscle ups, it’s still a Double-Under workout. Stay loose and relaxed and remember to breathe on the jump rope. There are 928 (800 on the rope!) reps needed to complete any version of this workout. Have fun and good luck!

Dmitry D. on the rope at Friday Night Lights. Thanks to everyone who came out last night!

Last Chance to Register for Active Life Strength!

There are just 2 spots left in Coach Keith‘s next Active Life Strength class, which starts this Monday! The Active Life methods help athletes of all levels identify the root causes of their pain, injuries, and plateaus, and provide solutions for alleviating and eliminating those limitations through strength training, hands on treatment, corrective movements, and program modification. As the Head Coach at Active Life Athletics, Coach Keith worked closely with the Active Life doctors as they developed the system and led the charge to incorporate it into a gym model. Using those principles, this program will help you identify your individual weaknesses and limitations, guide you through the necessary strength and mobility exercises, and get you moving and lifting more efficiently, with less pain.

Here’s what Colleen M., who just finished up a cycle, had to say about the class:

My pain was being caused by shoulder impingement and a labral tear of the hip. At my wits end with my shoulder, I thought, “I will go back to HSS and ask them to do surgery.”  I was just sick of it.  Just as the surgery idea was taking hold, Active Life was offered at CFSBK.

Putting an Active Life program in a regularly scheduled group class was the magic formula for me. I find it very difficult to work on my own. I need the guidance of a coach, the structure and dynamics of a group class combined with individual program tailored to each participant’s needs. This saved me and my shoulder.

I know, disclaimer, not meant to diagnose or treat, etc., etc., but this is my experience. Looking into surgery was the next step for me if Active Life didn’t work, and it DID work. I have mobility now and I’m happily working pain free.

As for my hip (a two year old injury) HSS and NYU hip center both said that the cartilage could not be repaired on its own or through surgery, but if I could strengthen my core I could relieve pressure on the joint. Strengthening the core works, but doing self-guided extra work outside of group class is just not my strong suit. Flash forward to Active Life About half way through, I had a revelation–my individual program was forcing me to use all the muscles on my back, and on the back of my legs!  There’s an inner hamstring muscle that I didn’t even know I had, from that to my lats and up and down, shoulders to heels, all those muscles woke up and I learned how important they are. It was just so extraordinary. Strengthening everything behind me I was relieving the injuries on the front of me.  WOW.  I’m so happy.

I’m now adding some weight to the bar and I have a few post-injury PRs. I can also tell you that I can now bound up the subway stairs two steps at a time – a first for this New Yorker of 26 years! Having fun with my new superpower.

Sound like something you need?  Go HERE to grab one of those last spots!

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Who Gets to Call Themselves an Athlete? Girls Gone Strong
Why Powerlifting Is a Sport for Nerds BarBend

Join us tonight for Friday Night Lights as we get after Open Workout 18.3. There’s still time to sign up for a heat! | Photo by Thomas H. 

Open Intramural Team Rankings: Week 2

18.2 really shook things up in the CFSBK Open Intramural League this week, making competitive exercise fans within a 3 mile or so radius gasp with surprise, jump for joy, startle their pets, and other stuff we can’t mention on this family-oriented blog. The big story this week: propelled in part by high rankings of Erika M. and Morgan N., Kippin’ It Real went from 4th to 1st place. But don’t stop kippin’, guys, because Make America Blue Again is just 0.2 points behind you! The pack remains close, as our top 3 teams are separated by just 2 points.

50 Shades of Gainz scratched, whipped, handcuffed, and probably did other stuff we can’t mention on this family blog to pull into 4th place. Going into 18.3, they’re just 1 point out of the top 3. Can they dominate (get it? sorry.) the competition to make it happen? The answer will start to become clear tonight at Friday Night Lights!

Current Ranking – Team – Overall Average 

1. Kippin’ It Real: 36.3
2. Make America Blue Again: 36.5
3. Amino Disrespect: 38.3
4. 50 Shades of Gainz: 39
5. Going Dark: 40.4 
6. The Incredible Hulks: 42.6

Team CFSBK is currently ranked 36th in the North East Region. Way to go, gang! Check out our full affiliate leaderboard here!

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Clean | Handstand Walking
18.2 Workout Analysis Beyond the Whiteboard
This Is Where Your Childhood Memories Went Nautilus

Power Clean and Push Jerk

3-3-3-3-3

Warm up and work up to a heavy triple.

Post loads to comments.

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Handstand Walking

Choose one of the following scaling options, and spend 15-20 minutes developing your hand balancing:

A) Hand Walking (free or 2′ from wall)
B) Wall Inverted Hip Shifts with Hand Release (from a Wall Walk or Kick Up)
C) Box Piked Hip Shifts with Hand Release
D) Floor Piked Hip Shifts with Hand Release

Rest after each set or attempt and don’t turn it into a 20-minute AMKAP (As Many Kick Ups as Possible). If you’re not spotting someone, you can use the rest periods to do some light stretching or light rowing, jogging, cycling, etc.

Post work to comments.

The crowd goes nuts as Coach Brett hits a 275 lb Clean at Friday Night Lights. Join us tomorrow night from 5:30 to 8pm as we take on 18.3! Go HERE to sign up for a heat | Photo by Thomas H. 

Open Diary 18.2

 By Brett Ferguson

18.2 and 18.2a were a nasty combination that made you feel like you lost both legs and then laughed at you while you tried to build to a max Clean. Well done, Dave Castro, well done.

I knew going into it that the first part would be a strength of mine. I have a good grasp on my ability to go dark and make it hurt in a workout that requires all-out effort for a short period of time. I had no idea, however, how this would effect my Clean. I thought I would be breathing heavy, but I had no idea how badly my legs would hurt and that I would actually feel like I was drunk when I went for the first Clean. My first attempt happened at Friday Night Lights, and the energy was insane! I went as fast as I could. During the rounds of 8-10 reps, as my legs wanted to quit, I just kept telling myself, “Move no matter what. It will hurt more if you stop moving.” My positivity helped me to push through.

My legs were so beat up that my first Clean felt like I was going for a PR even though I had about 83% on the bar. This is weight that takes effort, but I’m very confident that I’m able to hit. I barely got under this one and my midline and legs completely gave way. The mental strength that was present a few minutes earlier was now on shaky ground. I then told myself exactly what I say in group class, “Commit to getting under the bar before you even start the lift. Fast elbows, stay tight, and drive up hard.” I hit the next lift confidently. Staying calm, I failed to hit a heavier weight. Then I failed my final lift, laughing as I awkwardly tried to save a lift that was never going to be saved. Friday Night Lights ended, and I was happy with my performance. Sound like last week’s “Open Diary” entry?

Monday afternoon was my second attempt. I talked to my coach, and the plan was to make it hurt again and go for broke on the Clean. I was going to start lighter on the first Clean to get some confidence and then keep adding weight. This time during the rounds of 8-10, my legs didn’t just want to quit, they actually started shutting down. Jumping in and out on the Burpees became a max effort each time, and I could feel my pace slowing. I stopped myself from looking at the clock, knowing I just had to finish.

As I jumped over the bar for the last time, I looked at the clock to see that I had actually beat my first time by 2 seconds! I landed, collapsed, and immediately felt searing pain in my quads. This pain was nothing like the first attempt. This was much, much worse. I was on my hands and knees trying to relax, and I started drooling. Literally drooling on the floor. My body was shutting down. I got up, walked around for three minutes, then went for my first “light” Clean: fail. Oh. Oh, no. I refocused and hit the weight but it was crushing. I tried with everything I had just to get back to the weight I had hit on Friday but to no avail. Three straight fails. The 12 minutes ran out and I ripped off my belt, yelled a profanity and walked away from the people who had been nice enough to cheer me on, leaving them to look at each other uncomfortably. Fun right? After a few minutes I walked back to them, thanked them for the support and threw some high fives. I was happy with my first score and was going to keep it.

I felt like I let this frustration go and accepted the outcome, but this little voice in the back of my head kept nagging at me. Looking at the scores on the Regional Leaderboard, I started to get down on myself, my potential, and my training. I was doing exactly what I said not to do a few weeks ago (and again last week): comparing myself to others rather than seeing where I had succeeded. I starting feeling overwhelmed. I was at a loss for how I would ever get to the level that these other athletes were on, or if that was even a realistic goal.

Suddenly I felt like giving up. WHOA WHAT?!? Yup, just one peek at the Leaderboard, and I wanted to stop competing in CrossFit. Dramatic. Very dramatic. I slowly started to come back to earth. My goal to start this year was to end up in the top 250 in the North East Region, and I was close to that. So, another small meltdown in week two to learn from. I recovered faster from this one but my tendency to get negative is still there. Let’s see if I can avoid this altogether next week.

Ali C. on Active Life Strength

There are just 2 spots left in Coach Keith‘s next Active Life Strength class,  which starts Monday! Still need some persuading before you smash that REGISTER button? Here’s a testimonial from Ali C., who was in the cycle that just wrapped up:

I decided to sign up for Active Life Strength because of nagging neck pain and knee pain that were preventing me from getting better at CrossFit. I had been following Active Life on Instagram and knew that they addressed deficiencies in a way that was different from physical therapy, which I’ve never had success with.

Keith started the cycle with an assessment that pinpointed everyone’s weaknesses and sources of pain. Over the next 8 weeks, we all had our own plans on how to improve and get pain-free.  For me, that meant incorporating a progression of Presses and Step-Ups. After 3 weeks, the herniated disc in my neck was totally pain free. When I retested my Step-Ups, it was clear that I had gotten stronger and the “weak leg” was no longer so. Most importantly, I don’t feel broken down and decrepit like I did 8 weeks ago! I definitely recommend anyone who feels stalled in their progress or always feeling like they’re on the verge of injury to give it a try.

So what are you waiting for? Go HERE to register!

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Wall Balls, KB Swings, Double-Unders
Arsenic, Lead Found in Popular Protein Supplements Consumer Reports
Physical Health Is Mental Health Breaking Muscle

WOD 3.7.18

Performance
Every 3 minutes for 6 sets:
10 Wall Balls 20/10, 14/9
15 Russian Kettlebell Swings 24/16kg
25 Double-Unders

Fitness
Every 3 minutes for 6 sets:
10 Wall Balls 14/10, 10/8
15 Russian Kettlebell Swings 20/12kg
40 Single-Unders

Post work to comments.

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Deadlift

10-10-10

Warm up and work up to a heavy set of 10 touch-and-go Deadlifts with perfect form.

Post loads to comments.

Jay-Star is finally over Bjorn’s rejection at Fight Gone Gone Bad 2017, and he has returned to write some satire for the blog. He’s getting back out there—living his best life, really—and we hope you enjoy the results! | Photo by Thomas H. 

Jay-Star’s Guide to the Open: Bad Rep-utation

By Jay Reingold

Judging is an extremely important part of The CrossFit Open experience, and you need to go into the competition with a plan for both the giving and receiving of judgement.

Since judging people comes naturally to me, let me share some of my wisdom with you.

First, if you are planning on doing your workouts at CFSBK, it’s more than likely that the coaches will pair you up with some joker, and you’ll be expected to trade off judging duties. ALWAYS VOLUNTEER TO DO THE WORKOUT FIRST!!!!! If your “partner” decides to go all Adrian Bozman on you, then you’ll be in perfect position to extract your revenge when it’s their turn to sweat.

Second, always complete the online Judges Course on crossfit.com before the start of the Open. This is absolutely critical. Supposedly there are these things called “movement standards,” and if you do not adhere to them, your judge is obligated to “no rep” you. This course purportedly teaches you how to tell the difference between a good and a not-so-good rep. Now I know that you think this sounds like a whole lotta “who cares.” But stay with me. The true value of the course is that it gives you license to be a complete @$$H*LE throughout the entire Games season. For example, if your judge decides that your Wall Ball just wasn’t quite high enough, you can turn to them and say, “Oh really? How would you know? Have you passed the online judges course? Well I have and that was a mighty fine rep. KABOOM!” In the rare instance in which you are matched up with someone who has also taken the course, ask them how well they scored on the essay portion of the test. That will usually keep them quite for the remaining 4 to 6 minutes of the workout.

Third, when you are judging someone I recommend NO REPPING your partner every fifth rep. If they catch on to the pattern, just change it up. Try 4, 6, 4, 6 or 5, 4, 5, 4. Randomly no-repping someone is a great way to keep them both off balance and well below you on the leaderboard. If they start to get lippy, just pull out that Judges Certificate from your pocket to keep them in line. Make sure you NO REP in a very loud voice and don’t be afraid to NO REP the competitors to your left and right as well. Chances are their judges will appreciate your help.

Before I leave you, let me address a question that I get a lot about tipping etiquette. Now I don’t believe in tipping, but I do believe in overtipping. Before you compete be sure to slip a Hamilton in the hand of your judge to thank them for their “generosity.” Let them know that Mr. Hamilton has some friends that might want to stop by later. It’s a nice gesture and really helps to establish a great rapport with your judge.

Court is adjourned!

News and Notes

• There are just 5 spots left in Coach Keith’s Active Life Strength class, which starts Monday! See Monday’s post for all the details on this very cool program, and go HERE to register.
• The Herondale Farm meat CSA delivery has been delayed a week because of the weather forecast. Pickup will be next Wednesday, the 14th, from 6-8:30. If you are unable to make the pickup on the 14th, try to find a friend or buddy who can pick it up for you. Feel free to post on the blog for help finding this person (hint: offer them a steak). If you absolutely cannot find someone to help, email Michele at mig [at] gmail.com.
• Inka H. will be at  CFSBK on Thursday 3/8 and Friday 3/9 offering bodywork sessions from 10am – 2 pm. 1 hour is $100 and 1.5 hours is $140.  If you’re curious about how bodywork can help increase range of motion and help you get ready to be in specific positions drop her a line!  My sessions include FRC, Myofascial Release, and Deep Tissue Sports Massage.  You can reach Inka at inka.hodes [at] gmail.com.
• Nor’easter’s a’comin’! As of the time of this post, we are open and plan to run on a normal schedule. Any updates will be posted to this section!

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Rest Day
Data: “You’re Changing Your Life” CrossFit Journal
Lindsey Valenzuela’s Incredible Comeback Athlete Daily