WOD 3.14.18

Every 3 minutes for 6 rounds:
12 Dumbbell Front Rack Reverse Lunges (6e)
12 Dumbbell Burpees

Post work to comments.

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Tempo Back Squat / Tempo Front Squat

Tempo Back Squat (33X1):
Heavy 3

Warm up and work up to a heavy set of 3 Tempo Back Squats. Use spotters on all work sets.

Tempo Front Squat (33X1):
Heavy 3

Drop weight from the Back Squat set and perform a heavy set of 3 Tempo Front Squats.

Post loads to comments.

Here’s CFSBK OG Samir C. putting his gainz to good use on Illiniza Norte (about 16,500 feet above sea level) in Ecuador

News and Notes from CFSBK Members

• Samir also recently published an essay in Aeon entitled “The Usefulness of Dread,” and it’s about something a lot of us can relate to. Here’s a snippet: “Anxiety is insidious, more than just a simple fear. It is, all at once, a fever and an occupation, an affliction and a constitution. An anxiety is a lens through which to view the world, a colouration that grants the sufferer’s experiences their distinctive hue.” Read the whole thing!
• Last week we told you about Chris Y.’s podcast interview with Captain Osorio. There’s a new episode of Giant Korean Head out this week in which Chris and his cohost discuss giving up booze and soda for a month. Check out both episodes on the GKH site!
• 200 (!) or so of you are currently KILLING IT in the CrossFit Open. We’d like to take a moment to thank you for all the awesome energy you’ve been bringing to the gym day in and day out. Don’t forget to follow along on the CFSBK affiliate leaderboard!

Allie B. and Coach Whit embrace after a milestone Muscle-Up at Friday Night Lights. Be sure to check out the whole series here! | Photo by Thomas H. 

Jay-Star’s Guide to the Open: AARGH

By Jay Reingold

Editor’s Note: This is the second episode of Jay-Star’s new satirical series about the Open. You can find last week’s installment here.

They say that many things get better with age. And by “many things,” I mean me. Haters are gonna hate, but I am currently ranked in the 78th percentile in my age group which is an extraordinary accomplishment given my lack of motivation and general CrossFit suckiness.

What this really demonstrates is that CrossFitters need to have a well-developed aging strategy during Games season. Remember young = bad, old = good. Competing in an older cohort is pretty much guaranteed to put you on the fast track to relative CrossFit Open greatness. Since rapid aging is not likely to be one of your #goalz, you need to turn to the old tried and true: the fake ID. Yes, it’s time to drop by mom’s house, dig through the crates, and dust off the Finland driver’s license that made your Zima- fueled good time Saturday night dreams come true.

Back in my minorhood, my fully documented cover story was that I was a 25-year old submariner on shore leave after a six-month stint in the Arctic hunting Russkies, defending baby seals, and picking up hitchhiking polar bears. Let me say it served me quite well both with the ladies and at the West End Bar where I felt great after the first seven tequila shots until I passed out in the bathroom of Tom’s Restaurant and had to find my way back to Bensonhurst. I forgot my address, and to this day I am not sure if I ever made it to the right place. Some nice family finally took me in and helped me pay for college after I knocked down—I mean…  on a few doors

Anyway… keep in mind… AMRAP becomes ARAP if you get rid of the M and ARAP becomes AARP if you do some other stuff.

Kip it real y’all.

News and Notes

• Intramural team captains: Don’t forget to submit your athletes’ scores to the spreadsheet today!
• Missing something? Check out the goods from our latest lost and found clean out, and be sure to claim your stuff before we donate it to CHIPs in a couple of weeks.

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Run, KB Swings, Push Presses, Bar Muscle-Ups
The Magic (and Math) of Skating on Thin Ice Scientific American
Better to Be Better Than Perfect Breaking Muscle

WOD 3.12.18

Performance
5 Rounds for Time:
270m Run
12 Kettlebell Swings 32/24 kg
6 Push Presses 165/110 lb
3 Bar Muscle-Ups

The Kettlebell Swings are Rx’d as overhead. The Push Press is taken from the floor and should be on the heavyish side for you.

Fitness
5 Rounds for Time:
270m Run
12 Russian Kettlebell Swings 24/16kg
6 Push Presses 115/75
3 Toes-to-Bars
3 Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups

The kettlebell and barbell weights should be medium-heavy for you but unbroken. Scale the loads accordingly. The barbell is taken from the floor. The low reps on the gymnastics elements should allow you to choose a challenging version of each if scaling, even if you need to do them as singles.

Post time and Rx to comments.

Photo by Thomas H.

SAVE THE DATE: 2018 Iron Maidens Raw Open

The 4th Annual Iron Maidens Raw Open is happening! We’ve moved to a warmer month this year: June 2, 2018.

This is a full, raw powerlifting meet contesting the Back Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift. It is open to women only. You do not need to be a member of CrossFit South Brooklyn to participate and we welcome all ages. We have space for 60 participants, and we always sell out fast!

For the third year, we are happy to continue raising funds for the Iron Maidens Stay Strong Scholarship which provides college tuition support to students of Grace Outreach, a Bronx based nonprofit that works with women to further their education and gain financial independence. Through past competitors’ efforts, we have raised over $65,000 and supported 10 women pursuing higher education!

Registration will open March 23, 2018. Be on the lookout for the sign-up link posted right here on the blog and the Iron Maidens website!

News and Notes

• Missing something? Check out the goods from our latest lost and found clean out, and be sure to claim your stuff before we donate it to CHIPs in a couple of weeks.
• Photos from Open Workout 18.3 by Thomas H., Robert C., and your blog editor are now up on Flickr. Relive the glory!

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Team 10K Row
Balls of the Feet, Not the Toes, in the Split Jerk Catalyst Athletics
There’s a Bunch of Extremely Cool NASA Stuff on the Internet Archive The Outline

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