Another cool photo from Thomas H.’s recent set

Perfection Is the Enemy of Good Enough

By David Osorio

Originally posted on 1.11.16

As the Look Feel Perform Better Challenge enters full swing, many of you are diligently working to count your macros and make better decisions at the checkout line and in front of the fridge. We commend your diligence and are here to support your efforts in the online forums, during the bimonthly nutrition lectures, and in person around the gym.

But a public service announcement, perhaps even a warning, is warranted at this early stage of the Challenge. This Challenge is three months long—about as long as a college semester—and the reality is that motivation can wax and wane over a period of this length. The New Year finds everyone on their best behavior, feeling impervious to temptation and carefully planning each and every meal. And then you know how it goes: things get complicated. Life happens. You’re starving after a long, brutal day at work and end up grabbing a couple slices of pizza on the way home.

Remember not to lose sight of the forest for the trees. What’s important is your cumulative effort. Overarching trends—not any particular day, night, and certainly not a single meal—will be the key to making sustainable changes and ultimately looking, feeling, and performing better.

Changing your nutritional habits is like practicing free throws. On different days, because of different circumstances, your success rate will fluctuate. A bad day where you missed 30 shots out of 50 doesn’t negate the next day, when you creep up to a 90% success rate. If you’re out there, practicing and putting in the work, the sum of your efforts will add up to a higher average success rate, which is what we all want.

Maybe you didn’t get any points today. Maybe you went over by 30 grams on your fat intake. Maybe you had a few slices of pizza and a couple of beers with your friends last night. The world won’t end! There are far more important questions to ask yourself. Are you eating cleaner overall and making more intentional decisions than you were last month? After a couple of weeks, is it getting easier to look at meals and assess how they’ll fit into the bigger picture of your goals? Do you have more “go-to” healthy meals that you enjoy and have become staples of your diet? Do you feel better than you did before you started the Challenge?

In these first couple of weeks, take a moment to remind yourself why you’re doing this and what you’d like to say you accomplished three months from now. It probably won’t be something like, “I didn’t eat a single grain of sugar.” It should be something more like, “I learned how powerful nutrition can be and can confidently say that I’m healthier and happier than I was before I started.”

Are you doing LFPB this year or have you done it in the past? If so, what is the biggest challenge and how did you deal with it?
_____________________
Yesterday’s Results Board: HSPUs / DBSSRDL | Double-Unders, Hand Release Push-Ups, Pull-Ups
We’d Love to Link You to This Website But It’s Impossible The Outline
Picking a Gym: Do They Respect You? Breaking Muscle

Handstand Push-Up / Dumbbell Split-Stance Romanian Deadlift Superset*

Performance
A1) Tempo (40×1) Handstand Push-Up:
5 x 6-10 reps

Add a few reps to last week. These should all be sub-max sets, adding a deficit if you’re able to. Full range of motion, no AbMats. No crashing or resting on your head! Perform the reps strict if you can. You can kip the concentric if you must, but keep true to the tempo on the eccentric through the full range of motion and do not crash or rest on your head.

A2) Dumbbell Split-Stance RDL:
5 x 6-10 reps

Add weight and/or reps to last week.

Fitness
A1) Tempo (40×1) Seated Dumbbell Press:
5 x 5-8 reps

Add weight and/or reps to last week. Optional: Perform a Kick-Up to the wall with a few second hold immediately after each set of Presses.

A2) Dumbbell Split-Stance RDL:
5 x 6-10 reps

Add weight and/or reps to last week.

*Warm up and then perform a set of Handstand Push-Ups, followed by a set of DB Split-Stance Single-Leg RDLs. Repeat for 5 work sets of each, resting about a minute between movements. The last few reps of each set should be tough, but the goal is no misses.

Post loads/reps to comments.
Exposure 8 of 8

_____________________

Every Minute on the Minute x 10:
20 Double-Unders
10/7 Hand Release Push-Ups
5 Pull-Ups

Post work to comments.

Mer-Bear’s award-winning pie from last year

Save the Date and Get Cookin’ for the Community Potluck on February 3rd!

We’re excited to get everyone in house to break bacon and socialize together outside of classes. This event will simultaneously kick off the new year, support the Look, Feel, Perform Better Challenge, and bring folks from all times and corners of the gym together. The fun starts at 7pm! This event is open to everyone and all are encouraged to come.

Your dish doesn’t have to be paleo, but please try and keep the ingredients of your dish to within the guidelines of the Challenge… animal and vegetable proteins, veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, starches, legumes, whole grains, and dairy are all good to go. We’ll vote on the top 3 dishes, so bring your best recipe! You may, of course, opt to bring a healthy dessert that limits the use of sugars and refined grains.

• The gym will provide some alcohol, but feel free to bring whatever else you’d like. If you’re not drinking booze and want to bring a drink, seltzer is great, too!
• If your food needs to be kept warm, you’ll need to provide your own crockpot or other method for keeping it at serving temperature. We’ve got surge protectors and extension cords.
• We’ll provide notecards so you can label your dish and list its ingredients.
• When you leave please take everything you brought with you. Do not leave any pots, pans, Tupperware, utensils, etc. They will be discarded that night.
• There will be a raffle for one free personal training session with Captain Osorio himself!
• THERE WILL ALSO BE A BOUNCE HOUSE. Bring your kiddos!
• If you’d like to help out (and haven’t already been contacted) we’ll need some hands on deck putting everything away afterwards. If you stay until the end, we’d greatly appreciate some help cleaning up!
• We also need some volunteers to help set up before and clean up afterwards. To help set up, arrive by 6:30 PM! E-mail our Events Coordinator Danae M. at events [at] crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com to let her know you’re available.
• Let us know what you’re bringing by posting in the comments section of the event page!

We can’t wait to see you there!

_____________________
Yesterday’s Results Board: Rack Jerk | Front Squats, Toes-to-Bars
How I Made Peace with My Appetite Girls Gone Strong
How to Create Motivation (Even When It’s Not New Years) XPT

Rack Jerk

Performance
5 x 1

Fitness
5 x 3 

Warm up and perform sets across at 90-100% of Week 1‘s best successful lift. The goal is consistent reps, not PR attempts or press outs.

Post loads to comments.
Exposure 7 of 8

_____________________

AMRAP 9 Minutes:
3 Front Squats 205/145
9 Toes-to-Bars

The Front Squat come off the floor and should be heavy but unbroken. First rep can be a full Squat Clean. Sub Hanging Leg or Knee Raises for Toes-to-Bars as needed.

Post rounds, reps, and Rx to comments.

Is Greg preparing for his new role as Sub-Zero in the next Mortal Kombat movie or just getting ready to go outside? | Photo by Thomas H. 

Today: Look, Feel, Perform Better Challenge Lecture and Q&A, “What Do I Eat?”

Are eggs bad for me? I know avocado is a healthy food, so can I have as much as I want? What’s a whole grain? I heard that avoiding carbs is a fast way to lose weight. Should I skip them? What about gluten, lactose, caffeine, nails, etc.?

Whether you’re following Level 1 or Level 2 on the Look, Feel, Perform Better Challenge, we want you to focus on what foods to eat rather than what are “bad” or foods you should try and will yourself to not eat. In the first lecture of the series (today at 12pm in the Annex), we’ll discuss what healthy foods you should be including in your diet, as well as provide some guidelines on how much of them should be on your plate (even if you’re not counting your macros). An open Q&A will follow.

Akoto O. on Injury and Functional Fitness

Akoto O. hasn’t been around the gym lately because of an ankle injury. She recently send us a nice message updating us on her status and letting us know how CrossFit has prepared her to deal with this setback:

Many members have reached out to me to offer well wishes, words of encouragement, meals, books and Netflix recs! Colleen, who missed a big chunk of her own workout by staying by my side when I fell that Saturday, has even offered to be my open gym partner when I return. What a special, kind community you all have fostered. I am lucky to call CFSBK my fitness home.

Now, forgive this portion of the rant, but I gotta give a shout out to functional fitness:

I have strict instructions to not put any weight on my right ankle. In physical therapy, before I was discharged, as the therapist showed me how lift and lower myself on to the bed, couch, toilet, etc., I thought, “Oh, just like seated Pistol progressions.”

Using a walker is kinda sorta like holding myself up on the Matador.

Hopping around on one leg: one-legged Single-Unders!

The other day I was home alone and I had to bend down and pick up an object: Single-Leg Deadlift!

Point is, there is nothing I need to do to get around safely that I can’t do. All of this feels familiar to me in some way, and because of that, I feel wholly prepared to get through the next few months. Doctors, nurses and therapists have all remarked on my strength and stamina. I owe that to CFSBK, both to the grade-A instruction I’ve received in class over the last 4.5 years and to the things I’ve had the freedom (and equipment) to work on in open gym.

As for an update on my ankle and recovery: Compound fracture dislocation. Surgery went well. The pain is surprisingly manageable. Worst part: my sleep is trash. Best part: I get to track my macros with home cooked meals everyday, but I don’t have to deal with the tyranny of dirty dishes (thanks Mom). I especially don’t miss washing tupperware. Hashtag blessed.

My mother, who is a retired nurse and a phenomenal cook, just happened to be in town when all of this happened, so she’s extended her stay and will be with me at least until the new year. Also, insurance fully covers visiting nurses and physical therapists. Silver linings, ya’ll. I’m in good hands.

Doctor says no regular commuting until February, which is when I plan to come back to the gym, so I’ll see you all then.

Thank you, thank you, thank you a million times.

We miss you, Ko! Heal fast!

_____________________
Yesterday’s Results Board: Wodurday
“Bring Sally Up” Pull-Up Challenge BarBend
The Messy Facts About Diet and Inflammation Scientific American

At 0:00…

3 Rounds For Time:
20 Calories Rowed
20 Wall Balls 20/10, 14/9

At 12:00

3 Rounds For Time:
15 Power Cleans 115/80
15 Burpees

The Power Clean should be light/medium for you. The Burpees happen behind and lateral to the bar, no jump over.

At 24:00

Every Minute on the Minute x 10 (5 ea):
Minutes 0, 2, 4, 6, 8: 45 Second Hollow Hold Minutes
1, 3, 5, 7, 9 : 45 Second Reverse Plank

Tuck the Hollow or bend your knees on the Plank as needed to hold for 45 seconds.

Post work to comments.

If a medicine ball falls in the gym, and nobody’s there to catch it, does it count as a rep? (Probably not.) | Photo by Thomas H. 

TOMORROW: Look, Feel, Perform Better Challenge Lecture and Q&A, “What Do I Eat?”

Are eggs bad for me? I know avocado is a healthy food, so can I have as much as I want? What’s a whole grain? I heard that avoiding carbs is a fast way to lose weight. Should I skip them? What about gluten, lactose, caffeine, nails, etc.?

Whether you’re following Level 1 or Level 2 on the Look, Feel, Perform Better Challenge, we want you to focus on what foods to eat rather than what are “bad” or foods you should try and will yourself to not eat. In the first lecture of the series (tomorrow at 12pm in the Annex), we’ll discuss what healthy foods you should be including in your diet, as well as provide some guidelines on how much of them should be on your plate (even if you’re not counting your macros). An open Q&A will follow.

_____________________
Yesterday’s Results Board: Rest Day
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu Clean and Jerks 2.27x Her Bodyweight hookgrip (video)
What Is “Starting Strength”? Starting Strength