Sometimes it’s good to go back to basics! In this new Ask a Coach video, we provide some tips on a classic CrossFit movement: the Kettlebell Swing! 

Ask a Coach

Do  you like these little instructional videos we’ve been doing? We’d like to do more stuff like that and need your help. So, from time to time, we’ll be asking you for questions that we can address in short videos. Today is one of those times! Leave a CrossFit-related question that we can address in a short video in today’s comments. One of our illustrious coaches may respond in a future video!

Tuesdays, 4 to 6pm: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Open Mat

Jiu Jitsu Open Mat is a supplemental and informal training session for current students and practitioners with at least a fundamental knowledge of jiu jitsu. This is an opportunity to drill technique and spar with other practitioners on the mat and clarify any questions you may have about your training.

Come and go within the timeframe as you please as there will be no lesson taught. This is not a formal class structure, and does not replace formal classes. Callie will be supervising each open mat and will be available to answer questions and offer suggestions on how and what to practice. If you have a gi/kimono, this is a great chance to get some gi training in. No gi apparel is also welcome.

Open Mat will take place from 4 to 6pm on Tuesdays (starting January 23rd) and is accessible with a specialty class punch card!

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Press / Deadlift | Burpees / Pull-Ups
Open Registration is Live CrossFit
What America’s First Cookbook Says About Our Country and Its Cuisine Smithsonian

Press

1-1-1

Deadlift

1-1-1

Warm up and spend about 10-15 minutes on each lift, working up to a heavy single for both. If you’re feeling good, then plan to attempt a new 1RM. If not, aim to get to around 90% and leave it there.

Post loads to comments.

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For Time:
21-15-9
Pull Ups
Burpees

Get ready to get uncomfortable today. This should hurt a bit. It’s sort of a play on bodyweight “Fran.” Scale as needed to allow for a fast effort. Scale volume on both movements and/or to Jumping Pull-Ups as needed.

Post time and Rx to comments.

Coach KHarpz brilliantly represented CFSBK at Wodapalooza in Miami. When all was said and done, she placed 15th on the Intermediate Women leaderboard. We’re so proud of you, Katie! | Photo by Charlie N. 

Register for the 2018 CrossFit Open

Registration for the 2018 CrossFit Open is now underway. We want you to sign up! But why should you? First, the Open includes both Rx’d and Scaled divisions, so don’t fret if you don’t have Muscle-Ups or Handstand Walks jyst yet. Second, registering for the Open is good for the whole CFSBK community. As befits our guiding principle of inclusiveness, we usually have a big team, and we’d love to have an even bigger team this year. Even if you do only one rep for one of the WODs, it won’t bring the team down. The third reason is a little more complicated. What if—like your CFSBK blog Editor—you’re not naturally competitive because you were always large for your age and thus a big, slow target in dodgeball? To answer this last question (or some version of it), we’re reposting Coach Fox’s blog classic “Why Compete?” Enjoy!

Why Compete?

By Chris Fox

Originally posted on 12.1.2012

As a youth I was not very involved in competitive sports, so I can’t speak to that angle on why competition is a healthy aspect of training as an adult. Sure, I’ve played some pick up football, basketball, rugby, baseball, etc… but the consequences were only week to week, never having long lasting meaning to me. As an adult I have found new meaning in what training and testing mean to me. I’ve trained with intention and set performance goals for more than a decade and found CrossFit within the past 6 years. CrossFit was the first time that I had ever really tested my performance in a competition setting. The beauty of Crossfit, and the related fitness sports that go along with it like powerlifting, olympic lifting, strongman/women, adventure races, etc… is that while you are ‘competing’ with the people you’re sharing floor/track/trail/platform space with, you must also compare your performance to your own previous performances. Sometimes the goal may be to only finish an event. First time out? Just get through it with success. Other times it may be to best your previous years placement or possibly to achieve a top place in an event. In my case the goal is to get better as an athlete and to not slip backward as the competitive environment gets more and more, well, competitive.

I have no illusions of winning any powerlifting meets, Olympic meets, the CrossFit Games, or even any of the local throwdown style events. Does that mean that my participation is silly? Hell NO! I get to hang with some cool folks, push my limits, and measure where I lay not only in comparison to my fellow athletes but also in relation to my previous self. As a (very) soon to be 40 year old male, society would have me believe that my best days are behind me. I respond with a resounding “NOT” and strive year after year to be a bit better that the me from the year before. I enjoy the process, the goal setting, and the satisfaction of knowing that I prepared for an event as best as I could. Or, in learning what I might do differently  the next go around.

We test ourselves day in, day out at CFSBK. There are metrics to be recorded for sure, and you should be tracking them regularly. I encourage you all, however, to step outside of your comfort zone once in a while and and test your performance in those not so cozy places where the others are. You might find out that you hate it, but you might also find out that it inspires you to be better or at least have some outside of the box fun. At the very least you’ll have learned something about yourself.

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Clean and Jerk | KB Swings, Air Squats, Sit-Ups
Tom Brady Is Drowning in His Own Pseudoscience FiveThirtyEight
The 10 Commandments of Deadlift Day BarBend

Clean and Jerk

1-1-1-1-1

Begin at about 75% and work up to a heavy single (not a 1RM) for the day. No press-outs. The goal is zero misses, but if you have a missed lift (either straight up or technical), take 5-10% off the bar for your next rep.

Post loads to comments.
Exposure 8 of 8

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Tabata Mash-Up

8 Alternating Tabata Rounds Each of:
Russian Kettlebell Swings
Air Squats
AbMat Sit Ups

Perform 20 seconds of Russian Kettlebell Swings and 10 seconds of rest, followed by 20 seconds of Air Squats and 10 seconds of rest, then 20 seconds of AbMat Sit-Ups and 10 seconds of rest… repeat for a total of 8 rounds. Score combined total number of reps for all 3 movements.

Post work to comments.

Striking Workshop at CrossFit Suffolk

On Sunday, February 11th, CrossFit Suffolk will host a CrossFit Striking Workshop, a single-day immersive experience that teaches participants how to increase overall fitness, core strength, rotational speed and power by incorporating striking drills into CrossFit workouts. Strikes are some of the most functional movements because punching and kicking with true power, speed and accuracy require people to utilize their entire body. This is why fighters are some of the most well-conditioned and powerful athletes in the world.

With this in mind, the Striking Workshop is designed to teach participants to incorporate basic mixed-martial-arts, boxing and self-protection striking concepts into workouts. The course also teaches attendees to program these skills into workouts for greater variance. All this is done in a non-contact format that focuses on proper technique by using shadow boxing, focus mitts, kick shields and a heavy bag.

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Wodurday
A Brief History of the Stick Nautilus
Lonely No Longer CrossFit Journal

For Time:

550m Run, then…

3 Rounds:
21 Deadlifts 135/95
15 Toes to Bars

The Deadlifts should be light and completed in 1-2 sets. If you can’t string together sets of 6-10 Toes-t0-Bars then scale to Hanging Leg or Knee Raises.

550m Run, then…

3 Rounds:
15 Hang Power Cleans 135/95
9 Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups

The Hang Power Cleans should be medium heavy and completed in 1-3 sets. If you can’t string together sets of 3-5 Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups, then scale to Chin-over-Bar Pull-Ups or Jumping Pull-Ups.

550m Run, then…

3 Rounds:
9 Overhead Squats 135/95
6 Muscle-Ups

The Overhead Squats should be medium-heavy and completed in 1-2 sets If you can’t complete the Ring Muscle-Ups in 1-3 sets then scale to 12 Ring Dips or Burpees.

Post time and Rx to comments.

Headed into the 2nd day of Wodapalooza, Coach KHarpz is at 7th place on the Intermediate Women leaderboard. Show her some love in the comments! 

Farewell (sort of!) to Katie H.

As we mentioned yesterday, the blog is still catching up on community news. CFSBK’s resident anthropologist Katie Rose Hjetmanek recently completed her research at the gym and actually in Miami at Wodapalooza this weekend to observe the competition. Here’s a great message she sent us:

Hi CFSBK! Your resident anthropologist here. I hope you are thriving as 2017 gives way to 2018. I haven’t seen many of you the past couple of months. I have been traveling and nursing a knee injury. It has been a wonderful 18 months with you all. I have learned more than I ever thought I would, made wonderful friends, and experienced so much that the gym and its community have to offer. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you

I want to thank David Osorio for his openness to this project and to me as an anthropologist. He allowed me to run around and do my anthropology, trusting me along the way. My heart is full of gratitude for the opportunity and overwhelmed by his generosity. Thank you so much David for this incredible chance to learn more about CrossFit, CFSBK, and what it means to build something that is so important for so many

Thank you to coaches. I cannot begin to explain how much I learned from you as I practiced and observed classes and training. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me, as both an anthropologist and a member. Not only do I understand the various parts of CrossFit better but I can embody them better as well – I’m so much stronger and able than I was a year ago. Thank you for extending your wisdom my way. Also, I’m sorry. I know it was annoying to have me hanging out, especially when I was around for hours and hours.

To the members, thank you so very, very much. So many of you have shared your experiences of CrossFit and CFSBK with me and I am forever indebted to you for your willingness, kindness, and openness. Your candor has helped me learn about and make sense of CrossFit and the way it manifests itself in your lives. This project really relied on your generosity and I’m astounded and impressed by the depth of it. Thank you for welcoming me as you do others, even though I asked more from you. You are all so very fortunate and brilliant to have made CFSBK the true treasure that it is!

I am not yet finished with the project as a whole. I am going to Wodapalooza in January (Go Katie Harper!!!) and will complete my fieldwork at other gyms by the end of June. I’m still hoping to do international fieldwork as well but that all depends on funding. Afterward I will write up. Therefore, if you have any questions, concerns, or comments, you can always contact me at KHejtmanek [at] brooklyn.cuny.edu, maxesandprs [at] gmail.com, or via Instagram at @Maxesandprs.

Finally, I’m not really going anywhere. I will remain at Brooklyn College and in Brooklyn. And I hope to return to CFSBK as Katie (full stop) rather than Katie the observing anthropologist. CFSBK has come to mean a lot to me too, I’ve built very important relationships, and perhaps the blessing of doing fieldwork where you live is that you don’t have to leave, you just have to put down your notebook. So perhaps I will see you in 2018.

Again: thank you, thank you, thank you.

See you soon, Katie! If you’re reading this, tell us how it’s going in Miami!

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Rest Day
Drive Better by Stopping Better in the Jerk Catalyst Athletics
Define Your Habits by Playing the Long Game Breaking Muscle

The blog is a bit behind on stuff what with new programs launching and the LFPB Challenge gearing up, but here’s something really cool. It’s CFSBK member and photographer Robert C. giving a TEDx talk called “Is a Robot Standing Between You and Your Next Job?” It’s a very cool and informative video. Congrats, Robert! 

This Week at CFSBK in Review

1. Coach KHarpz is in Miami this weekend for Wodapalooza! Here’s a transmission from the Sunshine State:

“Looking forward to throwing down as an Intermediate Individual at this year’s Wodapalooza! Couldn’t be more thankful for all of you and the supportive crew that is coming down to watch! A couple of people have asked, so if you want to spectate from afar, here are the ways you can locate me on the livestream, especially if you want to see what I look like cleaning a sandbag in a swim cap and goggles on Saturday, : 1) Download the WZA phone app. My schedule will be posted under Intermediate individual directed to this link below. There will be a livestream option on the site as well as through the app. 2) You can also access the schedule and livestream from the website. 3) If I know more info I’ll post details about heat times to the blog! STAY WARM FOLKS!”

Kick some ass, Katie! You can follow Katie’s ass kicking on the WZA leaderboard.

2. Save the date: The CFSBK Community Potluck goes down on Saturday, 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. See the event page for details.

4. We also heard from Constance T. this week! See you soon, Constance!

5. We just passed 6,000 followers on Instagram. Thanks for helping us reach this milestone! We still need your help reaching 5,000 followers on Facebook, so smash that “like” button to help your favorite gym out!

6. Our next Brazilian jiu-jitsu cycle with Callie Brennan starts this weekend. There are a limited number of spots in each class, so get on it! Details are in yesterday’s post

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Snatch | NFR Work
How to Conquer Your Fear of Trying New Things NY Mag
Handstand Like a Boss Athlete Daily