Underneath the Hoodie: Jessie Brown

Vital Stats
Height: 5’0″
Weight: 105 lbs
DOB: February 24th, 1988
Born and raised: Born in San Francisco, raised in Oakland, CA
Place of higher learning: UC Berkeley (mostly)

By Josh Schneiderman

Sitting across from Jessie Brown, you wouldn’t guess that she’s someone who has spent most of her life trying to get out of her comfort zone. I mean this in the best way possible. When we sat down at Mission Dolores a couple of months ago to interview for this installment of Underneath the Hoodie, her warmth, kindness, and cheerfulness immediately put me at ease. She’s at ease with herself, too. If you’ve been coached by her, you already know that she’s incredibly intelligent, and that her tack-sharp intelligence is tempered by her generosity and sense of humor. But what you may not know is that her life has been a struggle to better herself and the lives of those around her. CrossFit, as you may have guessed, has been a big part of this.

Jessica Brown, Jessie Brown, or JB (as you probably know her) was born about three minutes apart from Cassie, her identical twin sister, in San Francisco, California. Her parents, both lawyers and both very busy, raised Jessie and Cassie in Oakland. Up until her move to Brooklyn, Jessie spent her entire life in the Bay Area, with the exception of one short stint in Rhode Island (more on that later).

Growing up, Jessie and her sister were close but very different. Jessie followed the rules; Cassie got into a lot of trouble. Jessie was the teacher’s pet who was devastated by a B on 7th-grade algebra test; Cassie didn’t seem to let grades bother her. Jessie, in what seemed like a tragedy at the time, did not make out with that boy at that Bar Mitzvah; Cassie did.

This gulf between Jessie and someone who shared the exact same DNA was part of what led to Jessie’s struggles with anorexia at a young age. Around the age of 10, as her body began to change, she developed an unhealthy relationship with food. “Scary, weird changes,” Jessie explains, “that could be controlled by not eating.” But on a deeper level, she now observes, this was, in part, a misplaced attempt to differentiate herself from Cassie, who looked a little older, and to form an identity distinct from her twin. She and Cassie had always been compared—people assumed they had the same preferences and personalities—and this was one of Jessie’s ways of setting herself apart. Jessie’s eating issues came to a head in her freshman year of high school, when she was hospitalized for malnutrition.

Jessie describes her family as a typical “NorCal family”: busy and active. She took piano lessons and swam competitively from a the time she was eight (she wasn’t the team star but got awards like “Most Dedicated’ and “Most Improved”.) It was here that her eating issues intersected with her athletic pursuits. Her best friends were on the swim team, and after she was hospitalized, she couldn’t swim for a year. Deprived of her main athletic outlet, Jessie slowly began to recover from this early bout of anorexia with a lot therapy and support from her parents. At therapy and in the hospital, she saw other high-school-aged kids struggling with the same issues and decided that she just didn’t want her life to be like theirs. She did what she needed to do: she slowly got herself healthy, and returned to swimming.

Deciding that she needed something different—there’s that comfort zone again—she applied to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and headed off to her freshman year of college 3,079 miles (give or take a few miles) away. Now, at 28, she’s her own person, less of a rule follower. She sets high standards for herself, but they’re her own standards. At Brown, though, she wanted to impress everyone, to let everyone know how smart she was based on some arbitrary standards. Exacerbated by the pressures of college and the loss of the safety blankets of home and family, her anorexia emerged again. With the support of her family, she left Brown without completing her freshman year.

The following fall, Jessie applied to the University of California, Berkeley as a freshman. At a school of 34,000 undergrads, she explains, she couldn’t try to please everyone. “I had to do the best at being me,” she says, and realizing this helped her with her continued recovery. Jessie majored in American Studies, not necessarily the straightest path to a lucrative career. While it would have been a clearer path, she knew she didn’t want to be a lawyer like her parents. Instead, she continued to forge her own identity, to create her own expectations. Her athletic pursuits continued at Berkeley, where she got into aerobics classes—cardio, body-toning, and kickboxing type stuff. In fact, she eventually became a kickboxing instructor.

Jessie got into CrossFit during her first year of grad school at Berkeley, where she stayed to do doctoral work in History. While she initially had a negative perception of “the sport of fitness,” the competitive aspect of CrossFit drew her in. No surprise: Jessie enjoys pushing herself physically, and with aerobics, rock climbing, and yoga, she never felt like she was pushing herself as much as she could have. The community aspect also drew her in, and she eventually ended up at CrossFit East Bay, where she made some of her closest friends and started her coaching career. 

More importantly, CrossFit was instrumental to Jessie’s recovery from anorexia. “Doing a different physical activity,” she told me, “necessitated a different relationship with food.” She now has more of a utilitarian relationship with food; she has to eat to fuel her athletic pursuits (she’s also learned to eat for pleasure). She was also getting older and more comfortable with her body. Always “Little JB,” she didn’t get much “bigger,” but she did get more muscular. She noticed changes in her body, and loves the way she currently looks.

What is life like as Little JB, a smaller CrossFitter? “When I first started doing CrossFit,” she explained, “I found being smaller both frustrating and advantageous. Gymnastics movements came more easily to me, but Rx-ing a workout like ‘Grace’ took a while to work up to. When started competing, there was a while there when I would really get down about the injustice of it all.” In the grand scheme of things, though, she thinks there are more advantages than disadvantages to being a small CrossFitter. More importantly, she applies the lesson she learned in her freshman year to her life as a CrossFitter: not to compare herself to other people so much, to simply be herself. “I like to use this apparent ‘limitation’ as motivation,” she told me, “and I hope I can serve as some sort of example (especially to other women) that being small does not mean you can’t be strong!” This is an understatement. Not long after I interviewed her for this piece, she qualified for the USA Weightlifting American Open by kicking ass at the Crow Hill Open. 

After a year at CrossFit East Bay, Jessie completed her CF Level 1 certification and began coaching there. It was a natural development, given the friendships she made there and her background in fitness instruction. She liked helping people move better, and this came in handy when she began coaching 1-on-1 Onramp classes at East Bay. Coaching CrossFit South Brooklyn, she now has an even greater appreciation for the art of good coaching.

How did she end up here? After deciding that grad school wasn’t for her, Jessie left Berkeley with a Master’s degree. In April of 2014, she broke up with her boyfriend of 4 years. Living with her dad and working an uninspiring job at a software company, Jessie decided she was going to move to Brooklyn, a decision she describes as “uncharacteristic.” It proved difficult to get a job from California, but she eventually got an opportunity to rent a sublet (a “terrible apartment”) and set out for the East Coast. Jessie touched down in New York on a Tuesday, and interviewed at CFSBK that Thursday. “I immediately knew this was the place for me,” she said. At first, she thought she might coach full time, but she soon landed a job at Ithaka S+R, a higher education research and consulting group. Her first year in Brooklyn was tough (whose isn’t!), but her new job was instrumental in getting her through.

An even more important factor in making Brooklyn slowly feel like (a) home for Jessie has been being part of the community at CrossFit South Brooklyn. Jessie reflects that she’s learned a ton from the other coaching staff (as both a coach and an athlete), and has made a fantastic group of friends from the gym (two of whom she just moved in with). “The few non-CrossFit friends I have in New York make fun of me because CFSBK is such a big part of my life,” she explains, “but I feel very grateful that I’ve been able to find a community of smart people that shares this huge common interest with me, but also has diverse enough interests that we can base our relationships off of a whole lot more than just working out.”

Looking over the details she provided during our interview, I have to respectfully disagree that Jessie’s move to Brooklyn was uncharacteristic. It seems entirely consistent with the life she’s shaped for herself, all of the small decisions she’s made to expand the borders of her world. Jessie’s relationship with her sister Cassie has also changed, but, despite the fact that they live across the country from one another, they are still very close. She tells her sister things she’d never tell anyone else and misses her every day. Up until recently, Cassie also worked in education, and Cassie lived in Brooklyn for years before Jessie moved here (unfortunately, they never overlapped). While their paths were informed by their disparate dispositions, Jessie finds it interesting that their lives continue—sometimes— to converge or follow one another’s.

Jessie isn’t sure what her next move will be, but she thinks about it a lot. She likes the writing and research she does for her job, and enjoys working in education. Whatever it is, she plans for coaching and working out at CFSBK continue to be a big part her life.

News and Notes

• Please note: There will be no parking at all on Degraw Street this week from today through Saturday.
• Schedule change: This Thursday’s 9:00am Yoga class with Jaclyn K. is cancelled.
• FIGHT GONE BAD registration has been extended to this Friday, but sign up as soon as possible if you want to participate!

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Surprise! Gladiators Were Vegetarians Smithsonian
11 Deadlift Variations and Why They’re Important Fitness HQ

Deadlift / Handstand Push-Up Superset*

1A) Deadlift

Fitness
3 x 5

Start light enough to add weight for 6’s next week.

Performance
70% x 6 x 3

1B) Handstand Push-Up

Fitness
3 x 5-10 Box Piked HSPUs

1-2 AbMats are ok. Knees are easier than toes. Sub 8-12 Seated Dumbbell Presses if you don’t have Boxed Pike HSPUs yet. 

Performance
3 x 6-12 Strict HSPUs  

1-3 AbMats are allowed as long as you’re getting some range of motion out of it. If you can do 3 sets of 12 easily, then add a deficit. DC blocks and bumpers work well for this.

*Superset means that you perform a set of exercise A (in this case the Bench Press) and then after a short rest, 30 seconds to a minute, you perform a set of exercise B (in this case the Barbell Bent-Over Row). You then rest a short period before returning to exercise A and continue in this fashion until all warm up and work sets are completed.

Post loads/work to comments.
Exposure 4 of 8

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21-15-9 Round for Time:
Clean and Jerk 115/80
Burpees

Post time and Rx to comments.

Sarah M.’s CrossFit future is so bright that she has to wear shades

• Please note: We’ll be running on a modified schedule today. We’ll have group classes on the hour at 9:00am, 10:00am, 11:00am and 12:00pm, with Open Gym (for those with an OG membership) also happening during that time. Evening classes are cancelled, as are today’s CrossFit kids classes. Have a great labor day.
• Do you follow us on Instagram? If not, you missed Kate’s first strict Chin-Up. Congrats, Kate!

Developing Your Pull-Up

By Christian Fox

Editor’s Note: Your blog editor sometimes (almost never) gets asked, “Josh, what is your article ever published on the CFSBK blog?” There are too many to chose just one, but Coach Fox‘s “Developing Your Pull-Up” is one of the first things I read when I discovered the blog, and it remains a favorite. Whether you’re an advanced CrossFitter, just getting started, or coming back from an injury, it’s a nice reminder that CrossFit enables us all to do things we couldn’t do before, as long as we put the work in. Enjoy!

There are a bunch of reasons to get better at doing pull ups. For one, we do a
bunch of them in CrossFit. They’re also a great way to increase the
strength of your upper back, arms, lats, grip, and help to have a
balanced and healthy shoulder girdle. You should be able to do strict
pull ups with a variety of grips, and once you can consistently do few
pull ups  at a time it may be time to start working on the kipping pull
up. Here’s how you’re going to get better, no matter where in the scheme
of it you are.

Beginner
(No pull ups, or “I did one, once…”)

“A” Day
3 sets of 12 reps of either: Ring Rows or Band Assisted Pull Ups. Use an
angle or band that makes completing all the repetitions challenging. Rest as needed between sets.

Followed by, 3 Supersets of 12 reps of either: Dumbbell Curls (I know you’ve secretly wanted to do these anyway) or  Dumbbell Rows
with either: Dumbbell Bench Press or Dumbbell Floor Press
Choose a weight that feels like you could have done another rep or two at the
end of the set. Take minimal rest between exercises in the superset.
———
“B” Day
10 ‘mini sets’ of 1 rep each of 5-10 second negatives using either a pull
up or a chin up grip on the minute for 10 minutes. You can jump to the
top or set a box up that allows you to start at the top (collar bone
above the bar). Yes, that seems like a lot of rest in between reps, and
no, it’s not a lot of total reps. That’s a good thing, trust me.

Alternate between the A day and the B day with a day of rest between workouts. An example would be:
Monday A – Wednesday B – Saturday A – Monday B – Wednesday A – Saturday B
———

Intermediate
(Can do 3-5 pull ups at a time)

Week 1)  6 sets of 2 reps. Rest 1 minute between sets. Perform twice a week.
Week 2)  5 sets of 3 reps. Rest 1 minute between sets. Perform twice a week.
Week 3)  4 sets of 4 reps. Rest 90-120 seconds between sets. Perform twice a week.
Week 4)  3 sets to failure. Rest 3 minutes between sets. Perform twice a week.

This program can be used until you have 3 sets of 10 reps in the 4th week.
In other words, if you don’t get the 3×10 in week 4 restart at week 1 by
adding a rep to the sets. Week one would be 6×3, week 2 would be 5×4,
and week 3 would be 4×5, then retest in week 4.

End each session by practicing kipping pulls ups for a few small sets, no
more than 5 sets and no more than 8 reps. Terminate the set if you fall
out of rhythm. It’s all about developing a rhythm that you can control
and maintain. Remember that a solid kip uses your whole body and don’t
forget that your abs need to be engaged throughout. If you fly open in
the front of the kip you are leaking tons of energy away from the bar.
Check out this video for a peak at what an efficient pull up should look like.
———

Advanced
(Can regularly do sets of 10 or more strict and/or kipping)

Congrats, you stud or stud-ette. You are now on your way to becoming elite! Don’t expect though that your pull ups will magically become better if you
don’t practice them. You should still be working on both strict and
kipping pull ups. Mix up the grip that you use when you practice. Try
these.

1) Once a week do a set or two to near failure. Start with a pull up grip
(hands outside shoulder width and palms away) and when you are 2 reps
shy of failure switch to a chin up grip (hands inside shoulder width and
palms toward you). When you are 2 reps shy of failure switch to a mixed
grip (1 palm in, 1 palm out) and do the same before switching again.

2) You can practice similarly by doing a set or two of max strict pull
ups,  immediately switching to kipping and again going till failure (or a
rep shy of it).

3) Start doing weighted pull ups/chin ups, 3 sets of 5 reps, and seeing if you can add weight each week.

4) 30 seconds on/30 seconds off for 5 minutes of max reps kipping pull
ups. The set ends if you come off the bar. Remember to stay engaged in
the trunk. Don’t leak energy out in front. Remember this video.

5) Each time you’re in the gym do a 3-5 sub-max sets of kipping pull ups,
trying to add a rep each time you do the drill. You want to feel fresh
and stay shy of failure here. Terminate the set if grip becomes the
limiting factor. Again, remember to stay engaged and not leak energy out
of the front of the kip. Once again…

6) If you have a solid kip that just seems to go away on you when you get
gassed then try practicing your pull ups under duress. Do 50 double
unders or sprint down the block and back followed immediately by a set
of 10-15 pull ups.

 

——-

If one of the days that you’re in the gym involves a lot of pull ups then
consider that a replacement day for one of the days on the above
programs. Also consider this…it’s no mistake that smaller, lighter
people have an easier time with pull ups. While the barbell exercises
can be scaled easily to ability, calisthenics can not. If you have some
weight to lose then a solid nutritional program can work in tandem with
the above programs to help you achieve the pull up.

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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Snatch | Partner WOD
I’m a Deaf CrossFit Athlete: Here’s How I Navigate Fitness and Classes to Reach My Goals BarBend
Against Self-Criticism Brain Pickings

Snatch Complex

Fitness
Every 90 seconds x 10:
High Hang Snatch + Overheard Squat

Performance
Every 90 seconds x 10:
High Hang Snatch + Snatch Balance

Post loads to comments.
Exposure 3 of 7

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Partner WOD
In teams of 2, complete 10 rounds (5 each) for time of:
30 Double-Unders
10 Thrusters 95/65
8 Chest-to-Bar Pull Ups

Partners alternate full rounds. Scale the Double-Unders to 1/2 attempts or 3x Singles. The thrusters should be light enough to do unbroken. Scale Chest-to-Bar to regular Pull-Ups or Jumping C2B as needed.

Post time, Rx, and partner to blog.

Joe W. moves the sled at this year’s Subway Series

• Schedule Change: All CrossFit Kids programming is cancelled today and Monday.
• Tomorrow, Labor Day, we’ll be running on a modified schedule. We’ll have group classes on the hour at 9:00am, 10:00am, 11:00am and 12:00pm, with Open Gym Membership also happening during that time. Evening classes are cancelled. Enjoy the long weekend!

Catching Up with the CFSBK Classifieds

Did you know that we offer a classifieds section of the website for our members? Well, we do! Here are a few examples of goods and services up for grabs at the moment:

• Kevin Y. is offering his old RX Smart Gear Jump Rope for $20!
• David L. is selling his new pair of Adidas Adipower lifting shoes, still in the box and never worn, size 8.5M.
• Actually, that’s it for now. Nothing else has been posted recently! Get on there and post some more! CFSBK members have advertised everything from juicers to furniture to cars (no illegal exotic pets, please).

We hope you’ll take advantage of this fun feature. Many people have found roommates there. Why deal with Craigslist when you can live with your workout partner?

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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Back Squat / Front Squat | Push-Ups, Box Jumps, Deadlifts
Photos Taken from Space Make You Realize Just How Tiny We Are Vice
Verbal Cueing: Keeping It Simple CrossFit

Back Squat / Front Squat

Fitness
Back Squat: 2 x 5 Linear Progression
Front Squat: 2 x 3 Linear Progression

Heavier than last week

Performance
Back Squat: 70% x 5 x 2
Front Squat: 70% x 5 x 2

Post loads to comments.
Exposure 6 of 16
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9 Rounds for Time:
9 Push-Ups
6 Box Jumps 24/10″
3 Deadlifts 225/155

Scale Push-Ups to elevated or knees as needed. Barbell weight should be medium-heavy for you and unbroken throughout.

Post time and Rx to comments.

Steph M. showing off her handstand skillz on the Great Wall of China

Fight Gone Bad 2016!

Since 2008, CrossFit South Brooklyn has conducted a yearly fundraiser in the form of a workout called Fight Gone Bad. Last year, we raised nearly $27,000 for the Brooklyn Community Foundation (BCF), a local organization dedicated to improving the lives of people in Brooklyn by strengthening communities through local giving, grantmaking, and community service. This year, we’ll be partnering with BCF again and hope to surpass last year’s donation numbers.

Last year we had 160 members participating and this year, we’re capping it at 200. 

The registration deadline is Monday September 5th, 2016. That’s *this* Monday.

Tell Me More… 

When is Fight Gone Bad? 
Saturday, October 15th, 2016. First heat begins at 9am. 

What is Fight Gone Bad?

Three rounds, as many reps as possible, of:
Wall-balls, 20lb, 10ft / 14lb, 9ft 
Sumo deadlift high-pulls, 75/55 pounds
Box Jumps, 20″ box 
Push-presses, 75/55 pounds 
Row 

In this workout, you move from each of five stations after a minute. The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. When the announcer calls “Rotate,” athletes must move to next station immediately. Each of the three rounds is five minutes, followed by a one-minute rest. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

What does the registration fee cover?
The $30 (plus tax) fee covers the cost of a team tshirt.  You and your team will be able to create a unique team name and decide on tshirt colors.  We also give prizes for the team with the most spirit…think costumes, props, etc!!!

Why are we fundraising?
In the past, our annual FGB fundraiser has been a great way to bring our community together to support great charities—and we chose to support the Brooklyn Community Foundation because Brooklyn has been exceptionally good to us and we want to help give back to the community that CFSBK is proud to call home. If you’re not familiar with BCF, make sure you visit their website to check them out. Or if you’re lazy, at least check out their list of Grantees; we’re sure you’ll find one or two not far from you!

Will there be a fundraising minimum?  
While we’d love for everyone to make wholehearted attempts to raise funds, there is no fundraising minimum to participate. However, as in years past, there will be some sweet prizes awarded to the top Individual Fundraisers!  

Ok, you keep talking about fundraising but how should I do this and when should I begin?
Once our registration deadline ends on September 5th, we’ll create teams consisting of six athletes. Shortly after, athletes will get an email from us with their team assignments and all of the details to set up their fundraising pages. We’ll be using Crowdrise as our fundraising platform again and participants will have individual fundraising pages that will be super easy to share with friends and family.  (Check out last year’s main fundraising page HERE!)

Also, we’re looking for donations to give out as prizes. Contact Danae [at] CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com if you have something to offer!

Tell me more about the workout. What if I can’t do it Rx’d?
Here’s Coach Glassman explaining FGB in detail. And don’t worry, we have scaling options available!  

So the day begins at 9am, but how long will it last? When will my team go?
The length of the event depends on how many total athletes/teams we have. We run two teams through the workout simultaneously and new heats start every 20 minutes.  Unfortunately, we can’t tell you exactly what time your team will be going until we get closer to the event. Of course, we hope that you plan on spending a few hours with us, not only competing but also supporting your fellow teams.  And per usual, we’ll have some tasty adult beverages to enjoy!

What if I can’t attend that Saturday, October 15?
You can still sign up to be a part of a team to participate in fundraising and get a team tshirt.  Unfortunately though we won’t be running a Fight Gone Belated this year.Sign up anyway and select the option to be on Fight Gone Belated! 

Ok, I’m sold.  Where do I register?
Sign up here for Fight Gone Bad 2016!

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Supplements and Snake Oil CrossFit Journal
You Were Born to Run (But Only When Forced To) NY Mag
Apartment Broker Recommends Brooklyn Residents Spend No More than 150% of Income on Rent

This week, Mary and Dmitry welcomed Kai Mazilo, a beautiful baby boy, into the world. Mary trained at CFSBK throughout her pregnancy, and we couldn’t be happier for the Mazilo family!

This Week at CFSBK in Review

1. This Monday, Labor Day, we’ll be running on a modified schedule. We’ll have group classes on the hour at 9:00am, 10:00am, 11:00am and 12:00pm, with Open Gym Membership also happening during that time. Evening classes are cancelled. Enjoy the long weekend!

2. The deadline to sign up for Fight Gone Bad 2016 is also this Monday, September 5th! Have you registered yet? Well, get after it!

3. Kate R. is working on a photography project about people who are LGBTQ and Catholic. She is taking peoples’ portraits and would love to hear a bit about their faith and what they wrestle with in the Church. Does this describe you or someone you know? You can see Kate’s work here and can contact her at katharinereece [at] gmail.com.

4. Taco Jesus (aka, DH3) is also working on a project… of sorts. He started a petition to get Most Tacos Eaten back on the leaderboard. He’s already reached the 50-signature threshold to restore Tacos to the leaderboard and rectify this injustice. Rest easy: CFSBK is once again an unsafe space for tacos. Help him reach his goal of 100 signatures! He’s promised to buy everyone who signs a taco at Fight Gone Bad, so it’s more of a petition to bankrupt Taco Jesus now.

5. Speaking of the leaderboard, it has been revised. Here’s what we changed.

6. Adam S. is producing a fun event called The Artist Room: Martha Graham Cracker. If you like immersive theater and drag performances, this is the show for you! Go here for more details and ticket info. 

7. Last but not least, in the return of Behind the Desk, we profiled new front desker Toni S. We’ll be introducing you to the rest of our new front desk staff over the coming weeks!

8. PSA: The parking signs on Degraw have changed, and the NYPD has been ticketing more aggressively. Be sure to check the signs when you park, especially near the dialysis center close to 3rd Avenue!

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