Handstand Push-Ups

Performance
7 rounds (12 minutes):
1 Minute Max Strict Handstand Push-Ups 
1 Minute Rest

Do these from a deficit if you can, or scale the range of motion to 2 AbMats as needed.

Fitness
5 Rounds Not For Time:
5 Box Piked Handstand Push-Ups or 20-Second Box Pike Hold 

Rest as needed between sets. If you’re doing the Box Pike Holds, then immediately following the Hold, perform a set of 5 challenging dumbbell Presses.
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Every Minute on the Minute for 4 Rounds
Minute 1: 20/16 Calorie Row
Minute 2: 20 Russian Kettlebell Swings 53/35
Minute 3: 15 Burpees
Minute 4: 5 Bar Muscle Ups, Jumping Bar Muscle Ups, or 10 Jumping Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups
Minute 5: Rest

Go as fast as you can on each round. If you can’t finish the reps/cals within the minute, then scale to a number that gives you a few seconds of transition time.

Post reps and Rx to comments.

You’ve heard us talk a lot about the Open in class lately. Now’s your chance to sign up!

• The CFSBK Community Potluck is this Saturday, January 23rd at 7pm. All are welcomed and encouraged to attend! See the event page for more details.
• Team Steel Magnolias (Coach MeLo, Coach K Harpz, and Tina D.) finshed Wodapalooza 2016 tied for 10th place out of 25 teams in the Intermediate Women divsion. Tell ’em how proud we are the next time you see them. We’ll post a full report from K Harpz later in the week.

WE WANT YOU… to Register for the 2016 CrossFit Open

Registration for the 2016 CrossFit Open went live this past Friday. Get crackin’! There will be Rx’d and scaled versions of each workout, so you can only help CFSBK’s team by signing up. Even if you do one rep for one of the WODs, it won’t bring the team down. We just want you to join us! Sign up here, and don’t forget to register as a CFSBK athlete. 

ANTIFREEZE: The Gowanus Canal Conservancy Fundraiser

CFSBK on The New Yorker Radio Hour

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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Clean | Partner WOD
The Skill Transfer of the Burpee with Carl Paoli YouTube
Letter From a Birmingham Jail (Original Typescript) King Institute

Power Clean

Power Clean:
Work up to a Power Clean a bit heavier than the work weight you intend to use in the WOD.

Post loads to comments.
Exposure 5 of 8.
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In teams of 3, with 1 partner working at a time, complete 7 rounds each (21 total) of:
3 Power Cleans 185/125
6 Box Jumps 30/24
9 Push-Ups

Partners alternate full rounds. The Power Clean weight should be on the heavy side of medium. Cycle the reps if you can. The Box Jump is meant to be higher than you’re used to. Practice fast transitions between teammates.

Post time and Rx to comments. 

Coach MeLo, Tina D., and Coach K Harpz with some photobomber named Rich Froning at Wodapalooza 2016 in Miami. At the end of Day 2, team Steel Magnolias is in 6th place out of 25 teams in the Intermediate Team Women division. They took 2nd place in the Swim Triplet! 

• Want to try something other than group class today? Check out Active Recovery at 11am, Anti-Gravity at 2:00pm, or Open Gym from 6-8pm.

Hand Care for CrossFitters, Part 2

By Chris Fox

Editor’s Note: We noticed quite a few questions about hand-related issues in the comments this week, so we’re re-posting Coach Noah and Coach Fox‘s terrific two-part feature on hand care this weekend. This is especially useful and important as we continue to train for the Open. See yesterday’s post for Part 1. Part 2 was originally posted on 11.1.15. —Josh 

In Part 1, Coach Noah explained the why behind tearing, and offered some great tips for how to prevent tears and deal with them when they do happen. In Part 2, Coach Fox sat down with (i.e. emailed) CFSBK’s coaching staff recently about the topic. Here’s what the women on staff had to say about how to keep your hands from opening up and what to do about it if they do.

Fox: How often do you tear your hands or blister while doing CrossFit, and when is the last time you tore? 

Jess:  Sadly, I’ve torn fairly recently. Normally, I tear during high volume pull-ups WODs. I’ve also historically used a lot of chalk so I’m trying to cut back on that. 

Whit: I used to tear quite a lot, maybe once a month? Now, I rarely do. I was sure I would tear during “Murph” with high volume this year, but I have built up a bit of a tolerance by doing higher volume pull-ups more regularly and more Olympic lifting. Yay! Also… I got a weird blood blister thing recently, like a callous that wanted to tear/pop but didn’t quite, and luckily when that eventually came off there was a good layer of skin underneath. 

K Harpz: If I were to put a number on it, I would say about once every two months or less. Generally mine heal up pretty quickly too, unless that sucker is in the palm/crease of my hand. Those are the worst.

JB: I tear about two to three times per year, typically during high volume pull-up WODs. The last time I tore was during “Cindy.” 

MeLo: I honestly can’t recall the last time I tore. I think I’ve gotten good at 1) maintaining my leathery hands and taking care of them regularly and 2) recognizing when my calluses are on the verge of tearing during a workout and changing grip, slowing down, or stopping. The disruption a bad tear causes to training consistency isn’t worth it.

Fox: Have you stopped or modified a workout in order to not tear? 

Jess: Yes, recently I had to modify a 30-minute AMRAP with toes-to-bar because I knew that my hands couldn’t handle it. 

Whit: Yes, not recently, but after my first few tears, I realized it really wasn’t worth it to keep going if I knew I was about to tear. I would be in a lot of pain and end up having to modify my training for a week or so afterward, which is stupid and a potential loss of GAINZ!

K Harpz: Yes. In my opinion, a gnarly tear is not worth ruining your training week.

JB: Yes, but sometimes I get a little too gung-ho and ignore a tear (hence the two to three tears per year). Like Whit and HarpZ said, it’s never worth messing up a week of training.

MeLo: Yes, agree with the ladies above and refer to my answer to #1.

Fox: What is your routine to maintain your hands/calluses? Include stuff like home care as well as how you choose to grip a bar, chalk use, etc…

Jess: I use a pumice stone and foot file combo in the shower, but not as diligently as I should.

Whit: I use a pumice stone in the shower or right afterward, maybe two to three times a  week. I know it’s not ideal, but on high volume pull-up or toes-to-bar work, I use a thumbs-on-top monkey grip most of the time, and then alternate using thumbs-around grip here and there. I don’t use nearly as much chalk for that stuff as I used to… but I still use a decent amount, esp. for Olympic lifting. When gripping a bar for pulling (deadlift, clean, snatch), I try to line up the bar in the crease of my first knuckles, not in the middle of the palm of my hand. 

K Harpz: I like to grip the bar with my thumbs around, as close to the underbelly of my knuckles as possible. The less skin I bunch up in the palm of my hand, the less likely I am to tear. Once I start to notice callus buildup, I shave it down with a pumice stone after allowing my hand to soak in water/applying hand balm. I also have the tendency to chalk up as an excuse to rest, and am trying my best to kick that habit.

JB: I don’t do much hand care, unless picking at my calluses when I am bored or anxious counts. In workouts, I try to be diligent about grabbing the bar right under my knuckles and avoiding bunching up the skin in the middle of my hand (that’s where my worst tears always happen). For the most part, I wrap my thumbs underneath the bar. 

MeLo: I use a pumice stone in the shower regularly plus a callus remover/razor to shave down my calluses two times a month, then smooth them out with a pumice stone. For pull-ups, I tend to use a thumb-over grip to get better purchase on the bar, but that comes at the cost of skin bunching up and making you more susceptible to tears. If I haven’t been diligent about hand care, or if my hands feel at risk, I’ll use a thumb around grip with conscious effort to flatten out the skin on the bar so it doesn’t bunch (that sounds really gross). For barbells, I’ve only had a problem with my thumb using a hook grip, so I tape around my proximal phalange (aka, thumb).

Fox: How do you care for a torn callus or blister when it does happen?

Jess: I immediately wash my hands and cut off any loose skin. I apply an ointment like Aquaphor on the tear to keep it from drying out and then cover with a Band-Aid. I tend to keep it moist so that it doesn’t dry out and crack. Antibiotic ointments tend to dry the wound out so I reserve them for when a tear actually becomes infected, which shouldn’t happen if you keep it clean with soap and water. 

Whit: Wash hands immediately, cut away loose skin with clippers. I use a bit of bacitracin and cover with a Band-Aid for the first couple nights/days. Either keep using a little bacitracin or Aquaphor as it heals so it doesn’t keep splitting. 

K Harpz: Immediately disinfect/wash the area, take sterile manicure scissors, and cut back all of the dead skin. Apply Neosporin and leave the wound open as often as possible, generally I’ve found healing is optimal if it is moist and uncontained. (Unless I’m going on the subway and need to grab onto them slimy poles, of course.) I have Burt’s Bees Hand Balm but also have this stuff for rock climbers that I occasionally use. 

JB: I immediately wash my hands (so painful!) and cut away the loose skin. I’ll apply Neosporin and a Band-Aid. I generally keep a Band-Aid on until it heals.

MeLo: Same as the gals above.

Fox: Any other advice or thoughts you think would be helpful?

Jess:  Don’t have sissy hands like mine! But really, apply less chalk during WODs and try to grip the bar a little higher in the hand (fingers) instead of the palm. Don’t let calluses get big and out of control.

Whit: Gymnastics grips!!! These have made a huge difference for me in high volume workouts and training. I have torn so much less since I started using them.

K Harpz: I know how to make a cheap/reusable hand-wrap made of elastic self-adhering first aid tape. I find it doesn’t really mess up my grip and it adds a nice protective layer for a higher volume pull-up WOD. If anyone would like me to show them how it’s done, I’m happy to help anytime!

MeLo: Consistent hand care. Don’t let your calluses get so big that they get in the way of your training, file them down regularly and keep them smooth. If you feel a tear coming on in a workout, modify your grip, take the time to tape, or sub a different movement. 
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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Squat | Wall Balls, Deadlifts
3 Misconceptions About Juice Cleanses YouTube
Area Dad Stares Longingly At Covered Grill In Backyard 

Back Squat/Front Squat

Performance
Back Squat 70% x 8-12 x 2, Front Squat 70% x 8-12 x 2
Leave 2 reps in the tank.

Fitness
Back Squat 2 x 4, Front Squat 2 x 4
Load is 90% of what you used on Wednesday.

Post loads to comments.
Exposure 10/16 
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Every 2 Minutes for 7 Rounds (16 mins):
15 Wall Balls 20/10, 14/9 
5 Deadlifts 275/185

The goal is to go unbroken at 80-90% each round and score consistent times. 

Post times and Rx to comments. 

Mark C. at the finish. Not the actual finish! Keep rowing, Mark 

• Want to try something other than group class today? Check out Yoga for Athletes at 10am, Active Recovery at 11am, or Open Gym from 2-4pm.
• Registration for the CrossFit Open started yesterday! We’ll make a more substantial annoucement on Monday, but go here to get a head start on the action. Don’t forget to register as a CFSBK athlete. The live announcement of Open Workout 16.1 is just 40 days away. 
• Next Saturday: The CFSBK Community Potluck is January 23rd at 7:00pm. 
• After Day 1 of Wodapalooza, Team Steel Magnolias (Coach MeLo, Coach K Harpz, and Tina D.) is in 6th place in the Intermediate Team Women division with 150 points. Keep an eye on the leaderboard, and keep sending them CFSBK love! 

Hand Care for CrossFitters, Part 1

By Noah Abbott

Editor’s Note: We noticed quite a few questions about hand-related issues in the comments this week, so we’re re-posting Coach Noah and Coach Fox‘s terrific two-part feature on hand care this weekend. This is especially useful and important as we continue to train for the Open. Part 1 was originally posted on 10.20.2015. Look out for Part 2 tomorrow. -Josh

“Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: Dry friction resists relative lateral motion of two solid surfaces in contact. When surfaces in contact move relative to each other, the friction between the two surfaces converts kinetic energy into thermal energy. This property can have dramatic consequences, as illustrated by the use of friction created by rubbing pieces of wood together to start a fire. Another important consequence of many types of friction can be wear, which may lead to performance degradation and/or damage to components.” —Dr. Wiki Pedia 

While this may be the most boring and technical opening to an article about CrossFit ever, thinking about friction when related to hand care is useful for isolating and overcoming the fundamental problem faced by kippers everywhere. In short, the solid surface of your hand slides against the (much more) solid surface of the bar, leading to dramatic consequences and damage to components (ripped hands) and subsequent performance degradation (having to stop a workout or avoid workouts while your boo boo heals.)

While it may seem like an inevitable rite of passage to do a high volume kipping workout, tear your hands to shreds, and then post pictures of it to social media, ripped hands are simply drags on optimal performance. Further, hands that are constantly rough, flaky, and/or bloody are, to put it mildly, gross. So, what’s fledgling CrossFitter/hand model to do? There are plenty of ways to take care of your hands, both intra and extra-WOD. The following routine is what has worked well for me, use at your own risk (of beautiful, baby soft mitts!). 

During a Workout
During a workout, reducing friction is all about reducing lateral motion between your hand and the bar. Make sure you grip the bar right where your palm and fingers meet—any lower and you risk folding skin under the bar, adding to the surface causing friction. Then, grip the bar tightly, and motion during a kip should happen at your wrist, not through your hand rotating around the bar. You are trying to grip the bar with your skeleto-muscular structure, not the thin layer of epidermis covering it. Don’t grip the bar so deeply in your palm that the skin near your fingers scrunches up—that’s creating a fleshy surface for the bar to rip. Here’s Mark Rippetoe, folksy as ever, taking a long time to say just that (this is the shorter of two videos I could find from him). 

The biggest thing you can do during a workout to avoid rips is to pay attention to your hands and fear the last 5-10 reps of a workout. Every time I’ve ripped it’s been between reps 95 and 100 in a workout like Angie—that’s usually the part when you are tired, stomping on the gas, and having to really throw everything behind every rep. The added force and shift of attention from your hands to the clock often leads to a rip, just as you finish the workout. If you feel your hands getting hot (thermal energy!) or skin starting to shift, drop from the bar and rest for a bit. In the words of Papa Osorio, “Be careful,” and be especially careful at the end of a workout. 

Also, unless you are literally in danger of falling off the bar and cracking your head open, don’t overdo it with the chalk! (This shouldn’t even be an issue if you are gripping with your thumb around the bar, like a homo sapien.) While chalk can help promote a good relationship of your hand to the bar, especially if you are a little sweaty, overchalking can cause your hand to stick when you don’t need/want it to, especially when trying to release the bar. 

There are a number of ways to protect your hands from the bar. CrossFit’s commercialization has led to all sorts of gloves, wraps, and other bar-hand barriers being available. For the most part, the tradeoff between protection, grip, and “feel” is up to the user. Generally gloves offer lots of protection but poor grip and feel (also, do NOT buy Reebok’s CrossFit gloves, they are just marked-up batting gloves, which you can buy for 10 bucks elsewhere). Gymnastics grips are a pretty good compromise. Classically they are suede (fancy!) with a wrist wrap, like these from Rogue, or these from MuscleDriver. NaturalGrip makes a lower profile version that is a permanent (or at least semi-permanent) grip that you secure with athletic tape or a wrist wrap. The NaturalGrips are based off the tape jobs people have been using to protect themselves pre/post tear for a while, which are also a good option. Here is a pretty involved way to tape, very similar to the heartier NaturalGrip. Here’s a slightly quicker/dirtier way to do it, more appropriate mid-WOD. The main theme is that the tape needs to run both lengthwise and across your palm, otherwise it will roll up under and movement and either fall off your hand or be the world’s crappiest bracelet. Further, you don’t need tons of tape, your hand shouldn’t look like this when you are done.

Home Prep
Taking care of your hands does not start and stop when you walk in the gym. A little consistent attention at home will make sure your hands are both less aesthetically gross and less susceptible to tearing at the gym. Flaky, cracked hands with big, raised calluses are asking for trouble, because the rough callus represents one half of the two solid surfaces that create friction. Since we can’t do anything about the bar, making sure your calluses are smooth and low-profile will keep you from tearing. 

There are plenty of tools for shaving down calluses, but in my opinion most of them suck. Pumice stones, Ped-Eggs, nail files, and other sorts of abrasives require daily use and are pretty slow. I think of them more as “finishing” tools for getting your hands smooth after the real work has been done. For this heavy-duty work I recommend the Tweezerman Safety Slide Callus Shaver with Rasp. The Tweezerman is basically a razor blade on a stick, akin to a cheese grater for your hand. You use it when your hands are dry and it shaves your callus down in big, satisfying flakes. It has a built in rasp for the fine cleanup work at the end, and only costs 10 bucks, making it the king of callus care in my book. While it takes a little bit of bravery the first few times, it pretty quickly becomes natural to use and works wonders. Get one, and again, don’t use it in the shower, it will bite into your softened skin and get stuck, as opposed to slicing off nice little flakes.

Lastly, make sure to keep your hands moisturized. Buy a decent lotion and use it whenever you can, especially after you cut your calluses down. Smooth, supple hands are less prone to cracking, and won’t stick to the bar like dry hands. Just take it easy with the scents, this isn’t middle school.

Wound Care
If you do rip, don’t freak out. First, assess where you are in the workout. If there are six pull-ups left, just finish the damn thing. If there are 60, it’s scaling time—no sense in ruining a week of training just to finish. 

Make sure you wash the wound and spray some Bactene on it. Cold water is key here—hot water will sting like bajeezus. Then let it dry. When you get home, cut off any excess skin. I use the Tweezeman for this, but you could use nail scissors, a katana, an angle grinder, or whatever you want.  

A Final Thought
In the end, the biggest factor in not ripping is simply time. The longer you do this stuff the more time under tension you accumulate, and the more conditioned your hands become. Further, the easier pull-ups are for you, the less likely you are to tear. Most coaches and OGs brag that they haven’t ripped in “forever,” but like most people they probably ripped a bunch initially, and then slowly got strong, skilled, and epidermically-conditioned enough for it to not be a big issue. 
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Why You’re (Mostly) Wrong About CrossFit T Nation
Being Present: Valerie Voboril YouTube

KLove, as meme-ified by Allie B. We’ve all been there, haven’t we?

Wodapalooza 2016

Coach MeLo, Coach K Harpz, and Tina D. are headed to Miami this weekend to represent CFSBK at the 2016 Wodapalooza Fitness Festival. Team Steel Magnolias came together back in October, when they began the qualifying process of completing, recording, and submitting the results of 9 tough workouts. They ended up placing 112th out of 218 registered teams, earning themselves a spot in the Intermediate Division. 

Five workouts have been announced so far, one of which includes a 50 meter swim. (MeLo says she plans to hold on to K Harpz’s leg, but we know she’ll do just fine, as long as she keeps a lookout for sharks.) This is Wodapalooza’s 5th year, and the organizers expect 20,000 spectators and 1500 athletes representing 16 countries. Some of the elite athletes competing this year include Rich Froning, Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet, Matt Chan, Lucas Parker, Emily Bridgers, Graham Holmberg, Becca Voight, and Talayna Fortunato, among many others!  

Want to follow the action? The event schedule is here, and be sure to keep an eye on the Wodapalooza Instagram account (@thewodapalooza). You can also watch it live on FloElite (subscription required). Let’s wish them luck. Go get ’em, Steel Magnolias! 

Join Us For CFSBK’s Community Potluck Next Saturday, January 23rd at 7pm

We’re excited to get everyone in house to break bacon and socialize together outside of normal 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.

This event is open to everyone and all are encouraged to come. Check out the event page for guidelines and more info. Bring your favorite Paleo dish! We can’t wait to see you there! 
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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Snatch | Push Press, Burpees, Pull-Ups
6 Steps to Muscle Recovery with Wes Piatt YouTube 
How a Bike Messenger Gears Up For Winter Hopes&Fears
The Year in Weird New Frogs The Awl

Power Snatch

Every 2 minutes for 12 Minutes (7 sets):
5 Touch-and-Go Power Snatch
Build to a max 5 rep set for the day.

Touch-and-Go is the goal of today’s Power Snatches, but don’t let that devolve into crappy form for the sake of hanging on to the bar. Scale reps and/or load to something you can handle well.

Post loads to comments.
Exposure 5 of 8. 
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For Time, 21-15-9:
Push Press 95/65
Burpees
Pull-Ups

Substitute Jumping Pull-Ups or Ring Rows for Pull-Ups so as to move through quickly. The intended stimulus today is a light-weight, fast workout. Scale accordingly.  

Post loads and Rx to Comments 

Coaches Noah and McDowell walk last Thursday’s 6:30pm class through a WOD

• If you ordered one of our Dogs of CrossFit South Brooklyn calendars and haven’t picked it up yet, it’s waiting for you behind the Front Desk. Don’t go another day without the cuteness!
• Interested in karaoke with your fellow CFSBKers? Stella Z. wants to organize a karaoke night at Insa on Douglass Street. E-mail Stella at stellavision [at] gmail.com to let her know you’re interested.
• SAVE THE DATE: The CFSBK Community Potluck is January 23rd at 7:00pm, just 10 days away! 

Announcing Josh S. as Our New Managing Editor

By David Osorio

As we announced yesterday, long-time blog maven Kate R. will be moving to Montana for the next few months for a teaching position. (We’ll miss you, Kate!) We had plenty of awesome candidates who were interested in helping out with the blog and the rest of our written content, but Front Desker Josh S. really jumped out at us! Josh has been a CFSBKer for almost exactly three years now and is currently completing his PhD in English at the CUNY Graduate Center. He also teaches composition and American literature courses at Hunter College. When Josh isn’t teaching or working (out) at CFSBK, he’s probably chasing his pit bull Taco around, listening to music, or adding to his collection of knicknacks and old, weird postcards.

Tweet The Deets

We’re totally crushing on all you guys and we love to hear what you’re up to. Got something of note going on in your life? Let us know! We want to hear about your promotions, events, art, personal victories, discoveries, media campaigns, and small government coup d’états, or you can just share interesting links. We also always love hearing about any CrossFit/athletic-related goals and accomplishments. Send awesomeness to Josh [at] CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com.

Next Thursday! Look Feel Perform Better Q&A Info Session: “Understanding Macros”

Attend this Look Feel Perform Better Q&A Info Session, the second of this year’s bi-monthly Q&A Info Sessions. These sessions will function more as a support group setting than a true lecture, though they will begin with a lecture. In this second session, we’ll discuss how counting and regulating your macronutrient intake will, in turn, control your caloric intake and optimize your training while maintaining lean muscle mass. An open Q&A will follow.

Where: CFSBK’s second floor Annex
When: Thursday, January 21st at 6:30pm

New Blog Feature: Yesterday’s Whiteboard

This week we started posting a pic of the previous day’s Daily Results Board (the one on the right side of 597) as the first entry in the links section at the end of each post. Dan L. was the first to notice in yesterday’s comments. Nice work, Dan! Our wonderful Front Desk staff will post the board to our Flickr account at the end of the day. We hope you’ll use this a training tool to track your progress, so be sure to write the results of your workout on the board at the end of class.
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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Squat | DB Bench Press, T2B, KB Swings
Henry Sailes Does Fran in 1:53 YouTube
11 Signs of a Great CrossFit Gym Breaking Muscle
Rebel, Rebel: How David Bowie Influenced a Generation of LGBT Youth Pacific Standard