3-3-3
Work up to a heavy triple, 5-15 lbs heavier than last week’s 3×5. Use this number to help plan your attempts for this Saturday’s CrossFit Total.

e8/8
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As Many Rounds as Possible in 7 Minutes of:
14 Kettlebell Swings
7 Burpees

This is a workout many of you did in Foundations as it’s used at the end of class three. If you’ve been a particularly pious note taker you could look back and compare performances! Pick a kettlebell load that allows you to perform unbroken or 2 sets on the swings. Move consistently but push the tempo. This workout pace should make you feel like seven minutes can’t come soon enough.

Finish with an 800m Row or Run

Post workout results to comments.

Bonjour CFSBK,
Pierre D. and I (Bob S) happened to both be in Paris at the same time so naturally we met up to wod together at CrossFit Original Addicts in Paris. This photo is taken with Sammy the head coach at the box right after 12 minutes of 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off of burpees.

CrossFit Total this Saturday

Don’t forget that we’ll be running the CrossFit Total this Saturday during group classes. Class start times will remain the same as usual however each class will take about 90 minutes to run. Lifters will have 30 minutes to squat and 20 minutes each for the press and deadlift. Try to get to the gym early to do some DIY general warm-ups so that we can hit the ground running. We’ll have more information tomorrow about how to make the most of your CrossFit Total, but for the time being we recommend you read the PDF below to see exactly what the Total is, what the rules for each lift are and some context to make the whole enterprise more rewarding.

The CrossFit Total by Mark Rippetoe

Still time to sign up for the 2015 Subway Series!

Another year has gone by, and it’s time once again for an NYC affiliate throwdown: the fifth annual Subway Series! All NYC affiliates are invited to participate—the affiliate with the best overall score at the end of four events wins the Subway Series Trophy and bragging rights for a whole year!

Event Schedule
Sunday, August 2nd, 9am: CrossFit Queens
Sunday, August 9th, 12pm: CrossFit Virtuosity
Sunday, August 16th, 12pm: CrossFit Long Island City
Sunday, August 23th, 12pm: CrossFit South Brooklyn 

Scoring
Scoring will work “Open-style”: top 3 male and top 3 female athletes from each affiliate will score based on their place finish in each event. Athletes may score in any event regardless of attendance at other events. 

The ultimate series winner will be the affiliate with the least points after all 4 events have been completed. In the event of a tie, a 5th tie-breaking event will be held. 

As last year, an Rx division and Scaled division trophy will be awarded. 

Registration
All athletes MUST register for each individual event in advance via EventBrite in order to participate. Each event will be capped at 100 total participants, so we strongly advise you to register ASAP. These events sell out quickly. 

REGISTER HERE

If you have questions about the Subway Series, email Coach MeLo at Melissa [at] CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com.

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Road to Conviction Episode 1: It’s Almost Symbolic CrossFit

“Keep Hope Alive” CrossFit commercial with Constance Tillett from CrossFit South Brooklyn Directed by Robin C at CrossFit South Brooklyn with Constance Tillett and David Osorio. For CrossFit inc.

Here is the long format version of the “Keep Hope Alive” CrossFit commercial starring our own Constance T. A shorter version of this aired on ESPN all weekend during the CrossFit Games. A few months ago CFSBK film maker Robin C (check out his website) approached me about a video project. He said him and his colleague Joe had access to a really nice camera and wanted to know if there was anything interesting happening at the gym they could shoot. Constance’s journey immediately came to mind and I invited them to drop in on one of our sessions to take some footage and do a short interview. When the finished product came back I knew it was too good to keep to ourselves. I contacted Tyson Oldroyd with CrossFit Media and he loved it and asked us to not publish it so they could make it an official CrossFit commercial and premier it at the Games. Obviously we were all very excited and holding back from putting this on the blog was the hardest part! We’re excited and proud to finally show you all the full version!

The Constance Chronicles

If you follow us on Instagram, you’ve probably seen “The Constance Chronicles” where we show portions of Constances CrossFit workouts scaled for her needs and capabilities as well as updates on her progress. If you’ve missed out, here are the 6 parts we’ve posted so far.

Part 6: Lateral Walking and Burpees
Tomorrow is one year after Constance’s knee surgery before she started training. At her last check up her orthopedist said her knee looked perfect and just listening to her talk about #crossfit made him tired. Look out for the CrossFit Constance commercial during the 2015 Games!

Part 5: Pull Downs, Rope Pulls and Step-Ups
To date, Constance has lost 43lbs, is down to only one diabetes pill and no insulin shots per day from three insulin shots and 5 pills, her blood pressure meds are down to one pill every other day down from 4 pills a day. She went from a size 16 to a size 4 in her clothing. We’re impressed!!! Looks like hard work and clean eating actually works!!

Part 4: Sled Pulling
Today was @constance941 ‘s 11th session and she is down 20lbs from when she started! She came in excited about her muscles and wasn’t shy about flexing for us. ?? Here she is getting some basic pulling work in with the indoor sled. In this video she says “Im gonna try out for the Fire Department”

Part 3: Sled Dragging
Sled drags are a great way to program in some basic work capacity without requiring moving through long ranges of motion, something Constance struggles with.

Part 2: Deadlifting
Due to arthritis and several joint replacements, the deadlift is one of the few classic lifts Constance can currently perform. It’s functionality for her is obvious and we can start with an unloaded 15lb training bar for her first exposure. She said it felt “kinda heavy” but was up for it and excited to move a little more next time

Part 1: Medball Deadlifts, Carries and delivery over an obstacle
Here is an example of a WOD at the end of our session focusing on basic daily movements like picking things up off the floor, moving them and putting them on higher surfaces. Constance is working to regain basic motor patterns essential for independent living. We’ll be showing you all how we scale CrossFit for her in this series. Get stoked!

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Strong Will – Zach Krych
Tour De France Won By Rowdy, Tattooed Biker From Harley Davidson Team

Fitness: 3×5 linear progression
If possible, add weight to last week’s exposure. It’s normal to miss reps this late into the cycle, aim for 3-5 reps per work set.

Performance: 5/3/1 Three week
70%x3
80%x3
90%x3+

Increase your training max by five lbs.
e8/8
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4 Rounds for Time of:
25/20 Calorie Row
25 Box Jumps 24″/20″

Post workout results to comments.

Congratulations to super CFSBK couple Meghan and Rich A on the birth of their first son, Teddy. Born 7/24 2:32 am. 7lbs 10oz. 21″ Meghan trained at CFSBK through much of her pregnancy!

• Thank you to everyone who came out to watch the Games last night at CFSBK! We had a great time with you! Check out a video from our instagram account!

Failing, Bailing, and Training Culture at CFSBK 

The original version of this article appeared on Inside the Affiliate.

At CFSBK, we discourage members from failing slow lifts—squats, presses, and deadlifts—on a regular basis. Of course, failing is an inevitable part of training for experienced CrossFitters, since we want to push our limits and really discern our capacity. But the key is that it’s inevitable for experienced CrossFitters. We particularly encourage new members at CFSBK not to hit failure on their lifts for at least four to six months of consistent training, since they don’t have a solid enough foundation to be working with training maxes. We believe that how we approach hitting failure on lifts strongly correlates to our gym’s culture, safety, and training appropriateness. 

How we handle and teach failing is related directly to the intentionality of our programming and our overall culture of how to train well. For more information about CFSBK’s programming, check out previous ITA articles “Effective Programming Strategies at CrossFit Affiliates” and “The Benefits of Leveled Programming,” which address how we program and offer our members different options based on training age and goals. In this article, I want to focus more on how failing should happen only within certain programming contexts.  

Training Versus Testing, and Its Impact on Gym Culture
Failing lifts too often can be seriously taxing on the central nervous system and frustrating for athletes—in addition, it adds psychological stress and creates negative expectations when approaching lifts. To prevent it from occurring too often and to gain control over teaching our athletes to fail well, CFSBK works testing our lifts into our programming macro cycles. For more experienced members, testing new rep maxes at the end of our cycles is an acceptable and inevitable part of serious training. But every day is not a limit test and we don’t want anyone maxing out to failure with any regularity. Our day-in, day-out workouts should be considered training, and an opportunity to go a little bit heavier or hit prescribed percentages without reaching absolute limits.   

Teaching the difference between training and testing significantly impacts the culture of a gym, since training intelligently enables athletes to learn when to push through a difficulty instead of giving up. If an athlete is trained to think, “Okay, when things get hard, I’ve got an easy escape route in bailing,” they learn to give up more often and expect missed reps to be a regular part of their training routine. Missed reps should be meaningful as an indicator of one’s current capacity, not simply the norm. When missing reps and failing become the norm, the experience can subtly undermine an athlete’s self-expectations and the mindset with which they approach their lifts. 

We teach our advanced members to respect heavy weight, and teach that when it comes time to work, you should grind. Of course it should feel difficult and it should feel heavy! You should expect to fight for lifts! But just like in real life, you don’t start fights you don’t think you can win—especially on a regular basis. A skilled athlete doesn’t need to constantly miss reps to know their potential on any given day. A mark of real skill and intelligence in training involves developing an innate sense of one’s capabilities, and knowing when to call it quits. Missed lifts should be considered learning experiences for an athlete’s physical capacity, psychological outlook, and technique, and they always should be put into the broader context of the intended training stimulus for that specific day. 

Why Novice Lifters Should Avoid Failing Lifts
Having novice lifters attempt rep maxes on their lifts is both dangerous, inappropriate, and an ineffective use of training time. All our new members should start out with weights that feel “too light” and then gradually add weight on a weekly basis and as your technique warrants (better technique equals more weight). Over time, you’ll develop the requisite motor patterns, soft tissue integrity, and experience to handle heavier weights and test your limits. But before that, the proper foundation needs to be established. Remember, literally anything will “work” if you haven’t been training. You could squat on Day One, take a Zumba class on Day Two, run five miles on Day Three—and then a week later, test your squat and see some improvement. So the key is optimizing your novice training stage in a way that sets yourself up for long-term success. 

Long-term success happens through progressive overload and good coaching. As coaches, we want to provide you with the appropriate stimulus for your strength and experience, and most novice athletes have a pretty low baseline for what’s required to stimulate an adaptation. Having someone walk off the street and attempt a 1RM deadlift is well in excess of what they need to produce a meaningful adaptation. If you have no deadlifting experience and sit behind a desk all day, why not work up to 75lbs (which may feel “light” to you) for a set of five and focus on being perfect at the movement? The next time you come in, you can try 85lbs, and so on and so forth until you’re gradually moving some significant weight with the confidence, experience, and consistent form that you need to get stronger.    

An overarching goal of our programming is to teach you how to train responsibly with longevity in mind, so you learn how to slowly approach gaining strength and competence with the required lifts. That’s why we start you slow and let you know that just because you could go a little heavier today doesn’t mean it’s optimal for you. If you focus on going a little heavier each week, you keep pushing the ceiling of your potential a little bit higher—instead of slamming into that ceiling and having nowhere to go but back down. When we see you missing reps out of the programming context, we’ll probably pull you back and have a conversation about training versus testing. 

How to Fail Well 
Proper spotting and bailing techniques need to be taught and initially supervised—the same as anything else at CFSBK—so that when it comes time to test training, you are prepared and safe. Spotting technique for the back squat and bench press can be found in Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training (Third Edition), pages 62-64 and 172-172 respectively, if you’re curious. All other lifts require teaching proper bailing technique through demonstration and practice at sub-maximal weights. If people are going to potentially miss reps, it’s important that the area is clear of loose plates and other athletes that could make a good bail go bad. 

Conclusion
At CFSBK, we seek to address your needs at the various stages of your development—so listen when a coach tells you to temper your loads to be safe, and also when you might need to put more weight on the bar to get better.

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What did you think of this years CrossFit Games? Here is an event list to jog your memory.

Fitness:
Clean and Jerk 90% x1x5
Perform 5 Clean and Jerks at 90% of your heaviest load on the C&J Complexes from this cycle. Aim to be consistent on all of your heavy reps.

Performance:
Clean and Jerk 80-90%x1x3
Clean Pull 115%x3x3

Post loads to comments.
e7/8

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3 Rounds for Time of:
270m Run
20 Air Squats
5 Power Clean and Jerks, 185/125

This workout should take around 8-12 minutes. The barbell movement is programmed such that it’s heavy but doesn’t require breaks over :10 or so to get through. If you’re using a lighter load and working on technical issues, you can increase the reps to 7 per round. Keep the air squats clean and fluid.

Post workout of the day results to comments.

Great shot taken by Jessica B of Team CFSBK at yesterday’s team completion at CrossFit 718. CFSBK Super duo Coach Melo and Alex even took first place overall yesterday! If you competed yesterday, post thoughts and results to the comments section! You can see a few more pics on our Flickr page.

• Do you have a regular movement practice dedicated to optimizing tissue integrity and recovery? If not, check out why so many people love Active Recovery. Today at 11am with Coach Fox!
• We’ll be streaming The CrossFit Games during Group Classes today and at OG tonight! Come on by if you want to check it out with other folks or while you train. Will Ben Smith hold on to his narrow lead over Mat Fraser? Can a country with just over 300,000 people have TWO of the fittest women on earth?

The Second ever AntiGravity Class today!

Is your kip krap? Are you muscle-ups more like muscle downs? Are your pistols mere pop guns? Coaches Noah and Arturo have designed Anti-Gravity: an hour-long gymnastics strength, skill, and conditioning class.

The class will focus on the gymnastics skill and strength components that are most commonly demanded in CrossFit workouts, using a variety of skill exercises, progressions, weighted and strict practice, and other techniques to teach, develop, and perfect your bodyweight movements. Our goal is to improve not only skill, but gymnastic work capacity and muscular endurance. 

When: Tuesdays at 7:30PM and Sundays at 2PM (Today!)
Cost: This counts as a regular group class

Each class will consist of skill work, strength development, conditioning, and flexibility training. Every class will include dedicated strength work and a WOD, so its intention is to be a complete workout of the day on its own.

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What if there was a black hole in your pocket? Kurzgesagt
Are we really 99% Chimp? Minute Earth

3 x 3 Linear Progression 
Add 5-10 pounds to last week’s exposure.

e6/8
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5 Rounds For Max Reps:
1:00 Row (for calories)
1:00 Max Reps Push-Ups or Ring Dips
1:00 Max Kipping or strict pull-ups or Ring Rows
1:00 Rest

Post workout results to comments.

Coach KHarp Cleaning Up

• Watching the CrossFit Games? Keep an eye out for the CrossFit commercial featuring Coach DO and Constance T!! Huge thanks to CFSBKer Robin R for setting up and shooting it!
• Want to try something other than Group Class today? Check out Yoga for Athletes at 10am, Active Recovery at 11 and 12 or Open Gym from 2-4pm
• CFSBK will be screening the finals of the CrossFit Games during OG on Sunday night

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Soda’s Diabetes Problem: The Non-Obese at Risk, Too