Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 10 minutes of:
60 Bar-facing Burpees
30 Overhead Squats, 120/90
10 Muscle-ups

If you can’t perform muscle-ups substitute Ring Dips or Push-Ups.

Post total reps completed to comments.

11.4 Workout Demo with Cheri Chan

Mario Kart 64 Tournament Tomorrow

Tomorrow (Sunday, February 9th) at 7:30pm we’ll be hosting a Mario Kart 64 Tournament on the big screen!  This will be on the tail end of Open Gym so you can get a WOD in or do some A/R beforehand (or during!). We’ll be running this as a double elimination style bracket tournament.  The racing will start at 7:30pm but we’ll have the game on and ready beforehand if you’d like to get a few practice runs in first.

There will also be beer in the fridge you can help yourself to which can only improve your driving skills. 
This is a free event open to anyone interested in reliving the late 90’s. Please RSVP in the event page

CFSBK Potluck and LFPB Awards Ceremony

We’ll be hosting a second Gym potluck on Saturday, February 22nd where we’ll be announcing the winners of the challenge as well as talk about how to transition out of the challenge.  This event is open to the entire community, even folks who didn’t do the challenge.  We’ll also have our Farmers from Herondale and Sol Flower farm there to introducce themselves and answer any questions about the CSAs we host.  If you’d like to come, please RSVP including what you’ll be bringing!
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A full house of Squatters

Injury, Insight.

By Noah Abbott

It was the best of spines, it was the worst of spines…

I first hurt my back in college, back when I knew even less than I do today, which is quite an accomplishment. To wit, I hurt it doing Smith Machine squats, in which the barbell is anchored to rails, and the bar follows that set trajectory. The bar followed the agreed upon path, my intervertebral discs didn’t, and my first back injury was in the books. I hurt it a few more times in college, and my recovery was always the same: drink some beers, chill out for a few weeks, and ease back into it. That was generally my recovery plan for everything in college- bad grades, breakups- a six pack and relaxation usually set things right. Then, while in the academy for my old job, I hurt my back doing a box jump (!!!) during a long and grueling conditioning workout. Previously I had always been able to hobble home, with varying degrees of retained dignity, but this time I was immediately immobilized. I knew something was likely very messed up, and it was. Significant herniation of a disc resulted in impingement of my sciatic nerve, radiating pain down my leg, causing my foot to go numb or go to sleep, and generally feeling like a tooth with a cavity- rotten and disintegrating from the inside out. It took me nearly a year to recover, but also began my journey into Crossfit. It had been five years of no major setbacks or injuries, when two weeks ago, while squatting, I hurt it again. While not quite to the magnitude of “the really bad time,” it felt pretty severe. Almost immediately, and for a few days after, I was totally locked up and “crooked”- significantly, almost comically misaligned. I was in a good deal of pain, couldn’t move around much, and began to prepare for the worst.

Today, 2 weeks later, I was back under a bar, squatting. It’s been an interesting two weeks. While this story will touch a bit upon how I got better, it will focus more on what I learned. An injury will always be a bit of a mindfuck, but, having been around the block a few times, this time was a much more introspective, balanced, and positive experience. In sharing a bit of what I learned, I hope I can make someone else’s experience a bit more measured and constructive.

Pro Tips From the Oft-Injured
First, keep moving. During my last injury, I often felt like I was in a glass cage, urged by doctors and other “experts” to not do anything lest I make the injury worse. This time, just a few days out, urged along by some well meaning peer pressure, I was doing 3 rounds of a slow, controlled Cindy. The next day I did 4 rounds, a little faster. Then 5. Each day I realized the best I felt was right after I had moved around, so I resolved to move every day. Second, have a plan. One of the hardest things about injury for a Crossfitter isn’t the pain, but the feeling that your training has been derailed, that the hard work you’ve put in has been wasted, and that by the time you come back everyone you measure yourself against will be that much stronger and faster. Further, you feel unhooked from the careful programming and progress towards a goal that you’ve become used to. Finding a good rehabilitation protocol, assistance exercises that don’t bother the injured area, or movement subs is critical. This time around I used Diesel Strength and Conditioning’s Back Rehab Protocol, and it was great. I was able to feel progress towards a goal, a sense of agency, and a measure of control over my injury that you can’t attain if you just rest or just show up for rehab and blindly go through the paces.

Last, use your “extended rest day” as a time to learn something. Read about exercise, movement, nutrition, or really just anything. I found Crossfit while I was rehabbing my last injury, spending hours upon hours reading the Crossfit Journal and the links from mainsite while my buddies were in the gym. I resolved to myself that when my back had healed I would seek out the closest Crossfit gym and join. When I did, while I had never attempted most of the movements I had read about them, watched videos, and gained a working knowledge and vocabulary past my level of personal hands on experience. Over these last weeks I’ve been looking more into Olympic weightlifting, bracing technique, and natural and gymnastic movement a la Ido Portal. Use your forced break as a period for greater learning and insight, then use that increased knowledge to jump start and fuel your development in the gym when you return.

Three Great Things an Injury Forces You To Do:

#1 Re-engage With Movement
When we first start Crossfitting, lifting, or simply moving in an engaged and informed manner, every movement feels like a loosely held together amalgamation of a hundred or so different moving pieces. Little things, like setting your back, finding your balance, or maintaining tension require intense concentration and commitment. Slowly, over time, we grow comfortable, and before long that comfortability can turn into complacence. We take for granted that we will be in good positions, balanced, and tight, simply because we’ve done it before. Post injury there is a sense of hypersensitivity, as each small change in positioning can aggravate or ameliorate your injury. Generally, the keys to good movement and injury prevention that apply when we are healthy apply in a similar fashion when we are injured. While it certainly sucks that it took an injury to get there, this can be a useful reset and opportunity to “see with fresh eyes.”

#2 Gain perspective
Being forced to take some time to rest, recover, and rebuild helps you realize just how lucky you are, and allows you to reorder what is truly important to you as an athlete and human being. You learn not to take any of the fun stuff we do at the gym for granted. There are plenty of people out there who will never be able to do these things, or who had that ability taken from them. Without getting too saccharine, keep them in mind as you return from your injury, and thank your lucky stars for every burpee you have the privilege of doing. Further, consider what it is that you do this “stuff” for. It’s easy to lose perspective while chasing a PR in a lift or trying to shave time of your Fran. Injury often follows on the heels of such a mindset. Remember that you are training to have a healthier and more fulfilling life, and adjust your training accordingly.

#3 Get Hungry
Use your forced rest period like a fast. Think about everything you want to accomplish, how much you enjoy training, how you miss the camaraderie, the sense of accomplishment, and the fun of training, and come back ready to do great things. Treat your recovery like training, attack it with tenacity, and become a stronger and more well rounded version of yourself. Stoke that feeling of “I can’t wait til I’m back” and use it like fuel when you’re cleared to return.

Get Back In
Wrapping up, don’t let an injury become an excuse to sit on the shelf, mope, and think about how long the road is ahead of you. Start planning your road back, stay active mentally, and let that momentum carry you.

One of the main differences in the recovery from my most recent injury versus the older ones is that today I know a whole lot more about fitness, physiology, and rehab protocols. In college, to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, I didn&
rsquo;t even know what I didn’t know (unknown unknowns!) We don’t expect all of you to spend your time reading anatomy textbooks, so if you are unclear about what you should be doing ask. The coaching staff is happy to help you better understand your injury, identify movements and activities that alleviate/exacerbate it, and help you plan your way back. Of course, we coaches are neither doctors nor do we have x-ray vision, so if your injury is significant, make sure you consult a (real) doctor and get an x-ray, MRI, etc.

In short, get your ass back in the gym. We miss you.

What have your experiences about a return from injury been?
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CrossFitters Shouldn’t Do Isabel (And Other Blasphemies) Breaking Muscle
The First WOD in Outer Space!! Astronaut Mike Hopkins is using the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device aboard the International Space Station to perform “Angie”

Performance:

9-7-5 reps for time of:
Squat Clean and Jerk, 185/125
Muscle-Ups

Fitness:

3-6-9-12-15 reps for time of:
Power Clean 135/95
Front Squat
Jerk
C2B Pull-Up

There is a 12 minute cap on these workouts.

Post time and Rx to comments.

Burpee Madness!

New Leveled Standardized Warm-Ups

This cycle we’re introducing some new standardized warm-ups which include two levels.  The performance version is appropriate for folks who can clear the entire Fitness version as Rx’d and are ready for more advanced warm-ups. The performance version includes a Snatch development barbell complex and some tempo work.  Post questions to comments.

Warm-Up 1
3 Rounds NFT of:

Fitness:
10 Overhead Squats, 45/33
10 Ring Rows
:30 Supine Plank

Performance
Behind the neck Snatch grip Push Press 45/33
3 Overhead Squats 45/33
3 Muscle Snatches  45/33
3 Tall Snatches 45/33
5-10 Chest To Bar Pull-Ups or Toes To Bars (strict or kipping)

Warm-Up 2
3 Rounds NFT of:

Fitness:
8e Reverse Lunges
8 Push-ups (2-1-x-2 tempo)
8 Strict Pull-ups or Chin-ups

Performance
4-6 Tempo Ring Dips (2-1-1-1)
8e Pistol or Reverse Lunges
12 Tempo Hollow Holds to V-ups (2-1-2-1)

Inside the Affiliate 

Ever wonder about the origins of and rationale behind our Athlete of the Month series? Wonder no more! There’s a brief new post over on ITA that shares a bit more about this beloved tradition. Check it out. Share it with your gym friends, and especially if you’ve been an AOTM, consider sharing it on social media!

CFSBK Snow Shoe Adventure

Take advantage of our record snowfall this Winter with a CFSBK snowshoe hike at Bear Mountain with local outfitter Gear to Go. Full day guided outing on Saturday, March 1st includes all equipment and roundtrip transportation from the gym. See the event page for more info and how to sign-up!

Happy birthday, KMo!!!
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This Elephant can PAINT ITSELF
Russia Applauds America’s Efforts To Exclude Gay Athletes From Professional Sports

Performance: 5/3/1 “5 Week”
65%x5, 75%x5, 85×5+

Never done a 5/3/1 progression before? Click here for the details

Fitness: 2×10
Linear Progression

Start light with adding weight each week in mind, around 80% of your best 3×5 from last cycle.

Post loads to comments.
LBBSQ e1/6
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For Time:
30 Wall Ball Shots, 20/10, 14/9
30 Double Unders
20 Wall Ball Shots
40 Double Unders
10 Wall Ball Shots
50 Double Unders

There is a 10 Minute cap on this workout

Post time and Rx to comments.

60 of these today!

Check out the CFSBK Flickr (scroll down a little) to check out what’s been left in the Lost and Found. Shirts, shoes, gloves, jackets.. everything must go!  Each week we transfer the L&F contents to a bag for another week or so before donating them to CHIPS. Please ask the Front Desk staff for assistance on claiming your lost goods.

LFPBC, Scale Weight, and Impatience

By Chris Fox

I wanted to share an email I received from one of the LFPBC participants, as I’m pretty sure a few of you may be in a similar boat. (Note – The name is removed, and the person has given permission to use the exchange in this here)

“Week one of this challenge I was down 6lbs, week 2, down 2 lbs, week 3 up 1lb, on Weds I was back down 1lb. In 4 weeks I’m down 8lbs total – I’ve stayed entirely clean and strict; no sugar, dairy, gluten or alcohol. I’ve tacked rowing work onto the end of gym sessions to try to build some endurance and stamina – but my weight is hovering around XXX lbs. Your “thriving not surviving” comment resonated. I could just not eat for 3-4 days and that might reduce the lbs – but that doesn’t seem like a particularly rigorous or sustainable approach.

Any tips or hints or am I just heavy boned! (My waist has gone down nearly 2 inches – but weight hasn’t followed)

Thanks for your time,

XXXX”

    I won’t post the entire exchange but here are a few of my thoughts on this type of situation

• This is amazing progress! Averaging a loss of 2 lbs a week is pretty fantastic, in my opinion. If this person continued in this fashion they would net a loss of over 50 lbs in a year. 50 lbs!

• The path of weight loss and body recomposition is never nice and linear. Similarly to the gains you make in the squat, some weeks you move ahead by leaps and some weeks you feel like the warm ups are crushing you.

• Adding in extra “cardio” can be helpful, but it can also be harmful. If you add extra stress to an already calorie depleted metabolism your body will do it’s best to conserve energy and you may have a harder time burning fat. A more helpful approach might be to add in some low stress extra activity on off days from the gym. Something like an easy long walk, or a quick tabata burpee workout can keep your metabolism up without much stress.

• This last part is based on a previous exchange with the above individual, but be sure to keep your protein intake consistent. Aim for no less than .8 grams per lb of lean body mass, ideally from real foods. Upward of 2 grams is common, however, your body cannot process huge amounts at a time. In other words, a huge prime rib, although satisfying on many levels, may not be fully absorbed by your body. This depends on how large a frame you have, your activity level, what else you have with the meal, and some other factors. Mark’s Daily Apple has a good write up about it here, and Precision Nutrition has another here. All of the research seems to suggest that spreading out your protein intake among multiple meals is the best way to go. Start with 20-30 grams at breakfast and go from there.

• Lastly, pay attention to markers other than a scale when measuring progress. Weighing yourself regularly can be a great way to monitor success in either losing fat, gaining muscle, or in maintaining. For some people it can make them neurotic. I’ve personally noticed weight fluctuations of 5 lbs from one day top the next. This is due to factors like carb/salt binges, resultant fluid retention, and simple volume of food consumed. Weight may go up or down a few pounds every week or so but over the long haul other markers like photos, girth measurements, and the fit of your clothing can provide great feedback as well.

CFSBK Community Potluck and LFPB Awards Ceremony on 2/22

Don’t forget that we’ll be hosting a second Gym potluck on Saturday, February 22nd where we’ll be announcing the winners of the challenge as well as talk about how to transition out of the challenge.  This event is open to the entire community, even folks who didn’t do the challenge.  We’ll also have our Farmers from Herondale and Sol Flower farm there to introducce themselves and answer any questions about the CSAs we host.  If you’d like to come, please RSVP in the event page!

David’s POV video at the 2013 North East Regionals

CFSBK at the North East Regionals

The CrossFit Games Regionals dates and venues were just announced and the NE Regionals at Reebok Headquarters in Canton, MA will be May 30-June 1.  Even though spectator tickets do not go on sale until April, because hotels rooms in the area are booked solid well before, we’ve gone ahead and reserved a room block (at a special $139/night rate) for CFSBKers who want to watch the action.  These rooms are held for us only until February 7, so even if you are not sure if you can go but are the slightest bit interested in this 2-night field trip, we suggest you go ahead and CLICK HERE to reserve a room by this February 7 deadline.  Each reservation made through this link does not require a deposit and there is no penalty to cancel as long as it is cancelled by 2p at least one day prior to check-in on May 30.  Cruise Director Mare L. will then coordinate with anybody who has expressed interest in going for room shares and transportation to/from Canton AND, most importantly, make sure we have a SBK home in Tent City and our coolers are filled!  Questions?  Contact Mare at mare(at)crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com
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Klokov as a kid
This 130lb 13 year old can Snatch 246lbs and Clean and Jerk 300lbs
Sugar: The Bitter Truth