Fitness: Hang Snatch Pull + Hang Power Snatch

Performance: Snatch Deadlift (with a pause at the knee) + Touch and Go Squat Snatch

Take 15 minutes to work up to a moderately heavy load on today’s complexes. See if you can meet last week’s numbers or surpass them with good form.
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High Bar Back Squat

Fitness: 3×8 Across
Add 2.5-5lbs from exposure 3

Performance Heavy 3
Try to beat last week’s heavy 8 by 5-10lbs.  Use Spotters.

Post loads to comments.
Snatch/HBBSQ e4/6
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Choose one to perform:
8 Minutes of Kipping Pull-Up Practice
5 sets of 2 Strict Pull-ups with as little assistance as possible

The buy in for kipping pull-up practice is 5 strict pull-ups for the guys and 3 strict pull-ups for the ladies.

A tradition for CFSBK is to start most classes with intros and a Question of the Day (QOD) while we do basic movement prep.  The intention behind this practice is to help break the ice between members and establish an informal and welcoming tone to every class.

What are your opionions of this practice and what are some of your most memorable QODs?

• Want to improve your gymnastics? Check out the upcoming Gymnastics Strength Series with Ken H starting on the 14th.

CFSBKer Radhika Vaz Performing Again

OLDER. ANGRIER. HAIRIER.
“At 40 I have the confidence I wish I’d had at 20, the body I hope I’ll have at 60, and nose hair. At 40 there is a lot of nose hair.”

Written and performed by Radhika Vaz.

• Sept 25, 26, 27, 28 @ 8pm. Sept 29 @ 7pm.

The Producers Club. 358 W 44th Street. NYC.

SUPER SALE $12 tickets at GROUPON! Instead of $25 at the door!

For more information check out radvaz.com
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Programming Training Intensity for Weightlifters ATG

“Fitness”
15-12-9-6-3 reps for time of:
Thruster, 115/75
Box Jump 24″/20″
Kipping or Jumping Pull-Ups

“Performance”
15-12-9-6-3 reps for time of:
Thrusters, 155/105
Box Jumps, 30″/24″
C2B Pull-Ups

There is a 15 minute cap on this workout.

Post time and Rx to comments.

Congratulations to the CFSBK newly weds, Andrew and Laura!

I just wanted to say thank you, to you and your entire staff of wonderful coaches, for whipping us into the best shape of our lives. Like many women, I think, I’ve long struggled with feeling comfortable in my skin, but it wasn’t until I started coming to crossfit, and began to think of my body less as an object to be slimmed, sculpted, and scrutinized, and more as a tool for powerful functional movement, that I finally, for the first time in my life, felt truly happy in my body (not to mention confident enough enough to strut around all night in a booty-huggin’ white dress in front of all my closest friends and family). But buns of steel have been the least of what we get out of cfsbk: it’s all about the loving community of incredible human beings who constantly amaze and inspire us. Thank you! -Laura

Check out Lauren B’s exhibition starting tomorrow

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10 Ways The World Has Changed Since 9/11 Washington Post

Bekka P works on her Piked Wall Walk

• Only 4 More days to sign up for Fight Gone Bad 2013!

A message from Bree to all the CFSBK Teachers

Welcome back to school!

Hi all, I (Bree) am a member of a grassroots organization called NYCoRE (New York Collective of Radical Educators).  We are a group of current and former public school educators committed to fighting for social justice in our school system and society at large, by organizing and mobilizing teachers, developing curriculum, and working with community, parent, and student organizations. We hold monthly political education member meetings on the third friday of every month, offer teacher-driven PD on social justice issues (such as supporting queer youth and teachers, restorative justice, anti-racism etc), hold an annual conference for about 800 youth and educators, develop social justice curricular resources and offer a teacher plan book among many other things.  

What did your middle and high school physical education programs look like?
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Athletes Among Us: Pics of Professional Athletes Playing at Life
Dedicated to the 6am CrossFitters: “Who’s First?”

Part A
3 Rounds NFT of:

Performance
3 Kick-Ups
20 Hollow Rocks
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Part B
5 Rounds NFT of:

Performance
5-10 Handstand Push-Ups
Log Roll Left 3 V-Ups, Log Roll Right 3 V-Ups
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5 Rounds Not For Time:
8ea Kettlebell Snatches
12ea Goblet Reverse Lunges

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Gina G and Aileen H after completing the Go Ruck Challenge this weekend

At the moment it’s difficult to properly reflect on today’s 1am-2pm Go Ruck Challenge because my body is in a world of pain and I’m running on little sleep (plus some peanut butter m&m’s) but here are my top two thoughts. This 9/11 tribute challenge included visits to several Brooklyn & Manhattan fire stations to show our respects to their fallen heros in form of push-ups, squat thrusts, flutter kicks, etc which was an amazing structure for the whole challenge. We took a sunrise dip in the Prospect Park duck pond for general splashing, thrashing and manmakers! (**Afterwards steam rises off of your body as you do up-hill buddy carries!) How many people can say they’ve enjoyed that experience. Oh and as a bonus third thought; all of our CrossFit training definitely had us physically & mentally ready to attack anything thrown at us in this Challenge. Thanks CFSBK!  -Gina G

Developing Your Handstand

Anyone who came in on Monday or Tuesday had an opportunity to work on their handstands in class. Some folks were seasoned hand balancers while others were working towards their first full inversion. If you’re new to the handstand game, read over these tips to start moving in the right direction.

Basics

• “Active Shoulders” mean that you’re shrugging up and back slightly. Try to open your armpits and push the floor down.
• Your elbows must ALWAYS be locked out. If they bend, you’ll collapse
• Grab the floor with your spread out fingers, your fingernails should turn white
• Eyes are looking right between your hands on the floor the entire time. Your neck will be extended JUST enough to make this happen. No more, no less.
• When in doubt.. SQUEEZE!! The more moving parts you allow in the system, the harder it is to organize. Think of making your body as rigid as possible.
• Practice makes good enough. Being on your hands is weird at first. Practice the skill 2-4 times per week in order to accelerate your development. A handstand session can be anywhere from 3-10 minutes, the latter being with LOTS of rest. Don’t practice in a fatigued state. Less is more sometimes.

Static before Dynamic
Before you attempt kicking up to full handstand you have to develop the shoulder strength and body control required to take your weight from your feet all the way to your hands. Wall walks are a great place to start and an easy way to develop some shoulder integrity without worrying about coordinating a kick up.  Start slow with these and do sets of 3-5 walks holding your most inverted position for 3-5 seconds. Some folks will have to start only going up about half way to a 45 degree angle while others may be able to get within a hands length of the wall.  Focus on active shoulders and a rock solid midline. Minimize knee bend as you go up and down the wall, try to tip toe down using your ankles. Finally, you should never go up further than you’re comfortable with and your hands should never go within 6-8 inches to the wall. If your hands are touching the wall you’ll probably flip over onto your back. NO BUENO.

Halvsies before Wholsies
Once you feel comfortable supporting your body weight on your hands you can start working on kick ups. We did this in class with a spotter but you can also do this on your own using a wall.  Organizing the initial approach into the kick up is critical. If you start this process slowly there will be much less extraneous momentum that you’ll need to deal with later on. Remember, you can SLOWLY kick up into a handstand, it should feel more like a big reach that a flip. Watch this video to understand how to position your body for this portion. Once you can do that consistently start kicking up higher and higher with your lead leg while your trail leg stays low in a split. This will allow you to get all your body weight onto your hands while still controlling your body position By keeping the back leg low you increase your margin for error on each kick up. Get to the point where your lead leg’s heel can gently tap the wall and come back down. The final step would be to gently get both heels to the wall. While he’s not using a wall, this video shows you what I’m talking about. Practice this regularly and focus on how graceful you can make the whole process. Get good at kicking up with both legs.
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A sneak peak at next week’s inversion strength training
Efficiency in Handstand Push-Ups CrossFit

We’re hosting Mark Rippetoe & co for the third day of the Starting Strength Seminar and are not holding classes today. For alternative programming options, see the event we’re hosting in Prospect Park today.

Flag Football in Prospect Park

Are you ready for some football?  We will be hosting an informal flag football game in Prospect Park on Sunday, September 8th.  We had a similar gathering a few years ago and it was great fun, despite leaving many of our weekend warriors hobbling around for the next week!  Plan to meet at the Long Meadow field around 10AM, although we may have to move to find a good open space (check the blog for updates!)  Bring picnic blankets, food, drink, babies, dogs, friends and your GAME FACES!  This event is open to everyone, even folks who just want an excuse to hang out with the park and drink beer while people chase each other around. We will probably play until around 2 or 3 pm depending on how the day goes.

Email noah(AT)crossfitsouthbrooklyn if you’re interested in helping set up/break down or have any questions.

51 Amazing CrossFitters showed up to the Track workout in Red Hook yesterday! Amazing!!!

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Big Sky, Montana: Clean Event CrossFit
Study: Average Person Becomes Unhinged Psychotic When Alone In Own House