Fitness: 3×5 Across
Add 5lbs from last weeks Squats!

Performance: 5/3/1 (5 week)
75%x5
85%x3
95%x1+

Post loads to comments.
Squat e4/12
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4 Rounds NFT:
400m Run
8e Front Rack Barbell Reverse Lunges
4 Weighted Chin-Ups

Post loads to comments.

The Calaveras at Red Hook Feild

CFSBK Calaveras go 3-1

The Calaveras of SBK decided to honor Marian Lai’s AOTM award by thoroughly dominating the Dirt Dawgs. The final score was 28-5. A snappy double play turned by Bob Semmens & DMak was a major defensive highlight, easily the best of the year.  Ellie Myers, made her return to the ball field with 2 hits. Andrew Migdail, arrived late then laced a single in to centerfield. The 5th inning ended with back to back to back home runs from McDowell, Coach Melo and DH3. Noble Nolan and PR hit the ball hard and played solid defense.   Shawna & Kristin added RBI line drives, and the Foxes did what the foxes do; Look good, score runs, and ensure that tacos will be consumed post game. Ben Whitney played gold glove calibur 1st base.  KMo managed the book and made sure the ship sailed straight. The only negative in the game was that Scott Jackson flew out to left making the back to back to back to back HR dream a fantasy. Inka donning eye black for the first time had 2 base hits before retiring for the evening, In all, an impressive outing. The Calaveras improved to 3-1 on the season.  Next game is Monday 5/13 at 6:15pm at the Red Hook baseball fields.

Write up by:DH3
Photo by: Rebecca

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Johanna Quaas was born in 1925 and might be stronger than you
A spectacular view of the Earth rising over the moon from Japanese lunar orbiter Kaguya
3D printed exoskeleton gives two-year-old ability to move her arms

Tough Titsday Powerlifting Meet Group Shots

LGBT NYC Workout at CFSBK

LGBT NYC CF is a growing network of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) Crossfitters in NYC. We come together to workout and to promote greater visibility of LGBT people in the Crossfit community. 

Fitness: 3×5 Across
Perform your third 3×5 of Pressing for the cycle. Add 5lbs from last week’s weight.

Performance: 5/3/1 (1 week)
75%x1
85%x1
95%x1+

Post loads to comments.
Press e3/6
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As Many Rounds As Possible In 10 Minutes Of:
25 Kettlebell Swings, 72/53
10 Handstand Push-Ups or Dumbbell Presses

Post time and Rx to comments.

Athlete of The Month

Marian Lai!

Not that we take requests for featured athletes (coaches discuss who makes a good candidate) but this gal has had her name thrown our way by more than a few members as someone they felt should be recognized. Marian Lai has been kicking butt on Degraw street for a few years now, and from just about the beginning has exemplified the the type of social openness that we love at SBK. Only recently, however, did I realize we were all pronouncing her name incorrectly…

Fox – Mare, tell me about your start with CrossFit South Brooklyn.

Mare – I started in July 2010. I’d been told by a friend in Florida that CrossFit was great and honestly my only research was a google search that led me to CFSBK.  I took a Teaser class with Laurel who came off not only as strong but also welcoming. I signed right up for Foundations and did that with a few people who are still members as well.

Fox – Cool! I think Noor, Ken H, Radhika, and Deepak were in that group. What were you doing pre-CF?

Mare – I’d been doing “regular gym routines”, mostly from magazines. I used to go to the gym with these nerdy spreadsheets and lay them out to perform the workouts. I was spending 2+ hours in the gym and seeing zero results. It obviously needed to change.

Fox – Were you athletic as a kid?

Mare – NOT! I was a math olympiad kid…I grew up that way and in my 20’s was a couch potato who smoked cigarettes and ate double chocolate muffins each day. Imagine me 30 pounds heavier? Yup. In my 30’s I started doing endurance stuff like running 5Ks, 10Ks, ½ marathons, and a few duathlons. I lost a bunch of weight but wasn’t really healthy and struggled to keep the weight off. I’d done zero barbell training in my life.

Fox – Enter CrossFit. What was the beginning like for you?

Mare – I’d originally intended for CrossFit to complement my gym “routine”. Funny thinking about that now. I already told you about my spreadsheets. Early on though I came to understand the social network aspect of a place like CFSBK. Three days post-Foundations my dad passed away suddenly from a head injury. I was in shock. About a month later I started coming to classes and the gym and the people in it were a huge part of my emotional recovery. It gave me a routine and a support system and a place to focus on positive things. During this time, I specifically remember being completely paralyzed and sweating as I faced a max box jump in class, fearing I could hit my head and die.  Nobody around me knew I was having these irrational thoughts, but it was the encouragement I felt that day and witness every day since at CFSBK that makes me loyal to this place.   From there, I found I enjoyed challenging myself in a group setting and engaging in friendly competition. I started to see results and was drawn to the fact that the changes were quantifiable. Remember the math nerd in me? I like setting benchmarks and breaking them. I like the aesthetic changes that I went through but also love that the community as a whole supports women being strong.

Fox – Good stuff. The SBK community has definitely gotten many people, including myself, through some tough times. I’m glad that you decided CFSBK would have a part in that for you. Tell me a bit about you outside of the gym.

Mare – I grew up outside Seattle with two sisters, and am the child of Taiwanese immigrants. I love my family but couldn’t wait to explore! As soon as I could I left and came to school in the east. I attended U Penn in Philly and man was I in for a culture shock. I eventually came to NYC to work in entertainment. I did some work in magazines and cable and then somehow landed my dream job. For about 13 years now I’ve worked for the Fox Network on American Idol and other reality shows. I’d like to think that I help in making people’s dreams come true. Other than the gym, I like to entertain and have get togethers that range from Sunday suppers to Saturday night rooftop ragers! I’ve done lots of solo travel, the coolest was touring the Venezuelan jungle where I woke up in a hammock facing the tallest waterfall on earth. A few summers ago I got pretty into SUP (Stand Up Paddleboarding) and did a 3.5 mile race on Lake Washington. I’m pretty good at it, probably because I have a low center of mass 🙂 I also have to admit some of my CrossFit nerdiness…I’ve visited over 30 affiliates around the country and world. It’s fun to see what other boxes do.

Fox – There’s recently been some big news in your life that may change your penchant for solo travel. Can we divulge?

Mare – Manpanion? Yes, I got engaged last month to a guy I met online in the Fall.  Single ladies out there, my advice to you all is don’t be hesitant about sharing your CrossFit world to potential suitors.  I included in my profile that I was looking for someone who would appreciate my muscles and calluses, and I found a partner who does exactly that!  

Fox – Congrats! Wedding dress muscle ups are always a hit! Tell me about a memorable gym moment for you, and maybe also a few things that you’re currently working on improving.

Mare – I’m working getting my double unders more consistent and the volume up.  Also have a goal to be able to handstand walk two floor mat lengths by the end of the year.  And, I’d like to do 21 pull ups unbroken, leading to doing a sub 7 minute Fran. Without a doubt my first handstand push ups were pretty cool and memorable.  Being invited to join the Competition Team last year has also made me more focused and determined in my training — gotta keep up with Ellie!  

Fox – Awesome. Last question. What do you think we should look for in future athlete features?

Mare – Someone who’s enthusiastic about all the people who come to the gym, both the vets and the newer folks alike. That kind of attitude is what helps keep cohesiveness in the community even as the gym grows.
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Happy Birthday, Coach Jeremy and Malcolm S!

Fitness: Heavy 5
Work up to a heavy set of 5. This should be about 5-15lbs heavier than last week.

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

We are doing a rep out today on the deadlift. Any loss of position terminates the set.

Post loads to comments.
Press e2/6
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For Time:
Row 800m
40 Burpees
20 Toe to Bars or 50 Sit-Ups

Post time to comments.

Sometimes, Active Recovery Tickles

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Catching The Low Catch (Pulling Under In Olympic Lifting) With Bob Takano CrossFit Journal
Spit Some Gum out in Brooklyn lately? Your DNA might have been collected and made into 3D Art Colossal

Fitness: 3×5 Across
Add 5lbs from your last exposure.

Performance: 5/3/1 (3 week) or 70%x3x3
70%x3
80%x3
90%x3+

Post loads to comments.
Squat e4/12
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With a partner, alternate rounds for 15 minutes of the following triplet:
5 Chest to Bar Pull-Ups
10 Hand Release Push-Ups
15 Squats or Pistols

Post rounds completed and Rx to comments.

Nate O scales up his Lunges with Vivian

Fundamentals, Virtuosity and Mastery

An Open Letter To CrossFit Trainers
By Greg Glassman, CrossFit Journal, August 2005

In gymnastics, completing a routine without error will not get you a perfect score, the 10.0—only a 9.7. To get the last three tenths of a point, you must demonstrate “risk, originality, and virtuosity” as well as make no mistakes in execution of the routine.

Risk is simply executing a movement that is likely to be missed or botched; originality is a movement or combination of movements unique to the athlete—a move or sequence not seen before. Understandably, novice gymnasts love to demonstrate risk and originality, for both are dramatic, fun, and awe inspiring— especially among the athletes themselves, although audiences are less likely to be aware when either is demonstrated.

Virtuosity, though, is a different beast altogether. Virtuosity is defined in gymnastics as “performing the common uncommonly well.” Unlike risk and originality, virtuosity is elusive, supremely elusive. It is, however, readily recognized by audience as well as coach and athlete. But more importantly, more to my point, virtuosity is more than the requirement for that last tenth of a point; it is always the mark of true mastery (and of genius and beauty).

There is a compelling tendency among novices developing any skill or art, whether learning to play the violin, write poetry, or compete in gymnastics, to quickly move past the fundamentals and on to more elaborate, more sophisticated movements, skills, or techniques. This compulsion is the novice’s curse—the rush to originality and risk.

The novice’s curse is manifested as excessive adornment, silly creativity, weak fundamentals and, ultimately, a marked lack of virtuosity and delayed mastery. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to be taught by the very best in any field you’ve likely been surprised at how simple, how fundamental, how basic the instruction was. The novice’s curse afflicts learner and teacher alike. Physical training is no different.

What will inevitably doom a physical training program and dilute a coach’s efficacy is a lack of commitment to fundamentals. We see this increasingly in both programming and supervising execution. Rarely now do we see prescribed the short, intense couplets or triplets that epitomize CrossFit programming. Rarely do trainers really nitpick the mechanics of fundamental movements.I understand how this occurs. It is natural to want to teach people advanced and fancy movements. The urge to quickly move away from the basics and toward advanced movements arises out of the natural desire to entertain your client and impress him with your skills and knowledge. But make no mistake: it is a sucker’s move. Teaching a snatch where there is not yet an overhead squat, teaching an overhead squat where there is not yet an air squat, is a colossal mistake. This rush to advancement increases the chance of injury, delays advancement and progress, and blunts the client’s rate of return on his efforts. In short, it retards his fitness.

If you insist on basics, really insist on them, your clients will immediately recognize that you are a master trainer. They will not be bored; they will be awed. I promise this. They will quickly come to recognize the potency of fundamentals. They will also advance in every measurable way past those not blessed to have a teacher so grounded and committed to basics.

Training will improve, clients will advance faster, and you will appear more experienced and professional and garner more respect, if you simply recommit to the basics.

There is plenty of time within an hour session to warm up, practice a basic movement or skill or pursue a new PR or max lift, discuss and critique the athletes’ efforts, and then pound out a tight little couplet or triplet utilizing these skills or just play. Play is important. Tire flipping, basketball, relay races, tag, Hooverball, and the like are essential to good programming, but they are seasoning—like salt, pepper, and oregano. They are not main courses.

CrossFit trainers have the tools to be the best trainers on earth. I really believe that. But good enough never is, and we want that last tenth of a point, the whole 10.0. We want virtuosity!