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!

Congratulations to Kate and Bennett Brash on the birth of their third child, Baxter

• The CFSBK Softball team, “The Calaveras” will be playing tonight at Red Hook Fields at 6:30pm. All are welcome to attend and spectate.

Do you like Wine and Festivals?!

Resident Somolier Brian S is looking for up to 8 volunteers to help him out. Details below:

The Great Googa Mooga is coming to Prospect Park next month and The Hess Collection is a winery partner! What this means is that I have a select number of wristbands which I can offer to CFSBK members for FREE!
Well – sort of free.

I am going to be out of town that weekend and am looking for people to help pour in the VIP Wine Tent.  If anyone there would like to help out pouring wine during the event they will get in free.  They can work as little or as much as they like as long as someone is behind the table the entire time. 

There are 8 weekend wristbands and 4 Friday night wristbands. All info about the festival can be found here: Googamooga.com Please have anyone interested contact me ASAP at bscott(AT)hesscollection.com

After I have all of the wristbands spoken for, I will host a tasting/training seminar so everyone is educated on the wines.

If you could switch bodies with anyone for one day (Freaky Friday), who would it be?
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CGI of How Titanic Sunk
The Happiest Olympic Worker in the World
It’s Getting Hot out Here

Fitness: 3×5 Across
Perform your second 3×5 of Bench Pressing for the cycle. Start conservative and plan for 10-5lb jumps at most.

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

Post loads to comments.
Bench Press e2/6
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Power Clean

Perform 2 Reps on the minute for 10 minutes.
Today’s reps should be heavy but crisp. Make sure every bar is racked correctly before fully recovering. Go heavier than last week

Post loads to comments.
Power Clean e2/6

Not to be out done by Felix, Charlie S shows off his Thrusters and bailing technique

• Congratulations to Josi and Yoshi on the birth of their second child, Ramona Louis!
• Best wishes to Melon W who is having hip surgery today

Check out Richard G’s Event!

Hello CFSBKers.  

On May 15th, Brooklyn Community Housing and Services – an organization I volunteer with – is holding a fundraising party right here in our Gowanus neighborhood.  It will be held at the Green Building. Here’s the link for the event.  

BCHS provides supportive housing to 900 men, women and children as well as a comprehensive program of services providing safe and clean housing, helping them live independently and productively. 

At the gala, there will be a silent auction (one item is a CF Foundations Class!), art show, and music by Jessy Carolina & The Hot Mess with special guest emcee John Wesley Harding.  Feel free to email me directly at rgreenspan (at) me (dot) com for more information. 

Thank you, Richard G.

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Hormones, Homeostasis, and Why You (Probably) Need Carbs Stumptuous