Given that there are NO classes tomorrow for the CrossFit Subway Series event, we are providing a WOD for folks who came in on Thursday and would have attended Saturday.  Athletes at the 6,7,8am and 12pm classes will have an option to do either yesterday’s workout or the one below.

Deadlift
3-3-3-3-3

Warm up and then you have 5 attempts to find a heavy triple on the Deadlift.  All pulls start from a static position on the floor.

“Einna”
10-20-30-40-50 Reps For Time Of:
Sit-Ups
Double Unders

Post results to comments.

David O Does some High Altitude L-Sits

Best wishes to Christine G who will be running the NYC IRONMAN this weekend!

Coach Margie Has Left The Building.. kinda sorta

Yesterday at 12pm Coach Margie taught her last Group Class with us for the foreseeable future.  We are both saddened and excited about the situation and as we all know, both of those emotions can be supplemented with alcohol consumption.  Come join us in saying farewell to Coach Margie tomorrow evening at The Rock Shop (second floor) starting at 8pm.  If Coach Margie has in some way touched you as a friend or coach, please come on down and let her know how much she’ll be missed. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Subway Series Schedule

We’ll start heats on Saturday at 9:00am and be finishing around 11:30-12p.  If you’re coming, please wear your black Skull and Bones CFSBK shirt to show your support and join the “Black Sea”. Remember there are NO Group Classes on Saturday.

NOTE: Due To The Large Volume of People in the gym tomorrow, we will NOT be storing bikes in the front, please either walk or find somewhere outside to house your bike

Here is the workout that some of our best local CrossFitters will be taking on:

“Grannie”
In 10 minutes perform:
50 Double Unders
10 Clean and Jerk 95/55
40 Double Unders
10 Clean and Jerk 115/75
30 Double Unders
10 Clean and Jerk 135/95
20 Double Unders
10 Clean and Jerk 165/115
10 Double Unders
AMRAP Clean and Jerk 185/135

The year is 1992, give us a snapshot of where you’re living, what you’re doing and any other interesting tidbits about your life 20 years ago.
______________________
The CrossFit Affiliate Blog has officially retired. Check out the new CrossFit Community site that will take it’s place.

Performance

As Many Rounds As Possible In 15 Minutes of:
Row 250m or Run 270m
10 Dumbbell Hang Clusters, load 45% BW
10 Kipping Pull-Ups

Fitness

As Many Rounds As Possible In 15 Minutes of:
Row 250m or Run 270m
10 Dumbbell Hang Clusters or Thrusters
10 Ring Rows or 3-5 Strict Pull-Ups

WOD Notes:
+ Regarding the Run/Row option, choose whichever one you dislike more.
+ A “Cluster” is a Squat Clean Thruster. The Dumbbells dip below the knee before being squat cleaned. 45% BW loading is total weight on the bells, so take your body weight, find 45% and then divide by 2 to see which Dumbbells you’ll be using today.

Post rounds completed and rx to comments.

Jess’ Afternoon work station

Best wishes to Christine G who will be running the NYC IRONMAN this weekend!

Join The Black Sea!

Team SBK will be competing and representing our gym this Saturday at the Subway Series. They need everyone’s support so come on down wearing your CFSBK skull and bones shirts to show some SBK love.  The first heat will kick off around 9am and run for a few hours throughout the morning.  We’re also looking for some volunteers interested in judging, doing registration and general assistance. If you’re up for helping out, contact Christian(AT)CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com

Casting Call

Photographer Kenneth Cappello is looking for two CrossFit women for an upcoming Champion sportswear campaign. Kenneth trains at CrossFit Brick in LA and insists that they be real CrossFit athletes for the shoot. The rate for the shoot day is $750 and additional usage fees are paid if photos are used in final ads. Shoot day is August 15th from noon to 9pm. If you’re interested please contact Jamie at j(AT)kennethcappello.com Don’t forget to include some photos of yourself in the email.

Skills Class: The Muscle Up

If you’ve been coming to the gym a lot, I bet you’ve noticed those round things hanging from the ceiling.  Aside from making very mediocre frisbees, the rings can be used for one of the most coveted and elusive Crossfit movements- The Muscle Up.  Combining all of the hardest parts of a pullup, a ring dip, and a barroom headbutt, the Muscle Up is a skill that can take a long time to learn on your own, but with careful practice and coaching can realistically be achieved in a fairly short time period.  Our own Coach Noah, born to the unholy union of a chain smoking Russian gymnastics coach and his lovely Chimpanzee bride Jenny Bananas, will be running a Skills Class devoted to learning, practicing, and developing the Muscle Up on Sunday, August 12th at 5:00 PM.  Space is limited to 8 participants, and those interested should sign Email Noah(AT)crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com to sign up.  There is a $15 fee for the class and a strict buy in of 3 Unbroken Chest To Bar Pullups and 3 Ring Dips.

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Ultimate Balance Beam Montage

Fitness

Work up to your last heavy set of 8 rep high bar back squats for this cycle. Use spotters if you’re not confident on any of your sets.

Performance

Work up to a Heavy Triple on the High Bar Back Squat. Go heavy, use spotters.

___________________

3 Rounds for time of:
Run 400m
30/20 Push-Ups

Scale the Push-ups by elevating the surface you’re pressing from or using a band at the hip. Run hard and fast on the 400’s.  If you can’t run for whatever reason, Row 400m.

Post results to comments.

Shaye Locks Out a Jerk Overhead

• There is one slot left for the CFSBK Wine Wasting event happening on 8/25

Developing Your Pull-Up

By Chris Fox

There are a bunch of reasons to get better at doing pull ups. For one, we do a
bunch of them in CrossFit. They’re also a great way to increase the
strength of your upper back, arms, lats, grip, and help to have a
balanced and healthy shoulder girdle. You should be able to do strict
pull ups with a variety of grips, and once you can consistently do few
pull ups  at a time it may be time to start working on the kipping pull
up. Here’s how you’re going to get better, no matter where in the scheme
of it you are. 

Beginner

(No pull ups, or “I did one, once…”)

“A” Day
3 sets of 12 reps of either: Ring Rows or Band Assisted Pull Ups. Use an
angle or band that makes completing all the repetitions challenging. Rest as needed between sets.

Followed by, 3 Supersets of 12 reps of either: Dumbbell Curls (I know you’ve secretly wanted to do these anyway) or  Dumbbell Rows with either: Dumbbell Bench Press or Dumbbell Floor Press
Choose a weight that feels like you could have done another rep or two at the
end of the set. Take minimal rest between exercises in the superset.
———
“B” Day
10 ‘mini sets’ of 1 rep each of 5-10 second negatives using either a pull
up or a chin up grip on the minute for 10 minutes. You can jump to the
top or set a box up that allows you to start at the top (collar bone
above the bar). Yes, that seems like a lot of rest in between reps, and
no, it’s not a lot of total reps. That’s a good thing, trust me.

Alternate between the A day and the B day with a day of rest between workouts. An example would be:
Monday A – Wednesday B – Saturday A – Monday B – Wednesday A – Saturday B

Intermediate

(Can do 3-5 pull ups at a time)

Week 1)  6 sets of 2 reps. Rest 1 minute between sets. Perform twice a week.
Week 2)  5 sets of 3 reps. Rest 1 minute between sets. Perform twice a week.
Week 3)  4 sets of 4 reps. Rest 90-120 seconds between sets. Perform twice a week.
Week 4)  3 sets to failure. Rest 3 minutes between sets. Perform twice a week.

This program can be used until you have 3 sets of 10 reps in the 4th week.
In other words, if you don’t get the 3×10 in week 4 restart at week 1 by
adding a rep to the sets. Week one would be 6×3, week 2 would be 5×4,
and week 3 would be 4×5, then retest in week 4.

End each session by practicing kipping pulls ups for a few small sets, no
more than 5 sets and no more than 8 reps. Terminate the set if you fall
out of rhythm. It’s all about developing a rhythm that you can control
and maintain. Remember that a solid kip uses your whole body and don’t
forget that your abs need to be engaged throughout. If you fly open in
the front of the kip you are leaking tons of energy away from the bar.

Check out this video for a peak at what an efficient pull up should look like/

Advanced

(Can regularly do sets of 10 or more strict and/or kipping)

Congrats, you stud or stud-ette. You are now on your way to becoming elite! Don’t expect though that your pull ups will magically become better if you don’t practice them. You should still be working on both strict and
kipping pull ups. Mix up the grip that you use when you practice. Try
these.

1) Once a week do a set or two to near failure. Start with a pull up grip
(hands outside shoulder width and palms away) and when you are 2 reps
shy of failure switch to a chin up grip (hands inside shoulder width and
palms toward you). When you are 2 reps shy of failure switch to a mixed
grip (1 palm in, 1 palm out) and do the same before switching again.

2) You can practice similarly by doing a set or two of max strict pull
ups,  immediately switching to kipping and again going till failure (or a
rep shy of it).

3) Start doing weighted pull ups/chin ups, 3 sets of 5 reps, and seeing if you can add weight each week.

4) 30 seconds on/30 seconds off for 5 minutes of max reps kipping pull
ups. The set ends if you come off the bar. Remember to stay engaged in
the trunk. Don’t leak energy out in front. Remember this video.

5) Each time you’re in the gym do a 3-5 sub-max sets of kipping pull ups,
trying to add a rep each time you do the drill. You want to feel fresh
and stay shy of failure here. Terminate the set if grip becomes thelimiting factor. Again, remember to stay engaged and not leak energy out of the front of the kip. Once again…

6) If you have a solid kip that just seems to go away on you when you get
gassed then try practicing your pull ups under duress. Do 50 double
unders or sprint down the block and back followed immediately by a set
of 10-15 pull ups.

If one of the days that you’re in the gym involves a lot of pull ups then
consider that a replacement day for one of the days on the above
programs. Also consider this…it’s no mistake that smaller, lighter
people have an easier time with pull ups. While the barbell exercises
can be scaled easily to ability, calisthenics can not. If you have some
weight to lose then a solid nutritional program can work in tandem with
the above programs to help you achieve the pull up. Check out the folks
over at Whole 9 or our buddy Robb Wolf for lots of info from simple tips to detailed programs to get you started. Three cheers getting yer pull ups up!!!

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
– Thomas Jefferson
_________________
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Today’s RWOD is to spent 20 minutes not doing anything. No music, no talking, no reading just sitting and observing.  You could be outside people watching, in a familiar place taking in details you wouldn’t otherwise have noted or observing an artifact like a rock or old piece of jewelry.  The goal is to attain a state of mindfulness and clarity. Set an alarm or take note of the time when you start to ensure 20 minutes go by. 

Post experience to comments.

Kate B and her army of Kettlebells

News and Notes

• Reminder that there are no classes this Saturday while we host the 2012 CrossFit Subway Series.  If you’re not competing, come on down to cheer on team SBK. We also need volunteers to help register, staff, score and judge the event.  Please email Christian(AT)CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com if you can help out.

• And then later that same night come on down to The Rock Shop at 8:00pm to send off Margie at her going away party. We’re very happysad!

• Congrats to the CFSBK Softball Team on their 13-4 win yesterday!

• Are you good at figure drawing?  If you have some talent drawing basic caricatures and cartoon or comic book like figures, please shoot David a line at David(AT)CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com

Are We Having Fun Yet?

At the end of every Foundations Class we’ve included a lecture on training perspective. The emphasis of this lecture is all about taking the long road with your training and enjoying the process.  Today is a good opportunity to reflect on why you train and what you’d be missing in your life if you stopped.  Think beyond quantifiable gains, specific numbers or movements you’ve gotten strong enough to do.  At a more fundamental level, appreciate the simple fun of playing with barbells, learning new skills, regularly challenging yourself and realizing that you’re more capable than you were before.  CrossFit should be first and foremost a fun and enriching experience. What you do is not normal, most people don’t take the time to learn technical exercises, most people don’t push themselves to discomfort and many wouldn’t come to a gym without air conditioning in the summer heat.  Reflect on why fitness is important to you and what, beyond fitness itself stimulates you.

_________________
So we’re playing Star Wars and Pumping Iron on Saturday the 18th.  Suggest a double feature combo for a future Movie Night.

Work up to a heavy Hang Power Clean and Shoulder to Overhead. 

Clean Deadlift each rep up to full extension then pull from mid thigh. Watch this video demo for reference on the Hang Power Clean.  You may Push Press, Push Jerk or Split Jerk to get the bar overhead. Press outs on the Jerk versions are considered No Reps.

__________________

Perform 3 Rounds of the following triplet:
3 Dumbbell Hang Split or Power Snatches, left side
3 Dumbbell Wind Mills, left side
6 Dumbbell Chinese Rows, left side
3 Dumbbell Hang Split or Power Snatches, right side
3 Dumbbell Wind Mills, right side
6 Dumbbell Chinese Rows, right side

Try and go heavier than 7.9.12

Post results to comments.

Bumpers used at the 2012 CrossFit Games. Can You Feel Their Power?

Margie’s Going Away Party!

In case you didn’t know, Coach Margie will be leaving CFSBK in a couple of weeks to head out to the University of Wisconsin to pursue an MS in Agroecology, a multidisciplinary approach to sustainable agriculture.  Come join us as we wish her farewell and celebrate a new chapter in her life!

When:  Saturday August 11th, beginning at 8:00pm.
Where: The Rock Shop, 2nd floor
RSVP: by Thursday 8/9 to info(at)crossfitsouthbrooklyn(dot)com.  Please put “Rock Shop RSVP” in the subject line.

All are welcome and encouraged to come!

Skills Class: The Muscle Up

If you’ve been coming to the gym a lot, I bet you’ve noticed those round things hanging from the ceiling.  Aside from making very mediocre frisbees, the rings can be used for one of the most coveted and elusive Crossfit movements- The Muscle Up.  Combining all of the hardest parts of a pullup, a ring dip, and a barroom headbutt, the Muscle Up is a skill that can take a long time to learn on your own, but with careful practice and coaching can realistically be achieved in a fairly short time period.  Our own Coach Noah, born to the unholy union of a chain smoking Russian gymnastics coach and his lovely Chimpanzee bride Jenny Bananas, will be running a Skills Class devoted to learning, practicing, and developing the Muscle Up on Sunday, August 12th at 5:00 PM.  Space is limited to 8 participants, and those interested should sign Email Noah(AT)crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com to sign up.  There is a $15 fee for the class and a strict buy in of 3 Unbroken Chest To Bar Pullups and 3 Ring Dips.

What are some of your current goals and how have you strategized to achieve them?
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