Work Up To A Heavy Single

Goal is to go a bit heavier than last week’s doubles.

Post loads to comments.
(e4/4) compare to 5.12.12

Rope Climbing 101

Wear long socks or pants today!!

Did you get to the top?

When Lauren B started with us she couldn’t do a single push-up, let alone a chin-up.  Yesterday, she got 3!

Cooks Needed For Murph!

Do you know how to operate a grill? We’re looking for grill masters and masterettes to help cook some steaks and burgers for Murph Day.  We’ll provide all the meat/charcoal etc we just need 2-3 people to help cook.  The gym has one grill in house (Thanks JR!) but wouldn’t mind running two grills at a time.. CrossFitters tend to enjoy their meat. So if you’ve got a grill and/or would like to lend a hand cooking, please email Christian (AT) CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com

Mark your calendars! Memorial Day Murph is happening on Monday, May 28th. As always, we’ll be doing “Murph” and then finishing off with some Beers and BBQ! What’s “Murph” you ask?

Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a special holiday where we honor and remember the men and women who died while serving our military.  Today’s workout was one of Michael Murphy’s favorite WODs which he called “Body Armor”.  Each year we come together to do this workout and celebrate those who have given the ultimate sacrafice for our country as well as recognizing those still with us who continue to serve.  CFSBK would especially like to thank members from our gym who serve in the armed forces and related fields.  Your efforts are appreciated and respected, this workout is for you!

The gym will open at 9:00AM and we will be starting the first heat of folks exactly at 9:30AM.   We’ll be starting new heats of up to 20 people every 45 minutes and recommend that you arrive 15 minutes early for whichever heat you’d like so that you can warm-up and do any movement prep you’d like.   The last heat will run at 11:45AM so make sure you’re here before then if you want to complete Murph.

There will be a number of movement and scaling options available so whatever your level of fitness is we’ll find the appropriate challenge.

The BBQ itself will start by 12PM. If you can, please bring a side dish or some beverages so that everyone can eat their fill. Post side dish or beverage you’re bringing to comments.

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A Day In The Life with Rich Froning Jr. CrossFit

Bev W Gets Ready For a 1RM Test  

Thanks to Eric L for shooting the last Total and colorizing some of the pictures. To see more, check out the CFSBK Flickr Page

Join the CFSBK Pub Quiz Team

Got lots of facts swimming around your brain? Like to eat and drink with other interesting people? Stella Z is organizing the CFSBK Pub Quiz team to dessimate the ever popular Pacific Standard Triva Night. Peep the Deets:

Date: Sunday, May 20
Time: Paleo dinner 6 PM, pub quiz 8 PM
Location: Paleo dinner at Stella’s apartment (email for address), pub quiz at Pacific Standard, 82 4th Avenue, Brooklyn
Dinner info: Main course and side dishes provided by Stella; others are welcome to bring apps, drinks, and/or desserts as the mood strikes.
How to RSVP: Send an email to stellavision (at) gmail and you’ll be added to the Evite.

CrossFit and Strong Women

Guest Post by Samir Chopra

A singularly positive aspect about being in a Crossfit space–like the one at Crossfit South Brooklyn, which, in point of fact, is the only one I’ve ever spent any time in–is the many opportunities that arise to see strong women in action. Women can deadlift, squat, clean and jerk, run fast, do muscle-ups, pull-ups–you name it, they can do it. Many women lifters at my gym are among the most technically proficient in the major lifts; to watch them execute these lifts properly is a genuinely aesthetic and awe-inspiring experience. (I wonder if there is something interesting to be said here about the seemingly greater ability of women to internalize coaching cues about technical lifts. Do men, perhaps, resist coaching cues more, convinced that they can figure it out by themselves?)

So CrossFit, whatever its merits as a fitness training program–and debates about that have provoked some wonderfully informative discussions–has at least ensured the creation of a space where stereotypes about women being weak go to die. Anyone that spends sufficient time at Crossfit South Brooklyn will see women indulge in feats of athletic ability that are wonderfully disruptive to any reductive,  long-held opinions about the athletic incompetence of women. But stereotypes of ‘women can’t lift’ are not just held by men, they are very frequently entertained by women themselves. So witnessing ‘Crossfit women’ may provide  a salutary lesson to women too that dominant, culturally transmitted and reinforced, conceptions of what you might be capable of are very often mistaken.

Here on the gym floor, the lifting platform, under the pull-up bar, too, are spaces thus, where men can learn valuable lessons in humility and in assessing how confident they may be about their  masculinity. After all, if women around you are faster, stronger, more limber than you, then what kind of man are you? Are you–to deploy a particularly ugly word sometimes thrown around by men in gyms–just a ‘pussy’? An educational moment for a male Crossfitter presents itself when he looks at the specifications–or prescription–for the assigned workout of the day, and realizes he can ‘only’ do a weight that is just above or sometimes even below the prescribed weight for women. I have had many moments like these, and it was a little galling, so well had I internalized the spoon-fed mantra of reassurance, “At least I’m stronger than any girl out there!” But often, that simply does not happen. There are women, constantly, around me, that, shall we say, kick my ass. And to have to deal with that is a wonderfully educative experience.

But there is an opportunity here to be seized, if one insists on making comparisons. As my friend Malcolm said to me as I agonized over what weight to choose for a workout, secretly not wanting to dip below the ‘ladies prescribed weight’: “Remember, if you can do what a strong woman does, you’re pretty damn fit!”

So there you have it, guys, this is what I really want to be: a strong woman.

Post thoughts to comments.

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The Most Astounding Fact Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson On Twitter

Work Up To A Heavy Single

Goal is to go a bit heavier than last week’s doubles.

Post loads to comments.
(e4/4) compare to 5.10.12

Alternate the following two movements for :20 of work followed by :10 of rest repeated 16 times:
Deadlift, 275/185
Burpee

Go heavy on the deadlift, prioritize your alignment. Make us proud.

Post load and total reps to comments.

Play Time!

Ragnar Relay Part Deux, “The Adirondacks”

Do you enjoy running?  Do you enjoy testing your endurance (both physical and mental?)  Have a penchant for staying up all night?  If you answered yes to any of these questions.. Ragnar Relay should already be on your bucket list.

When: Sept 28-29, 2012
Where: Near Lake Placid/upstate/etc – NY

More Race information
Runner leg info
Runner distances

Adirondacks is going to be a beautiful course and quite challenging (check out the elevation changes on the course map).  You’ll also notice it’s a longer race (overall) than Cape Cod. 

Early registration closes June 20th!

Contact: Asta Fivgas at astafivgas(AT)gmail.com

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Mobility, Pregnancy, and the Hypermobile Mobility WOD
Torque and Trunk Stability Part 1: How to Stand Mobility WOD
Pushing Into Muscle: Are We Really Doing What We Really Think We’re Doing? Massage St. Louis

65%x2x8

Lots of speed every rep, minimal transition time between sets with your partner(s).

Post loads to comments.
compare to 5.9.12

21-15-9 Reps For Time of:
Power Clean 135/95
Pull-Up

Post time and Rx to comments.

How many Pull-Ups Can Joe O Do?

Happy Belated Birthdays, Rickke M and Allen G!
Happy Birthday, Nate R!

Join the CFSBK Pub Quiz Team

Got lots of facts swimming around your brain? Like to eat and drink with other interesting people? Stella Z is organizing the CFSBK Pub Quiz team to dessimate the ever popular Pacific Standard Triva Night. Peep the Deets:

Date: Sunday, May 20
Time: Paleo dinner 6 PM, pub quiz 8 PM
Location: Paleo dinner at Stella’s apartment (email for address), pub quiz at Pacific Standard, 82 4th Avenue, Brooklyn
Dinner info: Main course and side dishes provided by Stella; others are welcome to bring apps, drinks, and/or desserts as the mood strikes.
How to RSVP: Send an email to stellavision (at) gmail and you’ll be added to the Evite.

New Strength Cycle Dates!

Upcoming 3x Per Week Cycles
Cycle A  (Novice Program)
5/21/12 – 7/13/12
Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:00-8:30pm
and
Fridays from 6:00-7:30pm

Cycle B  (Intermediate/Advanced)
5/22/12 – 7/15/12
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00-8:30pm
and
Sunday from 10:00-11:30am

Upcoming 2x Per Week Cycles
Cycle C (Morning)
5/21/12 – 7/11/12
Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30-8:00am

Continuing Education
5/22/12 – 7/12/12
Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6PM

If anyone is confused as to which cycle they belong in, they can contact Jeremy to discuss placement.

Cost
3x Per Week Cycles:
$300 paid upon registration and then another $300 at the halfway point

2xW Cycles:
$200 paid upon registration and then another $200 at the halfway point

Class Sizes
Space is limited to 8 participants

Class Length
One hour and thirty minutes

Register Here!

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The Fascial Knock on Distance Running for Pitchers Eric Cressey
City Unveils Locations of Bike-Share Stations NY Times
39 Ways to Not be Like Everyone Else Renegade Strength and Conditioning
Knowing Sucks Scrawny To Brawny

Sarah H Gets Ready To Squat

Why Are We Discouraging Failing?

     You may have noticed that we’ve been strongly discouraging people from failing on their lifts this cycle.  The rational behind this is two fold.  Firstly, when you fail, it means you’ve tested your absolute limit. You’ve gone to the horizon of your capacity and fallen over the edge. In the context of Testing new rep maxes, this is okay and a necessary part of strength training.  However every day is not a test and we don’t want you to max out to failure with any regularity. Our day in, day out workouts should be considered Training and an opportunity to go a little bit heavier than your previous efforts without reaching your absolute limits.  Training to failure too often can be taxing on the central nervous system and actually slow down your progress. If you focus on going “a little heavier than last time” you keep pushing the ceiling of your potential a little big higher instead of busting right through it and having no where to go but back down.
     The second major reason we want to make failing a rarity is for the psychological stress and negative expectations it can put on you.  If you’ve trained yourself to think, “okay when things get hard I’ve got an easy escape route in bailing” you learn to give up more often and associate missed reps as a regular part of your routine.  They don’t become significant, they don’t become a wake up call on where you’re at.. they just become the norm.  This can subtly undermine a lot of your self expectations and the mindset you bring into your lifts. 
     All that being said, we don’t want you to avoid lifting heavy and training hard. Once your technique is in order, you’re expected to grind through lifts.  Maximal Effort Method training is a staple of our programming and one of the best ways to get strong. It should feel difficult, it should feel heavy and you should expect to fight for it. Just like in real life, you don’t start fights you don’t think you can win, especially on a regular basis, all that does is screw with your confidence and send you limping home.  A skilled athlete doesn’t need to miss reps to know where their potential for the day is.  They have an innate sense of what they’re capable of and when to call it quits.  Any missed lifts moving forward should be considered learning experiences on your physical capacity, psychological outlook, technique and always put into the context of the intended training stimulus for that day.
   
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God’s Workout NY Times
Michele Letendre’s Strict Muscle Ups
Amanda Allen Works Modified Ring Handstand Push-Ups