Spend 30 minutes working technique on this lift

Post insights to comments.
Today is the last day of our mini back off cycle. We will start a new training cycle tomorrow.

Scott’s official application for the CFSBK band

Good Luck, CRASH B’ers!

Best of luck to Mackenzie C and Coach Josh who are competing in the CRASH B Indoor rowing championships today in Boston. Coach Nick has been training Mackenzie and Josh for the past couple weeks and will be their coxwain today.  Best of luck!

More CFSBKers on the Interwebz

• Check out “Battle of Cleans and Jerks” at Cal Strength.  CFSBK platform superstar Brian D is in this one!

• Matt U attempts to pet all 185 Breeds at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (Don’t Tell Stella)

• Rick M has been deemed one of the most stylish New Yorkers by Time Out Magazine

• Samir C‘s book, “A Legal Theory for Autonomous Artificial Agents” is causing some buzz over at the Concurring Opinions blog where over a dozen lawyers have started writing articles about the implications of this book and the legality of artificial intelligence.

__________________
Brooklyn MovNat Workout in Prospect Park Today at 10am
How 1 Minute Intervals Can Improve Health NY Times

Spend 30 minutes working technique on this lift.

Check out Cal Strength’s Donny Shankle doing a 495lb Rack Jerk and 440lb Hang Squat Clean
California Strength will be at CFSBK on 6.6.12

Post insights to comments.

Corbett M Gets Set to Squat

Don’t forget that at 1pm today Asta F will be hosting an info session on putting together a CFSBK team (or teamS) for the Ragnar Relay.  Whats a Ragnar Relay? Watch this video to learn more.

Team CFSBK is 29 strong for the CrossFit Open.. but we want you! Click here now to register!

Miranda Talks about Fran

Check out this video of Miranda Oldroyd talking about a recent date with Fran.  For competative CrossFitters, benchmark workouts eventually become less dependant on work capacity and more about skilled execution.  Understanding transitions, having a rep plan and knowing where to take rests becomes the primary focus. When you do a benchmark workout or lift, always remember to put in your notes how you can be better next time.

Describe how you could be more efficient in a recent workout or lift.
___________________
Weighted Muscle Ups
Bent Arm Pike Press to Handstand, Lower to Inverted Hang, Kip Up to Support
What Happens to Your Digital Life When You Die?

Big thanks to Bekka P, CrossFitter extraordinaire and part of team Tattly who hooked us up with these tattoos for the SBK mannequin.  Check out this Custom SBK Tattoo we even made on her chest.

Only one thing is missing (besides her head)… is that she needs a name!  Post your submissions to comments and we’ll give her a proper moniker!

Ragnar Relay Cometh

Attention All Runners!  Team SBK is putting together up to 2 teams to run an upcoming Ragnar Relay event on May 11-12th.  For more information on this 200 mile team race, click here and don’t forget to check out the info session happening tomorrow at 1pm at the gym.  Get stoked!

Rest Day Dinner Tonight

Attention all Windsor Terrace (and beyond!) CrossFitters. Kim M is hosting the sixth Rest Day Dinner of the 2012 Paleo Challenge tonight in your hood.  This will be a potluck style dinner at her apartment and there is still room! For more information and to RSVP, click here

CRASH Bs are This Weekend!

Mackenzie C and Coach Josh M are racing at the CRASH-Bs in Boston this Sunday. They’ve been going through Coach Nick’s meat-grinder of a program since last Monday (if they seem unhappy, that’s why). Before that, they completed three rowing clinics at CFSBK. Please give Josh and Mackenzie your best wishes next time you see them!

Join Team SBK!

The CrossFit Open Sectionals are a great time to celebrate the “Sport of Fitness” and the the spirit of competition in general.  We’ve been harping on it over and over again but getting out of your comfort zone, changing your training environment and seeing how you stack up against the rest of the WORLD is an incredible opportunity that only comes around once per year.  Everyone who signs up for team SBK not only gets to participate in the open, but helps our chances in sending a team to Regionals.  Do it for you, do it for us!

Team SBK, So Far
David Osorio
Andrew Migdail
Ben Whitney
Carlos Guerra
Chris Paschke
Christian Fox
Christine Denahan
Dan Betz
Daniel Halioua
Ellie Myers
Jessica Fox
John McCann-Doyle
Joshua Martinez
Kate Denny
Keith Walter
Lana Zellner
Luca Loguercio
Marian Lai
Matthew Huber
Melissa Loranger
Michael Mishik
Rickke Mananzala
Rob Nugent
Robert Fasone
Robert Semmens
Sarah Archenbronn
Teresa Belling

Sign up Today!
__________________
The Fuzz CrossFit Invictus
8 Reasons why you act against your own better judgement Mark’s Daily Apple

Spend 30 minutes working technique on this lift.

Post insights to comments.
Today is the start of a mini Back Off cycle.

New Blood Arturo on 250m Sprints

Got dinner plans tomorrow? Come on down to Kim M’s Rest Day Dinner!  Check out the link to RSVP and get the address.  David will be bringing more than limes and tequila this time!

There is also still room on the CFSBK Ragnar Relay Team(s).  Come one, come all this Saturday at 1pm for an info session led by our own Asta F. For more information, click here!

GYMPROVEMENTS!

Changing Rooms
The 2 new changing rooms are live!  Huge thanks to Coach Josh for putting these together for our community. No more waiting around to suit up in your finest compression sleeves and invo8s!  Thanks also to Alex H who lent a hand with painting them.
More Storage
Another improvement you might notice is the extra 5 tier rack located in the coat room.  Much more room to put your bags while you get your WOD on.  Josh also built our additional storage by the Ergometers for the CSA boxes, BFT and more.
And on the Horizon..
We’ll be adding 3 new pairs of high rings from the ceiling, a punching bag, a projector and large screen for movie nights and a new knotted climbing rope!

Come Check out CFSBK Alumni Paul S pummel some Poor Fool!

Come out Saturday night to watch Paul S in his first amateur fight. It will be held at Gleason’s Gym in Dumbo which is hosting an amateur master’s fight night from 6pm to 8:30pm.  Admission is $20 at the door (kids under 6 are free.)  After Paul’s fight head to reBar for the after-party, just 2 blocks North of Gleason’s on Front Street.  Any questions?  Contact Sarah H at sarah <at> frenchfrieswithepper.com

Gleason’s Gym
77 Front Street, Dumbo

reBar
147 Front Street, Dumbo

How many hours of sleep did you get last night?
___________________
How Much Sleep Do Kids Need? NPR
CrossFit and Olympic Weightlifting: An Uncertain Alliance Greatist

5 Rounds for time of:
20 Pull-Ups
30 Push-Ups
40 Sit-Ups
50 Squats

Rest precisely 3 minutes between each round.

Post total time, work intervals and Rx to comments.
Compare to 2.26.11

Difference Maker: Alex T decided that it was too hard to locate different weight bells given their random sizes and color patterns so he did something about it. Last Saturday he stayed after classes and stencil labeled every kettbell’s kilogram weight so that Everyone could easily locate what the weight they want.  We salute you, Alex!

Ragnar Relay Info Session this Saturday

Thoughts on Scaling Pull-Ups in “Barbara”

by David Osorio

This benchmark girl is a high-volume interval workout comprised of body weight movements. Completed as prescribed, it calls for 100 Pull-Ups, 150 Push-Ups, 200 Sit-Ups and 250 Squats.  To preserve the intended stimulus of “Barbara”, scale the movements such that you can complete each round in about 3-5 minutes. For many people this will mean drastically scaling the pull-ups.

Scaling Pull-Ups, Strict versions versus Kipping Pull-Ups
If you don’t have well developed kipping pull-ups then you’ll need to drop upwards of 1/2 to 3/4’s of the volume on this movement.  Kipping pull-ups and strict pull-ups are very different exercises with different training outcomes.  The kipping pull-up is a dynamic movement used for conditioning purposes while the strict pull-up is a slower movement used to develop pulling strength & stamina. If you’re doing a strict variant (For example: Strict pull-ups, Banded Strict Pull-Ups, Leg Assisted Pull-Ups or even Ring Rows) choose either 5 or 10 reps per round.  If you choose 10 reps then you should be able to accomplish every set in 2-3 micro sets. For example, if your reps look something like this: 3-2-1-1-1-1-1 then the scale is too difficult!  
What you don’t want to happen is for the these to slow you down so much that you spend most of your time at the pull-up station staring at the bar and shaking your arms out.  The small danger is that it could ruin the intention and balance of the workout while the larger danger is that this kind of training will leave you unreasonably sore and could ruin the rest of your training week.  Because strict variants have a controlled lowering phase (unlike kipping pull-ups) they have the potential to do a lot of structural damage on your muscles. While we want enough of this “damage” to make your body a little sore for a few days  we certainly don’t want so much damage the putting your shirt on two days later because a workout in itself. Trust me on this, sometimes less is more. Scale to make these challenging but doable.

If you’ve got kipping pull-ups then it becomes more a matter of how many reps you can do unbroken.  If 20 reps is something you can bite off in 1-3 sets then go for it Rx’d. If you work mostly in 2’s and 3’s then scale to 10 reps per round.

Here is a programming summary with scaling options for you to choose from:

Strict Variant: A: 10 reps, B: 5 reps
Kipping Pull-Ups: A 20 reps, B: 15 reps, C:10 reps

As always, you can scale on the fly whenever you feel like you’ve bit off too much or perhaps not a big enough chunk.  If you start with 10 reps but by round three have “lost your pull-up”, swallow your ego and drop the reps. Remember you want to keep the workout moving and not hit a wall on any particular movement.

Closing Thoughts
Even if you drop to 5 pull-ups per round, the rest of the workout (even scaled) can pack a pretty serious punch. If it’s your first time with “Barbara” we highly recommend doing a 3 round version of the WOD.  Interval workouts like this, especially THIS one, have been known to make people “not right” afterwards.

As Rx’d, Barbara gives you 700 opportunities to choose to do a movement correctly or rush through something with questionable form.  Our goal is to increase your work capacity while strengthening your muscles, connective tissue and discomfort tolerance.  Scale wisely, move well and enjoy your date with Barbara today!

________________
Block Making in Kenya CrossFit
The 21 Most Inovative Gyms in the US Greatist
The Dogs of CrossFit South Brooklyn WODStack (Thanks Ross T!)
Doctors Clear Peyton Manning To Let 300-Pound Men Slam Him Into The Ground As Hard As They Can