CFSBK’s Roll Up Gate!
Big thanks to Michael McGrath at Micheal & Associate for desining our door and Ian at VERS GRAFX for bringing it to life!

CrossFit Total PR’s (pt 2)

JZ1 620 (245* – 100 – 285*)
Lesley 376 (130* – 66* – 180*)
Gina 327 (110* – 52* – 165*)
Yitzy 710 (250 – 150 – 310)
Matt K 960 (360* – 175* – 425*)
Nate O 730 (255 – 140 – 335)
Rick 735 (255* – 155* – 345*)
Jeff T 715 (235* – 155* 345*)
Chris P 595 (210* – 120* – 295*)
Lana Z 375 (145* – 45 – 185*)
Worm 325 (125* – 55* – 145*)
Mckensey 310 (100* – 50* – 160*)
Barbara 320 (100* – 60* – 160*)
Kim 260 (85* – 55* – 110*)
McDowell 860 (340* – 135 – 385)
Traci 370 (185 – 80 – 215)
Jeff Z 600 (220* – 105* – 275)
Andrew M 690 (255* 105* – 275*)
Arlene 144 (80* – 49* – 115*)
Jason F 720 (250 – 145 – 325)

Tough Titsday Powerlifting Meet Registration Is Closed

We’ve got about 20 ladies registered for the Tough Titsday Powerlifting Meet on December 17th.  Good luck to all the competitors testing their 1RM Back Squat, Bench Press and Deadlifts.  All are welcome to spectate, the meet starts at 2pm. Good luck, ladies!

Friday Gym Extended Hours

We’re extending Open Gym hours on Friday night an extra half hour to 8pm.  That’s a full two and a half hours to get your CrossFit swagger on before getting your Friday night swagger on. 

CFSBK Holiday Schedule

• Saturday 12/24 Normal Hours

• Sunday 12/25  9am-10am Group Class ONLY

• Monday 12/26 No 6, 7 and 8am Group Classes. 12, 5, 6, 7 and 8pm are on as usual

• Saturday 12/31 Normal Hours

• Sunday 1/1 Closed

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CrossFit NYC Moving to a Larger Space
The (Strict) Pull-Up CrossFit Invictus

For Time:
270m Sandbag Run
15 Hang Power Cleans
5 Thrusters
10 Hang Power Cleans
10 Thrusters
5 Hang Power Cleans
15 Thrusters
270m Sandbag Run

Post time and Rx to comments.

Happy Birthday, to CFSBK’s favorite tattooed up, motorcycle ridin’, pit bull owning, super dad, husband and coach, Chris Fox!

CrossFit Total PR’s (pt 1)

Great work to everyone who competed in yesterday’s CrossFit Total. Here is the first half of the numbers left on the white board. 
Bjorn B 815  (325* – 125 – 365*)
James N 555  (225* – 115* – 215*)
Brandon 550  (200* – 105* – 245*)
Peter H 605 (215* – 105* – 285*)
Chris J 480  (155* – 110* – 215*)
McG 930  (325* – 200* – 405)
Julie B 262  (100* – 42* -120*)
Earl L 735  (275 – 125 – 335)
Allen G 650  (215* – 150* – 285*)
Deb P 375.5 (125 – 70.5* – 180)
Joe M 478 (155 – 108 – 215)
Sarah J 350 (125* – 70* – 155*)
Liese M 360  (125* – 65* – 170*)
Isaac G 765 (265* – 155* – 345)
Greg 610 (215* – 125* – 275*)
Mike J  865 (335* – 155* – 375*)
Dave E 885 ( 335* – 175* – 375*)
Joy M 338 ( 150* – 58* – 130*)
Mike G 755 (295* – 145* – 315*)
Kristen H (145* – 58×3 – 175)
Ben W 735 (255* – 165* – 315*)
Carlos G 765 (275* – 125* – 365*)

Yeahhhh Buddyyyyy

Zen and the Art of Crush Week!

In traditional meditative disciplines you aim to cultivate mindfulness in a physically neutral setting. Often the practitioner sits in a comfortable position and tries to bring attention toward their breathing.   In Yoga, we see a more dynamic approach where rhythmic breathing becomes interwoven with a controlled flow through a series of postures .  In both of these instances, the intention is for the pilot to become more tuned into the “now”.  At CrossFit, we achieve something very similar through a very different approach.   During an intimidating lift or difficult conditioning piece you’re forced to deal with the moment at hand. The high discomfort level of what we do takes that moment and amplifies the physical inputs to the point where you can’t help but focus on what’s happening. You know this intuitively and it’s why you get nervous before a 500m erg test or 3 rep max Back Squat attempt.  You know that once you start you’ll be forced to deal with the “now” until it’s all over. Every second gets dragged out and every moment to rest or doubt yourself becomes amplified against what needs to get done.  Take this opportunity to set your intention for the approaching workouts.  Whenever you find yourself deep in the agonizing “now” embrace it and stay on task.  Don’t look around the room to see where everyone else is, don’t check the clock to see how much time has gone by and don’t make excuses to try and avoid what your feeling. Just keep fighting the barbell up or chipping away at reps until you’ve completed the task.  If you lose focus and get derailed, don’t let it mess with your head, just come back pushing harder. Remember, you’re here to get stronger, both physically AND mentally.
Enjoy Crush Week!

“A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.”
– English Proverb
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John Welborn’s at his CrossFit Level 1 CrossFit
Using Odd Objects CrossFit
Best Space Photos of 2011 National Geographic

Back Squat 1-1-1
Press 1-1-1
Deadlift 1-1-1

This is a CrossFit style powerlifting meet in which you have three attempts to find a 1 rep max in each lift listed. Your CrossFit Total is the sum the highest successful lift in each section. For a detailed explanation on the event and standards for each movement, please read Mark Rippetoe’s CFT overview here.  To see how you rank, check out these strength standards.


The CFSBK Competition Team at the 2011 Winter Challenge

Congratulations to Melissa L. and Teresa B on getting their first muscle-up at the CF Hoboken Winter Challenge! Damian M, Josh G, Marco and Chris A on getting their first muscle-ups during yesterday’s workshop!  Here’s to many more!

Happy belated birthday to Ian and Martin!

CF Total Schedule

We are not running our usual group class schedule today due to the Total.  Instead come to 1 of the 3 following slots

Block 1: 9AM-10:30AM
Block 2: 10:30AM-12PM
Block 3: 12PM-1:30PM

Please arrive 15-20 minutes before your slot to complete whatever DIY warm-up you’d like so that we can promptly start with the movement standards and warm-up sets right at the designated time. In the interest of efficiency please come in with an idea of where you’d like to open each lift and what warm-up weights you intend to use to get there.  For advice on how to approach the total please review Coach Fox’s article on Preparing to 1 Rep.

**Teaser, Strength, and Foundations are at their regularly scheduled times.**

Coach Nick’s Rowing Workshop at 1PM

Coach Nick’s Rowing Workshop on the the Recovery is today at 1pm.  This is a great way to dial in one of the most elusive concepts in rowing to maximize your efficiency during WODs or if you have an interest in participating in next year’s Crash-Bs!  For more info on the 2012 Crash-Bs contact Nick at Nick(at)crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com.

Herondale Meat CSA still open!

There is still time to sign up for the next cycle of monthly meat deliveries from Herondale Farm! Each month, you’ll receive 15lbs of a variety of cuts from beef, pork and lamb – everything from porterhouse steaks to bone-in leg of lamb to english style bangers. Deliveries happen the first Wednesday of each month and run from January – May.

Total cost is $750, payable in installments, or $695 if you pay up front.

Questions? Email margie(at)crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com, or info(at)herdonalefarm.com
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Daniel Tolbert: The Real Reason For Brains TED

AMRAP 20 Minutes
300m Row
30 KB Swings
This is a partner WOD! 1 Partner works at a time. Partners alternate complete rounds.

*If you are coming in to Total tomorrow then take it easy today and be sure to spend some time on a foam roller. Get your plan ready for tomorrow!

Post KB load and completed rounds to comments.

Sarah Leaves the Nest

Happy Birthday Martha S.!

 

Good Luck Team CFSBK!

Our competitive team is heading to CF Hoboken today to their annual Winter Challenge.  Join us in wishing them luck as they compete in not one, not two but FOUR WODs!  For full details on the challenge check this link!  Give ’em hell guys! 

Our 2011 Winter Challenge Team is:

Team CrossFit South Brooklyn
Jaclyn Z
Rickke M
Mike M
Teresa B
Kiki P
Melissa L
Jessica F
Kate D
Chris F
Josh M

Join Coach Nick’s Sunday Rowing Workshop

If you’re interested in attending Sunday’s Rowing Workshop with Coach Nick and learning to dial in your recovery on the erg and learning more about competing in CRASH-Bs please RSVP to Nick(at)Crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com

The workshop is free to all and starts at 1pm!

Noah’s Muscle-Up Workshop is Today!

Filled to the brim with athletes looking to master the muscle-up Noah’s Workshop will meet at 1:30p today.  Enjoy folks!  Be on the look out for Noah’s next skills class!

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Please remember to read Coach Fox’s article “Preparing to 1 Rep Max” and Coach Margie’s “Getting Ready to Squat” in preparation for tomorrow’s CrossFit Total!
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The Bamboo Bar with Shane & Laura Phelps-Sweatt CrossFit
7 Essential Skills You Didn’t Learn in College Wired

Congratulations Stella Z. on her strict pull-ups!

CrossFit Total this Sunday!

This Sunday we’ll be running a CrossFit Total!  The Total is a CrossFit style Powerlifting meet in which each athlete will have 3 attempts to find a 1-rep max in the Squat, Press and Deadlift.
Instead of regular classes we’ll be running three 90-minute waves:

Block 1: 9:00AM-10:30AM
Block 2: 10:30PM-12PM
Block 3: 12:00PM-1:30PM

Please arrive 15-20 minutes prior to the wave you’d like to attend to do your own warm-up as we will start warming up with barbells almost immediately at the start of the wave.  In the interest of efficiency please come in with an idea of where you’d like to open each lift and what warm-up weights you intened to use to get there.  You can use this 1RM calculator to help give you an idea of what to shoot for.  Just make sure to add a few pounds since we’ve been doing 3×5 instead of 1×5. 

Novice athletes will do 3RMs instead of 1RM

Preparing to 1 Rep Max
By Coach Fox

        “What are you hoping to hit for the CrossFit Total?”. When your mate asks you this question you may exaggerate a bit but when it comes time to get under a bar you’d better have a plan. Here’s how.

1- Take it easy in the gym or rest completely for a day or two prior to doing a CFT. If you were going to total on a Saturday it would be a good idea to work at 70% or so effort on Thursday, rest completely on Friday (maybe some light mobility work or active recovery type stuff) and go for it on Saturday. Make sure your nutrition is in line with your goals. Do you want to perform well on the total? Do you think that boozing it up the night before and eating offensive (for you) foods will help, or hinder, that performance? If you take your training seriously and want to better yourself then act like it.

2- Have goals. Know what numbers you’d like to hit. You can take numbers that you’ve been working at recently and extrapolate 1RMs using a nifty 1 Rep Max Calculator. Preferably you will have some rep maxes in the 2-5 rep range since the further away you get from that the less reliable the predictions become. If you haven’t been training long and don’t yet have any 2-5 rep max then use the CF Total to establish those and wait until next time around to do 1RMs. There is still so much learning to do on the lifts and hence no sense hitting 1RMs with such little experience, ego be damned.

3- Have a plan. Map out your warm ups. Today is not the day to be doing a metric ton of warm up reps. Let’s take a hypothetical lifter with a previous 1RM of 355 hoping to establish a new 1RM on the squat of 365lbs, his or her time under the bar should look something like this.

45×5, 135×5, 185×5, 225×3, 275×3, 315×1, then

1st attempt – 335
2nd attempt – 355
3rd attempt – Set a new 1RM at 365

Establishing a new 1RM of 185 with a previous best of 177.5 might look like this.

45×5, 75×5, 105×5, 125×3, 145×1

1st attempt – 165
2nd attempt – 177.5
3rd attempt – 185

This is obviously subject to change depending on how the warm ups feel and how the 1st two attempts go. Maybe you have more in you than you and the 1RM calculator thought you did, but maybe you don’t. As Rip says “Don’t be pig-headed. If your first attempt tells you that you need to lower your second, do so, without a misplaced sense of diminished self-worth. It’s a test, and it’s designed to measure what’s there, not create something that’s not. That’s what training is for.” There is a world of difference between training and testing, but that is an entirely different topic. Just remember that today is a test day.

4- Realize that the press is a finicky lift. Gains made are often small and hard won. To go from a 1RM of 85 to 87 represents a 2.5% increase. If you have been training long enough you may (read should) be thankful for this type of increase. My point is to say that you should not be greedy with the press. Instead be frugal and take small rewards. Also, don’t overdo the warm ups as this lift fatigues quickly. Usings the example above of hoping to set a new 1RM of 87, here’s a possible warm up scheme.

33×5, 53×3, 63×2, 73×1, 77×1

1st attempt – 81
2nd attempt – 85
3rd attempt – 87

5- The deadlift will be largely warmed up by the squat and will not need a lot of warm up reps on it’s own. Here’s an example of the above 365 squatter hoping to establish a new 1RM of 405 with a previous best of 395

 135×5, 225×3, 315×1, 365×1

1st attempt – 385
2nd attempt – 405
3rd attempt – Go for it, it’s the last rep of the day!

6- You need to rest between attempts (possibly 3-5 minutes) and if you are doing the CrossFit Total in a group class, you also have time constraints. During the warm ups is not the time to dilly-dally and wonder what you should load on the bar next. Having a plan allows you and your rack mates to move smoothly through the warm ups and into the reps and allows time to rest between attempts. If you don’t have a plan you will also cost your rack mates valuable time…don’t be that guy or gal.

The CrossFit Total should be a fun day where you get to move some heavy weight around but that doesn’t mean don’t take it serious, too. Approach each lift with intent, unrack each squat from the uprights with authority and readiness, set up with a BIG BREATH for all your att

empts today. And if you don’t 1RM but gave your all, then celebrate that as well and live to lift another day. You’re a TFBA for showing up regardless.

Fight Gone Bad T-Shirts and Hoodies are (Still) Here!

If you raised $150 or over $500 for FGB6 and haven’t picked up your shirt or hoodie please make sure you do next time you are in the gym!
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What are are your opening numbers for the CF Total? Even if you aren’t participating in this weekend’s total what is your perceived 1RM and how would you approach finding 1RMs in the three lifts?
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Probably the Craziest Man in the World Youtube
Nicole and Zac do the CrossFit Total CrossFit
“DogFit” CrossFit