Linda H. representing team Snatch Me If You Can during 17.5. More of Robert C.’s photos from Saturday can be found here

Submit Your Post-Challenge Submission Today!

The 2017 Look, Feel, Perform Better Challenge is over! We’re so proud of everyone who participated and can’t wait to see your results. Today is the last day to complete your post-Challenge submission. Look for the winners on the blog next week!

News and Notes

• CFSBK Open Intramural team captains: please submit your team’s scores to the spreadsheet by noon today!
• Ben S.’s apartment is opening up for May 15th or June 1st. See his CFSBK Classifieds listing for more info!
• A note from Stella Z.: “Brainz N Gainz, the CFSBK pub quiz team, competes on Wednesday nights at The Rock Shop. Trivia starts at 8:30 but feel free to show up earlier to claim seats or drop by later and join us while we’re quizzing away. Exercise your mental muscleswe totally welcome sweaty people from 7:30pm class, BTW! E-mail stellavision [at] gmail.com to get on the mailing list, or just show up at the Rock Shop and look for us!”

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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Row/Push Press Metcon
Dancer Doesn’t Deadlift? CrossFit Journal
The Surprising Way Mat Fraser Won the CrossFit Games Men’s Health

Every 5 minutes for 6 rounds:

500m Row
8 Push Presses

Row a pace that feels between 80-90%. Score total load moved for the Push Presses (out of a total 48 possible reps). The Push Presses come off the floor and must be done unbroken. Score a zero for any set in which you can’t perform the 8 reps unbroken.

Post total load moved to comments.

“I define strength as accepting who you are. In this day and age, it seems as if some people are constantly struggling to keep up with the Joneses. Social media allows an easy access to the compare and despair phenomenon that can crush the soul. Strength is the ability to stay true to who you are amidst it all.” —Micheline G. 

Susan Pittard: Strong Is A Woman

If you’re not following Susan P. on Instagram, you should be! In addition to being a kick-ass photographer, Susan has been running her Strong Is A Woman (featuring CFSBK women) for the past couple of months. With her permisson, we’re reposting some of them on the blog over the next couple of weeks. Here’s what Susan herself had to say about the series:

“The motivation behind my ‘Strong is a Woman’ portrait series was and is the amazing women and men at CFSBK.  I knew I wanted to shoot a portrait series after being on a ‘break’ of sorts, having my son. I ultimately decided to focus on the women at CFSBK because being a woman, I am impressed by the women I workout next to and I am especially taken by the pregnant women who fly by me in WODs. I also thought about the diversity of this great community. My goal was/is to show that strength can come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and ages. In gathering quotes from my subjects. I have learned that strength breaks boundaries for most people. Being strong is not only physical but it permeates into ones mental state and creates a wonderful sense of empowerment and well being for anyyone who seeks it. I feel like I have only scratched the surface with this project and I will be excited to shoot more women, hopefully soon. Thank you to ALL the STRONG women who participated and to CFSBK for providing this amazing community that inspires me daily.”

Check out Susan’s website here. And stay tuned to the blog for more from this series!

What does working on your strength mean to you? “It’s incredibly important to have an outlet; place to find an escape from reality, to divert negative thoughts and physically challenge your body. To have the ability to get stronger, and gain confidence in yourself and learn new things. It’s also incredibly gratifying to see the progress you can make when you’re committed.” —Coach Melo

How have your perceptions of strength changed? “Like so many women who begin CrossFit, I started out not wanting to be “bulky.” Now, I am what the me of five years ago would probably have considered “bulky,” and it feels pretty badass. I am as interested in what my body can do as in what it looks like on the outside.”—Stella Z.

Tweet The Deets

We’re totally crushing on you guys and want to know what you’re up to. Got something of note going on in your life? Let us know! We want to hear about your businesses , events, personal victories, discoveries, media campaigns, small government coup d’états, and interesting links. Send awesomeness to: Josh [at] crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com.

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How To Fix Powering More Than You Squat Catalyst Athletics
How Did The Sahara Become A Desert? Smithsonian

Power Clean Metcon

Performance
For Time:
15 Power Cleans 155/105
9 Ring Muscle-Ups
12 Power Cleans
6 Ring Muscle-Ups
9 Power Cleans
3 Ring Muscle-Ups

The barbell should be a medium weight for you and cycled on the fast end, but quick bailed singles are also okay. If you have Ring Muscle-Ups but 18 in a metcon setting is too many for you, consider scaling the volume so that you can move through the rounds in 2-4 sets.

Fitness
For Time:
21-15-9
Power Cleans
Ring Dips

The barbell should be a medium weight for you and cycled on the fast end, but quick bailed singles are also ok. Scale the dips to Ring Push-Ups or Push-Ups as needed.

Austen I. powers through 17.4. The 2017 Open is almost over! How’d it go? Tell us in the comments! | Photo by Robert C.

Fit 55+: Staying Strong, Mobile, and Able

What is Fit 55+? 
Fit 55+ is a strength and conditioning class for older adults who want to move and use their bodies and are not content to simply sit on the couch getting older. Research points to development of chronic disease in older populations not as a consequence of aging alone, but as a product of decreased activity and less-than-healthy lifestyle choices. Strength training and conditioning can help both stave off, as well as reduce, the effects of many chronic diseases. As the old adage goes: “If you don’t move it, you lose it.”

Fit 55+ will help you:

• Build muscular strength and joint integrity
• Increase and maintain bone density
• Improve cardiovascular function
• Improve pulmonary function
• Improve balance, coordination, and mobility
• Reduce your risk of falling (and be more resilient in case you do)
• Maintain independence and improve quality of life

Who is this class for?
Any older adult who wants to exercise in a fun, safe, and inclusive manner. Whether you’re a total newcomer to resistance training or more of a veteran, our classes will challenge you to become better.

What does a class look like?
A typical class will start with a series of light warm up movements to get your heart and joints ready for exercise.

From there we’ll move onto the strength training portion of class, using a variety of tools to help you develop strength. You’ll use both weight training and bodyweight exercises of the upper and lower body to develop and maintain muscular strength and joint integrity.

After the strength training portion of class we’ll move on to the conditioning portion. Here the goal is to get a bit sweaty and elevate your heart rate for a while to improve heart function and lung capacity. To this task we’ll use a variety of equipment and modes like: rowing machines, exercise bicycles, sled pushes, sandbag training, and bodyweight exercises, in addition to many others. The variety keeps it engaging and more fun (we think) than just walking on a treadmill for an hour.

Finally, we’ll end with a few cool down stretches to relax your heart rate and your mind before you head out of the gym.

Where and When do Fit 55+ classes meet?
Mondays and Thursdays at 11am at CrossFit South Brooklyn (597 Degraw Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues) located in the heart of Gowanus. We have served the local fitness community for nearly 10 years, growing from grassroots park-based workouts to our current location, which has two spaces with a total footprint of over 11,000 square feet. In addition to our spacious facility, we also have brand new locker rooms with showers, towel service, and bath products available for your convenience.

Pricing
Drop-In: $25
5-Class Card: $100
Monthly Unlimited (2x per week): $125

REGISTER HERE!

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The 13-Year-Old Girl Fighting Cuba’s Boxing Ban The New Yorker
How To Specialize (Hint: Be a Generalist) Training Think Tank

Open Workout 17.5

Rx’d
10 Rounds for Time:
9 Thrusters 95/65
35 Double-Unders

Scaled
10 Rounds for Time:
9 Thrusters 65/45
35 Single-Unders

There is a 40 minute time cap for all athletes. If you do not finish the 10 rounds by the 40 minute cap, then your score is your reps completed. There is no tiebreaker for this workout.

Post time (or reps) and Rx to comments.

Jess and Koji after 17.5 at last night’s Friday Night Lights event. Good luck to everyone doing 17.5 today!

Editor’s Note: The Look, Feel, Perform Better Challenge ends today. Congrats to those of you who participated and don’t forget to complete your post-Challenge submission! To send you off in style, we’re bringing you this Coach Fox classic. “There Is No Wagon” was originally posted on 1.17.14.

By Chris Fox

You can not fall off the wagon. You can not get back on it. There is in fact, no wagon. You are self propelled, and you make your way down your own path.

I’ve heard it countless times and had said it myself for years…”I’ve got to get back on the wagon”. This language seems to allow for some other power, in this case The Wagon, to make or break us. We make a big change in our lifestyle that seems like it will make everything better. That if we can stick to it we will once and for all be happy. We decide to get on The Wagon. We choose a date, prepare for it, and then go full steam ahead. At first it’s great, this is when you’re riding the momentum created by the hope of change, or of something changing you. Then some of the reality settles in and you stray a bit from The Wagon. You “mess up” and feel guilty. Maybe you even “mess up” a little more because of the guilt. So what do you do now? This is the point where you can move further off your path (have a second or third beer, order dessert after pizza, have a crappy dinner since you “messed up” at lunch, etc…) or turn back toward it (make your next decision one that lines up with your values and priorities). You can eat like crap all day and it’s still only one day. Health and fitness is not made or broken in one day alone. Be nice to yourself, don’t beat yourself up about it. And importantly, don’t wait for some wagon to come along and pick you up.

If you find yourself in a cycle like this then consider a few things. First, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person or a failure. It means you’re just like everyone else. Fit people don’t magically not crave “bad” foods or never have trouble abstaining from unhealthy treats, and it’s hard for them to get to the gym sometimes, too. They even kick back and have a few drinks and french fries every now and then. What they do is consistently make more good decisions than poor ones. They live more in line with long term values and less with instant gratification. Try this: Think about what you value, then think of a few small actions you can take right now to live in line with those values. It’s important to realize that we are constantly making small decisions about how we will live and who we’ll be. This means that you can make a choice to have an all weekend bender or give in to a craving for the office donuts. That’s ok. It also means that you can make your next choice one that you are ok with, that makes you happy, and that is in line with your values. Be nice to yourself and put one foot in front of the other. Don’t wait for The Wagon to come around again and pick you up.
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Nicole Carroll’s Tips for Open Workout 17.5 CrossFit
Pressure Doesn’t Have to Turn Into Stress Harvard Business Review

2. Mo A. is our March Athlete of the Month. CONGRATS, MO!

3. As the Open heads into its final week, we brought you the gym’s top-10 ranked women and men. CFSBK is ranked 87th among 379 CrossFit affiliates in the Northeast Region. Go here to see the entire affiliate leaderboard.

4. Yesterday we also reported on Week 4 of the CFSBK Open Intramural Team competition. Good luck to everyone competing this weekend!

5. Our latest lost and found dump can be found on our Flickr account. We’re now including abandoned water bottles in the photo, so please take a look and see if any look familiar! Water bottles will now be given out after a week. All other items must be claimed within a month, after which we’ll donate them to CHIPS. Come get your stuff, gang!

6. Lots of great photos from the recent Squad WOD event at CFSBK can be found here!

7. The 2017 Look, Feel, Perform Better Challenge wraps up tomorrow. Congrats to everyone who participated! On Wednesday, Coach Fox said a few words about the end of the Challenge and encouraged you to do your post-challenge submission.

8. Schedule Change: Strong Fit is Sunday at 8am this week. It will return to Saturday’s next week!

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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: EMOM Work | Mid-Hang Snatch
The Practice of One Thing at a Time Zen Habits
The Most Unsatisfying Video in the World Ever Made Luksan Wunder
T-Rex Does 16.4 CrossFit Ground Up

Every minute on the minute x 12 (4ea):

1) Jump Rope
2) Sit-Ups
3) Push-Ups or Shoulder Taps

Don’t go nuts here. Just get a good sweat going for the barbell portion of the class.

Post work to comments.

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Mid-Hang Snatch:
1-1-1-1-1

Build to a heavy single Mid-Hang Snatch.

Post loads to comments.

CFSBK Open Intramural Team Rankings: Week 4

Week 4 of the CFSBK Open Intramural Team competition was shrouded in mystery, mostly because Alternative Reps team captain Dan H. didn’t turn his scores in on time and your blog editor wasn’t sure what to write. We know he has a baby girl, but the League waits for no man. Or woman. Or baby. Anway, we considered renaming the team Alternative Timeline, but, luckily, we obtained the scores and can bring you this report.

So what happened? Let’s just say it’s going to be an interesting 5th and final week of the Open! After last week’s scoring controversy, WHAMRAP! is now in sole ownership of 1st place. We ran these numbers through our TI-85, sent them off to NASA for confirmation, and can assure that these scores are correct. WHAMRAP! put up an excellent score of 45 and have earned that exclamation point. A paragon of consistency throughout the Open Intramural League season, Snatch Me If You Can put up another 50 point score this week to keep them well within striking distance of 1st place. And 2 Legit 2 Quit turned in another strong performance to pull into a tie for 2nd place.

As if that weren’t enough tension, We Rx-Cited To Be Here should be more than just excited. They posted the best score of the week and are also vying for the top spot headed into the final Open Workout. Watch out for them! They have momentum. 

Remember: If the CFSBK Open Intramural League regular season ends in a tie, we’ll have a head-to-head tiebreaker workout. Could there be 3 or even 4 teams there? Come out to FNL: The Gauntlet this Friday at 7pm, when the picture will become clearer.

Current Ranking – Team – Overall Average (Week 4 Score)

1. WHAMRAP!: 49 (45)

2.  Snatch Me If You Can: 50 (50)

2. Team 2 Legit 2 Quit: 50 (46)

4. We Rx-Cited Just To Be Here: 51 (44)

 5. Los Snatchos: 54 (48)

6. Alternative Reps: 56 (45)

Open Intramural Team Scores

CFSBK Individual Open Leaderboard

1. Coach Katie – 9
2. Stephanie Mulder – 11
3. Coach Whit – 13
4. Kate Egan – 18
5. Kayleigh Rose – 29
6. Lauren Borducci – 32
6. Coach Jess – 32
8. Charlie Nagle – 38
9. Kelly Lovelett – 53
10. Coach JB – 57

1. Phil Serzo – 5
2. Coach Brett – 9
3. Coach McDowell – 14
4. Robert Semmens – 24
5. Christian Reiss – 25
6. Dan Langevin – 36
7. Chris Lambert – 42
7. Coach Arturo – 42
9. Dylan Ketchum – 45
10. Ryan Harrity – 46

FRAN!

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link 1 CrossFit

link 2

Front Squat

Performance
1-1-1-1-1

Work up to a heavy single.

Fitness
3-3-3-3-3

Work up to a heavy triple.

Post loads to comments.

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Look, Feel, Perform Better Challenge Capacity Test

AMRAP 10 Minutes:
5 Pull-Ups
10 Push-Ups
15 Squats

Rest 2 minutes, then…

3 minutes max calories rowed

Score rounds and reps + calories rowed.

Merbear Wall Ballin’ it during 17.4 at Friday Night Lights. Come out this Friday at 7pm for the 5th and final FNL event of the year!

“No, you take the medicine ball!” Lots of great photos from the recent Squad WOD event at CFSBK can be found here | Photo courtesy of Heidi Jones

Friday Night Lights: The Gauntlet

This Friday evening, we’ll once again host a battle of CFSBK’s best during a Gauntlet-Style Friday Night Lights event. There will be two heats, 7:00pm and 7:30pm during which 2 designated competitors from each of our intramural teams will throw down against each other in an epic battle of strength and conditioning.

This will be our 5th and final FNL event. If you haven’t been to one yet, you’re missing out! Here are some photos from 17.3 and 17.4. Spectators are encouraged to stop by CFSBK on Friday evening to support your teammates and cheers their successes (BYOB)! 

Team Captains!
Please designate one male and one female competitor to represent your team at The Gauntlet. Email cfsbk.intramural.league [at] gmail.com by FRIDAY, MARCH 10th at 12pm with your selected competitor’s names and prefered heat time (7pm or 7:30pm).

Also, we need judges! If you are interested in volunteering to judge one of our FNL heats, please email cfsbk.intramural.league [at] gmail.com and indicate which heat 7:00pm, 7:30pm (or both) that you are available to judge.

News and Notes

• Open Intramural Team captains: Please submit your team’s scores to the spreadsheet by noon today!
• We are now offering another Diapers & Dumbbells class on Fridays at 11am! See the program page for more details.
• Our latest lost and found dump can be found on our Flickr account. We’re now including abandoned water bottles in the photo, so please take a look and see if any look familiar! Water bottles will now be given out after a week. All other items must be claimed within a month, after which we’ll donate them to CHIPS. Come get your stuff, gang!

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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Press | KB Swings, Double-Unders
Fueling for CrossFit Competition 101 CrossFit NYC
Earth Is A Prison Kurzgesagt

Press

Performance
1-1-1-1-1

Build to a heavy single.

Fitness
5-5-5-3-3

Build to a heavy triple.

Post loads to comments.

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5 Rounds for Time:
30 Russian Kettlebell Swings 24/16kg
50 Double-Unders

Scale the Double-Unders to 50 Singles or 20 attempts as needed.

Post time and Rx to comments.

March Athlete of the Month: Mo Acosta

By Chris Fox

Next up in our Athlete of the Month series is a class act—perpetually smiling, relentlessly cheerful, and an all-around great member: Mo Acosta. He’s made an impression on the coaching staff with his consistency, coachability, and dedication for a while now, so we figured we should name him AOM before he takes his leave of absence this summer!

Fox: Mo! Congrats! You’ve been on the radar for awhile now so I’m glad we’re sitting down for this. Tell me when and how you started CrossFit. 

Mo: Thanks so much. I feel like I should call my mom and tell her! I probably started in 2011 when I was a member of NYSC. I was taking their “CrossFit” class (called UFX for Ultimate Fitness Experience) and was really digging the intensity. My friend Jessica was a coach at CrossFit Merrick in Long Island and told me about it. I started at CrossFit Class One, and when they suddenly closed their CrossFit program, Google led me to CFSBK. 

Fox: What about CrossFit appealed to you?

Mo: It seemed like an exercise program tailor-written for me. I don’t have to think, just show up and follow the program. I liked that we were shown the movements and the specific points about them. Before coming here, I thought I could lift weights. I realized I had a lot to learn!

Fox: What did you have trouble with? And what are you working on now?

Mo: Well I thought I knew how to do everything, so I had trouble with it all! Even something as basic as the  Back Squat gave me trouble. Snatches were new to me and are always a work in progress. I’m still working on that elusive Ring Muscle-Up, though, I have finally gotten a few Bar Muscle-Ups! My body composition goals have also shifted and now I’m actually trying to put some size on instead of losing it. To that end, I did 10 sessions with Coach Brett and have been working on the things he gave me, adding weight to the movements as appropriate.

Fox: What were your impressions of CFSBK, especially having come from another gym? Why did you stay?

Mo: First of all, classes started on time. Even the 6am! I can tell you that this is not the usual case at many gyms. I recognized that the programming was organized, and the coaching was on a different level. The trainers at my previous gym were all nice and I definitely learned stuff, but it’s another experience here. I’ve travelled to other affiliates around the world and haven’t found anything like it. Lifting progressions also seem to be missing from many gyms.

Fox: It’s always great to hear that CFSBK stands out in those ways. Let’s get away from fitness for a minute. We’ve spoken about where you grew up and how you dislike a certain TV show…

Mo: Ha! I was born and grew up in Medellín, Colombia in the 1980s. It was a rough town back then but now is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It’s surrounded by giant lush mountains, and is one of the largest flower exporters in the world so the landscape is just amazing. As kids we knew there was violence, but it luckily didn’t plague us. I grew up playing soccer in the streets there in the same field at the National Team practiced. My family came to the US in 1990, first my grandparents and then my mom, my sister, and I. We lived in Carle Place in Nassau County, Long Island, which was quite a shift. I’m pretty sure there was one other kid that spoke Spanish other than my sister Natalia and I.

Fox: Did you continue to play soccer once you got here?

Mo: No soccer but the tennis coach of my high school recruited me. Turned out I was awful at it, so he suggested I try out for football! I did and played guard during my time there. I’m still friends with the guys on my team.

Fox: No college ball? Where did you go to school and what do you do now?

Mo: Ha… no, no college ball. I first went to SUNY-New Paltz for a day. Let’s just leave it at “I was a mess.” I got myself together and went to NCC (Nassau Community College) before going to NYIT (New York Institute of Technology) for Advertising and Marketing. I somehow lucked into my first job with the New York Islanders while still in school and then worked for Colgate-Palmolive for a few years, during which time I met Kat. In 2005 when Colgate-Palmolive was getting rid of my department, I decided it was time to open my own business. Kat and I have been running Acosta Design since then. It’s pretty amazing to spend my work day with the love of my life and our pittie mix, Lillan (Swedish for “Little One”).

Fox: That’s great, and I can relate! How did you and Kat meet?

Mo: A friend at work suggested we should meet, but it was the summer time! Plus, she lived in Brooklyn and I was in Great Neck! All I knew of Brooklyn was what was on the news and I was not really into that. Turned out she lived in Brooklyn Heights and it was more “Huxtables” than “NYPD Blue”. It all happened pretty quickly once we first dated. We fell in love, moved in together, got married in 2008, and moved to Park Slope in 2009.

Fox: Tell us about you outside of the gym and work. What are your hobbies?

Mo: Well, I love the gym and it really is my main hobby. And I love my work and am always working on new company ideas. Other than that, I love to travel and eat. I cook at home and also like to eat out and explore new restaurants. Katsui has been a recent great find! Last year’s LFPB Challenge was amazingly influential on how we eat both at home and out and it’s something that has become part of who I am. Also, we’re moving to Sweden for a year or two (maybe the next four?) to spend some time with Kat’s parents, and I’ve been taking Swedish lessons to prepare.

Fox: Thanks again for sitting down with me and letting us learn a bit about you. Last question, what should we look for in a future AOM?

Mo: Man, there are so many dedicated people working their asses off to pick from. It must be hard. I think listening and being coachable are important in addition to helping others when you can. Whether it’s helping clean up equipment, cheering people on, or just saying thank you. I think those things go a long way.

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Chuck Berry Lives! The New Yorker
The Highest Court of the Land Atlas Obscura