Back Squat

Performance: Medium Intensity, 75-80% x 5 x 4 
Fitness: 3 x 8 Linear Progression 
Heavier than last week.

Exposure 2/8
Post loads to comments.
_____________________ 

Performance

“Amanda”

9-7-5 Reps for Time:
Muscle-Ups
Snatches 135/95
Rx for the snatch is a full squat. If it’s caught high there cannot be a discernible pause before riding to the bottom of a squat. Scaling to power snatches is acceptable if lack of mobility requires it. 

Fitness

For Time:
21/15 Calorie Row
15 Power Snatches 95/65
15/12 Calorie Row
10 Power Snatches
9/9 Calorie Row
6 Power Snatches
The barbell weight should be light enough to perform them unbroken on the fast end, or with minimal rest.

Post time and Rx to comments.

The kiddos competed in Fight Gone Bad 2015, too! They all won, of course.

Want to Learn to Row from an Olympian? Come to the C.R.A.S.H.-B. Kick-Off Meeting With Coach Nick, on October 31, at 8:30am!

Do you hate and fear workouts that involve rowing? Do you secretly love them but don’t want to admit it? Either way, you have a good reason to train for the C.R.A.S.H.-B. World Indoor Rowing Championship! Coach Nick will prepare members in the months leading up to race day, which is Feb. 28th. Come to Coach Nick’s info session at 8:30 AM on Saturday, Oct. 31st, to learn all about it. Here’s some basic info: 

• The events at CRASH-Bs are individual
• You don’t have to be an SBK member to participate
• The group will get together for three technique clinics (each of which will conclude with a workout) and four races
• Participants will do the workouts on their own
• Nick will provide support—including video analysis of your technique—throughout the program
• Anyone can join—there is no minimum performance requirement
• The program cost is TBD, and various payment options will be available. The program entry fee does not include the CRASH-Bs entry fee, travel to Boston, or accommodations there.

Come to Nick’s kick-off meeting at 8:30AM on Saturday, Oct. 31st. He’ll explain the program in detail and answer any questions you may have. The session will also include the first technique clinic, which will conclude with a workout.

Send Coach Nick an email at Nick [at] CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com if you plan to show up or if you have any questions. 

Here’s what some 2015 team members say about their experience…

“I loved this program. It was challenging and inspiring and I learned a lot about training—accepting the days that are failures, celebrating tiny victories, persevering regardless. For someone who has some social anxiety, it was really the first time I felt real community at the gym. Getting to know the other [participants] was such an amazing bonus to a great program.” 

“I would recommend the program because it truly pushed me to move outside of my comfort zone from what I was used to with exercise and gain a true experience of what it was like to train for something…[Nick is] brimming with experience and knowledge but goes above and beyond—he truly cares about every individual athlete.”

“It’s rare to get the level of focus and feedback we received on mechanics, mental approach, and regimen—for any activity. Let alone from a true expert, let alone in a way that dovetails fluidly from your current (CFSBK) regimen. This sort of attention to detail not only makes you much better at that thing, but reminds you of the importance of that level of focus for anything you want to do well.”

Need a Private Healthy Chef or Baker? Hit Up the Talented Callie F.! 

In addition to being a health-supportive and allergy-friendly private chef, Callie F. is also an allergy-friendly baker. In fact, baking is her true love, and she’s created a pop-up menu of cakes, pies, tarts, and tortes for the holiday season. And if you celebrate nothing, personal sizes are perfect for hitting those macros (she’s lookin’ at you, Noah). All items are completely free of gluten and refined sugar. All can be made dairy-free, several can be adjusted to paleo standards, and absolutely none of them taste like sand!  

In short: 

• All gluten free
• All refined sugar free 
• Allergy-friendly
• Seasonal flavors
• Locally sourced ingredients wherever possible
• Available in personal and standard sizes
• Not disgusting

Cake Menu 

• Spiced Carrot cake with Cashew Cream Frosting (I’m famous for it)
• Real Red Velvet with Goat Cheese Frosting (real beets, real goats)
• Citrus and Cardamom Olive Oil Cake (simple and elegant)  

Pie Menu 

• Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Pie with Goat Cheese Cashew Cream Citrus Icing (personal fave)
• German Dark Chocolate Pecan Pie (holy sheisse!)
• Upstate Apple Crumble Pie (no twist, just delish)

Raw and Vegan Tarts and Tortes 

• Salted Chocolate and Date Caramel Torte (so smooth)
• Chocolate Peppermint Ganache Torte (a cool breeze in your mouth)
• Ambrosia Tart (promotes everlasting life) 

Callie’s website is under construction. Contact her at calmesefreeman [at] gmail.com for price sheets, orders, and inquiries. Bon appetit, mes animaux!

_____________________ 
How Food Porn Hijacks Your Brain Science of Us 

Congrats to Team Big Thighs Full Hearts Can’t Lose for winning Fight Gone Bad on Saturday, with 1,711 reps!

• Want to try something other than group class today? Check out Vinyasa Flow Yoga at 7am, Active Recovery at 6:30pm, Pilates with KH at 7:30pm, or AntiGravity at 7:30pm.

Hand Care for CrossFitters, Part 1

By Noah Abbott

“Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: Dry friction resists relative lateral motion of two solid surfaces in contact. When surfaces in contact move relative to each other, the friction between the two surfaces converts kinetic energy into thermal energy. This property can have dramatic consequences, as illustrated by the use of friction created by rubbing pieces of wood together to start a fire. Another important consequence of many types of friction can be wear, which may lead to performance degradation and/or damage to components.” —Dr. Wiki Pedia 

While this may be the most boring and technical opening to an article about CrossFit ever, thinking about friction when related to hand care is useful for isolating and overcoming the fundamental problem faced by kippers everywhere. In short, the solid surface of your hand slides against the (much more) solid surface of the bar, leading to dramatic consequences and damage to components (ripped hands) and subsequent performance degradation (having to stop a workout or avoid workouts while your boo boo heals.)

While it may seem like an inevitable rite of passage to do a high volume kipping workout, tear your hands to shreds, and then post pictures of it to social media, ripped hands are simply drags on optimal performance. Further, hands that are constantly rough, flaky, and/or bloody are, to put it mildly, gross. So, what’s fledgling CrossFitter/hand model to do? There are plenty of ways to take care of your hands, both intra and extra-WOD. The following routine is what has worked well for me, use at your own risk (of beautiful, baby soft mitts!). 

During a Workout
During a workout, reducing friction is all about reducing lateral motion between your hand and the bar. Make sure you grip the bar right where your palm and fingers meet—any lower and you risk folding skin under the bar, adding to the surface causing friction. Then, grip the bar tightly, and motion during a kip should happen at your wrist, not through your hand rotating around the bar. You are trying to grip the bar with your skeleto-muscular structure, not the thin layer of epidermis covering it. Don’t grip the bar so deeply in your palm that the skin near your fingers scrunches up—that’s creating a fleshy surface for the bar to rip. Here’s Mark Rippetoe, folksy as ever, taking a long time to say just that (this is the shorter of two videos I could find from him). 

The biggest thing you can do during a workout to avoid rips is to pay attention to your hands and fear the last 5-10 reps of a workout. Every time I’ve ripped it’s been between reps 95 and 100 in a workout like Angie—that’s usually the part when you are tired, stomping on the gas, and having to really throw everything behind every rep. The added force and shift of attention from your hands to the clock often leads to a rip, just as you finish the workout. If you feel your hands getting hot (thermal energy!) or skin starting to shift, drop from the bar and rest for a bit. In the words of Papa Osorio, “Be careful,” and be especially careful at the end of a workout. 

Also, unless you are literally in danger of falling off the bar and cracking your head open, don’t overdo it with the chalk! (This shouldn’t even be an issue if you are gripping with your thumb around the bar, like a homo sapien.) While chalk can help promote a good relationship of your hand to the bar, especially if you are a little sweaty, overchalking can cause your hand to stick when you don’t need/want it to, especially when trying to release the bar. 

There are a number of ways to protect your hands from the bar. CrossFit’s commercialization has led to all sorts of gloves, wraps, and other bar-hand barriers being available. For the most part, the tradeoff between protection, grip, and “feel” is up to the user. Generally gloves offer lots of protection but poor grip and feel (also, do NOT buy Reebok’s CrossFit gloves, they are just marked-up batting gloves, which you can buy for 10 bucks elsewhere). Gymnastics grips are a pretty good compromise. Classically they are suede (fancy!) with a wrist wrap, like these from Rogue, or these from MuscleDriver. NaturalGrip makes a lower profile version that is a permanent (or at least semi-permanent) grip that you secure with athletic tape or a wrist wrap. The NaturalGrips are based off the tape jobs people have been using to protect themselves pre/post tear for a while, which are also a good option. Here is a pretty involved way to tape, very similar to the heartier NaturalGrip. Here’s a slightly quicker/dirtier way to do it, more appropriate mid-WOD. The main theme is that the tape needs to run both lengthwise and across your palm, otherwise it will roll up under and movement and either fall off your hand or be the world’s crappiest bracelet. Further, you don’t need tons of tape, your hand shouldn’t look like this when you are done.

Home Prep
Taking care of your hands does not start and stop when you walk in the gym. A little consistent attention at home will make sure your hands are both less aesthetically gross and less susceptible to tearing at the gym. Flaky, cracked hands with big, raised calluses are asking for trouble, because the rough callus represents one half of the two solid surfaces that create friction. Since we can’t do anything about the bar, making sure your calluses are smooth and low-profile will keep you from tearing. 

There are plenty of tools for shaving down calluses, but in my opinion most of them suck. Pumice stones, Ped-Eggs, nail files, and other sorts of abrasives require daily use and are pretty slow. I think of them more as “finishing” tools for getting your hands smooth after the real work has been done. For this heavy-duty work I recommend the Tweezerman Safety Slide Callus Shaver with Rasp. The Tweezerman is basically a razor blade on a stick, akin to a cheese grater for your hand. You use it when your hands are dry and it shaves your callus down in big, satisfying flakes. It has a built in rasp for the fine cleanup work at the end, and only costs 10 bucks, making it the king of callus care in my book. While it takes a little bit of bravery the first few times, it pretty quickly becomes natural to use and works wonders. Get one, and again, don’t use it in the shower, it will bite into your softened skin and get stuck, as opposed to slicing off nice little flakes.

Lastly, make sure to keep your hands moisturized. Buy a decent lotion and use it whenever you can, especially after you cut your calluses down. Smooth, supple hands are less prone to cracking, and won’t stick to the bar like dry hands. Just take it easy with the scents, this isn’t middle school.

Wound Care
If you do rip, don’t freak out. First, assess where you are in the workout. If there are six pull-ups left, just finish the damn thing. If there are 60, it’s scaling time—no sense in ruining a week of training just to finish. 

Make sure you wash the wound and spray some Bactene on it. Cold water is key here—hot water will sting like bajeezus. Then let it dry. When you get home, cut off any excess skin. I use the Tweezeman for this, but you could use nail scissors, a katana, an angle grinder, or whatever you want.  

A Final Thought
In the end, the biggest factor in not ripping is simply time. The longer you do this stuff the more time under tension you accumulate, and the more conditioned your hands become. Further, the easier pull-ups are for you, the less likely you are to tear. Most coaches and OGs brag that they haven’t ripped in “forever,” but like most people they probably ripped a bunch initially, and then slowly got strong, skilled, and epidermically-conditioned enough for it to not be a big issue. 

Stay tuned for Part 2 from Coach Fox, coming your way next week!

_____________________ 
CrossFit, Whole30, and Chinese Buffets SunHerald
How CrossFit Has Changed From 2009-Present SweatWorks

Press

Performance: Medium Intensity, 75-80% x 5 x 4 
Fitness: 3 x 5 Linear Progression 
Add a few pounds to last week

Exposure 2/8
_____________________ 

Deadlift

Work up to one heavy set of 5 reps
Go heavier than last week’s set of 8. 

Exposure 2/8
Post loads to comments.
_____________________ 

5 Rounds For Time: 
12 Box Jump-Overs 24/20″
10 Burpees
This should be over pretty fast. Keep your pace up and use a lower box if you need to so you can keep moving.

Post time and Rx to comments.

Congrats to everyone who competed in Fight Gone Bad 2015 yesterday! The talented Thomas H. shot photos for us all day yesterday, and uploaded them to our Flickr account. Check ’em out!

Final Scores from Fight Gone Bad 2015

Top Ten Teams 

1. Big Thighs Full Hearts Can’t Lose, 1,711 reps
2. Quad Goals, 1,675 reps
3. The Illumiwodi, 1,661 reps
4. Thruster? I Barely Know Her!, 1,641 reps
5. THE TEAM WITH THE GOLDEN GUNS, 1,627 reps
6. Space Woddities, 1,622 reps
7. Tardy to the Burpee Party, 1,604 reps
8. Gowanusaurus Flex, 1,601 reps
9. AWESOME SAUCE, 1,598 reps
10. Gainz Support Group, 1,595 reps

Top Ten Females 

1. Coach MeLo, 344 reps
2. Coach K HarpZ, 315 reps
3. Coach Jess, 313 reps
4. Val K., 308 reps
5. Morit S., 302 reps
6. Ellie M., 298 reps
7. Sarah M., 292 reps
8. Kayleigh R., 291 reps
9. Coach Whitney, 289 reps
10. Lauren M., 279 reps 

Top Ten Males 

1. Bryan B., 380 reps
2. Matt K., 368 reps
3. Brett F., 346 reps
4. Brendan N., 342 reps
5. Jason M., 340 reps
6. Coach McDowell, 338 reps
7. Daniel L., 335 reps
8. Alex B., 329 reps
9. Ryan F., 327 reps
10. Michael A., 324 reps

VIEW ALL SCORING RESULTS HERE.

Top Ten Fundraising Individuals

1. Jay-Star.: $1,960
2. Elyssa S.: $1,537
3. Erik B.: $1,488
4. Steve H.: $1,335
5. Allie C.: $1,270
6. Morit S.: $970
7. Matty C.: $750
8. Coach David: $675
9. Erin M.: $650
10. Zach H.: $590

Top Ten Fundraising Teams  

1. Fight of the Living Dead: $3,240
2. Hollywood Heavies: $2,993
3. I’m Not a Player I Just Squat a Lot: $2,720
4. Stop With the Whining: $1,662
5. Gowanusaurus Rex: $1,505
6. The Big Meowskis: $1,495
7. Who Let the WODS Out: $1,445
8. Ghost Thrusters: $1,400
9. Fairy Wodmothers: $1,160
10. Love Guns: $1,055

VIEW ALL FUNDRAISING RESULTS HERE.

Because of Brooklyn Community Foundation’s Board matches, our total of $26,049 (174% of our goal!) goes all the way up to over $36,000!! We are so proud of you guys and all of your hard work! And a huge thanks to Brooklyn Community Foundation for being such a wonderful organization. 

Catching Up With CFSBK Classifieds (It’s Fixed!)

Dudes! CFSBK Classifieds and Travel Gym Recommendations forums are back up and running, so post away to your heart’s content. Thanks for your patience while we figured out the problem. If you have any other issues posting, shoot Managing Editor Kate R. an email at Katharine [at] CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com.

Here are some recent posts to check out:

• Joel W. and McKensey S. are moving to DC on very short notice and are looking to unload their 2-floor/1-bedroom/1.5 bathroom apartment as of November 1 (and if you need sooner, they can make that work also). Tons of storage space, space for a desk, and central air. $3000 per month on corner of 4th and Atlantic. Great landlord and neighbors. Hit up Joel.wertheimer [at] gmail.com if you want to come see it.
• Bryan B. just moved to New York from San Diego, and is looking for a place to live. Do you need a roommate or know someone who needs a roommate? Bryan is 26, likes to be active, and has a very adorable 6-month-old dog (it’s true). Drop him a note at Bryan.Babbitt [at] gmail.com.
• Matt K. and Alex W. want to hire someone to help them clean, as the dog hair and man mess have become too much for them to clean on their own. Must love big dogs! They’d love to have someone who could come once or twice a month. Anyone have recommendations? Also willing to pay in cash if that is preferred. Email Abwoolfson [at] gmail.com. (Lots of you recommended Si Se Puede a while back!)

_____________________
New Nietzschean Diet Lets You Eat Whatever You Fear the Most
5 Steps to Becoming a Credible Expert Overnight elitefts 

If you didn’t tell us yesterday, how did Fight Gone Bad go?!

Every 90 Seconds for 12 Minutes (8 total sets):
Fitness: 3 Snatches (bail and reset each rep)
Performance: 2 Touch-and-Go Power Snatch + Hang (full) Snatch
Start at 60% and add weight as appropriate.

Post loads to comments.
Exposure 1/8
_____________________ 

“Helen” 

3 Rounds For Time:
400m Run
21 Kettlebell Swings 53/35
12 Pull-Ups 

The kettlebell swings are Rx’d as overhead on this benchmark WOD. Scale weight and/or ROM on the kettlebell as necessary. Full volume on the pull-ups is meant to be kipping. Bands or ring rows are the subs for the pull-ups. This is a leaderboard WOD at CFSBK (and one of our favorites) so if you’re looking to get your name up there then pay extra attention to keeping your reps legit!

Post time and Rx to comments.
Compare to 5.31.2015. 

Coach Nick raced in the three-mile Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston yesterday and they took second place in the men’s master eights, 40+ age group. There were beat by a team stacked with three 2012 Olympians, and they only lost by 5 seconds. Get the numbers here! The “head” format is different from the standard rowing race: competitors start 30 seconds apart, single file. Last year, Coach Nick’s team won and set the course record. 

Fight Gone Bad 2015! 

We’d like to thank everyone who volunteered their time and talents yesterday to make Fight Gone Bad 2015 such a smooth event. The amazing Rickke M. and Stella Z. handled all the scoring including gathering scorecards and tallying results. Asta F. and Thomas H. took pictures for the gym, which will be uploaded over the next few days. Thanks to the Coach Fox for being such a great MC. And BIG thanks to Coach Jess Fox for organizing so many logistics and things on the back-end. And huge thanks to our wonderful Front Desk staff that was the glue keeping the whole event together.

And: a huge thanks to Coach David for donating lots of prizes on behalf of the gym, and for staying late on Friday night to set up the gym perfectly.

As always, the event is the sum of its parts. We loved having so many people in house and were excited to hit our fundraising goal. The biggest thank you goes to everyone who raised funds, cheered teammates on, and gave it their all yesterday. 

All final scores and fundraising tallies will be posted tomorrow and everyone can pick up their score cards at the Front Desk.

Additional Thank You to Our Sponsors

We’re able to give out some awesome prizes to our event leaders today due to the generosity of the following sponsors:

Fleishers
Reebok Spartan Race
Afro Brutality
Brooklyn Boulders
Ho’Brah Tacos
Sheep Station
PurePharma
Caffeine and Kilos
West Bank Cafe
Ideya
Bayou Brooklyn 
Clean, Snatch, Soap 
Grand Army Bar 
Olympia Wine Bar 
Herondale Farms
Big City Fish 

_____________________  
Sub 7-minute “Helen” 

How’d it go yesterday, FGBers? 

Three Rounds, As Many Reps as Possible, of:
Wall Ball Shots 20lb-10’/14lb-9′
Sumo Deadlift High-pull, 75lbs/55lbs/35lbs
Box Jumps, 20″
Push Press, 75lbs/55lbs/35lbs
Row

In this workout, you move from each of the five stations after a minute.The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. On call of “rotate,” the athletes must move to next station immediately for best score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

Add your points and post them to comments.

Today’s event culminates our fundraising push for the Brooklyn Community Foundation.

When FGB ends around 2pm, we’ll take another big group shot! If you finish early, please come back for the picture and after party!

• ALL CLASSES ARE CANCELLED TODAY (including Yoga for Athletes, Active Recovery, and Open Gym)!

Fight Gone Bad is Today!

Today is the day! To check details about the movement standards and flow of the day, please refer to yesterday’s post. The upstairs annex will be available all day for the two teams in the upcoming heat to warm-up. Team captains or an assigned proxy must pick up the t-shirts and distribute them to their team.

There will free beer provided by Ho’Brah Tacos! Friends, family, and well wishers are all welcome at the gym. Please note that bike parking might be tight on Degraw, so plan accordingly!

8:30am Gym Opens
9:00-2pm Fight Gone Bad Heats
2pm Group Photo
2:15pm Award Ceremonies

Afterward, some folks will trek to Swan Dive on 480 Union Street around the corner from CFSBK for some food and (probably more) beer. It will probably be chilly, so bring extra layers!

Fundraising Totals

As of 10:45pm last night, we hit just shy of $25,000 last night, which is 164% of our goal! CONGRATS, CFSBK! You crushed it! If anyone has any offline donations, email Info [at] CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com and CFSBKfrontdesk [at] gmail.com BY NOON with the info so that it can be credited and reflected in your totals. 

The race is still tight, and there are great prizes for the top teams and individuals. All final numbers will be pulled off CrowdRise at 1:30pm. If you can, send one more email!

Team CFSBK: $24,579

Top Ten Teams:

1. Fight of the Living Dead: $3,030
2. Hollywood Heavies: $2,930
3. I’m Not a Player I Just Squat a Lot: $2,700
4. Stop With the Whining: $1,537
5. The Big Meowskis: $1,495
6. Gowanusaurus Rex: $1,485
7. Who Let the WODS Out: $1,305
8. Ghost Thrusters: $1,270
9. Fairy Wodmothers: $1,140
10. Love Guns: $1,030

Top Ten Individuals: 

1. Jay-Star.: $1,910
2. Elyssa S.: $1,437
3. Erik B.: $1,425
4. Steve H.: $1,335
5. Allie C.: $1,250
6. Morit S.: $970
7. Matty C.: $750
8. Coach David: $675
9. Erin M.: $620
10. Zach H.: $570

To see the full list, click here!

Thank You to Our Sponsors

We’re able to give out some awesome prizes to our event leaders today due to the generosity of the following sponsors:

Fleishers
Reebok Spartan Race
Afro Brutality
Brooklyn Boulders
Ho’Brah Tacos
Sheep Station
PurePharma
Caffeine and Kilos
West Bank Cafe
Ideya
Bayou Brooklyn 
Clean, Snatch, Soap 
Grand Army Bar 
Olympia Wine Bar 
Herondale Farms
Big City Fish 

Huge thanks to our new Events Coordinator Danae M. for lining up these amazing prizes!

____________________
Good luck today, everyone! Let us know how it goes!

Coach Nick is racing at the Head of the Charles in Boston this weekend—the largest rowing regatta in the world. His team is defending its title in the men’s masters eights (40+) division, representing Shannon Boat Club from Limerick, Ireland. Last year they set the course record, so we expect great things this time around!

• ALL REGULAR CLASSES ARE CANCELED TOMORROW. The Floater WOD is in the comments below.
• Want to compete in FGB but aren’t here this weekend? Or still want to compete tomorrow? Email Info [at] CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com ASAP!

Clean and Jerk

Every 90 seconds for 12 Minutes (8 working sets):
Performance: 2 Tough-and-Go Power Clean + Hang Clean (full) + Jerk
Fitness: 3 Clean and Jerk (bail and reset each rep)

Start at 60% and add weight as appropriate. 

Exposure 1/8
Post loads to comments
_____________________

5 Rounds Not For Time or 15 Minutes:
30 Unbroken Double-Unders
10 Dumbbell Bench Presses, as heavy as possible
3-5 Strict Chin-Ups, as heavy as possible

Post rounds/time and Rx to comments.

If you cannot perform 30 unbroken doubles then practice for a minute and score how many you can link successfully. Work up to a heavy 10 on the dumbbell bench and a challenging 3-5 on the chin-up. That might mean adding weight on one end of the spectrum or using a thin band or light partner assist on the other end.

Check out Matt U.’s video from Fight Gone Bad 2012. We’ve got 2 days left, CFSBK! We’re way past our goal—which means that Brooklyn Community Foundation’s Board is going to match every dollar you’ve put in past $15,000. How can you get weird and up your game in the next couple days?

• Want your heat assignment? Get it here!
• Want to know what prizes you could win? Check out Tuesday’s post!

Congrats to those teams and individually topping our leaderboards on CrowdRise! Below are our top fundraisers from both the individual and team divisions (as of 9pm Wednesday 10/14). Fight of the Living Dead and I’m Not a Player I Just Squat a Lot are tied—who’s going to come out on top?

Top Five Teams:

1. Fight of the Living Dead: $2,320
2. I’m Not a Player I Just Squat a Lot: $2,320
3. Hollywood Heavies: $1,985
4. Gowanusaurus Rex: $1,170
5. Stop With the Whining: $1,160

Top Five Individuals: 

1. Jay-Star.: $1,500
2. Allie C.: $1,225
3. Elyssa S.: $1,080
4. Morit S.: $900
5. Steve H.: $820

Send a last-minute email to your friends and family! Maybe something like this?

Dear ______ [insert name],

I know you probably think I’m bananas for doing CrossFit, but I love it so much—largely because my gym, CrossFit South Brooklyn, is so freaking awesome and doesn’t just care about getting “swole” (defined by the Urban Dictionary as the state of being very muscular and/or buff and in good shape), but we also care about helping our neighbors in Brooklyn.

That’s why I need your help! Through this fun competition we’re doing on Saturday, we’re raising money for a local organization called Brooklyn Community Foundation. BCF supports tons of great and important programs in Brooklyn.

Donate here, and I promise to send you a photo of me drenched in sweat after I crush this workout on Saturday. Also, I’ll love you forever!

XXOO _______ [your name] 

_____________________ 
Strength Training for Women T Nation 
Gyms in 1940 were very odd 

Back Squat

Performance: Low Intensity, 65-70% x 7 x 4 
Fitness: 3 x 8 Linear Progression 
Start light enough to add weight to 8s for the next 2 weeks.

Exposure 1/8
Post loads to comments.
_____________________ 

5 Rounds:  
Row 1 Minute for Max Calories
Rest 2 Minutes between rounds

Experiment with different stroke ratings to see what works for you in terms of a higher score and what is more fatiguing. PRO TIP: A stroke rating on the lower side (high teens to low twenties) is probably best. 

Post time and Rx to comments.

Superman Karl warming up his front squat

ALL THINGS FIGHT GONE BAD 2015 (T-3 Days!)

• Want your heat assignment? Get it here!
• Want to know what prizes you could win? Check out yesterday’s post!

GUYS! YOU RULE! We’re way past our goal—which means that Brooklyn Community Foundation’s Board is going to match every dollar you’ve put in past $15,000. 

Learn more about the Brooklyn Community Foundation and all the great work they’ve done. They support a variety of artistic, agricultural, environmental, social, and educational programs helping people of all ages. No doubt there are several programs they’ve helped that you identify with.

Congrats to those teams and individually topping our leaderboards on CrowdRise! Below are our top fundraisers from both the individual and team divisions (as of 9pm Tuesday 10/13):

Top Five Teams:

1. Fight of the Living Dead: $2,320
2. I’m Not a Player I Just Squat a Lot: $2,295
3. Hollywood Heavies: $1,885
4. Gowanusaurus Rex: $1,145
5. Stop With the Whining: $1,135

Top Five Individuals: 

1. Jay-Star.: $1,500
2. Allie C.: $1,225
3. Elyssa S.: $1,055
4. Morit S.: $900
5. Steve H.: $770

Give Us Feedback!

Your opinions and feedback are extremely important to us. We have an online feedback form where you can let us know about your experience at CFSBK. We want to know what you like, what you don’t like, and what you’d like to see in the future. Information from these forms is discussed by staff so we can continue to evolve and best serve our community. Please let us know what you think!

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Becoming a Vegetarian Without Giving Up Meat Precision Nutrition 

Now that CRUSH WEEK is over and we’ve started a new training cycle, tell us, what are your thoughts on the previous 9 weeks of programming? If you don’t want to post to the comments, please use the feedback form above.

• SCHEDULE CHANGES: Active Recovery is CANCELLED today.

October Athlete of the Month: Kayleigh Rose

By Chris Fox 

This month’s spotlight is on one of our ladies who’s lately been quietly turning into a TFBA*. Kayleigh has been with us for a few years now, but the coaches all agree that she’s recently shifted her performance into another gear. She trains consistently before the dawn during the school year and later in the day when school is out, so many of you have surely noticed her and understand the reasons she’s on the blog today.

Fox: Hey Kayleigh, thanks for sitting down to chat, and congrats on being chosen as our next AOTM! Tell me about how and when you started CrossFit. 

Kayleigh: Thanks! It’s an honor to be included with all of the previous names on this list! Former co-worker and SBK member Matt Edwards first told me about CrossFit. He knew I was looking for more athletic opportunities—we used to kick a soccer ball around Prospect Park—and he mentioned it. He didn’t really tell me what it was, he just said that I should go and that I would like it. So, I did! I signed up for Foundations in July 2012 and never really looked back.

Fox: Over three years now and you’re still making progress! What were you doing fitness-wise before joining SBK? 

Kayleigh: I’d always gone to the gym but I was still following the same routine my field hockey coach had us doing when I was in college. I guess to go back further, I played field hockey at Ithaca College where I got my degree in Math Education.  I did Karate in high school and was a second-degree black belt. Since moving to Brooklyn, I’ve done my fair share of laps around the Prospect Park loop. So I was active but sort of bored. Luckily my college coach had us squat and bench press so I’d lifted for a while, but I’d go to the gym and do the same weights for the same reps week in and out.

Fox: That’s great that you had learned to lift in college. I remember you having a pretty solid base with lifting when you first started. What is it about CrossFit that has you still here 3+ years later making gains?

Kayleigh: I really liked that I could push myself as easy or as hard as I wanted, and realized that a lot of the responsibility was on me to push hard. Based on what I’d heard about CrossFit, I didn’t expect such a focus on precision and the amount of detail involved in moving well. You made a comment that a lot of teachers like to come because we get to give up control and just follow directions. I think it’s more that we recognize and appreciate the teaching techniques used: skilled differentiation in scaling options, laying out clear expectations—including timing, and even the QOD to engage everyone. 

The community support is obviously a huge factor both in the emotional and physical senses. I mean, you can’t really lift heavy without proper spotters and every class here has that when you need it. I could tell right away that there was support for both men and women to be strong and badass, so I guess the TFBAs keep me motivated and feeling empowered. Also, as a 15-year pescetarian, I appreciated knowing that you used to be a vegetarian, and that Coach Whitney is one. It made me feel comfortable with not being an uber paleo woman here. I used to be sort of a junk food vegetarian, now I eat much better. Also, I love the dogs of CFSBK.

Fox: Well you’ve turned into quite the TFBA yourself! What do you do when you’re not picking up heavy things and putting them down?

Kayleigh: I’m a math and computer science teacher at Sunset Park High School and taught in Canarsie before that. I love teaching math and trying to make it less intimidating. It’s a subject that teens seem to either love or hate. I try to make it more accessible to all, and maybe even enjoyable. I realized that I’ve adapted a quote that I use in my math classroom into my CrossFit experience: “Respect the struggle.” Everything is a process and it is important to respect the hard work and the mistakes you learn from along the way.

I actually taught my students to properly squat recently and have used the concept of linear progression (LP) to help teach about graphs. My other hobbies are really math and education related—I am the definition of a Mathlete. I am part of Math For America, which provides professional development, and have travelled to Utah with one of their programs. I read lots of stuff for work in addition to my “junk food” novels, and I certainly enjoy a teacher’s “book club” every now and then. And of course, watching the New York Giants.

Fox: I love that you taught your students to squat and that you used an LP to help them learn about graphs. Ithaca and the Giants? Are you a NY girl? 

Kayleigh: Sure am! I was born in Hyde Park and grew up in Pearl River. I moved to Crown Heights right after college and have been there since. My parents and one brother are still in Pearl River and I also have one brother in Boston. 

One of my favorite CrossFit memories actually involves my parents. My mom was nervous about me once I started lifting heavy weights here. They both came to Iron Maidens and realized how great this place and the people involved in it are and they’re now very supportive. There’s a great video that I believe David took from the event where you can see my parent’s faces as I complete a lift. I’ll never forget that look.

Fox: That’s such a great story. Speaking of lifting heavy weight, you recently set a new deadlift PR. Care to share your goals and goats in the gym? 

Kayleigh: Yep! I recently deadlifted 330 for a new PR (BAM!) so I obviously love to deadlift. I’m all lower body. Since learning how to do them properly I really love cleans, they’re so dynamic. My goats are upper body movements, particularly gymnastics ones, but they’re getting better. My pull-ups, toes-to-bar, and inversions are moving in the right direction through consistent practice and I’ve also finally gotten double-unders.

Fox: Great stuff, Kayleigh! Last stock question: What should we look for in a future AOTM? 

Kayleigh: Most of the same things that everyone says, really. Being encouraging of others is important. Someone who takes pride in their performance but stays humble, who appreciates their success but then looks forward to the next objective.  

*Total Fucking Badass, of course

Want to Win Awesome Prizes? Keep Up the Fundraising for Fight Gone Bad! (T-4 Days) 

Thanks to our new Events Coordinator Danae M., we’ve lined up a ton of amazing prizes for our Fight Gone Bad fundraisers and competitors: 

• The Brooklyn Community Foundation is giving us 8 tickets for the Brooklyn Get Down party (learn more here!). The ticket is a $35 value because it includes entrance and 2 free drinks. Since the Get Down is a costume party, we’ll give 6 of these tickets to the team that wins best costume!
• Reebok is sending us a ton of swag to give out to winners in any category and they’re offering one spirit award that includes a trophy from Reebok and $250 outfitting in Crossfit Reebok Gear. This prize will go to highest fundraiser!
• There are 6 $50 gift certificates from Lululemon that will go out to top competitors and fundraisers.

We also have lots of good stuff from CrossFit gear companies and neighborhood sponsors: 

Fleishers
Reebok Spartan Race
Afro Brutality
Brooklyn Boulders
Ho’Brah Tacos
Sheep Station
PurePharma
Caffeine and Kilos
West Bank Cafe
Ideya
Bayou Brooklyn 
Clean, Snatch, Soap 
Grand Army Bar 
Olympia Wine Bar 

Danae can be reached at Events [at] CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com, if you’d like to sponsor an event or have an idea for an event at the gym.

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The Evolution of Light The Atlantic 

Press

Performance: Low Intensity, 65-70% x 7 x 4
Fitness: 3 x 5 Linear Progression
Start light enough to add weight throughout the cycle.

Exposure 1/8
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Deadlift

Work up to one heavy set of 8 reps
Consider using the weight you lifted for the first set of 5s (week 3) in the previous cycle, or about 65% of your 1RM. 

Exposure 1/8
Post loads to comments.
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For Time, 20-15-10-5:
Wall Ball 20/14, 14/9
Sumo Deadlift High Pull 75/55

Post time and Rx to comments.

Congrats to our fierce Beast of the East competitors! 

• Attention CFSBK Cyclists! Acme Bicycles will be hosting the first of a series of open house events TONIGHT from 6-7:30pm. You can come by for bike-fitting demos, to check out some beautiful bikes, to get your questions answered, or to just have a drink! Acme Bicycles is above CFSBK on 597 Degraw, 3rd floor. 
• Fight Gone Bad Update (T-5 Days!): We are SO CLOSE to meeting our fundraising goal for Brooklyn Community Foundation. Once we reach $15,000, BCF’s Board will start matching contributions dollar-for-dollar. You or your friend puts in $10? Their Board puts in $10, doubling your impact on Brooklyn’s communities. Also, we’ve also got crazy cool prizes for our top fundraisers. More on that tomorrow!
• CALLING ALL EXCEL WHIZZES! We need someone to run scoring for Fight Gone Bad on Saturday. If you’re interested and available, for any part of the day, please email David [at] CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com ASAP.

Training Cycle Template

Our new training cycle begins TODAY. You can always find the information below in the left-hand tab under Member Resources, called Training Cycle Template. 

Training Cycle Dates: M 10/12 – Su 12/6
Crush Week: M 12/7 – S 12/13
Transition Week: Will be the first week of the following cycle, starting December 14, 2015

Cycle Goals:

• Olympic barbell cycling/volume EMOMs 
• Continue with more frequent exposures of longer (>15min) time domain WODs
• Stay awesome (!)

Monday: Press + Deadlift + WOD
Wednesday: Back Squat + WOD
Thursday: Clean and Jerk + WOD
Saturday: Front Squat + WOD
Sunday: Snatch + WOD 

Performance Press Cycle 

8 rotating exposures, 4 work sets each day
Low – 65-70%x7x4
Medium – 75-80%x5x4
High – 85-90%x3x4
Last Exposure is a 1RM Test 

Fitness Press Cycle 

3×5 Linear Progression
Last exposure is a 1-3RM test 

Fitness and Performance Deadlift Cycle 

Increasing loads through the 8-week cycle, warm up to one top set of:
1 – Heavy 8 (Start with the weight you did your first 5 in week 3 of last cycle)
2 – Heavy 5
3 – Heavy 5
4 – Heavy 3
5 – Heavy 3
6 – Heavy 3
7 – Heavy 3
8 – 1-3RM test 

Performance Back Squat Cycle

8 rotating exposures, 4 work sets each day
Low – 65-70%x7x4
Medium – 75-80%x5x4
High – 85-90%x3x4 

Fitness Back Squat Cycle

Increasing loads through the 8 week cycle, 3 work sets
1 – 3×8
2 – 3×8
3 – 3×8
4 – 3×5
5 – 3×5
6 – 3×5
7 – 3×3
8 – Test 1-3RM 

Performance Front Squat Cycle

8 rotating exposures, 4 work sets each day
Low – 65-70%x7x4
Medium – 75-80%x5x4
High – 85-90%x3x4 

Fitness Front Squat Cycle 

Increasing loads through the 8 week cycle, 3 work sets
1 – 3×8
2 – 3×8
3 – 3×8
4 – 3×5
5 – 3×5
6 – 3×5
7 – 3×3
8 – Test 1-3RM

The Olympic Lifts

The dedicated exposures to the Olympic lifts will be on Thursdays (clean and jerk) and Sundays (snatch). We’ll use Every Minute on the Minutes (complexes, multiple reps, touch-and-go reps), and on some days, just the WOD during this cycle to increase proficiency, strength, and stamina on the lifts.

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U.S. Reassesses Columbus Day, Native American Plight in Focus The New York Times