Eli getting his pull-ups in at Open Gym

Fresh Vegetables All Summer Long? Sign up Now!

Remember last summer, when those boxes of beautiful local produce showed up at the gym every Wednesday, and you thought to yourself, “Good heavens, I wish I could have a box of beautiful local produce delivered every week! Next year, I will sign up!” This is your lucky day. 

For the third year in a row, CFSBK is partnering with Sol Flower Farm to provide weekly deliveries of gorgeous, hand-picked vegetables from June through November. The season is about to start, so the time to sign up is now. 

The share cost is $670 through PayPal for the entire season or $650 if you pay by check. 

A vegetable share will feed a family of 2-4, so if you would like to split a share with someone, please post as such to the comments below or email Michele, who will help you find a buddy, at mignyc [at] gmail.com. Sol Flower also offers a separate flower share. 

All the specifics, including how to sign up, delivery info, and a detailed FAQ, are here. The season starts soon, so don’t delay!

Memorial Day Musings

Over the next week leading up to “Murph,” we’ll be running a few notes from some CFSBKers related to Memorial Day. Below is our first installment from Keith W.

Having come from a military family and being surrounded by many friends in the armed forces, Memorial Day has always been a day that is filled with fun and enjoyment, tempered with a bit of remembrance. There are others that have put themselves in harm’s way for the rights and freedoms we have here. From flying bomber escorts to Germany in WW2, moving ammo in the jungles of Vietnam, liberating Kuwait, to fighting insurgency and terrorism in Afghanistan, people have paid the price dearly.

“Murph” is a workout dedicated to Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, but this year I am also putting my efforts towards another outstanding person and his cause. I lost a very dear friend a few weeks ago to PTSD. His name was Kryn Miner and he was a father of four great kids and had a wonderful wife. When Kryn rotated out of duty after serving for over 22 years (including 11 deployments in seven years to Afghanistan and Iraq), he was a bit lost with what to do next and through my encouragement tried CrossFit. He became a Level 1 certified coach, Spartan certified coach, and recently received his CrossFit Endurance coach certification. Kryn coached in Burlington Vermont at CrossFit Burlington. 

Kryn was troubled and haunted by a lifetime of war. He saught help after an attempted suicide in September of last year with the Lone Survivor Foundation. This is a foundation started by Marcus Luttrell, who served with Michael Murphy, and the foundation’s aim is to help those suffering from PTSD. Kryn established the Forgotten Fallen Foundation to help raise money through CrossFitting to send returning and retired soldiers in need of help to the Lone Survivor Program. I hope you will join me in pledging a dollar a minute of your “Murph” time to the Lone Survivor Foundation in Kryn’s Name. 

More information about the Lone Survivor Program can be found here, and more about Kryn and and the forgotten fallen here.

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Perception is Everything. Or is it? The Simplification of Fatigue The Science of Sport
What Farm-to-Table Got Wrong New York Times
Learning Technique Through Imitation Catalyst Athletics
Man’s Insecurities Versatile Enough To Be Projected Onto Any Situation The Onion

Jake L. qualified for the American Open with his 343# Clean and Jerk on Sunday

Post-Meet Thoughts

Jake trained for a year in order to put together a total that would qualify him for a national event. He even lost 18 pounds over the last few weeks to make the 94kg weight class, and employed some interesting sweating/spitting exercises to drop a few fractions of a kilo on Sunday. He’s been a beloved presence kicking ass over on the platform, and he says the meet was an amazing experience. “Working so hard and so long for something and finally achieving success is really a phenomenal feeling,” he reports. He says he could write a short novella about this meet—and he kind of does below, check it out in the comments! Great work, Jake!!

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CFSBK Endurance Program

Recently, you’ve probably been hearing many a wonder story from our runners at CFSBK as Coach Michael O.’s Endurance Program wraps up its first cycle—people earning PRs at the Brooklyn Half and various 5Ks, etc. etc. In case you’ve been wanting to hear more, the wait is over and all the info is now live on the blog. We’ve included the overview of the second iteration of CFSBK’s Endurance Program below, along with info about a new program we’re introducing called Speed Series. For the full monty of deets plus Michael O.’s bio, head over to the event page. Both programs begin JUNE 1, so sign up ASAP! 

Objective:  
This will be a 12-week program that meets biweekly that is based on integrating a level of endurance running training for CrossFit athletes. We will incorporate a mixture of different styles of coaching running, including technique, power skills, pace training, and interval training. This is not your basic group run. We incorporate blended drills from CrossFit Endurance along with some actual specific track and field training sessions. Each athlete will have a chance to work hard and learn, so all levels are encouraged to attend.

Where and When?:  
Tuesdays at 6am and Thursdays at 7pm will be located in Prospect Park. 

Sundays at 9am will be at the Red Hook track. 

Athletes can select any two of the three classes offered for this membership.

Target Event:  
The program will target the Timberman Sprint or 70.3 Triathlon on August 16th and 17^th or the Battle of Brooklyn 10-mile Run or Team Relay on August 18^th.

Schedule and Pricing:
$225 full-access to the 12-week program (including twice weekly coached group sessions, benchmarking, training data, and full plan support and guidance). 

Due to the progressive nature of the program, athletes will not be permitted to join after June 15th, 2014. 

Endurance Running Program-Full Membership ($225.00)
2 classes per week
Register Here!

CFSBK Speed Series! 

Objective:
This will be an 8-week program that meets weekly, focused on the basic skills and power needed to develop your running stride. We will focus solely on short distance track running, high-powered intervals, and the primary anaerobic and glycolytic energy systems. This will be a great program for increasing general power output and cardiovascular efficiency for running and CrossFit goals.

Where and When Will We Train?:  
Sundays at 10am at the Red Hook track.

Target Event:
This program will target NYRR Tuesday Night Speed Series at Icahn Stadium. 

Schedule and Pricing:
$125 full-access to the 8-week program (including weekly coached group sessions, benchmarking, training data, and full plan support and guidance).

Due to the progressive nature of the program, athletes will not be permitted to join after June 15th, 2014. 

Speed Series Running Program-Membership ($125.00)
1 class per week 
Register Here! 

Please email Michael at michael.olzinski [at] gmail.com with any additional questions.

News and Notes 

• ICYMI, Breaking Muscle published an article by Coach David yesterday called “How to Prevent CrossFit Injuries: A Guide for Coaches and Athletes.” Check it out and should you feel so inclined, share it with your CrossFit friends!
• Stella Z.’s choir, the Oratorio Society of New York, is performing Bach’s St. Matthew Passion tonight (5/20), 8 PM, at Carnegie Hall. You can get tickets here or show up in person at the Carnegie box office (57th Street and 7th Avenue).

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Start of Days: Cortisol and Stress Catalyst Athletics
Remembering, as an Extreme Sport New York Times
Slightly More Than 100 Fantastic Pieces of Journalism The Atlantic
Red Wine Health Benefits ‘Overhyped’ BBC

Fitness: 3 x 5 Linear Progression 
Add 2.5 to 5 lbs to last week. 

Performance: 85% x 4  x 4, then 87.5% x 4 x 4
Rest two minutes between sets. 

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AMRAP 8 minutes:
20 Wall Ball 20/10, 14/9
10 Deadlift 225/155

A rare appearance on the other side of the lens by CFSBK photog Asta F.

Register for Strength Cycle and Get Hella Strong

We all want to get stronger. That’s because we implicitly understand that building strength is the foundation for increasing overall physical capacity. It has been proven again and again that lifting heavy primes our bodies to be more effective and efficient at metabolic conditioning workouts. Strength is the only mode of training that supports everything else we do in the gym and in life. Plus: it’s pretty badass.

We are offering four 8-week strength programs that will involve the following:
* Small group training designed to increase your competency with the lifts.
* Consistent and repeated exposure to the powerlifts along a linear progression of weight
* Short and intense complementary conditioning workouts.
* Group discussions on lifting topics including: planning warm-ups, the mental aspect of lifting, and elements of the adaptive response to strength training.
* New PRs.

Upcoming cycle times and dates:
A cycle: Mon/Wed at 7PM and Fri at 6PM | Wed May 28th – Fri July 18th
B cycle: Tues/Thurs at 7PM and Sun at 10AM | Tues May 27th – Sun July 20th
C cycle: Mon/Wed at 6:30M | Wed May 28th – Wed 16th July
Cont Ed/D Cycle: Mon/Wed at 6PM | Wed May 28th – Wed 16th July

Each cycle will culminate in a CrossFit Total on Sunday, July 20th.

Class Sizes
Space is limited to 4-8 participants

Class Length
90 minutes

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

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

If anyone is confused as to which cycle they belong in or has any questions, they can contact Jeremy directly at Jeremy [at] crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com to discuss placement. ICYMI, we also interviewing Coach Jeremy a few weeks ago about his background and Strength Cycle. Check it out!

News and Notes 

• “MURPH” IS ONLY A WEEK AWAY! Have you signed up yet? Get more details here!
• Our Flickr account recently has been populated by photos of Zach H., who appeared to be CrossFitting his face off in Colombia. We checked in with him to see what was up and he reported that he was in Colombia for 10 days visiting a friend. He visited five boxes total, mostly in Bogota. If you want to hear more, ask him about salsa dancing, traffic, and how hard it was to be a pescatarian.  
• There’s a new post over on Inside the Affiliate called “Bridging The Gap: Using Feedback to Get Better as a CrossFit Affiliate,” about our feedback forms and some of the thinking behind this blog (!). Check it out!

If you could be on any reality TV show, which one would you pick? Feel free to invent one.

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What We Can Learn from Galaxies Far, Far Away TED
Always Hungry? Here’s Why New York Times
Ira Glass on Storytelling and Taste PRI

Ruth P. and Carissa C. celebrate their two-year anniversary of being CFSBKers earlier this month!

Sunday Reading Material 

Movie Night at CFSBK TONIGHT

CFSBK’s Movie Night returns TONIGHT at 8:15pm after Open Gym. It’s all the same details as usual—bring your own alcohol, fold-up chairs, snacks, and whatever else suits your fancy—but we’ve added a twist this time by inviting all Brooklyn boxes to join us. We’re screening Evil Dead, so come ready to be horrified. 

• Happy birthday, Mayo A. and Jason K.!
• CFSBK’s softball team, Las Calaveras, has their third game tonight at 6:15pm at the Red Hook ball fields. They remain 1-1 after getting rained out last week. Godspeed/good luck/break a leg (but please don’t)!

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The Art of Weightlifting Kickstarter
A Death at Tough Mudder Outside
Want to Know if Your Food is Genetically Modified? The Atlantic

“Performance”
5 Rounds:
1 Minute Row (for calories)
1 Minute Muscle Ups
1 Minute Box Jump Up and Overs 20″
1 Minute Burpees
1 Minute Rest 

“Fitness”
5 Rounds:
1 Minute Row (for calories)
1 Minute Kettlebell Swing
1 Minute Box Jump Up and Overs
1 Minute Burpees
1 Minute Rest

Our mighty Strength Cyclers after their mighty PRs on Sunday

What You Need to Know at CFSBK for Thursday 

• Yoga for Athletes is tonight at 7:30pm, but yoga is CANCELED on Saturday (5/17) at 10am since Coach Whitney will be away.
• The Brooklyn Half is this Saturday (5/17) and we’re having a day-drinking post-race shindig. Join us from 12:30pm onward at Greenwood Park in South Slope. Get more info here!
• Don’t forget to join us on Friday night at 8:15pm after Open Gym for some horror time. It’s the return of CFSBK’s Movie Night and we’re screening Evil Dead.
• Did you hear about CFSBK’s new Olympic Lifting Program? Learn more here!
• If you’re biking to CFSBK, kudos to you, but know that our street is targeted for bike theft. Please always be aware of this and lock your bike up well!
• Happy birthday, Sabrina M. and Rickke M.! 

Hail to the Queen IV

CrossFit Queens is hosting the 4th annual Hail to the Queen all-female CrossFit competition on July 12th!  Coach Jess Fox already signed up and wants you to as well! There is a scaled and an Rx-ed division and the event historically is a very beginner friendly competition. Jess will help to coach all ladies through the event and there will be a group training session once the WODs are announced. RSVP on Facebook and purchase entry tickets on Eventbrite. The tickets are going fast so jump on it, ladies! 

CFSBK in The Huffington Post 

Our very own Denise H. wrote a wonderful article about her experience working out as a mom as CFSBK. It’s called “Why This Mama Loves CrossFit.” Check it out!

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Feel it First: Technique Corrections Catalyst Athletics
Robot Hand and Arm Gets Official Approval BBC
Hope for an S-Shaped Back New York Times

Fitness: Snatch Halting Deadlift + Snatch
If you have a hard time organizing the pull off the floor, perform snatch from the mid-hang.

Performance: 1-1-1, then (1+1) x 2 at 75% from high hang and knee
After working up to a heavy single in 3 attempts, perform 2 reps of the Two Position Snatch (high hang and knee).

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Back Squat

Fitness: 3 x 5 Linear Progression
Add 5 pounds to last week.

Performance: 80% x 4  x 4, then 82.5% x 4 x 4
Rest about two minutes between sets. Use the lifting time wisely and get to work weight within 2-4 warm ups so you can get all your work sets in. 

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Introducing: CFSBK Olympic Lifting Program 

What: An 8-week Olympic lifting cycle meeting twice a week with Coach Frank Murray and/or Heather Farmer in addition to 1 Open Gym or group class per week.
When: 2 options beginning the Week of 5/26/14 (see full details below)
Price: $300 per 4 weeks, first bill due at sign-up and second bill charged automatically to the card on-file 4 weeks later. 

Each cycle needs a minimum of eight participants and is capped at 10 athletes.

Please note that this program includes either one group or open gym class with the cost of membership.

Coached by Frank Murray, “participants can expect to build a strong foundation focused around proper technique, mobility, and attention to individual weak points. Building this foundation will not only help lead to higher lifts, but also set the base for continued and consistent progress. Moreover, by developing proper technique, mobility, and focusing on weak points, participants will become more confident, less prone to injury, and more consistent lifters. All of this giving you the tools for a longer, healthier, stronger career with the Olympic lifts.” —Next Level Weightlifting

A typical day* would consist of: 

Warm-up
Weak lift
Opposing lift
Mobility

*Each athlete may have different exercises depending on their individual needs. 

AM Cycle
5/29/14 – 7/17/14
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30am to 12:00pm
Register Here! 

PM Cycle
5/28/14 – 7/21/14
Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30pm to 10:00pm
Register Here! 

Frank has competed in weightlifting for over seven years. During that time, he has medaled at five separate National Championships, most recently a Silver at last year’s Nationals. His all-time best lifts in competition include a 151kg (333lb) Snatch and a 182kg (400lb) Clean and Jerk at a body weight under 200lbs. He has worked with many athletes, from multiple CrossFits, including: CF Garden City, CF Queens, CF Great Neck, CF 516, CF King of Island Park, RADD CF, CF Greenpoint, CF Manhasset, CF L.I.C, among others. 

Coached by Arthur Drechsler, former world record holder, chairman of the board of USAWeightlifting, and author of The Weightlifting Encyclopedia, Frank has learned from the many years of experience that Artie has had over his coaching career.

Credentials/Experience 

USAW Level II Advanced Sports Performance Coach
Level 1 Local Referee
B.A. Physical Education
2013 American Open Silver Medal: Clean & Jerk
2013 Nationals Weightlifting Silver Medalist: Snatch Clean & Jerk and Total
2011 Nationals Weightlifting Bronze Medalist: Clean & Jerk and Total
2010 Nationals Silver Medalist in Clean & Jerk
2010 Empire State Games Champion in Olympic-Style Weightlifting
2009 Nationals Bronze Medalist: Snatch, Clean & Jerk, and Total
2009 American Open Bronze Medalist: Clean & Jerk and Total

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Happy Hump Day Reminders:

• CFSBK Movie Night returns THIS Friday, May 16th at 8:15pm after Open Gym. We’re screening Evil Dead and all Brooklyn CrossFit gyms are invited. RSVP over here! 
• Meat and Fish CSA pickup is TONIGHT from 6-8:30pm! Questions or issues? Email mignyc [at] gmail.com. And if you haven’t signed up for the veg CSA yet… what’re you waiting for?!
• Have you signed up for your Memorial Day “Murph” heat yet? Get it done over here! Check out the event page to learn more about the day and how you can help.

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A Better Spinal Cue 70’s Big
Eating Fat Doesn’t Make Us Fat WNYC

The Master: An Interview with Bob Semmens and Coach McDowell

By Kate Reece

Most of us who walk through CFSBK’s doors probably don’t harbor dreams about going to the CrossFit Games—but not Bob Semmens. Bob comes to CFSBK by way of a progressively eastern-bound journey. He grew up in Arizona (living for a time on the Navajo reservation), spent time during college at the U of A working at the Grand Canyon, and after finishing graduate school at Northwestern’s Law School and Kellogg Graduate School of Management, he and his wife moved to New York in 1983. He’s been around CFSBK since its 2007 beginnings in a park—which happens to be the same year he won a Gold Medal in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation’s Pan American Senior Jiu Jitsu Championship. 

Bob’s affable smile and bone-deep kindness might blind you to the reality that he is a formidable and intense competitor. He contends in a handful of regional events each year, winning many of them, and he almost made it to the 2014 CrossFit Games. CFSBK sat down with this impressive man to hear a bit more about his story and training. Bob has been working with Coach McDowell for over a year in the interest of upping his CrossFit game, so we also asked him to weigh in.

CFSBK: Bob, tell us how you first got into CrossFit and when you found CFSBK.

Bob: In the spring of 2006, a BJJ friend told me that I should look at a new exercise regime, Crossfit.com, as a way to improve my conditioning for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo competitions. I did, and as luck would have it, I came across Fight Gone Bad, the infamous WOD programmed by Greg Glassman for BJ Penn, a BJJ and MMA competitor. I figured if CrossFit helped BJ Penn perhaps it would help me. So I started following the web and doing two to three of those WODs each week to supplement my other training. In the fall of 2009, for medical reasons, I had to retire from martial arts, so I moved to doing CrossFit about five times a week. 

I actually started following David Osorio back when he was coaching CrossFit in the playground.  I remember admiring his determination but also thinking that coaching CrossFit outside in the winter in Brooklyn under the F train was crazy. I was doing some private training at CF NYC, which at that time was the only CrossFit affiliate in NYC.  Hard to believe, isn’t it! When David moved to the Lyceum I started to attend classes. My first formal WOD with David was “Fran.” However David did not have enough pull-up racks that particular day so he made me do pull-ups on the rings. I thought that was a tough way to introduce a CFSBK newbie to “Fran.” I loved the challenge though so here I still am today at CFSBK. I also attended and completed the first Level 1 Certification held in Brooklyn at the Lyceum. By the way—I would not recommend trying to learn CrossFit just from the web. I think I developed some bad habits that I am still trying to break.

CFSBK: When did going to the Games become a goal that you decided to pursue?

Bob: When CrossFit added Masters divisions to the Games I thought I would go for it.  It helps my daily training if I have a goal. This year CrossFit Headquarters added a Regionals to the Masters competition. Prior to this year, the top 20 from the Open in each Masters’ division went directly to the Games. From each Masters’ division, the top 200 in the world now compete in a virtual regional: four WODs in four days at a box with an official judge and with each WOD filmed for review by Headquarters and the community. From this, the top 20 go on to the Games. I finished 38th out of 1100 plus men in my Masters division in the Open and 35th out of the 200 in the Regionals. I was pleased with the result but did not reach my goal.

CFSBK: What kind of training did you and McDowell do together? Why was it valuable to work more one-on-one with a coach?

Bob: McDowell has been wonderful to work with. I think my biggest CrossFit issues relate to range of motion and technical skills. McDowell has been tremendously helpful to me on both issues. One-on-one training allows us to focus on my problems. During my 30 years of work life I basically sat at a desk. So my ankles, hips, shoulders and t-spine all need lots of work to enable me to efficiently do the more complex and challenging movements. So we work on range of motion constantly. For me these flexibility issues also tie to technical skills. For example, I have had issues with thrusters. I could front squat and I could push press but I could not combine them efficiently in a thruster because of range of motion difficulties. So when I did thrusters, I held the bar with a push press grip during the front squat, which in turn slowed me down, decreased my squat depth and fried my forearms making something like Fran even more difficult. McDowell and I worked hard on this. In the open this year, I managed to handle thrusters much better than I ever have.

CFSBK: McDowell, tell us about how you approached Bob’s training.

McDowell: I had coached Bob previously in group classes and he was looking for some personal training to get better at certain things. He’s a competitor, so I was both excited and nervous to get the opportunity to work with him one-on-one. With competitors, it can sometimes be hard to get them to take one step back to take many steps forward, but Bob was on-board right away. He came in with a list of specific things he wanted to improve on. So we took that list and added a few things, took some out, then broke everything down into different categories, putting the most emphasis on the higher-skill movements. We looked at what was holding him back in certain movements, and we attacked those aggressively. Take thrusters, for instance. The thruster is a pretty simple movement—a front squat into a push press—but it can be extremely frustrating if you don’t have a good front rack position or if you can’t hit depth in a squat because of hip or ankle limitations. So, in fixing that, we were able to clean up not only his efficiency on lower-skill movements like a thruster and a wall ball shots, but, more importantly, we were also able to improve a higher-skill movement, the clean and jerk, simply by being in better positions. This applies across the board for most everything we have done so far.

Also, we always spend a lot of time working on mobility, targeting certain areas—ankle, hip, shoulders, thoracic spine. Each session, we start with mobility before getting into skills or movements. Bob was really disciplined about doing mobility exercises both at the gym and at home. For example, he stretched his thoracic spine a couple times a day, and he would do some sort of hip and ankle mobility one to two times a day. Since he was working so hard, we started seeing improvements very quickly.

CFSBK: What did you both think about the Open WODs this year?  

Bob: I thought they were very challenging. I thought they were better programmed than the past. One needed a complete and full toolbox to get through the programming in an efficient way. 

McDowell: I was only able to perform two of them before I had surgery, but they seemed well-programmed and very balanced across all five weeks. When it came to my work with Bob, we deconstructed all aspects of each workout, from warm-ups to each movement within the workout to each rep scheme to his work-to-rest ratios, in the interest of achieving optimal performance. The Open allows the better-rounded athletes to rise to the top, and that’s where Bob excels.

CFSBK: McDowell, tell us about your experience training Bob.

McDowell: My overall experience of working with Bob has been wonderful, and it has only reinforced my perception of him as a badass. He came in with certain ideas about what and where he wanted to improve and worked hard to make those improvements. It is always a rewarding experience to train someone who is as willing as Bob is to work hard to achieve their goals. Even though he didn’t make it to the CrossFit Games this year, the work we did was and is still valuable. Bob competed at a few local and regional competitions and was able to win one or two, so his training is paying off—and he beats guys who are younger than him. It’s fun to work with an athlete like Bob—you tell him what to do and he does it. I’m looking forward to the year to come as both a coach and a fan. 

CFSBK: Bob, what’s on your training schedule next?  

Bob: I am competing in a Masters’ event on June 28 called the Nor’easter Masters 2014. I missed it last year but it has a good reputation as a fun and challenging event. Jacinto Bonilla is also going to compete. In the fall, I will probably compete in three to four other events. McDowell and I will continue to work on range of motion, technical skills, and improving on my weaknesses.  

CFSBK: Tell me a bit about your life outside of CrossFit. Where and when you born, how do you spend your days outside the gym? 

Bob: I was born in Michigan in 1957 but raised in Arizona. Growing up in Arizona was wonderful. As a child I lived for a time at a trading post on the Navajo reservation near Four Corners, very close to Monument Valley. During college I worked and camped on the north rim of the Grand Canyon planting trees for the U.S. Forest Service. My wife and I moved to New York City in 1983 from Chicago where I was in grad school. We have lived in the same house in Park Slope since 1986 and have three children, and the youngest still lives at home. Outside of the gym, I play tennis, enjoy CFSBK softball, coach girls’ softball, teach finance at NYU Stern, and am active in our church. I also travel frequently for my business. I am very fortunate that for one of my business trips I travel to Paris three to five times each year. C’est formidable! 

• Happy birthday, Katie M.! 

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Breathing and Breath Control for Olympic Weightlifting Catalyst Athletics
Self-healing Plastic Mimics Blood Clotting BBC