Coach Whitney’s furry companion, Penny Lane

• Check out the current lost and found inventory on our Flickr page
• New merch is in!! CFSBK is now carrying hats, board shorts and ladies training shorts all availble at the Front Desk. Get stoked!

Feedback Form Feedback

I’m (David) about to head off on a nine day trip to Europe with some friends to get tattooed in Berlin, see some doom metal in Tilburg, and appreciate some art in Amsterdam. I feel like it can’t be coming at a better time for me and am very excited to get out of the city and break my weekly routine for a bit. Trips like this are great for regaining some perspective on how and why we do things at the gym and taking time to consider the alternatives. Recently, I put out a feedback form soliciting member perspectives on how they’re experiencing the gym and I was so pleased to read through over 120 candid responses, some from people who chose to remain anonymous and others who volunteered their identities. It’s no secret that the gym has grown considerably over the last 18 months or so and with that have come some growing pains. As someone truly passionate about trying to provide a safe and inclusive atmosphere for people to train, I’m excited about our growth and all the peoples’ lives we’ve been able to affect in the process. As a business owner I’m also aware that growth can be tricky enterprise to manage and the quality, not quantity of what we do will always be the most important feature of a successful business.

Happily, the overwhelming majority of feedback was generally positive, but as one would expect there are always going to be significant ways to improve the atmosphere, logistics, and coaching quality as well as considering the diversifying training needs of our members. So what are we doing with all this feedback? Well, first off, every coach is going to read every single entry, which we will then use as a team to inform our discussions on how we can better serve you. We’ve already been talking in staff meetings about new ways of maximising training time within a class and considering the needs of veteran versus novice athletes. One example being how we’re going to modify barbell warm-ups and fitness versus performance programming as well as time management in the upcoming cycle. Gross changes will be gradual and no doubt with varying levels of success, but it’s our honest commitment to try and do the best possible job we can, attempting to maintain what has brought us so much success in the first place while staying humble and realizing there will always be areas that need work. The search for additional space also continues–not exactly an easy enterprise given New York City real estate and the very significant requirements of a gym interested in serious barbell and fitness training. That being said, we are always open to suggestions should you be aware of additional industrial space in Gowanus. The more options we have coming in on top of our own search the better. (Please send possible ideas to David AT CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com.)

Again, thank you to everyone who took a moment to fill out the form. We hear you and want you to know that your opinions are important and are being factored into the decisions we make as we continue to evolve this experiement that started almost seven years ago outside in a park under the subway.

Bike Maintenence Class Tomorrow at CFSBK

Springtime weather is around the corner and CFSBK wants to help you prepare for bike riding season! Bicycle Habitat will be bringing their basic bike maintenance class from their 5th Avenue shop to 597 DeGraw specially for CFSBK, 2:30p-4p on Saturday, April 5. Course will include:

You’ll be able to roll in your own bike to use as an example during the class!  The class will be more instructional in nature, but bring any bike tools you already have in case there is time for tinkering!  $10 per person, class is capped at 25.  Sign up and pay in advance at the Front Desk or just show up and pay day of!

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CrossFit and Autism: Walking out With a Smile Coach Brian C has been to CFSBK several times and is a friend of the program. Check out his awesome program at CrossFit Long Island
Got Kipping Pull-Ups? Scale up with the Salmon Ladder
Big Sugar’s Sweet Little Lies Mother Jones

Fitness

For time:
400m Run
15-9-6 reps of:
Power Snatches
Lateral Over the Bar Burpee
then finish with another 400m Run

Performance

“Amanda”
9-7-5 Reps for time of:
Squat Snatch 135/95
Muscle-Ups

Post time and Rx to comments.

Val’s Post 14.5 “recovery” position

Spring Cleaning with CFSBK

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How Kendra Bailey does CrossFit with one arm
Do you want a speciality wine shop in Park Slope? Sign this petition
Mom’s Story

5 Rounds of:
Bench Press, Heavy 5
Row 500m

Rest as needed between rounds. If you don’t hit all 5 reps on any set of bench presses your score is zero for that round.

Post all 5 bench press work sets and 500m row times.

Bekka P putting her fitness to good use by going surfing in Costa Rica

Bike Maintenence Class this Saturday at CFSBK

Springtime weather is around the corner and CFSBK wants to help you prepare for bike riding season! Bicycle Habitat will be bringing their basic bike maintenance class from their 5th Avenue shop to 597 DeGraw specially for CFSBK, 2:30p-4p on Saturday, April 5. Course will include:

You’ll be able to roll in your own bike to use as an example during the class!  The class will be more instructional in nature, but bring any bike tools you already have in case there is time for tinkering!  $10 per person, class is capped at 25.  Sign up and pay in advance at the Front Desk by April 3.

Athlete wanted for VICE

Do you like working out and blasting loud, aggressive tunes? If so, want to help a local music writer from VICE with a story about whether Oi!—a brutish, working-class offshoot of punk rock popularized in Britain in the late ’70s—makes you lift more, run faster, jump higher, etc., etc. All you need to do is listen to an Oi! soundtrack on a few workouts and report back on how the music made you feel. If you wouldn’t mind submitting a photo and answering a few follow-up questions, that’d be great. If you’re game for helping out, email Ken.partridge(AT)gmail.com.

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Join WNYC‘s experiment to track how the City That Never Sleeps actually gets its sleep. Use this app to record your sleep and waking times. Your data will automatically sync with the project site, where you can see visualizations of your sleep patterns and how they compare to others.

Science and Art meet at Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs
Meet “Slowmo” NYT

The Gym Needs Rest Too!

2014 Open Summary

Congratulations to everyone who competed in the 2014 CrossFit Open. This year 209,585 people registered for the Open, including 127 CFSBKers. This year saw a variety of twists to the programming of Open workouts and ended with quite a bang. Share in the comments what you thought about the programming this year, any overall notes on your experience and what you got out of it.

14.1
As many rounds in 10 minutes as possible of:
30 Double Unders
15 Power Snatches, 75/55

14.2
For as long as possible:

From 0:00-3:00
  2 rounds of: 
  10 overhead squats, 95 / 65 lb.
  10 chest-to-bar pull-ups

From 3:00-6:00
  2 rounds of:
  12 overhead squats, 95 / 65 lb.
  12 chest-to-bar pull-ups

From 6:00-9:00
  2 rounds of:
  14 overhead squats, 95 / 65 lb.   14 chest-to-bar pull-ups

Following the same pattern until the athlete cannot complete the perscribed work in the allotted time frame.

14.3
8 minute AMRAP:
10 deadlifts, 135 / 95 lb. 
15 box jumps, 24 / 20 inch
15 deadlifts, 185 / 135 lb.
15 box jumps, 24 / 20 inch
20 deadlifts, 225 / 155 lb.
15 box jumps, 24 / 20 inch
25 deadlifts, 275 / 185 lb.
15 box jumps, 24 / 20 inch
30 deadlifts, 315 / 205 lb.
15 box jumps, 24 / 20 inch
35 deadlifts, 365 / 225 lb. 
15 box jumps, 24 / 20 inch

14.4
14 minute AMRAP:
60-calorie row 
50 toes-to-bars
40 wall-ball shots, 20 / 14 lb.
30 cleans, 135 / 95 lb.
20 muscle-ups

14.5
For time
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps of:
Thrusters, 95 / 65 lb.
Burpees

FINAL CFSBK Men’s Leaderboard
FINAL CFSBK Women’s Leaderboard

Special congrats to Bob S who ranked 5th place in the North East and 34th worldwide in the master 55-59 year old division. Also to Jacinto B who ranked 2nd place in the North East and 19th worldwide in the masters 60+ year old division. Note that at 74 years old Jacinto is giving up 14 years to many of his fellow competitors.
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Josh Bridges does 14.5 in 7:49
The Upstanding Desk is a Kickstarter campaign which ends this afternoon. The project converts normal desks into standing work stations at a very low cost.

AMRAP 10 minutes:
5 Push Press 115/75
10 Deadlift 115/75
15 Box jumps 24/20

Post rounds completed and Rx to comments.

Thruster Cascade

• There’s a new post on Inside the Affiliate about ancillary equipment we think is essential. Check it out
• Don’t forget, you can bring your olympic lifting shoes back! Shoe storage rules can be found on Saturday’s Post
• Have you filled out our Feedback Form? Please let us know what you think!

Why Join a CSA?

Are you curious to know why CFSBK supports the Community Supported Agriculture model? Our very own Margie Lempert, founder of the CSA program here and currently finishing a masters’ degree in agroecology at the University of Wisconsin, will approach that question from several angles in a short series of articles. The first outlined the differences between industrial agriculture and agroecology. In Part 2, below she delves deeper into the ethical issues of animal welfare, and makes an argument for the ways in which an agroecological style of animal husbandry supports both a more “humane” and simultaneously more “animal” approach to livestock production.

Animal welfare is an enormous topic in livestock agriculture; here are just two aspects to consider.

Cows, Grass, Grains and Gas

A cow was meant to eat grass, not corn, soy or gummy bears. Blah blah blah… heard that a million times… got it. Perhaps not a message worth repeating, but rather explaining.

Cows’ tummies are sensitive. Their digestion is complicated, and success is highly dependent on the microorganisms that colonize the rumen, a cow’s largest of four stomach chambers. In fact, those little microbes are doing the heavy lifting of breaking down feedstock into available nutrients. What a cow eats impacts the conditions of its rumen, which determine the success of one microbial population or another.

The most troubling and ubiquitous problem a cow can develop is rumen acidosis, which occurs when the pH level of cow’s stomach drops to become more acidic. There are a number of factors that contribute to acidosis, but diet makeup is one of the biggest. Fast digesting carbohydrates induce fast acting microbial fermentation, which lowers rumen pH. Here’s what acidosis can cause: lethargy, excessive panting, bloat, diarrhea, poor milk production, hoof problems, anorexia, liver abscesses, and death.

Fast digesting carbohydrates means grains. Grasses are cellulosic and starchy; grains are sugary and easy to break down.

The benefit of feeding a cow a grain heavy diet is that it fattens quickly, which we want in an efficient, high output system. On a feedlot, we can get a cow to about 630 kg in 10 months; on a grass-based farm it takes 22-24 months to get a cow to about 540 kg. The former is obviously superior for satisfying demand. But there’s that troubling side effect of making the cow sick in the process. Antibiotics are a handy prophylactic tool, and as a bonus, confer growth benefits.

There’s also the change in microbial populations to consider. E. coli is probably the one we’re most familiar with. All cows have E. coli in their rumen (people too), but an acidic environment is favorable for E. coli to proliferate and survive. On a feedlot, there are a lot of animals confined to a small space, so they inevitably muck around in each other’s crap. Without the use of antibiotics, we risk E. coli ridden poop getting mixed into our ground beef. In the commodity system, it’s necessary to protect animals and people.

In pastured systems, cows are eating food that agrees with them, so they suffer from acidosis far less often, and less severely. Animals certainly get sick, but vets aren’t on staff like they are on a feedlot. Use of antibiotics is restricted to an illness that warrants treatment, such as pink eye. (As a side note – the organic beef program does not allow use of any antibiotics, but that can pose problems as well.)

Animals Expressing Their Animalness

Aside from the difference in disease prevalence on a feedlot vs. a pasture-based farm, there’s this idea that part of what makes a system humane is the ability for the animal to express its natural “animalness.” This is a strange, but intuitive concept that I best understood when I visited a large-scale confinement dairy operation followed by several grass-based dairies in Wisconsin. (I don’t know if you realize this, but Wisconsin is big into dairy.)

At Rosy Lane, the 800 or so cows live in absolutely pristine barns the size of football fields. They are well ventilated, mostly free from flies and each animal has its own stall bedded down in sand, which helps to minimize mastitis. Cows come into the milking parlor twice a day where employees neatly attach rubber suctions to their teats to extract milk. Animals are monitored carefully with fancy instruments for any signs of infection.

Upon closer inspection, a few odd things emerge: first of all, these Holsteins are humongous. Absolute milk beasts. Identical to the point that they are bred to have evenly spaced teats so that the rubber suctions can be applied and removed quickly – getting them in and out of the parlor fast is a point of pride for the owners. Cows live in their stalls and don’t really go out except to be escorted to the milking parlor. They are fed grains and a cocktail of drugs to suppress associated problems.

This is an example of an exceptional confinement operation. Animals are by and large healthy in this system, but the system itself is based on the idea that these cows are solely a means to an end: high volume milk production. The farmer’s path to profit is to make more, which leaves no opportunity for the cows to be cows, only to be milk suppliers.

We have to walk a ways out into the pasture to visit with Bert Paris’ cows. The herd of about 80 are shading themselves under some trees; it’s a warm day, and it has been a droughty year so they are running a little leaner than ideal, but still healthy. Fortunately, Bert had made enough hay from his land to supplement the less productive grass. His cows are all different sizes and colors. As he explains it, the variety comes from cross breeding cows based on characteristics like temperament, ability to learn the daily routine and the right body type for the climate. These qualities are more important to him than “high producers” because he sees his cows as long-term employees who have to get along with each other and him, be reliable and adapt to seasonal climate shifts. Bert is part of a grass-based cooperative where members pool their milk to make high-end cheese. He doesn’t produce nearly the same volume of milk as Rosy Lane, but he can extract a bit more value from it by turning it into cheese and yogurt, and selling excess milk to Organic Valley. Bert sees cows as participants rather than vehicles for milk.

The two farms both want to maintain healthy animals, but with different perspectives on how and why. If livestock welfare is important you, how do you define a healthy approach? Do you think as long as an animal is free from disease, it achieves good health?

 Coming up next…. Environmental impacts

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Don’t forget to submit your 14.5 score by tonight at 8:00pm!

AMRAP 30 Minutes:
10 Toes to Bar or 15 AbMat Sit Ups
20 Russian Kettlebell Swings 72/53
40 Double Unders

Partners alternate complete rounds until the 30 minute cap.

Post total rounds completed, partner and Rx to comments.

Karl gets his 14.4 on with Fraiser as his judge

Meat CSA: Free gift for new members and NEW refer-a-friend bonus! 

We are having a special sign-up bonus for new members who join the Herondale meat and poultry CSA in the months of April or May.

New 15-lb share members will receive three of our most-loved items: a juicy NY strip steak, a pack of pork chops, and a pack of our legendary bacon. That’s in addition to the regular share – a $50 bonus! 

New 10-lb share members will receive a NY strip and a pack of bacon in addition to the regular share – a $35 bonus!

Refer-a-friend: Any existing CSA member who refers someone to the program will receive 2 packs of the brand-new Jacuterie bacon – choose any 2 from Jack’s great new flavors (maple, honey garlic, or Italian.) All are mouth-wateringly good, so refer your friends today! Write to csa@herondalefarm.com to make it happen. Remember, you don’t need to be a member of CFSBK to belong to the CSA.

Sign up here.

Questions? Email mignyc at gmail dot com.

Bring Your Bike Out of Winter Hibernation!

Springtime weather is around the corner and CFSBK wants to help you prepare for bike riding season! Bicycle Habitat will be bringing their basic bike maintenance class from their 5th Avenue shop to 597 DeGraw specially for CFSBK, 2:30p-4p on Saturday, April 5. Course will include:

You’ll be able to roll in your own bike to use as an example during the class!  The class will be more instructional in nature, but bring any bike tools you already have in case there is time for tinkering!  $10 per person, class is capped at 25.  Sign up and pay in advance at the Front Desk by April 3. 
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Risk Vsauce
The beginning of everything

For time
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps of:
Thrusters, 95 / 65 lb.
Burpees

For the full workout description, click here.

To keep classes running on time, we’re going to cap this workout at 25 minutes. Athletes can assign themselves a one minute penalty for every rep they don’t finish under the cap.

Alternate WOD

For time
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps of:
Wall Ball Shots
Burpees

Eduardo C getting down with Wall Ball

Bring Your Shoes Back

We got our new shoe racks in from BLKWD inc. We think with the new space we’ll be able to fit most if not all the shoes we had originally. Here are some shoe storage rules:

• Please write your name on the heel of your shoe somewhere. The front Desk has gel pens that work great for this.
• To maximise cubby storage, please store your shoes on top of each other with one heel and one toe facing out.
• Shoes can be stored below the bottom steel framed rack on the floor. Do NOT put shoes ON the steel racks, those are for bags.
• The Front Desk has shoe spray, we will make occasional sweeps to all the shoes but please take the time to spray your own shoes about once a week.

Please fill out our Feedback Form!

CFSBK wants to hear from you! Please take a couple minutes to fill out this feedback form regarding your experience, opinions and requests for what we offer and do at CFSBK.

CFSBK Feedback Form

Shauna S wants you to know about the Pat’s Run

As many of you know, Pat Tillman played in the NFL for four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.  After 9/11, Pat declined a huge contract to enlist and serve as a Ranger with the U.S. Army.  Pat lost his life while serving in Afghanistan.

All New York-area residents have the opportunity to honor the legacy of Pat Tillman and support veterans, their families, and the Tillman Military Scholars program by participating in Pat’s Run NY Shadow Run on Saturday, April 26, 2014 at 12:00 pm.  Through a partnership with EY Veterans Group and the ASU Alumni Association, the New York Shadow Run will begin at Pier 84 near the Intrepid Museum and will continue south down the West Side Highway and finish at the World Trade Center.  To date, 290 Tillman Military Scholars representing 37 states and attending 74 academic institutions nationwide, including many here in New York, have been awarded more than $3.8 million.

Please register

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Can you spot the liar? NYT
SLOW LIFE
Chemists endorse marinating meat in beer

Michael A confuses his arms and legs again

• Beautify Rockaway Beach aims to beautify over a dozen of the buildings along Rockaway Beach Blvd which were devastated by Sandy. Beautify Earth is currently raising money to finance the painting of murals, provide street cleanups, and proposing a community garden / sculpture park in the neighborhood that will uplift the residents, stimulate the businesses, and create smiles on peoples’ faces. For more information and to donate, click here.

Please fill out our Feedback Form!

CFSBK wants to hear from you! Please take a couple minutes to fill out this feedback form regarding your experience, opinions and requests for what we offer and do at CFSBK.

CFSBK Feedback Form

14.5 Logistics

The final workout for the 2014 CrossFit Open has been released as:

For time
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps of:
Thrusters, 95 / 65 lb. Burpees

For the full workout description, click here.

To keep classes running on time, we’re going to cap this workout at 25 minutes. Athletes can assign themselves a one minute penalty for every rep they don’t finish under the cap. There will be an alternate workout programmed for folks not competing in the open with the same rep scheme but substituting Wall Balls for thrusters.

What will your strategy for 14.5 be?
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Super Strong 64 Year Old Great Grandpa
Super Strong 73 Year Old
Jacinto Bonilla 73 year old CrossFitter (and CFSBKer!)
I Think Divergent Is Secretly About CrossFit

1-1-1-1-1

Post loads to comments.
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3 Rounds NFT of:
400m Row
400m Run
25 Unbroken Hollow Rocks

Nick on Box Jumps

Please fill out our Feedback Form!

CFSBK wants to hear from you! Please take a couple minutes to fill out this feedback form regarding your experience, opinions and requests for what we offer and do at CFSBK.

CFSBK Feedback Form

General Informed Freestyling

A common theme from Mobility WOD is the idea of “informed freestyling”.  Basically, when you’re mobilizing, instead of remaining static and settling into a singular position, you’re actively moving around trying to loosen up the tissue and hunting for other restricted areas.  I’m a huge fan of total body informed freestyling in response to or as preventative maintenance for general stiffness.  One way to approach this is extensive DROMs, but my bias is towards ground based movement. Ideally this is accompanied by a foam roller, straps and a lacrosse ball.  More often than not, a mobility rx is reactive and targeted towards tissue you know is tight and preventing you from getting into positions you want to achieve.  There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that and probably the way you should spend most of your time stretching out. The problem however, is that sometimes it’s at the expense of a more generalized approach to soft tissue health. 
Lets start with the mindset that general stiffness is not normal and that you can do something about it.  To make an analogy, if you walked around hungry all day, a light would go off in your head to do something about it.  We don’t often listen to our bodies in the same way when our joints feel creaky and muscles feel stiff.  This should be a huge red flag that you need to spend a little more time doing generalized restorative movement.  Here are some quick benefits of a short total body movement session:

• Increased blood flow = Increased nutrient transport and hydration to all your tissues
• Excess metabolites are pushed into the lymph (think of it like “cleaning” an area of excess junk)
• Synovial fluid is pumped into your joint capsules, lubricating them
• With dedicated a breathing strategy and a modest pace, you can increase parasympathetic nervous system activity and decrease anxiety

Okay so how do we do it? Well there’s no one right way to do this and how you’re feeling that day should dictate your session but here are some general guidelines.

1. Set aside some time and space to move.  10-15 minutes should be enough to feel a lot better, I often put on a record and go at least until one side finishes. My preference is before bed since you can attack a whole day’s worth of stiffness and it’s a great way to unwind mentally. In terms of space, I love love LOVE my square36 mat.  Yoga mats provide insufficient area to move around on and I constantly have to reposition myself or the mat. (use the discount code cfbrooklyn36 to get $10 off a S36 mat!).

2. Start low and work high (or vise versa).  Start by doing some D-Dog calve marches, manually rolling your feet around, stretching out your toes, maybe using a LAX ball on your feet. Gradually work upstream spending more time in areas that feel tight.  Use stretches you remember from Group or Active Recovery class, make stuff up, work basic splits, twists, bends and be creative. You’ll undoubtedly find positions that feel great and areas that are tight.  Keep your breathing consistent and deep.

Here are some videos from our buddies at Body Tribe that might give you some more ideas:
Quick Mobility Play
Tav’s Brutal Recess
Staying Loose

3. Pepper in some Foam Rolling, LAX work or band stretches.  You might even start here and then get into the informed freestyling.  If you’re not sure what to do, take an Active Recovery class!

4. End with some deep breathing laying flat on your back, drink some water then go to bed!

Related Videos:
Gil Hedley: Fascia and stretching: The Fuzz Speech
Always Be Mobilizing
Informed Freestyling Always

What are you most looking forward to about the approaching nice weather?
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4 Things Astronauts Can Teach You About a Good Night’s Sleep
The Universe of Everything Zen Habits
Are you an elite CrossFitter, statistically speaking

Fitness: 3-3-3-3-3

Performance: 1-1-1-1-1

If you’re going to need a spot, let us know. All heavy singles should be spotted.

Post loads to comments.
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15-12-9-6-3 reps for time of:
Deadlift 225/155
Box Jumps 24″/20″

Post time and Rx to comments.

Ed kettlebell swings his way to fitness

• CFSBKer Candice C is in the running for this sexiest vegan next door contest, top prize is a free vacation to Maui, Hawaii. Vote here.
• Happy Birthday, Shaun C!
• Do you have Instagram? WE DO TOO!! Follow us @CrossFitSouthBrooklyn

Please fill out our Feedback Form!

CFSBK wants to hear from you! Please take a couple minutes to fill out this feedback form regarding your experience, opinions and requests for what we offer and do at CFSBK.

CFSBK Feedback Form
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Body Image & Bodyweight in Weightlifting Cathletics
Some Advice That Changed My Whole Career Cathletics
The Low Bar Back Squat Bar Position Starting Strength