Robert F, Not Resting

Congratulations to the following athletes on their Grace PR’s

Kristen H: 4:56 (65lbs)
Melissa L: 2:44
Joe O: 3:23
DH3: 2:59
Matt H: 4:04 (and a 6:45.p 2K)
JZ1: 4:51 (45lbs)
Sarah LR: 2:46

Did you PR your Grace?  A PR can be a lower time, a higher weight or just let us know if your Grace was somehow “better” than last time. If we didn’t get you in the list above, it’s only because you didn’t write it on the accomplishment’s board!  Get writin!

Weightlifters are wanted to be part of filming for a new 2-hour special!

History Channel is looking to cast 20 fun, open-minded, healthy, experienced weightlifters to participate in a once-in a-lifetime event with world-renowned hypnotist Brad Henderson!

We’re also casting a crowd to watch and cheer along! (No hypnotizing involved.)

Apply only with full intent to participate. All weightlifters will be asked to sign an Appearance Release in the event they are chosen to participate in the televised special. There’s no payment but we will provide food and refreshments.

If you’re interested in taking part, you’ll need to email Weightlifters(at)sharpentertainment.com with a photograph, some information about yourself and your contact details and one of the producers will be in touch with you. You can also call 646-688-7913.

Where: Crossfit South Brooklyn
When: 4-8pm Sunday, April 22nd
** Finishing time is a rough approximation – it may run later.
_______________
Part 1 of a 3-part video series from our very own Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon: Paleo For Everyone Precision Nutrition
Is Sugar Toxic? 60 Minutes
Meet Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir CrossFit Games
The Ultimate Guide To CrossFit Lingo Greatist

30 Clean and Jerks for Time

There is a 10 minute cap on today’s workout

Post time and Rx to comments.
compare to 12.29.11 and 8.25.11

Post Seminar Coaches

Congratulations to Marian L on her 25lb BSQ PR of 155lbs!

Are you an April Birthday? Let us know on the board by the community area! DO NOT use permanent marker!!!

Also- Don’t Forget to write your April Goals and March/April Accomplishments on the board by the bathrooms.

You can bring your shoes back to the gym on April 5th.

Where’s Coach Shane?

Many of you have noticed that Coach Shane has been recently absent from Group Classes.  CFSBK is sorry to report that Shane is taking an indefinite leave of absence to attend to some family matters which have recently arisen. We wish him and his family the best in this difficult time.

_________________
CrossFit and SAT Prep
Getting Your Hands Dirty CSAs Again Faster
Dynamics of a Bro-Session Again Faster
Lifting For Two (Pregnancy) Again Faster
Underwater Swim and Air Squat workout CrossFit

Today is Day 2 of the CrossFit Powerlifting Trainer Course at CFSBK.  Shane and Laura Phelps-Sweatt will be teaching the techniques used by Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell to produce the most successful powerlifters in the world. The day will start at 9:30am and run until 5pm.  There are no normal Group Classes at the gym today.

Open Gym Tonight

There will be Open Gym tonight from 6:00-9:30pm with Coach David.  Come on down and get your lifting or WOD on! If you’re not sure what to do we’ll have an advised workout on the board. Open Gym works as one drop in or one of your weekly classes. See you then!

Jack Attack!

Programming Moving Forward

Below are some pertinent dates for Group Class Programming Moving Forward. Please make note of these.

• 1RM Testing: April 4th-7th
  
  • Wednesday: Squat, Thursday: Press, Saturday: Deadlift

• Crush Week: April 8th-14th

• Back Off/Skill Week: April 15th-21th

• New Training Cycle Begins: April 22nd

Preparing to 1 Rep Max
By Coach Fox

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

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

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

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

Warm-Up: 45×5, 135×5, 185×5, 225×3, 275×3, 315×1, then

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

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

Warm-Up: 45×5, 75×5, 105×5, 125×3, 145×1

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

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

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

Warm-Up: 33×5, 53×3, 63×2, 73×1, 77×1

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

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

Warm-Up: 135×5, 225×3, 315×1, 365×1

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

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

The CrossFit Total should be a fun day where you get to move some heavy weight around but that doesn’t mean don’t take it serious, too. Approach each lift with intent, unrack each squat from the uprights with authority and readiness, set up with a BIG BREATH for all your attempts today. And if you don’t 1RM but gave your all, then celebrate that as well and live to lift another day. You’re a TFBA for showing up regardless.

___________________
My Recovery Program CrossFit

Today is Day 1 of the CrossFit Powerlifting Trainer Course at CFSBK.  Shane and Laura Phelps-Sweatt will be teaching the techniques used by Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell to produce the most successful powerlifters in the world. The day will start at 10am and run until 5pm.  There are no Group Classes at the gym today.

Track Workout Today in Red Hook

Join Melissa L and Rickke M as they host an austere WOD in Red Hook Track today from 9:30-11:00am. The workout will be as follows:

For Time:
1200m Run
20 Burpees
800m Run
30 Burpees
400m Run
40 Burpees

Post time to comments.

Laura Phelps-Sweatt

Traveling to CFSBK?

If you’re coming to CFSBK for the first time, you might consider the following:

Parking: Look for parking on Degraw street and in the avenues and side streets south of 4th avenue.  Everything above 4th ave is residential and tricker to find parking in.

Subway: The closest Subway would be taking the R  to “Union Street” or  2   3   4   5   B  or  Q  to Atlantic Ave.  Check us out on Google Maps here

Coffee: Root Hill Cafe is open at 8:30am on Saturday and Sunday. Tell them you’re from CrossFit and get 10% off your order!  Root Hill is located at 262 4th Ave at Carroll Street.

Food: Bierkraft is a great place to grab a “Paleo Special”,  Ice Cream Sandwich and a post WOD Beer!  Bierkraft is located on 4th avenue beween Union and Sackett.

________________
300lb “Grace” CrossFit

Sarah Gets 5lbs Stronger Than Last Week

Check out another article in the Park Slope Patch on Murat U’s new coffee shop, The Hungry Ghost. CFSBK wishes Murat the best of luck on his new venture!

New CSA Info Page

We’ve created a new CSA Info Page located in the left navigation bar of the webpage. Here you can find information about the CSA, get a reminder when the next delivery date is, download the .pdf with pricing options and even use the forum feature to find someone to split a share with. 

Get Well Soon, Luis!

CFSBK wishes a speedy recovery to Strength Cycle platform superstar Luis E who was recenly involved in a car accident while on duty:

“On sunday morning a speeding livery cab blew the red light at Euclid and Jamaica ave and t-boned my patrol car and sent me and my partner head on into a light pole. I was fortunate, I only suffered an acetabulum fracture on my right hip, nothing else. I already got surgery and am recovering at Jamaica hospital. My partner got the same fracture as me, and a fractured left ankle, right shoulder, and a few fractured ribs”

Post well wishes to comments.

Alternate Training For This Weekend

We will not be holding normally scheduled classes this weekend while he host the CrossFit Powerlifting Certification with Shane and Laura Phelps-Sweatt.  As an alternative to our members not attending the certification, we’re offering training options on both days:

Saturday 3/31
What: Track WOD
When: 9:30-11:00am
Where: Red Hook Track
Organizers: CFSBK Coach-In-Training Melissa Loranger and Rickke Manazala
RSVP: Please email: Loranger_Melissa(at)yahoo(dot)com so we can get an accurate head count
Cost: None, This will not count as one of your weekly classes if you’re on a recurring membership or punch card.

Sunday 4/1
What: Open Gym
When: 6-9:30pm
Where: CFSBK!
Coach: David
Cost: 1 Drop in or weekly class
_________________
Barbell Math Calculator App
Lunch Hour Goes Disco in Sweden MSNBC
My First Muscle Up! CrossFit

Press
75%x5
85%x3
95%x1+

Deadlift
75%x5
85%x3
95%x1x3

Post loads to comments.

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Reps For Time Of:
Kettlbell Swings
Sit-Up

Post time and Rx to comments.

“I tagged a chairlift at McConkey’s Bowl with a CFSBK sticker… we’re nationwide!”
-Tom S

New Coaches in Training

We let the cat out of the bag! In an effort to keep up with the demands of our awesome population, we’ve brought on two top notch people to step up as CFSBK Coaches. Melissa Loranger and McDowell Myers have been working behind the scenes for about a month learning the ins and outs of coaching. They’ll be ramping up for a total of 3 months before going live, stay tuned for more developments!  Congrats MeLo and McDowell!

Alternate Training For This Weekend

We will not be holding normally scheduled classes this weekend while he host the CrossFit Powerlifting Certification with Shane and Laura Phelps-Sweatt.  As an alternative to our members not attending the certification, we’re offering training options on both days:

Saturday 3/31
What: Track WOD
When: 9:30-11:00am
Where: Red Hook Track
Organizers: CFSBK Coach-In-Training Melissa Loranger and Rickke Manazala
RSVP: Please email: Loranger_Melissa(at)yahoo(dot)com so we can get an accurate head count
Cost: None, This will not count as one of your weekly classes if you’re on a recurring membership or punch card.

Sunday 4/1
What: Open Gym
When: 6-9:30pm
Where: CFSBK!
Coach: David
Cost: 1 Drop in or weekly class

___________________
Brooklyn Half Marathon
Feel The Burn 70’s Big
February 10th, 2001 the First CrossFit.com WOD goes live online

75%x5
85%x3
95%x1+

If you’re following a linear progression, add 2-5lbs and perform 3 work sets of 5 reps.

Post loads to comments.
compare to 3.7.12, 2.8.12, 1.18.12

21-15-9 Reps for Time of:
Front Squat 155/110
Pull-Ups

Choose a Front Squat load that you can do at least 10 reps unbroken with.  All Front Squats are taken from the Deck.  After this workout, spend 2:00 in the Couch Stretch for each leg.

Post time and Rx to comments.

Marco Goes Chest To Bar for 12.5

Alternate Training For This Weekend

We will not be holding normally scheduled classes this weekend while he host the CrossFit Powerlifting Certification with Shane and Laura Phelps-Sweatt.  As an alternative to our members not attending the certification, we’re offering training options on both days:

Saturday 3/31
What: Track WOD
When: 9:30-11:00am
Where: TBD- Red Hook Park (Possibly Closed) or Prospect Park, we’ll confirm tomorrow.
Organizers: CFSBK Coach-In-Training Melissa Loranger and Rickke Manazala
RSVP: Please email: Loranger_Melissa(at)yahoo(dot)com so we can get an accurate head count
Cost: None, This will not count as one of your weekly classes if you’re on a recurring membership or punch card.

Sunday 4/1
What: Open Gym
When: 6-9:30pm
Where: CFSBK!
Coach: David
Cost: 1 Drop in or weekly class

__________________
Why did we evolve to experience “runner’s high”? io9
Plan Your Weekly Meals Stress Free Lifehacker
Shoulder Savers Pt 1 with Eric Cressy T-Nation (WFS Version)
Shoulder Savers Pt 2 with Eric Cressy T-Nation (WFS Version)
Shoulder Savers Pt 3 with Eric Cressy T-Nation (WFS Version)

Congratulations to “The Warrior” Jacinto B on earning his ticket to the 2012 CrossFit Games.  Jacinto is a former CFSBK coach, friend of the program, Active Recovery attendee and hero to all. Jacinto will be competing in the Masters (60+) age division, this will be his third trip to the Games.

The Open Is Over!

Congratulations to all who participated in the 2012 CrossFit Open.  The workouts proved to be difficult and many showed admirable resolve in the face of intimidating movements, loads and rep schemes over the last 5 weeks. Our in house Open Champions are as follows:

Key: Name, Total Reps over all 5 workouts, (rank in the North East)

Men’s Division
1. Joe O’Neill: 876 Total Reps (r: 213)
2. Michael Mishik: 854 Total Reps (r: 257)
3. McDowell Myers: 839 Total Reps (r: 269)
4. Christian Reiss: 792 Total Reps (r: 525)
5. Dan Betz: 741 Total Reps (r: 646)

Women’s Division*
1. Melissa Loranger: 784 Total Reps (r: 149)
2. Ellie Myers: 753 Total Reps (r: 214)
3. Jessica Fox: 748 Total Reps (r: 279)
4. Kate Denny: 725 Total Reps (r:246)
5. Christine Denahan: 691 Total Reps (r: 462)
6. Kiki Proctor: 687 Total Reps (r: 367)

Masters 45-49 Division
1. Daniel Baldini: 453 Total Reps (r: 987)

Masters 50-54 Division
1. Robert Semmens: 619 Total Reps (r:96)

Team CrossFit South Brooklyn:
Ranked 58 out of 168 teams in the North East Region
Ranked 633 out of 1,774 teams Globally

*Scoring Note
Official CrossFit Open ranking is based on regional placement in each workout, not total reps. Because we’re comparing our in-house athletes, the order above is based on total reps. There are 6 spots included in the women’s divsion since Kiki’s Regional rank is within top 5 in our gym.

Top 3 Women World Wide
1. Kristan Clever 1,200 Total Reps
2. Julie Foucher 1,182 Total Reps
3. Annie Thorisdottir 1,159 Total Reps

Top 3 Men World Wide
1. Rich Froning 1,240 Total Reps
2. Sean Thomson 1,156 Total Reps
3. Kenneth Leverich 1,102 Total Reps

If you participated in the Open, please answer the following 3 Questions:
1. What did you get out of competing in the Open?
2. What did you think of the workouts?
3. Do you plan on participating next year?

______________________
5 Down CrossFit Games
Camille Leblanc-Bazinet sets a world record 173 Reps on 12.5 CrossFit Games

1 Power Clean, every minute, on the minute for 15 minutes.

Add weight at the 6th and 11th rep as appropriate.

Post loads to comments.

For Time:
Row 1K
Run 800m

Post time to comments.

“A few weeks ago I went to Norway to ski across the Hardanger Plateau and the fjords. Eight of us started in white-out conditions.  Winds were fierce.  Snow was terrible.  Navigation was often limited to map and compass.  Blonde Norwegian girls were nowhere to be found.  Six out of eight skiers quit before the end of the trip.  Only two of us finished.  Both of us CrossFit.  Coincidence?  I don’t think so.” -Joe M

Remember to Take Your Shoes Home this week! All shoes left by the end of the weekend will be stuffed in a duffel bag and thrown into the gowanus. For more information, see yesterday’s post.

Grain-Free/Sugar Free Cooking Class #1

This Saturday, March 31st the Paleo NYC meetup group will be attending a Grain-Free/Sugar Free cooking class at 3:00pm.  The event will take place at Carol’s Place on 25th st between 6th and 7th ave in Manhattan. For more information and to register, click here. There are currently 13 people attending.

A Crossfit Shoe Primer
By Coach Noah

If you’ve been Crossfitting for a little while, odds are you’ve noticed that most of our athletes tend to sport some footwear that many would consider unconventional, old-school, or just plain weird.  While you can Crossfit in any pair of shoes, some types of shoes will optimize your ability to get in good positions, protect your body, and ultimately perform better.  Since among our coaches I own the dubious honor of being the resident shoe-ho, I will be your tour guide through the always controversial world of Crossfit footwear.  3, 2, 1, GO(d I am lame)!

Training Shoes

For most of the population, one pair of shoes should suffice to get us through 99% of Crossfit workouts.  These don’t have to be incredibly expensive, and may in fact be cheaper than the over-engineered running shoes currently on the market.  Rather than give you specifics about one shoe over another, following a few general rules should get you into something appropriate:
A (relatively) flat and (relatively) non-compressible sole:  Most of the activities we perform require the ability to “feel” the floor.  Many athletes have trouble keeping their heels down when they squat or shifting their weight forward when they swing a kettlebell simply because their shoes are so built up and cushioned that they simply have no concept of their foot’s relationship to the floor.  Look for a shoe with a sole that is flat and low, without any zany cutouts or hollows.  Ideally, the shoe will be close to “zero drop” a term which means that the heel and toe of the shoe are of the same height.  The sole should also be made of relatively firm rubber.  Some shoes, in their quest for greater cushioning have embraced such plush materials that you may as well be squatting wearing a pair of sweet potatoes on your feet, which while delicious, is not ideal.

Lightweight aka the Single Digit Rule: An easy rule I’ve come to embrace is that any show I wear to work out in should weigh under 10 ounces.  Many weigh under 8, and there are some under 6 and even a few under 4.  The lighter the better, although I personally question whether your feet know the difference between 4.6 and 5.3 ounces.  Mine certainly don’t, but they, like their owner, are stupid.
Rad colors:  This is a personal sentiment, but c’mon folks, this isn’t black tie footwear we’re talking about. 

Most of these shoes fall into the “racing” or “performance” running shoe category.  Manufacturers use these terms to signify that when trying to run fast (like, say, for a race), people will want light shoes that don’t make their feet act stupid.  Since we are Crossfitters, and are ALWAYS RACING, we can just wear them all the time.

Weightlifting Shoes

Dedicated weightlifting shoes take the concept of a firm sole to the next level, using either ultra hard
synthetic (EVA or similar) or real-honest-to-paleo-god wood(!) for maximum stability and to better transmit force from the lifter to the floor.  These are purpose specific shoes, which violate the “no heel” rule above- most weightlifting shoes have a heel of about ½ to 1inch high, to allow for more ankle flexion at the bottom of squats, which helps mobility/positioning under heavy load.  Consider:

Pros:
Incredibly stable
Aids in mobility and positioning at the bottom of squats and in force transmission
Can “add” weight to your lifts (somewhat illusory/placebo, but whatever)

Cons
Most are expensive
Extremely purpose specific.  If you wear them to a bar, people will laugh at you.  Ask me how I know this.
Look like they were designed by a team consisting of my grandpa, Frankenstein, and a Hell’s Angel (except for the super sexy Nike Romaleos, which cost approximately the GDP of Belarus.)

Some other quick thoughts

LSD Shoes: No, these are not shoes to wear while attempting the Dark Side of The Moon/Wizard of Oz mashup- I’m referring to Long Slow Distance.  If you are planning to run substantial distance, or are training for a long race and logging significant miles, you may want to invest in some purpose specific running shoes.  Especially if you have not practiced (or suck at) minimalist/POSE/Chi running, you may want to avoid super-minimal shoes.  While a super-efficient runner may get away with a length of tractor tire duct taped around his foot, most of us could benefit from a little bit of cushioning in our shoes.  There are plenty of models out that split the difference between the conventional Staypuft Marshmallow Man meets Cadillac Biarritz shoe and dipping your feet in candle wax before your marathon.  Ease into it.

Chuck Taylors: Worn by the everyone from Wilt Chamberlain to Kurt Cobain to toddlers everywhere, Chucks are in many ways the perfect Crossfit shoe.  They’re flat, non-compressible, fairly light, and cheap.  Plus, you can wear them in the “real” world, which cuts down on WOD to “first beer of the weekend” transition time on Friday.  The only real downside is that they are a bit clunky to run in, and don’t make you feel like a ninja.

Vibram Five Fingers: I’m going to take some flack for this, so I will be gentle, but I don’t particularly care for VFF’s (yes, in the name of science, I do own a pair.)  VFFs arose from well-intentioned folk who wanted a more minimalist training shoe when there weren’t many options out there.  Now there are plenty of shoes that blend minimal/lightweight design and the benefits of modern technology.  Five Fingers are offer poor stability during lifting, and are inadequately padded for box jumps, double unders, and sprints.  I do think Five Fingers can be useful for training runs or to practice minimalist running, as they do offer great ground feedback, but as I mentioned earlier, that feedback comes at a price.  If you can run fast in Five Fingers, you can run faster in real sneakers, trust me. 

Ok!  Enough about shoes already!  You get the drift- light, flat, not squishy.  Cheap and colorful are pluses.  If you have any other questions, want my thoughts on Shoe A vs. Shoe B, have specific training goals or injury history to consider, or just want to talk about feet, email me at noah(AT)crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com

What Shoes do you train in and why?
________________
CrossFit and Kenya CrossFit
Report: Some People Wake Up When It’s Still Dark Outside (for our 6am Crew)
Caffeine and Performance Robb Wolf
Abs Mark Rippetoe

Spend 15 minutes working on Front Levers.

The emphasis of today’s training is learning how to create a ridig body.  The application of this is invaluble to a variety of differnent exercises.

Post exerience to comments.

For Time:
Row 500m
then,
21-15-9 Reps of:
Kettllebell Swings
Push-Ups
Double Unders

Post time and Rx to comments.

Coach Laurel Works Front Levers

Our resident author Martha So will be part of a literary panel on Black Women and fiction at NYU on this Wednesday the 28th. Martha and several other authors will be discussing emerging views on race, gender, politics and identity in modern literature. 

Congratulations to Dave Sc who PR’d his 5K with a 21:32 at the Red Hook Crit 5K last night!

CFSBK Spring Cleaning: Shoes

Over the next few weeks CFSBK will be doing a little spring cleaning. Starting tomorrow we’re asking all our members to take the shoes they store at the gym home. There are plenty of unclaimed and abandoned shoes taking up valuable space and we want to know which they are. You’ll be able to bring your shoes back on Thursday, April 5th. Unclaimed shoes will be donated.

_________________
Fast Twitch Versus Slow Switch TTMJ
Chad Vaughn Overhad Squats 335×5 CrossFit
“Lead and Rear Straights” with George Ryan CrossFit Striking