4×3
(5lbs heavier than last week, if all sets were completed successfully)
Superset worksets with 5-10 strict pull/chin ups or ring rows

Post loads to comments.
(e3/4) compare to 4.7.11

For Time:
Run 1 Mile

Post time to comments.
compare to 5.15.10

Watch this video before your mile test today.

David has some fun with Kettlebells

CFSBK behind the scenes!

Sometimes we get asked who the sinister forces behind the scenes at SBK are.  For your own personal interest, here goes:

Blog: Coaches David and Shane alternate the blog every week.  Shane’s posts are wittier than David’s and usually have better grammar.  David’s posts have perfect spacing and lots of exclamation points!!

Photos: Malcolm, Asta and Dan R all contribute photos for the blog.  You can usually see the photographers name in the bottom corner of the picture.  If theres no name it’s usually taken by one of the coaches, these are usually blurry and poorly framed.

info@CrossFit.. The mysterious info@ account is managed by none other than Ariel K.  Ariel handles prospective clients and light member issues.  Whenever things get “real” she forwards them to David.

Newsletter: Coach Fox writes the content for the newsletters while Ariel does the formatting and distribution. Get stoked cause another one is on the way soon!

Group Class Programming: This month Coaches Margie and Jeremy are heading up programming.  The previous few months have been programmed by Coach Fox and before that it was David. We love to talk programming so please ask us as many questions as you can!

Cleaning:  Every Wednesday and Saturday Vilma C comes to the gym and does a deep clean.  On Saturdays after classes the entire gym floor is mopped and disinfected.   On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays Jonathan A (Juliana A’s little brother) comes in and does some light cleaning and equipment arrangement.  He listens patiently while David describes in excruciating detail exactly how the bumpers need to be stacked and which way the kettlebells should face.

Graphic Design + Merch: Most of our shirts, logos and graphics have been designed by the good folks over at Quist Industries (Paulie and Becca S).  We’re working on some cool new summer designs a sign and.. those ellusive log books you’ve heard so much about but never seen.

Build out: Both Coach Jeremy and Josh M have done construction on the gym.  Josh built our medball racks, speaker stands, storage room (in the office) and the clothing rack by the sign in desk.  Jeremy build the Wall ball targets, Platforms (with a little help) and white boards.  Our next projects are Handstand Push-up stations and more indoor Wall Ball targets.

Accounting:  Fernando O (David’s dad) who is a more mature, more organized and more type A version of David graciously donates his time and energy to make sure CFSBK’s finances are in order and David isn’t spending the gym into non-existence.

Odds and Ends:  We’ve had so many people contribute in little ways over the last 3 years that it would be impossible to give everyone their due recognition in this blog post.  From equipment donations, help with moves and equipment building, transportation, furniture donations, links for the blog and everything in between, this has truly been a community project.  Thanks so much to everyone for all their contributions, comments and commitment to the program!
_________________
Is Sugar Toxic? NY Times
Aliens are Real! Truth Seeker

2-2-2-2
Work up to a heavy double

Post loads to comments
(e6/8) compare to 4.6.11

Superset the Following two movements:
3×10 Good Mornings (add 5-10lbs)
3×10 Strict Knees to Elbows

Post loads and experience to comments.

Craig C Post Tough Mudder, Post Clean-Up

Welcome April AM/PM Foundations starting tonight!

Congratulations to Peter H on his 140lb Power Clean PR and Joe W and Matt U on their tie "Annie" PRs!
 
The next Sectionals WOD is up!

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 10 minutes of:
60 Bar-facing burpees
120/90 pound Overhead squat, 30 reps
10 Muscle-ups 

Watch the movement standards here and a WOD Demo here.  

Good luck to team SBK this weekend on WOD 11.4!
_________________
Update on the Open, Week 3 CrossFit Games 

Sam M's Overhead Position

Relive the memories!
Check out this album from the 2009 North East Regional Qualifier hosted by CrossFit Albany. Coaches Margie and David were major organizers for this event and we had a ton of SBKers either compete or volunteer as judges.  Good times!

It's getting warmer!!! It's almost Flip Flop Weather…. NOT.  Watch this Mobility WOD PSA about Flip Flops. Or as David calls them, his "flops"

What is the most useful "app" you have?
_________________
Hunter Gather Fitness in the 21st Century American Journal of Medicine
Egyptian Mummies Diagnosed with Clogged Arteries NPR
Mario Brothers Free Running Gym Today's Big Thing
Coffee Addiction In Your Genes BBC
Poster Claiming Feeding Children Meat is Child Abuse Wales News
Robb Wold on Wylde on Health Robb Wolf

2-2-2-2
Heavy Double

Clean Pulls
120%x3x3
Base this % off your best heavy double

Post loads to comments.
(e3/4) compare to 4.4.11

At the top of every 2 minutes, complete the following couplet:
16 Lunge jumps (8 each leg)
16 Sit-Ups

Rest the remainder of the two minutes.
Repeat 5 times.

Post experience to comments.

Young initiates in Prana-bindu training

Happy Birthday, Vincent D!

What was the last live performance you saw?
_______________
More from the Palimpsest Project!
The Incredible, Edible Egg Yolk Cholesterol and Health
The power of the Playground NY Times
Inside Wasatch CrossFit CrossFit Journal Preview
The Garage Gym with Dave Castro Pt 1 & Pt 2 CrossFit Journal Freebie

5 Rounds not for time of:
Max Bodyweight Bench Press
Max Pull-ups

Rest as needed between sets.  We suggest 3-5 minutes depending on fatigue.

Post reps per round and Rx to comments.
compare to 5.2.09 and 6.13.10

WOD Demo CrossFit

Coach Laurel's Overhead Squat

Happy Birthday, Dan H3 and Erica N! To celebrate, Erica popped off 6x5x175 back squats this week, that's bodyweight x30!

Bon Voyage to Coach Shane and Whitney H who will be surfing and lounging in Costa Rica this week!

Congrats to all the SBK athletes who competed in yesterday's Sectional WOD 11.3 event at CrossFit Virtuosity.  How did everyone do?

Running Seminar Fast Approaches
Do you want to improve your 5k, 1 mile, or 400m times? Or your marathon or triathlon? Do you hurt when you run? Do you suffer from shin splints, knee or hip pain?

Improving your running efficiency may be the key to running both faster, and pain free.

This seminar will teach you the fundamentals of good running technique. You will learn how to utilize functional strength training and how to minimize oxidative overload to improve your performances in both short and long distance running.

You will run less than 2.5 total miles during this seminar, but will walk away with the tools to improve your running and optimize your race performance.

During the seminar,we will evaluate your current running technique on:

• Overall Posture
• Head, Eyes & Shoulder Position
• Arm Swing
• Hand Position
• Stride Length
• Stride Frequency
• Gait
• Pronation
• Foot Position
• Foot Angle

And then teach you how to improve it by:

• Discussing proper technique
• Reviewing and executing running drills
• Conducting video analysis
• Discussing how to properly strength using New York City Endurance

At the end of the seminar you will truly understand how to, “Train Less, Go Faster!!!”

To sign up for the running seminar next weekend, click here!
________________
Jousting with the Atlantic Archevore (formerly PaNu)
The differenced between Grass Fed Beef and Grain Fed Beef Mark's Daily Apple
Paleo 2.0: A Diet Manifesto Archevore (formerly PaNu)
6 Tips for the Overhead Squat Weightlifting Exchange
The Adrenal Fatigue Cure T-Nation
Reversability in CrossFit CrossFit Marin

2 Reps on the Minute for 10 Minutes
Load 5-10lbs heavier than last week

Post loads to comments.
(e5/8) compare to 4.2.11

Partner "Versus" workout
Partner A performs 30 KB swings while Partner B runs cone sprints (cones are 15' apart). Every time cone is touched, Partner B scores 1 point. Goal is to accumulate as many points as possible in the time it takes Partner A to finish their swings. Then switch.
Each partner must swing the KB 4 times.

Partner with the most points wins.

Post partner, kettlebell loads and score to comments.

SBK Femme Fatales

Reminder that there is No Active Recovery Today. All other classes are on as regularly scheduled.

Good luck to Team SBK competing in Open Sectional WOD 11.3 today at CrossFit Virtuosity!

lululemon athletica Function Show Tonight!
Check out the lululemon "Function Show" at Triomph Fitness.  David will be one of the ambassadors doing a short "demo" in their apparel. Tweet The Deets Here

Did you attend the "Rest Day Dinner" yesterday? How was it?!
________________
Interview with Glen Pendlay
Glen Pendlay on Consistency and Olympic Weightlifting
Coach Wilkes Talks Bar Path in Olympic Weightlifting

The New CFSBK Mat!
 
We're really excited about our new mat! The only downside is that it needs to "cure" for about a week before we can really use it.  If it gets a lot of foot traffic before then there's a chance that the logo will deform or that the black area will rip.  So until then.. admire from afar..

There is No Active Recovery Tomorrow! All other classes are on as regularly scheduled.

lululemon athletica Brooklyn Function Show Tomorrow!
Join us for an evening of function and fashion as we celebrate our Brooklyn community. Connect with fellow teachers, trainers and sweat enthusiasts, jam to music by EarthRise SoundSystem, and enjoy a function show featuring lululemon ambassadors (including David) rockin' the runway! Doors open at 7pm, show begins at 8pm! Please RSVP to brooklyn-showroom@lululemon.com
More info here!

Now take your 3 despised movements and write a medium length (10-20 minute) WOD with them!
___________________
Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet Reebok
Researchers Dig Up Homosexual or Transexual Caveman near Prague NPR
Jeff Tucker on Straddle Handstands CrossFit Journal Preview
CF Games Sectional WOD 11.3 Prep Mobility WOD
The Extraordinary Vijai Raj CrossFit Journal Freebie

80%x5x3
If you didn't 1RM, go 5lbs heavier than last week

Post loads to comments.
compare to 3.31.11

5 rounds for time of:
5 power snatches
100m sprint (50m out and back)

Choose a weight that will allow you to do all snatches unbroken
Post load and time to comments.
compare to 8.18.10

Alternate Workout if it Rains:
5 rounds for time of
12 jumping split squats
8 clapping pushups

compare to 7.21.10

That looks about right…

Happy Birthday, Justin L!

There is No Active Recovery this weekend.

New Cycle Dates for Foundations are Posted!

May Evening Foundations
5/5/11 – 5/31/11
Tuesdays and Thursdays
8:00pm-9:15pm
Register Here!

May Morning Foundations
5/5/11 – 5/31/11
Tuesdays and Thursdays
7:00am-8:00am
Register Here!

May AM/PM Foundations
5/18/11 – 6/12/11
Wednesdays 8:00pm-9:15pm
Sundays 10:00am-11:15am
Register Here!

What are the three movements you most dread doing?
____________
The Science and Imagination behind Modern Dessert The New Yorker
Analysis of the CrossFit Open (an Ideal weight?)
It's Just Another WOD CrossFit Games
We Tried It: CrossFit Thats Fit
My Turkeys: The Next Chapter The Martha Blog
Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin TIME

3-3-3
Heavier than last week

Post loads to comments.
(E4/8) compare to 3.30.11

Superset the following two movements:
3×10 Good Mornings at 40-50% of triple (do not let weight compromise form)
3×10 Barbell Ab Rollouts from Knees

Post loads and experience to comments.

"The Pest" Strikes Again!

The next CrossFit Open Sectionals WOD has been announced! (And it's a doozie!)

"WOD 11.3"
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 5 minutes of:
165 pound Squat clean
165 pound Jerk

Click here to watch a video demonstration and range of motion standards. Click here to see Pat Sherwood and Heather Bergeron attack this workout.  What are your thoughts, Team SBK?

Sectionals Pictures are up!
Speaking of Team SBK.  Check out these photos from the last Sectionals event held in house.  Big thanks to David McG and Juliana A for being our photographers for the event!

If you could only do 3 exercises for the rest of your life, what would they be?
_________________
CrossFit Games: Update On The Open, Week 2
Where do Americans get their calories? Civil Eats
17 Year Old with a 340lb Overhead Squat CrossFit Thoroughbreds
New Deadlift World Record! Benedikt Magnusson 1015lbs! Powerlifting Watch

Josh Martinez!

Spring time brings us a new AOTM here at CrossFit South Brooklyn. And just like March certainly did not go out like a lamb, we are honoring one of our lions…Josh Martinez!!! Josh is relatively new to the CrossFit game but has made a big impression during his time with us. We coaches respect his humbleness, coach-ability, and desire to be better while being one of our top performing athletes from early on. Plus, he already came to us with tribal tattoos and an uncanny willingness for taking his shirt off during met-cons…he was born for this! Jokes aside, Josh is a super nice guy and we’re proud to have him as part of the community. He’s literally built part of the building at Degraw street with his bare hands, doing work on the office, the sound system, the medicine ball racks, and countless other things around the box. Ladies and gents, Josh Martinez.

———–

Fox – Josh! You’re our Athlete of the Month! Congrats!

Josh – Really? Man, how do you guys come up with this stuff? You were doing so good until now…(there’s the slice of humble pie)

Fox – Whatever, man. It’s about time it was you. Your name had actually come up a few times before, but now it’s you. Ready to be uncomfortable? (many of you may not know, but Josh is not super talkative)

Josh – Yeah, I don’t know how you’re gong to write this though. I’m pretty simple. I was looking at the other profiles and I feel like I’ve got nothing to say.

Fox – We’ll start at the beginning. How did you first come to CrossFit?

Josh – Dueño (Josh’s long time Karate teacher and mentor) kept telling me about it and bringing me by the gym for countless conversations with Coach Shane. A student of his that I was training with told me that if I wanted to step up my game I needed to give CrossFit a try. Eventually, I relented.

Fox – You and Raul (Dueño) used to roll by all the time. What eventually changed your mind? (note: Raul Dueño is also a NYC Police Officer. It was…interesting, when he and his partner Joe Abate would roll up on a regular basis to talk with us while we were working with clients)

Josh – I had you-tubed a bunch of CrossFit videos and thought it was whack. At first I didn’t think I could get what I needed with that short of a workout. I had been going to a Bally’s and spending like 3 hours in there working on stuff. Then through searching on the internet I came across this thing the CrossFit Fighter's Challenge and did it, by myself, at Bally’s. It floored me, and I decided to give it a go.

Fox – What had you been doing up until then, fitness-wise?

Josh – I’ve been in martial arts since I was a little kid. My dad would show me stuff, and teach me routines. I started doing Kyokushin Karate with Raul when I was 13 and was really into it from the get-go and still am. In fact I started CrossFit as a way to get better at Karate. As far as in the gym, I would research different routines online and try to complete them. They were mostly body part split routines like, Monday – chest and tris, Wednesday – back and bis, etc… I had never even squatted before CrossFit!

Fox – You eventually just signed up for Foundations, no teaser class or anything. How’d you like it a first?

Josh – Honestly, it was sloooow…I wanted to just GO! Looking back though I’m glad that it was slow. I didn’t realize then how little I knew about lifting. I’m better for it now.

Fox – You’ve competed in a few local CrossFit Comopetitions, and you’re competing in the CrossFit Open Sectionals both as an individual and as a CFSBK Team Member. What’s that been like so far?

Josh – It’s been really great. I love competition. I really think more people should compete even if not with winning in mind. It’s cool to see what others can do, and to find out what I can do too. There’s been such a cool vibe at the events I’ve been to so far and I really dig it. I’m looking at this years CF Games as a test year to see how I perform and what I need to improve for next year.

Fox – Have you learned anything so far? What do you want to get better at? Have you developed your own fitness philosophy?

Josh – I’ve realized I need to be able to mentally relax in the heat of the moment. There are three things I want to get better at as far as competing. 1- Focus. 2 – Lungs.  3 – Push. I need to stay calm and focused, I need to get my conditioning up, and I need to push when it starts to get hectic. I see guys like Ryan just go harder and faster, and I need to work on that. My fitness philosophy is that I should be ready for now, not for any particular day down the road. To be as close to a peak as possible all the time.

Fox – You get those things going and you could be a Finals athlete. You came to us with a solid base of natural ability. Do you have any early CrossFit memories? Anything that humbled you early on?

Josh – Oh yeah…I remember doing Barbara along side Carlos, thinking “how the heck is that guy still going? And, passing me?”. I had to call it quits after 4 rounds, I didn’t even finish. Needless to say, the great Guerra did.

Fox – You did Coach Jeremy’s Strength Cycle. Tell me about that.

Josh – It was great. Again, I thought it was slow in the beginning, but it really started adding up on me a few weeks in. The biggest thing for me was learning and getting comfortable with the low bar back squat. It’s like second nature now. It’s been difficult realizing that getting back to CrossFit means my 1rms won’t be the same but I realize that I’m stronger overall.

Fox – You also took your CrossFit Level 1 Certification recently. How was that?

Josh – It was, awesome…It gave me a deeper appreciation into what coaching is all about and how much goes into it. The nutrition stuff was a  bit new to me. That lecture was an eye opener. I left the weekend super excited about CrossFit in general. I’m really looking forward to furthering my CrossFit career.

Fox – Alright, tell me some stuff outside of the fitness realm. What are your hobbies?

Josh – I said, I’m pretty simple. I do CrossFit and martial arts. I’ve been away from karate for a bit and have been training Muay Thai for a while. I’m also a speed and adrenaline junkie. I’ve owned a few bikes and used to race motorcycles until I had an accident where I broke both wrists. I was wearing a helmet though! I remember laying there and somebody saying “oh no, he’s dead!” And I was laying there eyes closed thinking, “What? No I’m not. I’m fine”. This month is my birthday and I’m planning to go skydiving. Any SBKers want to join me?

Fox – Definitely not me…You recently decided to change careers, what are your plans?

Josh – I was in the carpenters union for a few years and still am actually. I enjoyed it for a while but decided that I wanted to get away from that before I had no choice in the matter. Working on houses was fun but when I started doing industrial buildings it got boring, seeing the same site day after day for a few years. My plan now is to take the FDNY test, or maybe the NYPD test. I’m working on getting the required college credits to be eligible for either. I want work that’s challenging in a new way every day.

Fox – So Josh, why did you decide to stay with CrossFit South Brooklyn?

Josh – The vibe, the environment, and the guidance. I appreciate that I’m never on my own as an athlete here. There’s always good coaching nearby. It’s verrrry diffreent than at  Bally’s. There’s a true lack of the stink eye because people are so supportive of each other. I really want to visit other CrossFit gyms and see what all the fuss is about here, maybe I’ve been spoiled. I’d like to see what’s out there.

Fox – Alright Josh, last thing. What should we look for in a future Athlete of the Month?

Josh – I think competing is important. Someone who puts it on the line to see if the training works. I think it’s important to test yourself, and I respect the people who do that.
————

Thanks again to Josh, who met with me for a second appointment when I left the gym with him waiting for me for our first appointment (Sorry again, Josh…). You’ve been a great asset to the gym in your short time here, and although you’re kinda alright now we coaches also look forward to seeing what the future holds for you! Continued good luck in the Sectionals and beyond!