Search Results for: subway

• Happy birthday, Roosevelt M.!

Bend, Stretch, Mobilize, and Flip

• Yoga for Athletes with Coach Whitney at 10am
• Active Recovery at 11am and 12pm with Coach David
• If you signed up for Ken H.’s back flip class, remember that you’re meeting today from 2-3:30pm

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An Open Letter to the Songwriters of “Let It Go” McSweeney’s
Subway Hero Rescues Wedding Ring New York Times
The Scientific Reason Why Tetris Is So Addicting Shape

Open Workout 12.4

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
150 Wall Balls 20/10, 14/9
90 Double Unders 
30 Muscle Ups

If you can’t do muscle ups, perform pull ups (chest to bar if you have ’em) instead.

Post rounds, reps, and loads to comments.
Compare to 3.23.13 

Erin M. reppin the swole patrol at a waterfall in Kauai

News and Notes 

• CFSBK’s new Olympic Lifting Program begins today! Get psyched!
• Richard G. posted a few weeks ago inviting CFSBKers to participate in Brooklyn Community Housing and Services’ gala fundraiser. He reports that the event went very well and several people wanted to become supple leopards and bidded on the Active Recovery classes. Richard says thank you to CFSBK for its commitment to local organizations and for everyone’s support! 
• Happy belated birthdays to Avi S. and CFSBK Cruise Director Mare L.!

Do You Need Help with Anything Re: Web/Online Software/Social Media?

CFSBKer Andy M. can help! He runs a boutique web strategy, design, and development company called Kindred Development. If you know anyone, small or large, looking for help with anything web, online software, social media, apps, etc., please keep Kindred Development in mind. If your company is looking for a new vendor or just wants to change things up, consider them as an option. Visit their website or email andy [at] kindreddevelopment.com for more information. 

2014 Subway Series!

Another year has gone by, and it’s time once again for an NYC affiliate throwdown: the 2014 Subway Series! All NYC affiliates are invited to participate—the affiliate with the best overall score at the end of four events wins the Subway Series Trophy and bragging rights for a whole year! All teams MUST register for each individual event in advance via EventBrite in order to participate. Each event will be capped at 50 total teams, so we strongly advise you to register early!

A number of CFSBKers are interested in forming teams for each event, so organize with each other by posting your interest in the comments section on each or all of the event pages below!!

Sunday, August 3rd, 9am: CrossFit Long Island City 
Sunday, August 10th, 9am: CrossFit Queens
Sunday, August 17th, 9am: CrossFit Virtuosity
Sunday, August 24th, 9am: CrossFit South Brooklyn

Throwback Thursday

Five years ago yesterday, this blog posted a link to a video of Coach Jeremy finishing the third WOD of the Northeast Regional Qualifier. In the beginning, he bites off his callus… NBD. This year’s Northeast Regionals begin on May 30, and a herd of CFSBKers are attending—and Coach David also happens to be the Competition Director! Keep us posted on your adventures!

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Ask Greg: Jumping in the Snatch Catalyst Athletics
Grinding Through Mobility with Dr. Kelly Starrett The Box Magazine
Our Brain, The Trickster NPR

Training Cycle Template

Training Cycle Dates: M 6/9 – Su 7/20
Crush Week: M 7/21 – Su 7/27
Back Off/Transition Week: M 7/28 – Su 8/3 

Monday: Press | WOD

Fitness 3×5 Linear Progression. If there’s still time on the clock then do an additional set.

Performance wk1 70%x8x4, wk2 72.5%x8x4, wk3 75%x6x5, wk4 77.5%x6x5, wk5 80%x4x4 then 82.5%x4x4, wk6 85%x4x4 then 87.5%x4x4. Rest 2 minutes between all sets.

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday:  Clean and Jerk | Front Squat | Optional DIY Cashout

Fitness
Clean and Jerk: Position focused complexes
Front Squat: 3×5 Linear Progression. If there’s still time on the clock then do an additional set.

Performance
Clean and Jerk: Max effort then back-off percentage work. (Buy in: 1.25x of bodyweight for men, 1x of bodyweight for women)
Front Squat: Use a hypothetical max of 105% of your previous max. Wk1 70%x8x4, wk2 72.5%x8x4, wk3 75%x6x5, wk4 77.5%x6x5, wk5 80%x4x4, 82.5%x2x4, 85%x2x4, wk6 1RM test warm up to 85% of a heavy single, then 90%x1, 95%x1, 100%x1, 105%x1, 105% + if still moving. Rest 2 minutes between all sets. 

Thursday:  Gymnastics-based WOD (HSPU, Kipping Pull Up, Muscle Ups, Toes to Bar)

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: Snatch | Back Squat | Optional DIY Cashout

Fitness
Snatch: Position focused complexes
Squat: 3×5 Linear Progression. If there’s still time on the clock then do an additional set.

Performance
Snatch: Max effort then back-off percentage work. (Buy in: 1.25x of bodyweight for men, 1x of bodyweight for women)
Back Squat: Use a hypothetical max of 105% of your previous max. Wk1 70%x8x4, wk2 72.5%x8x4, wk3 75%x6x5, wk4 77.5%x6x5, wk5 80%x4x4, 82.5%x2x4, 85%x2x4, wk6 1RM test warm up to 85% of a heavy single, then 90%x1, 95%x1, 100%x1, 105%x1, 105% + if still moving. Rest 2 minutes between all sets. 

Sunday: Power Clean and Push Jerk or Deadlift | WOD

Deadlift: 4×2 Linear Progression. Start at 10-20lbs less than your 3×3 weight.
Power Clean and Push Jerk: 80%x2x5 (Buy in: 1.25x of bodyweight for men, 1x of bodyweight for women)

Competitions/Events:

Hail to the Queen: July 7
Subway Series | Long Island City: August 3
Subway Series | CrossFit Queens: August 10
Subway Series | CrossFit Virtuosity: August 17
Subway Series | CrossFit South Brooklyn: August 24

Fitness: 3 x 5 Linear Progression 
Add 2.5 to 5 lbs to last week. You should be making all of your reps at this point. If you missed reps last week, either redo the same weight or back off a few pounds. 

Performance: 75% x 6  x 5
Rest two minutes between sets. 

Post loads to comments.
e3/6 

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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

It’s our second installment of Behind the Lens, about our intrepid and freakishly talented photographers. Photographs don’t grow on trees, and our Flickr account is populated by the art of a number of wonderful CFSBKers. They’re so good at shooting us while we sweat that we sometimes even forget they’re there! Our first interview was with Bekka Palmer, and this one is with the marvelous Asta Fivgas. See some of her favorite photos and her interview with Kate below.

Behind the Lens: Asta Fivgas

Candid Shots

Where and when were you born? Keflavik, Iceland on May 25, 1985.

What color are your eyes? They’re actually the same color as my hair. Matchy matchy.

Favorite smell? Cinnamon and that super toxic smell when the A/C first comes on in the car.

Weird fact: Besides when people find out I was born in Iceland? I pronounce my w-h combinations in words, it’s not really weird but people point it out a lot.

What is your perfect Friday night? Something involving friends, laughter, and bourbon. Sometimes this devolves into just liquor by myself on the couch after a long week. And open gym. You can usually find me there when my Friday is going as planned.

Favorite photographer? I don’t know if I can really narrow this down, I appreciate a lot of different photographers for a variety of reasons but two of my favorite books of images are by Lee Friedlander and Geir Jordahl.

One of Asta’s favorite photos that she took at the MoMALonger Exposure

Kate: You’ve been around CFSBK way longer than I have, so other people might know the answers to some of these questions. Regardless, clue us all in, if you don’t mind. How did you start down the CrossFit journey and how did you find SBK? 

Asta: I was dating a guy who was super into CrossFit but always made it sound like the most bizarre thing in the world—so when I got the opportunity to meet some of these “CrossFit people” during a little potluck (complete with what turned into a really aggressive game of dodgeball and burpees), I was definitely going to be there. I decided that I, too, wanted to work out in the post-apocalyptic movie set known as the Lyceum and challenge myself more than my gym routine of peddling away on the stationary bike while reading The Fountainhead. I knew I had endurance, but I wasn’t very strong and I truly didn’t know what to do to get strong—so being around all these really interesting, diverse, strong people definitely called to me. My first teaser was with Margie and I started Foundations in January of 2009. 

Kate: Tell us about your journey with your camera. Do you remember your first photograph? What did you shoot with?

Asta: I don’t remember my first photograph but I know I always liked taking pictures. I have albums upon albums of developed images from my childhood through college. I ended up at an art school for college and was able to take a bunch of photography classes where I learned to develop my own film and really explore photography as a craft. Back then, I was really into black and white nudes and exploring ways to highlight the human body. I didn’t start taking a lot of digital photography until I traveled around Europe towards the end of college with my 5MP (laughable now) HP point and shoot. That’s when I started working more with trying to capture moments in a moving environment.

Dan got me started on the sports photography and using an SLR. Even though I had my digital point and shoot, I still turned my nose up at digital photography a bit since you weren’t really physically developing and the connection between photographer and piece… you probably get where I’m going with this. One day Dan just handed me the camera and said go for it, and it was HARD. Shooting people moving rapidly was a nightmare; I was so disappointed with my first shots, but also kind of responding with “CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.” I then had the opportunity to shoot regionals upstate and everything just sort of clicked. I had explored the human form in black and white (and staged) and now I was getting to do the same thing but with color and speed and very little control other than to find the best shot/angle/moment.  

Kate: What do you shoot with now?The Preatures

Asta: Canon 7D with a 50mm/1.4 

Kate: What’s your favorite photo that you’ve taken?

Asta: This is kind of always evolving and changing depending on what I’m interested in at the moment. Sometimes it’s patterns, sometimes it’s monumental structures, sometimes it’s broken things I find on the sidewalk. The first thing that comes to mind though is a photo I shot at a show recently for CMJ (music festival) in NYC. I was put on an Aussie Showcase with about seven sets, and one of the bands was The Preatures. The female lead was really intense on stage, but had these great moments on interaction with her bandmates.

Another is an older photo from an exhibition at MoMA years ago. I like the pattern and I remember getting in a lot of trouble from the security guard for sticking my camera “into the piece.”

Kate: What captures your eye over everything else?

Asta: Human connection/touch and lines that form patterns.

Kate: If you had to spend the rest of your life photographing one thing or one type of scene, what would you choose?

Asta: People exploring Carlo Scarpa’s Brion Cemetery or Castelvecchio in Italy. Hands down the most incredible spaces I’ve yet to be in.

Kate: Tell us about your life outside of the gym. Word on the street is that you’re an architecture buff. How do you spend your days beyond barbells and skulls?

Asta: Ghost in the machine at a big global engineering/architecture firm. Well, not really ghost—I just say that because sometimes people don’t understand what architects do.  Which is completely understandable, we are such mysterious creatures (haha). 

I moved from a design-heavy small firm to a technical-minded large firm a couple of years ago and am really enjoying how hands-on my current job is. I get to travel, I get to break open walls and investigate damage, hang off really tall buildings on scaffolds—it’s fun and it’s challenging. I’ll probably go back to design full-time at some point and I still do freelance architectural design on the side to scratch that itch, but for the time being I think it’s important I keep nerding out on the technical side of our built environment to improve my capacity as an architect.

Otherwise, I try and travel as much as I can. Sit on beaches. Eat exciting food. See the stars.

Kate: One of the things I always love about your photos for CFSBK is how they capture bodies in motion so beautifully, and in a way I feel like I haven’t seen before, at least not with “ordinary” people. Talk to me about shooting athletes and people who are sweating all over the place and often not looking their conventionally sexiest. How do you capture CrossFit in your photos? What’s the hardest part about shooting athletes?

Asta: Bad lighting?  😉

I see it this way, bodies are these incredible and beautiful mechanisms, especially in motion when they are experiencing the struggle and elation of performing a really hard task. I’ve had to really let go of expecting people to be in the right spot or making the right face, which is what all my previous work was about. I think that when people are performing and not paying attention or worrying about how they look, that’s when the good photos happen. I mean, I take thousands of photos and parse them heavily to find the shots that work. At the end of the day, you’re telling someone’s story and I want that story to be relatable, to mean something, to mean many different things to many different people. Occasionally there is a creepy moment when someone makes direct eye contact with me through my lens which is my cue that I’m not being mindful. If I’m distracting them, then I’m not catching the really good shots, and they aren’t focused on the task at hand. Photo ninja, it’s a work in progress.  

Kate: What’s your favorite event or day that you shot at SBK?

Asta: Events with multiple gyms involved (Subway Series, games). The shots of people giving it their all with their whole support network yelling it out on the sidelines, the energy in those shots is palpable. Uhm, and anything with a self-service photo booth, since I get to take all the photos home.

Kate: If you had to give a piece of advice to blossoming photographers or people who want to take better photos, what would it be?

Asta: Take a lot of shots, even if you’ve set up the scene/still-life—take a burst of frames. You’ll soon realize that one in 50 will actually be worth going in your “really good” album and that is completely normal, frankly I would consider that a good day. Also keep track of your images, rank them, compile your favorites, see how your own story develops. Last, my personal thing is, I don’t take photos of people where I wouldn’t be okay having my photo taken if roles were reversed. Empathy can be helpful.

Kate: Where can we see more of your work? Can I hire you?

Asta: My photography portfolio is available by request. I take on jobs every now and then (headshots, events, concerts/shows)—if you have something that you want to collaborate on, get in touch! Also I post all the CF photo content on the CFSBK Flickr account, so if you want some photo overload, go poke around there.

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What is your 14.4 strategy?
Happy Birthday, Dan E!

Snatch Analysis video with Pendlay

5 Rounds for load and time of:
5 reps Bench Press, followed immediately by
250m Row

Rest as needed between sets. Perform a heavy 5 rep set on the bench press for load, then move quickly to the erg for a 250m sprint for time. Score the Bench Press total pounds and the 250m time. Failing short of 5 reps nets a score of zero for the bench portion.

Post loads and times to comments.
Samir C does push-ups in Canyonlands National Park in Utah

• There’s a new post on Inside the Affiliate profiling CrossFit Roots! Get the details about how another sucessful CrossFit gym manages and runs their affiliate! Check it out here.

Male Vocalists Wanted

The Brooklyn Community Chorus is looking for singers! BCC meets every Wednesday night at 7:30pm in Old First Reformed Church at the corner of Carroll Street and 7th Ave. Our new season starts this Wednesday, January 23. No auditions required to join, and everyone is welcome – although we especially need more men!
–Melon W

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NYC Subway images from the 60’s and 70’s
Paleo on a budget
Glengarry Glen Ross Speech

Complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest where the first 8 intervals are pull-ups, the second 8 are push-ups, the third 8 intervals are sit-ups, and finally, the last 8 intervals are squats. There is no rest between exercises.

Post total reps and Rx from all 32 intervals to comments.

Air Squats with Chris Spealer

We are ONLY holding 8am, 9am and 10am Group Classes today

We’d like you to meet Albert William “Billy” Forsythe, born 11/3/13 at 6:35 am. Born to two CFSBKers and delivered by another, midwife extraordinaire Jessica Goldman. Now an advanced three weeks old, Billy is already tired out from his PRing with his barbell rattle.

CFSBK is Thankful for you!

We’ve posted this as an athlete of the month article however the language and sentiment keeps being appropriate! We coaches would like to honor you all, and this is the forum to do it in. You come to  Degraw street from near and far, even spending up to an hour on a bike or a subway car to train with us. You come to us early in the morning before work or school, you make time in your lunch hours to WOD with us, and you even make it in in the evening after a long day spent at a desk or caring for kids. You do ‘shifts’ at the gym, caring for your children while your spouse gets their WOD on. You’re willing to hold someone else’s kid so that their mom or dad can finish up at the end of a class. You make time for not just the fitness aspect of CFSBK but you also put in hours and energy to volunteer at events both in-house and on the road. You do your best to learn the names of the people who are squatting and skipping rope next to you. You cheer, hoot, and holler encouragement at your people. SBKers are YOUR people…You lift hard, you row hard, and you push yourself and everyone around you to be better. You are coachable. You are humble, and eager to help a new member feel right at home. You travel and visit CrossFit gyms around the country and world at large and represent South Brooklyn well. You are proud, if not even a little conceited, that you work out at CrossFit South Brooklyn. You bring your dogs into the gym so the dog-less among you can get a little canine love in the form of a belly rub or a lower leg tongue bath. You socialize outside of the gym with other SBKers and know how to show love the Brooklyn way, whether or not you were born here. Most of all, you ‘get it’. You are not selfish and you love to see people do well, which is a big part of why we do well.

Thanks to all you special people who make CFSBK what it is and are part of our team. It doesn’t exist without you.

What is one thing your’e thankful for and where do you find yourself on Thanksgiving/Hanukkah today?
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The Benefits if Bulletproof Coffee
10 Things I want my daughter to know about working out
A Stroll Around the World

Fitness: Hang Snatch Pull + Hang Power Snatch

Performance: Snatch Deadlift (with a pause at the knee) + Touch and Go Squat Snatch

Take 15 minutes to work up to a moderately heavy load on today’s complexes. See if you can meet last week’s numbers or surpass them with good form.
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High Bar Back Squat

Fitness: 3×8 Across
Add 2.5-5lbs from exposure 2

Performance Heavy 5
Try to beat last week’s heavy 8 by 5-10lbs.

Post loads to comments.
Snatch/HBBSQ e3/6
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Choose one to perform:
1 Mile run
2K Row
8 Minutes of Kipping Pull-Up Practice

The buy in for kipping pull-up practice is 5 strict pull-ups for the guys and 3 strict pull-ups for the ladies.

Zach H at the 3rd Subway Series event

• Dont forget that the gym will be closed on Friday night and all day Saturday and Sunday, including Sunday night Open Gym. Please check out the alternative events we’re hosting, Track workout on Saturday and Flag Football and picnic on Sunday
• For those who already came on Thursday and will also attend Friday’s group classes, we will have a special floater WOD on tap for you so come on down.

Lost and Found Pictures

Looking for your stuff? See if it’s turned up in our lost and found.
Water Bottles
Shoes and Shirts
Some random stuff

Thank you!

This is a repost from September of last years Athelte of the Month which was the entire community. While we have a new September AOM going live soon, we thought this sentiment still seemed appropriate!

September brings out the best AOM yet, our entire community! We coaches would like to honor you all, and this is the forum to do it in. You come to  Degraw street from near and far, even spending up to an hour on a bike or a subway car to train with us. You come to us early in the morning before work or school, you make time in your lunch hours to WOD with us, and you even make it in in the evening after a long day spent at a desk or caring for kids. You do ‘shifts’ at the gym, caring for your children while your spouse gets their WOD on. You’re willing to hold someone else’s kid so that their mom or dad can finish up at the end of a class. You make time for not just the fitness aspect of CFSBK but you also put in hours and energy to volunteer at events both in-house and on the road. You do your best to learn the names of the people who are squatting and skipping rope next to you. You cheer, hoot, and holler encouragement at your people. SBKers are YOUR people…You lift hard, you row hard, and you push yourself and everyone around you to be better. You are coachable. You are humble, and eager to help a new member feel right at home. You travel and visit CrossFit gyms around the country and world at large and represent South Brooklyn well. You are proud, if not even a little conceited, that you work out at CrossFit South Brooklyn. You bring your dogs into the gym so the dog-less among you can get a little canine love in the form of a belly rub or a lower leg tongue bath. You socialize outside of the gym with other SBKers and know how to show love the Brooklyn way, whether or not you were born here. Most of all, you ‘get it’. You are not selfish and you love to see people do well, which is a big part of why we do well.

Thanks to all you special people who make CFSBK what it is and are part of our team. It doesn’t exist without you.

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Last Words
The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking
The Open Is Upon Us CrossFit
Reebok CrossFit Anthem