CrossFit South Brooklyn

Established 2007

Rest Day

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M and L
Malcolm and Laurel in California

We only have 6 more days at the Brooklyn Lyceum.  What are some of your favorite things about the space? What will you miss most?

Comments

  2. Lovely photo!

    Aah the Lyceum… I will miss how historic and cool and very Brooklyn the space is. I’ll also miss Regan’s smiling face welcoming us when we enter the cafe. I will not miss the bathrooms, unexpected pools of liquid everywhere, and working out in temperatures colder or hotter than it is outside.

  3. I’ll miss the sometimes hilarious juxtapositions: Deadlifting next to Lucy’s psychiatry advice booth; doing walking lunges alongside the batting cage; and my all-time favorite, working out while a giant live orchestra rehearsed in the same room.

  5. great pic! working out next to the circus people rehearsing with the crazy strong guy on the rings was pretty awesome. the lyceum has a lot more character than any other box we’ve been to. I really like that there are a lot of disparate arts all happening there.

  6. i’m really going to miss the uniqueness of the space we’ve had, both downstairs and up. i think its really what has helped bring us together to form our unique CF community. working in extreme conditions and having to be adaptable can only bring you closer together and stronger.

    that being said…. i think our community is all close and strong and shit – so climate control, a non-leaky roof, more class options, space, etc are all going to be welcomed!

    david (and to all the coaches that have joined on since the beginning) – you’ve done a really great thing here! thank you.

  7. I will miss the gonzo gorillaness of it all. Also the possibility of some sort of surprise. Will the door be locked? will we be downstairs? Will there be an angry poet complaining about bailing weights? Will the roof stay on? Will eric ask to try out for my baseball team again?

    There was always some sort of random craziness that was possible.

    We will still have Regan! Maybe not every day, but she will be around and is one of us, so no need to miss her.

    Anyone want to predict what the last Lyceum WOD will be?Something epic that can be undertaken by a cast of thousands!

  9. I’m going to miss the gym being three blocks from my apartment. I can already see February “Hm, I should go to Crossfit…but it’s 15 degrees outside. I’m not walking SEVEN whole blocks, that’s crazy!”

    Forget the last Lyceum WOD, if you want to talk about ideas I’m going to regret, I think we should christen the new box (sorry Tam) with…Murph.

  11. The space has a lot of character. It makes me feel all flash-dance and stuff. I love the look of it–so much potential going to so much waste.

    I can deal with cold temperatures, too, but these past couple of weeks it’s like something or someone is trying to freeze us out. Who wants to place bets on how much the temperature will go UP next week?

  12. I’ll miss the Lyceum for many of the same reasons: it is closer to my apartment, for one. And I think many of us bonded over the extreme elements, complaining about the insane heat in August or huddling around the heaters in the winter like a pack of hobos. And the Lyceum looks beautiful in Dan’s photographs. (It helps you can’t smell it through photos!) I will try not to cry on Sunday;)

    Made up deadlifts this morning, 90x3x5

    lLast sets across was at 82/83. Deadlifts and I have a problematic relationship, so we’re taking it slow.

    Rowing = suck. I couldn’t get below 2:25 no matter how hard I tried. Needs more practice. And milk.

  13. Oh wait, I actually did some work today, too, didn’t I? Sometimes I forget.

    Row: I chose B (which started at 2:30) As I predicted, when I reached the second-to-last interval, it was just out of my reach. 2:04 was about as low as I got.

    DL:

    95×5, 125×3, 145×3

    175x3x5 (or is that supposed to be 175x5x3–I can never remember)

    Felt pretty good. Still flummoxed by the unaccountable drop in strength in this area, but I suspect it has to do with corrections in form.

  15. Things I’ll miss:The deterorating interior that photographs so well.High ceilings”constantly varied” training environment (extreme heat/cold)Listening to a live orchestra/opera/performance pieces while lifting heavy shit.Random interactions with people who have nothing to do with CrossFit.Proximity to the R train, CoOp, Palo Santo, Root Hill, and other tastie goodies.

    Things I won’tShitty lighting”constantly varied” training environment (extreme hear/cold)The bathrooms – filthy, no hot water, out of paper towels, often no soap (used feminie hygiene product adhered to the wall, ick…) The “urinal”Using the toilet stalls as a dressing room.No showersInability to “domp”Having to change programming because of a poor scheduling on account of Lyceum management.Hunting for gas leaks.The dirty looks the open mic folks give me when being loudWet spots

  16. I’ll miss the character the Lyceum brings as a whole. High ceilings, natural light, chains hanging from the roof. I remember walking in for the first time for a teaser (w/ Jacinto and David) and being like…”yeah, this is the shit”. I’ll also miss being able to go downstairs and grab a cuppa joe from smiley Regan, and the randomness of the place in general. And Eric in goggles, I’ll miss that too.

    Awesome photo of the day!

  18. I will miss..- super industrial fantastic-ness that is the completely illegal (in terms of NYC building code) lyceum- close to yummy things (like Palo Santo!)- coffee.- random interactions with groups such as the quacking/squawking actors and the large women’s jazzercise/pilates/yoga/???- great photo ops- outdoor workouts with the park slope stroller brigade looking on in extreme confusion

    I will not miss..- changing in the 1 stall that has a latch- “urinal”- awkward encounters with Erik “i’ll go out for a drink with you guys next week!” .. oops.- extreme heat/cold- getting rained on (okay I might miss this a little at times due to its bizarre nature)

    New location does shed like 3 blocks off my walk! Woohoo! & right next door to BKB.. 😉

  19. Murph will always have a special place in my heart asmy first ever CF workout (finished during my lunch break at work, but that’s another story).

    But I vote for Grace baby! That’s 30 clean and jerks for time. Furthermore, the christening should involve dropping every rep from overhead…

    Can’t wait to do more Olympic lifts! Feels like forever since I’ve hit Elizabeth, Isabelle, Grace. And how long since seeing Franchesca…. She looks better everyday.

  20. favoritesthe space. madness. extreme cold. upstairs/downstairs. regan. unknowing of what/who we will be sharing the space with for our WOD. first place to start crossfit.

    not so favoritesi was going to bitch about stuff, but thinking about it all, it’s a great space and i’ve had great fun, at times irritating as bejesus, but part of the CF methodology, the unknown, right?

    i think i can help on sunday and would like to attend the primal quest.

    cant wait to get back and see you all very soon

  21. I’ll miss that’s it’s closer to my apartment then the new place and a quick walk to the coop. The place has a great look to it, but never seemed particularly safe (I’ve seen chunks of rusty beams fall upstairs).

    I’ll miss it as a chapter in my life most of all. From the bear crawls downstairs with John C to my first 405 deadlift upstairs. It was a place where I was lucky enough to meet some great friends, and although I’m not leaving them, nor will I give up my memories, there was always a bond of fanaticism that had us standing in front of gas heaters pre-wod and shirtless on the freezing floor post. It was a part of something that was very important to me. Yep, a lot of memories.

    Now lets get the new place open so we can start anew.

  22. Everyone has hit the Lyceum dead on: a paradox of a place that perfectly mirrors our “extreme” interests and inspires tall tales.

    I will always remember my first day walking downstairs: David greeted me like he’d always known me, though we’d only exchanged some (rather personal) emails. Erik and John C were the only other people taking class that day. I liked it. Was pleasantly surprised by this welcoming, knowledgeable kid who I’d imagined to be much older. Soon I would meet Jeremy and John B and Michelle and Cleiser, and not too long after Charmel and Shane and Stephanie P. And now there are so many SBKers. We’ve collected each other inside those absurd walls.

    I will miss it for the same reasons as everyone else. I’ll admit I wasn’t ready to let it go when we first started talking about leaving. But I think it’s time. We’ve done the whole roommate thing and now we’re old enough for our own pad.

  24. The idea that we’ve got less than a week at the Lyceum is quite surreal for me and in no way has ‘sunk in’. For the two years we’ve been there I’ve gone back and forth from thinking that this Needed to be our permanent home to an intense urgency to leave. At this point, I’ve certainly come to terms that my vision for South Brooklyn and the needs of our member’s can’t be satisfied in a muti-use space. For everything that’s amazing about the lyceum, there are too many barriers we can’t cross simply because it’s not OUR own space, because it’s not OUR own home. This somewhat reminds me of leaving Equinox. I remember anticipating the freedoms I would have not being tied to their corporate structure and I patiently made several compromises until what I was building on the side could sustain me. This is the same on a much larger scale and much deeper sense. Without the Lyceum, I can’t imagine where we would be. If I believed in fate or luck, i’d say that someone was looking out for us when I first walked in and asked Eric if I could rent 2 hours a week for a small fitness program I had.

    Things I’ll miss:I’ll miss that priceless expression from the people who ‘get it’ when they first walk in an survey the room. The exposed brick, arch windows, real graffiti, the sheer size and chaos of it all. I’ve seen that face on everyone from Greg Glassman to folks just passing through the space casually. The aesthetic of our facility made us known nationally and a destination spot for many traveling CrossFitters. More importantly, being able to workout in that environment, both with members, coaches and alone has been a real pleasure and something I’ll never forget.

    I’ll miss the spirit of the lyceum, that intangible clash of personalities and visions flowing through the space. For better or worse, every day brought something unique and for that I am grateful. No one could ever say that things were boring at the lyceum.

    I’ll miss the perks we had like the coffee shop, constant exposure to the arts, no utility bills and the ability to start small and grow into a large space.

    What I won’t miss:I won’t miss the anxiety that cold temperatures, rainy days, double booked times and bailing weight brought with them.Regarding the environmental issues, i don’t mind them for myself, I worry about the folks with poor circulation or who can’t find anywhere to put there stuff because the benches are wet, or the people who needed to change standing over a broken toilet while holding the door closed so no one would walk in.I won’t miss having to double check everything that I want to do and a profound sense of lack of control when it comes to big picture stuff.I wont miss cleaning up other people’s messes and having to show up an hour early to move equipment before class because some shitty little 10 year old had a birthday party there the night before.

    While I’ve got countless memories in the Lyceum and have made connections with people who feel like family to me now, I won’t miss the opportunity to continue to grow those relationships and our community. Ultimately, what we’re losing is superficial. Everything that’s important, everything that makes people read the blog every day and show up to class is coming with us, and best of all, it doesn’t weight anything.

  25. I’ll miss the whole “Thunderdome” feel and the place where my life irrevocably changed for the better.

    Looking forward to Degraw!

  27. I can’t wait to tell new people at the new box, “Oh you should have been here when we were in the Lyceum. Now those were real WODs…”

    I will miss the “Blade Runner” water and decay atmosphere, sniff, sniff…

  28. Great post David!

    Perhaps I was a little too negative in my first post (I blame work!). In fact, I will miss many of the things that everyone has said. Also, I will miss Jack changing out in the open and then carefully trying to hang his clothes somewhere where they won’t get filty. How will we cope? Will we get used to real bathrooms where people can change in privacy, comfort and warmth?

    And, what about the prime viewing platform we had to watch the Marathon. We only had to take off the plexi-glass window without having it crash down on us, then climb up out the window, and slide down the buiding facade onto a rickety, tetanus-prone, completely unsafe platform. Will Degraw St. have those adventures? I think not.

  29. i will not miss anything about the lyceum except walking in and having Regan make fun of me regularly :-(the place was very beautiful from an aesthetic point of view but it really didn’t serve our purpose well. i can still remember one of my first classes when a light bulb almost fell on my face. i wholeheartedly welcome the new place since i can actually start working out again and not freeze my rickety old bones.

  30. I almost forgot! I’ll miss squeezing through the gate when it was locked…only to get caught halfway through and be told it was unlocked the whole time.

  31. Did a CFT in Sebastopol today.

    Back squat 270, 290F, 285PR.Press 120, 130F, 125F (No change plates smaller than 2.5).Deadlift 295, 315, 330PR.

    CFT = 735.

    Old CFT in October 2007 was 390.In November 2008 was 665.

    2009 at the Lyceum was good to me!

    I will miss the wonderful juxtaposition of the lyceum. The visually toughest gym I have ever seen with the friendliest people I have ever met.

  32. I was so excited for the CFT, and now I’m seriously grumpy.

    Walked into to CF sebastopol and looked at the warm-up: row till warm, 3 rounds of cindy.

    my biceps were still throbbing from calisthenic Lynne on Sunday and the peculiar amrap yesterday but I thought, eh, 30 push-ups is nothing… three rounds of cindy later and all the muscles in my arms were aching and shaky, my legs were sore and weak after the air squats and I thought.. hmm. maybe this won’t go so well.

    sure enough, my backsquat and press were quite weak. I need to do this again when I am not recovering from a cold and haven’t just destroyed myself.

    backsquat: (45×5, 75×5, 105×3, 135×3, 165×1)175×1, 185F (previous PR 185. grr.)

    press: (45×5, 65×3)75×1, 85×1, 95F (previous PR 95 or 100)

    dl: (65×5, 95×3, 135×3, 165×1, 175×1)185, 195, 205pr

    The 205 came up fast and easy this time, so I should have gone heavier.

    Overall a very frustrating experience.

    Eek – it’s dinner time. I’ll post about the lyceum later.

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