Archives for July 2011

Take 20 minutes to try and find a 1RM.

Post loads to comments.
compare to 7.9.11

3 Rounds for time:
10 Box Jumps 30″/24″
15 Push Presses @~75% today’s 1RM
30 Kettlebell Swings 24kg/16kg

Post time and Rx to comments.

CFSBK Community Picnic and Flag Football Tournament

Are you ready for some fooooooooooootball?!?!  Join us Sunday, August 21st from 10(ish)am-4(ish)pm for our first ever Crossfit South Brooklyn Flag Football Tournament extravaganza.  This will be a day long picnic open to all members, friends, and family, during which time we will be playing some fairly non-competitive, all inclusive, gender neutral, footwear optional Flag Football.  Depending on interest we will split into 2-8 teams and play a small tournament to crown the champion of the Paleo Pigskin League (PPL.)   

All are welcome to come down, grill, bring beverages or food, and hang.  For anyone interested in the actual playing of football (not just eating and drinking and lounging) please respond to Noah(AT)crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com with a general scale of football aptitude on a 1 (I don’t know a football from a baseball) to 5 (I taught Tom Brady everything he knows, including how to flip his hair so coyly.)

We hope to see you there!

65%x10x2  (% based on 1RM)
or
75%x10x2  (75% of 3RM from 7.27.11)

Post loads to comments.
(volume exposure 1/4)

Spend some time working on Rope Climbs

Post experience to comments.

Jacinto B at the CrossFit Games!

Jacinto is currently in 9th place for the Men’s 60+ master division.  Jacinto took 7th place in event 1 with a time of 8:53 and then tied for 11th place with a 145lb clean and jerk (a 10lb PR!) for event 2.  Great work, Warrior!!!!

Happy Birthday, Kate D!

A Warm-Up Refresher

We’ve been hitting the Standardized Warm-Ups for about a week now and are pleased to see people working dilligently on their calisthenics.  Here are a few points to keep in mind as you continue to make these part of your routine:

Intensity
You shouldn’t be approaching faliure with any these movements. The idea is not to necessarily make it harder each time you do it or test your limits, we want to build a base of sub-maximal volume to gradually build upon. Make it your goal to gradually work closer to Rx’d reps and mature versions of these movements but only after you can perform a submaximal sets or variations wth perfect technique. For example, if you do 10 push-ups as 5-3-2, keep that up until it feels less difficult and then attempt a different rep scheme like 6-2-2 or 5-4-1. Or if you’ve got 1 or 2 strict push-ups, do 2 strict at the top of each round and then finish out with 7 switch push-ups. Play around with how you approach these warm-ups but always keep some gas in the tank.

Movement Tempos
Tempos can be very useful with even the most basic movements.  Holding the bottom of your squat for a 1 count not only strengthens the bottom position but helps open up your hips and ankles.  Remember that good movement is born out of good initial starting positions.  If the top of your push-up is soft then the mechanics of everything that follow it will accordingly suffer. Rushing through these movements can actually be counter productive.  You might develop bad habits, reinforce poor posture and overdevelop one part of the movement at the expense of another. For example if your pull-ups are always just barely over the bar you might get great at doing moderate volume pull-ups at 95% of the Range of motion. Very frustrating when you start failing getting over the bar at all during workouts and you can’t figure out why. One little trick is to think about someone taking your picture at the top and bottom of each repetition. What would you want it to look like?

Variations
Here are some ideas on how to vary your movements to better suit your weakness or needs:

• Do you have a problem with your knees caving in during squats? Why not throw one of the green therabands above your knees to help strengthen that aspect of the squat during warm-ups.  Have you never tried squatting with a theraband? Throw one on and see how it feels, you might be surprised. 
• What if you have trouble hitting depth? maybe grab a 12″ box or a Wall Ball and work on hitting a target. If your knees tend to shoot forward try squatting in front of a bench.
• Do you find that your body type makes it hard to get deep on push-ups?  Try using a few bumper plates under your hands so you can get a little deeper.  This might also be a good option for folks who struggle with strict push-ups and want a little elevation.
• Are you doing 3 sets of 5-8 pull-ups without thinking twice about it? Why not make it a little more difficult by going chest to bar or doing an L-Sit Pull-Up? You might have to drop the total reps to make these submaximal but you’ll be developing other areas in the process.
• Chest Facing down planks too easy? Try bringing your hands forward just beyond your head. Spicy!

Have any questions? Post your experiences with warm-ups to comments so the coaches can help you find the most productive scaling options for you.

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Greg Anderson’s Warm-Up Routine CrossFit
Boz and Todd Coach a Warm-Up CrossFit
Warm-Up Drills with Stephen Rochet CrossFit
Burgener Warm-Up CrossFit
Tumbling Warm-Up Cathletics
Quick and Effective Hamstring Warm-Up Cathletics
Before You Squat Cathletics

Today’s Rest Day WOD is to write a CrossFit Haiku.  Nothing like a fun little project to get the creative juices flowing.  What’s a Haiku you ask?  A Haiku is a traditional form of Japanese poetry characterized by three simple lines. The first line contains 5 syllables, the second contains 7 and the last again contains 5. Think about images, emotions and experiences you have at the gym and see if you can’t write your own.  Below are two examples courtesy of Mobility WOD

Psoas unfolding
Like the lotus blossom
I just vomited

Way of the painball
There are no days off
Leopard is supple

Post Haiku to comments.

While out in California for the Games, Rickke, Jacyln, Mike and Christine stopped by CrossFit Merge for a little team competition. 

Speaking of Competitions..

The first event of the CrossFit Subway Series is just over a week away!  Competitions like these are a great way to mix up your training environment and see how you do under a little more pressure.  It doesn’t matter if you’re interested in competing at the affiliate team level or just a little competition-curious.  Everyone is encouraged to come out and have some fun.  Scaling options for all the workouts will be provided so that you can participate no matter what your level.

The first event will be held on Saturday, August 6th, 9am at CrossFit Virtuosity. For more information and to register, visit the eventbrite site.

The CrossFit Games Are Here!

After months of waiting the Games are finally here.  You can watch some of the best CrossFitters on the planet battle it out for the title of fittest on earth for free online here.  One of the best parts of the Games is that the events are unknown until shortly before competition.  This means we don’t know what kinds of grueling tests these athletes will be put through until this weekend.  The only known variable is that the events will definitely be very.. very grueling.
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Highlights from the CrossFit/USAW Open
A Brief History Of The CrossFit Games

3 Rounds for time of:
Run 400m
21 Thrusters, 75/55
12 Pull-Ups

Post time and Rx to comments.

Portia and the Peanut Gallery

Happy Birthday (and welcome back) Brian D!

Skill Session 1: The Kipping Pull-Up

Are you an athlete who has strict pull-up but hasn’t learned the elusive kip?  Do you have a decent kipping swing but seem to always get stuck at the bottom of your pull-up?  Can get a few kips in but quickly fall out of rhythm and have to start over?  On Thursday, August 4th at 8PM Coach Noah will run an (approximately) one hour mini-workshop dedicated solely to the kipping pull-up, and iron out all of your funky kipping issues. 

A Legal Theory For Autonomous Artificial Agents

What!? Another SBK author coming out with a book.  Check out “The Professor” Samir C’s new book 

In short: As corporations and government agencies replace human employees with online customer service and automated phone systems, we become accustomed to doing business with non human agents. If artificial intelligence (AI) technology advances as today’s leading researchers predict, these agents may soon function with such limited human input that they appear to act independently. When they achieve that level of autonomy, what legal status should they have? 

Or, In layman’s terms…

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Is This Paleo? Robb Wolf
USDA: Make It More Obvious When Meat Is Enhanced Take Part

Advanced: 85%x3x5
Beginner/Intermediate: 3-3-3-3-3

If you don’t have a 1RM then spend today’s exposure finding a heavy 3 rep that still leaves some room to move up in weight by 15-20 lbs. We’ll be doing triples as the heavy day with linear increases for this squat cycle so don’t hit the wall on day 1.

Post loads to comments.

2 Rounds NFT of:
15 Strict Toes to Bar or Knees to Elbows
15 Single Leg RDLs, each leg

Post loads and Rx to comments.

Good luck to Jeff B on the Bar Exam today!

Congratulations to Coach Chris Fox for passing his motorcycle license test!

Odds on Salo?

The CrossFit Games are a mere 3 days away!  Who do you see on the podium for the men’s and women’s divisions this year?  Last night it was announced that there will be swimming involved in this years Games.  Hope the competitors took a tip from the SBK Red Hook Swim Club and included some laps into their training!

It also goes without saying that we’re all putting our money on “The Warrior”, Jacinto B to take the top spot in the 60+ Masters Division.  Fun Fact: Jacinto will be the oldest competitor at the Games this year!

The Taste Of Salt

Check out resident author extraordinaire, Martha Southgate who will be promoting the release of her new book, “The Taste Of Salt”.  Check out these advance reviews:

“Extraordinarily moving and keenly sensitive tour de force that will linger in your mind and heart for a long time.”—James Hannaham, author of God Says No

“A haunting novel about the ways we hurt and are hurt by the people we love most in the world, and about how, despite that, we find solace in their love.”—Ayelet Waldman, author of Red Hook Road

“The Taste of Salt is a beautiful and heartbreaking portrait of a modern family.   Employing a chorus of voices and perspectives,  Martha Southgate probes the depths of her troubled characters with clarity and tenderness.”—Dan Chaon,  author of Await Your Reply
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WOD Gear CrossFit Training Apperel
Adrian Bozman is “Ready” CrossFit

Check out Maurya S from Spartan Racing’s video update after her first session at CFSBK.  Maurya is gearing up to run two Spartan Races with the help of Coach Shane.  You can read more about her experience here!

Wednesday 8pm Class

You asked for it and you got it.  Join Coach Noah this and every Wednesday at 8pm for our newest Group Class.

Lets Get Real about Summertime Hydration!

Watch Kelly S over at Mobility WOD talk about heat, fluid loss and how to get enough fluid and salts for life and performance. Episode 276

Do You Remember Your First Workout at CFSBK? What was it?

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Strength Feats Compilation 2 Youtube
“Do Over” CrossFit Triangle
Tuaomas Vainio, Born Generalist CrossFit
Kristen Clever: Can’t Quit, Not Acceptable Rogue/CrossFit

4 Rounds of:
Bench Press, 5 reps
Row 25 Calories

Get on the erg immedidately following your bench set and row a hard 25 calories. Rest as needed between rounds. Your score is total lbs moved and total time on the erg.  If you miss a rep on the bench, you get zero points for that set. For example:

150×5 = 750lbs
1:30

160×5 = 800lbs
1:32

170×4 = 0lbs
1:31

165×5 = 825lbs
1:33

Score = 2,375lbs / 6:06

Post score to comments.

Devi A looks focused during Push Jerk warm-ups

This Squat Cycle.

As mentioned previously, we’ll still be squatting 2x per week throughout this cycle.  Wednesdays exposures will be heavy sets while Saturday’s will be volume sets.  Below is the programming breakdown for each exposure.

Wednsday Heavy Squat
e1: Advanced:85%x3x5
Novice/Intermediate: 3-3-3-3-3 Working up to a submax heavy triple (leave 15-20 lbs in the tank)
e2: add 5-15lbs 3×5
e3: add 5-10lbs 3×5
e4: add 2.5-5lbs 3×5

Saturday: Volume Squat
e1: 65%x10x2 (or %75 of your first heavy triple from this cycle)
e2: +5-10lbs x10x2
e3: +5-10lbs x10x2
e4: +5-10lbs x10x2

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For the CFSBK Red Hook Swim Club: Tabata Swimming CrossFit.com
CF Santa Cruz Does Weighted Push-Ups CrossFit.com
Sepak Takraw (No hands Volleyball)
Ngyuen Thi Buch Thuy: ‘Just Give Me The Damn Sepak Takraw Ball!’ The Onion

Warm-up 1A or 1B

then

Forward Roll Practice
Take 15 minutes to learn/experiment with Forward Rolls

20-Rep Overhead Squat
Take 25 Minutes to work up to a 20-rep Overhead Squat.  Don’t sacrifice form for load here. 

Post loads to comments. 

JZ weathers the Storm

Good luck to Christine G. who is participating in her first IronMan Triathalon today! Go get ’em Christine!

The New Cycle Starts Tomorrow

Today is the final day of Back-Off Week!  The new cycle starts tomorrow and we’re shaking things up a little bit.  We’ll still be squatting twice weekly (Wednesday/Saturday) but have jettisoned the Pull and Upper Body Strength days as the focus of this cycle will be on strength endurance and more traditional CrossFit programming.   We look forward to seeing you increase your work capacity over broad time and modal domains! 

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Which movement(s) from the Warm-ups do you want to make the most improvement with this cycle?
______________

Forward Roll Progression Gymnastics WOD
Nicole Carrol does 15 Overhead Squats at BW CrossFit
Keith W. of CF Virtuosity wants to heal your forearms/elbows FxD/T
Elbow Pain and Grody-Tacked Down Forearms MobilityWOD

30 Minutes of Practice
Use medium to light weights and emphasize positions and speed under the bar. 

Post loads and lessons to comments.

The One-Armed Man

Standardized Warm-Ups
By David Osorio

Intention
One of our goals for you for this cycle is to increase both strength and stamina with our most basic gymnastics skills.  For a while now, our training has biased barbell lifting at the expense of many foundational calisthenic movements. We’ve seen people put up big numbers on the Back Squat or Deadlift who would struggle with a set of 10 strict pull-ups.  We’ve also seen many new folks unable to get their first push-up for too long simply because they don’t do enough of them.  
To fix this, we’ve decided to include a standardized warm-up which we’ll be doing at the beginning of each class. Consider this warm-up one of the training variables we’ll be playing with this cycle. If it goes well, we’ll implement standardized warm-ups in future cycles as well.

Strategy
After class intros, we’ll break out and perform Warm-Up 1 or Warm-Up 2. Which warm-up you do depends on how many times per week you come. If you’re a 1 or 2 time per week CrossFitter, stick to Warm-Up 1, the consistency will be helpful since the overall training volume will be lower. Otherwise, alternate each of these workouts scaling to your abilities. Focus on PERFECT execution on these reps and work at a steady tempo on each rep and actively practice best-fit positions. Really, more so than warming you up, performing these movements with good technique consistently will increase connective tissue strength, body awareness and increase overall fitness.

The Warm-Ups
Warm-Up 1 A
3 Rounds of:
15 Hollow Rocks
15 Air Squats
8-12 Push-Ups
5-8 Pull-Ups

Warm-Up 1 B
3 Rounds of:
15 Hollow Rocks
15 Air Squats
10 Switch Push-Ups or Kneeling Push-Ups
3 Negatives (just the down portion) or 5 Leg Assisted Pull-Ups 

There are two versions of WU1.  WU1A is the advanced version which assumes you can perform the mature versions of all these exercises.  We’ve included a range of reps that you can play with in order to scale to your ability.  WU1B is for folks who are still working on getting their first mature push-up or pull-up.  Again, there are a few different modifications built into it so you can tailor it for your needs.

Hold the top and bottom of each squat for :01. For the push-up, hold the top for a :01 as well.  These tempos help build strength at end ranges where form is often compromised or short changed.

Warm-Up 2

3 Rounds of:
0:30 in a prone or supine plank. (alternate each round)
8 Reverse Lunges, each leg
10 Ring Rows

The planks in Warm-Up 2 develop isometric strength which we otherwise don’t do too much of in CrossFit.  This is a great way to strengthen your shoulders and tight body positions.  By altering hand placement, we can easily make these movements more less difficult.  On the lunges, focus on keeping keeping the front shin vertical and developing balance.  Another movement we don’t see much of in programming is the horizontal pull.  Many of you working on pull-ups do these regularly but many folks who already have them overlook this important movement.  Rows help develop the upper back which is important for upper body strength Thoracic spine stability.

What to do before or after
There is a 10 minute cap on these warm-ups.  If you finish early take a water break then you can do some quick soft tissue work like foam rolling or stretching.  For folks who arrive early to the gym, this would also be a great time to mobilize a difficult movement or foam roll/LAX.

We look forward to hearing everyone’s feedback on this and how it affects their training over time.
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A Better Warm-up by Greg Glassman CrossFit
Links As Rx’d: Links for CrossFitters Links As Rxd
Fight Gone Bad Mobile App Fight Gone Bad
Win a Free Ipad 2 from Fight Gone Bad Fight Gone Bad

Coach Nick Coaching Collette K. at the CRASH-Bs

Underneath the Hoodie – Nick Peterson
By Margie Lempert

DOB: 2/23/73
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 205
Place of Birth: Brooklyn, NY
Place of Higher Learning: Harvard
Years in New York: almost 12
Years at SBK: 2.5

Nick was tired of being told to put on his shoes. That was the thing that finally sent him to the Lyceum. That and David’s advances. And pregnant Charlotte’s transition to SBK. And the fact that we weren’t assholes. He had been happily rebelling against his years of rowing regimen with capoeira; finally life was not so… sagittal. Why go back into the pit of discipline?

It started when we met at the co-op: Nick was doing a make-up on my shift and somehow or another we got to talking about CrossFit and rowing. Turned out his wife Charlotte had been doing CF on her own at the Slope Fitness, so he knew about it, but was not personally compelled. It seemed too pushy. Too much like the years and years he’d spent competing as a rower, including a trip to the 2000 Olympics in Australia. He was over the machismo, the drive to go harder than everyone else; he’d watched so many people beat their chests only to fail. Since his final year as a competitive athlete, he’d been fascinated by training efficiently. Good technique, coupled with laziness seemed to be key. The best rowers were lazy. They did just what they needed to in training, never more. But when game day came, they could turn on the fierce competitive focus and win.

Nick had the mental toughness for competition, but he was not a natural athlete – at least according to him. He didn’t feel that he was good at moving, couldn’t really mimic movements, but rather had to rely on descriptive coaching in order to learn technique. Perhaps that’s where Nick the athlete and Nick the intellect collide.

Talking to Nick is not linear; he’s a holistic thinker, able to thread thoughts through various topics, and circle back to previous points fluidly. Maybe it’s in his blood: grandma was a major player in the women’s rights movement (Ralph Nader’s mentor, no less), and Dad’s profession as an architect took the family to Beirut when Nick was 5, where he studied at an international french school. They loved it there. The people were warm and it reminded Nick’s parents of Brooklyn. But several years later, after coming back from an intermission in Rome, the family decided it was time to leave: being caught in a bombing of the theater your Dad redesigned will do that.

The Peterson’s settled in DC and Nick reintegrated by attending another international french school. When he started public school in the 6th grade, he was thoroughly accustomed to co-mingling with kids of all nationalities, so it was a shock to be thrown into the mix of US racial politics. He knew right away that things were different; the racial divide in terms of academic tracking was obvious, and he had several social situations that reinforced his observations. All of this spawned his interest in understanding race relations, which prompted him to major in African-American studies at Harvard.

The other major life interest that Nick discovered at that school was rowing, and really sport in general. Perhaps because he didn’t feel like a natural athlete, Nick’s attitude is different from what you might expect from an Olympian. He’s very equal opportunity when it comes to learning sport. He says that anyone can be taught to be an athlete because everyone has capacity. Yes, hard work is involved and the ability to make connections between different movements, but the reality is that there is no functional limit to what one can do. One can always push harder or refine technique more; the compelling and repulsive truth to competition as well.

Technique is paramount for Nick, which is why he finally got drawn into CFSBK. That and the fact that we didn’t care if he worked out barefoot. He was extremely impressed by David and Shane’s eye for detail. He felt that the quality of instruction was higher than what he’d experienced at the various olympic centers he’d trained at. In contrast to his overall impression of CrossFit as a practice, our gym emphasized good movement and smart training. And it was fun!

Parting thoughts:
If not a rower, then an artist.
Secret ability to identify the decade a building was constructed.
Loves watches, coffee, ties and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Knows a lot about movies he hasn’t seen.
His relationship with Charlotte is the definition of “meant to be”, but we’ll save that story for another time…

Favorite way to eat eggs:
Scrambled, wet

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What is your greatest strength as an athlete?  Where have you seen the most improvement since training at SBK? 
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John Welbourn answers Rob I.’s Question Talk to Me Johnnie
How I Overcame BiPolar II (And Saved My Own Life) Forbes.com (Via Hunter-Gatherer)