For Time:
70 Double Unders
600m Row
50 Kettlebell Swings 53/35
40 Burpees
30 Overhead Squats 95/65
20 Pull-Ups
10 Strict Ring Dips
Post time and Rx to comments.
Unfazed by David creepin behind him, Chris P sets a new personal record at the Total
Congratulations on three new leader board performances with Teresa B, Jackie Z and Melissa L pulling off 13:26, 16:08 and 18:00 (respective) Diane scores!
Good luck to Coach Margie who will be taking her GRE test today!
Big thanks to Tom C for hooking the CFSBK Coaches with some sweet FDNY Engine Co 226 Shirts!
The Paleo Challenge Cometh
As 2011 comes to an end, we’re excited to look forward to 2012 and start things off with a bang. Last year’s Paleo Challenge was a huge success with over 70 participants, many of whom adopted healthy habits all throughout the year. We hope this year will be bigger and better than ever. Please go to the challenge page and read the overview. Registration for the challenge will open up on Saturday. Get Stoked!
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What are the best books you read in 2011?
_______________
WNYC’s Picks For the Brooklyn Book Festival
The 10 Best Books of 2011 NY Times
Best Books of 2011 Publishers Weekly
“Language” Greg Admunson CrossFit
Flexibility For the Overhead Squat at 6’5″ Cathletics
Whoa, this Paleo Challenge is a lot more intense than I was expecting. CASH MONEY! WHAAAT? I'm super excited for it and for all the camaraderie that will undoubtedly come along with it!
I'm a little concerned, however, that my current 2 month paleo challenge is getting over the same day that this one is starting, making it a 4 monther. My after pictures will become my before pictures, and then become my mid pictures…. (trippy right?)
1. Lonesome Dove – probably one of the greatest five books I've ever read. Thanks Deb P!
2. Just Kids – Patti Smith's memoir of life with Robert Mapplethorpe before he got famous.
3. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus – Charles C. Mann
4. Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality – Ryan and Jetha
5. The Imperfectionists: A Novel – Tom Rachman
6.Bossypants – Tina Fey
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.
1776 by David McCullough
(Wish I'd read more this year…have a big stack on my nightstand that I barely got through. Oh, toddler living.)
Michele,
Alec told me that he read Lonesome Dove or is reading it, on your recommendation, and I am going to dig into it today on a plane!
Great to get back into the gym last night for some more wendler and sandbag burpees. Had to miss the gym for about a week and a half but it wasn't so terrible. Deadlifts are starting to feel a lot better, and this has been my biggest deficiency on the platform.
Have a great day!
Alec read Lonesome Dove in one weekend.
My list starts out like Michele's:
1. Lonesome Dove
2. Just Kids
3. A biography on Kay Thompson
4. A Steve McQueen biography
5.Currently reading a Joan Macracken biography
I think I may have only read 5 books this year. I am a very sloooooooow reader.
I almost forgot. @Michele I put The Master and Margarita on my list after your recommendation a few months ago.
oh i looooooooove that book!!
– Ready Player One – set in 2044, in an impoverished, dystopian America, the only escape is a vast virtual-reality simulation game loaded with the best items from the 70s and '80s: Star Wars, Atari, D&D, Cereal, John Hughes. Our hero is Wade aka Parzival. The quest: whoever can complete a series of hidden quests assembled from a favorite childhood movies, games, TV shows, and songs wins a fortune and a digital kingdom. I could not put it down, loved it!
– World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie Wars. Completely different than any zombie book as of yet, this is basically a collection of interviews with people involved in the great human-zombie war. The conflict started in China with a virus and spread around the globe until the undead are everywhere. People panic, retreat, and then start to fight back. Apparently Brad Pitt is turning it into a movie. Umm.. please do not let that deter you.
– 1493: Uncovering The New World Columbus Created – this was probably the most fascinating book I've read in a long time. It could have been boring, it was not. If anyone is interested in the history and future of our planet, grab it.
– Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children – black white and creepy all over. That's all I'm sayin'.
– The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – The story of a woman who had cancer, a sample of her cells taken without her knowledge or consent, and then those cells becoming the holy grails of mid-century biology. For example, her cells were used to develop the polio vaccine and that's just a pindrop of what they were in total used for. Billions of money made – her family didn't receive a dime. Real-life detective story.
– Grant Achatz- Life, on the Line: A Chef's Story of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death, and Redefining the Way We Eat. A James Beard award winner when he was 34, he lost his sense of taste after developing stage 4 mouth cancer. This is his memoir. I'm seriously Epicurious and this is up there with My Life In France: Julia Child.
Master and Margarita is AWESOME. trippy, trippy, trippy. 1491 is one of the ones on my nightstand…
i'm not a very well read person, but i made an effort this year to read new books. (i normally just re-read the same books over and over — basically the silmarillion and various harry potter books.)
this year i read all five books of george r.r. martin's 'a song of ice and fire'. really enjoyed them, especially book 3.
i read ender's game, a sci-fi classic.
currently reading 'into the wild' and sort of rolling my eyes through the whole thing, so i'm hoping it picks up by the end.
Anna Karenina (started in 2010, finished last week; worth it)
Winner Take All Politics
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
The Goon Squad
Ahh, yes, to answer the question…. I don't really read novels but I read (and am reading) some great nerdy non-fiction books.
On Architecture:
Interactive Architecture – Michael Fox (fantastic, techie, gadget making goodness)
Digital Fabrications: Architectural and Material Techniques – Lisa Iwamoto (Awesome projects and great design process information on each of them)
On Nutrition:
Good Calories Bad Calories – Gary Taubes (Fantastic book if you're into getting tons of information on a subject)
Currently reading:
On Mathematics/Music/Art/Artificial Intelligence/Architecture/Cognition/Etc.:
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid – Douglas Hofstadter (I would highly recommend this book if you're into weird mind loops, looking into a mirror across from another mirror, or the way people perceive and understand information. It is AMAZING.)
"We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People," by Peter Van Buren.
I laughed. I cried. I read it twice.
Finally got around to reading "Up in the Old Hotel" by Joseph Mitchell, which was another standout.
I forgot I read A Prayer for Owen Meany this year. That knocks my #5 off the list.
great video posted today by glenn pendlay of his athletes at cal strength: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGEvGSAmQQo. shows mostly lifts that failed or took a huge struggle to complete, which is always interesting to watch.
Two questions about the paleo challenge:
1. Are legumes/soy also taboo? Not that I'm planning to chow down on tofu every day and call it paleo, but I do like a little soy sauce on my sashimi.
2. An ounce of water/tea/seltzer per pound of body weight? That seems like a lot — for most of us, that's more than a gallon per day! I'm having serious trouble imagining how I would do that without having to run to the bathroom, like, every half hour.
Best books I read this year:
"The Good German" by Joseph Kanon. If you saw the (terrible) movie, don't pre-judge the book, which is way better. I was hanging on every word waiting for the mystery to be solved. (Bonus: I read it just after I left Berlin, and the book is set in Berlin just after WWII — made for a very rich reading experience.)
"Gai-Jin" by James Clavell. I've never met a Clavell epic I didn't love.
"A Time to Betray" by Reza Kahlili. Really makes you understand the impossible situation of an Iranian citizen spying for the CIA, and the courage it takes to serve your ideals anyway.
And, most frustrating book I read in 2011: "Doctor Zhivago." I wish I'd given up after 100 pages. I'm told the movie is great and still worth seeing, but the book includes SO MUCH extraneous detail that bogs down the story. It took me 2-1/2 months to read it, and I'm normally a book-a-week kind of gal.
'1493' and 'Sex at Dawn' are also definitely on my list–both really changed the way I look at the world.
'Remainder' by Tom McCarthy is amazing–about a guy who gets hit on the head and uses the money from a lawsuit to re-create down to the smallest detail completely mundane scenes that he's seen in his mind. (I just read that over and it sounds like the worst story possible). But he's a fantastic writer and it works beautifully.
And I've been re-reading all the Tintin books before the movie comes out. So good.
23:02 Rx. Amazing workout.
My favorite book of the year is “The Once and Future King” by T. H. White. I’d been meaning to read it ever since 2003, when Magneto was reading it in the plastic jail in X-Men 2.
Woah this is awesome I just started Lonesome Dove yesterday – great up on the movie of course like any good country girl but great that reading this will be awesome 🙂
Paleo Challenge I am scared 😉 But Billy Keefe is keeping me to strict Paleo lunches at work so there are positive influences!
Margie you are totally going to Rock the GRE
And to the LADIES!!!!! We had a discussion that CFSBK chicks are bad ass and fun! So we are declaring Saturday Ladies night!! This is an open invite even if you are bran spankin' new, not CFSPK – hell we will not even throw rocks at boys. But after the Titsday meet and Bierkraft yummies we are planning to leave the chalk behind and grab some drinks!
The general thought is start at Union Hall 8ish on Union and 5th for a central local (open to other suggestions) and take on the night from there – if you have to come later shoot me an email at melag2001@gmail.com and you shall be kept up to date accordingly.
And most importantly good luck to all the lifters!!
Mel
First off, I surfed over to the blog today, saw that wod and all I could think was, Yikes! That is quite the crush week crusher.
My favorite books I've read this year are two of the three books in French author Jean Claude Izzo's Marseilles Trilogy (in translation, not in the French). They're crime novels about Marseilles in the 90s and the main character's an ex cop fed up with corruption who has great taste in music. They're totally quick reads. Highly recommended. The first is called Total Chaos (then Chourmo and Solea).
Anyone here like China Mieville? I've read Perdido Street Station and The Scar, and liked them both. (Didn't read them this year but thought I'd throw it out there anyway).
Ian, ditto. I have total dread and fear of doing this tomorrow. But I'm posting that I AM going to do it tomorrow (since I can't come Saturday), so you all can shame me mercilessly if I chicken out.
Wow, can't believe I'm going to be the first one to own up the Hunger Games, but OK, I'll say it.
If the MGMT is still taking Spotify requests may I recommend "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" by the Allman Brothers from the Filmore East Live Album. A long, classic jam, perfect for a chipper like this (I think David once said he preferred mellower music for chippers).
Samir – I find him to be hit or miss. On the miss side, mainly I think he's too in love with showing off how many ideas he can possibly cram into a given novel, holding them up and pantingly asking, "Aren't I smart? Aren't I smart? Oooh, ooh, look over here! Isn't this clever?" See: Kraken, King Rat, The City and The City, etc.
I really liked The Scar, though.
Incidentally, did anyone else read REAMDE and think it was likely written in one night on a series of cocktail napkins that Stephenson then stapled together and shoved under his publisher's door as mandatory penance for writing Anathem?
Relatedly, I'd be interested in hearing what books disappointed people the most in 2011…
Already overheard someone scheming to "get fat" over Christmas to help their chances in the challenge. Hahahaha.
The thought of doing this workout tomorrow is scaring me a little.
Books…
the whole Game of Thrones series – its a fast read and yeah the author takes a lot of flourish with his writing but an easy read if you like fantasy.
Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
By Steve Coll
It's dense and not for the easy to read crowd.
And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks
by Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs.
You can figure out who's writing which chapter pretty quick. It's a bit crazy and scattered but that is expected.
Best books I read in 2011.
1. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.
Haven't finished it yet, and it has really changed the way I think.
2. Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy Baumeister.
Life altering in a very profound way. In terms of altering me this is likely second only to Gary Taubes' work, but that wasn't in 2011.
3. The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley.
Good for context about the world. It is much easier to see what is breaking disastrously than it is to see everything that is constantly improving. Helped me come to the conclusion that the present is quite likely the best time to live in yet.
4. The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood. By James Gleick.
Perhaps the most random collection of essays that magically tie together a lovely thread.
5. A Billion Wicked Thoughts by Ogi Ogas.
Reading about what porn people search for is remarkably informative not merely titillating.
6. The Haves and the Have-Notes by Branko Milanovic.
Amazing discussion built around a breath taking dataset. Milanovic has put together a way to compare wealth across very broad times and geographies, allowing him to answer questions like how wealthy was Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.
And not on the best list, but if I don't want to make myself sound really boring, I enjoyed the Hunger Games trilogy as well as the five epic Song of Ice and Fire novels and John Scalzi's Old Man's War books.
Each time this question comes up I feel awful, and know that I should read more. Where do you all find the time to read so much?!!!
I am working my way through the Songs of Ice and Fire series, and loving it. I really only read when I'm on vacation, so maybe I'll finish in PR in April…
There is a Groupon for the Bodies exhibit. If you have never been and are interested in human anatomy at all I HIGHLY recommend it. Here's a not-fancy link
http://www.groupon.com/deals/gl-bodies-exhibit-nyc?c=title&utm_source=newsletter&s=body&sid=11046448&utm_medium=email&p=5&division=new-york&date=20111215&utm_campaign=gl-bodies-exhibit-nyc&utm_content=all-deals_new-york&addxe=Q0hSSVNGT1hOWUNAR01BSUwuQ09N&user=d5c28edd4ddd0e911c7edeca56d546cb9751fbd0abe3bfa0dad1aa83b695efc0
Malcolm if you like Kahneman I am working with him on a free lecture is he going to give for the public March 7th – At NYU-Poly in downtown Brooklyn folks are welcome
Mel
Fave reads of the year:
1) The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac. How can anything be bad about idealistic, meditating, peace-loving, free love-having, tree-hugging Pre-Hippie hobos hitchhiking and riding trains across the country?
2) Geek Love by Katherine Dunn. Fun and imaginatively demented read about a carny family that kept me saying "WTF?" (in a good way) to myself with each new chapter.
3) Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton. Auto-bio by chef/owner of Prune in the EV. Beautifully written. I like reading about crazy restaurant people because their industry is so very similar to mine.
4) East of Eden by Steinbeck. Just finished this for my book club. My third time reading it and one of my favorite novels, ever.
Currently reading Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. Up next: A Visit From the Goon Squad and The Taste of Salt.
Why, oh, why did I peek at the WOD for tomorrow morning's class?
i purposefully left the cooking and food books off my list – some weird self-censorship – but i have to say, the first half of BLOOD, BONES and BUTTER is magical. the cook-with-an-MFA is already a cliche, but hamilton is the real deal.
Ooh, I forgot one!
"Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet" by Jennifer Homans. I LOVED learning about ballet's origins (eight-hour court dances, can you imagine?) and how the different styles have developed. One caveat: DO NOT read this on an e-reader, like I did. There are pictures, but in the e-book version they're all the way at the end, and there is no link in the text of the book to the corresponding photo. Which, when you're reading about so visual an art form as dance, really takes away from the book. I can't tell you how many times I was reading a chapter about a particular ballet style and thought, "if only I could see a picture or a video of what this looked like." And it was only when I finished the book that I realized there WERE photos. I think, in the print version, all the photos are clustered in the middle of the book — but at least that way you know they're there from the beginning.
I learned so much about ballet from reading this book, even without the experience of matching the photos to the text. It really helped me better understand and enjoy the ballet performances I've seen since I read it.
Traci: You and me. We got this.
I too am really enjoying the Kahneman book, though strangely it is not changing the way I think all that much because I had read so much of that stuff before. Nonetheless it is really fun and provocative.
I loved The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer (I feel like I've posted about it here before, but you're hearing about it again). Have you ever wanted to read about the history of cancer, from the Egyptians and Greeks to modern day? About its treatment and about how much and how little we know about cancer? I started reading it on the recommendation of Tyler Cowen's blog, and it is definitely the most academic book that has ever driven me to tears.
My reading slowed for much of the year as I was working in Brooklyn and walking to work.
Oh also I really enjoyed Jonah Keri's The Extra 2%. It is of the Moneyball genre, but about the Tampa Bay Rays (nee Devil Rays) and how they compete with the big boys of the AL East. Fun, relatively short, book.
Stella: I'm in for wod of slow death tomorrow AM as well, since I need a whole day to prepare mentally.
Naked Lunch, William S. Burroughs – finally got around to this one.
Sex and Dawn
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – Jonathan Safran Foer
NIght Soldier, Alan Furst – Nicely detailed novel about early Soviet spy recruitment and training.
I'd love to start this post with the details of my latest workout, but sadly the ol' calferino still has me sidelined. sad face.
I echo all the praise for Lonesome Dove, for sure! and for the game of ice and fire books, I'm currently working my way through book three. someone up there mentioned the imperfectionists which I also thoroughly enjoyed.
I would add "theodore roosevelt in the badlands" to the list. that guy killed a LOT of shit. and the Transmetropolitan series. yes, the books are full of pictures but I say it still counts.
Did today's WOD with the 6amers in 14:44. It's not nearly as bad as people are making it seem. Not like those brutal 20 min AMRAPs that repeat the same movements again and again…at least you get some variety with this one.
Also, another +1 for GRRM's Song of Ice and Fire. And if you guys like them books and get sick of waiting for the next one, I'd recommend picking up The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Uh oh, did I just let everyone know I'm a nerd?
I love this post! I am picking up about 5 of the books that were suggested! They sound amazing! And I crossed a couple people off my Christmas list! yay!
Hey Tough Titsday lady lifters: I’ll be at the gym tonight around 6 to do some lifting and mobility work if anyone would like to join me (I never enjoy lifting alone). Just want to try out some sub maximal loads to prep for Saturday. Saturday!!
Dan B,
You're posting on your gym's blog; we are all posting on our gym's blog. You need not worry that people are just now finding out that you're a nerd.
I'm posting now because I'm not entirely certain I'll survive today's WOD at 6:00…
First, I have to say how all the love for Lonesome Dove is cementing my affection for the community at CFSBK!
This year's top 5 reads for me:
Republic, Lost. Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig articulates what's wrong with Congress.
What Matters, by David Elliot Cohen. Photojournalists consider today's most pressing issues.
Africa's World War, by Gerard Prunier. If you're interested in the terrible things going on in Central Africa, it's worth reading.
Yep, I'll admit it: The Hunger Games was gripping, and I tore through all three books in about a week.
Finally, though technically a re-read, I have to cite Cloud Atlas, which I picked up again a few days ago. David Mitchell's hugely ambitious – and hugely satisfying – novel is one of my all-time favorites.
Good point, Joel. So, not to sound like a freak, the ones I continue to think about the most from this year are:
Technological Slavery: The Collected Writings of Theodore J. Kaczynski, a.k.a. "The Unabomber"
What Was The Hipster?: A Sociological Investigation
For LONESOME DOVE fans: please consider reading THE LAST PICTURE SHOW.
Last nights "Your Knee is Broke" workout:
3-3-3 Bench Presses at 130 (with rest at bottom and top)
3 Rounds of
Strict high pulls to failure #40 (40-25-20)
Plymoetric Bench Presses to failure #75 (20-15-15)
5 Strict/Muscle Snatches #40
Plyo bench presses are things we used to do in throwing. You bench the bar fast, toss it a few inches in the air, catch it, stop it half way to chest for a 2 count, down to chest and back up fast, toss, repeat. This was a really deceptively hard workout. I liked it thoroughly until just now when I realized I cant lift my arms. 🙂
Oh, and the NY TImes Real Estate Section, while technically not a book, when taken in aggregate, I am going to count as one of my favorite reads of the year.
17:03 on todays WOD – sub 95# front squats for the OHS, rest rx’ed
WOD in 16:20 as Rx'd
This was a doozie.
Ok, I haven't been to SBK in about three weeks… and I'm still going to post because everyone else's contributions were so great! Thanks for the lists! Interested to check those out. My faves from this year…
1. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield (yes, I wrote that correctly! this book was a kick in the ass. examines internal barriers/obstacles to action, results, success, happiness.)
2. The Wave by Susan Casey (about rogue waves and giant waves and surfers that go after them! incredible stories in here.)
3. Turning the Mind into an Ally by Sakyong Mipham (a Tibetan Buddhist perspective on our minds, suffering, meditation, etc. Chapter 15 is called "First we get old." Chapter 16… "And then we die.")
4. The Places That Scare You by Pema Chodron (another Tibetan Buddhist perspective… fear, ego, our habits of avoidance/escape, etc. Reading it is kind of like having someone hold a mirror up to your face.)
5. The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin (the writing itself is less than stellar, but the stories and insights within are worth it)
I don't think I read a single work of fiction this year. Interesting.
See you all soon! The HoliDAZE are in full force!
I love all these crossover books and completely agree with Game of Thrones series and Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles. I don't like to take my iPad out on the train but Day 2 of K.C. made me break the rule, egads.. so good.
If anyone would like book 5, A Dance With Dragons, I have it via PDF which I read via my iBooks app. I also have Ready Player One and may still have World War Z – both in ePub format. Please shoot an email if you're interested to julie.barnard –>at symbol<– gmail.com and I'll send the files.
Today's post was a ruse to separate the "nerds" from the "jocks", two of natures most fierce adversaries.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRsPheErBj8&NR=1&feature=endscreen
17:17 subbed FSQs @95lbs