Car(ve)los
Active Recovery will meet at 11AM this Saturday
Teaser Class Moves to 10AM on Sunday
Starting this week Teaser class will be held at 10am on Sunday. Tell your friends!
Noah has 2 Slots Left for His Kipping Pull-up Workshop!
Coach Noah’s kipping pull-up workshop has only two slots left. If you’re a prince with 3+strict pull-ups or a princess with 1+ strict pull-up you are eligible for the class which will meet Saturday, January 28th at 1pm. Class is $10 and you can contact Noah at noah(AT)crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com
CFSBK Ladies Will Duke it Out to see who is Queen in Queens
An all ladies contigent of Team CFSBK is heading out to CF Queens tomorrow for their second annual “Hail to the Queen” competition. They will be putting their skills to the test against other female competitors from the local CF community over multiple events. Ladies we wish you all luck tomorrow and look forward to hearing news of your badass performances as it rolls in.
The first WOD is a “Chipper” Style workout of:
10 Handstand Push-ups
20 Pull-ups
30 KB Snatches-15/arm (or KB Swings) 16kg
40 Wall Ball 14#
There is an 8 minute cap on this WOD.
Check out the event’s promo video HERE.
Any participants meeting at the gym before rolling out to Queens should plan to meet at CFSBK at 7:30am. Any questions about the event can contact Coach Jess Fox at Jessica(AT)Crossfitsouthbrooklyn(dot)com.
Gunning for that Number 1 Spot: Assault on the Leader Boards
Over the last couple of weeks CFSBKers have been gunning for the top spots on our leaderboards kicking ass and chewing bubble gum. Here’s a short list of the new PRs and top finishes that have gone up on the boards this week:
Jason H. Half-Marathon 1:48:12
Sarah LR 2K Row 8:20.4
Dan H3 1-RM Pull-up 136#
Josh M 1RM Turkish Get Up 136#
Josh M Clean 286#
Katie M Jerk 163
Kate D Annie 5:18
Ellie M Annie 5:22
Jackie Z Annie 6:24
Rickke Jackie 6:43
Joe O Murph 31:52
Dave B BSQ 540
Alex H Press 205
McDowell M OHS 240
Those are big numbers and fast times guys! Remember records, like rules, are meant to be broken! Who is gonna take them down?
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What are your strategies for getting more/better sleep?
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The Erg Stroke Drag Factor Bubble Erg Rowing
Annie Sakamoto Prepares for 2012 CrossFit
Holmberg Talks Consistency CrossFit
Training During Ramadan (A CFJ Preview) CrossFit
I'm gonna get the TGU. It's been a while but it was once one of my fav/strongest lifts.
Jimmy's Super Sleep Formula:
1. Not drinking booze
2. Some kind of nighttime tea
3. Cut down caffeine, none in afternoon
4. Best effort to go to bed and wake up same time 7x a week
5. Read in bed. Sometimes I read one page, and it's game over.
Frankly, it's one of the top two changes that I've made. It's huge. Kind of an "A-HA" moment for me.
I try to remember not to drink so much water before bed, but I am just a really thirsty person. Does anyone use the Sleep Cycle app to track their REM cycles? Does it actually work? I like the pretty graphic I get in the morning, but I'm not sure if it is really measuring anything legit.
My favorite strategy is one I stole from Charmel–set an alarm on my phone for 45' before lights out. When the alarm goes off, the TV/computer goes off, and we get into getting-ready-for-bed gear. Of late, though, I've been hitting snooze much too often–all kinds of crap getting in the way. I really feel how sleep affects my performance, my diet, my mood, everything, though, so I need to refocus on that priority.
Committing to noon class today, right here!
Last night Fox and I attended a Reebok CrossFit event in soho. It was sort of odd to be walking on Mercer street and see a big lit up REEBOK CROSSFIT truck parked in front of the event space. Anyway- after a bunch of milling about and catching up with other local CrossFit coaches some guy (I forget his name) from Reebok came onstage and talked about how Reebok isn't in the gym business and how they are all CrossFitters at Reebok and that their goal was to bring CrossFit to the rest of the world.
I was generally pleased with the message, despite the fact that he was a bit redundant and not a very good public speaker. Annie Thorsidottir, Grahm Holmberg, Rich Fronning, Ben Smith and a few other Games level competitors were also on hand. I hope I didn't creep annie out by how much I was staring at her..
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I think reading right before bed is one of the best ways to fall asleep quick. I get like 3 pages before I start dozing. I've also read that closing your eyes and trying to stay away works (theres a fancy name for it) and I've tried it a few times and it's actually worked.
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Carlos your hoodie is int he lost and found
Good luck to everyone competing tomorrow, and congratulations to all the new leaderboard-ers!
Tonight's Wendler 1-week presses and deadlifts are for you!
I count getting to bed early as a challenging and satisfying hobby. My method includes a tablespoon of Natural Calm (if you’re not sure what it is, just ask your grandmother because she probably takes it); stretching and some quick work on the foam roller, just because it feels good; reading, which should be fiction because it promotes a mental escape; and last but not least, earplugs to promote interrupted sleep. If possible, it helps to have a cat curled up nearby.
Excited for Queens tomorrow!
I sleep well over 95% of the time. This is not a program, but just what I do:
1) In bed by 10:00PM
2) Total darkness in room
3) No clock in room. IPhone alarm set in kitchen
4) Buckwheat hull pillow
5) Cold room with lots of blankets
Good luck!
Yesterday's press rep-out: 85×8 (vs Week1 80×8, Week2 85×6)
The WOD was awesome. It was a strange slow-burn sort of thing, could have done a few more rounds with (slowly waning) gusto.
9:09 with 20# (very light for the swings, about right for the cleans and push-press)
Can we please, please, pleaseeee do another total at the end of this cycle? Or at least have some 1rm attempt days for the lifts? (Is that just crush week?)
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My secret to good sleep is:
7/8pm CFSBK class
(Apparently) *not* taking melatonin
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I think I'm going to try and hit open gym tonight to get my deadlifts in, since I'm going to be at Hail to the Queen tomorrow.
I sleep well over 95% of the time. This is not a program, but just what I do:
1) In bed by 10:00PM
2) Total darkness in room
3) No clock in room. IPhone alarm set in kitchen
4) Buckwheat hull pillow
5) Cold room with lots of blankets
Good luck!
I sleep well over 95% of the time. This is not a program, but just what I do:
1) In bed by 10:00PM
2) Total darkness in room
3) No clock in room. IPhone alarm set in kitchen
4) Buckwheat hull pillow
5) Cold room with lots of blankets
Good luck!
Sleep has been my nemesis. I'm trying to get to bed early, but one more episode of Modern Family, or one more row of knitting seems more fun? I like Charmel's strategy, too. I think I'll try that. And it wouldn't hurt to pick up a book again.
So paleo wonders #8,998,786, 8, and 9
One can eat one's face off in Korean BBQ and wake up STARVING the next morning. Who would have thought?
I'm losing my taste for whiskey. It now tastes like candy and not in a good way. Even good Scotch. I'm not so sure I like this one.
My cappuccino did not need sugar this morning. This one is a big wow.
Unless I recently get my B12 shot sleep is good for me, after the shot I don't sleep for about 2 days.
-No computers 2 hours before bed, mint tea and usually something crafty
-No books allowed in bed, only magazines
-Blackout room
-Earplugs – I have a fan for white noise in the summer.. might need to nerd it up and get a white noise thingie
-ZMA caps then lights out
Awesomepants workout this morning with Kristin, Saturday's dead lifts and such. Testing the thumb and all seemed fine, grip is getting better but still used switch. BUT am happy to report that a new resistance band is in full effect! The goal of unassisted chins within 1 full year of CF is on track. ::high fives:: to Kristen for partnering up, good times!
Good luck tomorrow ladies!
I think I'm going to implement a lot of the sleep rules. I usually get to bed at a reasonable hour but it often takes me an hour to fall asleep. Maybe turning the computer off and the TV on isn't the best way to get sleepy… maybe books are better. Also, I think I need a humidifier… my nose is so dry every night because of our apartment's INSANE heat!
Super psyched for Hail to the Queen tomorrow!
Traci, thanks for the donation to my kickstarter – Your thank you video will be done after the competition, today is for resting 🙂
Sleep is my biggest nemesis.
Im just going to read this post to get more ideas.
I find that when I put Kamau to sleep I often fall asleep, but then I usually have to wake up to walk the dog, wash dishes, or do some other things around the house before going to sleep for the night. That often ruins my sleep cycles.
Seth Robert's blog has suggested taking Vitamin D3 in the morning, 4000 IUs or so, right when you wake up for better sleep (gelcaps apparently are better than tablets). The idea is that the D3 in the morning replicates sunlight and therefore helps set your sleeping patterns better. He's complied a lot of anecdata on it that suggests it works well. Might be worth a shot.
sleep is a HUGE part of my personal challenge.
i did a bunch of things to improve my sleep during last year's version, and they worked. but i didn't succeed in actually getting to bed much earlier. i really enjoy the hours between the end of the work day and bedtime, and i just WAS NOT TIRED enough to hit the hay before, say, 1 AM.
as an experiment, i went home after lifting one evening a few weeks ago, and ignored the siren calls of the TV and computer. i sat down on my couch. i think i picked up my Kindle.
within 10 minutes i was groggy and unable to stay awake, and within 20 i was out like a light. asleep well before midnight for one of the first times in my adult life. honestly it was COMICAL how obvious it was.
lesson learned.
I'm a huge advocate of Tempur-pedic pillows. A post-work out bath is always nice (I usually use epsom salts). Evening meditation is a good calmer.
And when nothing seems to work and you must get sleep….. NyQuil!
7am class. Did yesterday's workout. Rep-out of 8@ 42.5# (thanks Coach Nick for helping me figure out my percentages!) WOD: Finished at 10:20 using 12.5# dumbbells. I enjoyed this WOD; it left me feeling winded but not crippled. Had a rough week so it was good to just focus on all the press work and get my early-morning endorphins up and running…
Good luck to all the strong women competing this weekend. CFSBK represent!
(p.s. You're welcome, Lana!)
Advice request:
Last Thursday I was using the erg after class, came off the seat too much, it slid out and I landed with my tailbone square in the slide rail. Ouch. Now that really hurt, there was no swelling or discoloration but mild pain persists and is exacerbated by movement. Fortunatley it's been decreasing very slowly
I've been taking it easy- just doing some upper body isolation lifts at home that don't strain it. Rotating on and off a hot bad and taking hot baths most nights. Everything talks about sitting on a donut. Sitting is actually fine for the most part. Although lying down hurts- I'm having trouble sleeping through the night. I'm also having trouble being patient with not working out.
So, anyone ever hurt their tailbone? Have advice?
spinoff question:
What time do folks have to be up on average on a normal workday?
@NoahB: I broke my tailbone sliding down some stairs carrying my bike (hit… every… single… one…). Unfortunately, the only thing that helped was painkillers, muscle relaxers and time. It took me easily a month to start feeling okayish — so it's probably a good sign you're starting to improve already.
I didn't understand all the donut-sitting advice either, it didn't hurt to sit. It hurt to move in certain ways and lay in certain ways. Transitioning from stand-sit/sit-stand very gingerly using mainly my arms to raise/lower myself was about all I could manage. For the first month, I had infrequent but really, really terrible muscle spasms down in butt-tailbone-area that would pull/push on my cracked/broken/whatever tailbone (?) and cause *killer* pain. I think my doc gave me a scrip for muscle relaxers to help with that (on top of Percocet).
Sorry that happened to you, it's a real bullshit injury. Hope it heals up quickly and you don't get the pain spasm thing.
Ummmm… who sold my picture to this website?
http://www.wellandgoodnyc.com/five-biggest-fitness-cults/?slide=1&slideitem=7
WTF? Jeff randomly found that on the internet!
1 spot left for pullup class, get it while its hot.
My sleep strategy, courtesy of Dr. Z.
Noah: Ouch! I hope you heal up soon!
DO snagged me after strength cycle on Monday and made me promise to stretch my hamstrings, 2:00 on a side, every time I come in the gym. I've been doing one better and doing that every day. I HATE IT. Yeah, I know it's working…I just want to whine about how much it hurts when it's actually happening!
@Lana – At least it's a good photo!
I've been sleeping much, MUCH better since switching over to Paleo. It's made such a huge difference that I don't know if I can afford to stop doing Paleo.
I did yesterday's workout this morning. Pressed 55#, up 5# from last week. Felt pretty good. As for the WOD: 10:22 with 15# DB.
Leader boards – I'm gunning for a spot on that 2K row top three. Hoping to give my college PR of 7:53 a run (row?) for it's money.
David, gawker (totally reputable news source!) thinks this Reebok Crossfit thing is bad news: http://gawker.com/5876497/crossfit-is-over
I haven't been to other crossfit affiliates, but I'm curious if there's an inherent resistance to an "established" crossfit gym. The "other" gyms turned me off with their mood lighting, smooth painted walls, trendy juice bars, and snarky memberships. Do you think crossfit could be in danger of becoming a fad buzzword that the "other gyms" will try to exploit?
For sleeping, I have to be kind of a jerk and enforce a strict no lights no sound rule at bedtime, but it's working out. It's hard for me to fall asleep with noise and light but once I'm asleep I've noticed I've been sleeping better. Strangely, though, it seems that I sleep deeper and better when I fall asleep to classical music.
I usually sleep fine once I go under, but have a hard time getting there. My wife is even worse than me. Recently we've started using a noise machine that shuts itself off after about 20 minutes or so–there are a bunch of free iPhone apps (I use White Noise). I still can't believe how well it works. I often find myself thinking, "It won't work tonight, I've just got too much on my mind, I…" and then I'm asleep. Only once have I been awake when it shut off.
@Lana – Not one of mine, but I would guess it was stolen not sold. I have had a number of CrossFit related photos that were taken and reposted without permission. At least that one credits Dan, however I would be surprised if they asked. I have even had websites cut off the embedded credit at the bottom of the photo. As mentioned at least you look awesome in the picture.
On sleep my tricks:
Black out blinds
Humidifier (doubles as a noise maker)
Natural Calm (Only when I feel like I need it, not every night)
Bed time goal is 10, but when Laurel gets home from coaching at 9:40 and we still need to eat dinner this is a goal we fail at.
On Shawn's added question we have to wake at 6:30 on weekdays.
Bench Press
275x1x7
Heavy enough to be work, held myself to strict 3min recoveries.
Superset Arm Work
Lying Tricep Extension
75x15x3
Dumbbell Curls
35x15x3
Plate Pinching 45x3x3
Hanging Leg Raise 3×10
Unfortunately, pics on the web are out there for anyone to snag.
Its sucks for sure.
I second the white noise machine. And, as a bonus it keeps my partner from snoring. For real. Without it he is impossible.
I think I inadvertently cheated on the challenge at lunch. I dined out and picked two dishes I thought were OK — parsnip soup and grilled Arctic Char. I totally shunned the bread basket that was dropped in front of me, too.
I'm guessing there was flour of some sort in the soup, because right now I feel…not happy. Just woozy and dizzy and gross, the way having a full-on pizza or pasta meal used to make me feel when I was just sort-of Paleo.
I guess it's not a bad thing in the long run, because I needed some reinforcement of Why I Should Keep Doing This. I was definitely starting to feel like, "HOW long do I have to keep saying no to ice cream?" but it's good to be reminded of why cheating isn't always worth it.
Dan should send them a DMCA takedown notice.
Three things have helped my sleep so much since I started the challenge:
1) Only one cup of coffee in the morning. Before I would resolve to 'drink less,' but 'less' always eventually became four or five cups again. Now that I can have one and only one, I drink it slow and I think I get as much pleasure from it as I did before.
2) Less booze. I'm only drinking once a week during the challenge, and it's been dramatic. Even after two drinks, I always get the classic fall-asleep-easy-then-wake-up-at-2am problem.
3) Natural Calm (as others have mentioned). I feel like a grandma as I mix it up but it works.
Good luck to the ladies this weekend!
Back again after a fab noon class with Coach Shane. Fun to work on the platform with Bill and Frank. 82×9 for the rep-out. Thanks Shane for pushing me to do those last 2. This was my first 5-cycle w/ Wendler; last week I did 92×3 for the last week and decided to stick with my weights for this time.
Then, a loooong time with a 25# dumbbells: 13:44 for the WOD.
Enjoyed the partner wall-ball warmup, too.
First off big thanks to coach David for helping me go from one awkward half double under to about 15 yesterday – One more CrossFit Nemesis now seems more conquerable! Now for getting those bad boys unbroken!
Oddly enough I have been sleeping worse since starting Paleo – random but seems to be the one benefit I have not seen with this. Not so much the getting to sleep but the waking up and not going back to sleep. Hope it will start perking up. But I like the setting the alarm before bed thing, def. have to try that.
Mel
Best thing for sleep?
I stopped drinking coffee and booze and I sleep way better.
I also have Natural Calm for when I'm feeling a bit antsy, which helps put me out, but since starting the coffee/booze ban sleep has been pretty easy to come by.
The sleep stuff really hits home for me right now. Due to some baby/pre-schooler issues my sleep has been absolutely horrifyingly bad for the past two months. I honestly have not slept more than three hours in a row since Thanksgiving. and getting 6 hours total of sleep on a good day.
This has played absolute havoc with my recovery, motivation, and general "be a nice guy" abilities. The impact on work is dramatic, as simple tasks that I would never have thought twice about (like adding up a list of numbers in my head) have become surprisingly difficult.
Experience has shown me that I need at least 8 hours of sleep to function well at work and in the gym. The last two months have been completely crap in that regard.
Before this bad patch, however, I had a few specific things I did that really helped me get quality sleep:
1. No more than two caffeinated drinks a day, preferably one.
2. One alcoholic drink a day, had at least 2 hours before trying to sleep. I seem to do very well with this volume. If it's a weekend and I really want two drinks I make sure that the second is still at least 2 hours before going to sleep.
3. A specific target bed time.
4. Drink one 8 ounce glass of water right before bed.
5. Keep the bedroom cool
My sleep is generally awful. I have a lot of anxiety and can't shut my brain up, and now I find that I think about paleo food and my plan for the next day a lot while trying to sleep! But those are great tips, I'm going to have to get some Natural Calm (and the white noise app is ready to go).
Reading 5 pages before bed is key for me. Puts me right out. Don't watch TV in bed, either.
Give 'em hell tomorrow ladies!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp_K8prLfso
I'd say I try to get more sleep but the truth is that I always would rather hang out and go to bed too late. I wake at about 5am each morning. I play catch up by napping and sleeping a solid 9 hrs once a week.
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Deadlift
280×5
325×5
370×5
Wanted to test a 1RM Bench
230
245 PR
255 PR
260 (F)
I think I have 260, maybe even 265, fresh.
Off to Bogota for Rest Day Dinner!
FYI, the post above is from Fox.. Nice work dude– that was fun!
Texas Method: Intensity Day
Squat: 325×5 (matches last months PR)
Bench: 205×4 (3RM PR)
Deadlift: 355×3 (3RM PR)
Pseudo Super Set:
Dumbbell one-arm press: 45x10x3
Dumbbell row: 45x10x3
Good workout today
Press
Warmup: 45×5 75×5 95×3
Work: 105×5 120×3 135×3
That's a rep PR. Yeah buddy.
Deadlift
Warmup: 135×5 185×5
Work: 225×5 255×3 285×5
Squat Assistance
45×5 95×5 130x10x5
Close Grip Bench Press
45×5 95×5 115x10x5
Bodyweight: 189
Thanks, Rob. Yeah, I guess Jeremy had posted from the gym and I forgot to check the Author…he may have a PR bench above 255…Thanks to Rob and Jimmy for letting me jump in on their bench rack and for the spots.
Bogota was awesome, as usual. Nice to see folks in their dress up clothes. Always nice to have an analog conversation and learn something new about someone.