Archives for April 2012

Doom Metal, Amsterdam and GPP

I arrived from a week long holiday in Holland yesterday.  Myself and a few friends went to Tilburg for 3 days of Doom Metal at the Roadburn Music Festival before I split off from them for a couple days in Amsterdam.  I figured if I was going all the way to the Netherlands I might as well see more than metal heads and camp grounds.  Amsterdam proved to be a wonderful city (Once you figured out where all the tourists go and how to avoid them). The city offers incredible architecture at every turn, boatloads of art galleries, miles upon miles of scenic walking and plenty of delicious cuisine.  However the part of the city that made me most envious was the bike culture.  I was completely in awe of how well the city supported over 600,000 bikes and how the people embraced 2 wheel transport as their primary means of getting around.  Class, sex and age didn’t matter, the streets were constantly alive with cyclists.  There were many extended moments where I would revel in the endless stream of bikes and their eclectic drivers.  It occurred to me that these people depended on bikes to get around and therefore depended on having some reasonable General Physical Preparedness at all times through all life stages. “GPP” as it’s known is what CrossFit attempts to optimize, it is essentially another way of describing your general work capacity.  While riding a bike for transport isn’t the most taxing thing you could do physically, it does require some balance, dexterity, stamina and endurance.  How do you think your parents or grandparents would fare riding a bike through busy city streets? Probably not as well as some of the elder Dutch who do it on a daily basis.  It’s really a perfect storm of a city design that makes cycling practical, a government who has gone above and beyond to support riders and a culture that embraces the bike as the only logical source of transportation. 

How do you think city planning and transportation affect health?  What have been your experiences in NY and elswhere?  Share thoughts to comments.
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Designing Healthy Cities, Preview PBS

Standing Broad Jump Test
Take 5-7 attempts to benchmark your standing broad jump

Partner Farmer Carry Around the Block
Pick something heavy carry it around the block with a partner. Alternate the weight whenever someone has to put it down. Each athlete performs 5 burpees every time the weight is put down.  Go heavy.

Post experience to comments.

Bethany Demos an Excellent Overhead Position with the Dumbbells: Neutral torso, full extension of her arms, symmetrical dumbbells directly overhead.

Old CFSBK Videos

• Here is a video of a Group Class from 2008. We were in the basement of the Lyceum, had very little equipment
• Here’s Jeremy at the 2009 North East Regional tearing off a callus and finishing the final workout of the weekend
• Here is David talking about starting CFSBK for an old CrossFit Journal article

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2-2-2-2-2

Work up to submax heavy double. Use a slightly wider stance than you usually do. Perfect technique.

Post loads to comments.

Assitance Work
100 Banded Good Mornings
3×15 Pallof Press Each Side

Dan Rx’d Gives the 28kilo the old Heave Ho

Ken’s Ring Strength Series Returns

Join guest Gymnastics Coach Ken H as he takes you through 4 weeks of gymnastics strength training with an emphasis on developing a rudimentary ring routine.  Each class will include a proper warm-up, stretching and then use both isometric and dynamic strength exercises to develop: core strength while learning transitions on the rings, levers, muscle-ups and planches.  Students will also have strength and flexibility assignments to do on the outside of class. Space is limited so sign up today!

Physical Requirements:
1 Strict Pull-Up, Women
3 Strict Pull-Ups, Men
5 Push-Ups, Women
10 Push-Ups, Men

Class Dates and Times:
The start date will depend on how quickly people sign up. If you’re interested please contact Ken ASAP, we’ve already got a few folks from the last cycle pre-registered.
Sundays from 1pm-2pm (not Saturdays as previously posted)

Price:
$60 for 4 Weeks

Cap:
6 Participants

To Register:
Please email hallerk(at)gmail(dot)com

Ken Haller’s Bio
Ken was a nationally competitive gymnast in Newton Ma and at the University of Michigan. After graduating, Ken coached for eight years at Capital Gymnastics in Northern Virginia where he coached regional and national champions. His students have gone on to be NCAA champions, and members of Cirque du Soliel. In searching for an activity to replace gymnastics, Ken filled the void with rock climbing and yoga for the past ten years and recently found CrossFit to round out his training.

Sol Flower Farm CSA Sign Up

Attention all would-be CSA members! It is time to sign up for your share. Sol Flower Farm will begin weekly drop-offs on Wednesday, June 6 and they need to know whether you’re in. In order for CFSBK to remain a drop site, we need a minimum of 25 shares – so far, we have 6. If you want a variety of fantastic, affordable vegetables carefully selected and delivered to you each week, then sign up by May 1. Go here to find out the details.

Do you enjoy offering cooking tips, coordinating veggie swaps and chit-chatting with fellow food lovers? Are you interested in receiving a discount on your CSA share? If so, you might consider acting as a CSA shift manager for CFSBK. We are looking for 3 people to rotate managing the evening distribution of veggie shares during the June-November season. Once every three weeks, you would staff the 5-8pm pick up window; responsibilities include making sure each member gets their box, distributing any unclaimed veggies to (eager) gym members, breaking down and storing boxes at the end of the evening. For your work, you’ll receive a discounted share from Sol Flower Farm. This is a fun and easy way to get your veggies even cheaper!

Email margie(at)crossfitsouthbrooklyn(dot)com by May 1 if you’re interested.

Also remember to sign up for your meat share from Herondale Farm – the next cycle starts June 6 as well!

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CFSBK is Extreme Fitness NY Post
Kettlebell Juggling On a Beach Youtube
World Champion Ivan Denisov does the 60kg (132lb) Kettlebell 1-arm jerk for 52 reps. in 5 minutes Youtube

Worm stands in awe of Teddi’s overhead position.

The Weight Of The Nation

Our own Kate Ba has been working on an HBO series entitled “Weight Of the Nation” which examines America’s Obesity Epidemic. Check out what she had to say about it below:

“Here is the website for the series I have been working on for the past two years. There is a trailer on the site. The series airs May 14th and 15th and the four features and 12 short films will be available free on HBO.com starting that week as well. I’m very proud of this series and I hope that we reach some people and make a difference. “

Volunteer For The CrossFit North East Regionals

Now that the Open is over, the top ranking individuals and teams move on to Regionals.  The North East event takes place on May 25-27 at Reebok World Headquarters in Canton, Mass.  Coaches David and Margie are on the event organizing team (Margie is actually at Reebok HQ today).  If you’re interested in volunteering as a judge or support staff, please let us know and register here. We would appreciate it!

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Scientists Discover Delicious New Species
Handstand Walk, Air Squat WOD Demo with Annie Thorisdottir CrossFit

25 Minutes Not For Rounds Of:
3 Wall Climbs (hold for a 2 count at the top)
6 Parallette pass-throughs (forward + back = 1)
12 Hug a Twinkies (hold for a 1 count at the top)
24 Hollow Rocks

Post experience to comments.

“The Chanster” (Chris C) Gets Ready To Pull

“The Substitute” Premiers Tonight!

Season two of “The Substitute” a quiz show on MTV hosted by our own John Gabrus Premiers tonight at 7pm. Gather the whole neighborhood to sit

Check out the trailer for the second season of Gabrus’ TV Show, “The Substitute”. Season 2 premiers April 16th at 7pm

Great Training Video

Here you can see Caity Matter Henniger Clean and Jerking the following work weights. 145, 155, 175, 180, 190(f), 190, 190lbs. Caity was the 2008 CrossFit Games Female Champion and is coached in this video by US National Team and Team CrossFit Olympic Weightlifer Natalie Burgener.  Watch Caity’s lifts, listen to the feedback she gets and see if she can make the corrections. Video courtesy CrossFit.com
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Doctor Detective with Spencer Nadolsky Case Study #3: Missing Libido and Low Testosterone Precision Nutrition
Parallette Pass Throughs and Wall Climbs CrossFit
Hug a Twinkies CrossFit

4 Rounds NFT of:
8 1 Arm Swings, Right arm
8 Push Presses, Right Arm
8 Reverse Lunges, Right Leg, Front Rack Position
8 1 Arm Swings, Left arm
8 Push Presses, Left Arm
8 Reverse Lunges, Left Leg, Front Rack Position

Choose a medium/light weight and try to keep moving. This should get you sweaty and breathing heavier but not challenge you.

Work Up to a Heavy Single with Perfect Technique of the Following Complex:
High Hang Power Clean
High Hang Squat Clean

Focus on getting a good “Brush” at the top of your 3rd pull and pulling under quickly.  If you start slowing down or missing positions pull the weight back. Every rep today should be crisp, no missing no grinding.

Post what you worked on and improved to comments.

Joy M Demonstrates Good Jump Rope Position: Neutral torso, elbows tucked, small efficient jumps

Back-Off Week is Here!  Great work everyone over the course of the last cycle!

Back Off Weeks

By David Osorio

For most of us, it can be quite difficult to hit the Wods hard week in week out ad infinitum.   Your ability to successfully train at high intensity over a period of time is determined by genetics, recovery, nutrition, injuries and training age.  At CrossFit South Brooklyn we follow a 3/1/2/1 weekly microcycle which looks like this:

CFSBK Microcycle
Saturday On
Sunday On
Monday On
Tuesday Off (AM class does Monday or Wed make-up Wod)
Wednesday On
Thursday On
Friday Off

By allowing at least two non sequential days off we can train at high intensity over the course of a week. Consistently training CrossFit more than three days in a row can lead to a decrease in performance due to accumulated inflammation and a lack of recovery.  Many of you guys have been following our 3/1/2/1 schedule with great success.

But what about training over longer periods of time than a week?

The type of training we do as CrossFitters leads to degrees of adaptation much more closely related to competitive athletics than traditional “fitness” programs. That being said, it’s important to note that most organized sports teams map out their yearly programming goals based around a competitive season.  Conversely, CrossFit is a GPP program which aims to achieve a consistently high level of work capacity over a life time. There are many individuals who use CrossFit to train for their sport or occupation (MIL/LEO etc.) and an ever growing number of people who are competing in CrossFit as their primary sport.  These individuals will generally modify variables of their programs to better prepare themselves for competition or deployment.

But what about “me”?

The majority of us are training CrossFit without any regard to a specific competition or training goal other than health, longevity and elite fitness.  It’s therefore necessary for the average CF’er to take it upon themselves to consider their training over longer periods of time than a week. As mentioned earlier, hitting Wods hard can take a toll on us and we’ve got enough people coming more than three times a week that it has become prudent to formalize some cyclic recovery into our program. Starting today, we’re going to implement posted “Back Off” weeks every fourth week. We encourage our athletes who train with us three or more times per week or more to use this as a period to scale back intensity and give your body a chance to clean house.  The workouts we post on back off weeks will not be dramatically different than traditional programming but will favor Max Effort days and shorter (sub 12 min) Metcons.  Athletes who are following the back off should treat the workouts as maintenance and accordingly decrease intensity.  If you train with us less frequently, perhaps once or twice a week and are not considerably active outside of CrossFit then you shouldn’t worry as much about the back off week and simply listen to your body.

CFSBK Mesocycle
Week 1 On
Week 2 On
Week 3 On
Week 4 On*
Week 5 Crush Week
Week 6 Back Off/Skill Week

*Note: We sometimes extend the training weeks from 4-8 depending on what we’re focusing on each cycle.

For Time:
Run 1 Mile
Row 2000m
Run 1 Mile

Post time to comments.

Eric Siegel Does Jery in 22:19
WOD Demo with CrossFit Rubicon

Ken Haller

There is No Active Recovery today while David is in Holland

Ken’s Ring Strength Series Returns

Join guest Gymnastics Coach Ken H as he takes you through 4 weeks of gymnastics strength training with an emphasis on developing a rudimentary ring routine.  Each class will include a proper warm-up, stretching and then use both isometric and dynamic strength exercises to develop: core strength while learning transitions on the rings, levers, muscle-ups and planches.  Students will also have strength and flexibility assignments to do on the outside of class. Space is limited so sign up today!

Physical Requirements:
1 Strict Pull-Up, Women
3 Strict Pull-Ups, Men
5 Push-Ups, Women
10 Push-Ups, Men

Class Dates and Times:
The start date will depend on how quickly people sign up. If you’re interested please contact Ken ASAP, we’ve already got a few folks from the last cycle pre-registered.
Saturdays from 1pm-2pm

Price:
$60 for 4 Weeks

Cap:
6 Participants

To Register:
Please email hallerk(at)gmail(dot)com

Ken Haller’s Bio
Ken was a nationally competitive gymnast in Newton Ma and at the University of Michigan. After graduating, Ken coached for eight years at Capital Gymnastics in Northern Virginia where he coached regional and national champions. His students have gone on to be NCAA champions, and members of Cirque du Soliel. In searching for an activity to replace gymnastics, Ken filled the void with rock climbing and yoga for the past ten years and recently found CrossFit to round out his training.

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Men’s Ring Finals, Singapore 2010 Youtube

Brian C Pulls Under

Jessica from the NY Post will be at Open Gym tonight taking shots for the cover of an upcoming NY Post in which CFSBK will be feaured.  If you don’t mind being photographed (or if you’d prefer not to be photographed) please let her know tonight.

There is No Active Recovery Tomorrow as David will be in Holland at the Roadburn Music Festival

Training vs. Testing

by Coach Noah

All last week attempted One Rep Maxes (1RMs) here at CFSBK.  People moved some impressive weight, beat old PRs, and gained insight about their training and their performance.  Going forward into Crush Week, now that many of us have some experience exploring the outer margins of our strength, let us discuss what testing is, as opposed to training, and where both of these concepts fit our development as Crossfitters.

Training

When we train a skill or movement, we perform with a direct and focused outcome.  At CFSBK we mainly use a “linear progression” model for our strength training, which allows us to slowly and steadily increase our strength and avoid plateaus.  We mix this with conditioning and muscular endurance training that is designed to complement our strength training while drawing from a deeper pool of movements and time domains.  Our training is never random- our coaches spend a good deal of time and energy to make sure that each movement we do in the gym makes us stronger, more mobile, and works to address weaknesses and imbalances.  At CFSBK we train submaximally 90% or more of the time- basically if it is a workout without a “Girl” or “Hero” name or a One Rep Max test, consider it training, and handle yourself accordingly, as described below.

Good training is generally submaximal, which means we use loads or rep schemes that are lower than our absolute ability.  Training submaximally is great for a number of reasons.  It allows us to train with proper technique, avoid injury, and recover better.  Training submaximally also lets us “own our exercise” and perform our reps with good speed, authority, and confidence.  

Your own training should draw on these concepts.  Your training should be submaximal, with an eye on the larger outcome your training session will have on your general fitness.  During training, failure should be nearly non-existent (I will discuss this further at the end of the article) and we should reflect about what today’s work means to our greater plans both before and after our training session.  We should leave each training session feeling that we accomplished our goals and are moving forward with our bigger plan.

Testing

Testing is the rare and exotic unicorn in direct opposition to the common utilitarian draft horse of training.   Compared to training, testing is rare.  At CFSBK we have programmed crush weeks, during which we will program more “named” workouts, or generally tougher workouts that are related to the training cycle we have just completed, with an eye on testing how effective our training has been.  Unlike training, where we have a full understanding and direction for our daily toil, a day of testing can be a bit of a wild card.  Coach Jeremy has referred to it as a “performance,” and just like on the stage, sometimes during a test we bring the house down, and some days we fall flat.  Part of the value of training lies in this mystery and our reaction to it.

Why train so frequently and test so rarely?  Testing taxes your body and has little progressive effect on your system.  Moving extremely heavy load or at breakneck speed can lead to diminished accuracy in technique, technical misses, and is extremely taxing on our CNS.  Incessant testing leads to poor recovery and less adaptive stress on our system.  Adaptive stress fuels growth, so the more we test, the less we grow.

Why test at all then?  Tests are necessary for benchmarking our progress, identifying weaknesses, and gaining experience and confidence in performance under pressure.  The very reason the “girls” and “heroes” are referred to as “benchmark” workouts is that we should only perform them every so often as a yardstick for our strength and conditioning gains.  Don’t be the guy who does Fran every friday.  That said, every so often you should pick a workout and say “I’m gonna really get after this” and lay it all out there.  It’s best to make sure it’s a workout we do semi-regularly so you will have some comparative data, and it’s good to pick a workout that incorporates movements you have been working on during your training so that you can reward your hard work with progress.

Failing and Bailing

This conversation is a long time coming, and an attempt to clean up some lax training habits and psychology that have become a bit too hardwired at the gym.  The difference between training, where we very rarely fail, and testing, where we very well may fail, necessitates a discussion of when, why, and how failing/bailing should occur.

During training we should virtually never fail.  We should be working submaximally, with a plan, and in control of the weight.  Part of our plan is a plan to succeed.  If we do fail it should be a technical fail- lost balance in a squat, hitting ourselves in the chin during a press- a mistake.  Repeated failure during a training phase is a not-so-subtle message from our CNS that we are training too hard and need to back off or deload entirely.  During a 6-8 week training phase you should be able to count your missed reps on one hand, with fingers to spare.

During a test, we may very well fail as we brush up against the ceiling of our strength, conditioning, and skill.  This could be as simple as not being able to stand a squat back up after taking it down, or can be biting off more than we can chew in a WOD and realizing that we either won’t be able to complete it at all, or at least not before the next equinox.  These failures will inform our training going forward, as they set concrete benchmarks about what where we currently stand.  A missed lift or slow metcon shouldn’t be a cause for frustration, demonstrative shouting, or thrown weight belts, but as useful data that will inform our next training cycle.

Bailing is a luxury that weightlifters went without for many years.  Bumper plates are an invention of Olympic Weightlifting, where technical misses occur fairly often due to the high skill demand of the movements.  Powerlifters for years toiled away in “iron gyms,” without the ability to bail every time they got stuck in the hole.  This week we had everyone get spotted during 1RM attempts, and asked that they hang in there and finish their lifts, even if it had to be with the aid of the spotter.  Fighting through a rep is a learned skill, and often the feeling of “oh no, this will never go up” can one second later become “I’ve got it” with the application of a little tenacity.  The converse is true- people can become so comfortable bailing the bar that the second their squat feels less than stellar they toss if off their shoulders.  While there are some WODs and specific workouts where a (CONTROLLED) bail is ok (Grace for example) these bails usually happen at the TOP of a lift so the athlete doesn’t tire out or have to fight through a suboptimal position. Learn to fight out a rep, finish what you start, and don’t get comfortable with the idea of bailing the bar.

The Takeaway

The best athletes have a larger view of their training, and don’t simply walk into the gym each day without a plan, throw some weight on the bar, and see what they can do.  Careful planning, listening to your coaches and your own body for feedback, and picking your times to test a lift or skill will all lead to greater success, faster recovery, and less injuries.

It’s crush week.  Show us what you’ve got.

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Training Versus Testing CrossFit Ashville
Training Versus Testing CrossFit Pasadena
Training Versus Testing CrossFit 979
Training Versus Testing, Pt 1 Lalanne Fitness

3 Rounds For Time:
8 130m Hurricane Runs
60 Wall Ball Shots

Only 1 partner working at a time.

Post time, Rx and partner to comments.

Congratulations and Farewell!
Congratulations to Allen G and Justin who got married last Monday after the AM class. Today is Allen’s last day with CFSBK before him and Justin move to North Carolina. So long and thanks for all the memories!

Happy Birthday Mckensy S!

CrossFit Photo Shoot This Friday Night

The NY Post has been working on an article about CrossFit and the connection between community, nutrition and fitness.  If you went to the last potluck you may remember they took some shots and interviewed members about their experiences at CFSBK.  We just received word that they want to take a shot for the cover of the issue we’re featured in.  So this Friday Jessica from the post will be at Open Gym from about 5:30-7:30pm taking shots for the cover.  If you come in on Friday night and you’re open to being photographed please introduce yourself to her. They also asked folks to wear a little color if they want to be featured since blacks don’t pop as much on paper.

Volunteer For The CrossFit North East Regionals

Now that the Open is over, the top ranking individuals and teams move on to Regionals.  The North East event takes place on May 25-27 at Reebok World Headquarters in Canton, Mass.  Coaches David and Margie are on the event organizing team (Margie is actually at Reebok HQ today).  If you’re interested in volunteering as a judge or support staff, please let us know and register here. We would appreciate it!

Only 1 more workout left in Crush Week. What do you think it will be?
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Check out the CFSBK Flikr Page!
Drug Testing at Regionals CrossFit Games
PETA: Fat Shaming and Consequences Femeniste
The Best Ways to Beat Spring Allergies Greatist
In the Gym With Mark Verstegen, Athletes’ Performance Greatist

5 Rounds for reps and load of:
1:00 Max Double Unders
:30 to attempt 1 Clean and Jerk
:30 Rest

You only get 1 attempt at each lift. If you miss your lift you get 0 lbs for that round. 

Post total lbs lifted and total double unders to comments.

3 Attempts at:
Max Reps Push-Ups
Max Reps Strict Chin-Ups

Rest no more than 1 minute between each of the 6 sets. Hold the top of each push-up for a 2 count. If you don’t have at least 5 strict push-ups and 3 strict chin-ups you’ll scale to 3×10 of each with appropriate assists.  Focus on perfect shoulder position at the top and bottom of each rep.

Post all 6 sets to comments.

Dr. Fiddler Takes To The Sea
“I’m glad we train as hard as we do at CFSBK. Otherwise, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to summon the strength to paddle out past the breaking waves in Playa Guiones, Nosara.”

Happy Birthday, Erica N!
Happy Belated Birthdays to: Noah OB (6th), Rahsaan C (7th), DH31 (9th)

CFSBK Book Club Reminder

For their second go-around, the CFSBK Book Club has chosen “The Sense of Ending” by J. Barnes for their read.  If you’d like to join in, simply pick up the book and get reading.  The club will be meeting at a bar or coffee shop to discuss the book on April 29th. About a week before the meet up an email will be sent out with questions about the text to consider before meeting up. To get on the email list for this and future events, please email Peggy at pjeanlouis1(at)gmail(dot)com

Book Description from Amazon
This intense new novel follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he has never much thought about—until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance, one of them from the grave, another maddeningly present. Tony Webster thought he’d left all this behind as he built a life for himself, and by now his marriage and family and career have fallen into an amicable divorce and retirement. But he is then presented with a mysterious legacy that obliges him to reconsider a variety of things he thought he’d understood all along, and to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world.
 
A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single sitting, with stunning psychological and emotional depth and sophistication, The Sense of an Ending is a brilliant new chapter in Julian Barnes’s oeuvre.

Purchase Here

Weightlifters are wanted to be part of filming for a new 2-hour special!

History Channel is looking to cast 20 fun, open-minded, healthy, experienced weightlifters to participate in a once-in a-lifetime event with world-renowned hypnotist Brad Henderson!

We’re also casting a crowd to watch and cheer along! (No hypnotizing involved.)

Apply only with full intent to participate. All weightlifters will be asked to sign an Appearance Release in the event they are chosen to participate in the televised special. There’s no payment but we will provide food and refreshments.

If you’re interested in taking part, you’ll need to email Weightlifters(at)sharpentertainment.com with a photograph, some information about yourself and your contact details and one of the producers will be in touch with you. You can also call 646-688-7913.

Where: Crossfit South Brooklyn
When: 4-8pm Sunday, April 22nd
** Finishing time is a rough approximation – it may run later.
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“3 Years of CrossFit and This Is What I Have Learned” Sara Carr of CrossFit NYC
Don’t Make My Mistakes: The 10 Things I’ve Learned From Doing Crossfit Avery Wittkamp of CrossFit NYC (and CFSBK’s Platform)