60%x2x10
Lots of speed every rep, minimal transition time between sets with your partner(s).
Post loads to comments.
compare to 5.2.12
3 Rounds For Time of:
270 Meter Run
15 Thrusters 65/45
15 Kettlebell Swings Swings 53/35
Post time and Rx to comments.
Underneath the Hoodie: Jeremy Fisher
By Margie Lempert
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 185
DOB: 5/6/77
Born: Allentown, PA
Grew up: Atlantic Beach, Long Island
Place of Higher Learning: New York University, Psychology
Do me a favor. Put on your headphones. Now, click here (skip the ad) and settle into the story of Jeremy Fisher. Trust me, it’ll make the whole experience more… epic.
In third grade, Scholastic Reader had a listing for Gods, Demigods & Demons: An Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology. He forced his mom to order it, and it quickly became his essential text. It was the perfect book: no stories to wade through in order to extract facts, he could just know things.
The Encyclopedia eventually led the way to the full blown myths, as well an early fascination with World War II. He read about weaponry and equipment and personal narratives and strategy and planning. He fell in love with Alexander the Great and the Persian Wars. Myths and heroes, guns and knives – this is what decorated his interior life and occupied most of his time, not that anyone knew. His ardent reading relieved him of the need to deal with people, from whom he always felt apart. The oldest of four boys within an impressively large extended family, Jeremy was at once the one in the charge, and the one who couldn’t be persuaded to look up from his book.
When Jeremy was about 3, his grandfather ran over him with a lawnmower. The accident laid him up in the hospital for 6 weeks with a broken femur. That’s a long time to be secluded from others, especially at such a young age, and his resulting imaginary life may have its genesis in the event.
Lest you think little Jeremy was pure geek, I’ll tell you the other story of his youth: you see, at the same time he found his Encyclopedia, he also found the wrestling mat. He took to it quickly and developed a very aggressive style which relied on the unconventional use of his legs. He wanted to break his opponent’s will, and to him that was best done through pain. An angry kid, the mat presented an acceptable place for him to hurt people. It also taught him how to walk away from the anger when the match was over, perhaps saving him from a more troubled adolescence. In the wrestling room, Jeremy was on top, but he did not derive a lot of social confidence from his abilities.
High school was spent making weight, playing D&D with his buddies and working on the beach in the summers (he grew up between the bay and the ocean). He was an erratic student: a great test taker with a naturally good aptitude for school, but no real desire to excel at what didn’t interest him. Ironically, he was best at science and often got along poorly with his english teachers. In the middle of high school, he started running track to keep in shape and that’s where he met he first serious girlfriend, who he stayed with through most of college.
NYU. A partial scholarship and the lure of the City trumped his other thought of joining the Navy as a pilot. He intended to wrestle there, but at some point towards the beginning, he suddenly found he just wasn’t that interested in it anymore. He wasn’t crazy about the coach, and there was all this other college stuff to explore. It was a good thing because, at his girlfriend’s prodding, eventually he joined track and ended up meeting his most long lasting friends. As a Div III school, the team was never very good, but Jeremy was able to keep it in perspective. After all, losing a wrestling match usually meant you got hurt, whereas losing a race just meant you ran slower than the other guy.
College was a mixed bag emotionally and left him a little bewildered. After 9/11, Jeremy once again began thinking about the military, so he enrolled in Officer Cadet School on an aviator contract. Part way through training, he injured his back and was sent home. It was a hard incident to get over. He took a job in his Dad’s company doing interior construction jobs for big box stores. He was on the road, working nights and getting more and more out of shape. When he left that company to work for RSI, he finally started to find his way back to the gym.
He started with the basic Men’s Journal deal, but knew enough to recognize that it wasn’t super effective. Good intuition about bullshit programs and an impressive ability to search the web led him to Rippetoe and others like him. He decided it was time to get strong. Within one year he was pulling in the low 400s, benching around 300 and squatting in the low to mid 300s.
When he first found Crossfit.com, the workouts seemed fun, but he was dubious about its lack of consistent lifting. Nevertheless, he started figuring out how to incorporate WODs into his lifting regimen. In 2007, he decided he would follow mainsite in addition to his lifts. He was back at his Dad’s company, still working odd hours and often lifting in the middle of the night after a shift ended. And then he heard about CFSBK. David had just moved indoors when Jeremy decided to check it out. His first class consisted of him and some hungover guy from out of town, but with a promise from David that the next class would be deadlifting, he returned. It was a little strange to be with people again, but also nice to express his competitiveness in the company of others.
Jeremy went down the CrossFit rabbit hole full force and even took himself to the 2008 Games where he placed 32 out of over 130 male competitors. It was a different thing back then: scrappier, but with unexpected and inspiring performances of athleticism. When he returned to Regionals in 2009, he saw the writing on the wall: CrossFit was changing and the competition had already outpaced him.
In 2008, the financial crisis virtually shut down construction and his Dad’s company had to drastically reduce staff. Jeremy’s layoff was rough, but it also prompted his path to coaching and piloting his first Strength Cycle. He had originally envisioned it as a strength biased CF class, but David pushed him to make it exclusively about lifting. It brought him full circle and he was happy to be back with the bar full time.
Of course, Jeremy is still an obsessive reader and consumer of information. He’s prone to late nights of video games, comic books and internet surfing. It’s impossible to tear him away from anything with the printed word or zombies and guns. One of his most compelling subject matters is atheism. A fervent believer in the untruth of religion, Jeremy arrived at his beliefs through science and evolution. He has always been fascinated by how things work, and, for him, evolution is the most elegant explanation of animal behavior and function. He started reading Richard Dawkins in his mid-20’s and quickly picked up Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchins, Jared Diamond and others. Nature documentaries, especially those featuring predators, captivate him and he retains a shocking amount of information about what he sees.
And then there’s me. Or rather Jeremy and me. Let’s just say, he knew early, was persistent, and I’m the better for it.
So, now you know the story of the hulking guy on the platform (who is roughly 50 lbs bigger than his high school incarnation). He’s not so scary, is he? But don’t tell him you know that.
Parting Shots:
Favorite Comics: Punisher; Walking Dead; anything by Garth Ennis
Favorite Books: Gates of Fire; Blind Watchmaker; World War Z
Favorite Video Games: Assassins Creed; Shadows of the Colossus; Grand Theft Auto
Favorite Music: Johnny Cash; NIN; Nirvana
Favorite Lift: Squat
Most admires:
Mark Rippetoe for his clarity and foundation
Jim Wendler for his awesomeness
Andy Baker for his programmatic wisdom
Upcoming Strength Goals: Squat 450; Press 225; Bench 350; Deadlift 525
Secret Talents:
He’s a manny in the making. Always been great with kids and loves to be with them
He knows the meaning of all the Beatles songs
He knows about shit you don’t think anyone does (except maybe Malcolm)
Favorite way to eat eggs:
Mixed with flour, sugar, baking soda, chocolate chips and baked.
_________________________
Awesome article, Margie! Jeremy is a mensch.
A ginormous shout out of gratitude to Margie for her help teaching my 7th graders how to row on Monday. And to David for letting them come try it. The kids loved CFSBK and learned a lot of sticky info.
Box Squats 12×2 @ 140# (%60) every :30–started to slow down a bit in the middle rounds.
Jeremy is one of those guys in the gym (or out of the gym) that you want to like you, that you want to impress. That's all.
Jeremy,
Like you even more now, your a lovlie freak!
Jen Conlin
CFSBK's own version of Glacier National Park's M3 wolverine, Jeremy Fisher.
"Favorite way to eat eggs:
Mixed with flour, sugar, baking soda, chocolate chips and baked."
HA!
What an appropriate choice for Total day, and as always, a sensitively written portrayal by Margie (but of course!).
Speed squats at 115#. Felt pretty good.
WOD 9:58, with 300m row, 33# thrusters, 16kg KB. Whoof. This was hard. I promise, I did not refuse to run because it was raining — I refused to run because yesterday was my last run before RAGNAR!
"Jim Wendler for his awesomeness" that's awesome
My sons know Jeremy as the guy who lent me all of the awesome Star Wars movies.
Definitely did not think he was a nice guy when he used to go into the lyceum. Got that one wrong.
Lovely writeup of a lovely guy, nicely done, Margie.
When I first met Jeremy of course I was intimidated. Then I learned that his work shift at the food coop is childcare. My head turned inside out. The gym is so lucky to have Jeremy–we are all stronger for it, even those of us who've never been on a platform with him.
Big 6am with Coach Josh. Box speed squats at 185# with McGrath. Definitely getting harder to maintain the speed as the weight goes up each week.
3 rounds of:
270m run
15 thrusters (65#)
15 kettlebell swings (20KG)
7:38. Running in the rain was fun. Kettlebell swings with wet palms from the rain was not. Everything unbroken, though the second and third runs were noticeably slower than the first. I love to run, but my legs just don't want to move after I use them for another exercise.
Awesome write up, and like Stella said, a great choice for Total day.
Go get em, lifters.
Here is a Nietzsche quote for Jeremy – also for his birthday.
From Twilight of the Idols, "Reconnaissance Raids of an Untimely Man", Section 11:
"The highest feeling of power and sureness finds expression in a grand style. The power which no longer needs any proof, which spurns pleasing, which does not answer lightly, which feels no witness near, which lives oblivious of all opposition to it, which reposes within itself, fatalistically, a law among laws — that speaks of itself as a grand style."
I'm teaching this chapter today. Should be a blast.
Another fascinating Underneath the Hoodie! I enjoyed the added touch the soundtrack provided. Manny in the Making made me laugh, I always thought Jeremy would also make a fantastic doula. 😉
7 AM with Josh.
Got up to 135# on the box squats which felt good. Thanks to Dave for the help.
3 rounds of:
270m run
15 thrusters (65#)
15 kettlebell swings (20KG)
11:21 in the rain and fogged up glasses. Tough, especially on that last round, broke up the thrusters once, got a little out of sync. Got to work on that stamina on the off days. Maybe shed a pound or 20 🙂
Übermensch is just the word I used to describe Jeremy the other day, Samir!
Being coached by him these last eight weeks has been an absolute pleasure! He's pushed us to feats of strength and willpower that I think none of us thought possible for ourselves prior.
Everything that Margie so eloquently captured here is true to the absolute nth degree. And it's so fantastic that he's a comic book fan boy. I always wanted to be super strong and look like my favorite super villains and super heroes growing up. He's helping me and everyone that's part of the Cycle to actualize that goal!
Rock on, Jeremy!
I'm so writing an update to my last Yelp review once this cycle ends!
I just updated my Yelp review last week actually — Same ol' 5 stars 😉 but I thought I knew more than I did when I was in foundations.
Nice write up on Jeremy. Maybe one day I'll take a strength cycle and get to talk to him a bit more than never.
Today was a good rainy morning at the box.
Speed Squats at 110# felt good. I'm enjoying these more as they go up in weight.
WOD:
9:25 – really fun running in the rain!! A nice break from the sweaty box. I subbed 55# front squats for the 45# thrusters because my shoulder pain has re-awoken from it's slumber. It was a REALLY fun 3 weeks when it wasn't in pain. KB swings at 1pood. Nice wod. Wish I could have done the thrusters.
I've decided I'm going to take some time off from the box to fully get my shoulder healed and back to normal. Im not really happy about it, but I think it's the best thing I can do at the moment. ::pout::
Love the write up on Jeremy, and cant believe I listened to the soundtrack as well.
Make up post from yesterday.
Active Recovery with Fox. For those that never attend this, you should. Its an hour of love, and typically we talk about truck nuts and sticky bits.
@Samir, my head just blew up all over my desk reading that. What does it all mean?! I lift things up and put them down.
nice one margie. jeremy is one splendid chap.
fookin huge 6am with coach josh.
pre wu
foam roll
lax ball
droms
intros
hip openers
WU1
BOX SQ with peter
185. first squat exposure in a while. felt good.
WOD (spicy meatball)
10:14
not an ounce of energy today. not enough sleep has caught me.
margie, forgot to mention, a fine soundtrack choice.
Warm-Up
3 Rounds
Row 250
12 True Push-Ups
12 Face Pulls
Banded Bench
Worked up to 135 plus band tension.
Banded Pull-Ups
Worked up to 3 orange bands plus chains for an 8
Parallette HSPU
These felt VERY hard today, and I was not going beyond my hands in terms of depth. I wanted to do a handful of 4-8 rep sets but ended up doing lots of singles every :30
Ice Cream Makers
Fun, only did 2 dedicated sets of 5 after 2 sets of pulling to front levers on rings.
Happy belated birthday, Jeremy! And, Margie, really great "Underneath the Hoodie"–I loved getting to know more about Jeremy (who I've always found a little intimidating. All that weight. Not anymore!) The soundtrack was also a nice touch :). And as the mother of a son who marches to his own drummer and only does well at what interests him in school (meaning some crappy grades along with the good ones), it's very encouraging to see all the different ways a man can find his way.
Banner day for me in the WOD–I did the KB part at the RX weight (16 kg) ! Wahoo! Total time 11:10. And my overhead stuff (snatch, thrusters, press etc.) is becoming semi-coherent, with the help of the repetitions during the Monday cycle and a short PT session with David O. A word to all–if you have a specific movement, etc. that's giving you trouble, a 30 minute session with a fab coach is worth every dime.
I was remiss in leaving out one very important characteristic of Jeremy which some of you have experienced: his fierce loyalty to things that attach themselves to him, as he puts it. CFSBK, and Strength Cyclers in particular, have stuck on like super glue. Internal disagreements may arise, but if some outsider ever tried to fuck with his people, they'd be sorry.
black Inov8s on sale for 80 bucks
http://www.zappos.com/inov-8-f-lite-230-all-black
Love love love this article, and yes, the soundtrack definitely had me reeling through great Jeremy images as I read through the piece. (and what a starter, 3 year old Jeremy recovering from being run over by a lawnmower! totally superhero story!)
I've really enjoyed getting to know Jeremy better through the strength cycle, he's an amazing coach, and the strength cycle. I've especially loved the numerous Jeremyisms that I've acquired along the way, such as "sleep as much as you can without getting fired or divorced" and "vegetables are food for food." Thanks Jeremy for being you, and taking us along for the ride!
Rock on Jeremy, indeed.
I'm with Noor, "sleep as much as you can without getting fired or divorced" is just the best advice ever.
Who can't love someone who listens to NIN AND Johnny Cash.
Jeremy makes us want to work hard for us. We know if we did the work or not, but like I said the other day, when he pats you on the back and says, "nice job, you worked hard", it's cool.
Great write up. Loved the little snippet at the end regarding M & J. When I first started CF at the Lyceum it was before Margie had kipping pull ups. I remember one night lurking around (yes, lurking) and watching Margie chain 2 of those pullups together via the help/guidance of Jeremy. My brain always wondered why they didn't just get together (until, of course, they did). But it was a great moment and it's definitely stuck in my brain all this time.
Also – I remember when Tuesday nights was open gym for awhile and I'd basically be the only person who showed up so I'd get to work 1 on 1 with either Jeremy or Shane. Always really loved that time. Jeremy is great at breaking down a movement so that I can understand mentally what I need to work on and physically make the adjustments.
And the random humor.
—-
Getting ready for Rag(death)nar! Hence no gym time since Sunday as I don't want to do something stupid and then not be able to run well (i've been known to do this). And i'm working a million hours of overtime. SEE YOU GUYS MONDAY (unless I see you thursday).
Three cheers for Jeremy! He's a great guy and a great coach, and I am very glad, for my sake, that his path brought him to CFSBK and the Strength Cycle. : )
Speaking of which, good luck to the cyclers tonight!
Jeremy is a very easy guy to hate when you are trying to beat his numbers. Other than that he is a pretty easy guy to get along with.
also anyone who I can talk to about Frazetta, Jay Cutler, Wendler, and Skyrim to within the span of five minutes has to absolutely be my friend. But too bad I will never be his friend till I outbench him. I refuse to kneel to this king
love the write-up! great to know more about the man, the myth, the legend.
forgot to post last night…
After 3 solid months away from SBK, I was so happy to be lifting some weight again. chalk up the first 8 weeks of absence to travel and then rib injury. the last 4 wks were intimidation mixed with laziness.
squat cleans (1 every min on the min for 12 min) @ 73#. kept this manageable weight to focus on form and not get overzealous out of the gates.
seated box jumps were FUN! tried out and found success with all the heights on both boxes (seated and landing).
stayed on for AR with Fox and the Sticky Bits Crew (band name??). that hour never disappoints. (also, Fox, I owe you $!!)
I second what everyone, and "SOMEONE", already said about Jeremy. Jeremy you are awesome.
Big thanks to Fox for allowing me to work around my limitations (wishful thinking makes it not an injury?) tonight an asking me to air squat before I made a big mistake with weight/an empty bar on my back.
Yesterday Jeremy told me I did well on the squat cleans. Made my day. Will your birthday be taco fueled? Either way, hope it's a great one! And nice write up, Margie!
Box squats @175 felt aok. WOD, 8:09 rxed. Left me gasping which I guess is a good thing. Caught badass Rob squat 365 (I think) on my way out tonite. Nice and inspiring! Hope all total-ers made PRs or at least were pleased w/ progress.
What a fantastic write up, thanks Margie! And thank you Jeremy for being just so damn mysterious and interesting.
Interesting day today, workout wise. Not sure what the hell is going on with my shoulder – felt good enough today to do the light thrusters whereas last week I couldn’t even swing a KB. We’ll see if I made a mistake going overhead when I see how it feels tomorrow.
So… Squats – 45×5, 95×5, 135×3, 160x2x10
WOD 7:30 Rx – run always kills me.
Strength Cycle! Total!
Congrats to all my fellow lifters – everyone hit big numbers tonight, and I'm so humbled to have been a part of the experience. THANK YOU JEREMY.
My numbers:
Squat: 275 (PR by 75#)
Press: 120 (PR by 15#)
DL: 185 (PR by 40#)
The only tragic failure of the evening: trying on my new CrossFit Total t-shirt. Not ready for a L yet. Not even a M. Maybe after a few more cycles…
Squats @ 165
WOD 8:32 Rx
Speed squats are awesome
Jeremy's awesome
The fact that he plays D&D is awesome
Margie, your article and follow up comment are awesome
Samir, your Nietzche quote is awesome
I miss Tuesday night small class with Jeremy. Perhaps I will finally Strength Cycle soon.
Tough Mudder this weekend. It's gonna suck/be awesome.
Coach Jeremy,
Thank you so very much for the Strength Cycle! When I came in to this class, I had no idea that I would accomplish the feats of pure strength that you got me to accomplish not just tonight, but every single class. All of us, actually. You and this community exemplify what it is to be a family. I actually had no specific, numeric goal when I came to the Total tonight, so to actually score a 900 has me pretty much on cloud 9 (though I think I'm gonna crash hard and sleep, like the dead tonight). In fact, I was quite nervous about the whole affair. Once you're in it though… and you have our whole CrossFitSBK family cheering you on and hyping you up… there's no alternative aside from just lifting what you have to lift.
I would never have imagined deep squatting over 300 pounds or deadlifting over 400! Hell. Even my press, which is my weakest move has jumped up substantially to 145. Is it kind of crazy to think that I may have a growing addiction to these heavy lifts?
I'm so looking forward to the next cycle. I've made some very cool, new friends in this one and learned a lot about how far I can go and how far I've yet to go.
Another great Total to end a great Strength Cycle, its been amazing working with so many incredibly strong and genuinely nice people, and with the thoughtful coaching of Coach Jeremy. Super psyched to have made it past the 500 mark. I had a bit of doubt when I didn't get as high as anticipated on the press, but really pushed for it on the deadlift. My numbers:
BSQ 175 (10# PR)
Press 82.5 (2.5# PR)
DL 245 (25# PR)
So great to see the ladies bench showing some really solid numbers, really proud of all the "shorter ladies." Great job Kim and Mobina, you've both come a long way!
Corbett, my dear platform-mate, great show on the press!
David, 545 backsquat??!! Really? I will forever be in awe (and will know who to call if I get a lawnmower running over me like poor baby Jeremy.)
Squat: 210x3x5
Bench: 130x3x5
Clean: 155x3x3
Squats felt really good. Bench was ok, weight is fine but my left shoulder started barking. Gonna have to start doing some extra work to fix this. Cleans were heavy but decent. Stayed for the cycle afterwards. great job by all
Ah, yes. Noor, thanks for reminding me to actually post hard numbers.
Squat: 325
Press: 145
Deadlift: 430
i could not agree more with Rahsaan i think that he hit the nail on the head with his comments. I Before the cycle i could not even dream of the numbers that i put up. i had PRs in all 3 lifts.
squat 375 PRed by 55lbs
press 165 PRed by 10 lbs
Deadlift 415 PRed by 45 lbs
pictures to come ounce i figure out how to send them all
damn I missed this.
Ive been out the gym for awhile, but just wanted to say happy belated and cheers to Jeremy.