CrossFit South Brooklyn

Established 2007

Sumo or Conventional Deadlift

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Fitness: 3×3
More heavy triples this week. Add 5-10 lbs to last week.

Performance: 9×2 Dynamic Effort 55% (plus bands) x 2 reps every 30 seconds for 4 minutes
Focus on moving the bar fast, and being aggressive at the hips and quads with a tight finish position, no soft knees or hips. Dead start, no touch and go.

1RM Chart
250-325 Red Band
325-400 Blue Band
400+ Green Band

Post loads to comments.
DL e5/6
__________________

5 Rounds For Time of:
12 Kettlebell Swings 32kg/24kg
20 Anchored Sit-Ups

Post time and Rx to comments.

Home
An Opportunity to state how you’d like to finish the month.

Happy Birthday, Jay R!

Will Power!!!

How is the LFPB Challenge going for you? Are you still forging strong or are the changes you committed to at the start of all this beginning to dwindle away? This write up is for those of you in the latter camp that might be getting frustrated with yourselves and losing motivation to follow through with your initial goals.  I hope this can help put some things into perspective for you and hopefully give you some tools to reclaim positive behaviors.

Will power is an expendable resource. Instead get good at compromising.
The beginning of the year is a perfect storm for starting a change process. It seems like everyone around you and all you hear about is how people are starting resolutions and making positive changes to their lifestyle.  Asking for no bread at dinner, getting up early and making breakfast before taking that 6am WOD class all seem so natural, why haven’t you always been doing this!? But, as time goes by those habits might seem more like huge emotional drains versus staying up late, waking up at 8am then getting a bagel and coffee before taking the subway straight to work.

Lets break down why this switch might happen:

1. You’re focusing on the things you can’t have or do instead of finding compromise behaviors to replace them.

NOT doing something can be challenging, especially if you’ve racked up a good 20 years of doing things a certain way.  If there is a behavior that you’re really struggling with, analyze it and see if you can’t find a compromise behavior. For example, after a long day at the gym, I’m usually pretty wiped and want nothing more than to go home and eat a burrito and diet coke. For whatever reason, that seems very emotionally satisfying to me and depriving myself of that behavior can feel more like self punishment than a positive change. After analyzing that behavior, I know that my ability to make myself anything after a long day is basically out of the question. I want to order something savory and enjoy what  feels like junk food.  My compromise was instead to order a lemon chicken dish with a side of fries from another local restaurant and down it with seltzer.  While I know the fries aren’t very good for me, overall the meal corresponds with my long term goals better than the processed burrito ingredients and artificially sweetened diet coke. I feel like I’ve had something emotionally satisfying and I don’t feel like I’ve totally derailed myself which motivates me to continue on the track I set up for myself at the start. For some people, a complete dismissal of their goals can lead to a very slippery slope of behavior regression. One “harmless” night of burritos and diet coke can lead to a crappy breakfast, a shitty lunch and then an even worse dinner the next day. You’ve “Fallen off the boat” after one meal and start sinking fast. Does that sound familiar?
Instead, find your compromise. Tt may not be 100% perfect, but taking the time and intention to modify even slightly for the better can have a dramatic positive psychological affect. You still feel like you’re in control and making the next meal awesome becomes that much easier.

Think about some of the hardest things you feel like you’re giving up and see if you can’t list some compromises. Remember, they may not be perfect, but they’re still moving you in the right general direction versus making a complete U-turn.

2. You need to understand where your motivation is at right now and how to adapt.

The following three headers are components of motivation. By breaking down

Willing
Do these changes still seem important to you? Do you believe that eating whole foods, getting plenty of sleep and taking the time to do some A/R is valuable?
If you answered yes, then great! You can move on.
If you answered no or are on the fence it might be time to do some research as to why we advocate these changes. You’ve got to start from a place of believing that what you’re trying to do is worthwhile before taking the plunge.  Maybe you read a book about Paleo nutrition or talk to someone who’s gone through it and found positive changes. Think about how you’d feel/look and perform by NOT making these changes.

Able
Sometimes people feel willing but not able to make change. They lack the confidence in themselves to take the plunge. You might say to yourself, “There’s no way I can cut out my favorite sweets. I love them too much, I’m simply not able to make these changes”.  If this is you, then there are two avenues this can lead to:

Denial and Rationalization:
You start being defensive and make internal arguments not only for why you Can’t do these things, but why you shouldn’t. “I guess I’m not in THAT bad of shape.. my brother is way worse than me”, “I didn’t want this anyway, those paleo people are freaks”, “I’m FINE.”

or

Find Discrepancy and Compromises:
You have to believe that you’re able to make these changes. If you haven’t been successful in a particular behavior, modify it to make it easier for yourself.  “Okay, I won’t do A/R for 20 minutes everyday, but I can stay at the gym late for 20 minutes the 2 days per week that I go and foam roll” (Awesome!) You can also look to find discrepancy in the positive direction “5 Years ago I was 20lbs lighter, what happened? I’m not on the trajectory I want to be on and I need to start changing that” Try to amplify where are you now versus where you want to be.
Again, if you don’t feel confident that you can make a particular change, “scale” it do something you’re 100% capable of doing. It might not be the fast track to becoming the next Annie Sakamoto but it is the direction towards becoming a better you.

Ready
Okay, maybe you believe that these behaviors are positive and that you have the capacity to change.. it’s just that.. they’re not on the top of your list anymore. The holy mantra for someone lacking in this department is “I’ll start tomorrow”. In that statement they’ve professed the belief in the importance (willing) of change as well as the stated confidence (able) that they can make these changes…. just.. you know… not right now.
In this case, it’s not necessarily that you lack motivation.. it’s that you’re currently motivated to not start (or re-start) the change process. Here is where little steps become important. Maybe you commit to your next meal being on point, or going to bed early tonight, or going grocery shopping this afternoon. The key is to not get wound up in all the planning and analysis that seems to block your change. Just do something easy and positive as soon as possible. After that, pick something else to do. Don’t become paralyzed, it’s not that complicated, you know what is good and bad for you. Make the NEXT behavior you do the right one. Even if you haven’t updated your points or purchased that slow cooker… It’s better to start at your next action as a positive than waiting until you’ve planned the next 5 years of behavior change before starting. It might make it easier to casually mention your intentions to someone. “Honey just so you know I’ll be at the gym tomorrow evening”, “I’m going to go take some Fish Oil and water before bed”, “I’ll go out to the bar with you guys but I’m not drinking tonight”.

No one said this would be easy! Behavior change takes time, commitment and the right perspective. You won’t be perfect and that’s okay, accept it. What’s important is to find the triggers the DERAIL you and avoid them like the plague.  It may take 6 months of consistent change before things totally feel natural, intuitive and easy. Rome wasn’t built in a day (or 6 weeks). Stay strong and know thyself.

_________________
WE ATE PALEO BEFORE IT WAS COOL.

Comments

  1. I definitely thought about bagging out on today, especially since there were situps involved. But, glad I didn't. Always fun to work with Nick and McDowell.

    Speed deadlifts at 125# with red band, WOD 5:49 Rx.

    I hope it's at least a week before situps show up in a WOD again.

  2. Really enjoyed today's post about finding compromises which leads to negating the guilt associated with falling off the cliff. I have begun to do this more and more. Food is all too often associated with self-inflicted guilt and those things just shouldn't go together.

  3. I also liked today's post alot. Change is often more complicated than we anticipate. Things are often not black or white, but shades of gray with overtones of yellow, orange, blue, and red. Two steps forward, one step back. And, thinking often about the overall direction and road one is traveling.

  5. Strength Cycle Day 9:

    Squat: 315x5x3. Worst rep was probably the third of the first set, where I loosened up a bit at the bottom. Jeremy told me to settle down, take my time at the top, and hit the bottom tight, and so it went. I still haven't grunted on a fifth rep, which suggests I have some runway. At some point I know I did a 335×5 for one set once at the end of a wendler , and I may have done 315x5x3 at some point, but I don't remember my squats feeling this organized at this weight for this many reps.

    Press: 120x5x3. Jeremy put 125 up on the board after 117.5 last week, and while I liked the trust he had in me, I also thought it might have been a mistake, given that it was the Monday after the Super Bowl and it was 6:30 in the morning. Indeed, it was 120. Got really disorganized on my first set and gutted through it, before settling into a much more organized back two sets. Definitely took a lot out of me, and I have to imagine these will stick at some point.

    DL: 345×5(f). First three reps felt solid. Fourth was a grind but went up. Before the fifth rep Jeremy told me to think about bringing my hips to the bar as soon as it came off the ground. It was not to be. Got the bar up above my knees, before failing to close out my hips.

  6. Hey, the Paleo diet got mentioned in a crossword puzzle today! It's not one of the major newspaper puzzles, but still, yay.

    If you want to try it out, go to brendanemmettquigley.com and do today's Themeless Monday. Warning: It is not an easy puzzle. Took me 4:01 which is on par with a Friday or Saturday New York Times.

  7. 6AM w/Nick and McDowell
    125lb DL, 5+ from last week.
    Felt pretty good.
    WOD not bad either. I was terrified of the 300 doubleunders and 7 min burpees last week, so I skipped those days. I think I'll just stop checking the website before heading out so I don't chicken out.
    Challenge is going great, I really want to step before it's officially over (although plan on continuing the good habits). My main goal is to do 4 days at CF, plus AR and/or yoga, per week.

  8. Thanks so much for the post. The compromise thing is really working for me. Starting to see results, which feels great. Today I'm wearing a pair of pants that I probably haven't worn since before my son was born. I hung them in a place where I would see them each day for added motivation. Happy birthday, Jay! Thanks for inspiring me to join CrossFit.

  10. A.
    Six sets of:
    Clean Complex
    * Hang Clean
    * Clean
    * Front Squat x 2 reps
    * Jerk
    Rest as needed between sets

    Warm Up
    (45×5 – 115×5 – 165×5 – 205×5)
    Work Sets
    225×5
    235x 1.4
    245x 1.4
    255x 1.4
    255x 1.3.X
    235x 1.4

    Note
    – The Jerk on my 4th set (255#) was ugly so I thought I would try it again on my next attempt but then I missed the lift
    + I felt good with most of my lifts maybe a little forward on some of them but on a whole not to bad
    + After the first work set I drop the bar after the Hang Clean to organize the second Clean

    B.
    Three sets for max reps of:
    30 seconds of Ground to Overhead @ 185#
    90 seconds of Rest

    Round 1
    4 Reps
    – Touch and Go
    Round 2 and 3
    5 Reps
    – All Singles

    Note
    + My rhythm with the barbell was off in the first round, so I just let the bar go from the top after that
    + I used a Power Clean + Push Jerk on each rep

    C.
    High Bar Back Squat
    (Based off of 385#)
    * Set 1 – 3 reps @ 70% (275#)
    * Set 2 – 3 reps @ 80% (315#)
    * Set 3 – 2 reps @ 85% (330#)
    * Set 4 – 1 rep @ 90% (345#)
    Rest as needed between sets

    Note
    – The bar felt heavy today..
    – I hope my body adapt to high bar back squats soon

    D.
    For time:
    50 Double-Unders
    5 Back Squats with 80% of 1-RM
    40 Double-Unders
    4 Back Squats
    30 Double-Unders
    3 Back Squats
    20 Double-Unders
    2 Back Squats
    10 Double-Unders
    1 Back Squat

    This should be fairly obvious, but take the squat from the rack, and make sure you get perfect depth on every rep.

    Time/Load
    6:58/315#

    Break down
    + First time doing double unders with my Romaleos, on a whole not to bad..
    + The first set of double unders were the only set that I tripped up on, all other sets were unbroken.
    – I'm also trying to get the hang of high bar back squats, I've only really done low bar.. So my ass keeps coming up first which ends up putting the barbell out in front
    + Back Squats were all unbroken.. slow but unbroken

  12. OUTLAW posted this the other day. Pretty cool:

    Here are some numbers to drive the point home:

    -Among the top ten women at the 2009 Games, the average snatch was 120#.
    -Among the top ten women from the 2012 Games the average snatch is 163.6#.

    Here’s one that I had to do the math on at least eight times to believe…

    -The average snatch of the 69kg women at the 2012 American Open was 161.6#.

    This is notoriously the most competitive weight class in American women’s weightlifting, and 69kg (151.8#) is actually more than 8 pounds heavier than the 143.1 pound average weight of the Games 2012 top ten. (You should probably ruminate on the numbers for a second.)

  13. @JakeL,

    Given how relentlessly clean US weightlifting is, that makes me think Crossfit gamers aren't as relentlessly clean. That's what I got from my ruminations. Of course, I'd still find the numbers impressive regardless.

  14. I doubt it's the case that the CFs have a leg up because they're taking. US weightlifting is notoriously non-competative and more people are competing in CF than Oly. Even Greg Everett said recently that you don't need to be a dedicated weightlifter to make it to nationals in the US.

  15. 6 am with Nick and McDowell. 165x3x5 on the deadlifts. WOD in 6:45 with 20kg KB. This combo really tried out my legs — my bike ride home was pretty slow!

    My friend's brother was at Hail to the Queen on Saturday and his photos can be found here: http://gallery.millerworks.net/. There are some cool pics of SBK folks! Congrats again to everyone who competed!

  17. @Jen – I agree about Stella's mad crossword skills. I'm doing one now & cannot fathom doing it in 4 minutes. And it's Monday, haha.

    Noon class with Fox & Arturo. 3×3 deadlifts @ 150#! I was excited about that, especially since I felt like I could have done more.

    WOD in 5:30ish with a 16kg KB. I apparently don't hate situps as much as everyone else. I might even go so far as to say that I like them…

    And, because I told Arturo I would post this: I continue my petition for 10am classes. 9am classes would work too.

  18. Squats
    250×3
    290×3
    330×3

    Deficit Deadlift 4" box
    270×3
    310×3
    350×3
    410×1
    455×1

    Back Raise
    20x15x3

    AB Wheel Rollout
    6×10 from the knees

  19. Rachael — Jen and I don't hate situps because we hate situps in general. We hate situps today because Hail to the Queen involved 150 of them. It's too soon!

    My abs hate me today.

  21. @Joel and David,

    It hadn't even occured to me that CFrs are taking anything (I hope that isnt the case). I think its more that CF is now pulling from a much larger population sample of great athletes. It is also worth noting that Froning's Oly total would qualify him for the US nationals as well if im not mistaken.

  23. Also factoring in to the convo about WL and CF is the fact that a CF approved snatch is not necessarily a USAWL approved snatch. That said, Fronning would not get red lighted from what I've seen. Lots of successful CFers make a point to focus on weightlifting throughout the year, and as great athletes to start out they naturally get great at it.

    I wouldn't be so quick to accuse them of juicing.

  24. Missed this morning – I think I am finding the overlap of rowing/studying/full time work/paleo pretty exhausting. But trying to be conscious of the good fat intake and sleep a lot and push through. Also trying to up the AR.

    Made it up at 4:30 with the 20'x250 sprints with 1' rest. I am dropping the real lifting until the race with the volume and miss it but hey somethings gotta give.

    I liked the motivation too as yesterday I was really wanting a beer. Ahhh beer. But I knew it was only because I was stressed and my big thing for this challenge was eliminating things I considered crutches. So with the willpower I committed to making myself a really nice dinner versus just throwing something together like I usually do. That really made a difference to not feel deprived but enjoy the process.

    One other thing about the challenge is that I remember David last year writing about understanding that you can 'cheat' while still being 100% paleo. That has been really true. I have not technically cheated but I know there are days that too many apple or sweet potato chips get downed and that is something to clean up. But then again some days if paleo banana bread with no honey is your compromise so be it!

  25. @FOX- That is really good point regarding CF standards vs USAW standards. I would also officially like to propose that instead of a Look, Feel, Perform better challenge, next month we should have a "Get Obnoxiously strong and REALLY perform better… on Roids" challenge.

  28. DIY dips 35x5x3

    Sumo deadlift: 305x3x1, 305x2x1(F on the third) then 275x3x1. ugh. too many fails this cycle.

    WOD @ 32kg russian: 5:55.

  29. Fox's point is well taken, and I don't think there's any particular member I'd accuse, I'd just be really surprised if there weren't top Crossfit athletes using steroids, with the incentives being as strong as they are, the level of competition so high, and the intensity of the athletes.

  30. Power C&J
    242×3
    253×3
    264×2 or 3
    276×3

    Mid hang Snatch high pulls
    154#3×3
    198#3×2

    DE DLs@255
    WOD- 6ish Rxd w/32kg trying to be perfectly vertical with a pause at the top.

  31. Jumped up 40 pounds on my deadlift triples this week. Feeling good. Heavy kettlebell swings are a trip, liked it, but my left wrist makes a popping noise. Better do some supple leopard research on this topic.

  32. Monday good times with Melo.

    DL: dynamic effort @ 55% + band. 9×2 (1 set every :30)
    110# + red band. these certainly felt heavier than the last couple dynamic efforts have! ready to see what happens next week.

    WOD: 16kg KB, overhead swings
    time: 5:07
    decided to go lighter on the KB and overhead, as I've been going Russian for a while

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