- Hot Shots 19 Workout Announced!
- On Labor Day we will be hosting a slightly modified AM schedule for Group Class. We will have 7am, 8am and 9am classses INSTEAD of 6am, 7am, 8am. Otherwise we will be hosting normal group class times.
Melissa off to Nigeria!
Today I am packing the last bits and getting the last shots before heading off to Nigeria until February. I am heading over to consult with the Agriculture Ministry to strengthen market access for commodity crops (consultant jargon, basically hope to get farmers better prices for crops to build food security). The project is thrilling, but I will miss Brooklyn and the CFSBK crew.
For the past two years the instruction, coaching, cheering, support and friendship from CFSBK enabled gains both in the gym and my life beyond the walls of 597 Degraw. CFSBK’s community helped me develop priceless new outlooks on health, strength and beauty. My new path to fitness at CFSBK even inspired a family challenge resulting in a combined 145 lost since foundations! The reach of motivation from Brooklyn to Texas and beyond is a testimonial to both CFSBK’s quality of coaching and strength of community. Further ramblings will not begin to cover my appreciation of how I feel when I walk under that skull clad garage door.
I googled variations of hotel+gym+squat rack+concept 2 rower and pretty much got back “Did you mean machines you can read a magazine on while working out?” So I would love to hear from the community on hotel/home workouts and motivation tips while on the road. I will be posting to the blog and signing up for Crash B’s for some added accountability!
Thank you again and I look forward to seeing you all in the winter!
Blast From the Past. Here is a pan of the gym layout in 2010. For the folks who have been around at least a year, what has been your favorite gym upgrade?
_____________________
Being Present: Valerie Voboril
Why Do We Clap? Vsauce
Noah says
Late post from yesterday's work:
Sundays Cleans and FSQ:
Worked to 205x3x2 power cleans, felt pretty tight and restricted from playing soccer (for the first time in 10 years) yesterday, slowest 3rd pulls ever.
FSQ 225×3, 235×3. Same drill, weight didn't feel heavy but felt abnormally tight. 2nd squat at 235 involved me running forward with the weight on the way up. Not cool.
Then jumped in 5:30 group class, did the inversion and other work which was fun. Slowly getting more graceful, although its certainly not my strong suit.
118 burpees, GOLD CLUB SWAG. Felt like I did a good job of going into a dark place, and I was sincerely messed up for about 30 minutes afterwards. Good times.
Spent the rest of the night alternately voodoo wrapping my elbows and knees. I feel like Randy the Ram. Ram Jam!
stellavision@gmail.com says
MeLlo, we'll miss you horribly!
Dan L says
Yesterday's inversion work and burpees. Inversions are slowly improving. Still wouldn't qualify them as 'graceful'
132 Burpees on the WOD – started with rounds of 15 and gradually worked down to rounds of 12. Last few were a struggle.
Luke J says
Hotshots WOD has been posted:
6 rounds for time of
30 squats
19 power cleans at 135
7 strict pull ups
400m run
That's a lot of cleans. My elbow is already getting achey.
katharinereece@gmail.com says
Echoing Stella, we miss you already, Mel! We'll be thinking about you as you help save the world. In the comfort and privacy of your hotel room, I suggest Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. That shit isn't easy, though I have to mute it because I find her encouragement so noxious.
Also, if we had "Black Betty" on repeat during all WODs, I don't think I'd complain.
Fox says
Mel – that's awesome about your family! Way to inspire positive change. I hope your experience in Nigeria is a good one, and that you hurry back to BK when your done.
Hotshots is kind of the WOD I was afraid it would be (80 squats, 114 power cleans, 42 strict pull ups, and 1.5 miles of running)…look for modifications to the WOD and also to our Saturday schedule.
Favorite upgrade is easily the great additions we've made to the SBK community, especially the the expanded coaching staff. The Rouge R3s are my favorite equipment upgrade. Dino BBQ is in there somewhere, too.
Peter says
6am with Jess and McDowell. While the burpees sounded like fun, I opted for Wednesday's workout. Worked up to 185 on the complex. That was rough in a my-ass-is-really-sore kind of way. Cooled down with a 1000m row.
Melissa, we're gonna miss ya. One of the funnest personalities at the gym. If I were forced to take a hiatus from regular gyms, I would work the shit out of bodyweight movements. No equipment needed for inversion practice, push-ups, supine presses, HSPUs, etc.
Rebecca C says
6am with McDowell and Jess. Love inversion Mondays! I was able to kick up to the wall today without crashing through the wall. Very excited about this. Watch out, Gabby Douglas. Did 74 burpees. Peter gave me some speed burpee tips after class, so I'm going to practice his technique to see if I can move faster.
Rebecca C says
Melissa, good luck! We'll miss you!
Grace.leigh.d@gmail.com says
Dear Burpees,
I am incredibly sore.
Well done. Well done indeed.
Spencer H says
Did Monday's inversion work. I don't think anyone's mistaking me for a world-class gymnast.
129 on the WOD. Brad and I may need to consider competing in syncronized burpees.
Mel says
Thanks David and everyone! It looks like way too many burpees are in my immediate future!
Dave Fung says
Have a safe trip Melissa!
Travel WODs:
http://reebokcrossfitone.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Travel-WODs.pdf
http://www.noexcusescrossfit.com/2009/training-info/travel-wods/travel-wods/
Or you can practice twerking: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-fnBbTUl0I
(filmed somewhere in Brooklyn)
Many favorite additions:
– Front desk – Always nice to have a friendly smile welcome you. Also, easier to harass Katz.
– Giant fans – Breezy hot air
– New personalities – People, dogs, babies
– Mcdowell's QOD – 100 tiny horses, finger legs, etc.
– Changing room – Great place to hide from burpees or the erg or finding random black socks
– Projector and screen – I still vote for working out to 90s' Saturday morning cartoons
– Calculators – In case I need to count pass 10 fingers
Thanks MGMT for the upgrades!
ellie.rahochik@gmail.com says
best wishes mel, and congrats on an amazing opportunity!
s.archenbronn@gmail.com says
HAhah@ ease of Katz harass.
Favourite additions:
the mini camo chair
the dog sled: so I don't HAVE to go down the block to push heavy things
the color coordination of the stretch bands
the color coordination/labeling/pyramid stacking of the barbells
(I have been to other gyms and taken a long time trying to figure out which weights were what. Plus it's pretty.)
The thing I miss the most:
Jerk blocks – or whatever you call them. I was a wee young lifter when those babies disappeared.
Gonna miss you Mel. But you know that.
marenyc@gmail.com says
Mel, I'm going to miss you so!! Maybe you should get a recording of Nick so you can have him screaming in your ear during your CRASH Bs training in Nigeria!
marenyc@gmail.com says
Mel, I'm going to miss you so!! Maybe you should get a recording of Nick so you can have him screaming in your ear during your CRASH Bs training in Nigeria!
robis@robis.org says
Travel safe Mel- hope it's a great experience!!! And great testimonial– that's awesome you were able to have a positive impact on your family all the way down in Texas.
OMG– the wall ball racks– I forgot they use to be behind the platforms– THANK YOU again Josh! That was a hazard.
Other great additions-
-B&R bars. Just really excellent barbells.
-Numbers painted on the sides of the dumbbells.
-A place for the Kettlebells.
-The R3 racks. My favorite place to squat.
-Oh, and the rogue benches. Super excellent. Tried benching at a globo recently. Belch!
Deb says
Safe travels Mel!
amy.leigh.ward@gmail.com says
Can someone tell me what Wednesday's workout is? I wanted to go to the gym tonight because I will be traveling for a week, but not feeling 100%. Wondering if it is something I can handle. Thanks.
dreshef@gmail.com says
We'll miss you Mel!
Did a quick "lift and leave" session at my office gym today.
HBBS:
5×135, 5×185, 5×245, 5×275, 3×315
Front Squats:
5×135, 5×185, 5×225, 5×245, 2×275
10 strict chest to bar pullups
Now back in the office…
ginacatto says
Mel! Safe travels! I will miss you. Also, your write up is amazing, love that you got your family into the paleo game. Have a wonderful time making the world a better place & training for Crash-B's! (i'm clapping right now)
Fave gym upgrades:
Remember when the wall ball stations got painted, that was an exciting one!
Barbell labeling
Thorisdottir v. Valenzuela poster & the 13.2 banners (ahhh memories)
Came in for inversion time last night at 6:30p.
Felt slightly better about my wall walk-ups last night. I might need to spend some remedial time with the wall because I'm not kicking up well at all. I might try right leg lunging although left feels natural for me as my "lead foot" "finger length legs" "finger legs" "whatever"
Then I did 95 burpees which I was totally happy with.
crossfitsbk@gmail.com says
Work up to a heavy load on the barbell complex:
7 Deadlift
5 Power Clean
3 Reverse Lunges (each leg, 6 total)
1 Thruster
michele says
1. getting rid of those plates between the platforms
2. creation of the wall ball and kettlebell shelves
3. extension of the rubber matting to cover most of the concrete floor
k2h2 says
Mel have a great trip, safe travels we want to see you back in cfsbk….
Adding the various rings.
painted walball areas are great.
All the toys to play with on the wrestling map while warming up and cooling down.
The openness of a great place to learn. ( well, that has probably been here since the start)
mmishik@gmail.com says
Mel…have fun and be safe!….Don't do anything I wouldn't do 🙂
Here's a good site for some travel wods
http://crossfitlando.com/wods/
Same guy also does a brief excerpt of Modifications and Subs while on the road…
http://crossfitlando.com/modifications-and-substitutions/
crystal says
Mel have a great trip! Be safe and take lots of pics! I look forward to seeing your time in Nigeria real time.
uzef says
obviously the biggest upgrade of the last year has been the addition of more uzef.
also its nice that attendance is being tracked now. the more mgmt knows about how many people are going to what classes the better they can manage class scheduling going forward (and probably class staffing as well).
melvin! morning strength cycle is such a sausage fest now w/o you!
good bye, be safe and try to stay away from any known rape zones.
Lauren says
Best of luck Mel!
Feeling present today.
Favorite upgrade? Additional classes and everything that goes into making our coaches the best.
crystal says
6:30 with Josh
7 Deadlifts
5 Power Cleans
3 Reverse Lunges (each leg, 6 total)
1 Thruster
53, 73, 83, 98-failed on the 5th power clean. I knew I wasn't going to get through it at that weight.
I was trying to listen to Josh but I just couldn't get down under the bar, and I think I was holding my breath for too long. I had no pull on the failed rep. Was hoping it would just jump up onto my shoulders. Fun to try.
Todd says
Good luck and stay outta traffic, Mel!
6:30 With MeLo and Josh, Monday's workout
Kick-ups felt all sorts of awkward at first today, which sucks because I was hitting some great handstands at OG Sunday. Then I realized I was putting the wrong foot forward, weird. Took a few to get back into the swing of things but I got there. Still having trouble not breaking at the top, hopefully all this hollow work will help.
Then: Burpees.
I was trying to beat Crystal's 111 and I thought I fell just short of beating her to tie in the last round, but after my brain started working again I added everything up and it was only 110! Horrible cramp coming around the corner during the cooldown jog. Rough one all around today!
My favorite addition to the gym are the new jerk blocks and the ping pong table! (posted from the near future?) Just kidding, best additions are all the nice Rogue plates, the heaps of mobility gear, and the ever advancing knowledge of the coaching staff!
pckr says
6:30 with MeLo and Josh… Mel, good luck on your project in Nigeria!
Kickups were fun, getting my legs up and staying tight isn't so hard… against the wall. Going to take a lot more practice before I can hold a real handsand…
97 burpees, pretty sloppy, I'm not great at high rep pushups. Really wanted to hit 100, but not so badly that I wanted to go into the pain cave. q – What is the standard? I did the basics: hit the ground, jumped back up, full extension at the top. But I wouldn't call what I was doing a pushup since I didn't stay tight and instead flopped down… acceptable for burpees? Or am I kidding myself about the 97?
Laura Mc says
Did tomorrow's barbell complex at 53#, 63#, 83#, 93#, and 103#. Felt good. Would have like to attempt a little more weight, but I ran out of time. Poor planning on my part.. This was really fun! I am loving bone-crusher Wednesdays.
Cooled down with a 1k row, keeping my strokes per minute below 20. Speaking of which, my favorite gym additions are definitely the spiffy new ergs, but I also love the extremely well-labelled dumbbells, and the miraculous new rings that you don't have to futz with forever to get even, only to have them slip out of equilibrium the second you put any weight on them.
ryanmjoyce@gmail.com says
1. Loved the Val Voboril video. I'll be cheering for her in years to come, for sure.
2. Best of luck, Mel! I'm wishing you a successful, exciting trip full of long erg sessions.
3. Did the 5:30 with Jeremy. Worked on the inversions. Had a couple attempts that felt really excellent, but today was mostly spent feeling pretty awkward. Very proud of Worm who went from terrified of hitting her head on the wall to a gorgeous, graceful kick-up by the end of class.
I was dreading the 10 minutes of burpees (which our class did without music) but managed a respectable 98–10 in every round but for the seventh and the eighth. I would, though, echo @pckr about my form on them. Left totally gassed either way. Nice walk home after that.
4. My two favorites additions are both black–the new Concept2s and the 30lb wall ball. Not that I'd ever want to use them together in a WOD. In general, I really appreciate the extent to which David & Co. are constantly re-investing in the gym to make sure we not only have all the tools we need to improve, but that they are (and stay) in good working condition, too.
Grace.leigh.d@gmail.com says
For anyone interested
http://nycaffiliateleague.com/events/17043-2-long-island-city-fall-brawl?trackRef=FB&trackCat=REG_SH
thebrooklynsyndrome@gmail.com says
Aww MeLo!
Your girl power to the Box will be greatly missed!!
All the best of luck to you on this trip, BE SAFE and hurry on back to BK 🙂
Courtneyleigh.hart@gmail.com says
Mel, we will miss you like CRAZY but have an incredible, productive, safe, & amazing time over there. And then get your butt back here.
Gahhhhhhhh. I want to be there for inversion Mondays!! Did my own handstands in the hotel room. Love them. Then, clumsily crashed into my bed while walking and now have a boss bruise on my thigh. How am I more graceful upside down?
Fave gym upgrade since I've been around are the little things-not more big equipment, but more mobility equipment, labeling DBs, taping the wall ball targets. I think that David and Co.'s attention to detail to improve the user experience (ew-this is your brain on technology) is what sets CFSBK apart from other boxes I've been to.
Noah, Spencer, and Dan, you guys are gross. Kudos.