CrossFit South Brooklyn

Established 2007

Rest Day

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  • Happy birthday, Daniel B. and Carolyn H.!

Starting Class with Introductions 

The original version of this article appeared on Coach David’s blog Inside the Affiliate. 

A longstanding tradition at CFSBK is to start classes with introductions and a short Question of the Day (QOD) while we do our general movement preparation. We’ve been doing this since the 2007 days when were still meeting in a park and over time, it’s become a staple of our class template. Initially, I just thought it was a nice way to start classes and get people acquainted, but it has since proven to be a valuable tool for setting the tone of the class, learning peoples’ names, and showcasing the personality of our members and coaches. The QOD reflects the importance we place on both having an on-going, continual conversation with our members and creating opportunities to foster a sense of community.

Tone
Especially for newbies, CrossFit group classes can be really intimidating. By adding some light introductions and silly banter at the beginning of class, we simultaneously break the ice and get everyone to relax and laugh at themselves.

Names
Intros are a great opportunity for people to help learn each other’s names, especially for regulars who often share a bar with the same few people each class. 

Multitasking
A lot needs to be accomplished within a group class and there isn’t much time to spend trying to create the warm and fuzzys. This is why we always couple intros alongside basic movement prep. You’ve probably noticed that class usually starts with the coach having everyone circle up to start some dynamic range of motion movements (DROMs). We also do this during ground-based mobilization. As folks are hunting around looking for tight positions, we go through names and questions. 

You may have noticed that in some larger classes, the coach will skip the QOD. We know this makes you sad, but completing the QOD sometimes becomes difficult since it will take longer to go around the circle and people might not talk loud enough for those across the circle to hear. (Talk louder!! We all want to know your answers!) It also makes it harder for our coaches to stay within the time budgeted for movement prep. Take these classes as an opportunity to ask questions of your bar partner or get to know a person you’ve never met before. 

Testimonials
We asked for our members’ thoughts on the Question of the Day and we’ve included some of their responses below:

Two people said the QOD was incredibly helpful when they came out of our Foundations program, in terms of getting to know the coaches and other members, and another wrote that it “makes us closer in a weird way.” Peter M. said that “knowing the names of the people you’re working out with and a little something about their personalities is a part of what makes CrossFit special to me.” Lauren B. wrote that she’s a “big fan of introductions and hearing bizarre bits about people. When you’re new it makes you feel part of what’s going on instantly. Over time it builds community. Discovering your own strange habits and opinions is a nice bonus.” Richard G. wrote, “Of all the reasons I keep coming back to CFSBK (health, fitness, varied workouts), one of the main reasons has been the community. And learning names facilitates those encouraging hoots and cheers during the workouts.” 

We don’t underestimate the power of creating a novel and interesting experience in your day. We hope these are the kinds of little things that keep people coming back to CFSBK. We want to make space for you to put some names to new faces and have a laugh, and for us, it’s an opportunity to learn your names and have informal face time with everyone who takes classes at the gym.

We also love occasionally posting QODs on the blog. So tell us: What is your favorite piece of art?

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Comments

  1. Fitness: Snatch Segment Deadlift + Snatch
    If you have a hard time organizing the pull off the floor, perform snatch from the mid-hang.

    Performance: Snatch 1-1-1, then 85% x 1 x 2
    Work up to a heavy snatch in 3 attempts, then perform 2 singles at 85% of today's best snatch.

    _________________

    Back Squat

    Fitness: 3×5 Linear Progression

    Performance: 75% x 6 x 5
    Rest about two minutes between sets.

  3. Nice to see the starting strength crowd there this weekend. Spondy = no more cleans, which is too bad as that's my favorite. BUT, I will be able to squat and deadlift again. Good work mashing everything.

    Art – love De Kooning. Does anybody know of a good place for framing? I actually have a piece that his wife did that I've been meaning to get framed.

    Big fan of The Frick as well. Love the Bruegels and all of that.

  4. 6am with McDowell and Jess and the vicious man-eating Fox pups.

    Snatch felt pretty dialed in. Got up to 135# twice and it felt smooth both times. McDowell still think I need to go quicker. PR is 155# and I can catch that pretty low but not in a full squat. My focus from now on is going to be to only catch low.

    HBBS was 10# lighter than it was supposed to be but I have GoRuck on Friday so I didn't want to go too crazy. Loving this high volume stuff.

    Cash out was a pleasant gasser.

  5. 8:30 last night with Noah.

    Bench press:

    185x5x3 — this is starting to get very challenging. I think I'll go to 187.5 for next week's work.

    WOD in 10:43 Rx. Holy quads. Did the DUs in 52-20-28. WBs were 25, 15/10, 15/10, cleans 5/2, 5/2, 4/3. Row was a blur — think I finished in a little under 2:00. Bike ride home was alarmingly slow.

  6. Woke up this morning intending to come to 7 AM, but my shoulder was hurting like hell so I went for a run followed by quality time with my foam roller instead. Hopefully will be ready to come back and snatch/squat tomorrow.

    My favorite piece of art — I see someone else has already posted some music, so if we're going that route, I would have to pick Dvorak's 7th Symphony in d minor. But if we're going with visual art, Michelangelo's David. My husband (then my boyfriend) and I saw it in person in Florence 6 years ago, and I think we spent a good 45 minutes looking at it from different angles. Such an achievement! (And then David-not-the-statue spontaneously proposed to me that evening, so I have all kinds of emotions wrapped up with that particular artwork.)

  7. Hey Guys–anyone have a gym recommendation in Los Angeles (Westwood, Santa Monica, etc.)? My girlfriend is heading out there for the Summer and would like to join a CF gym, but it would be better if she actually joined a good one!

  8. 6am. Snatch (kilos): 40×3, 50×3, 60×1, 65×1, 70×1, 75×1, 80F, 80F. Then a bunch of high-hang reps at 60, focusing on getting down. Was pulling too early all day. Caught the rep at 75 high and McD said I jumped about a foot forward. 80 would have been a 1kg PR. Missed the first one due to not getting under the bar. Missed the second out in front, though I got down plenty fast. Very last rep of the day (at 60) was the best: caught low and solid. HBBS: 225x6x5. Not as much bounce as last week, but these still moved well. Nice to get a little outside time for the cash out.

  9. 6am with Jess and McDowell – Monday's work for me. Bench press @ 140#. This felt as heavy as 135# felt last week, which, I suppose, is the point. Then the WOD was a rough one. I did the cleans @ 95# and the walls balls @ 20# to 10' (sorta). My double unders are starting to look better, but I still wasn't close to 100 and knocked off @ 2 mins. The wall balls were messy and inefficient, the cleans got real heavy real quick, and the row was…what it was. Overall, it was ugly and none too fast (15:25), but I got it done and I'm calling that a victory.

    Also, my favorite piece of (visual) art is probably "Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)" by Jackson Pollock – at least for now. It's one of those things I'd seen photos of a million times and probably mocked, but then I saw it in person and it literally took my breath away.

  10. Great QOD but it's impossible to pick just one! Limiting myself only to work that lives in New York and that I can visit anytime: whenever I go to MoMA, I always try to duck in to the fifth floor for a moment with Picasso's Les Desmoiselles d'Avignon. Also at MoMA, Woman with Her Throat Cut by Alberto Giacometti is probably my favorite sculpture. The Merode Altarpiece up at the Cloisters is worth the haul up to Inwood (come for the art, stay for the sunset over the palisades). And for something more contemporary, James Turrell's Meeting at PS1 is so beautiful and transporting.

  11. Art Question: I think I love all of Vivian Maier's self portraits, but most especially, the one where she is only a shadow on a rainy car.

  15. 10AM class w/ Jeremy and McD

    Snatch
    40×3 50×2 60×1 70×1 77xM,1 82xM,M 70×1,1

    Pulls felt off today, I clarked both of the attempts at 82kg so kept it lighter for the singles.

    HBBS
    155×3 220×2 255x2x6

    Last "light" day of my Russian cycle before max-out Friday. Didn't hit the 100%x2x2 when I tried up in Syracuse over the weekend but I got some volume in at 85-95% to make it up.

    Also PR-ed my snatch double up there, 75kg from high blocks, and my push jerk at 93.5kg after a clean double.

    —

    In class this morning I couldn't think of anything for art other than the Velvet Underground's "Loaded," but I think I might stick with that or Steve Reich's "Music for 18 Musicians"… two of the things I can experience and enjoy over and over and over without them losing anything.

  17. I guess it's about time I joined the comment club…

    @Paul – I loved Paradiso Crossfit in Marina Del Rey. They also have a location in Venice but I have not been there.

    6am with Jess & McD.

    Snatch – 115, which is lighter than I have been doing but I'm trying to work on catching low. A lot of it is mental for me – I seem to be in the habit of catching it in a partial squat so I just need to keep reminding myself to get low right away.

    LBBSQ – 225x5x3. Felt pretty good although Fox said I need to get down a little bit lower. McD keeps reminding me to push my knees out but my knees always disagree, so we're working on it together. Hopefully we'll get to a happy place soon.

  18. Noon class today with Jeremy and MCD

    68# 3×5 on bench press that went ok and moved alright! The advice of working on adding weight in smaller increments helped today.

    Went today instead of yesterday because my legs were FRIED from this weekend, and now my arms are FRIED!

    16:10 on the WOD, which was ok, I really have to remember to at least break up the movements a little more. 53# on the power cleans. Hate rowing forever!

    Answered this in class but since I have been taking an online surface design/art class, I've really grown to love Paul Klee more and more, so I said Paul Klee's 'Castle and Sun'. But runner ups include: Aubrey Beardsley's 'The Climax'. everything done borderline of illustration/fine art by Arthur Rackham/John Singer Sargent/Max Ernst/Alfonse Mucha/John William Waterhouse, and Gerhard Richter stuff. Michael C. and I went to see the Yayoi Kusama exhibit at the Whitney, then again at the David Zwiner gallery and those were AMAZING.

  19. Today my answer was Kandinsky's panels at the MoMA that I thought were called "Seasons" but are probably called something else. I'm not good at remembering names of things. I recently wrote down the name of drawing I loved looking at — Glow of the City by Martin Lewis. It's a great question even if a single answer isn't possible.

    12pm today. Not much energy.
    Snatch continues to be a brand new day. Only power snatches up to 78. Dropped back to 73 to get myself to squat snatch a few. Helpful tips from McDowell on my start position.
    HBBS at 140x6x5. Real tough but felt consistent.
    Fartlek mile with Carissa.

    Last night
    Bench Press – 90x6x5. These were challenging but solid.
    Found this work-out to be super hard. 93# hang cleans, 14#/9' on wall balls. Got on the erg at 9:23 mark, but took me 14 min to finish the whole deal.

  23. Hello from South Philly, down here helping my brother and his wife move in to their new home.

    QOD – Mrs. Fox is my favorite piece of art. She's quite a beauty 😉

  24. It's a dirty secret of mine that I'm not very conversant in visual art at all; I don't have treasured original outsider art or paintings-by-friends on my walls at home, nor do I own any art books, and I don't have a museum habit (I spent two weeks in Italy without going to a single museum.)

    A couple of years ago, however, I saw a vintage photograph in the subway that literally stopped me in my tracks. I eventually bought a book that contained the photo just so I could illegally reproduce it and make my first-ever framed art piece for my apartment.

    The book: THE RADICAL CAMERA: NEW YORK’S PHOTO LEAGUE 1936-51.

    The photo:

    Butterfly Boy, by Jerome Leibling

  25. JJ, I was totally going to post that photo this week with a similar caption! Props to Asta for her recent set of photos. They really are gorgeous.

    My favorite piece of art is Monet’s painting of the Grand Canal in Venice. I’ve been captivated by his work since I was a little girl but I didn’t come across that painting until I moved to Boston for college. I would stand in front of it at the MFA each time I visited, for any length of time depending on how I felt. For whatever reason (hormones?), the magenta and purples in it easily moved me to tears. While I was in college, I couldn’t for the life of me find a print or even a postcard of it. Then when I got to Sarah Lawrence for grad school in 2010, I was interviewing the head of one of their programs for an article. We were writing about her because she was retiring and so she was in the process of cleaning out her office. On top of her file cabinets, she had a huge framed print of that painting on her wall, with a crack in the glass. I started to freak out and gush platitudes in the way that I’m wont to do. She said the person before her had left it and she had no attachment to it, so she gave it to me. It’s still in the same frame in my apartment, perfectly cracked and all.

  26. Didn't think I would make it in today but some last minute changes allowed me to come in.

    4:30pm Group Class with Coach Whit

    Bench Press
    165x5x2
    I didn't pay enough attention to time and didn't get my third work set in.

    WOD: 16:30? Scaled Up (Accidentally)

    I thought the WOD started with 200 double unders, not 100. I did 89 Unbroken (PR) and then smaller chunks to about 140ish. I got confused as to why I was the last one on doubles until I looked at the board and saw that I blew it.

    Wall Balls: All 5s with LIBERAL rest periods
    Cleans: 4-3 with LIBERAL REST
    Row: I should hardly consider this part of the workout. I was around 800 cals/hour barely hanging on.

    I found this workout extremely difficult. Although I came in feeling well rested and fed, I seemed to have no gas in the tank. One of those workouts where you just have to dig yourself out of a hole.

    thanks to my partner Chris Y (who is coincidentally pictured with me in the frame on the video today) for the support.

    My answer today was georgia o'keeffe's evening star no.3
    I could stare at it all day

  27. 4:30 with Whit

    WU: 60cal row
    3×5 inchworm push-ups

    Bench –Fitness 3×5 #80 (up 5lbs)

    Pull-up pyramid 1-1-1-1-1

    Found this easier than last week…can't decide if that's an issue of assistance bands or I'm just not as tanked as my first week back. Used same as last week (2 green)

  28. Bench Press 125×5, 125×3, 115×5

    50 Double unders
    25 WB @ 9' 14# x3
    7 mid hang cleans @ 105# x3
    40 Cal row the whole thing was around 14 mins… someone turned off the clock

    Good working with Tyler on the WoD.

  29. 4:30 with Coach Whitney

    I must first begin by publicly apologizing to Coach David O for allowing him to "accidentally" scale up the double under portion of his WOD. I assumed, and failed to confirm. Lesson learned.

    Secondly, that video frame above is so horrible and deserves to be memed to further my humiliation.

    Bench: Fitness: 185

    And lastly (in every sense), my WOD:
    15:41, 135 cleans, only 2:00 of double unders completed (60ish reps)

  30. Does anyone know a good crossfit gym in London? While it's unlikely that my work schedule will permit an actual workout (and a tube strike is affecting the ease of travel around town), I've been talking up crossfit in my office and now my colleagues want to try it:)

  31. 6am with Jess & McDowell

    Bench Press – failed my 4th rep in my last set. Sadness. I guess a 5# jump was not in the cards. So I'll be seeing you again next week 75!

    WOD: 13:44 with a run, 53# cleans, and a 12lb ball

  32. Holy volume batman..

    Snatch-
    176×2, 198×2, 220×2, 231×2, 246×2(PR double), 262M, 231×2, 246×2, 262

    Clean+Jerk-
    220(2+1), 242(2+1), 286(2+1), 297(2+1..PR at double clean), 308, 286(2+1), 297(2+1)

    Snatch pulls@ 286x3x4

    HBBS- 375x3x3

    Press- 155×4, 166×4, 176×4, 198×2

  33. 430 w/ Whitney.
    Art: I realized that I named the wrong painting. It is Repose by john white Alexander. Used to be hanging at the Met.

    Bench was 105 up five fr two wks ago. All reps felt smooth.

    Wod – about 65-70 DUs in two mins. I'm still doing a waltz rhythm 1-2-3-1-2-3 a du every third skip. Really took it out of me and I had a tough time on wall balls and the cleans. Didn't mind the row so much. But I was in such a rush to leave I forgot to look at my time.

  34. Rest Day today, as my quads were sore from yesterday's WOD and my brain and spirit are sore from finals week at school.

    Art: I'm partial to any of Watterson's works, particularly the "Weirdos From Another Planet!" period.

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