Fitness: 3 x 5 Linear Progression
Add 2.5 to 5 lbs to last week.
Performance: 80% x 4 x 4, then 82.5% x 4 x 4
Rest two minutes between sets.
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e5/6
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Fitness
For Time:
800m Run
40 Dumbell Reverse Lunges (use about 45% BW)
400m Run
800m Run
40 OHS 75/55
400m Run
Tweet The Deets
We’re totally crushing on all you guys and we love to hear what you’re up to. Got something of note going on in your life? Let us know! We want to hear about your promotions, events, art, personal victories, discoveries, media campaigns, small government coup d’états, interesting links, and birthdays! We also always love hearing about any CrossFit/athletic-related goals and accomplishments! Send awesomeness to David [at] crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com.
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Monday Notes and Reminders
- CFSBKer Juno D.’s friend Jane Seymour is the photo director at Men’s Fitness and is looking for real people to participate in a photo shoot. Participants can be male or female, any age, and need to be in great shape. If you’re interested, email a photo of yourself to mfcrossfit [at] gmail.com and share a few sentences about why you do CrossFit.
- There is a new article over Coach DO’s blog Inside the Affiliate called “The Organic Affiliate Growth Model.” Check it out to learn a bit more about CFSBK’s story.
- CFSBK Movie Night returns THIS Friday, May 16th at 8:15pm after Open Gym. We’re screening Evil Dead and all Brooklyn CrossFit gyms are invited. RSVP over here!
- Happy birthday, Michelle B., Rachel J., Peter M., Charmel, and belatedly to front desk super star Ava P.!
Strength Cyclers: How’d it go yesterday?
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Standards Worth Having Power Athlete
‘Fed Up’ Asks, Are All Calories Equal? New York Times
A ton o' fun at the total yesterday. Really appreciate the strong support from fellow CFSBK'ers and strength alum. Special thanks to Willie and Avi for loading the bars and keeping us safe. There were some pretty epic performances – hey ladies! – and it's pretty clear that gen pop and strength programming are transforming us into beasts.
This was my fourth(?) cycle in a row and probably the most gratifying because I was able to make steady progress on a linear progression just about all the way through. If I didn't take a damn nice vacation in Barcelona I may have gone even farther. Jeremy had me take 2.5 pound jumps each session for each of the lifts and it worked well.
Numbers:
Squat:
250, 260 (PR), 265 (PR) . All were very grindy. I have some video and it's clear that I was tentative, descended way too slowly and did not get a good bounce out of the hole. Something that I continue to work on. But hit 265 which is what I came in to do.
Press:
132.5, 140, 142.5 (PR). Wasn't sure how this would go. The press is tricky and I played it pretty conservatively but still managed to move the needle forward.
Dead lift.
315 (PR), 325 (PR), 335 (PR). I was on mission to get three wheels. The rest was bonus. Dead lift is my most improved lift. Previously I think I was not over the bar enough when I set up so I was pulling the bar into me a bit instead of straight up and losing power. Made this correction this time and the bar jumped up quicker.
Total = 742.5 a nice jump from my previous efforts (650, 672.5, 710) so I am very happy.
Future goals: Squat= 285, Deadlift = 365 Press = 150. Total 800
It was fun sharing a bar with David and Nick. David is an extraordinary athlete and I think I got some contact strength just standing next to him. Congrats to my fellow cyclers Janelle, Rachel, Charlie, Sameer, David, Serene – it was a pleasure. Thanks yet again to Coach Jeremy for all his help and support.
Booyakasha!
6am. Bench press: 230x4x4, 240x4x4. Took 21 minutes for our three-top to get through the performance sets and we were hustling. Weight moved fairly well today. Next week is going to be brutal. Metcon Rx (perf version): 7:10. Did the overhead squats without lowering the bar, though I took several short rest breaks with the bar overhead.
The submission cutoff for Men's Fitness is Friday, 5/16! DO IT. It would be awesome to see a CFSBK member or two in the magazine! They're looking for men and women, by the way.
6am today.
Benched 215x4x4, then 225x4x4. The 225# got really heavy but I managed to finish.
Metcon, 7:19 rx on the perf version. Had to drop the weights twice since my legs were smoked. Fun though and loved running outside.
The linear progression gods giveth and taketh away… Last week I failed (on all three sets) at 205# on the BP – this week I did 205# again and it felt very comfortable – hardly struggled. Weird. I think last week i would have struggled to lift anything. But I was very happy it went smoothly today.
Metcon 9:15 performance version. I had the first-ever experience of having the 15# bump crack and splinter in half when I bailed the bar after the first 20 OHS. Partner Alex helped me replace it. I'm sorry, David! Should I not have dropped the bar with 15# plates? Or was it just a weird accident?
8am today.
Benched 78#, which was a PR! Have been adding 2.5LBs every week for the Fitness LP. Didn't know how this would go, since last week felt suuuuuuuper heavy (75.5#). I only failed one rep in my second set. Got the rest UP. My left (non-dominant) arm struggles a LOT here. Wish these were prettier, but something's gotta give.
I fucked up the WOD (in the best way). Was so proud because (although it was the fitness version) it was my first time Rx'ing a workout! I did legit 45% of my body weight, using 25# DBs. Did the lunges unbroken. Finished in 7:14. BOOM.
My numbers:
Squat: 270 (PR)/285 (PR)/ 300 (PR)
Press: 90/ 100 (PR)/ 105 (F: I guess a push press isn't a press? Ha!)
Deadlift: 290 (PR)/ 300 (PR)/ 315 (PR)
Crossfit Total= 715
That last squat was a number that I never would have dreamed possible–and it still moved fast.
So wonderful to be surrounded by such inspiring strong people yesterday! Especially thrilled to have been part of a club of THREE ladies who posted 300-plus deadlifts in this total (shout-outs to Charlie and Lisa F aka LFDoom)!
I thought I would not do another strength cycle after this one. Now I think I may never leave.
I owe so much of these numbers to Jeremy's incredible coaching. Something about his believing I could do it made me believe I could. Plus 8 weeks of concerted attention to my squat depth and my grip strength (deadlifts are no friend of the tiny-handed) made a huge difference in my numbers.
Also I should add– that was the end of my FIRST strength cycle 🙂
You Total-ers are all amazing, but OH MY GOD the ladies really owned it yesterday. I am now inspired to make the next cycle work, even though I've got a work trip and a vacation coming up.
Bench press at 110 and 115 for work sets. This was not as hard as last week, even though I rushed myself (I thought we had only 15 minutes, I did the math, and I thought I could rest only 60-90 seconds!).
McD was kind enough to let me squat instead of doing the metcon, since I have to go to Florida for work for the rest of the week and after I heard about how the Total went yesterday, I was, all, "Pleasepleaseplease don't let me go through this week without squatting?" 165 and 170 for those work sets. Whoof. That was HARD.
I'll be back Friday morning. Gonna miss this place, even if it's for just a few days!
Total notes.
Squat: 220 (PR)/ 240(PR)/ 255(F)
Press: 70/ 80(PR)/ 85(F)
Deadlift: 285 (PR)/295 (PR)/305 (PR)
Total: 625
I guess I got a little greedy with the squat and then I realized that it was the weight I had walked out with on Thursday and I kind of lost it and got stuck at the bottom. This was the first time I had ever failed a squat like that and it was really not as bad as I would have thought because I knew Jeremy and Avi had the bar. Apologies again for walking away at that point when I should have stayed with it.
The press at 85# felt like it just would not even go past my nose so I didn't really try.
Having missed my third attempt on the previous two lifts, there was no way I was letting that happen with the deadlift. So happy to have gotten over 300.
This was my first proper Total. I did one in class last year but I was pretty new so they were not true 1RM attempts and my total then was 448. Pretty amazing to see how much I have grown since then.
Oh the emotions! This was such a scary and fun experience. When my friends did well, I had to fight back the tears and when it was my turn it was almost overwhelmingly real and time kind of slowed down.
Congratulations to everybody who totaled yesterday and the few Strength Cyclers who were unable to. You are all awesome and inspiring.
Very happy overall with my performance. Jeremy is the best. These last eight weeks have been truly amazing and I have achieved things through his coaching that I never would have thought possible. And yes, I am signing up again for the next cycle. May as well keep this ball rolling.
Thank you all for your support and kind words over the last while and extra special thanks to those who came and shouted yesterday. Love you all.
10am class
Bench
205x4x4
210x4x4
Moved well. Benched with Brett who was lifting 280 and 290 so we were like a NASCAR pit crew and finished just in time.
WOD in 8:38 was not as bad as I thought it would be. Broke the squats up to 25 and 15.
Congrats Totalers!
10am class with Noah
Bench / Fitness – scaled back from 90 last week (because I failed a few reps in each set) to 88. It all went well until I failed on the last rep of the last set… I'll try 90 again next week and see how it goes.
WOD – actually did Perf today because I felt like I could and I really like OHS. Finished 8:48 I think…. Broke up OHS 20-10-10.
Congrats to totalers! I may have to try this strength cycle sometime.
6am class
Benched 190 x 5 x 3
Finally got this weight, but my last rep actually made some folks laugh. I kept moving the bar up and down trying to find a place where I could push it up. Lol, but it went up in the end. This is a PR for bench linear progressions. Can't wait to see if I can go up from here!
Performance WOD Rx'ed in 7:35. OHSs were 20 – 10 – 10
I got slammed with a crushing tension headache at the end of my first set in the overhead squats and had to put the bar down for a while while my head pounded. I finished the workout, but could barely run at first because bringing my foot down was so jarring. Fortunately I recognized what this was this time, and realized that it was because my head was coming too far forward in the squats (same issue when my head comes forward in high-rep double unders). I think it's exacerbated during OHS by all the added pressure around the back of the neck area. I had to do my last 20 squats in sets of 10, slowly, while concentrating on keeping my spine more upright. It helped a bit, but man, that was really unpleasant. I've pretty much beat this problem doing high rep doubles by keeping my head back. Now I guess I have to keep it in mind for OHS too.
Make up post from yesterday. DL 190# x 3 x 3, up 5# from last week. Fox gave me some great bracing cues that will definitely make a difference next week in preventing my back from going soft. WOD was 4:00 (73# cleans, 5 kipping pull ups), 3:14 (20kg Russian swings, kneeling push ups), 4:12 on the row. Sandbagged the whole thing, IMO. Just didn't feel like pushing hard.
Today, bench was 80# x 4 x 4, then 82.5# x 4 x 4. The good news was I didn't feel a big difference in the weight and they all went up without slowing down. Then performance WOD rxed in 9:44. I'm not too bad at OHS but they killed me today, I felt so shaky stabilizing the bar overhead. Wanted to go 20-10-10 but ended up doing 20-10-5-5 which probably cost me a good 30 seconds. Second run felt like my legs were going to fall off.
Congratulations to all the totalers! And a happy belated mother's day to all the CFSBK moms. I love that we have so many moms and dads bringing their kids to the gym so they can be exposed to men and women lifting weights, being healthy, and supporting each other. Such a cool example for the young people of Brooklyn!
I'm gonna call Serene, Charlie and Lisa "the three hundred club" from now on…
I still haven't completely gotten my jaw off the floor from seeing some of the Instagrams coming through last night with the total numbers. Just so, so happy for you guys and so inspired by your hard work! Congrats!
Shout out to all my fellow totalers. Great job yesterday, tons of PRs. This was my second total.
My numbers:
Squat: 240 / 255 (PR) / 265 (FAIL!) – Really wish I had this last one back, think I just lost focus, didn’t stay tight.
Press: 115 / 125 (FAIL!) / 125 (PR) – Waited too long with the bar in my hands before my 2nd attempt instead of firing up right away. Failing my 2nd attempt and then making it on my 3rd was fun, though. Might have had 2.5# or 5# more in me.
DL: 250 / 265(PR) / 280(PR) – Felt like I had some more in me, but satisfied with the number. Humbled by how low on the DL totem pole I was in this total, but gives me motivation going forward. A wise man once told me that the only way to deadlift heavier is to deadlift heavy often. Or something like that.
Total: 660 (55# increase from my other total)
Overall, happy with my numbers given a few vacations / work firestorms that kept me away from class. I am debating my next move, as I have some vacation planned during this next cycle, so I might end up back in gen pop (sorry gen pop). But I’d really like to make something work; I’m officially addicted to strength cycle. It’s been said many times, but worth repeating: Jeremy is the man. Anyone who can oversee class after class listening to me complain about my hip and enduring DROM cuddle-fests between Uzef and LFDoom deserves special recognition.
Question for anyone who has gone back to the regular Xfit class after strength: is there a rule of thumb for calculating work weights? Do you use a % of your 1RM as a benchmark, or do you revert back to the number you had when doing the full volume workloads during strength? Fitness or performance? Probably not an easy answer and probably differs from person to person, but thought I’d throw it out there.
First time posting and first strength cycle. It has been a great and fun experience to do this cycle. My weak spot starting was the squats, they still are but managed to add 45 pounds to my PR.
My Total numbers;
Squats: 305/320/335 (F). Was really slow on all of them. Last one felt good but did not get low enough so failed it. New PR
Press: 155/165/175. Press felt easy, during this cycle I have improved my technique a lot. I probably had some more weight in me. New PR.
DL: 365/385/405. All lift felt strong. New PR.
Total 900 added 95!!! pounds since last time.
Hi all, I've got a tech question
Whenever I try to upload a video on my phone's instagram account it crashes when you get to the point to choose a cover frame. I have the current version of instagram, have tried restarting both the phone and program itself several times and it keeps happening. It's been doing this the last several times I've tried to upload a video to the SBK account. It seems to work on my personal account.
Any ideas???
Hi,
I have at least one any maybe two bibs available for this Saturday's sold out Brooklyn half marathon. Email me if interested – talktowhit at gmail dot com.
Thanks!
Whit B
A BIG THANK YOU TO JEREMY!!
I could have not passed the 120 on my squats for about 6 months my first strength cycle and I was able to do 130 3×5 then the total came I hit 135 then hit 145 but Jeremy said I just missed the depth by a lil bit (I have footage also very questiotanable) lol then I went for 150 I felt good went down great but as I started to come up my arms loosened and the bar began to roll off !! So it was a fail but I totally felt confidant with that weight even Jeremy knew I had it . As for the press 60/65/70F I don't really like this lift . Then the deadlifts 165/170/175 and I had more in the tank for this lift . I was stuck at 155 in group class so very happy I was able to lift 175! Thk u again for your patience with me and helping me get through my lifts ! I really enjoyed strength cycle and was ready to continue to another but I can't do it this time I want to try some other things . Congrats to all the totalers you all were awesome!Thks to every one who was supporting and helping out especially those spotters !
Charlie how could you have forgotten willie he is in all your videos! Lol
Today was pleasantly painful. I've never had the experience of running directly after extensive backwards lunging. I felt like somebody put my butt in a vice and told me to jog with it on. All in all, it went surprisingly well (butt cheeks clamped in vice and all!). I finished in 8:29. I'll take it!
@Nancy I know but I don't think he was spotting for my failed squat! I only heard Avi and Jeremy! Am I wrong? Sorry Willie!! Lol!
steve, with all due respect, you fucking love it
this was my 5th straight cycle and 6th overall. on the first day of this cycle, because of some squat depth issues at my powerlift meet and because i had become obsessed with it, i was going to ask jeremy if we could somehow fix my squat depth. before i had a chance to say anything to him he says, "this cycle we're going to BEAT some depth into you". WE'RE THE SAME PERSON, JEREMY XOXOXOX.
squat
315, 330(pr), 345(pr)
i got myself so excited and amped for 345 that about a minute before i had to squat it i almost passed out. i was seeing stars, hyperventilating, tiny bubbles in my brain were popping and my heart felt like it was going to explode.i calmed myself down and then proceeded to do probably the hardest squat ive ever done in my life. i felt the upward motion of the bar stop and then actually start dropping but somehow 6 hours later i was standing up with the bar on my own and racking it. and my depth was indisputable, thank you very much usapl.
press
115, 122.5(pr), 125(pr)
much like my relationship with my mom, ive learned to make peace with the press despite a violent, unhappy past (although when we encounter each other it still feels a little weird).
deadlift
365, 380f, 375f
i was falling asleep by the time these came around. i have to learn to manage my adrenaline/intensity a little better. squats are so climactic, its hard not to blow your loud on them haha. anyway, now theres something else to beat into me.
total
835(pr)
great job everyone. pablo, once you realize how strong you actually are youll stop fighting your depth. also shout out to my platform husband, paul j, who is so strong he didnt even have to do the total. and last but not least, congrats to LF DOOM on PRing EVERYTHING and putting up MORE than the best case scenario numbers she set for herself before the cycle started despite at times a crippling pain/injury in both her shoulders (which she never used as an excuse to not squat or lift)
Yes all 3 jumped in for all that weight you had Charlie!
@steve r
after 2 cycles id say you could probably start doing perf. programming for The Lifts depending on what that programming is (i wouldnt do a wendler). that being said, i wouldnt stop your 3×5 linear progression unless you really start plateauing on it (which i can attest in your case, you havent). as for weights, id take whatever you did week one this cycle and maybe add a couple of pounds to it. so if you squatted 100 pounds week one, you can start a new linear progression at around 100-110 (assuming you dont take like 3 months off or some shit). if it feels really easy, make more aggressive jumps the next week (no more than 10 pounds on a squat)
David delete the instragram app restart your phone then upload instragram again
Uzef, your posts are my absolute favorite. Dying.
High noon w/ coaches Fox, Arturo (plus MacDowell and Whitney)
Bench: Fitness: 185, 190, 190 (only 4reps on final set)
WOD: Performance: 9:55 (65# OHS)
Death came for me, but he took pity.
Nooner
Bench:
45×5, 75×5, 95×3, 105x5x3
All moved well! Fifth rep of each set was a touch slower than the rest, but still very happy with how this went up. 5# jumps each week! Looking for one more next wk!
WOD: 9:10 RX'ed
I felt extremely slow today. It could have been the pizza, tacos, more pizza, and pancakes I ate this weekend. But it's hard to say, really. :-/
OHS were 20-10-5-5. I racked it on my shoulders between 10 and 5, but then dropped it before the last set of five.
Orb work after: quads, hammys, adductors, forearm + tricep (L side)
7:30 class tonight, with some much-needed mobilizing beforehand.
Felt so much better benching tonight compared to last week. 95x4x4, 98.5x4x4. Struggled on the last rep of my last three sets, but I got them up fine. YES.
12:07 Rx on the performance WOD, which felt slow as shit to me, but I paced it as well as I could and went hard on the final run. Broke OHS into 10/5/5/5/5/5/4/1. My arms are toast.
Great coaching from Arturo and Noah tonight. And so awesome to see Laura beast it out with her squats in the 6:30 class. I
8:30 pm w. Noah.
Fitness bench press: (45 x 5, 75 x 4, 105 x 3) 115# x 3 x 5 (2.5# jump from last week). Noah gave me great advice on properly setting up and arching my back during the BP, which made translating the driving of my heels and shoulder blades down into a strong bench press WAY more effective (the weight moved best by my 3rd set as I started getting more comfortable in the arched position).
Fitness WOD in 7:56. Scaled the reverse lunges to 20# DBs, which is usually around the right %age of Rx for me, but I think I will bump up the DBs to 25#s next time since the runs went better than I thought they would.
Tonight was fun. 85# 3×5 with Rachel and Whit B. Felt easier and faster than 82.5# last week and 80# before that – go figure.
Performance WOD Rx in 10:22. Asking DO what weight to do = DO will tell me to do something heavier than I think I should = duh. Squats weren't as horrible as I expected, except that 40 of them w/ no wrist wraps didn't feel awesome.
My brain totally short circuited and as I calculated numbers afterward, I thought for a split second that not only had I finished the WOD in 5:22, but I'd run a 2-minute 800m. No, I did not. I am awesome at mathz, though.
Noah ran a tight ship at 8:30. Finished all the performance bench pressing and we had 2 min to spare at the end of class. He also talked me out of having a coffee right before class, which I now appreciate.
Bench press has been feeling solid this cycle. 88#x4x4, 91#x4x4 (I'm not sure if I picked the right weight though)
Work-out Rx in 8:00. It felt good to run outside and to work on OH squats (20-10-10; good tip to keep a narrower grip on these)
Felt sluggish coming in to class and energized on my way out. There will be a long DIY AR session tonight.
6am.
BP with Mike and Alan: 150x5x3
This was the same weight from last week but I finished all reps this time – barely. Felt especially heavy.
Metcon Fitness Rx @ 40#ea: 8:20
Was an enjoyably tough workout. Amazing how blasted the hammies felt on that last run.
Strength cycle sounds like a ton of fun, but I'll get at least a few more cycles under my belt before diving in.