Adele M. and Coach Nick at CRASH-B’s 2014 in February. To see more cool photos from the event, head over here.
- REMINDER: ACTIVE RECOVERY IS CANCELLED TONIGHT! Check out Pilates with KH at 7:30pm instead. Mad abs, yo!
Want to Learn How to Row From an Olympian Rower?
Whenever we have rowing in a workout, does part of you die inside? Then what could be better than slaving away at the erg for the next three and half months?! Learn to love the erg as much as you fear it: join the CFSBK Indoor Rowing Team to train for CRASH-Bs, the premier indoor rowing championship, on March 1!
Coach Nick (who competed in the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics) will lead the team through a program to prepare for CRASH-Bs, which be held in Boston on Sunday, March 1. The participants will meet up for three technique clinics (each of which will conclude with a workout), plus regular races at the gym. Nick will post a program for each week, and will provide support (answering questions, evaluating videos, etc.) throughout the next few months for the team. Members will perform the workouts on their own.
The cost of the program is $220. Various payment installment options are available. The fee does not include the $25 CRASH-Bs entry fee, travel to Boston, or accommodations in Boston.
If you’re interested, come to Nick’s kick-off meeting at 2:15pm this Sunday, Nov. 2. He’ll explain the program in detail and answer questions. (Best not to PR your squat that morning – there might also be a workout.) Send Nick an email at nick [at] crossfitsouthbrooklyn [dot] com if you plan to show up or if you have any questions.
Here’s what some past team members say about their experience training for CRASH-Bs:
“The strength of the program, and what makes it so gut-wrenchingly brutal, is that Nick treats you like an Olympian. He was persistent in his desire to push us beyond our limits to new bests and see us succeed on race day.“
“It was an amazing experience for me. I’ve always struggled with staying motivated and consistent with workouts. The team dynamic and structure helped me overcome that in a way that I never have before… It was the hardest physical challenge I have ever tackled, well, except for giving birth… It was freaking amazing…“
There’s Still Time to Sign Up for CFSBK’s Endurance Program!
What: An 8-Week intensive program based in the form and endurance needs for CrossFit Runners
When: Thursdays at 7pm and Saturdays at 11am, starting this Thursday, October 30th
Where: Determined each week between Prospect Park or Red Hook Track
Schedule and Pricing: $175 full-access to the 8-week program (including bi-weekly coached group sessions, benchmarking, training data, and full plan support and guidance)
What to Expect: This will be 8 Weeks of 2x/a week Running, Drill Work, and the basic biomotor requirements to become a more fluid runner and increase your endurance relative to Crossfit training. We will work on everything from basic balance and stability, to some run-specific single leg plyo training, and power production specific for the needs of a strong athlete. This program will NOT be a Half-Marathon or Marathon Training program, but it will enhance your ability to absorb any program like that, or simply to increase your metabolic energy systems to help you absorb higher and more intense work loads in your training
Due to the progressive nature of the program, athletes will not be permitted to join after November 6th, 2014.
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WODSpoila:
Back squat performance Wendler 3 week, fitness 3×5 LP. (200×6 for me on the rep out, yay!)
3 rounds for reps:
1:00 row (calories)
1:00 rest
1:00 ring pushup (perf)/pushup (fit)
1:00 rest
1:00 T2B (perf)/situp (fit)
18/18/18 row, 16/15/14 ring pushup, 32/31/31 situp. Kinda wish I'd at least tried T2B. I was worried I'd be staring at the bar the whole time, especially if I was doing ring pushups. But ring pushups went surprisingly well — the rest period makes such a difference!
Cash out: 3 RNFT
8-12 KB swings, as heavy as possible
0:45 wall hold
Made it through a round and a half of this with the 32kg bell, which is OMG HEAVY.
6am with David and McDowell:
Tomorrow's squat work at 230# for my rep out. Hit 5 and i was happy with that.
Hit 156 reps on the WOD with Ring PUs and T2B. I was in the mid to high teens for the most part. Rows were around 20.
Last night's Oly Class:
I had no idea how little I knew about the snatch.Apparently I know very little. Like close to nothing.
David:
If I ever get evicted from my home I would totally take my whole family and move into that bathroom.
Make up post 7:30pm
Racked split jerk @165x1x5, this is, well its my 1RM from when we tested a few weeks back. The weight felt ok, the foot work was a bit messy.
WOD @95, because i dont think I couldve push pressed 115×15 unbroken. in 8:33
What was up with the 3 massive back to back classes yesterday night????
The new bathroom … I might make that my new hangout space.
Crash-B see you on sunday.
Matt, now I picture a fur-clad Oly coach saying, "You know nothing, Jon Snow."
6am. HBBS (linear progression): 275x5x3. This was a 5# jump from last week. First 2 reps of each set felt good while the rest felt grindy. Think I'll repeat this weight next week. Conditioning: 199 total reps. Rows: 27, 26, 25. Ring push-ups: 25, 25, 20. T2B: 21, 18, 12. Abs gave out on me at the end.
I'd really like to take the Oly class, but the current times do not work with my schedule. I'm considering quitting my job and getting rid of my kids in order to have the necessary freedom.
Reminder that Active Recovery is cancelled tonight! I forgot until just now to post a note on the blog. Check out Kristin's amazing Pilates class instead!!
6am with DO and McD.
BSQ 190×3 / 220×3 / 245×6. Moved pretty well although I need to keep my chest up.
22 / 22 / 18 = 62
23 / 19 / 16 = 58
22 / 18 / 16 = 56
176 reps
Ring push-ups got hard quick and I was doing single T2B much of the 3rd round.
Oly recap: Similar to Matt, it was nice to confirm that I know very little about the snatch and my positioning is horrible. I have lots to work on and that's why I signed up.
6am with McDowell and DO
Monday's Peformance Jerks: 185x1x5. These started off a little rocky with some sloppy footwork, but I got into the groove for the last 3 and was punching my front foot out much better. Overall, this movement is infinitely better and more comfortable than when we started the cycle, but there's still a lot to improve.
Monday's Peformance WOD: 9:14 @ 165#. I had absolutely no intention of doing this at the same weight as my split jerk work sets, so I backed it off a bit. Was able to do them all unbroken – but barely – so I think it was about right. Muscle ups were 4-1, 2-2, 2-1, 2, 1.
Tomorrow's WOD looks brutal. My abs hurt already.
I had the opportunity to say the following to David last night, but as I couldn't breathe and was slipping in my shoes that were full of sweat post WOD I would like to repeat my statement:
DO. I'm going to give you probably one of the highest compliments that I can for something like this. The new bathroom? You have created the romper room of my dreams. Whoever is laying the wallpaper the effort put in to try and drop-match, also known as half drop-match, is amazing. I love it.
I'm sure it came out not as eloquently as I had hoped, probably more along the lines of "unngh ng ng nngggggg", but the heart and thought were there.
Basically its fucking rad so there.
The End
Thanks for all the love guys. I'm not done just yet and I hear rumors that the front of the gym is getting a face lift this week too!
I love the decor of the new bathroom but I am a little disturbed that it is able to post on the blog. Not that I am doing stuff in there that I am ashamed of, I am just sayin …
So glad I signed up for the Oly lifting class! Today was fun and I learned a lot already about where I am going wrong and how to fix it.
Stayed afterwards and did 10 x 1 pull-ups, 10 x 1 chin-ups and 100 DUs.
Excited about all of the redecorating etc.
Also!!! CRASH Bs!!!! Here we go! Definitely doing this again this year. It really was a great experience and the improvements I made as a result of the (grueling) training did a lot for my self- confidence and mental toughness, both in and outside of the gym. Funny how that works. Plus our trip to Boston was so much fun.
AM Oly Class today was excellent. Before today, I had come to the terms with the fact that I will never be good at snatches or cleans. After one class, I feel like there is a strong possibility that I might actually be able to do these lifts properly at the end of the cycle. Very happy I signed up!!
New bathroom looks amazing!
Anyone have a good recommendation for a hand/arm orthopedist? My old one doesn't accept my new insurance and need a new one. Thanks.
Hi Blog Writer Queen: You can't actually call someone a "former" Olympian. Olympians are Olympians forever. Just like Presidents. Just a tip.
Charlotte, is that you? Or Stella?
Noted, and adjusted. My gut told me something was off. Thanks!
It was totally Nick
Nick is always an Olympian in my eyes. He had me at " Damper setting"
today's blog is truly entertaining.
no pun intended but the new bathroom is the shit.
Oh my god, the new bathroom is sentient. Next thing you know people will be disappearing into it. Be careful everyone, you have been warned!
First AM oly class, glad to be back to working with Frankie again, hoping he can help put this added bodyweight to good use throwing barbells around.
Snatch
40×3,3 50×2 60×1 70×1
Snatch with pause at the knee
70×1,1,1
Second pull transition x2 > snatch from power
40×3,3,3
Mobility work
Also did some front squats and maxed out my bench in the office yesterday, which I'm afraid may have led to a wrist tweak that was bothering me all day today:
Front Squat (Unbelted)
95×5 135×5 185×5 225x5x5
Bench Press
95×5 135×4 185×3 205×2 225×1 240×1 (PR) 250xM,1 (PR)
It was me–Nick would never. Thanks, Kate!
long time reader, first time writer.
I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THIS BATHROOM!
see you tomorrow at 6am.
Ha, I thought it was Nick too!
Is it possible to do CRASH-B's and also keep going to group class, or is it a pick one or the other kind of thing? I suppose that's a question for Sunday. I think I really want to do it, but i enjoy lifting and the in-class conditioning pieces so much I am hesitant to give that up!
Last night at 7:30 with David and Ro
For rack jerks, I worked up to 180x1x5. This is about 92.5% of my most recent 1RM, and I hit them all, so I was happy about that. David pointed out that my initial dip drive is really slow, and needs to be more explosive. pigeon took a video of one of my reps, and it's pretty clear that i need to work that out, as well as some of my foot positioning – my front kee is a little too forward, and my back knee should be bent more.
For the WOD, I did it rx'd in around 9:35-ish. Tough one. Burpees sucked the life out of me. I ended up doing the 16 rounds of tabata planks before this, so maybe there was a little fatigue there.
Also, I dig the new bathroom! It's like half death metal, half cabin in the woods. I enjoy both of those things.
Yoga this morning was all about stretching out the quads in new ways. Amazing.
Snatch
Barbell warm-ups
25kg – pause at 2 positions x 2 x 2
35 kg x 1 x 3
45 kg x 1 x 5 — Soft. Hip flexor area feeling sore. But this is a former PR, so the fact that I hit this consistently even tho poorly, is promising.
Mobility
reclined green band leg pulls x 15 x 2 on each side
lax ball at gluteal tuberosity
lax ball with kettle bell on psoas
MU
swings and transition work without false grip
Annie — 7:30
I don't know if this is my best time. Felt slow and took a while to get the DUs going, but hit 40 in the first set and the rest unbroken.. so, regardless of time, I'm happy about DU improvement.
Michael C. Last year, Nick encouraged us to continue with the lifting part of class. Most of us also did some of the metcons too until things got really serious in about halfway through- then I found I definitely needed to skip the group class metcons and just do rowing workouts. Having said all of that it is completely up to the individual how many of the rowing workouts you do per week- there was a choice of 2-5 times per week of most of the training 'season' if I recall correctly. Until the final weeks. Then shit got real.
Am very glad to hear the Oly class ran, you guys are in for a real treat!
I look forward to seeing you in 8 weeks or so for the total.
Unplanned quick squat session
HBBS, 5RM, -5%, -10%x5
407×5
385×5
363×5
Dips, push-ups and some abs.
Posting for the last few days, starting with Sunday. Did the performance snatch programming at 83#. This is right about 80%, but considering that the last time I snatched previously was about 4 months ago, it felt appropriate. I keep landing with my right arm a little internally rotated, so will have to figure out something to fix that. Did the fitness wod. Double unders were not dialed in that day, and it took me almost five minutes to get through them, then got 2 rounds and 16 lunges in the remaining time.
Yesterday, I worked rack jerks at 135#, which felt great. That's 90% of my recent 1rm, for the second week in a row, and I think (hope?) that things are clicking here. Then the fitness WOD rx'd in 7:16.
High bar squats tonight at 7:30. 135×3 150×3 170×10. Thanks to Jeremy "The Squat Whisperer" for talking me through my rep out. High bar squats are feeling much less impossible than they used to. Feeling a little beat up today so kind of took it easy on the wod. Totaled 60 calories, 50 ring push ups, 68 sit ups, and 8 toes to bar from the first round. My t2b are so slow that I felt like I wasn't getting the right stimulus from the workout, so I switched to sit ups.
Wednesday's work with JB!
squat 140#.. felt pretty rough but I'm going to blame it on my new pants and the 2 blondies i ate before class. Oops.
194 reps on the metcon with regular pushups and situps
Really debating doing the Crash-Bs. I rowed throughout high school and kept 'almost' doing it then too.
quick session before coaching tonight
Row 3 min
Lax ball forearm
PVC tricep
Deadlift
95×5, 135×3, 165×2
190x3x3
Press
33×5, 43×3, 53×2
60x5x3
8:30 pm class with McD
Loved that it was just me and Mary (yeah, lady!) doing Monday's workout, WHAT. Was like a 2on1 sesh with McD. Worked up to 75# which still moved relatively quick/well except towards the end when i was tired.
WOD @ 50# and finished in 8:15. The burpees were a burner on this one. Had to take a breather after I finished. Yeesh. I liked this one though!!! When I first finish WODs, sometimes I hate it for like 5 mins, then I'm like YEAH!!!!!
Cash out was tough though.
Jenny, hit them Crash-Bs!