NFL Combine Bench Press Test
Max Reps at:
RX – 225/125
Scaled – A) 185/95, B) 155/75, or C) 135/65
USE SPOTTERS.
Post loads to comments
_____________________
Death By Burpee
At the call of “GO”, perform 1 burpee. Every minute on the minute thereafter add 1 burpee until you can no longer keep up with the clock.
Your score is the round that you cleared plus any burpees you completed before the start of the next minute.
Post rounds to comments.
- Don’t forget to submit your Open scores for 15.4 by 8pm tonight!!
- CFSBK’s Hoopin’ Tacos have a game tonight at 7:45pm at John Jay. Come cheer them on!
Underneath The Hoodie: Arturo Ruiz
By Kate Reece
Vital Stats
Height: 5’11’’
Weight: 185 pounds
DOB: September 19, 1975
Born and raised: Born in Puerto Rico, raised in Antigua
Place of higher learning: Alfred University
It all began in the Caribbean, on a tiny sun-drenched island called Antigua. The island stretches only 108 square-miles, the blue sky a vast dome disappearing into the kind of water that is clear as glass. Arturo Ruiz was raised in the 70s and 80s in Antigua mostly by his grandmother Rose, a strict Catholic woman, whose own parents emigrated from Lebanon at the end of the nineteenth century. He was born in Puerto Rico but when he was still a baby, his Antiguan mother divorced his half-Italian, half-Puerto-Rican father and moved Arturo back to the house where she had grown up. In 1981, when Arturo was five or six, his mother decided to move to New York. She considering taking him, but decided along with Rose that he should remain in school, at an all-boys Catholic school called St. Joseph’s Academy.
That house, where Arturo lived with just Rose and his uncle Bernard, was minutes from the beach. As he grew up, he became responsible for mowing the acre of grass that made up the backyard. He pushed the heavy mower around an old guesthouse and crumbling bandstand, where bands from around the island used to play into the late hours of the night. The government would occasionally shut water off due to shortages, and Arturo was also responsible for carrying rainwater that had collected in their underground cistern back into the house.
Rose, whom Arturo’s family called Granny, woke up early on Sunday mornings to begin cooking a large spread of Lebanese food—cabbage rolls, kibbe (crushed wheat, minced onions, and beef she’d ground herself), and stuffed grape leaves. She packaged it into containers that everyone in the family picked up after they’d had breakfast at his aunt Bernadette’s home, and they would all go the beach afterwards to windsurf or wakeboard. Arturo’s closest friends were his cousins—Yusef, Raymond, Stephen, Maurice, Toufik, Phillip, and half a dozen more—and living on an island meant that he saw them almost every day. His cousins always seemed to be running around and getting into trouble, but not Arturo. Rose was a kind woman, but she was strict: he didn’t get to play until his work was done, no questions and no exceptions.
That’s not to say he didn’t have fun. After studying and finishing his chores, Arturo passed the time dreaming about the annual Carnival, hanging out with his girlfriend Monique (she attended a neighboring all girls’ school), and riding motorcycles on Antigua’s long dirt trails with his cousins. The bikes offered them independence, a way to get around the island without their parents. Yusef and Raymond had a Yamaha Big Wheel, with fat knobby tires, three-gears, and no clutch, which was the first bike Arturo ever rode. He loved the euphoric feeling of freedom he experienced alongside the adrenaline that came from riding fast. As the boys grew older, that bike was exchanged for a CR80, then a 125, and eventually a 500. They were riding road bikes by his last couple years of secondary school (Antigua’s version of high school). Arturo also loved to draw—mainly graffiti and various figures. He drew every paper sign that needed to be made for his family or in school.
Arturo had visited his mother in Brooklyn a number of times over his summer breaks from school. She’d had another son, named Anwar, when Arturo was eight, and the two had become fast friends during his visits. When Arturo graduated in 1993, he knew exactly where he was headed. Soon after arriving, the culture shock began and lasted for the greater part of the next couple years. Arturo doesn’t remember anything notable about the five tattoos he accumulated that summer at a shop called Kaleidoscope in lower Manhattan, but don’t ask him what they mean. He got them back when you didn’t get tattoos because they “meant something.”
He soon left the city for a design university in Alleghany County where he began his degree in graphic arts—which means upstate New York is where he first encountered snow and what people mean by the word “freezing.” He spent time hovered over the washing machines in the dorms, trying to put his mother’s crash course in doing laundry to good use. He ate more Ramen noodles than he cares to remember, and would look askance at his friends when they tried to coax him out of the library to party. How many times did he need to remind them that he was paying for his entire education? It was the mid-90s, when AOL was a big deal, and he laughs now when he talks about studying HTML and Photoshop.
It took him five years to graduate, and as soon as he did, he bought his first motorcycle, a Suzuki GSXR—the kind of bike that’s meant to be noticed. It was 1998—the year of the Jonesboro shooting, Michael Jordan’s last game as a Chicago Bull, and Monica Lewinsky’s blue dress. Arturo says he went “a little bit nuts.” He took to racing in Loudon, New Hampshire and Bridgehampton, on Long Island. One day, the guy who had painted his bike asked to use it for a photo shoot at the Sound Factory Bar. Arturo came to the photo shoot, and the club’s owner asked him to ride his bike—through the club. Arturo blinked a few times, shrugged, and hopped on. He left that night with his bike, and a job as a bartender. So at age 22, in the early hours of the morning in the city that never sleeps, he started slinging cocktails under bright lights behind the bar of one of the hottest clubs in Manhattan, music playing at decibels that made his stomach vibrate. He only worked Friday and Saturday nights, pulling in a minimum $1,000 cash. “I thought, Who’s better than me?” he says. “Nobody.”
One of Arturo’s co-workers began telling him about Muay Thai, a combat sport that originated in Thailand. Arturo had grown up fighting with his cousins and he was intrigued. He soon started training three to four hours a day, six days a week, at various gyms around the city. He fell in love immediately. He particularly appreciated that Muay Thai wasn’t a team sport, that it was just him against one other person, and the best person always won. All the aphorisms that summarized the lessons he soon learned through fighting aligned perfectly with the way he approached life, and with what his grandmother had taught him: The work you put in is the work you’re going to get out. You are in control of your destiny. For every action, there’s a reaction. Get out there and execute, or bad things are going to happen. No excuses. The punches that hurt the most are the ones you don’t see coming.
A kru (Muay Thai coach or teacher) he was training with soon approached him and invited him to start fighting. Arturo didn’t hesitate. His first “smoker” was at Chok Sabai Gym, a historic Muay Thai gym in Manhattan. Arturo says he was nervous as hell, his stomach aflutter with butterflies. His headgear drowned out the sound of the audience and when the bell rang, he began pacing around his opponent. He still remembers that first time getting punched in the face—all his nerves melted away. “People can look good hitting pads,” he explains, “but shit changes when you get punched in the face.” For Arturo, shit changed for the better. He was undefeated throughout his amateur career. He also participated in a few amateur MMA fights out of Club Abyss in New Jersey (the cage stuff), and won each of those.
He spent a couple years fighting at Friday Night Fights and more-or-less being paid to party like it was (wait for it…) 1999. He took trips to UltraFest in Miami that turned into staying up for a week straight, and cruised to the desert for Burning Man in a well-stocked Winnebago. But soon, he was closing in on 30, and he started to feel like maybe it was time to grow up. He’d met a lot of people from his vantage point behind the bar at the Sound Factory, and one of his regulars, a car wholesaler, invited him to put his degree to use and become the Internet Manager of Bay Ridge Automotive Group. Arturo said yes.
As he often did in new situations, he spent time quietly assessing how he could add value, and then mastered his role quickly. It was now early 2000, and Arturo knew the Internet was beyond “You’ve got mail!” and had become a more nimble tool for doing business. He started by installing a number of computers at the Lexus dealership where he was stationed, and was soon soliciting and conducting business almost entirely by email. He sent dozens of photos to his clients, facilitating the sale of around 30 cars each month. Lexus was so successful that Arturo was asked to visit dealerships in the city in order to install computers and teach their employees how to use the Internet. He stayed in this job for almost seven years but eventually left out of frustration with how much the company was making off his work, without compensating him in a way he thought was appropriate.
Arturo had been dating a bartender he’d met at a club in the city for a few years, and his whole world shifted when their daughter, Chloe, was born in 2006. But it wasn’t just Chloe’s birth that changed things—when she was 18 months old, for various reasons, Arturo suddenly became a single parent. His own father had vanished after the divorce, and Arturo was determined not to make the same mistake. He and Anwar decided to get a three-bedroom apartment together, and they both began raising Chloe. Arturo has no complaints about the fact that he had to give up his daily training regimen and nights out for the new responsibility. He’ll tell you the easy truth that she’s the best thing that ever happened to him.
Since he’d recently left his job, he made the choice not to work as a single father for a little over a year. He’d always been frugal and saved money, so the uninterrupted time became a sweet gift as he hung out with his toddler. But one day, after yet another phone call from a friend, or friend of a friend, who asked him to help them train, he decided it was time to make some money off his experience and intelligence as an athlete. Anwar and their mother helped with Chloe as Arturo began training private clients. He was soon working 160 personal training sessions a month out of a 24-Hour Fitness in Manhattan, sometimes leaving at 7am and not returning home until 10pm. It was hard work but just as he’d loved developing relationships with regulars at the Sound Factory or customers at the car dealership, he loved helping his clients change their lives through exercise.
He figured he would train people for a short time before moving on to something else. But then, in 2011, he found CrossFit, and soon after, CrossFit South Brooklyn. He earned his Level 1 shortly after finishing Foundations at a gym in Manhattan (ask him how he feels about the fact that the gym made him take the classes), and trained at a few gyms before poking around online in February 2012 to see if there was a gym closer to where he was living on Bond Street. “Get outta here—Degraw Street?” he said to himself. “Between 3rd and 4th Avenue?” As soon as he walked in, he immediately felt comfortable and welcomed. He quickly became one of the gym’s top athletes, and David approached him a few months later and told him they were looking for a new coach. Arturo easily said yes. (It’s worth mentioning that he knew he was home after the Anniversary Party in 2012.)
Of course, nothing is ever only one thing. Despite the serendipitous shift in his career, the last few years have not been easy. Two years ago, Arturo traveled back to Antigua for the first time in 20 years to join the rest of his family in saying goodbye to his grandmother. Then, last July, his life changed again, in the middle of another trip to Antigua, when a cousin called to tell him that Anwar had died in a car accident. Arturo had seen his grandmother’s death coming, but his brother’s death was one of those punches he couldn’t have anticipated, and he struggles to wrap his mind around it. He will be 40 years old this fall—still a son, and in the thick of being a father. He doesn’t fight anymore and while he continues to carry the lessons that crystallized for him in the ring, those lessons have been tempered a bit by life’s mystery, and unfairness. And yet: You get out of things what you put in. No excuses.
Parting Shots
How he likes his eggs: over medium
Favorite lift: snatch
Something he’d like CFSBK members to know: He doesn’t purposely match his outfits.
_____________________
Five Year NFL Combine Averages ESPN
The Toxins That Threaten Our Brains The Atlantic
Wow. Another incredible piece by Kate. That was like a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel.
What an incredible journey, Arturo. So glad to know more about your story.
Great stuff, great story, Arturo. Glad to get to know you a bit better. You've had a very interesting and challenging life.
Last night OG
Behind the neck press, 5RM
195×4, F
185×5
175×5
165×5
Oddly did a half assed attempt at 225 bench for max reps last night too.
225×16.
*not my best performance. I've got 20+ in me when fresh!*
4 rounds
10 dips
8 chins
Also. Arturo is quite simply, The Man. His positivity is infectious. He is a great coach, a great person, and his brief absence from the gym was felt. Glad to have you back buddy.
But what I want to know is, how's the knee recovery going, Ro? Hope the answer is "well!"
Woohoo, bench press! 125×8, I think that's one more rep than I got the last time I did 125.
Boohoo, burpees. 12+11. I am so slow at these and I don't want to be any faster when being faster means you have to keep doing them longer 😛
Ro!!! He is the boss. Always a great source of advice, motivation, fashion iconship etc., etc. also My first call if and when I need a bodyguard. Hope the recovery is going well man. Great piece once again Kate!
Nice piece on Ro! Best dude. It's been really weird not seeing him in the gym over the past couple of weeks, but I was psyched to see him again on Saturday. A great coach, inspirational athlete, and all around awesome guy.
Ro!!! I really miss seeing him around for these past few weeks too as my Sunday Open Gym compadre! Him and Fox were such amazing Foundation coaches, and still to this day love hearing his wise words/cues to me that have helped me so much to get better at crossfit!
Will always have the memory of my foundations class where i push pressed an empty bar than went flying in the air (he won't let me forget this sometimes)!! Best guy, such an amazing and compelling article to read about his life!
Man- Over the past year that I have gotten to know Ro a bit better, I can honestly say that his laugh and smile alone are evidence enough about how positive and dedicated a man he is. What a great read – thanks for the insight Ro.
Great write up about Ro. He seems to always be smiling. He couldn't even shake that habit when he was telling me about his knee injury.
6am. Jumping on the crossover symmetry bandwagon. Did the activation routine before class. Bench: 225×12. Not bad for having missed every exposure to bench this cycle. Burpees: 99 (8 reps in the round of 14). Hat tip to Alex C who slogged it through to the round of 20.
Aw man, so glad Ro will be back soon! Definitely have missed taking classes with him. Great coach and what a super fascinating life! Great article, Kate…thanks for sharing!
Last night at OG:
*PR ALERT*
I've been squatting 2x per week over the last 8 weeks making 2.5 lbs jumps. which I thought were small. McDowell and Fox convinced me to take it slow, and by the end, I knew it was the right decision. At the end of the cycle I hit 300 X 5 X 3. Monday morning I came in to test a 1 RM and tried 371 and hit it, but it was high. I was happy, but left feeling a bit disappointed. I came back in yesterday for OG, well rested, and noticed a very positive energetic atmosphere, so I went for it again. I went
135 X 5
225 X 3
275 X 2
315 X 1
350 X 1
371 X 1
375X1
Big thanks to Jake, Lauren, Todd and Noah for the spot and the eyes.
On to 400.
Really enjoyed this write up on Arturo. He is always willing to give thoughtful feedback when asked questions and his daughter, Chloe, what a riot and genuinely sweet kid. I've gotta say, SBK is filled with a lot of awesome parents.
Oh and I'm just "sure" he doesn't match his outfits. 😉
YAY RO!
Ro was one of those coaches that I immediately trusted. He's been more than that, someone I've confided in during family struggles and has been one of my biggest supporters when I got injured. He has seen me through that time and the only way I've gotten through the ups and downs is because of his dedicated work to getting me better and stronger.
I'm so happy to see him back at the gym and recovering from a difficult surgery with dedication and optimism. I hope to support him as he has always supported me….and I better get my ass off this couch cause I have to train with him in an hour. Oops.
Yay Ro!
Awesome read, and to echo the rest of the sentiments here, Ro rules. Hope the recovery is going great, see you back at CFSBK soon!
Arturo, thanks for sharing your story. Hopefully your recovery is going well.
6am w/ Nick and McDowell
Bench: 185×5. This 8-week cycle has certainly been different.
Burpees: 17 round + 14. Legs were sluggish today, probably due to the 96+ box jumps yesterday. Alex killed it.
Beautifully written piece. Great story- Arturo; you rock- glad you are back to us. And Chloe is an awesome little lady.
6am
NFL Combine: Got a 1rm PR on the bench press at 225 x 1. I'll take it!
Then I flopped onto the floor 203 times. Good times at the gym today.
Arturo's life story is like a great novel. Single parenting impresses me more than anything anyone does in our gym. Hats off.
Great story and write-up on Arturo. Hope you have a speedy recovery.
6am
Combine workout: 225×6. This was an PR of epic proportions for me. A real productive cycle.
Burpees: 99. Did not finish the round of 14. This was fun, but not really.
Cramming on some deadlines (UGH) but had to stop and read one of my favorite things to read (an interview by Kate) about one of my favorite people (Arturo)!
What Jake said. Arturo is plain and simple a great person. You get this in the first few minutes after meeting him, and this story blows you away and yet makes perfect sense at the same time. It's been awesome training with Arturo and just having him around the gym these last few years. Also, I knew he had to be a little Italian.
Great article, Kate. Arturo is my man. Getting to know him over the years has been a pleasure and I'm often impressed by his attitude towards life. Great addition to CFSBK, and a great all around guy. The thing that stands out to me most about him is the level of dedication he has to the things that are important to him. He's what I would call A GREAT DUDE.
But, that's bullshit about him not matching his outfits.
—
10am class
Bench
225×7
This was exactly what I thought I could hit. Tried for an 8th and after pushing for what felt like a minute I had to call for a spot.
DBB
15 rounds
I called it at that, as I was feeling a bit nauseated.
First, I suspect the reason Ro doesn't "intentionally" match his outfits is because his closet is color coded. I really wouldn't put it past him.
I remember the first day Ro walked into the gym, a 250M erg sprint workout that left us all floored. Since then its been a distinct pleasure and honor to count him among my friends, not to mention colleagues. One of the highest praises I reserve for people is that they are principled, unyielding in holding to their vision of themselves and the world around them, despite life's temptations and hardships. Ro is one of the most principled people I've ever met, full stop.
The man himself judged me today as I did 15.4. Finished with 48 reps, and despite it not really kicking my ass metabolically I think that was about my ceiling. My HSPUs have always been a relative weakness, and they slowed me in this. Hoping for something a bit more in my wheelhouse so I can make up ground on ol Osorio next week.
Thanks for all of your positive feedback! Recovery is going well, each day seems to be getting better and better. I'll be on crutches for the next two and a half weeks. As soon as I get rid of them, steady road back to where I left off. All in all, Crossfit South Brooklyn's community really ROCKS and I love all of you guys!
Ro is an amazing dude. Gives sound advice on lifts and life.
Get well buddy, we need you on the dance floor!
Best advice Ro gave me: "Don't hump the bar Joy." Lifting advice. Life advice. Speedy recovery Ro!
Ro is a great man, great coach and a great friend. We're so much better off having him as part of our coaching staff and community. Such a blessing he walked into our gym. Also great write up, Kate!
Forgot to post my 15.3 score.
56 reps.
Pre Class
Crossover Symmetry
Push Press
95×5
115×5
135×3
155×3
165×3
175×1
185×1
4:30pm Class with WhitNoah
2 Rounds of the WU
Bench Press
135×21 reps
I guess I should have done the 155 version but I had low bench confidence. After 10 reps my goal was to get that magical CrossFit 21.
Death By Burpee
Got to 17 burpees on the 18 Burpee round. Had to go to a dark place!
Katie is a burpee ninja!!!
I won't lie, when I first met Arturo, I was skeptical and put him in a category of dudes I tend to dislike. But that didn't last very long. He's an exceptional coach, athlete, and person, and I loved interviewing him and haranguing him with intimate questions. He's also an excellent flip cup teammate.
Thanks to Danae for being my editor and to Margie for starting this series! Discovering these back when I started was one of many reasons I wanted to stick around.
4:30 class with the newly betrothed Noah and Whitney.
Made up my front squats instead of benching, though that looked like fun. I went for a new 1RM but my head was elsewhere tonight.
45×5, 95×4, 115×2, 135×1, 145×1 (PR), 155×1, 165F, 165×1, 175F. That's technically a 25# PR from the last time I tested my front squat, but I ended my 3×3 at 145, so I'm not excited about this. Will reset my linear progression and keep moving.
Subbed jumping squats with a 45# bar for the burpees. Got through the round of 15 and did 12 in the round of 16. Oof. I just spent a good 20 minutes on a foam roller and my legs still feel like jelly. I'm going to be in trouble tomorrow.
Bench Press
45 x 5
70 x 4
90 x 3
100 x 1
110 x 2 x 6
WOD
Not sure when it happened- I think at the round of 12, but I somehow hurt my back and had to quit before it even got hard. Very disappointed and hoping it's just some tightness which will feel better tomorrow as I will be really upset if I have to miss Crush Week 🙁
Woke up this morning at 6:15. Grabbed my phone. Checked the workout. (Don't lie – 95% of you do the same thing when you wake up).
Read Kate's article and immediately put my day into perspective. Great write up and a lot in there to look up to. Good to see Ro in the gym this evening.
185 on the bench for 14 reps. I suppose my NFL dreams had to end at some point.
14 rounds of Death by Body Flopping.
Snatch, EMOMx8 minutes
242
Clean and Jerk, work up to 90%
264
286, 308, 319
330, 341X ** WTF, bad pull, lazy**
341, 330 341
Front Squat
390×2
385x2x2
Tabata Assault bike
GHD situps
3×15
I really enjoyed the piece, and I'm glad to see Ro back at the gym. He gives great cues and has an infectious smile. Plus he pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me add a ton of weight to my lifts for Iron Maidens.
7:30 with Ro and DO.
75# bench rep out-16 reps. Probably could have pushed for a couple more but this was getting grindy.
Death by burpees… I hate you. The internal struggle between pushing myself and knowing I could end it all was a big part of this workout.
I was 1 rep shy of finishing the round of 15 because I took a rest. What a baby.
Snatch
PVC warm-ups
Barbell warm-ups
25×3 from hang; 29×3 from hang; 35x1x3 from deck
– accelerate
– punch and land at the same time
– wrist/knuckles
37x1x2, 39x1x2, 42x1x2
these felt good, bar right where i wanted it to be
12 min AMRAP
10 KB swings 24kg
10 K2E
10 Burpees
7 rounds 17 reps
Also, I should have said earlier: thanks to everyone for your kind words. Mrav, that's probably the only time I'll ever be compared to Garcia Marquez, so I'll hold onto that. 🙂
Wow, I teared up at that history of Ro. He's been a great addition to our gym not just as an athlete but as a coach, colleague and friend. Glad to have him back in the gym today!
7am class:
3rnft: 12 wall ball 16#, 10ft, 12 v-tucks, 12 prone t's.
-actually did all 3 rounds!
Bench @ 125
(45×5, 75×5, 105×3, 115×1) 125×6
-didn't feel organized today.
Death by burpee:
Completed the round of 14 and then stopped. #tired
Another great write up by Kate as usual!
5:30 class with Whoah (Whit Noah… duh)
Got to actually see Ro and talk for a few minutes, glad to see him back in the gym and feeling better!
Did 225# x6. I wanted 7 but I wont' complain, the seventh got stuck on my chest like glue.
6 into the round of 17 on the burpees. Man that workout really starts to get tiring after about round 9 or 10! Total of 142
Great article on Coach Ro, thank you for sharing, being a funny dude and awesome coach. CFSBK is lucky to have you.
Wow – a beautifully written story about an exceptional person. Arturo – you're an incredible coach and clearly an amazing guy. Thank you for making me feel a part of CFSBK from the moment I joined!