For Time:
1000m Row
75 Burpees
50 Pull Ups
75 Burpees
1000m Row
Sub for pull-ups is banded pull-ups or ring rows.
Post time and Rx to comments.
We wrapped up a week of PRs in the eighth week of our eight-week programming cycle, which means Crush Week begins today! Check out Coach Fox’s latest article below about encouraging each other in the gym, and keep that in mind as the going gets tough this week!
Encourage Your Mates!
By Chris Fox
Part of what makes CrossFit so effective is the camaraderie that we get to experience in the gym. Catching up with friends on the mat, light banter during DROMs and warm ups, the encouragement you give and receive during the lifting segments—these things all conspire to make training at a gym like CFSBK more fun and engaging than your local globo. At least that’s what we’d like think, and based on the hundreds of you that train with us each week, I’d say I’m right. We’ve all experienced a time when a little cheering and positive vibes from someone in class other than a coach helped us move a little more weight, get another rep or two, or shave a few seconds off a WOD. Despite how good we often are at encouraging others at CFSBK, I still see missed chances to pay that feeling forward. I see people gathering up their equipment, going up to make a recovery shake, and generally disengaging once their own part is over.
I’d encourage you to take on another small task. Even if, or really especially if, you’re one of the first people done during the metcon, you still have a great opportunity to help someone else out by feeding them some encouragement. It’s rare that you’ll be so WOD-drunk that you can’t sit up and cheer your fellow classmates on. A simple “Come on girl, you’ve got this!” or “Stay on the bar man, last set!” can go a long way.
Of course, there’s a line between being encouraging and straight-up annoying or embarrassing someone—so be mindful of your presence. Few people (in my experience) thrive off of their coaches and peers yelling at them. Most people, myself included, will however move a little better and try a little harder if they know someone else is watching them and providing some supportive words of encouragement followed by a few claps or a high five. Be the person who stays present with a class after they’ve called time and see the favor repaid to you in a future class. You’ll be surprised how much of an impact you can have with just a few words. Remember that CFSBK is a team and when one of us gets better, we all get better!
Want To Improve Your Gymnastics/Rings Skillz?
Join guest gymnastics coach Ken H. as he takes you through four weeks of gymnastics strength training. This 1.5 hour long class will incorporate different facets of body weight strength training and movement. Specifically, each class will be composed of three to four distinct areas, such as: warm-up and active mobility, rings skill work (muscle ups, levers etc), body weight strength conditioning, balance (on hands and feet), and flexibility. Students will be asked to have a goal or intention to focus on for the next six weeks. Students can then focus on that goal outside of class.
When: Saturdays from 2-3:30pm, 10/24, 10/31, 11/7, 11/14
Price: $80 for 4 Weeks
Cap: 8 Participants
Ken’s Bio
Ken was a nationally competitive gymnast in Newton, MA and at the University of Michigan. After graduating, Ken coached for eight years at Capital Gymnastics in Northern Virginia where he coached regional and national champions. His students have gone on to be NCAA champions and members of Cirque du Soliel. In searching for an activity to replace gymnastics, Ken filled the void with rock climbing and yoga for the past ten years and recently found CrossFit to round out his training.
To learn more about Ken, check out our interview with him: “All the Planches: How Gymnastics Can Make You a Better CrossFitter, and Getting to Know Ken H.”
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The Decline of ‘Big Soda’ The New York Times
What’s the most encouraging/helpful thing someone else has said to you during a tough WOD?
Couldn't sleep -> rare 6am class with a bunch of TFBAs.
This workout was pretty much as amazing as it sounds. I think I touched the face of god during the second set of burpees. Still kind of vibrating right now in the afterglow.
Finished in 31:30ish with about 25 jumping-squat-thrusts thrown in for "variety."
To the point of Fox's article, the group setting definitely helped me finish this workout. I think there's no way I would have done the last 50 burpees otherwise, and those are really where you get to go to that transcendent Other-Place.
6am with McD and Nick
Super glad to be back in the U.S. I had a great week traveling for work and visiting boxes abroad.
I flew all day yesterday back from Dublin and was a little sore and jet lagged this morning, so nothing better than a long, sweaty crush week workout to come back to.
Completed this in 21:34. Rowing is my least favorite exercise so I saved my energy for the burpees and pushed through the rest. Did the pullups in sets of 7.
Great article by Fox. One of the best parts about Crossfit (IMHO) is the support we give each other in the morning. I'm spoiled because of the level of awesomeness in our 6am class and how well we push each other.
The most encouraging thing anyone has ever said to me during a workout? Probably a tie between one of BK's supportive and caring "Dude stop sandbagging the row" comments and getting cheered on in French at Crossfit Louvre last year during a brutal snatch workout.
Definitely crush week…
Today's WOD in 31:16 with 25 pull ups . As I questioned my life choices walking to the gym this morning, I realized it's basically a half murph with rowing (burpees cover the squats and push-ups). The article is well paired today. Having the extra encouragement went a long way. Lots of good cues from Nick about really getting that hip pop when pulling to the bar, even taking a minute to practice on the side mid-WOD.
Sunday Make-up:
205, 225, 235. My 1RM is 240, but it didn't feel like a day to push it too hard, so in glad I was able to come pretty close before calling it.
WOD in 3:11. I am one of the only people who will ever say I love high volume deadlifts.
Kayleigh that was amazeballs. I will also repeat that even though you told me your time when I asked you, rather than anyone shouting it at me during the WOD, it was one HELL of an encouragement/prod without which I'm sure I would have gone over 5 minutes yesterday myself.
This is also a story I have told many times on the blog, but the best encouragement I ever got was from Jeremy after making a breakthrough on the bench press. He said "Don't ever ask me for help again!" And he was totally right. That was the session that taught me the difference between legit fails and failing because you don't have enough self-confidence.
Went for a nice run today instead of coming to class since I'd have had to snowflake the whole thing. Soon I will be full-on hoi polloi, I promise!
6am with NickDowell
That was real.
First row was at a 1:55 pace. Kept it comfortable knowing what was coming.
First set of Burpees took forever but I didn't take any breaks. Just slow and methodical.
Pull ups were quick sets of 5 alternating butterfly and regular kip for each set. This was my first time doing butterfly in a wod and I was amazed at how fast they can add up.
Second set of burpees made me question whether being fit is worth all of this awfulness. On rep 15 I couldn't believe I had 60 more.
Second row was going well at a 2:05 pace until Nick jumped into the back of my boat and started coxswain-ing me with 300 meters left. He kept me between 1:45 and 1:50 which was deep in the pain cave.
Finished in 28:17.
QOD:
I don't have anything specific but a well timed shout from my bar partner at the bottom of a squat can make a world of difference on completing the lift. The 6am has a pretty supportive/competitive group and we do a good job of keeping each other going during the tougher WODs.
6am with NickDowell
I was pretty close to going back to bed this morning after checking the workout. Glad I ended up coming in, although would've been better as a partner wod, like Jill suggested.
Finished in 27:30, scaling to squat thrusts and ring rows. First row was in 3:56 and last was 4:01. The squat thrusts were awful, and I'd imagine the full burpees were even worse.
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Recap from Hail to the Queen – the event ended up getting moved from Citi field to Crossfit Queens, which was fine by me given the rainy, windy weather on Saturday. This was my first Crossfit competition and I entered in the scaled division. It was also coincidentally my first time going to another box.
Event 1: 1 rep max snatch, 3 attempts with the highest two successful added together, 1 attempt every 90 seconds. The warmup space was limited and I felt a little rushed, so went conservative here. You were also only given 30 seconds to load the bar and hit your first attempt. Hit all 3 at 80, 85, and 90.
Event 2: Queen Grace – 30 C&J at 65#, with 2 bar facing burpees to start and every 30 seconds thereafter. Finished in 3:00 and took a while to recover after that. Had a mild Fran cough.
Event 3: The Queens Procession – 200 single unders, 40 sit-ups, 40 hand release push-ups, 40 KB American swings 16kg, 200 single unders. Finished in 9:57, just under the 10 min time cap. This was much harder than I anticipated. For the sit-ups, we were required to butterfly our legs and have the soles of our feet touching. I struggled with doing 40 straight push-ups, and got a few no reps on the KB swings.
All in all, I'm glad I competed and I was super inspired watching the Rx ladies compete. Our own Steph M finished in the top ten for Rx (8th or 9th, I think)!! It was also cool to see Kari Pearce compete and win – she finished 21st at the Crossfit games this year. Steve was a trooper and came out for the whole day to cheer me on and take pics!
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QOD: BK does a great job of encouraging everyone else after he's already finished. It always pushes me to finish stronger than I otherwise might have.
6am with McD and Nick
Rough wod.
Completed this in 33:48 Rx'd. (Possibly 34:48) Rowing at a 1:50-1:55 pace the first 1000, 75 extremely slow burpees, 50 pullup singles at a pretty good clip, then 75 very slow burpees (would have been extremely slow again, but I had encouragement from BK), last row gradually sped up from 2:15 pace to 1:45 at the end.
This was a great wod for highlighting my lack of endurance.
Great article by Fox. I like being coached, encouraged, challenged, mocked, called out, etc. The 6 am crew does a pretty good job of all of that, which makes it marginally easier to hear that alarm at 5:30.
7am with McD and Nick
Coming back from injury so I did half volume and finished somewhere around 20 minutes. Probably could have pushed this harder, but good to be back embracing the suck.
6am with McNick
29:17 Rx. This was definitely a long, slow, slog. Mindset was to just keep moving the whole time. First row kept it easy at 1:50-1:53 pace. First set of burpees just chipped through them without stopping. Pull-ups went far, far better than I expected. Managed to crank out 10-5-5 before chipping away the rest with 3s and 4s. Feel like I've improved a lot on high volume pull-ups (and didn't tear for once). I really can't imagine anything worst then those 2nd set of burpees for me. I think I was drooling during them at one point. Got back on that erg for the last 1000m row and just couldn't go faster than 2:00 splits which is surprising for me. Had nothing left.
QOD: BK is always really great at coaching me through the end of workouts. He has a good eye for giving a realistic plan for chipping away the rest of the workout in chunks you can manage.
OG
w7a
FSQ: 175, 185, 205×3, 205×4
Deadlift: 245, 275, 290×3, 290×4 (Failed at #5)
Matador: 10×5
I sense a theme here and it is "Brad always finishes first and is generally awesome."
I've found that a quiet counting of my reps really works well as encouragement. David McGrath was a master of this.
@Coach Fox – what a nice post! I have been the beneficiary of much such encouragement! Too many times to count. The perks of being a last-finisher!
Although when I finish early and get to cheer someone else on, that's how I know I've really made it!
Great article, Fox!
For me, I just like someone being there and helping make sure my rep count is accurate. I don't respond at all to yelling encouragement or people yelling at me to "pick up the bar!!" etc. Just not my personal style. Things like "Good.. 5 more reps left in this set". Someone just being there and watching alone is a huge motivator for me.
Power Clean Triples
220×3
242×3
264×3
275×3
286
Push Jerks: 264x3x3
Press: 154x8x3
WOD in 29:46. I did 50 pull-ups for the first time ever!!! In sets of 3 up to 27, then sets of 2 up to 39, then singles for the final 11–definitely where the bulk of my time was spent. Kayleigh, I was thinking about your ending time during my entire 1000m row ;P
Great article! The supportive community is probably the biggest reason why spending over $200/month for exercise is so worth it. I love cheering on others and appreciate the same for me. Yesterday was a great example: I was struggling to continue deadlifting, but encouragement from Paul and Katie (?) "Stay at it, Allie" was so necessary and kept me going.
It messes me up when people cheer while I'm in the middle of squatting. I like when people encourage me to continue once I've stood up 😛 Also, I count down all my reps so it really messes with my brain and workout when people count up reps out loud for me. To each his own, I guess.
7:30 with Ro
25:38 with 25 pull ups. All kipping singles.
Got into the zone on both rows. Picked a brick on the wall and didnt think about it much.
Cheering for other people isn't my forte. It's a place my shyness tends to come out. although , after my first beer at FGB, I can't make any promises!
QOD: usually coach pisses me off by saying something that I don't agree with or makes me feel shitty about my performance and so I take it out on the bar. VOILA! PR!
guys, long weekend away in Vermont with good friends, lots of local vermont beer and minimal exercise.
-Friday, completely off of anything related to physical activity.
-Saturday–3hr hike. Pretty challenging hike overall and such a great scenic payoff. My knees hurt on the way down.
-Sunday–physical activity included shots every time the Giants scored!
Today, Monday–finally wanted to do some exercise and visited Green Mountain Crossfit.
-Warmup up with a Tabata mashup of several movements.
EMOM every 90secs:
3-3-3 High Hang Muscle Snatch @ 53, 58, 63
3-3-3 Hang (knee) Snatch High Pull @ 83, 93, 103
3-3-3 Snatch Deadlift @ 113, 133, 148
10min AMRAP:
15 Power Snatches 75/55
30 double unders
-got 5 rounds plus 15 snatch + 10 du's.
-this was supposed to be a repeat of 14.1 but I realized after the fact that they reversed the start order. Felt pretty good throughout. first 2 rounds of snatches unbroken, then in 8-7 for the next 2 rounds. 5th and 6th round in 5-5-5.
Green Mountain CF is a legit gym to visit. Great coaching, great facility and friendly folks. I never tell people I'm a coach when traveling so it's always refreshing to see other coaches do a great job, know/understand the cues they're giving and stay engaged during a class. Hope to give an official recommendation in our classified sections soon!
1st time experiencing "Crush Week" and looking forward to the programming.
25:11 Rx
Absolutely Brutal — had a good crew at 5:30 to WOD with.
Linda! Congratulations. I was wondering how Hail to the Queen went. That was my first comp as well and I completely missed the memo about when it was happening this year.
And congrats to Steph! She's fierce.
I have had a bad cold and decided that unlike last year I would try to rest and kick it.
Over the last week I've taken yoga classes and gone about my usual stuff, but no work-outs.
Brief OG last night:
500m Row
Snatched up to 44kg. Went for 46kg and missed.
Snatch pulls at a little over 100%
50kgx3x3
Handstands
Tonight:
Jump rope warm up ~5 min
Bench Press
100×5, 100×3 f , 100×3 f
Last tested PR was 115, so I feel pretty good about this
Dead Lift
175x8x2
14min EMOTM
8 pull ups
30 squats
QOD: Having someone standing there is usually enough, a little pushing is good, too. I tend to hold back, especially in a met-con, so it helps to know someone is there, and I should try not to embarrass myself, and that if I was actually going to die they'd show signs of alarm so I'm probably going to be fine.
Ro let me take the 6:30 class
25:36 as rxd
First row at a 2:00 split
Burpee steady and unbroken
Pull-ups 23-7-5-5-3-3-2-2
Burpee steady
Last row was a slog. Was pulling like 2:15 splits.
@david isn't giving himself credit for scaling up and having to run across degraw for the rows.
on Tuesday
Noon class
Monday's WOD
24:49
The back half burpees were really something. Got a bit of tunnel vision at 20 and then slowed to quick sets of 5 with three steps back and forth as rest.