A Note from Jamal A.
Hello. It’s Front Desk Jamal (the guy who mutters to himself about Cake Bites while he Swiffers the wrestling mats), and I come to you with news of Sheila, the new play I’m directing, written my me, CFSBK member Emily S., and the rest of our devised theater company, The Associates.
Sheila is coming to the A.R.T./New York Theatres from January 12-27, and we are in the final 5 days of fundraising before we head into production. We are in need of your support to give this play life! Through this leg of the campaign, we are raising the final $12,000 of our $30,000 production budget. Should you be so kind, your donation will enable The Associates to expand our network of collaborators, spread the word about our work and increase our visibility, and build a world at the brink of nightmare through set, costume, sound, and light design.
The Play: Sheila
September 1987. The edge of town. Gloria opens her door to the woman she hasn’t seen since she disappeared from home ten years ago. Mary sees the face that has haunted her memories of childhood and dreams of womanhood. But the reflection that the women seek in each other is dimmed by the years of silence and distorted by the struggle for survival. How did they get here? Did one of them take a wrong turn, or were they driven apart? Sheila pits two women against the world: not to conquer it, but to survive it. What chance do they have to decide the terms of their survival? This play is nearly two years in the making and by far our most ambitious work to date; we are so thrilled to finally be showing it off! You can follow this link to see a video about the play, learn more about our company, and to see how you can contribute to breathing life into Sheila.
With love and gratitude,
Jamal A.

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Yesterday’s Results Board: HSPUs / DB SS SL RDL | KB Swings, Reverse Goblet Lunges
How Salty Foods Affect Hunger and Weight Loss Scientific American
Exercise Can Make for Healthier Fat NY Times
Yesterday’s Results Board: HSPUs / DB SS SL RDL | KB Swings, Reverse Goblet Lunges
How Salty Foods Affect Hunger and Weight Loss Scientific American
Exercise Can Make for Healthier Fat NY Times
Wednesday’s Programing
Tempo Back Squat (30X1):
3 x 6
Heavier than last week. Should be challenging for the last couple of reps on each set but never a grind.
Post loads to comments.
Exposure 4 of 8
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EMOM x 18 (6ea):
1) 15/12 Calorie Row
2) 15 Pull Ups
3) 15 Box Jumps 24/20″
The work should be completed with some time to spare in transition, at least 10 seconds. Scale reps as needed.
Post work to comments.
7am with Lauren doing Monday’s work
4 rounds:
Tempo 40×1 seated dumbbell press – 15# dumbbells, 6-8 reps per round.
Practice kicking up
SSSLRDL – 25# dumbbells, 8 reps.
Got through 5 rounds of the kettlebell fun. The first and fourth rounds were with 12kg and unbroken; second was 16kg and unbroken, and third and fifth were with 16kg and I broke it up at the lunges. Did about 1:1 rest between rounds.
Happy Hanukkah to those celebrating!
Ug did anyone notice my pants were inside out? Because I clearly didn’t. What a way to start the day.
Did not notice at all 🙂
7 AM squatting
Did my sets at 145. This was challenging but maybe I could have done 150? Will shoot for 155 next week.
EMOM was soooo much harder than I anticipated! I stuck with ring rows after round 1 because I tried doing strict chins and found myself chicken-necking to finish my reps and that’s no good. Even 15 relatively vertical ring rows are pretty dang hard.
Hi CFSBK! Your resident anthropologist here. I hope you are thriving as 2017 gives way to 2018. I haven’t seen many of you the past couple of months. I have been traveling and nursing a knee injury. And it turns out I am heading into my last week at CrossFit South Brooklyn. My final day as anthropologist will be December 19.
It has been a wonderful 18 months with you all. I have learned more than I ever thought I would, made wonderful friends, and experienced so much that the gym and its community have to offer. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
I want to thank David Osorio for his openness to this project and to me as an anthropologist. He allowed me to run around and do my anthropology, trusting me along the way. My heart is full of gratitude for the opportunity and overwhelmed by his generosity. Thank you so much David for this incredible chance to learn more about CrossFit, CFSBK, and what it means to build something that is so important for so many.
Thank you to coaches. I cannot begin to explain how much I learned from you as I practiced and observed classes and training. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me, as both an anthropologist and a member. Not only do I understand the various parts of CrossFit better but I can embody them better as well – I’m so much stronger and able than I was a year ago. Thank you for extending your wisdom my way. Also, I’m sorry. I know it was annoying to have me hanging out, especially when I was around for hours and hours.
To the members, thank you so very, very much. So many of you have shared your experiences of CrossFit and CFSBK with me and I am forever indebted to you for your willingness, kindness, and openness. Your candor has helped me learn about and make sense of CrossFit and the way it manifests itself in your lives. This project really relied on your generosity and I’m astounded and impressed by the depth of it. Thank you for welcoming me as you do others, even though I asked more from you. You are all so very fortunate and brilliant to have made CFSBK the true treasure that it is!
I am not yet finished with the project as a whole. I am going to Wodapalooza in January (Go Katie Harper!!!) and will complete my fieldwork at other gyms by the end of June. I’m still hoping to do international fieldwork as well but that all depends on funding. Afterward I will write up. Therefore, if you have any questions, concerns, or comments, you can always contact me at KHejtmanek@brooklyn.cuny.edu, maxesandprs@gmail.com, 314-322-5634, or via Instagram at Maxesandprs.
Finally, I’m not really going anywhere. I will remain at Brooklyn College and in Brooklyn. And I hope to return to CFSBK as Katie (full stop) rather than Katie the observing anthropologist. CFSBK has come to mean a lot to me too, I’ve built very important relationships, and perhaps the blessing of doing fieldwork where you live is that you don’t have to leave, you just have to put down your notebook. So perhaps I will see you in 2018.
Again: thank you, thank you, thank you.
Katie – It has been a joy to get to know you & I’m so glad to hear you will still be around even if you aren’t observing!
Tempo LBBS: 185 x 6, 190 x 6 x 2
I tend to be more conservative on the first set because of the changing tempo. This felt right. Looking forward to 4s…
WOD:
Row: 13 cal/round
Pull-ups: 15, 12×2, 10×3
BJs: 15/round
This was much tougher than I anticipated. Already have a little chest cold brewing, so was is Fran cough mode at the end of this.
10am
BSQ
225x6x3
EMOM was tough! Couldn’t handle the full volume of pull ups, scaled to 10 on rounds 3-6.
6am w/Jess
BSQ: 225x6x3
Felt great not having to pause at the bottom
EMOM: Butterfly for 2 rounds unbroken then kipping. Had to break up rounds 4-6. Got tough quick
Yesterday HSPUs 4-3-3-3-3 strict then kipping till I reached 6. Slowly improving week after week. Hating the tempo on these.
6am?? 🤔
haha…habit
7am
LOL
I got a lovely chest cold for my birthday so I sat out today, but I want to wish programmer par excellance and my birthday buddy C.T.M. Fox a happy birthday! Can you believe we’re the same age? 26 just keeps getting better…
Happy birthday both of you!
Thanks for the shoutout @katieHej! looking forward to WZA myself!
Happy bday local gym legends C fox and Chas C.!!
Not sore from yesterday so I came into today a little suspicious.
A) Seated calf raise: 4×25 w/ 45# plate plus leaning into it with my body weight for extra resistance. tough.
B) Upright row: 3×8 @ 75#, pump was real
C) 10:00 AMRAP: 2 rounds + 12 box step ups, 127 reps | Rx’d
5 Burpees
10 Dumbbell Thrusters, 30 lbs
10 Dumbbell Push Press, 30 lbs
20 Dumbbell Box Step-ups, 30 lbs, 24 in
This was SO TOUGH. Wow. Those box step ups are hard at that height for me. All thrusters and push press unbroken, box step ups 10/6/4, 5/5/5/5, then held on for 12 at the very end. Hands were burnin!
D) TABATA Bicep Curls: 56 reps total @ 30#
E) TABATA crossover lat pull downs: 60 reps w/ red band
daaayuuum @Kharpz that workout looks rufffffffffff!