If you are anything like the CFSBK blog editor, you’re pretty haphazard when it comes to warming up a barbell lift. “Start at 50%? Sure whatever, that sounds good.” It doesn’t have to be that way! In this video, Coach David walks us through the proper way to warm up a lift. Watch it, absorb it, and put it into action the next time you lift!
A Letter to New CrossFitters: Good Training Habits
By David Osorio
Editor’s Note: The video above pairs nicely with a blog classic we haven’t reposted in a few years. The original version of this article appeared on our business blog, Inside the Affiliate.
Below is a short article we ask all our new members to read when they graduate from our Foundations program. At CFSBK, we believe it’s important to guide our members’ training perspectives early on. The sooner we can get folks thinking about how to make proactive, intelligent training decisions, the more likely they’ll optimize their time under our roof.
While it’s our responsibility as coaches to teach movement, program wisely, and generally take care of folks, it’s your job as an athlete to listen to your body, track your workouts, and maintain a mature perspective about why you’re doing CrossFit in the first place. For some athletes, this may be completely intuitive, but most folks walking through our doors will need to be taught even the most basic components of serious physical training. Many people pursue CrossFit because they want to lose some weight or a friend does it and it sounds fun—not necessarily because they’ve suddenly decided to eat, sleep, and breath CrossFit. (The obsession part happens organically, after they’ve been exposed to its benefits.)
With that in mind, the commercial fitness industry’s claims of quick fixes and supposed “secrets” to success may have influenced peoples’ perspectives and expectations when they arrive at our gym, and it behooves us to disabuse them of such false messaging. Messages such as the one below are part of a larger dialogue that CFSBK is constantly facilitating, with the aim of giving our members the most accurate and honest advice about what it takes to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Hopefully, all of you have already read this article. But a good refresher never hurt anyone…
Good Training Habits
While it’s our responsibility as coaches to teach you movement, program intelligently, and keep you safe, it’s your responsibility as athletes to develop good training habits. Here is an overview of three great habits that will significantly enrich your training experience.
1. Be Proactive With Your Movement Prep
Everyone needs to do a little personalized maintenance on their bodies. Even 10 minutes of DIY movement prep before class can go a long way in keeping you fit and pain free. After you’ve signed in and changed, take advantage of the time you’ve got and start moving.
Warm-up
Row an easy 300-500m on the erg. Get your heart rate up a little and try to get a light sweat going. We recommend holding 20 strokes per minute and rehearsing good form.
Stretch/Foam Roll
Many of us know where our tightest areas are—they’re the ones that make it difficult to squat below parallel or press a barbell overhead. Spend a few minutes mobilizing and doing some soft tissue work (foam roller/LAX ball, etc.) on your “problem areas.” If you don’t know where to begin, ask a coach what you should be prioritizing and we’ll help you out. We also regularly refer our members to out Active Recovery classes and MobilityWOD.com. This is great resource for folks who need simple, effective strategies to help them move better.
2. Log All of Your Workouts
Training without logging is like driving without a road map. You don’t know where you’ve been or where you’re going. Taking notes on each training session helps you track your progress and helps us make informed decisions about how to assist you in choosing weights and scaling movements. Each day should list some quantitative and qualitative notes about your training session. Here is an example:
Warm-Up:
3 rounds NFT
5 Snatch PP (22lb bar)
5 OHS
5 Muscle Snatches
10 Push-ups on knees
Move up to yellow bar
AMRAP 15 minutes:
Row 350m
12 Overhead Squats, 45lbs
4 Rounds + 320m
Kept rows at about 2:23 splits, felt hard but doable. Don’t shift forward during overhead squats…. Mid foot!
You can track your workouts in a journal or online. As coaches, we LOVE to read the details of your workout in the Comments section of CFSBK’s blog. It gives us a deeper perspective into your training and the programming in general.
3. Start Slow and Maintain Perspective
We take our training seriously at CrossFit South Brooklyn and with that comes with a good deal of responsibility. Our movement pool uses serious strength and conditioning exercises in order to develop broad, inclusive fitness. If we don’t treat these movements and workouts with respect, training plateaus and injuries are sure to follow. The best way to ensure your success and training longevity with us is by starting slowly and developing a rock-solid technical base. In fact, the first few months you start CrossFit, intensity should not be a significant concern. The movements are potent enough that just consistently performing them will create a favorable adaptation. After you feel really comfortable with most of our exercises and have a working knowledge of your weights, only then should you start ramping up the intensity.
Training with a lifelong perspective is incredibly important. Remember that you’re here to build yourself up, not break yourself down. Scaling workouts properly, listening to your body and checking your ego at the door will allow you to work out successfully for years to come. Most importantly, have fun with this stuff and enjoy the process.
News and Notes
- Tonight’s Jiu Jitsu Open Mat is cancelled. Callie is out of town!
- We’re always trying to get better at what we do. If you have a minute, head over to the Feedback page and tell us about your experience at the gym!
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Yesterday’s Results Board: Barbell Overhead and Gymnastics Work
The First Pull of the Snatch & Clean: Slow or Fast? Catalyst Athletics
Making Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Into Super Bowl MVPs NY Times
Wednesday’s Programming
Ring Muscle-Up Work
Choose one of the following based on skill/strength…
1) 4-5 Sets:
2-3 False Grip Ring Rows
2-3 Ring Dips with a 3 second down
Make the Ring Rows challenging. Be sure to pass through the bottom of a deep Dip. If you can’t perform a Dip, jump to support and lower down for a 3 count. Alternately, perform 6 Push-Ups with a 3 second down, followed by a 10 second ring support.
2) 4-5 Sets:
2-3 Low Ring Band or Leg Assisted Muscle Ups
Be sure to pass through the bottom of a deep Dip before pressing out.
3) DIY or:
Kip swings, a few dips, then…
3-5 Sets:
1 Strict Muscle-Up
1 Kipping Muscle-Up
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Performance
For Time:
12-9-6
Deadlifts 315/225
Ring Muscle-Ups
The barbell should be heavy. Scale volume on the Muscle-Ups as needed if you can’t perform sets of 2-5 reps when fresh.
Fitness
For Time:
15-12-9
Deadlifts 225/155
Ring-Dips
The barbell weight should be medium-heavy for you. Unbroken on the fast end but 2-3 sets is ok. Scale the Dips to Push-Ups as needed.
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4 Rounds Not for Time:
8e Split-Stance Static Goblet Lunges
8e 3pt Dumbbell Rows
30 Second Hollow Hold
Post work to comments.
6am doing yesterday’s work with Jess
Press: 95, 105, 115, 125, 135
Push Press: 135, 145, 155, 165, 175
Push Jerk: 185x5x5
All of the gymnastics movements unbroken.
This got hard.
6am with Jess – Monday
Press @ 95-115
Push Press @ 135
Push Jerk @ 155-175
All gymnastics unbroken except only 3 BMUs in the 4th round because I thought my hand was tearing but it wasn’t – back to 5 for the last round.
7am doing Monday w/Lauren*
Strict press: 53, 58, 58, 63, 63 – strong & smooth!
Strict leg raises were HARD but this was the first time I’ve been able to do them vs knee raises. Lauren’s cue to start them from the hollow position and not just a hang made all the difference (lovely ‘duh’ moment for me…).
Push press: 73x5x5, all cycled – maybe could gone heavier, but focused on keeping these clean. Push presses are challenging for me.
Kipping leg raises for the first 4 rounds – really worked on a powerful kip and getting my toes higher and higher through each rep in the sets (channeling lots of cues from coach Whit in my head). Toes were like INCHES from the bar on many of them, but kept focused snapping my legs back and together to keep the rhythm and not lose the swing.
Last round I decided to try to close the gap and I got 3 REAL kipping ttb in a row!!! Just 3 of these felt so hard which makes me appreciate how easy many of you make these look…
Push jerk: 83x5x5, all cycled. Focused on dropping under, fine.
Jumping BMUs from 24″ box. Fun as usual. Ready to try from 20″ + a plate I think! Really bummed I tore my thumb & hand in the last round though.
*By the way, I’m SO glad Coach Lauren was recognized at the potluck. She went from a ‘new’ coach to one of the most consistent, attentive, and encouraging in the blink of an eye! I’m always happy to see that she’ll be leading class 🙂 Well deserved.
“She went from a ‘new’ coach to one of the most consistent, attentive, and encouraging in the blink of an eye!”
Hear, hear! And she plays the best music, too.
Lauren is a peach and deserves to be recognized!!
Also, it is I* in fact who plays the best music. That is provided you like hearing the same set of 5 songs over and over again an are into trap, punk and baby metal 😛
I rest my case.
Monday nights music selection summed up in a jiffy
great blog content today 🙂
7am w/ Jess doing Wednesday
Ring MU work: Option 2. These felt pretty good today!
WOD: 4:50 (fitness, 155#/push-ups). Fast and fun! Broke up the push-ups into 3s from the start which helped. Deadlifts in 5-5-5, 4-4-4 and 9 unbroken. 155# felt so heavy last year in the Open, but today it moved really well. Progress!
NFT: Got through 3 rounds. Yellow then white KB for the lunges, 20-25-30# DB for the rows.
Miami tomorrow til Saturday!
…moved pretty well cuz ur so strong!
7 AM doing Wednesday’s work
I stuck with ring rows and slow negatives (since it became clear that I don’t quite have the strength to get out of the dip when I’m at the true bottom, not the fake bottom I was allowing myself to get to). Humble pie in large servings.
Fitness WOD with Rx deadlifts and pushups. I had total FOMO when the bodyweight DL/pushup workout came up a couple of weeks ago and I couldn’t come. This is similar to that since 155 is a little over BW, although with less volume, so I’m glad I got to do it. 3:56. Deadlifts unbroken and fast, pushups…not either of those things.
deadlifts SO FAST
AG
A.
2x
5 ea lateral box step ups
5 burpees
20 double unders
B. Pistol/Ring dip practice
C.
20 min with a partner @aer pace
5 burpees
10 alt pistols
15 cal row/bike/ski
10am class doing Wednesday
Performance Rx in 12:57
So, pretty sub par performance on my part. Failed a muscle up which I haven’t done in a long time. Went in feeling pretty ‘meh’ after a great/tough training day yesterday. Didn’t really mail it in, but just got the work done. Looking forward to some AR tomorrow, my body and mind need it.
#225 DL MEDIUM to heavy? Oh man! Well I just hope I don’t stand up with my arms unattached from my body!
There’s tape at the gym.
7am with Jess doing Wednesday’s work
Option 2 with some extra dip tries. Some felt good, others squirrely.
WOD – I could not figure out why 110 felt so heavy and then I re-did the bar math and had 143# on. Deloaded to 123 for the workout. I too missed the body weight WOD so it was good to have an opportunity to feel that out. 6:30. I did not break up my push ups as early as maybe I shoulda.
Weight – there’s more work: split leg work hurts my brain and a little bit my hamstrings today. 12kg kb. Rows 20, 25, 25. Held the hallow and kept the arms long mostly.
5:30 doing Wednesday followed by and StrongFit – body feels very different in the evening.
Option 2 work and really tried to not used my legs at all from moving out of the dip.
WOD: 12-9-6 Deadlifts (225) and Ring Dips (with band for stabilizing from rep 17 onward). Mix and match of a strength and weakness. Deadlifts as 8-4, 6-3, 6 to stay fresh (debated going unbroken). Finished 8:16.
Lunges: 25-35-40
Rows: 25-30-35