CrossFit South Brooklyn

Established 2007

Cluster | Handstand Walking

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Cluster (aka Squat Clean Thruster)

1-1-1-1-1

Warm up and work up to a heavy single for the day. No Jerks.

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HANDSTAND WALKING

Choose one of the following scaling options, and spend 15-20 minutes developing your hand balancing:

A) Hand Walking (free or 2′ from wall)
B) Wall Inverted Hip Shifts with Hand Release (from a Wall Walk or Kick Up)
C) Box Piked Hip Shifts with Hand Release
D) Floor Piked Hip Shifts with Hand Release

Rest after each set or attempt and don’t turn it into a 20-minute AMKAP (As Many Kick Ups as Possible). If you’re not spotting someone, you can use the rest periods to do some light stretching or light rowing, jogging, cycling, etc.

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Open Diary 18.1

By Brett Ferguson

Editor’s Note: Throughout the Open, Coach Brett will be contributing these “Open Diary” entries in which he will continue to reflect on the head-game aspect of CrossFit and offer his thoughts on each workout. Enjoy this first installment!

Open Workout 18.1 is in the books. If you read my previous post about mindset, you know that it’s something that I struggle with. This struggle usually has to do with how I feel going into a workout or what happens to me mentally after a work out.

So how did 18.1 go? My mental approach before attempting it the first time was excellent! I knew that I was going to try to keep my own pace. I had a plan as to how I was going to do the Toes-to-Bars, how I was going to transition to the dumbbell, and the pace I was going to keep on the erg. Reality and my plan didn’t quite match up. The energy of Friday Nights Lights and some friendly competition got me a little excited, and I came out SUPER HOT. I looked at the clock after 3 rounds and knew I was in trouble. My Toes-to-Bar plan went well, but my transitions started to get longer because I came out to hard and needed to breathe a little. I knew I could pace better, but overall I was very happy with the workout. All good things right?

Second attempt at the workout: Because I had a previous score and thought I could do better, I picked a score that I thought was attainable for me to hit. I did the workout on my own this time (with a judge) and was able to stick with my pace right away (which felt SUPER slow). One thing that I did not anticipate, however, was the fatigue in my grip still being a factor after Friday’s workout. My Toes-to-Bar and grip on the dumbbell started falling apart way faster than I anticipated. I could see the goal I had set for myself starting to slip away.

I am proud to say that in this moment I stayed calm and didn’t give up. I pushed through steadily as my Toes-to-Bars went to singles and I dropped the DB because I couldn’t hold on. I kept a steady pace on the erg. I did what I could do in that moment. As a result, I ended up doing better in my second attempt but not as well as I wanted to do. This is where my mental game fell apart. I knew I did the best I could have on that day, but it wasn’t the best that I could do overall. Take the strength of my grip from Friday and my pacing from Monday and that would be my best effort. That’s what I focused on. I started beating myself up for coming out too hot on Friday, for warming up too many Toes-to-Bars on Monday or whatever, analyzing everything I did wrong instead of thinking about what I did well. To beat myself up even more, I found people that I am competitive with on the leaderboard and really started to tear into myself when I saw that people beat me by 1-3 reps! If only I did this or that I would’ve have climbed X amount of spots on the board!

I sat simmering in self-pity (and saying nasty things to myself) for the rest of the night. The next day I saw a post by James Fitzgerald, the founder of OPEX, on Instagram that simply said, “Measure yourself by how you deal with adversity when it comes to you, not by the scoreboard.” This shot of perspective was exactly what I needed. In the workout, I dealt with the adversity well (a reaction I can control), but I let my placement on the leaderboard (out of my control) and how other athletes performed (also out of my control) take me out mentally for a full day!

It’s too easy for me to let other things pull me away from these successes and turn my performance into a failure for no reason. It’s something for me to continue to recognize and work on as these next 4 weeks of the Open unfold. If it’s meant to be about improvement and learning, well, I’m hitting PRs every day.

Open Intramural Team Rankings: Week 1

For the 3rd year in a row, CFSBK is running the Open Intramural League throughout the CrossFit Open. It looks like this year has all the makings of another great competition. Awesome team names? Check. Evenly matched teams? Check. Friday Night Lights? Check. Jay-Star vehemently denying that he’s using massive amounts of performance enhancing drugs despite evidence to the contrary? Check.

Anchored by a bunch of top-15 performances, Amino Disrespect got off to a strong start, but Make America Blue Again (also powered by some top-15 performances and Toni’s ponytail) isn’t far behind. All 6 teams are separated by less than 4 points, so you know what that means. Everyone has to come out to Friday Night Lights this week to get in on the fun!

Go here to sign up for a FNL heat!

Current Ranking – Team – Overall Average 

1. Amino Disrespect: 38.6
2. Make America Blue Again: 39
3. Going Dark: 39.6
4. Kippin’ It Real: 39.7
5. 50 Shades of Gainz: 41.1
6. The Incredible Hulks: 42.3

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Yesterday’s Results Board: Wall Balls, Burpee Box Jump Overs | Back Squat
Do You Have What It Takes to Be an Olympian? NY Times
The Lost Art of Bending Over NPR

Comments

  1. Love those diary entries from Brett. Like any other sport, CrossFit has a substantial mental element to it.

    I have Asthma and chronic back pain, which pretty much make me finish every workout last, and almost always hold me back from lifting heavy weights. As a competitive person, this is highly frustrating. I’ve always been able to overcome those things in tennis, basketball or soccer. Not so much in crossfit (yet).

    Coach Ro has really helped me stay on track mentally, and keep my focus and motivation internal, rather than external. He always reminds me to, “run your own race, who cares what everyone else does?” so true.

    If I can finish a workout while pushing myself, and not needing an inhaler shot at the end, it’s a win. And my times, endurance and results do keep getting better. Slow and steady progress will yield results… It’s just hard to keep that in mind sometimes when everyone runs ahead of you, the adrenaline is spiking and the heavy metal music is playing in the background 😊

  3. Love this post from Brett! One of the things that surprised me about Crossfit was how much of a mental game it is as well. So much planning and strategy! Looking forward to future installments.

    Clusters felt so foreign to me! It almost seemed like an afterthought to press the bar overhead after the clean.
    63-73-83-93-98-103 with Kirby 🙂

  4. 7am w/ Jess + Lauren
    Clusters w/ Jaime who made them look EASY! Worked up to 103#, which wasn’t pretty but it happened.

    Handstand walking was fun!! After kicking up to—and nearly THROUGH—the wall for a while (in trying to not bend my knees I overcompensated by kicking it with all my might), I managed about 6 steps with a light assist from Jess, then maybe two baby steps on my own.

    Hoping to make it back tonight for some AR and to watch the 18.2 announcement!

  5. Clusters with JB: 103-113-123-133-138-143F-143
    I think this ties my best cluster/thruster.

    Fun to do some handstand stumbling – slowly moving closer to walking. Managed to cover a little distance with a spot from Jess.

    After E2MOM: 10 cal AB and 5 kipping pull-ups.

  6. Definitely appreciate the candor and vulnerability from Brett.

    As such a positive, encouraging person it’s so odd to think you’d be so hard on yourself, Brett! Sometimes it is way easier to feel pride in others’ accomplishments and effort than it is to even acknowledge your own.

    Keep PRin the positive self-talk and growth and learning trajectory this open… you definitely deserve to treat yourself well after how much effort you put in!!!

    • Allie say to you what you say to he! I totally forget that those of you with such obvious accomplishments are still striving and that’s a good thing! It would be disappointing to see you rest on your laurels. Sometimes pushing harder forward manifests as being too self critical so it’s great to have the reminders to stay positive and look forward!

  7. Strong Thursday with Spotting By Bethany(TM). Thanks Bethany!

    Squat 185x5x3. This felt good if not easy. +5 next week.
    Bench 120x5x3. Bethany says my bar speed was good but boy did I feel like I was grinding on rep 5 every time! +2.5 next week.
    Deadlift 245×5. Tough! +5 next week, or maybe chinups or Kroc rows for something different.

    Really enjoying these Thursday morning lifts.

  8. 6am with Jess and Lauren

    Cluster: 95-115-135-155-165-175-185-195F
    185 was a 10# PR for a thruster let alone a cluster. I caught 195 but was so slow coming out of the hole I knew there was no speed to get it overhead and bailed.

    Really enjoying the handstand walk practice. Able to get 6-8 assisted steps in, just need more practice.

    As someone who is often very negative of my own performance it is refreshing to hear the beast of the gym also struggle with it. Best thing for me was tearing my ACL last year – this year I am just happy to be RXing the open!

  10. Thanks Brett for such a great write up! Managing expectations, especially one’s own is a challenge in all directions! To wit, 7 am with Jess and Lauren:

    I don’t recall doing clusters ever. I felt sloppy and discombobulated until I put more weight on the bar but by that time, we were about to move on. I wish I had added sooner in order to see where I could go. Got to 78 and have more for it next time.

    I found a lot more confidence kicking up on the wrestling mat and like to push back against the squishyness of the mat for balance. Took a few steps there and then went to the wall to try to drill in what heels over somewhat archy feels like. I went home and took a few more steps on the rug that were pretty solid. Then I planked 3x 1 min. and did 3 sets of 10 push ups as my cash out at home as if I don’t have a job to get to.

    HEY! Hope you’re all planning on adding Saturday night fun at my house from 7pm till late! Hit me up on Facebook or shawnalysec at gmail for details.

    If you’re coming on the F train be sure to be on the front of the train to exit. Makes it so much easier!! Ft. Hamilton is the exit. (I’m assuming nobody is coming from Church Ave or other stops south of me.)

  12. Thanks for all the love guys! I find a lot of the mental game of CrossFit isn’t often talked about so I’m happy to get your feedback!

    12pm group class with the Captain DO
    Cluster
    185-205-225-255-275
    Surprised with this because 275 is my PR for a thruster coming out of the rack and I felt like I still had more in me today. Good stuff!

  14. Brett, you are one of the most positive, encouraging people. Don’t forget to save some for yourself too! Thanks for these posts though about the mental game—sometimes it’s the most important one both at CF and in life!

    4:30 with Whit

    First time I can recall doing clusters. Some great tips as always from Whit though and I was doing pretty well by the end. Worked up to 72 which felt fine weight and form-wise; no need to push to more today.

    Handstand practice was a fun/terrifying mix of wall kick ups and some work piked on a box. Looking forward to more of this so I get more comfortable. Pretty neat watching the talented 4:30 people do some handstand racing.

  15. 6:30 with Lauren and Whit

    Clusters with AB up to 118#. Cleaned 123# but it didn’t have a chance.

    Fun playing around with handstand steps. Probably should have stuck to the walking to the wall drills a bit more, those were probably my best attempts.

    AR with Whit after! 18.2 is gonna be a fun one.

  16. Great write-up, Brett! The mental aspect of CF is so interesting. I find that when I think positively about and/or strategize a workout, I perform better 90% of the time. Then there are days like yesterday where I really thought about and envisioned myself PR-ing my press (How could I not? My PR is 4 years old and I’m definitely stronger now and I went in with a great attitude about it) and then I didn’t. WTH. There is always something to learn from that workout or lift that didn’t go as planned and there is always room for improvement. That’s what I love about CF.

    Clusters: Worked up to 118#

    All weights felt good. Only issue was I was overextending and doing this weird undulation thing that Whit flawlessly demonstrated for me. haha. She pointed out that it’s probably related to the same issue with my strict press where I push the bar away from me. I thought putting a belt on would help me engage my core and not overextend but it still happened. Something else to add to my list of things to work on:)

    Handstand walks:
    Walked 8ft 2-3 times
    Walked 13ft twice but only after Whit told me to squeeze my legs together- great cue!

  17. earlier today:

    wrist bothering me. did some stuff:

    deadlift 4×8 @ 135
    db bench @ 20×1, 4×8 @ 30#

    5 sets
    :30 assault bike (70-72 rpm)
    :30 assault run (speed 12-13)
    :30 forearm plank
    :90 rest

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