Virtual Class Zoom Room
Password: CFSBK
Active Recovery with Coach Fox: 10am

Do you feel like Arend (below)? Maybe you could use a little TLC at today’s zoom Active Recovery class with coach Fox. Motion is lotion so clear some space and spend an hour moving, breathing and tuning up the engine with us.

“Thanks coach Lynsey. I guess. :)” -Arend T

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What Happened Before History? Human Origins Kurzgesagt

Virtual Class Zoom Room
Password: CFSBK
CFSBK @ Home: 10am

4 Rounds, each round for time, of:
50 Air Squats
40 Sit-Ups
30 KB/DB Swings
20 Hand Release Push-ups

Rest 3:00 between each round.

Choose scaling options that allow you to work hard for the 4 movements. 3:00 is plenty of rest to recoup and hit each round hard!

WAHHH we miss you all!!! Throwback to Friday Night Lights with this amazing crew.

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Decibel Presents Get Behind the Mask: An Online Gallery of Metal Musicians in Support of Public Health

Virtual Class Zoom Room
Password: CFSBK
CFSBK @ Home: 7am, 12pm
Morning Mindfulness: 8am

Warm Up
:20 Superman Hold
6ea Side Plank Rotations
6ea Single Leg Cone Touches

Strength:
A1. Single Leg RDL
3 x 5 – 15 Reps Each
A2. Plank Support Row
3 x 5 – 15 Reps Each
A3. Single Arm Skull Crusher
3 x 5 – 15 Reps Each

*If the weight is heavy for the skull crusher, use two hands.

12:00 Moderate Pace
20 Alt Devils Press
:30ea Side Plank

FIT55 @ Home

Warm Up Whiteboard Explanation
3-4 rounds at a deliberate pace
5e Forward Leg Swings
5e Arm Circles
5 Inch Worms
5 Reverse Bridge Plank Ups

Strength Whiteboard Explanation
4-5 sets each
:20e Static Lunge Hold
:30 Prone Cobra Hold
:40 Plank Reaches

Use support on the lunge hold or modify to a squat hold as needed. Doing the plank reaches arm a straight arm plank is easier while doing them from a forearm plank is more challenging.

Conditioning Whiteboard Explanation
15 Minutes of Continuous Effort
5 Burpees
10 Alternating Leg Reverse Lunges
15 Bent Over Backpack Rows
20 Alternating Supine Toe Touches

Aim to keep moving at a moderate pace

Here’s me (Samir C) and Ayana ‘being mindful’ up at Dorothy Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, yesterday!

Morning Mindfulness with Coach Chris Fox

Join us every Tuesday & Friday at 8am for for these free 30 minute classes with Coach Fox as we begin our day together with a small dose of mindfulness. Each session begins with descriptions of the specific techniques we’ll use that day, some breath work followed by a brief mindfulness meditation, and ends with a few minutes for questions and comments. These sessions offer something to experienced meditators and first timers alike, and no previous experience at all is required. If you’ve been “contemplative curious,” this can be a great place to start. If you’re a seasoned sitter, use it as a nice bump to your existing practice.

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Guided Meditation: Fred Armisen Jimmy Fallon
Visualizations with Aidy Bryant  SNL
Meditation Class Portlandia

Virtual Class Zoom Room
Password: CFSBK
Yoga: 7am (With Special guest coach Sasha S!!)
Pilates: 6:00pm with coach Frank H
Kids: 4:30pm

Coach Katie rocking Sportivo Leggings by Bliss Body. Use code: katherineharper15 for 15% off
Photo by coach Keith

The following interview by Josh S is a repost from December 11th, 2018.

Underneath the Hoodie: Katie Harper

Vital Stats

Height: 5’4″
Weight: 135
DOB: March 6th, 1990
Born and raised: Montgomery County, MD
Place of higher learning: BcS in Kinesiology, University of Maryland. Doctorate of Physical Therapy, Long Island University.

By Josh Schneiderman

Q: What do you call a noodle in disguise?
A: An impasta!

That’s Coach Katie Harper’s favorite joke, and it’s one key to understanding the woman we call “KHarpz.” The other key is that she’s what we at CFSBK call a TFBA. That’s the yin and the yang of Coach Katie: totally goofy and deadly serious, easygoing and hardcore, banjo player and Doctor of Physical Therapy, happy-go-lucky and competitive to the bone. Keep that in mind.

Katie Harper was born in Montgomery County, Maryland in the Washington, D.C. burbs. An only child until the age of 14, she learned to keep herself entertained, mostly by exploring, rolling around in the dirt, and just generally “getting as gross as possible.” Katie would ride bikes with the neighborhood kids and was extremely proud of her red Razor scooter. “I could do some sick 2-inch jumps,” Katie still proudly reports. Watch out for her in the Razor Scooter event of the 2021 CrossFit Games.

Rolling around in the dirt and doing sick jumps wasn’t the only way Katie kept busy. Naturally curious, she has always loved to tinker. One afternoon she and the neighborhood kids took apart a whole oven and gazed with fascination at the heating coils. Her grandfather taught her how to use tools, and she spent lots of time in the garage building things and taking things apart—more building than taking apart. Katie got do lots of traveling all over these great United States in her grandparents’ rusty old Ford Econoline van. She and her mom and aunts and cousins and grandparents would all pile into the RV and drive all over the Midwest visiting family.

Katie’s childhood may sound idyllic, but like most childhoods, hers was punctuated by moments of great sadness and feelings of instability. At the age of 12, her parents got divorced, and Katie described this time to me as a fragile, traumatic period. With time and communication, however, Katie has ended up getting along with everyone in her family, which is not exactly a surprise if you’ve observed how well she gets along with everyone at the gym. She’s happy to have a stepsister, Jackie, and her stepdad is her best friend.

Many good things came out of this difficult period. Quality time with her dad, for example, got even more quality. He made Katie watch sports—the NBA, NCAA basketball, the NFL, and anything else that happened to be on TV—which cultivated her love of competition. This all culminated in her dad buying her a football referee video game; as in, it was a game in which you played football but a game in which you were the ref. Insanely boring, but the tradeoff was that he made sure she knew how to throw a football.

As a shy high schooler, sports were Katie’s way of socializing and having fun. Her athletic pursuits stretched all the way back to the age of 4, when her mom signed her up for gymnastics because she kept running into walls. It helped with her balance, and because she’s a born-and-raised Marylander, Katie started playing lacrosse at 5 years old. It was with those neighborhood kids again—no regulation sticks and their goalie was a trashcan. So by the time Katie got to high school she was playing field hockey, track, and lacrosse—this time with a real goalie.

Athletics and music have always been dominant themes in Katie’s life. Her family founded the yearly Old Songs Folk Festival in 1980, and she’s been going to camp on the outskirts of the festival ever since she was a young child. Folk music is in her DNA, so when she finally got to New York, one of the first things she did is start going to open mic night at The Bitter End. Katie’s longtime love of folk music recently led her to take up the folkiest instrument she could get her hands on, the banjo, and she’s been taking lessons at the Jalopy Theater’s School of music to get that twang just right.

If Katie’s DNA is 50% folk, the other 50% is Terrapin—no, not the turtle (that’d be weird, wouldn’t it?) but the University of Maryland Terrapins. She’s a diehard fan, which makes sense given that she practically grew up on campus. Both of Katie’s maternal grandparents are psychology professors at Maryland, and her grandpa started bringing her to campus as a young kid, putting her to work as his “TA.” This may have been in violation of child labor laws, but Katie loved it, and it cemented her status as a diehard Terps fan for life.

When it came time to pick a college, Maryland was a no-brainer. And as you may have already guessed, playing a sport was also a no-brainer. By this point, she had already tried just about every sport you could imagine, including swimming and diving, but as Katie told me, she’s “always been better at things that require a stick.” So Katie joined the UMD club lacrosse team and signed on for practice 5 times per week.

Then came The Great Ankle Sprain of 2010. “Ironically,” Katie told me, “I was a little tipsy and trying to jump up to grab a strip of yellow CAUTION tape from a balcony. I rolled down half a flight of stairs. Good times.” Katie’s 15-year lacrosse career was all but over, and she couldn’t walk properly for 6 months. But this incident led her to her current passion and career path. Unable to play lacrosse, Katie turned to triathlons. And when tri training got boring… well, you probably know what happened next.

In 2012, not long after she graduated from UMD, Katie’s friend convinced her to join a small garage gym called CrossFit Critical Mass, and she hopped aboard right after Thanksgiving. There were only 8 members total, and she had no idea what CrossFit was when she started. But a small gym with a tight-knit group meant lots of 1-on-1 attention, and the coach kept encouraging her to come back. She quickly found herself hooked.

By the time she graduated college, Katie knew she wanted to be a physical therapist but still wasn’t sure exactly how she would approach it. The integrative, holistic approach of CrossFit that she was introduced to at Critical Mass helped her to see how all her interests could fit together. At the time, she was working as an aide at a physical therapy clinic. Seeing the potential to join her love of movement and her desire to help people, Katie started applying to Doctor of Physical Therapy programs.

Katie took advantage of rolling admissions and applied to the PT program at Long Island University, Brooklyn. The rest, as they say, is history. Katie had become aware of CrossFit South Brooklyn when we hosted the announcement of Open Workout 13.2. So when the acceptance from LIU came through, she immediately knew that CFSBK would be her gym. She joined as a member not long after arriving in Brooklyn in July 2013 and took advantage of that sweet, sweet student discount.

Many blog readers can probably relate to Katie’s story: she was nervous to move to a new place, but CFSBK quickly became home. Right away, she noticed that CFSBK’s athletes were serious, and she found that a bit intimidating at first. Everyone was incredibly friendly, but the environment wasn’t as cheerleader-y as it was at her previous gym. When she looked at the blog to prepare for class, she had no idea what the percentages meant, and her mind was blown when people broke out the fractional plates on Back Squat day. CFSBK athletes knew themselves better.

But far from turning her off, this new training environment helped her get more serious about CrossFit. Not surprisingly, Katie tends to get laser focused on things that are important to her, so her classes at CFSBK became the perfect complement to all of the understanding and mastering she was doing in school. Around this time, she got her CrossFit Level 1 Trainer certification to better understand the relationship between CrossFit and physical therapy.

KHarpz also go injured around 2 months into her training, hurting both her shoulders and probably tearing her right rotator cuff. It took her close to 6 months to fully recover, but she came back stronger and healthier than ever and experienced another big mental shift in her approach to CrossFit. One day in the summer of 2014 Coach Ro said to her, “Let’s get a team together. We’re gonna go to Regionals.” That was exactly what she needed to hear. “If Ro thinks I’m good enough to go to Regionals,” KHarpz thought to herself, “I’m gonna go to Regionals.” She just needed that push, that voice to tell her she had the right stuff. It’s been her goal ever since.

Reaching that goal would mean dedicating more of her life to The Sport of Fitness, so the move to coaching was a natural progression. She first approached Coach David right before the shoulder injuries, when she still wasn’t so sure. David gave her a good perspective on what it would be required to become a coach. Katie was still in the thick of grad school at the time and didn’t really know what the future would hold. She thought long and hard about what she wanted for her life and career, ultimately deciding that she wanted to stay in New York for another 3 years.

8 months later, she approached David a second time. Katie had decided that coaching was in her future, and David agreed to bring her on. The biggest challenge, she says, was getting past what she calls her “situational shyness.” Talking in front of groups was her biggest fear, so right away she set about trying to become more confident, to curb her fumbling and “nervous rash talking.” It was the best feeling in the world when she started to feel comfortable at the whiteboard.

As far as training for Regionals goes, that situation has changed a bit, as you may have read, for reasons way beyond Katie’s control. But she recently qualified for Wodapalooza, which takes place in January in Miami, and a bunch of CFSBKers are headed down to cheer her on. She also recently left her full-time physical therapy job to focus completely on coaching and her own training. Coach Keith, who KHarpz calls “The Overtraining Police,” has helped in both respects. He keeps her honest and grounded.

What does the future hold? Well, for one thing, Katie wants Coach Whit to teach her how to surf. For another, Katie wants to be one of the more sought-after physical therapists for CrossFitters and weightlifters. One thing that is certain: she’s already an excellent coach. I’ve personally taken more than a few classes with her and can report that that situational shyness is gone. Coach KHarpz is completely herself: fun, funny, but completely focused on the members she’s training. As we did our interview for this piece, she housed a plate of steak and eggs to fuel her training. “I’m gonna eat breakfast for all 3 meals today,” she proclaimed. And we all know Katie finishes what she starts.

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Dr. Steve Brule on Skateboards

Virtual Class Zoom Room
Password: CFSBK
CFSBK @ Home: 7am, 12pm & 6pm
Teens&PreTeens: 4:30pm

Warm Up
6ea DB Powell Raise
12 Alt Cossack Squats
20 High Knees

Strength:
A1. Front Foot Elevated Reverse Lunge
3 x 5 – 15 Reps Each
A2. Hollow Body Single Arm Floor Press
3 x 5 – 15 Reps Each

21 – 15 – 9 reps for time of:
DB/KB Goblet Squats
Burpees Over DB/KB
Sit-Ups

FIT 55+ At Home WOD 7/8/20

Warm Up Whiteboard Explanation
3-4 rounds at a deliberate pace
6e Hip Circles
6e Standing Lateral Bends with OH Reach
6 Crawl Steps Forward and Backward
6 Reverse Crunches

Strength Whiteboard Explanation
4-5 sets of each
8 Suitcase Deadlifts
8e Single Arm High Pulls
Ideally you’ll use the same load in each hand for the deadlifts, 2 full water jugs for example. If you don’t have 2 objects of the same weight then switch them half way through each set.

Conditioning Whiteboard Explanation
Tabata Intervals 3 Ways
1) Tote Swings
Rest 2:00
2) Mountain Climbers
Rest 2:00
3) Low Box Runners

*One full Tabata = 8 rounds of :20 work and :10 rest*
You’ll perform a full Tabata of the swings, rest 2 minutes before the mountain climbers, then rest 2 minutes before finishing with the low box runners. Below are a few options with music that also count the times for you! You can find plenty more on YouTube and also on Spotify

On YouTube: Rocky Theme Tabata Uptown Funk Tabata Africa Tabata

Welcome Cheryl C!

Transferring to a new gym can be a dizzying process. Leaving your prior community of friends and coaches and plunging into a new environment where everything is a little (or a lot) different can be jarring. Transferring during a pandemic is doubly so! So with that in mind we wanted to welcome someone new who you may have seen in our zoom classes the past couple weeks. Cheryl C recently moved to Brooklyn and started taking our CFSBK @ Home classes. We reached out to Cheryl to learn a little more about her background and extend a proper welcome!

From Cheryl:

I started CrossFit in March 2011 at Foundation CrossFit in Seattle, WA. I saw some people running around the block with medicine balls, so I followed them, to find myself walking down a driveway and meeting the coach. Next thing I know, I’m signing up for classes! Fast forward two years, and I decided to get my L1 and began coaching. I also loved judging local competitions and meeting fellow CrossFit athletes in the Seattle area… which is how I ended up meeting my wife (and our chihuahua)!

We moved from Seattle to NYC in 2017, and joined CrossFit NYC. Then we moved to Harlem, and I joined CrossFit Concrete Jungle. And then, in late April (mid-pandemic) we moved to Brooklyn, and I’m excited to be here. CFSBK has been so welcoming already and I’ve only taken a few virtual classes! Thank you for that and I can’t wait to see your smiling (and sweaty) faces on my laptop screen this evening. I will typically be attending the 6pm Zoom classes, so see you there!

I’m the one in the middle, front row in the pink top! You can find me on IG @cheryl.cballs 🙂

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History of the entire world, I guess

Virtual Class Zoom Room
Password: CFSBK
CFSBK @ Home: 7am, 12pm & 6pm
Morning Mindfulness with Coach Fox: 8-8:30am (free!)
Kids: 4:30pm

Warm Up
Shoulder CARs
Cat Cow
Quadruped Hip Extension
Inchworms w/Shoulder Taps

15:00 For Quality:
5ea Windmills
40 Crossover Jacks
20 Hollow Rocks
10ea SA KB/DB Swing

Strength:
Single Arm DB/KB Clean + DB/KB Hang Muscle Snatch + Single Arm Strict Press or Push Press
3 x 5 – 15 Reps Each

Eric Roza, CrossFit’s new Owner and CEO

As many of you know by now CrossFit was recently purchased by Eric Roza. This Morning Chalk Up profile has a pretty clear history of his professional background if you’ve never heard of him before. I was pretty surprised that Greg sold the company, knowing how fervently he’s held onto his role through CrossFit’s history but I think him leaving was the first thing that had to happen in order for fundamental changes to actually happen in the organization. According to the live zoom Eric did with Dave Castro, his ownership begins sometime around the end of July so I wouldn’t expect to see too much really happening until after then. They did recently launch the CrossFit Scholarship Program which is a step in the right direction

I had never heard of Eric Roza before this, but based on what I’ve read and seen so far I’m optimistic about him and the direction he could take CrossFit. Two gym members who worked under Eric (one at Datalogix and the other at Oracle) reached out to me letting me know that he was amazing to work under and he did a great job leading the company and fostering an inclusive and professional environment. Other members familiar with the tech space also mentioned to me how good of a reputation he has, so I’m happy to hear all that. For me, it’s really important that he’s a 10 year affiliate owner who understands CrossFit and has seen the good, the bad and the ugly along the way. I think if an outsider VC came in that would have been disastrous. On top how the company will evolve politically and culturally, I’m interested to see how a someone rooted in the data/analytics world is going to change the interface of CrossFit digitally. Things like social media, the open, an app, media departments, competitive CF etc.

David Woods, who is Eric Roza’s chief of staff, reached out to me to say that Eric wanted to set up call with me about CrossFit and CFSBK. Woods had actually dropped into CFSBK before and said “you (CFSBK) are an integral part of the CrossFit community. Without CFSBK I feel like there is a hole in our heart. Hopefully we can regain the trust of the community.” Eric is traveling now but I’ve been emailing a little with David and they seem to be proactive about reaching out. Woods is also a former member of Noah’s gym Lumos Fitness Collective so they’ve been chatting as well and I know Eric has already spoken to Charmel, Maillard and Chris the owners of Dean CrossFit, one of the few Black owned affiliates.

Regarding rebranding, I’m not really in a rush to do anything right now, we’re still Community Fitness South Brooklyn. Our 2020 affiliate dues were paid last November through the year so I have some time to see what happens and make a decision before I would legally need to do things like clear the name from anything associated with the business, change our liability insurance, etc. We’ll continue to fly that flag until CrossFit has begun to turn the ship around to restore faith in the brand as well as meeting this moment in history.  At this point knowing that completely new leadership is coming in and has been talking to a lot of people about how CrossFit can step up gives me patience to wait and see what happens before doing anything else.

As mentioned before, Greg not being the owner or CEO was the first thing that had to happen in order for me to believe the company could change. I couldn’t in good conscience be connected to the brand if Greg was still at the helm.  His history of sexual misconduct, the tweet and response to the BLM movement coupled with the complicated history behind him all crossed the point of no return. I think if there had just been a media fallout from it, nothing would have happened, they’d take it on the chin and move on. My opinion is that seeing how many athletes, coaches, brands and affiliates chose to distance themselves from the CrossFit because of all this is why we’re having this conversation about Eric now. The writing was on the wall that it was time for change.

What are you thoughts/predictions on Eric Roza and the future of CrossFit?

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The Secret to Pull-Ups CrossFit Journal

Virtual Class Zoom Room
Password: CFSBK
CFSBK @ Home: 7am, 12pm & 6pm
Yoga: 10am
PreTeens & Teens: 4:30pm

Warm Up
6ea Leg Cradle to Side Lunge
12 ALT Pike Toe Touches
:20 Reverse Plank Bridge

Strength:
A1. Single Arm Overhead Squat
3 x 5 – 10 Reps Each
A2. Single Arm High Pull
3 x 5 – 15 Reps Each

AMRAP 10:00
5ea DB Bent Over Row
10 Push-ups
15 Air Squats

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FIT 55+ At Home WOD 7/6/20

Warm Up Whiteboard Explanation
3-4 rounds at a deliberate pace
5 Bootstrap Squats
10e Sword Draws!
10 Hips to Wall Bent Over Ys

Strength Whiteboard Explanation
4-5 sets of each
6 Tall Kneel to Standing
6 Push Up + Shoulder Taps (L+R)

Alternate the lead leg on the tall kneel to stands if you can and use support as needed. Use a challenging body angle on the push ups, focusing on a strong core throughout.

Conditioning Whiteboard Explanation
12 Minutes of Continuous Effort
8e Single Arm OH Hold High Knee March
10 Sit-Ups
12 Squats

Use a challenging load on the overhead hold, focusing on a strong overhead position throughout, modifying to a bear hug march as needed. Aim to move consistently at moderate effort the entire time.

Annex Cleaned up!

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A Sunscreen Summary Lisa Bronner

Movement Prep: 1-2x through
5 each leg “Y” Foot Reaches (skip to 1:58 on video)
5e Forearm to instep with rotation
:20 Calf March

Warm Up
3x:
20 Jumping Jacks or High Knees
20 Alternating Knee to Opposite Elbow
10 Squat Hold Calf Raises

Run Work
4 sets:
8:00 run

*Rest/walk 2 min between sets.

-goal is a consistent distance (or slightly more) for all 4 sets.
-please wear a mask and slow down/walk if your breathing feels unsustainable.

Cool Down:
3-5min walk

10mins to flow through: Knee hugs, Standing Quad Pulls, Standing Figure 4 Stretch, Butterfly Stretch

Bonus: Active Recovery at 10am!

CFSBK Pilates Instructor Frank H’s final creation from yesterday’s cooking class.

Yesterday Nidhi hosted a CFSBK cooking class for about 20 gym members. She led the group through three home-style vegetarian Indian foods that she grew up with all spiced to perfection with her own personal brand of cooking spices, Masala Mama. Below are some additional shots from members Olena and Lisa as well as the full menu. They look delicious!

Roasted Masala Cauliflower Planks
Made with Masala Mama’s Magic Curry Powder, this magical cauliflower dish looks stunning in a cool messy way when served. Really easy to make, crusted with masala, and garnished with herbs and lemon zest. You can’t stop eating it as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Masala Dal
The classic! Cooked lentils mixed with a tadka or spices sizzled in hot oil—one of the first dishes I learned to make when, as a child, I used to sneak into the kitchen to eat spicy food. Still a staple in almost every North Indian meal.

Basmati rice

There is nothing like perfectly cooked long grain, fine quality basmati rice to accompany a special Indian meal.  It takes about 25 minutes to cook all told, and though you can re-heat easily in the microwave, I prefer to put the rice on 25 minutes before dinner and serve the hot steaming rice!

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Invisible Cyclists Need to be Part of Post-Pandemic Transport Planning  Blue Zones

Warm Up
6 Body Saw
6ea Bird Dogs
6ea Cross Body RDL

Strength:
A1. Single Leg RDL
3 x 5 – 15 Reps Each
A2. Plank Support Row
3 x 5 – 15 Reps Each
A3. Single Arm Skull Crusher
3 x 5 – 15 Reps Each

*If the weight is heavy for the skull crusher, use two hands.

15:00 at a Moderate Pace
12 DB Good Mornings
12 Mountain Climbers (count one foot for 12 reps)
6 Single Arm Turkish Sit Ups, Right
6 Single Arm Turkish Sit Ups, Left
12 American DB/KB Swings

*If the weight is heavy for the Turkish Sit – Up, use two hands for 12 reps.

Frederick Douglass’ Descendants Read His Famous ‘Fourth of July’ Speech | NPR

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Why Frederick Douglass Matters History

Warm Up
6ea DB Powell Raise
6ea Quadruped Hip Extension
20 High Knees

Strength:
A1. Front Foot Elevated Reverse Lunge
3 x 5 – 15 Reps Each
A2. Hollow Body Single Arm Floor Press
3 x 5 – 15 Reps Each

14 – 10 – 6 reps for time of:
Single Arm Overhead Reverse Lunge (Contralateral) Right
Single Arm Overhead Reverse Lunge (Contralateral) Left
Burpees
Alternating Crossbody V-ups