192 people did “Murph” at CFSBK, which means collectively we did almost 20,000 pull-ups!

Thank you so much to everyone who volunteered, brought food, and shared their thoughts on the blog for our 2014 Memorial Day “Murph” event. We believe it was one of the most successful “Murph” events to date! We were honored that so many people chose to spend their holiday with us honoring Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy and those that we’ve lost. Special thanks also goes out to our CSA partner Herondale Farms for providing the meat and some grilling skillz. We also want to acknowledge our awesome Front Desk Staff for doing an amazing job holding the event together. Finally, check out the sweet photos of the event taken by Asta F and Dan R on our Flickr page.

Remember, if you’d like to make a greater impact from your “Murph” performance, we recommend donating a dollar (or more) for every minute it took you to complete the workout to the Lone Survivor Program.

News and Notes

• There is no Active Recovery this upcoming Saturday as Coach DO will be in Canton working the North East Regionals as the competition director.
• Please note that there is no floater WOD programmed for Tuesday, since Crush Week began yesterday. If you come today, your only options are “Murph” or tomorrow’s WOD. Plan accordingly!
• PILATES IS CANCELED THIS EVENING, as KH (a.k.a. Cage) is away for the long weekend. 
• There’s a new post over on Coach DO’s blog Inside the Affiliate called “Don’t Sell Out: Selling Supplements at CrossFit Affiliates,” about why we choose to sell what we do at CFSBK. Check it out, share it with your friends who geek out on CrossFit!

Olympic Lifting Cycles Want YOU

The PM Olympic Lifting Cycle with Coach Frankie Murray just opened up one more slot, and the AM cycle still has a few slots left. 

Spend the next eight weeks focusing on proper technique, mobility, and your individual weak points with an outstanding Olympic lifting coach, who has medaled at five separate National Championships. Learn more here.

AM Cycle
5/29/14 – 7/17/14
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30am to 12:00pm
Register Here! 

PM Cycle
5/28/14 – 7/21/14
Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30pm to 10:00pm
Register Here! 

Beat The Heat

Memorial Day not only marks the time of year we get to do “Murph” and drink beers, it’s also the (almost!) beginning of summer. This change of environmental conditions comes with some new responsibilities that we all need to be aware of. The two biggest risks when working out in high or humid temperatures are dehydration and heat stroke. Dehydration occurs when your body loses more water than it requires for normal functioning and heat stroke occurs when your body temperature rises faster than you can regulate. Both of these conditions are very serious and can lead to sickness and even death in extreme cases. That being said, you can do a few simple things to make sure you’re safe while working out:

1. Hydrate! Drink cold water before, during, and after you exercise. We have two water pitchers in the fridge that everyone can use. We encourage everyone to bring their own reusable water container, but we also have cups available if you forget yours or don’t own one. Try to drink water at regular intervals. You want to be taking in more water than you’re losing so don’t wait until you’re thirsty to start chugging.

2. Listen to your body. If you’re feeling lightheaded, dizzy, nauseous, begin to cramp, or display anything resembling fever symptoms, it’s time to stop, cool down and hydrate. Sometimes during hard workouts we try to “push through the pain,” but remember that putting yourself at risk in order to shave off an extra :15 seconds is both dangerous and contrary to why you’re here in the first place. (To get fit!)

We also have ice in the freezer available in both cubes and cups that you can grab to eat, rub on your body, etcetera. 

If you didn’t tell us already, how’d “Murph” go yesterday?

______________
Fitness Crazed New York Times
No Bullsh*t: The Voices in Your Head Elitefts
A Young Woman Falls in Love with Everything NPR

For time:
1 mile Run
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1 mile Run

Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. Start and finish with a mile run. If you’ve got a twenty pound vest or body armor, wear it.

The full version above is a bit too much for most folks. We’ll explain how to scale for volume and movements at the gym. The average times for this workout range from 45 minutes to just over an hour. Blazing fast times as Rx’d are in the mid to low 30s.

Post time to comments.
Compare to 5.27.2013

What is “Murph”?

Participation Reminder

Please be ready to go at the time you signed up for. That means you’ll need to get there early and warm-up on your own. Here is a good mobility|wod if you’re not sure what to do. The gym will provide beer and meat for all who attend. If you can bring a side it would be much appreciated. We’ve also got commemorative t-shirts in-house, which are first come first served!

The gym will be open starting at 7:15am. We’ll start grilling around 11:00am and be done around 3pm… maybe. There are no evening classes today.

Joy M.’s perfect front rack position

Memorial Day Musings

CFSBKer and author Jen Percy recently published a book called Demon Camp: A Soldier’s Exorcism. Last winter, before I (Kate R.) knew Jen was a member at the gym, I pre-ordered her book after reading a stunning excerpt of it in Harper’s magazine called “Voice in the Night.” Not only did I feel gut-punched by the beauty of her writing, but I knew what she was writing about was incredibly important. Demon Camp finally arrived at my apartment in January only a few days after it was published and I couldn’t put it down. I’ve already told a number of you to read it, and on the day before “Murph” and Memorial Day, it seems even more relevant.

Jen was introduced to CrossFit by a veteran and came to understand it as a scared space where military and civilian worlds tend to overlap. Below is our third and last installment of the Memorial Day Musings series, in which Jen shares a bit about her book and what compelled her to write it. 

I started writing this book thinking a great deal about American post-war amnesia, a kind of collective forgetting that takes place when atrocity is over. Here’s a quote by an American psychiatrist named Abram Kardiner, author of  The Traumatic Neurosis of War:  

“The subject of neurotic disturbances consequent upon war has, in the past 25 years, been submitted to a good deal of capriciousness in public interest and psychiatric whims. The public does not sustain its interest, which was very great after World War I, and neither does psychiatry. Hence these conditions are not subject to continuous study.” 

The quote is from 1941 yet the sentiment is evergreen. My book is, in many ways, a product of my longing to feel implicated in our foreign wars (these are wars that have gone on my entire adult life), but I also wanted to think about why this kind of forgetting happens. I followed Sgt. Caleb Daniels, a machine gunner on his way to save Marcus Luttrell, Mike Murphy, and two other SEALs stranded in the mountains of the Hindu Kush on June 28, 2005 when, last minute, Daniels was kicked off the flight. Their rescue chopper was hit by an RPG and all of his friends burned alive.

At home, in Georgia, Daniels saw the charred bodies of his friends in his room at night. He was also stalked by something he called the Black Thing, and the Black Thing wanted him to die. His dead friends wanted to save him. The apparitions created a kind of dialectic that’s common to those who have survived traumatic experiences. Daniels’ case was extreme. He spoke in signs and symbols, the language of dreams. The question that haunted him: should I live with terrible memories or annihilate them completely?  

To learn more about Jen, visit her website. Purchase Demon Camp at your local bookstore or online.

“Murph” WOD and BBQ is TOMORROW 

Are you ready for tomorrow?! The gym will be open starting at 7:15am. We’ll start grilling around 11:00am and be done around 3pm… maybe. There will be no evening classes. Please be ready to go at the time you signed up for. That means you’ll need to get there early and warm-up on your own. Here is a good mobility|WOD to check out if you’re not sure what to do. The gym will provide beer and meat for all who attend. If you can bring a side dish, it would be much appreciated!

_________________
Do People Want to Know Where Their Food Comes From? The Atlantic
Why Don’t We All Have Cancer? Vsauce

Fitness: Clean Halting Deadlift + Clean + Jerk
If you have a hard time organizing the pull off the floor, perform the clean from the mid-hang, after the clean halting deadlift. 

Performance: Clean and Jerk 1-1-1, then Power Clean + Hang Clean + Jerk 75% x (1+1+1) x 2
Work up to a heavy clean and jerk in three attempts, then perform two singles of the complex at 75% of today’s best lift.

_________________

Front Squat

Fitness: 3 x 5 Linear Progression

Performance:  85% x 4  x 4, then 87.5% x 4 x 4
Rest two minutes between sets. You’re already pretty warmed up from the cleans, so get to work weight within 2-3 warm ups so you can get all your work sets in. 

Post loads to comments.
e6/6

Do you love cleaning as much as Coach Fox?

News and Notes

What Do I Need to Know for “Murph” on Monday?

“Murph” is a day where our community comes together to celebrate and honor our service men and women.  Whether it’s by completing the workout, or cheering on a loved one, or just hanging out for the BBQ, all are welcome! 

For Time:
Run 1 Mile
100 Pull-Ups
200 Push-Ups
300 Squats
Run 1 Mile

Partition the pull-ups, push-ups and squats however you’d like. Start and end with the run. If you’ve got a 20lb vest or body armor, wear it. 

Wow, that sounds crazy! Will there be scaling options?
Yes, folks will be able to do 1/4, 1/2, or 3/4 Murph to reduce the volume. Coaches will explain the scaling options before each heat. The scaling option for pull-ups are jumping pull-ups. Because of the number of people we expect, we will not be offering ring rows or banded pull-ups as a scaling option. The volume of jumping pull-ups will also be reduced.

You are expected to warm-up before your heat on your heat. A perfect warm-up would be some foam rolling or soft tissue work (here is a good mobility|wod) and some rowing or light jogging. If your ankles are tight, we suggest doing a calf smash on a kettlebell handle, too. Get loose and ready to go.

Ok, what time do we show up?
The gym will open at 7:15am and we will be starting the first heat exactly at 7:30am.  We’ll be starting new heats of up to 25 people every 45 minutes and recommend that you arrive 15 minutes early for whichever heat you’d like so that you can warm up and do some movement prep. 

The BBQ itself will start around 11am and will last until around 3pm. The gym will provide meat and beer.  Members are encouraged to bring a salad, snacks, veggies or any additional sides/beverages to share. If you’re going to bring a something, please post it on the event page.

_________________
One Man’s Case for Jorts, and Durability Esquire
Can the Nervous System Be Hacked? NYT Magazine

Maggie warming up her cleans

• Happy Birthday, JB!

Memorial Day Musings 

For the second installment of the notes we’re running from some CFSBKers related to Memorial Day and leading up to “Murph,” we’re featuring an essay by Dr. Mike Cutaia, a past Athlete of the Month and faithful member of the gym for two years, along with his wife, Judy. Dr. Mike (also known as “that old stubborn horse that David and Noah try to whip into shape”) has done the majority of his work as a physician in the VA system. For the last nine years, he’s worked at the VA hospital in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn as Chief of the Pulmonary/Critical Care/Sleep Section in the Department of Medicine. He would like to begin his piece with a couple epigraphs:

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.”
—Dwight D. Eisenhower for the American Society of Newspaper Editors, April 16, 1953

“An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”
—Mahatma Ghandi 

Typically, our culture has a bad habit of commercializing and trivializing holidays to the point where we can easily forget the underlying reasons why they were established in the first place. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day come to mind. It’s a diversion to have to deal with all the nonsense in our culture surrounding these days. We can be lured so easily to forget the deeper message, the deeper meaning that is there. This meaning needs to be rediscovered and restored. Memorial Day is another important example.

Parades, flags, bands playing, hot dogs and barbecues, and a lot of hot air from politicians about patriotism and love of country is not enough. It has been said, “Old men declare war, but it is the youth that must fight and die.” One of my first experiences as a physician caring for veterans was to separate two veteran patients who were beating the crap out of one another with their crutches in a hospital ward over the politics of war. Welcome to this complex, confusing, and often complicated life. The task is to put the politics aside, and look just at the people. That’s where the gold can be found. Civil War general William Sherman reputedly said, “War is hell.”  And it is. In so many ways. Both when you go and when you come back to civilian life. 

That is why we need to remember the people who go to war no matter what the political issues may be. This is the deeper message and meaning of Memorial Day. It’s more about lives than flags. More about people. Those who are no longer with us and those who are alive and struggling to put their past in a healthy perspective. The latter group deserves our special attention. These are the people who are struggling to regain meaning and purpose after their wartime experience. It is important that we who have never served struggle to relate to that in some way. Can we sit in another man or women’s shoes for a brief moment and catch a small glimpse of the pain and agony of war? Often, one can’t truly comprehend what one has never been through oneself. So, some people say why even go through the pain of trying? 

Here is the reason. The men and women who went to war gave us their hearts, their blood, and often their lives. We should not forget that. If we do, we run the risk of becoming dangerously disconnected from the pain of many among us. No matter what we think about war itself.  No matter what we think about the motives for going. Some go willingly. Others have little or no choice. Just a way out of a bad set of circumstances at home. They all deserve our recognition. Especially when they face such huge problems on returning to civilian life like unemployment, homelessness, post-traumatic stress disorder, brain injury, chronic physical disability, substance abuse, and a high risk of suicide, which is three times higher than the general population. It is easy to forget that we are the community they are trying to rejoin. Our openness and receptiveness greatly influences their struggle in many ways. 

We must remember—because it is human to remember. Ultimately, life is short. We ourselves want to be remembered. It is human to want this simple thing. No one wants to be forgotten. I have five childhood friends who never returned from Vietnam whose names are on the wall in Washington. This is one of the big lessons my work with veterans has taught me. Not to forget. 

The links below are Dr. Mike’s suggested further reading about veterans.

_________________
The Problems Facing America’s Veterans care2
Female Veterans More Likely To Commit Suicide care2
Suicide Among Young Veterans Rising At Alarming Rate The Huffington Post
John Walsh: Preventing Veteran Suicide Is ‘The Cost Of War’ The Huffington Post
Special Memorial Day Programs Tell the Stories of U.S. Armed Forces War Veterans YAHOO 

Eli getting his pull-ups in at Open Gym

Fresh Vegetables All Summer Long? Sign up Now!

Remember last summer, when those boxes of beautiful local produce showed up at the gym every Wednesday, and you thought to yourself, “Good heavens, I wish I could have a box of beautiful local produce delivered every week! Next year, I will sign up!” This is your lucky day. 

For the third year in a row, CFSBK is partnering with Sol Flower Farm to provide weekly deliveries of gorgeous, hand-picked vegetables from June through November. The season is about to start, so the time to sign up is now. 

The share cost is $670 through PayPal for the entire season or $650 if you pay by check. 

A vegetable share will feed a family of 2-4, so if you would like to split a share with someone, please post as such to the comments below or email Michele, who will help you find a buddy, at mignyc [at] gmail.com. Sol Flower also offers a separate flower share. 

All the specifics, including how to sign up, delivery info, and a detailed FAQ, are here. The season starts soon, so don’t delay!

Memorial Day Musings

Over the next week leading up to “Murph,” we’ll be running a few notes from some CFSBKers related to Memorial Day. Below is our first installment from Keith W.

Having come from a military family and being surrounded by many friends in the armed forces, Memorial Day has always been a day that is filled with fun and enjoyment, tempered with a bit of remembrance. There are others that have put themselves in harm’s way for the rights and freedoms we have here. From flying bomber escorts to Germany in WW2, moving ammo in the jungles of Vietnam, liberating Kuwait, to fighting insurgency and terrorism in Afghanistan, people have paid the price dearly.

“Murph” is a workout dedicated to Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, but this year I am also putting my efforts towards another outstanding person and his cause. I lost a very dear friend a few weeks ago to PTSD. His name was Kryn Miner and he was a father of four great kids and had a wonderful wife. When Kryn rotated out of duty after serving for over 22 years (including 11 deployments in seven years to Afghanistan and Iraq), he was a bit lost with what to do next and through my encouragement tried CrossFit. He became a Level 1 certified coach, Spartan certified coach, and recently received his CrossFit Endurance coach certification. Kryn coached in Burlington Vermont at CrossFit Burlington. 

Kryn was troubled and haunted by a lifetime of war. He saught help after an attempted suicide in September of last year with the Lone Survivor Foundation. This is a foundation started by Marcus Luttrell, who served with Michael Murphy, and the foundation’s aim is to help those suffering from PTSD. Kryn established the Forgotten Fallen Foundation to help raise money through CrossFitting to send returning and retired soldiers in need of help to the Lone Survivor Program. I hope you will join me in pledging a dollar a minute of your “Murph” time to the Lone Survivor Foundation in Kryn’s Name. 

More information about the Lone Survivor Program can be found here, and more about Kryn and and the forgotten fallen here.

_________________
Perception is Everything. Or is it? The Simplification of Fatigue The Science of Sport
What Farm-to-Table Got Wrong New York Times
Learning Technique Through Imitation Catalyst Athletics
Man’s Insecurities Versatile Enough To Be Projected Onto Any Situation The Onion

Jake L. qualified for the American Open with his 343# Clean and Jerk on Sunday

Post-Meet Thoughts

Jake trained for a year in order to put together a total that would qualify him for a national event. He even lost 18 pounds over the last few weeks to make the 94kg weight class, and employed some interesting sweating/spitting exercises to drop a few fractions of a kilo on Sunday. He’s been a beloved presence kicking ass over on the platform, and he says the meet was an amazing experience. “Working so hard and so long for something and finally achieving success is really a phenomenal feeling,” he reports. He says he could write a short novella about this meet—and he kind of does below, check it out in the comments! Great work, Jake!!

_________________

CFSBK Endurance Program

Recently, you’ve probably been hearing many a wonder story from our runners at CFSBK as Coach Michael O.’s Endurance Program wraps up its first cycle—people earning PRs at the Brooklyn Half and various 5Ks, etc. etc. In case you’ve been wanting to hear more, the wait is over and all the info is now live on the blog. We’ve included the overview of the second iteration of CFSBK’s Endurance Program below, along with info about a new program we’re introducing called Speed Series. For the full monty of deets plus Michael O.’s bio, head over to the event page. Both programs begin JUNE 1, so sign up ASAP! 

Objective:  
This will be a 12-week program that meets biweekly that is based on integrating a level of endurance running training for CrossFit athletes. We will incorporate a mixture of different styles of coaching running, including technique, power skills, pace training, and interval training. This is not your basic group run. We incorporate blended drills from CrossFit Endurance along with some actual specific track and field training sessions. Each athlete will have a chance to work hard and learn, so all levels are encouraged to attend.

Where and When?:  
Tuesdays at 6am and Thursdays at 7pm will be located in Prospect Park. 

Sundays at 9am will be at the Red Hook track. 

Athletes can select any two of the three classes offered for this membership.

Target Event:  
The program will target the Timberman Sprint or 70.3 Triathlon on August 16th and 17^th or the Battle of Brooklyn 10-mile Run or Team Relay on August 18^th.

Schedule and Pricing:
$225 full-access to the 12-week program (including twice weekly coached group sessions, benchmarking, training data, and full plan support and guidance). 

Due to the progressive nature of the program, athletes will not be permitted to join after June 15th, 2014. 

Endurance Running Program-Full Membership ($225.00)
2 classes per week
Register Here!

CFSBK Speed Series! 

Objective:
This will be an 8-week program that meets weekly, focused on the basic skills and power needed to develop your running stride. We will focus solely on short distance track running, high-powered intervals, and the primary anaerobic and glycolytic energy systems. This will be a great program for increasing general power output and cardiovascular efficiency for running and CrossFit goals.

Where and When Will We Train?:  
Sundays at 10am at the Red Hook track.

Target Event:
This program will target NYRR Tuesday Night Speed Series at Icahn Stadium. 

Schedule and Pricing:
$125 full-access to the 8-week program (including weekly coached group sessions, benchmarking, training data, and full plan support and guidance).

Due to the progressive nature of the program, athletes will not be permitted to join after June 15th, 2014. 

Speed Series Running Program-Membership ($125.00)
1 class per week 
Register Here! 

Please email Michael at michael.olzinski [at] gmail.com with any additional questions.

News and Notes 

• ICYMI, Breaking Muscle published an article by Coach David yesterday called “How to Prevent CrossFit Injuries: A Guide for Coaches and Athletes.” Check it out and should you feel so inclined, share it with your CrossFit friends!
• Stella Z.’s choir, the Oratorio Society of New York, is performing Bach’s St. Matthew Passion tonight (5/20), 8 PM, at Carnegie Hall. You can get tickets here or show up in person at the Carnegie box office (57th Street and 7th Avenue).

_________________
Start of Days: Cortisol and Stress Catalyst Athletics
Remembering, as an Extreme Sport New York Times
Slightly More Than 100 Fantastic Pieces of Journalism The Atlantic
Red Wine Health Benefits ‘Overhyped’ BBC

Fitness: 3 x 5 Linear Progression 
Add 2.5 to 5 lbs to last week. 

Performance: 85% x 4  x 4, then 87.5% x 4 x 4
Rest two minutes between sets. 

Post loads to comments.
e6/6 
_________________

AMRAP 8 minutes:
20 Wall Ball 20/10, 14/9
10 Deadlift 225/155

A rare appearance on the other side of the lens by CFSBK photog Asta F.

Register for Strength Cycle and Get Hella Strong

We all want to get stronger. That’s because we implicitly understand that building strength is the foundation for increasing overall physical capacity. It has been proven again and again that lifting heavy primes our bodies to be more effective and efficient at metabolic conditioning workouts. Strength is the only mode of training that supports everything else we do in the gym and in life. Plus: it’s pretty badass.

We are offering four 8-week strength programs that will involve the following:
* Small group training designed to increase your competency with the lifts.
* Consistent and repeated exposure to the powerlifts along a linear progression of weight
* Short and intense complementary conditioning workouts.
* Group discussions on lifting topics including: planning warm-ups, the mental aspect of lifting, and elements of the adaptive response to strength training.
* New PRs.

Upcoming cycle times and dates:
A cycle: Mon/Wed at 7PM and Fri at 6PM | Wed May 28th – Fri July 18th
B cycle: Tues/Thurs at 7PM and Sun at 10AM | Tues May 27th – Sun July 20th
C cycle: Mon/Wed at 6:30M | Wed May 28th – Wed 16th July
Cont Ed/D Cycle: Mon/Wed at 6PM | Wed May 28th – Wed 16th July

Each cycle will culminate in a CrossFit Total on Sunday, July 20th.

Class Sizes
Space is limited to 4-8 participants

Class Length
90 minutes

Cost
3x Per Week Cycles:
$300 paid upon registration and then another $300 at the halfway point
Sign up here!

2xW Cycles:
$200 paid upon registration and then another $200 at the halfway point
Sign up here! 

If anyone is confused as to which cycle they belong in or has any questions, they can contact Jeremy directly at Jeremy [at] crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com to discuss placement. ICYMI, we also interviewing Coach Jeremy a few weeks ago about his background and Strength Cycle. Check it out!

News and Notes 

• “MURPH” IS ONLY A WEEK AWAY! Have you signed up yet? Get more details here!
• Our Flickr account recently has been populated by photos of Zach H., who appeared to be CrossFitting his face off in Colombia. We checked in with him to see what was up and he reported that he was in Colombia for 10 days visiting a friend. He visited five boxes total, mostly in Bogota. If you want to hear more, ask him about salsa dancing, traffic, and how hard it was to be a pescatarian.  
• There’s a new post over on Inside the Affiliate called “Bridging The Gap: Using Feedback to Get Better as a CrossFit Affiliate,” about our feedback forms and some of the thinking behind this blog (!). Check it out!

If you could be on any reality TV show, which one would you pick? Feel free to invent one.

_________________
What We Can Learn from Galaxies Far, Far Away TED
Always Hungry? Here’s Why New York Times
Ira Glass on Storytelling and Taste PRI

Ruth P. and Carissa C. celebrate their two-year anniversary of being CFSBKers earlier this month!

Sunday Reading Material