Performance
In 10 Minutes perform:
15 Shoulder to Overhead 115/75
30 Burpee
15 Toes to Bar
30 Shoulder to Overhead
15 Burpee
15 Toes to Bar

Fitness
As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:
20 Deadlift 95/65
10 Push Press 95/65
10 Burpee

Post rounds/reps completed and Rx to comments.

Bench Press warm-ups

Inside the Affiliate

There’s a new post over on Inside the Affiliate, about how and why we label dumbbells and racks. Check it out!

A Weightlifting Shoe Guide

By Noah Abbott

The Quest for Pedi-formance

Now that you’ve been at the gym for a few months, you may have noticed two things.  One, the “coat room” seems to be waging a losing battle against an encroaching armada of shoes, and boasts the fetid bouquet to prove it.  Second, for certain workouts, there is an agreed upon time when a bunch of the class defects, runs hither and yon, and comes back sporting footwear that look like a marriage between a bowling shoe and those “make you taller!” heel lifts that short men are supposed to slip in their dress shoes.

These are weightlifting shoes kiddo, specifically designed to improve positioning, control, and thus, performance, in most barbell lifts.  Weightlifting shoes (notice me NOT using the term “oly’s,” which is something that Tony Hawk does) provide a number of benefits.  First, due to their elevated heel (usually .75” to 1.25”) they decrease the demands on an athlete’s ankle dorsiflexion.  Some of us, especially people who spend lots of time pounding their feet into the ground (distance runners) lack this ability, and a pair of weightlifting shoes can help them squat to depth, as if by black magick!  Second, they are hard and non-compressible, traditionally having been made of wood (SUPER PALEO) but nowadays often made of super hard plastic of some sort.  This lends stability and control when moving weight about.  In short, weightlifting shoes will make your life easier.  They are one of the best bang-for-buck investments you can make for your gym life.

Choices abound when choosing a weightlifting shoe, so I’ve endeavoured to break them into some easy to understand categories based upon price and quality.  I’ll even add some little “hacks” to get the best prices on them.  Enjoy!

Cadillac Division

The Contenders: Nike Romaleo II, Adidas Adipower Weightlifting, Reebok Crossfit Lifter Plus

The Scoop: The field is dominated by two titans at the upper echelon of both price and quality.  The Nike Romaleo II and Adidas Adipower Weightlifting are worn by competitive weightlifters worldwide, from local comps to the Olympics.  They are both incredibly high quality, feel rock solid under weight, and are among the better looking shoes out there.  The big differences are that the Adipowers run a little narrow (sorry fatfeet folks) and only come in REDREDRED (roughly the color of the Corvette that Clifford the Big Red Dog would drive if he was real and imaginary dogs could drive.)  The Romaleos have a more diverse color lineup and have a forefoot strap, which may or may not do anything.  The Reeboks are fairly new, and while I would normally be a little skeptical, superstars of the sport from David Osorio to Dmitry Klokov swear by them (although I think Klokov might just be epically trolling by wearing them.)  They also come in lots of colorz.

Dollaz: Both the Nike and Adidas cost roughly $200, the Reebok $175  Pretty expensive.  My pro tip is to watch Eastbay.com (I just outed myself as a former middle school G), a sportswear site that frequently runs 15-30% discount codes, and then pull the trigger, saving yourself $20-60.

Honda Accord Division

The Contenders: Rogue/Pendlay Do-Win, Ristos

The Scoop: These are all solid, tested, affordable shoes.  Do-Wins are made in China and licensed/sold by Rogue and Pendlay.  They do everything you want them to do, and don’t break the bank.  Rogue uses black or red suede (because black and red are the Official Colors of Fitness.)  I’d advise against the red ones, which have a ½” heel, which is on the low side. Pendlay used to use weird colored patent leather that harkened back to 80’s prom pumps, but in their new 2013 models opts for mostly white with black, red, or purple (bonus unicorn power) highlights.  Ristos are made by a small company, and have had some QC issues in the past, which have apparently cleared up as they changed manufacturing facilities.  They come in lots of colorz and are a solid option with bonus indie street cred (bonus smug points!)

Dollaz: Ristos vary widely, and they seem to go on sale based on quantity at hand, but generally run around $150.  Pendlay Do-Wins are 130, Rogues are $120.

Toyota Prius Division

The Contenders: Reebok Crossfit Lifter, Inov8 Fastlift 335, Adidas Powerlift

The Scoop: Both of these “hybrid” shoes are meant to bridge the gap between pure barbell training and Crossfit general physical preparedness.  They are meant to be shoes that will let you hit some overhead squats and transition to double unders or box jumps without discomfort.  They are more flexible, especially in the forefoot, and lighter, than classic weightlifting shoes.  I love my Reeboks for workouts with light-medium barbell work combined with box jumps, double unders, and especially wall balls (good positioning makes them suck WAY less) and oddly burpees (helps you land with flat, secure foot placement on the way up.)  They show their limitations when max effort squatting or Olympic lifting at near maxes, where stiffness and weight in your shoe is a big plus.  They both come in a bunch of colors, the Inov8s particularly hewing the British company’s “Dance Club MDMA binge” coloring model.  The Adidas Powerlifts are damned cheap, solid, and you can get them in NYC Taxi yellow!  

Dollaz:$150 for the Reeboks and Inov8s, $90 for Adidas.  Adidas and Reeboks are on Eastbay.

Final Thoughts

Weightlifting shoes should fit tight- you aren’t going to be running in them, and want as much “feel” as you can get.  Sizing is usually weird, so my suggestion, especially if the shop has a good return policy (or you’re balling out of control) is to order 2 or 3 pair (your normal size and one up/down), see which fits best, and send the rest back.  

Lastly, if you buy a pair and eventually upgrade, find a fellow gym member (preferably with shitty dorsiflexion!) and gift them your old shoes (provided your feet aren’t super gross.)  I think that adds a nice legacy component to this silly endeavor.

So concludes another episode of Noah overanalyzing something and writing 1,000 words when 300 would suffice. I’m off to the cemetery to roll Strunk and White around in their graves a bit.  Ta ta!

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Every Kilo Counts

Take 15 Minutes to work up to a a heavy single. You’ll be using this number to base some % work off of for the upcoming cycle.

Post loads to comments.
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8 Minute, NFRs of:
2 Wall Walks
Accumulate a :20 L-Sit on the Parallettes

8 Minutes NFRs of:
1:00 weighted Plank
25 H2H Kettlebell Swings

While these are NFRs, don’t drag your feet on the transitions.

From the Vault: Herschel gets ready for “Fran”

Training Template

Here is the general training template for the upcoming Cycle. Monday and Thursdays lifts will vary between direct barbell training and being incorporated into mixed modal workouts.  Enjoy!

• Monday: Push Press
• Tuesday: Rest Day
• Wednesday: Low Bar Back Squats
• Thursday: Clean and Jerks
• Friday: Rest Day
• Saturday: Open Style WOD
• Sunday: Deadlifts

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Drawing Lines Between Risks Dan Gardner
The Abmat is Awesome, Here’s Why Breaking Muscle

5 Rounds for max reps of:
1:00 Wall Balls
1:00 Burpees to Bumper plate
1:00 Rest

Post total reps completed to comments.
Note how many “No reps” (if any) you got on Wall Ball

Barbell Warm-Ups

• Happy shooting to everyone getting some professional pictures by Bekka P done today!

UFC at CFSBK

When world-renowned Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter B.J. Penn went to CrossFit founder Greg Glassman looking for a workout that would mimic the trials of a bout in the Octagon,  Glassman devised a devastating test that ultimately became known as “Fight Gone Bad”.  Many of you have fought through Fight Gone Bad so we’re thinking of putting UFC’s Fight Night live bouts on the CFSBK big screen on Saturday afternoon March 8.  Are you interested in pulling up a mat and grabbing a beer to watch?  Email mare(at)CrossFitSouthBrooklyn so we can guage interest. This would be a free event that would start directly after the 1pm Group class.

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Rich Froning does “Isabel” at 225lbs in 6:09
Screw your standing desk, how about Squatting?

Behind The Desk: Lindsay Silva

Here is the next installment in our new series called Behind the Desk, about our beloved and much appreciated Front Desk staff. These CrossFitters take care of the important duties of checking in our members, handling walk-ins, tidying up after classes, and so many other things that it would take forever to list them. They are the glue that holds this gym together.

Full name: Lindsay Kathleen Silva
Where were you born and where did you grow up: Born in Dallas. Grew up in Dallas, Oklahoma City, Phoenix and Brooklyn (I’m still growing up, right?)

First album that you loved: Nirvana’s Nevermind. I loved it with the fire of a million suns. I think I wore out my cassette tape. However. My earliest musical memory is rocking out to the Hair soundtrack on vinyl with my older cousin. I think we probably loved that album.

What are you up to when you’re not at 597 Degraw Street: Happily slaving away on my PhD in Neuroscience. Or seeing bands play. And traveling to see bands play. And forcing others to accompany me to see bands play.

“Ask me about that time I…”: Botched that job in Nigeria and ended up working as an unlicensed Private Investigator in Miami while trying to figure out who burned me.

Oh wait. That’s “Burn Notice.” I’m far less interesting but ask me anything. I’ll probably answer truthfully. And if I don’t, you’ll know because I have no poker face.

Earth is about to implode but aliens on a previously undiscovered planet named Euripides want to preserve one artifact from humans. What would you offer them? ALL THE CAT GIFS!

Favorite shade of blue: The Caribbean Sea

Favorite lift: Whatever lift I’m currently attempting. I’m an equal opportunity lift lover. Although I have to admit I kinda only love the snatch because, well… it’s called a snatch.

Are you interested in a fish CSA? Take this quick survey!

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AukhadovApti at 2013 EWC – 85 kg class
Think the empty barbell is tough? Here’s a 400lb Overhead Squat

Perform one rep every minute, on the minute for 15 minutes of:

Fitness: Deadlift to midhang + Mid Hang Clean + Jerk

Pull back some weight and use this to refine one aspect of your technique . Your goal is for the reps to get better as time goes on. We will be clean and jerking on Thursdays this cycle!

Post loads to comments.
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10 Minutes NFRs of:
24 Hollow Rocks
12 Dumbbell Thrusters

Whiteboard banter with McDowell

• There is a new post on Inside the Affiilate about the LFPB Challenge. Check it out!

Photos with Bekka P

Now that the LFPB Challenge is coming nearing the finish line, consider getting a new headshot or cool photo for your CrossFit Games profile with Bekka P. As a longtime Crossfitter and our photographer, Bekka knows the good (and the really bad) angles for getting great athletic photos. She’ll be bringing lights and a backdrop to set up a professional studio at CFSBK for the day so you’ll get studio quality shots right at the gym. She’s offering discount packages for CFSBK members and will photograph anything from headshots to overhead squats to family portraits (hey, get ahead on that Mother’s day gift). Portrait sessions typically cost several hundred dollars for a minimum hour session so take advantage of this unique opportunity!
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Squat off with a weightlifter, bodybuilder, strongman and powerlifter
Number of the Beasts What do CrossFit athletes listen to when working out?

Work up to a heavy-ish single on the LBBS. No failing, no bailing. We’ll use this number for percentage work in the upcoming cycle.

If you’re brand spanking new to squatting, work up to a medium 8 today.

Post loads to comments.

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3 Rounds NFT of:
15 Erg Pulls
10 Wall Ball Shots
10 Supine Knees Over Elbows

3 Rounds NFT of:
550m Run
15 Ring Rows

Todd C getting ready to Snatch

Low Bar and High Bar Back Squats this cycle

We generally specify which version of back squats we want people performing in each cycle. The last few cycles have been biasing high bar squatting but we’re switching back to the low bar version for the approaching 6 weeks. Especially as CrossFitters, we want to be well rounded and should have some capacity in each version.  If you feel good with either then go ahead and follow along with the programming. If however one version is particularly challenging for you and you’ve been unable to make progress with your positions in the lift then you can choose the version which seems to be working better for you.

Low bar back squats can be better for people with knee issues, people who want to lift more weight relative to a high bar squat and folks with tight ankles and good shoulder mobility. The low bar squat biases the muscles of your posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors etc) more effectively and is our general go-to squat when starting people out.

The high bar back squat can be better for people with good ankle mobility but perhaps not great shoulder mobility. It’s also a bit easier to learn since it is essentially a weighted version of air squats which we all are used to doing. This version biases the quadraceps relative to the low bar version and uses a more upright posture.

Both versions are effective, both versions will contribute to overall strength development and we don’t recommend avoiding one completely out of personal bias.  For your average CrossFitter, gaining some competency in each version can make you more well rounded and allow you to include two different types of stimuli in your squat training. I don’t care what the internet says, they will both provide positive strength transference to all your non-squatting activities, especially for CrossFitters.

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Chair Bouldering Traverse
Is it Immoral to Watch the Superbowl? NYT
Bad Lip Reading, NFL Version

Congratulations to Bethany and Allan Erskine on the birth of their second child, Oscar Rigel Erskine
Born at 6:14pm on January 24, 2014 (24 hours after mom’s last crush week WOD)
8 pounds 4 oz, 19 inches

Warm-Up Strategies For Developing Kipping Pull-Ups

We’ve seen people make great progress with our standardized warm-ups over last 2 months.  Here we’ve outlined a plan to start incorporating regular kipping pull-up skill work into your warm-ups.  Like any other skill, you’ll need regular practice to develop mastery of the movement. That being said, don’t go overboard with this, I wouldn’t be swinging on the bar more than 4 times per week. The progression below is broken into 3 steps based on your skill level.  Don’t advance to the next step until you’ve mastered the previous one. This may take several weeks so be patient!

Level 1, The Kip Swing: Add 5-8 Kip Swings before each set of pull-ups during Warm-Up 1. Otherwise you can do 1-2 sets of kip swings when you finish Warm-Up 2. Progress to Level 2 after you can consistently string these together with a nice “pop” on the back end.

Points of Performance
– Make sure you’ve got the right grip. If your palms feel like they’re being pinched you need to readjust.
– Always start from a static deadhang with a tight body and active shoulders.
– The kip should feel fluid and “springy”. Try to ride the momentum you create
– Before moving to Level 2, ask a coach to access your kip swing.

LEVEL 1 VIDEO DEMO

Level 2, The Dynamic Pull and Mature Finish: Now that you’ve mastered the kip swing and have found the weightless “pop” on the back end, try to reopen your hip and get over the bar. Make it your goal to use momentum, not pulling strength to finish the pull-up. When you get over the bar, hold the top for a 2 count. This will help you establish a mature finish position. Lower yourself down and reset.  Perform 5 reps in Warm-Up 1 instead of your normal pull-ups and do 1-2 sets of 3 reps at the end of Warm-Up 2

Points of Performance
– Don’t slow down your kip swing before you attempt to get over. This is a common mistake.  A bigger kip will make the pull-up easier
– You’ll have to reset after each rep. Kip swing > Dynamic Pull-Up > Hold over the bar for a 2 count > lower down and start over.
– You haven’t completed this step until you can consistently get over the bar in one fluid motion.  Any stalling, slowing down or extra little kicks to get over constitute a work in progress on level 2.
– Have a coach look at your progress before moving to Level 3.

LEVEL 2 DEMO VIDEO

Level 3, Stringing Them Together: Now that you can kip over the bar you need to work on linking them together. If you’ve been diligent about holding the top of the pull-up, you’ll have plenty of time to work on Pushing away back into your kip swing. Once you can link 2 together, incrementally add reps until you can link 10 together. Watch the video at the bottom of this article to see this in real time.

Points of Performance
– You don’t need to lose the momentary pause at the top of the pull-up. In fact, the ability to do this indicates that you’re all the way over the bar.  Sometimes folks develop a kipping pull-up and need to reach with their chin to get just over the bar, this is not a complete kipping pull-up. Try to get the bar to neck level.
– This step is all about timing and rhythm. If you lose your balance or develop a pendulum swing, stop and reset.
– Be patient! Developing your pull-ups is going to take some time.  The good news is that its’ MUCH harder to get from 0-2 kipping pull-ups than it is to get from 2-10 so once you find your rhythm it’s just a matter of consistent practice to pile on the reps.

LEVEL 3 DEMO VIDEO

Watch these videos (Kipping Pull-Ups Part 1 and Part 2) to see some of these progressions broken down. As always, ask a coach if you need any help with these steps!

You’re stuck at an airport for a five-hour flight delay, and your phone is broken. How would you keep busy? 

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Brand Development with Greg Glassman CrossFit

We’ll be push pressing on Mondays in the upcoming cycle. Today we’ll review the lift in detail and you’ll have 12 minutes to work up to a heavy triple.

Post loads to comments.

3 Rounds NFT of:
24 Kettlebell Swings
16 Forearm to Instep Lunge (8e)
:30 Side Plank each side

Spend 10 minutes working on your kipping pull-ups or row an easy 10 minutes on the erg.

Jason H and Charlie N row a 2K

CFSBK at the North East Regionals

The CrossFit Games Regionals dates and venues were just announced and the NE Regionals at Reebok Headquarters in Canton, MA will be May 30-June 1.  Even though spectator tickets do not go on sale until April, because hotels rooms in the area are booked solid well before, we’ve gone ahead and reserved a room block (at a special $139/night rate) for CFSBKers who want to watch the action.  These rooms are held for us only until February 7, so even if you are not sure if you can go but are the slightest bit interested in this 2-night field trip, we suggest you go ahead and CLICK HERE to reserve a room by this February 7 deadline.  Each reservation made through this link does not require a deposit and there is no penalty to cancel as long as it is cancelled by 2p at least one day prior to check-in on May 30.  Cruise Director Mare L. will then coordinate with anybody who has expressed interest in going for room shares and transportation to/from Canton AND, most importantly, make sure we have a SBK home in Tent City and our coolers are filled!  Questions?  Contact Mare at mare(at)crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com

New post on Inside the Affiliate

Coach DO has a new blog entry on Inside the Affiliate entitled, “An Open Letter to New CrossFit Coaches.” If you like what you read, please share it far and wide with your CrossFit friends in social media! ITA is a free, open source blog for the CrossFit community dedicated to sharing what we’ve learned running an affiliate for six years.

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23 year old Carl Yngvar Christensen sets a new world record squat at 475 kg / 1,047 lbs

Rest exactly 3 minutes between rounds.

As always, we’ll offer volume and movement scaling options at the gym. Make every rep perfect!

Post total time and Rx to comments.
compare to 2.17.13

CrossFit interrogation tactics

Post time and Rx to comments.5 Rounds for time:20 Pull-Ups30 Push-Ups40 Sit-Ups50 Air Squats

• Good luck to Coach DO, Todd C and Jake L who will be competing at an Olympic Weightligting meet today in CT!
• Reminder that we added a 1pm Group class on Sundays effective today! Also remember there’s now an 11AM Sunday Active Recovery!
  

Photos with Bekka P

Now that the LFPB Challenge is coming nearing the finish line, consider getting a new headshot or cool photo for your CrossFit Games profile with Bekka P. As a longtime Crossfitter and our photographer, Bekka knows the good (and the really bad) angles for getting great athletic photos. She’ll be bringing lights and a backdrop to set up a professional studio at CFSBK for the day so you’ll get studio quality shots right at the gym. She’s offering discount packages for CFSBK members and will photograph anything from headshots to overhead squats to family portraits (hey, get ahead on that Mother’s day gift). Portrait sessions typically cost several hundred dollars for a minimum hour session so take advantage of this unique opportunity!

Thoughts on Scaling Pull-Ups in “Barbara”

by David Osorio

This benchmark girl is a high-volume interval workout comprised of body weight movements. Completed as prescribed, it calls for 100 Pull-Ups, 150 Push-Ups, 200 Sit-Ups and 250 Squats.  To preserve the intended stimulus of “Barbara”, scale the movements such that you can complete each round in about 3-5 minutes. For many people this will mean drastically scaling the pull-ups.

Scaling Pull-Ups, Strict versions versus Kipping Pull-Ups
If you don’t have well developed kipping pull-ups then you’ll need to drop upwards of 1/2 to 3/4’s of the volume on this movement.  Kipping pull-ups and strict pull-ups are very different exercises with different training outcomes.  The kipping pull-up is a dynamic movement used for conditioning purposes while the strict pull-up is a slower movement used to develop pulling strength & stamina. If you’re doing a strict variant (For example: Strict pull-ups, Banded Strict Pull-Ups, Leg Assisted Pull-Ups or even Ring Rows) choose either 5 or 10 reps per round.  If you choose 10 reps then you should be able to accomplish every set in 2-3 micro sets. For example, if your reps look something like this: 3-2-1-1-1-1-1 then the scale is too difficult! 
What you don’t want to happen is for the these to slow you down so much that you spend most of your time at the pull-up station staring at the bar and shaking your arms out.  The small danger is that it could ruin the intention and balance of the workout while the larger danger is that this kind of training will leave you unreasonably sore and could ruin the rest of your training week.  Because strict variants have a controlled lowering phase (unlike kipping pull-ups) they have the potential to do a lot of structural damage on your muscles. While we want enough of this “damage” to make your body a little sore for a few days  we certainly don’t want so much damage the putting your shirt on two days later because a workout in itself. Trust me on this, sometimes less is more. Scale to make these challenging but doable.

If you’ve got kipping pull-ups then it becomes more a matter of how many reps you can do unbroken.  If 20 reps is something you can bite off in 1-3 sets then go for it Rx’d. If you work mostly in 2’s and 3’s then scale to 10 reps per round.

Here is a programming summary with scaling options for you to choose from:

Strict Variant: A: 10 reps, B: 5 reps
Kipping Pull-Ups: A 20 reps, B: 15 reps, C:10 reps

As always, you can scale on the fly whenever you feel like you’ve bit off too much or perhaps not a big enough chunk.  If you start with 10 reps but by round three have “lost your pull-up”, swallow your ego and drop the reps. Remember you want to keep the workout moving and not hit a wall on any particular movement.

Closing Thoughts
Even if you drop to 5 pull-ups per round, the rest of the workout (even scaled) can pack a pretty serious punch. If it’s your first time with “Barbara” we highly recommend doing a 3 round version of the WOD.  Interval workouts like this, especially THIS one, have been known to make people “not right” afterwards.

As Rx’d, Barbara gives you 700 opportunities to choose to do a movement correctly or rush through something with questionable form.  Our goal is to increase your work capacity while strengthening your muscles, connective tissue and discomfort tolerance.  Scale wisely, move well and enjoy your date with Barbara today!
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The best jump ropes video we’ve ever seen!

After warm-ups, take 12 Minutes to work up to a heavy single on the Clean and Jerk.

Post best load to comments.

“Grace”

For Time:
30 Clean and Jerks 135/95

Post time and Rx to comments.

Row 1000m

Post time to comments.

Thanks to all who came out to the Ice Skating social last night! We ended up with 23 CFSBKers on the ice!

• Reminder that we added a 1pm Group class on Sundays effective this weekend!
• CFSBK’s CrossFit Open team is now 80 strong and remains the 5th largest team in the world!

What is the CrossFit Open?

The Open is the first phase of the competitive CrossFit season. This is a worldwide competition in which one workout is posted every week for five weeks (starting Thursday, February 27th) to find the fittest folks out there. The workouts are intentionally designed to be a little more inclusive than even the average CrossFit workout to maximize participation. That being said, you’ll need some basic competency in the most common exercises. To see what last year’s workouts looked like, click here. Folks will have an opportunity to complete the workout every Saturday, as well as some Open Gym hours at the gym. If you’re on the fence about it, we recommend signing up anyway since we’ll already be doing them at the gym. At the end, you’ll see how you rank against the gym, your region, and the world. More than 138,000 people participated in the Open last year, and this year, the worldwide competition will be even broader and more inclusive.

Registration for the 2014 CrossFit Open can be found here.

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Klokov does a 418lb Thruster
I am an athlete