Fitness: 3×5 across
Bar speed should still be quick and pretty consistent. Perfect positions

Performance: 5/3/1 “3 week“
70%x3, 80%x3, 90%x3+

Post loads to comments.
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As Many Rounds As Possible In 10 Minutes Of:

Fitness:
30 Overhead or weighted lunges
15 Push-Ups

Ring dips and push-ups are high skill movements which require a tremendous amount of shoulder strength and stability. If you perform one of these versions take your time on them and don’t approach failiure on any reps.

Post rounds completed and Rx to comments.

Brandon and Elyse started training at CFSBK to help get themselves in shape for their wedding. Well, this weekend they made it official in the Hudson Valley. Congratulations to these two great CFSBKers and newly weds!

• Congratulations on an awesome performance by the CFSBK Rowing team who rowed a collective 42,195 meters under the eye of Coach Nick for charity yesterday. More details on their performance and the charity tomorrow.
• Congratulations to Front Desk and CFSBK super star Lisa Fernandez on her recent accomplishment of 2 strict chin-ups! You can see video proof from the CFSBK Instagram account.
• This Thursday we’ll be open for special hours due to the holiday. Come on down anytime for Open Gym between 8:30am and 12pm. While we won’t be running formal classes, we’ll provide programming options for folks who want to stay on cycle and have an optional floater WOD on tap. The gym will be closed at night but your night WOD assignment is to see fireworks OUTSIDE somewhere.

Rebecca’s First CrossFit Competition

Recently Rebecca Carvalho competed in her first CrossFit Competition, “Beaches and Beards” at the gym she frequents while in New Jersey, CrossFit Live Fast. Her and I (David) did one PT session to ramp up for the competition which included some non traditional movements.  Regardless, Rebecca was up for the challenge and gave it her all. Great work! Below is her summary:

“So, I did the competition!  Thank you so much for all the tips and
help with the movements!!  I definitely felt prepared and had a plan
for everything.

I’m pretty pumped. My goals were to get outside my comfort zone and to
give 110% for each WOD/keep moving.  Goals = accomplished.  And it was
a lot of fun.

Just showing up got me out of my comfort zone!

First workout: this was the 1000m row with erg elevated 20” (blind —
couldn’t look at your monitor but got notification at every 250m), 22
box step-ups on 20” box, hand release push-ups from your knees.

I made it through 46 push-ups on this, which I felt was pretty good. I
didn’t fall off the erg, which was also good.  I was just really proud
that I never stopped moving and that I think I “sprinted” the last
250m.

Second workout: 21-15-9, 40# stone over shoulder/ring rows.

I finished this is 6:40.  I was a good student in the sense that my
set-up was good for the stone over shoulder.  But I was definitely
throwing the stone instead of dropping it, since I was chasing it all
over the place.  But, oh well!

Third workout: one-arm dumbbell snatch ladder.

I was able to do the 45# dumbbell but just couldn’t get the 50#
despite a few efforts.  Considering how tired my legs are right now, I
am sure that was part of it.  But I thought my other reps were quick
and crisp and set-up correctly.  Happy that I was able to perform
relatively well in the moment when the pressure was on.  A bit bummed
I didn’t get the 50#, since I had 50# with the barbell when we
practiced.  But such is life.

I wore a CFSBK shirt and a few people had seen the gym or other CFSBK
folks at competitions (something in Hoboken) and as always had really
positive things to say about the gym and the people.  I’m always proud
to be part of CFSBK — it’s a really special place.  All of us members
know how special it is, but it’s amazing how many other people know
how special it is as well.

Thanks again.

Best,
Rebecca”
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This is badass: “To The Pain” Free CrossFit Journal Article
See also: 21 on 21 USA vs Russia youtube

Fitness: 1×5 across
Leave room to go up over the next 6 weeks

Performance: 5/3/1 “5 week“
65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5+

Add 5-10 lbs to your Training Max from last cycle.

Post loads to comments.
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For Time:
400 Meter Run
20 Toes to Bars
20 Burpees
20 Overhead Squats, 95/65
20 Burpees
20 Toes to Bars
400 Meter Run

Post time and Rx to comments.

Coaches Melo and Lady Fox take a capri sun break

CFSBK Rowathalon Today!

SBK is sending a team of eight to compete tpday at a rowathon at Reebok CrossFit Fifth Avenue to support the Emergency and Trauma Fund at Boston’s Children’s Hospital, where some victims of the Boston bombing were treated. “Rowathon” – sounds fun, right? That’s 42,195m of pure joy on the erg. Each athlete will row 5000m consecutively, and then roll over into a pool of her sweat to make way for the next victim. And all the action will be projected on a virtual river on a big screen! So come and cheer on our rowers – doors open at 8:30AM – and please donate to this cause here

Mike Creamer, a coach at Reebok CrossFit Fifth Avenue, is the organizer of the event. Be sure to list CFSBK as your affliate.

Adele Myers
Aaron Soules

Good Luck Team CFSBK!
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How To Get Better At Rowing CrossFit Rowing

Fitness: 3×5 across
Leave room to go up over the next 6 weeks

Performance: 5/3/1 “5 week“
65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5+

or 70%x3x3

Add 5-10 lbs to your Training Max from last cycle.

Post loads to comments.
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4 Rounds For Max Reps of:
1:00 Max Reps Games Standard Box Jumps 24″/20″
1:00 Max Reps Kettlebell Swings 24kg/20kg
1:00 Rest

Post total reps and Rx to comments.

Cliff on Dumbbell Thrusters

Dumbbell Thrusters

The Thruster is a common CrossFit exercise that requires you to squat below parallel with a load on your shoulders then thrust it overhead in one fluid movement. It’s commonly used as a potent conditioning tool and less commonly used as a strength developer. While more total weight can be moved with a barbell, mobility limitations can make it very uncomfortable for many people to rack the barbell on their shoulders.  If you have a really hard time keeping your elbows up as you descend and find the movement stressful on your wrists, Dumbbell Thrusters are probably going to be your best bet.  Dumbbells also require more shoulder stability and are excellent at developing muscle symmetry and stability. 
A common issue with dumbbell thrusters is that as you fatigue your weaker side may begin to collapse inwards at the rack position or fail to lock out overhead. Often the dumbbell will begin to drop toward your chest during the ascent and then barely make it to lock out.  This is a clear indication that you’ve got underdeveloped external rotators in your shoulder.  To get through the workout, you’ll have to either slow down significantly or reduce the weight of your dumbbells.  Trying to gut through a collapsing rack support is ill advised as it could put excessive stress on the soft tissue in and around your shoulder. When working with dumbbells, take the time to go through your bracing strategy, get active in your lats, shoulders and grip and WORK to keep the dumbbells exactly where you want them to be. 

Dumbbells tell no lies.
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Do you hate/love or are indifferent towards Dumbbell work?
Miranda Oldroyd Does a Dumbbell Thruster/GHD WOD

Family AR Time with Kate and Baxter

• Best of luck to Kenji Summers who will be moving out to Powder Mountain in Eden, Utah. Kenji will be living in the Summit Community with other young and forward thing entrepreneurs to help accelerate his Passport Project buisness as well as participating in community development at Summit. Awesome!
• Happy Birthday, Jason M!

CSA Recipes!

Not sure what to do with your most recent haul from Sol Flower Farm? Check out Michele K’s recipe and food blog, The Daily Paleo

CFSBK Rowathalon

SBK is sending a team of eight to compete this Sunday at a rowathon at Reebok CrossFit Fifth Avenue to support the Emergency and Trauma Fund at Boston’s Children’s Hospital, where some victims of the Boston bombing were treated. “Rowathon” – sounds fun, right? That’s 42,195m of pure joy on the erg. Each athlete will row 5000m consecutively, and then roll over into a pool of her sweat to make way for the next victim. And all the action will be projected on a virtual river on a big screen! So come and cheer on our rowers – doors open at 8:30AM – and please donate to this cause here
Mike Creamer, a coach at Reebok CrossFit Fifth Avenue, is the organizer of the event. Be sure to list CFSBK as your affliate.

Adele Myers

*Monte suffered a knee injury playing soccer and had to pull out of this event. (Get well soon, Monte!). If you’re interested in jumping in please contact Nick(AT)CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com. We need folks asap and could use a rower under 165lbs if possible.
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Scientists Unlock Mystery in Evolution of Pitchers NYT

Fitness: Hip Power Snatch + Overhead Squat
Work on a tight start and end positions, fast barbell and controlled OHS

Performance: Hang Power Snatch + Hang Snatch
Focus on an explosive extension on the power snatch, then coupling that same extension with an aggressive pull under for the second movement.

We recommend doing these MWODs before class. ESPECIALLY if you’re not an overhead squat ninja.
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Press 

Fitness: 3×5 across
Leave room to go up over the next 6 weeks

Performance: 5/3/1 “5 week“
65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5+

Add 5 lbs to your Training Max from last cycle.

Post loads to comments.
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Christine Gets Her Deadlift On!

• Happy Birthdays to: Stella Z, BAZ, Kevin R and Mike B
• Recently Coach Nick’s college rowing coach, Harry Parker passed away. Check out this video to see the man that helped make Nick and many others Olympic level athletes.
  

Spartan Race Raffle Extension

You may have noticed that we’ve got a raffle going on at the Front Desk. Any CFSBKer can enter for free to win a comped admission to any Reebok Spartan Race in the continental United States. That includes the one several CFSBKers have signed up for on 5/31/14.
Take a red ticket and print your name and email address on it. The winner will be chosen this Friday, June 28th and announced on the blog Saturday. Thanks to Coach Melo for setting this up!
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Train Like A Champion: Technique, Habits and Positivity Cathletics

Fitness: 3×5 across
Leave room to go up over the next 6 weeks

Performance: 5/3/1 “5 week“
65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5+

Add 5-10 lbs to your Training Max from last cycle.

Post loads to comments.
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As Many Rounds As Possible In 8 Minutes Of:
10 Dumbbell Split Cleans, Alternating legs
150m Row

Go hard on the row and take your time bracing and executing every split clean. Go as heavy as you can organize well. After the workout, cash out with 2:00 in couch stretch each side.

Post load and rounds completed to comments.

Yoga With Whitney Hubbard

Whitney will be teaching at Mala Yoga soon. Check out the details below if you want to get your OM on with one of CFSBK’s finest.

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Ménage à Trois Radio with a special CFSBK guest…

This Cycle’s Standardized Warm-Ups

Here are the next two standardized warm-ups for the current cycle. They’re very similar to the previous rotation with some minor tweaks and positional emphasis built in.

Warm-Up 1
3 Rounds NFT of:
12 Overhead Squats 2-2-2 Tempo
10 Push-Ups 2-1-2 Tempo
8 Ring Rows 2-2-2 Tempo

Squats: Focus on creating as much torque and tension in your body, especially at the bottom of the squat. 2-2-2 means two seconds on the way down, two second hold at the bottom and then a two second ascent. If a PVC is easy, scale up to a barbell. If you’re no where near overhead squatting a barbell and even a PVC proves nearly impossible to hold overhead, consider grabbing a barbell (not a PVC) and working your Front Squat rack position instead. That being said, you’ll need to work your overhead position with mobilizations before and after class every day.
Want to learn way too much about the OHS? click here.

Push-Ups: Before every descent, make sure to squeeze your butt, belly and create some torque at your shoulders. The bottom position is only held for one second and should be active as possible.  A simply way to organize yourself is to imagine your belly button being the last thing to touch the floor and the first thing to leave the ground on the way up. Don’t rush these and ask a coach to put a plate on your back if you’d like to scale them up.

Ring Rows: Same old ring row, but using the 2-2-2 tempo allows you to develop the finished position with your shoulders back and a hollow body position. When your elbows are extended, keep the squeeze in your upper back, don’t go soft in the shoulders when you’re at the bottom position.

Warm-Up 2
3 Rounds NFT of:
:20 Static Hollow Hold
20 Reverse Lunges
5 Pull-Ups or Chin-Ups with a :02 hold at the top

Hollow Hold: We are starting on the floor with your arms overhead. Start by going through your basic bracing strategy, then picking up the head and shoulders with the arms overhead followed by raising your legs (with straight knees) until your lower back presses against the floor. To see a video of this, click here. If your lower back is not pressed into the ground, you’re blowing it.

Reverse Lunges: Alternate legs until you get to 20 or go 10 on one side then switch. We recommend loading this movement with a bumper plate or dumbbells if the bodyweight version is easy.

Pull-Ups or Chin-Ups:  With the emphasis on holding the top and finishing with a neutral head position, you stand to make the most improvements in your overall performance by getting this right.  At the top, your elbows should be pulled down and back and you should be looking across the room, not up at the ceiling. Scale your assist so that you can get the bar in line with your clavicle, not your chin reaching over. I can’t emphasize how much getting better at the last few inches will make your pull-ups that much easier in the long run.

If you do nothing else today, watch this video to understand this position.
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What’s the most painful mobilization you’ve experienced in the last month or so?

Fitness: 3×5 across
leave room to go up over the next 6 weeks

Performance: 5/3/1 “5 week“
65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5+

Add 5 lbs to your Training Max from last cycle.

Post loads to comments.
e1/6
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5 Rounds For Time of:
15 Kettlebell Swings, 72lbs/53lbs
10 Hand Release Push-Ups
5 L-Pull-Ups

For the Push-Ups, think of your belly button being the last thing to touch the floor on the way down and the first part of you to leave the ground on the way up.
If you can’t perform L-Pull-ups, substitute 5 normal pull-ups or 10 Ring Rows

Post time and Rx to comments.

Crystal Castles Gets Her First Muscle Up!

Understanding “Fitness” Strength Programming

Our “Fitness” strength programming follows linear progressions using sets across for each lift. For those of you just jumping on board or who might be a little confused, here’s the 101 on what we’re talking about.

Essentially, “Sets Across” just means that you’ll be doing the same weight for all your work sets on a given lift. For example, if you’re Back Squatting 3×5, you’ll do 3-4 warm-up sets at increasing weights and then perform all 5 reps of all 3 work sets at the same weight. This is in contrast to “Maximal Effort” lifting in which you’d be gaming for a maximal weight at a given rep range.  Many of our newer athletes are not ready neurologically or structurally for this type of lifting and need a ramp up period of sets across to avoid injury and set themselves up for larger gains in the future.

At CFSBK, we pick a pool of 3-5 movements and rotate them for a period of 6 weeks. Because you know that you’ll get 6 or 12 exposures to each of these lifts over the next few weeks, you can game out a strategy for successful lifting sessions through the entire cycle.  Here are two examples of what we’d love to see in your log books at the end of the cycle.

Press
Week 1 75x5x3
Week 2 80x5x3
Week 3 85x5x3
Week 4 87.5x5x3
Week 5 90x5x3
Week 6 92.5x5x3

Deadlift
Week 1 135×5
Week 2 145×5
Week 3 155×5
Week 4 160×5
Week 5 165×5
Week 6 170×5

This hypothetical athlete completed all 6 exposures and was able to increase their weights each time.  They never went to failure because they had a plan and were not greedy with weight.  The next time these lifts come up, they’ll be able to start at the 4 or 5 week weight and continue to linearly increase their numbers.  Again, with sets across, you’ll have to put your lifting into a larger perspective than just what you’re doing that day.  You’re building a foundation of strength, one brick at at time.

FAQs
How do I know what weight to start with?
Simply start with something that feels light. Too light.  If you pick a weight that has you struggling to finish your reps the first couple weeks, you’ve gone too heavy.  Remember that you’re setting yourself up for a lifetime of weight lifting and there’s no need to rush into big weights.  If you’ve had some lifting exposure and want to try sets across, take your existing max at that rep range and subtract %~20 off of it for a starting weight.

What if I start missing reps?
Eventually you will start to miss reps, ideally this won’t be for a full 2-3 cycles of the movement in question.  When this happens, you need to ask yourself and a Coach the following questions: “Was I too greedy with weight?”, “Is my technique/mobility on this movement sufficiently developed to handle larger loads?” “Am I having an off day? Did I plan my warm-up sets correctly?” Once we dig a little, we can find out what’s going on and help you strategize to keep moving forward.  Sometimes you just need to try the same weight again the following week and sometimes you’ll have to drop some weight off the bar and start building back up.

To learn more about how to trouble shoot your linear, read our related article, “Troubleshooting Your Linear Progression”

What if I don’t come often enough to hit all of these lifting sessions?
If you can only make it to CFSBK a 2 times per week, choose one of the movements (Ideally one squat and one opper body movement) and focus on them for the next 6 weeks. For a 3 time a weeker, you would choose the same movements as above and then one other lift that you want to develop. Try to stick to the same schedule for the entire cycle to get the most out of the strength programming.  If you don’t know what to do, consult with one of the coaches and we’ll steer you in the right direction.

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Training The Brain CrossFit Journal
Gymnastics Flexibility and Stretching Primer Gymnastics WOD

75%x1x7

Rest about 1:30-2:00 between pulls.
Focus on locking down your pre Deadlift bracing strategy.

Post loads to comments.
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3 Rounds NFT of:
20 Kettlebell Swings
5e Lunges with Kettlebell
20 Hollow Rocks
5 Ring Rows w pause at top

For Time:
Run 3 Miles

Post time to comments.

SS Doing a Toe To Bar

• Thank you for all the feedback on programming Friday. We value your input and will address some of the points brought up in future planning. Some interesting points were definitely brought up.  If you’ve got anything else, please let us know in the comments section.

Back Off Week Format

This back off week used the following basic template. The intention was to transition between the two cycles.  Prep work for the upcoming lifts and a decrease on total volume and intensity to facilitate recovery.

Part 1: Mobility Rx
We did 2-3 mobilizations that would directly influence the focus lift on that day for the following cycle. If any of them felt like a Shaman’s blow, take special note of them and integrate them into your pre-class movement prep.

Part 2: Lift
We did a deloaded or positional focus version of the lift in the upcoming cycle. Here you can move a bit of weight but still pull back and trouble shoot positions you struggle with.

Part 3: Assistance or NFT
Mostly assistance or non-timed conditioning.  Mostly a mix of basic movements we use as well as some others that don’t come up as often.  Medium volume, lower intensity to facilitate recovery.
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The Klokov CrossFit WODs ATG

Work up to a heavy 3 on the pause squat.

Your partner will give you the “Lift” command on every rep. The point of a paused squat is to develop some strength in the bottom position by spending a bit longer ther. Work on your organization and trouble shoot any issues you might be having.

Post loads to comments.
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Work up to a heavy but perfect set on the following barbell complex:
4 Hang Power Cleans
3 Front Squats
2 Push Presses or Push Jerks

Post loads to comments.

Shaye Gets Down With Dumbbell Thrusters

• Thanks to everyone who came out for “Wet Hot American Summer” Movie night last night. We love you all! Got any suggestions for future movie nights?

Chiropractic and ART Body Work

Got some issues with your tissues?  Sore shoulder? Funky Hip? Come see Dr. Jason Fidler on Saturday and Friday nights at CFSBK to get an assesment and some body work done on yourself.  To learn more about these services and Dr. Fidler’s background, click here

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Amazing Facts
Greg Glassman: Be Better Period