Bekka P works on her Piked Wall Walk

• Only 4 More days to sign up for Fight Gone Bad 2013!

A message from Bree to all the CFSBK Teachers

Welcome back to school!

Hi all, I (Bree) am a member of a grassroots organization called NYCoRE (New York Collective of Radical Educators).  We are a group of current and former public school educators committed to fighting for social justice in our school system and society at large, by organizing and mobilizing teachers, developing curriculum, and working with community, parent, and student organizations. We hold monthly political education member meetings on the third friday of every month, offer teacher-driven PD on social justice issues (such as supporting queer youth and teachers, restorative justice, anti-racism etc), hold an annual conference for about 800 youth and educators, develop social justice curricular resources and offer a teacher plan book among many other things.  

What did your middle and high school physical education programs look like?
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Athletes Among Us: Pics of Professional Athletes Playing at Life
Dedicated to the 6am CrossFitters: “Who’s First?”

Part A
3 Rounds NFT of:

Performance
3 Kick-Ups
20 Hollow Rocks
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Part B
5 Rounds NFT of:

Performance
5-10 Handstand Push-Ups
Log Roll Left 3 V-Ups, Log Roll Right 3 V-Ups
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5 Rounds Not For Time:
8ea Kettlebell Snatches
12ea Goblet Reverse Lunges

Post load to comments

Gina G and Aileen H after completing the Go Ruck Challenge this weekend

At the moment it’s difficult to properly reflect on today’s 1am-2pm Go Ruck Challenge because my body is in a world of pain and I’m running on little sleep (plus some peanut butter m&m’s) but here are my top two thoughts. This 9/11 tribute challenge included visits to several Brooklyn & Manhattan fire stations to show our respects to their fallen heros in form of push-ups, squat thrusts, flutter kicks, etc which was an amazing structure for the whole challenge. We took a sunrise dip in the Prospect Park duck pond for general splashing, thrashing and manmakers! (**Afterwards steam rises off of your body as you do up-hill buddy carries!) How many people can say they’ve enjoyed that experience. Oh and as a bonus third thought; all of our CrossFit training definitely had us physically & mentally ready to attack anything thrown at us in this Challenge. Thanks CFSBK!  -Gina G

Developing Your Handstand

Anyone who came in on Monday or Tuesday had an opportunity to work on their handstands in class. Some folks were seasoned hand balancers while others were working towards their first full inversion. If you’re new to the handstand game, read over these tips to start moving in the right direction.

Basics

• “Active Shoulders” mean that you’re shrugging up and back slightly. Try to open your armpits and push the floor down.
• Your elbows must ALWAYS be locked out. If they bend, you’ll collapse
• Grab the floor with your spread out fingers, your fingernails should turn white
• Eyes are looking right between your hands on the floor the entire time. Your neck will be extended JUST enough to make this happen. No more, no less.
• When in doubt.. SQUEEZE!! The more moving parts you allow in the system, the harder it is to organize. Think of making your body as rigid as possible.
• Practice makes good enough. Being on your hands is weird at first. Practice the skill 2-4 times per week in order to accelerate your development. A handstand session can be anywhere from 3-10 minutes, the latter being with LOTS of rest. Don’t practice in a fatigued state. Less is more sometimes.

Static before Dynamic
Before you attempt kicking up to full handstand you have to develop the shoulder strength and body control required to take your weight from your feet all the way to your hands. Wall walks are a great place to start and an easy way to develop some shoulder integrity without worrying about coordinating a kick up.  Start slow with these and do sets of 3-5 walks holding your most inverted position for 3-5 seconds. Some folks will have to start only going up about half way to a 45 degree angle while others may be able to get within a hands length of the wall.  Focus on active shoulders and a rock solid midline. Minimize knee bend as you go up and down the wall, try to tip toe down using your ankles. Finally, you should never go up further than you’re comfortable with and your hands should never go within 6-8 inches to the wall. If your hands are touching the wall you’ll probably flip over onto your back. NO BUENO.

Halvsies before Wholsies
Once you feel comfortable supporting your body weight on your hands you can start working on kick ups. We did this in class with a spotter but you can also do this on your own using a wall.  Organizing the initial approach into the kick up is critical. If you start this process slowly there will be much less extraneous momentum that you’ll need to deal with later on. Remember, you can SLOWLY kick up into a handstand, it should feel more like a big reach that a flip. Watch this video to understand how to position your body for this portion. Once you can do that consistently start kicking up higher and higher with your lead leg while your trail leg stays low in a split. This will allow you to get all your body weight onto your hands while still controlling your body position By keeping the back leg low you increase your margin for error on each kick up. Get to the point where your lead leg’s heel can gently tap the wall and come back down. The final step would be to gently get both heels to the wall. While he’s not using a wall, this video shows you what I’m talking about. Practice this regularly and focus on how graceful you can make the whole process. Get good at kicking up with both legs.
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A sneak peak at next week’s inversion strength training
Efficiency in Handstand Push-Ups CrossFit

We’re hosting Mark Rippetoe & co for the third day of the Starting Strength Seminar and are not holding classes today. For alternative programming options, see the event we’re hosting in Prospect Park today.

Flag Football in Prospect Park

Are you ready for some football?  We will be hosting an informal flag football game in Prospect Park on Sunday, September 8th.  We had a similar gathering a few years ago and it was great fun, despite leaving many of our weekend warriors hobbling around for the next week!  Plan to meet at the Long Meadow field around 10AM, although we may have to move to find a good open space (check the blog for updates!)  Bring picnic blankets, food, drink, babies, dogs, friends and your GAME FACES!  This event is open to everyone, even folks who just want an excuse to hang out with the park and drink beer while people chase each other around. We will probably play until around 2 or 3 pm depending on how the day goes.

Email noah(AT)crossfitsouthbrooklyn if you’re interested in helping set up/break down or have any questions.

51 Amazing CrossFitters showed up to the Track workout in Red Hook yesterday! Amazing!!!

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Big Sky, Montana: Clean Event CrossFit
Study: Average Person Becomes Unhinged Psychotic When Alone In Own House

We’re hosting Mark Rippetoe & co for the second day of the Starting Strength Seminar and are not holding classes today or tomorrow. For alternative programming options, see the event we’re hosting in Red Hook below.

Track WOD in Red Hook Today at 9:30am

CFSBK will be hosting a remote Track workout today in Red Hook. We will meet up at 9:30 am by the bleachers at the Red Hook Track (Hicks and Bay) for an outdoor running and body weight workout with your CrossFit buddies. Football (aka , Soccer) is usually going on down the block and the food trucks (tacos!) should still be around for post-WOD replenishment and entertainment. Show up on time and plan to spend about an hour or so warming up and WODding with us. RSVP to christian(AT)crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com so we know how many folks to plan for. If all you know about Red Hook is the Ikea, you’ve been missing out. Come explore this great part of Brooklyn!

Stella Z attempting a 1RM Squat

Sign Up for Fight Gone Bad 2013!!!

Since 2008, CrossFit South Brooklyn has conducted a yearly fundraiser in the form of a workout called Fight Gone Bad. Last year, we raised over $34,000 for the Brooklyn Community Foundation.  BCF is a local organization that is dedicated to improving the lives of people in Brooklyn by strengthening communities through local giving, grantmaking and community service. This year, we’ll be partnering with BCF again and hope to surpass last year’s donation numbers.

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Warming Up With Matt Chan CrossFit Journal

Today is a rest day, but if you came in yesterday and plan on training today we’ll have the following “floater WOD” in store:

“Fitness”
3 Rounds for total time:
50 Double Unders
30 Kettlebell Swings 53/35
10 Burpees

“Performance”
3 Rounds for total time:
50 Double Unders
30 Kettlbell Snatches, 53/35 (15L/15R)
10 Burpees

Rest 1 minutes between rounds

Post time and Rx to comments.

Joe M working his Knees to Elbows at Burning Man!

• Reminder that there is no Open Gym tonight as we host world class strength coach Mark Rippetoe for the first of three days in his Starting Strength Seminar. Morning and afternoon classes are on as normally scheduled.
• Our resident Yoga teacher, Whitney H is back from the west coast. Come get your Yoga on today at 9:15am!
• Congratulations to CrossFit power couple Laura Mc and Andrew who are getting married this weekend!

C.H.I.P.S. Sidewalk Sale

Located right around the corner from CFSBK, CHiPS Soup Kitchen and Residence is an important – if little-known – neighborhood resource. CHiPS serves 200 hot meals to needy men and women each day, and the residency program provides 9 young mothers with room and board as well as career development and other resources. Just $10 can allow CHiPS to provide 6 meals, while $50 shelters a woman and her children for a day – so a few purchases or donations can make a big difference! So come score some sidewalk finds for a good cause!

All proceeds to benefit CHiPS Soup Kitchen and Residence for Young Moms Great designer clothing and lots of upscale household items And raffling some really special items donated by local businesses Saturday.

Saturday September 7 and Sunday September 8
11am – 5pm
555-561 Union Street, between 3rd Avenue and Nevins Street
www.chipsonline.org

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To Master A Subject, Don’t Just Learn…. OverLearn Wired

Fitness: Hang Snatch Pull + Hang Power Snatch

Performance: Snatch Deadlift (with a pause at the knee) + Touch and Go Squat Snatch

Take 15 minutes to work up to a moderately heavy load on today’s complexes. See if you can meet last week’s numbers or surpass them with good form.
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High Bar Back Squat

Fitness: 3×8 Across
Add 2.5-5lbs from exposure 2

Performance Heavy 5
Try to beat last week’s heavy 8 by 5-10lbs.

Post loads to comments.
Snatch/HBBSQ e3/6
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Choose one to perform:
1 Mile run
2K Row
8 Minutes of Kipping Pull-Up Practice

The buy in for kipping pull-up practice is 5 strict pull-ups for the guys and 3 strict pull-ups for the ladies.

Zach H at the 3rd Subway Series event

• Dont forget that the gym will be closed on Friday night and all day Saturday and Sunday, including Sunday night Open Gym. Please check out the alternative events we’re hosting, Track workout on Saturday and Flag Football and picnic on Sunday
• For those who already came on Thursday and will also attend Friday’s group classes, we will have a special floater WOD on tap for you so come on down.

Lost and Found Pictures

Looking for your stuff? See if it’s turned up in our lost and found.
Water Bottles
Shoes and Shirts
Some random stuff

Thank you!

This is a repost from September of last years Athelte of the Month which was the entire community. While we have a new September AOM going live soon, we thought this sentiment still seemed appropriate!

September brings out the best AOM yet, our entire community! We coaches would like to honor you all, and this is the forum to do it in. You come to  Degraw street from near and far, even spending up to an hour on a bike or a subway car to train with us. You come to us early in the morning before work or school, you make time in your lunch hours to WOD with us, and you even make it in in the evening after a long day spent at a desk or caring for kids. You do ‘shifts’ at the gym, caring for your children while your spouse gets their WOD on. You’re willing to hold someone else’s kid so that their mom or dad can finish up at the end of a class. You make time for not just the fitness aspect of CFSBK but you also put in hours and energy to volunteer at events both in-house and on the road. You do your best to learn the names of the people who are squatting and skipping rope next to you. You cheer, hoot, and holler encouragement at your people. SBKers are YOUR people…You lift hard, you row hard, and you push yourself and everyone around you to be better. You are coachable. You are humble, and eager to help a new member feel right at home. You travel and visit CrossFit gyms around the country and world at large and represent South Brooklyn well. You are proud, if not even a little conceited, that you work out at CrossFit South Brooklyn. You bring your dogs into the gym so the dog-less among you can get a little canine love in the form of a belly rub or a lower leg tongue bath. You socialize outside of the gym with other SBKers and know how to show love the Brooklyn way, whether or not you were born here. Most of all, you ‘get it’. You are not selfish and you love to see people do well, which is a big part of why we do well.

Thanks to all you special people who make CFSBK what it is and are part of our team. It doesn’t exist without you.

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Last Words
The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking
The Open Is Upon Us CrossFit
Reebok CrossFit Anthem

“Fitness”
As Many Rounds As Possible in 15 minutes of:
3 Deadlifts 315/205
6 Toes to Bars
12 Push-Ups
130m Run

“Performance”
As Many Rounds As Possible in 15 minutes of:
3 Deadlifts, 315/205
6 Muscle-Ups
130m Run

Post rounds completed and Rx to comments.
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3×12 Heavy DB Reverse Lunges

Post loads to comments.

A very serious looking Dave F

Ouch: Discomfort, Pain, and the Space Between.

By Noah Abbott

Life, inevitably leads to pain. Wow, hold on.  That’s an incredibly depressing way to start an article about Crossfit.  All the doom metal at the gym must be rubbing off on me.  That said, the mixture of lifting heavy weights, moving our bodies dynamically, and testing our metabolic limits- all agitated within the cocktail shaker of 9-5 sedentary desk jobs- can certainly lead to some ouchies.  Knowing the difference between a stubbed toe and an amputated leg is a crucial ability for any Crossfitter, so let’s examine the pseudo-science of “listening to your body.”

Discomfort

Most of us have had the good fortune to have been hit broadside by the Crossfit Truck.  That global, total body soreness, stiffness, and general fuckupedness is most often caused my high rep conditioning workouts and poor recovery (bad positions, bad sleep, Bad Bad Leroy Brown, or bad, bad, evil, sweet alcohol.) This is muscular soreness, often referred to as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), and it’s a fact of Crossfitter life.  It’s mainly caused by the eccentric portion of lifts (lengthening/lowering.)  Soreness in and of itself isn’t really problematic, although it does sometimes signify fatigue of the affected muscle. >This feeling can generally be overcome.  Drink some water.  And a cup of coffee.  Get to the gym a little early and move around, jump on an erg or a rope and get your body temperature up.  Take some sort of foamy implement, stick it wherever it hurts (within reason) and roll around on the floor like a kid watching Pokemon.  Anything that increases blood flow to the region- massage, foam rolling or other self-myofascial release, or the awesome and scary Voodoo Band– will help clear up soreness lingering from a workout.

That said, the easiest way to avoid soreness is Not Jumping Off The Deep End.  The easiest way to make yourself really sore is to take a long vacation to New Orleans, subsist entirely on beignets, muffaletta, and booze, and then try and PR Helen on your first day back.  Ask me how I know this.

Discomfort can also present itself during a workout, again, generally a long, high rep conditioning piece.  Just because its hard to breathe doesn’t necessarily mean you are about to die, and just because your legs feel really, really heavy doesn’t mean they are going to fall off.  Both intra and post workout discomfort are pretty normal parts of being a Crossfitter, so get used to them.

When It’s a Problem

Although I’ve said before that some soreness or discomfort within or after a workout is acceptable, the whole game changes if my movement patterns begin to become compromised.  Are you so sore that it begins affecting your ability to get into these basic positions we require for safety:

1. A full depth squat with a neutral lumbar spine and pushed out (abducted) knees?

2. A neutral, braced spine when you deadlift or set up for a clean or snatch?

3. A healthy and mature overhead position, with your elbows locked and biceps in line with your ears?

If your soreness is preventing these positions, then you need to take the time to make it right.  That could mean the tactics described above or even *GASP*, a day off!

(Note: if you can’t get into those positions due to other mobility concerns, and you don’t come to class a half hour early and work on it, well, this is how I feel)

The problem of course, isn’t that your snatches or Fran time will suck, although they will.  The problem is that our bodies are really smart and sneaky, and will still find a way to throw that weight overhead or get your chin over the bar.  Like a carb crazed triathlete twerking their way across the finish line, you’ll get there.  But your body will not be happy with you.  Which leads us to…

Pain

Pain is sharp, localized discomfort that generally signifies structural or systemic damage has taken place. This most often results from some sort of trauma- hitting your thumb with a hammer, falling down stairs, and the like.  While that’s the norm, enough movement through suboptimal ranges of motion can certainly get you there as well.  Pain is a signal to your body that something is wrong and it wants you to stop.  We would be foolish to bull our way past this signal, but oftentimes thats exactly what we do.  If you feel pain during a workout stop, and talk to a coach.  Often this can be surprisingly quick and easy to fix- mostly by targeting the tissues above and below the painful site to feed some systemic slack to your grinding gear.  That approach (which Kelly Starrett calls Upstream/Downstream) along with some Voodoo Band compression can address most of what ails you.

Heed the clarion call of pain, friends, for if you don’t, prepare yourselves for:

Injury

Eventually, in our pursuit of competitive exercise immortality, we may find ourselves injured.  I won’t, and can’t, get too much into the minutiae of the anatomy, physiology, or rehabilitation of an injury.  I am not a doctor.  In fact, none of the coaches are doctors.  That is why, at the end of the day, when an athlete comes up to us with some sort of nebulous description of the pain they are feeling (“Noah, it feels like 2 hamsters are having a sword fight inside my left knee”) we will always recommend that you “get it checked out.”  That does not mean go home, drink a fifth of Old Grandad, and then come back tomorrow.  It does not mean ignore it, or do lots of yoga, and hope it gets better.  It means go to a doctor, who may know what we don’t, and/or get an MRI, which can see what we can’t.  Just because we wear tshirts with skulls on them does not mean that our coaching staff can fix something truly torn or broken.

Now that the gloomy semi-disclaimer is out of the way, I can talk about something I do have personal experience with; the mindset and perspective that injury will give you.  I had the pleasure of spending almost a year rehabbing a disc injury that I inflicted on myself (by being an idiot) before I ever walked into the hallowed hall of physical training that is CFSBK.  I’d never wish the injury or rehab on anybody, but it did give me lots of time to reflect on my priorities and how I wanted to train when I got better.  Ask anybody who has lost time to a significant injury and they will tell you this:

The major goal of each day of training is to have fun, learn a little, and equip yourself to come back tomorrow a little stronger and faster.  Fucking yourself up in pursuit of some vaguely held goal is the opposite of this paradigm.  It’s not fun, you miss “classroom time” and you can forever alter your ability to gain (or maintain) strength and speed.  When you are 80, nobody will care how much you squat, but you will care if you can get up off the toilet without assistance.  Train accordingly.

Coach Fox and Charlie do a partner version of Hotshots 19

CFSBK Closed Friday Night and This Weekend

The gym will be closed Friday night and Saturday and Sunday as we will be hosting Mark Rippetoe for the Starting Strength Seminar. As an alternative, we’re offering some fun off location workouts for all our members adventerous enough to take their fitness outside the box. On Saturday we’ll be running a track WOD in Red Hook and on Sunday we’ll be organizing some flag football in Prospect Park.  Peep the deets below:

Saturday Track Workout
CFSBK will be hosting a remote Track workout on 9/7/13 in Red Hook. This will coincide with the weekend the gym is closed for the Starting Strength Seminar with Mark Rippetoe. We will meet up at 9:30 am by the bleachers at the Red Hook Track (Hicks and Bay) for an outdoor running and body weight workout with your CrossFit buddies. Football (aka , Soccer) is usually going on down the block and the food trucks (tacos!) should still be around for post-WOD replenishment and entertainment. Show up on time and plan to spend about an hour or so warming up and WODding with us. RSVP to christian(AT)crossfitsouthbrooklyn.com so we know how many folks to plan for. If all you know about Red Hook is the Ikea, you’ve been missing out. Come explore this great part of Brooklyn!

Sunday Flag Football and Social
Are you ready for some football?  We will be hosting an informal flag football game in Prospect Park on Sunday, September 8th.  We had a similar gathering a few years ago and it was great fun, despite leaving many of our weekend warriors hobbling around for the next week!  Plan to meet at the Long Meadow field around 10AM, although we may have to move to find a good open space (check the blog for updates!)  Bring picnic blankets, food, drink, babies, dogs, friends and your GAME FACES!  This event is open to everyone, even folks who just want an excuse to hang out with the park and drink beer while people chase each other around. We will probably play until around 2 or 3 pm depending on how the day goes.

Email noah(AT)crossfitsouthbrooklyn if you’re interested in helping set up/break down or have any questions.

Consistency and accountability

Consistency and accountability are two of the most important components for creating success with your fitness goals. Read the two articles below and discuss in the comments section ways you’ve improved your ability to commit to long term habit formation. Conversely, if you’re struggling with either component in your nutrition or training, see what’s worked for other people and attempt to adopt their strategies or find an accountably partner to help keep you on track.

I know what to do … so why am I still not in shape? Precision Nutrition
Average Speed James Clear

Part A
3 Rounds NFT of:

Performance
3 Kick-Ups
20 Hollow Rocks
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Part B
5 Rounds NFT of:

Performance
5-10 Handstand Push-Ups
Log Roll Left 3 V-Ups, Log Roll Right 3 V-Ups
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“Annie”

50-40-30-20-10 Reps Rounds For Time Of:
Double Unders
Sit Ups

Post time and Rx to comments.
compare to 2.11.13

Katie Mo Gets Low on High Bar Back Squats

• Happy Birthday, Crystal Castles!

Today’s Schedule

We will have a slightly modified AM schedule today with classes at 7am, 8am, 9am, 12pm, 4:30pm, 5:30pm, 6:30pm, 7:30pm and 8:30pm

Sign Up for Fight Gone Bad 2013!!!

Since 2008, CrossFit South Brooklyn has conducted a yearly fundraiser in the form of a workout called Fight Gone Bad. Last year, we raised over $34,000 for the Brooklyn Community Foundation.  BCF is a local organization that is dedicated to improving the lives of people in Brooklyn by strengthening communities through local giving, grantmaking and community service. This year, we’ll be partnering with BCF again and hope to surpass last year’s donation numbers.

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“Dizzy Diane” with Gillian Mounsey at CrossFit South Brooklyn CrossFit

Fitness: Work up to a heavy but perfect triple on the Hang Power or Hang Squat Clean

Performance:  Work up to a heavy but perfect triple on the Power or Squat Clean. See if you can best last week’s triples.

If you did the Hotshots 19 WOD yesterday you may be fried, adjust accordingly.
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Front Squat

Fitness: 3×5 Across
Add 5lbs to last week’s exposure weight.

Performance Heavy 3
Attempt to best last week’s triples by 5-10lbs.

Post loads to comments.
Clean/FSQ e2/6
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10 Intervals of:
10 Russian Kettlebell Swings

Use a heavy Kettlebell and rest as needed.

Nothing like a little community support to get you through a rough WOD.

Thanks to everyone who donated to the Hotshots 19 grant yesterday and particpated in the workout. As of writing a total of 128K+ was raised worldwide for the families of those who perished. To see archived coverage of the live event from Prescott Arizona and see what the current total is, click here. Many of the elite CrossFit athletes completed the workout in sub 30 minutes. Amazing!

Tomorrow’s Schedule

We will have a slightly modified AM schedule that day with classes at 7am, 8am, 9am, 12pm, 4:30pm, 5:30pm, 6:30pm, 7:30pm and 8:30pm
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What is a Hotshot Crew? CNN
Why Do We Sleep? TED Talks
Gabby Douglas’ routines from the 2012 Olympic Gymnastics trials