Izzie Squats!

Congratulations to Jacinto B who placed 4th at this weekends Norcal Masters CrossFit competition in California. Jacinto is 73 and competed in the 60+ division.

Welcome Izzie and Gais

CFSBK would like to welcome 2 of our newest members to the scene, Izzie F and Gais T. While we don’t usually have a blog post acknowledging a new member, Izzie and Gais are a somewhat unique case. Izzie is our first visually impaired athlete to graduate the Foundations course (he describes his level of sight as looking through a coffee straw in the dark) and Gais is his friend and CrossFit partner in crime. Izzie is using CrossFit to improve his game in a sport called Goal Ball and so far has been an impressive mover and learner. If you notice them in the gym take a moment to introduce yourself and show them some SBK love.

Kids Learn While You Lift

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10x Clapping Freestanding Handstand Push-Ups
Hacks Pack Take On Big Bob CrossFit Games
The Importance of Sleep 70s Big

Fitness: 3×3
Switch to heavy triples this week. Add 5-10 lbs to last week.

Performance: 9×2 Dynamic Effort 45% (plus bands) x 2 reps every 30 seconds for 4 minutes
Take 2-3 quick warm up sets to get to work weight (45%) then add bands. Focus on moving the bar fast, and being aggressive at the hips and quads with a tight finish position, no soft knees or hips. Dead start, no touch and go.

1RM Chart
250-325 Red Band
325-400 Blue Band
400+ Green Band

Post loads to comments.
DL e3/6
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For Time:
40 Double Unders
20 Wall Ball 20lbs,10′, 14lbs,9′
30 Double Unders
15 Wall Ball
20 Double Unders
10 Wall Ball

Post time and Rx to comments.

Potluck Pictures are up on the Flickr Page!

Happy MLK Day! CFSBK is on our normal schedule, come on down for a group class.

Kelly Starrett Coming to CFSBK

KStar is coming back to CFSBK for his CrossFit Movement & Mobility Training Course. MANY of you guys have already prepurchased Kelly’s upcoming book “Becoming a Supple Leopard” which will be released late February. If you’re serious about movement and mobility, apply the methods in the book and then meet Kelly in person to deepen your understanding of the material.
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The Crossfit Movement and Mobility trainer course is a hands on, movement theory based workshop where coaches and athletes will be exposed to the principles of Kelly Starrett’s Movement and Mobility Method of resolving pain, preventing injury, and optimizing athletic performance.

Performance is what drives the human animal, but the human animal can be brought to an abrupt halt by dysfunctional movement patters and underlying restrictions in mobility. Oftentimes, the factors that impede performance are invisible to not only the untrained eye, but also the majority of athletes and coaches. This course exposes attendees to a Starrett’s systematic approach to make the invisible visible. This course illuminates common movement errors that can cause injury and rob you of speed, power, endurance, and strength. Whether you are a professional athlete, a weekend warrior, or simply someone wanting to live healthy and free from restrictions, this course will teach you how to maintain your body and harness your genetic potential.

Learn How To:

• Prevent and rehabilitate common athletic injuries
• Overhaul your movement habits and efficiently your body’s most effective physiology
• Quickly identify, diagnose, and fix inefficient movement patterns
• Problem solve for pain and dysfunction
• Fix poor mechanics that rob power, bleed force, and dump torque
• Unlock reservoirs of athletic capacity you didn’t know you had
• Identify and fix poor movement patterns in children
• Develop strategies that restore function to your joints and tissues
• Develop effective individual and group mobility programming

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Push Up and Knee Push-Up Elbow Mechanics MWOD
Partner Foot Triceps Smash MWOD
Open and Closed Torque Systems And the MWod Leopard Test

1 Halting Snatch Deadlift + 1 Hang Power Snatch
Focus on a strong arch and sending your knees back on the HSDL. Focus on explosive speed and mature catch position on the HPS.

Post loads to comments.
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3 Rounds for max reps of:
AMRAP 2 Minutes
25 Kettlebell Swings 53/35
15 Shoulder to Overhead 135/95
Rest 4 Minutes

Post rounds completed and Rx to comments.

Thanks to everyone who came out to last nights Paleo Potluck!

Happy belated Birthday, Ben W!

CFSBK Front Desk

Starting this Monday Melissa L, Whitney H and Lisa F will be staffing the CFSBK front desk. Initially, the desk will only be active M-Th evenings and on the weekends until we gradually include afternoons and mornings.  These ladies will be checking people in, selling merch, talking to leads and doing a variety of other tasks for the gym.  We’re really excited to start this new component of the gym and are very excited to have such an awesome teal leading the charge on it. We’d also like to thank our carpenter Robert Phelps who did an amazing job building our desk!

General Informed Freestyling

A common theme from Mobility WOD is the idea of “informed freestyling”.  Basically, when you’re mobilizing, instead of remaining static and settling into a singular position, you’re actively moving around trying to loosen up the tissue and hunting for other restricted areas.  I’m a huge fan of total body informed freestyling in response to or as preventative maintenance for general stiffness.  One way to approach this is extensive DROMs, but my bias is towards ground based movement. Ideally this is accompanied by a foam roller, straps and a lacrosse ball.  More often than not, a mobility rx is reactive and targeted towards tissue you know is tight and preventing you from getting into positions you want to achieve.  There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that and probably the way you should spend most of your time stretching out. The problem however, is that sometimes it’s at the expense of a more generalized approach to soft tissue health. 
Lets start with the mindset that general stiffness is not normal and that you can do something about it.  To make an analogy, if you walked around hungry all day, a light would go off in your head to do something about it.  We don’t often listen to our bodies in the same way when our joints feel creaky and muscles feel stiff.  This should be a huge red flag that you need to spend a little more time doing generalized restorative movement.  Here are some quick benefits of a short total body movement session:

• Increased blood flow = Increased nutrient transport and hydration to all your tissues
• Excess metabolites are pushed into the lymph (think of it like “cleaning” an area of excess junk)
• Synovial fluid is pumped into your joint capsules, lubricating them
• With dedicated a breathing strategy and a modest pace, you can increase parasympathetic nervous system activity and decrease anxiety

Okay so how do we do it? Well there’s no one right way to do this and how you’re feeling that day should dictate your session but here are some general guidelines.

1. Set aside some time and space to move.  10-15 minutes should be enough to feel a lot better, I often put on a record and go at least until one side finishes. My preference is before bed since you can attack a whole day’s worth of stiffness and it’s a great way to unwind mentally. In terms of space, I love love LOVE my square36 mat.  Yoga mats provide insufficient area to move around on and I constantly have to reposition myself or the mat. (use the discount code cfbrooklyn36 to get $10 off a S36 mat!).

2. Start low and work high (or vise versa).  Start by doing some D-Dog calve marches, manually rolling your feet around, stretching out your toes, maybe using a LAX ball on your feet. Gradually work upstream spending more time in areas that feel tight.  Use stretches you remember from Group or Active Recovery class, make stuff up, work basic splits, twists, bends and be creative. You’ll undoubtedly find positions that feel great and areas that are tight.  Keep your breathing consistent and deep.

Here are some videos from our buddies at Body Tribe that might give you some more ideas:
Quick Mobility Play
Tav’s Brutal Recess
Staying Loose

3. Pepper in some Foam Rolling, LAX work or band stretches.  You might even start here and then get into the informed freestyling.  If you’re not sure what to do, take an Active Recovery class!

4. End with some deep breathing laying flat on your back, drink some water then go to bed!

Related Videos:
Gil Hedley: Fascia and stretching: The Fuzz Speech
Always Be Mobilizing
Informed Freestyling Always

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Leaving a Legacy CrossFit
Kristen Clever, DB Squat Snatch, GHD Sit-Up, Toe To Bar Triplet CrossFit

Fitness: 3×5 Across
Add 2-5lbs from last week’s exposure.

Performance: 85%x3 90%x2 95%x1x3

Post loads to comments.
BSQ e3/6
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For Time:
700m Row
35 Game Standard Box Jumps 30/24/20
1 Lap Around the Block

Post time and box height to comments.

The Squat Sisters, Stella Z and KH

Good luck to Jacinto B who is competing in the Norcal Masters event this weekend. Jacinto is 73 and competing in the 60+ age division. Unleash the Warrior!!!

Paleo Potluck Tonight!

CFSBK is proud to be hosting our 2013 CFSBK Community Potluck. This event is open to everyone and all are encouraged to come. To see what other folks are bringing, check out the RSVPs in the event page, otherwise, bring your favorite Paleo dish. We’re excited to get everyone in house to break bacon and socialize together outside of normal classes. The event starts at 6:30pm, see you there!

Potluck Notes:

• If your food needs to be kept warm or hot, you’ll need to provide your own crock pot or method for keeping it at serving temperature. We’ve got surge protectors and extension chords
• We’ll provide note cards for you to label your dish with.
• When you leave please take everything you brought with you. Do not leave any pots/pans/tupperware utensils etc. They will be discarded.
• Parents, we’ve got a minature bouncy castle inside your kids can play in.
• If you’d like to help out (and haven’t already been contacted) we’ll need some hands on deck putting everything away afterwards. If you stay until the end we’d appreciate it!
• Feel free to bring any alchohol you’d like too. If you’re not doing the LFPB Challenge and want to bring some non-paleo booze, that’s okay too.

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Boosting Your Flu Shot Response With Exercise NTY
A Purpose In Being CrossFit

How To Listen To Pain

By Dr. Jason Fidler

Unfortunately, most of us have been there. The sharp pain that shoots across your shoulders during your last set of sumo deadlift high pulls; the radiating pain down your thigh after heavy squats; the low back ache that lasts longer than normal after deadlifts. No matter how properly you train, pain is inevitable.

During my 5 years at CrossFit gyms, members have often approached me once they learn I am a chiropractor. They frequently ask me for a quick assessment or an easy answer to a nagging injury and, like many of us, they may not have the time for a proper assessment, which would include a detailed history, orthopedic testing and a treatment plan to figure out the true cause of their issue(s). What I have learned from such interactions is the importance of listening to pain, specifically, the questions that it poses.

What is pain? When should one power through a workout versus stopping? How should one respond to what the body is saying and what needs to be involved in this thought process? How do we define exacerbating and alleviating factors and when is it time to consult a professional? Understanding these questions will not only help you to develop a better body awareness but will also help you to avoid injury and better communicate when speaking with a doctor/therapist/trainer.

What is pain?

Remember the phrase “no pain, no gain”? It is antiquated and dangerous when applied to the type of WODs (workouts of the day) crossfitters endure. Pain is there for a reason. It is the body’s way of telling you that something is being compromised biomechanically or that you are actually aggravating an existing injury.

There are many different types of pain and all athletes endure some form of it. We will be focusing on a certain kind of pain, however. We’re not talking about the delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) that you get over the days following an intense workout. That is actually a good pain. That signals those tissues were fatigued and are now rebuilding to become bigger and stronger. It’s a sign that your body is adapting. More on DOMS later. We’re talking about the type of pain that comes from a soft tissue injury (sprain/strain/contusion), hard tissue injury (bone), and dislocation or overuse injury. It is important to consider whether these sensations have been caused by an acute, repetitive or cumulative trauma so we can figure out the best way to fix them. In other words, recognizing if these injuries were caused by a macrotrauma or have accumulated from microtraumas, which would include poor flexibility, posture, muscular imbalances and your body’s compensations to your old injuries as well as activities of daily living (ADLs). This is called “pathological” pain.

Chapman and Stillman (1996) defined pathological pain as “severe persisting pain or moderate pain of long duration that disrupts sleep and normal living, ceases to serve a protective function, and instead degrades health and functional capability.”

(Chapman CR)

Thought Process and Journaling

Whether I’m treating patients in the office or training hard in the gym, I’ve learned that the body gives us a variety of messages. To ignore them is to set yourself up for failure. The intense burn that we feel as we power through a MetCon (metabolic conditioning session) is a very different feeling from the sharp pain in the knee, shoulder or low back that causes us to compensate with altered mechanics. This needs to be interpreted as the alarm bell.

Of course, you don’t need a medical degree to manage your health. The trick is knowing when to seek professional advice and when to make a change on your own.

The purpose of tuning in to your body is to rule out the following:

Soft tissue injury (sprain/strain/contusion)
Hard tissue injury (bone)
Dislocation/fracture
Overuse injury
CrossFit Burnout (overtraining)

So what is the thought process in deciphering the different types of pain experienced?

Let’s say that you’re working out and all of a sudden you experience pain, discomfort or a “wonky” feeling.

It is helpful to record details in your workout journal. Doing so on a spreadsheet allows you to save it to the Cloud, and keyword search more easily for data, such as benchmarks or pain events.

Step 1 – Alert a coach

Step 2 – Define chief complaint (low back pain, shoulder pain) and how it happened, if possible

Step 3 – Describe provocative and alleviating factors (pain at low back with bending forward, lifting arm overhead alleviates pain in shoulder, etc.)

Quantify your level of discomfort by subjectively rating the severity on a 1-10 pain scale, 10 being the worst, or giving a percentage of how strong that region of your body feels.

Step 4 – has this happened before and is it getting worse?

Here are a few common injury situations with suggested action responses. They correspond to the flowchart attached to this article. Some may seem like obvious reactions, but, in the name of progress we often ignore our pain and sometimes make it worse by continuing past it.

SITUATION 1 Knowing when to quit and recognizing CrossFit Burnout

Maybe you’re feeling unenthusiastic about working out and/or noticing more than the usual soreness? This is what’s called “CrossFit burnout”. This status highly elevates risk for injury. Over-training means that you are exercising in excess of your body’s capacity to repair itself and adapt to the stresses you are presenting it with.  Be mindful of CrossFit burnout. If you are overtraining, your body’s repair mechanisms are overloaded and you’re in prime position for injury.

In this situation, scaling back on intensity and weight or taking a few days to a week off would be the most appropriate response. Most likely you’ll feel reenergized after a few days off. If the complaint does not improve, however, then it’s time talk to a coach to reconsider your training program or to a health professional who is familiar with high intensity training.

Common but subtle signs of overtraining are:

• Losing strength
• Feeling tired at the gym
• Loss of motivation to work out
• Generally feeling burned out
• Contracting illnesses such as colds and the flu

SITUATION 2 A visible change in a joint or region of the body

Is the location of your pain showing discoloration, abrasion, scars, edema (swelling) or deformity* (DASED)? If so, stop training, alert a coach and proceed to rest, ice, compress and elevate (RICE).  Try to clarify the qualities of the pain. These may include the following: aching, sore, cramping, pounding, sharp, throbbing, dull, nagging, penetrating, shooting, number, tingling, spasm, burning, radiating, stabbing, tender, knife-like, etc.

Is it getting better after a few days to a week of rest? If yes, then you may resume training at less than full intensity. If not, consult a professional. 

If you are feeling even slightly symptomatic, then performance and intensity SHOULD NOT be your primary goal. But rather consistent movement patterns conducted with proper biomechanics.

When you are feeling asymptomatic (presenting with no symptoms), preventative maintenance is key. It is unfortunate that most people wait for a cavity to see the dentist or excruciating back pain to see the chiropractor. But we don’t wait for our car to break down to get an oil change.  Think of your body as a high performance machine that requires routine maintenance to keep it running optimally. Proper alignment of your spine and the release of muscle adhesions you may or may not have been aware of will certainly make you less injury prone. In fact, it will most likely lead to performance enhancement. More on preventative maintenance and performance enhancement in a future article.

SITUATION 3 Nerve-y stuff

Are you experiencing pain or numbness that shoots into your arm(s) or leg(s)? If this is the case, then you are experiencing pathology to the nerve roots in the spine. You should definitely stop training and see a healthcare professional.

SITUATION 4 Dislocation or fracture

Are you unable to move a certain body part, such as a shoulder or ankle, and do you suspect dislocation or even a possible fracture? In this case, you will need to immediately immobilize that region with a splint or sling, RICE it and visit the ER where they can provide more advanced real-time diagnostics.

Sample Journal Entries

Sample 1: click to enlarge

Sample 2: click to enlarge

In both examples above, I’ve described location, provocative factors and sensation of my ailments, quantified the level of my discomfort and progress. While neither situation required discontinuing my workout, I recognized a pathological pain, gave it a concise description and made the appropriate modifications, which lead to an elimination of trauma to my toe.

Should you train with sore muscles?

It depends. Mild to moderate DOMS is normal and not likely to increase your risk of injury. On the other hand, if a particular region of the body experiences severe soreness it is advised that you allow it to rest and recover. For instance, if your low back is extremely sore after Grace (30 Clean and Jerks of 135lbs for time) then you may want to avoid working heavy deadlifts, a very similar movement, the next day. Pull-ups or running instead may be a less risky progression, as they are less taxing on already fatigued muscles.

Let’s say you have done a heavy 5-5-5 overhead press WOD. You can expect to feel some soreness/fatigue in the shoulder muscles later on in the week. If you notice excessive pain and soreness in or around the shoulder joint then this is a sign of pathological tissue damage and you need to refine your technique with less of a load. Again, this information needs to be recorded in your journal. Make a note of where you feel sore and share this information with a trainer to help you improve your technique. 

Consulting a professional

Who is a professional? Your CrossFit coach can do a lot to help improve your performance, remove inefficiencies and make other helpful recommendations. However, it is outside of their scope to make a medical diagnosis. This falls within the scope of your sports chiropractor (DC), physical therapist, general practitioner (MD) or an orthopedist.

If you continue to feel tingling and numbness, pain that does not resemble DOMS or if discoloration and deformity has not subsided significantly within a week, then it is time to consult a professional.

Conclusion

You don’t always have to do what’s on the whiteboard, also know as the prescribed workout of the day. While healing from an injury, modifications can always be made. Do not hesitate to ask a coach to help you come up with alternative movements. My toe injury for instance, which became exacerbated by bending my toe upwards in reverse lunges, was modified by simply being prescribed forward lunges. I still made all of the same gains without any of the pathologic pain. 

A word on over the counter anti-inflammatory medications. Pain is there for the purpose of preventing further injury and by artificially reducing it you run the risk of silencing this alarm. Also, there is no evidence that these medications help you to heal any faster.

Aches and pains should be accepted for what they are – useful feedback from your body telling you to give certain areas some rest. Everybody has different healing rates and you must learn to grasp yours.

Just like good listeners strengthen a relationship, hearing your body’s pain, and devising an appropriate response to it, will better equip you with enduring strength.

Chapman CR, Stillman M: Pathological Pain, Handbook of Perception: Pain and Touch. Edited by Krueger L. New York, Academic Press, 1996, pp 315 – 340

What Your Pain Is Telling You Flow Chart
click to enlarge

*Deformity means that the joint or region appears abnormally swollen, bent the wrong way or moving in obviously abnormal range of motion. This requires immediate attention.

Jason Fidler is a chiropractor serving the athletes and members of the CrossFit community in Brooklyn and lower Manhattan. He regularly trains and has office hours at CrossFit South Brooklyn and CrossFit 718. He is also a regular physician at many of the NYC endurance races and CrossFit competitions. As a CrossFitter and chiropractor since 2008, he is schooled in the functional movements that crossfitters routinely perform, their commonly associated training injuries and the most effective forms of treatment. Dr. Fidler holds full spine Active Release and Kinesio taping certifications, two very effective sought-after treatment protocols. To learn more, visit FidlerDC.com

Fitness: 3×5 Work Sets Across
Add 5lbs to last weeks Push Presses. You should still

Performance: Work up to a heavy 3 rep set on the Push Press
Try and beat last week’s heavy 3.

Post loads to comments.
PP e3/6
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5 Rounds Rounds For Max Reps of:
:30 Wall Ball 20lb,10′ / 14lb,9′
:30 Rest
:30 L-Sit Hold
:30 Rest

Hold the L-Sit as long as you can. If you need to come out of it within the time frame jump back in once you’re ready.  Prioritize shoulder position

Post total Wall Ball Reps and how many :30 L-Sit holds you were able to achieve

Chris A and Mike M debate which would be the better weapon of choice in a CrossFit Death Match, the Jump Rope Whip or PVC Staff

• Don’t forget to check out CFSBK on Instagram, Facebook and Vimeo!

Complimentary Range of Motion Testing Sunday

Can you identify the 4 muscles that make up the Rotator Cuff?  Do you know which of these muscles is most commonly injured?  Although you can tear your rotator cuff as a result of an injury, most rotator cuff problems develop over time.  Want to know if there’s a muscle that might be limiting your shoulder mobility?  Inka will be offering complementary ROM (range of motion) testing and MLT (muscle length testing) for the shoulder joint.  She will take you through AROM (active range of motion) and then PROM (passive range of motion) and will help you figure out if you are within normal range of motion for these muscles.  How does this help your workout?  Knowing where you fall short can help you figure out where you need to roll out and stretch more and give you that extra edge during your workout.  It can also help to prevent injury by addressing the imbalances in your body.  

She will also be doing some myofascial release and trigger point work to your Pec Minor muscle (found underneath the Pec Major) as well as your Subscapularis (found on the anterior side of your Scapula).  These muscles are hard to get to by yourself and can be a factor in rotator cuff injuries.

She will be offering this Sunday during the morning classes and Open Gym.  Email her directly to make an appt.inka.hodes(AT)gmail.com

If you had to bring one implement from the gym to battle (Anchorman style) which would it be?
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OMG Celebrity CrossFitterz
Scaling the a HSPU WOD with CrossFit Santa Cruz

Fitness: 3×5 Work Sets Across
Add 5lbs from last week’s exposure.

Performance: Work up to a heavy 3 rep set on the Front Squat
Go a little heavier than last week’s heavy 3

Post loads to comments.
FSQ e3/6
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Fitness
4 Rounds Not For Time of:
20 Banded Good Mornings
10 Kip Swings on the Pull-up bars OR 3 Strict Chin-Ups
16 Reverse lunges with a KB in the front Rack. GO HEAVY

There is a strict pull-up buy in for the kip swing practice today (3 for men, 1 for women). If you’re doing the chins, work up to as little assistance as possible. Perform the lunges one leg at a time.

Performance
4 Rounds Not For Time of:
20 Band Good Mornings
5 Hips to Rings
16 total reverse lunges with a KB in the front Rack. GO HEAVY

Perform 5 Kipping Hips to Rings as seen in the link. There is a buy-in of 5 Chest to Bar pul Ups to get on the rings. Alternately practice Kipping C2B Pull Ups on the bars. Perform the lunges one leg at a time.

Bike Rack is in!

Hail To The Queen

Ladies, 12 of your cohorts are already signed up for the female-only competition, “Hail To the Queen” on February 2nd taking place in Long Island City. If you’re interested in signing up, please do so today. There are only a handful of slots left and Jess will be ordering some matching socks (provided by the gym) for the competition tomorrow. If you register please email Jessica(AT)CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com to let us know you’re in.

Curried Collard Greens

By Chris Fox

Ingredients:
 
1 Bunch Collards (or other hearty greens), chopped or medium julienne
1 medium Onion, sliced thin
2 cloves Garlic (or more to taste), finely chopped
1 Tbsp Ginger, minced
1-2 Tbsp good Curry powder or paste (I like one with some HEAT!)
½ can Coconut Milk
½ – 1 cup Chicken Stock (salted water will do as well)
1 Tbsp Coconut Oil
Salt to taste
Juice from ½ Lime
Honey (optional)
Cilantro, chopped
Red Peppers, chopped

To Prepare:

–        Sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger in oil over medium heat in a medium saucepot till onion is slightly caramelized
–        Add the curry powder and sauté a few seconds before adding the greens (if using paste stir it in 1-2 Tbsp water or stock first so it incorporates better)
–        Add ½ cup stock or water and salt to taste and cook covered till greens are al dente, adding more liquid as needed. You don’t want more than 1-2 Tbsp of liquid left when greens are done
–        Add the coconut milk and simmer uncovered for a few minutes until the greens are cooked through and the whole thing thickens up a bit
–        Remove from heat amd add lime juice and a small amount of honey if using
–        Garnish with cilantro and red pepper
 
The dish packs a healthy dose of good fats from the coconut milk including lauric acid, along with a good dose of calcium from both the greens and the coconut milk. Curry powders contain numerous anti-inflammatory agents as well.  It keeps well so 2x or 3x it for leftovers. Pair it with some roast pork tenderloin (or any piece of meat) to make a meal, and add a starchy veg to make that meal superb post-WOD. To make it more calorically dense use a whole can of coconut milk.
 
Enjoy!

Write a WOD that includes a barbell, swimming and a calisthenic movement
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Vision and Culture TTMJ
Meet Kurtis Bowler CrossFit
Stig Severinsen – Guinness World Record – Longest Freedive Under Ice (236 feet)
Stig Severinsen : Freediving as philosophy

CRASH B’s Reviewing an on water 2K Race

Look, Feel, Perform Better 2 Week Check In

We’re just about two weeks into the Look Feel and Perform Better Challenge.  By now you should be finding your groove with some of the guidelines and hopefully realizing some of these things aren’t as hard as you would have anticipated. Below I’ve listed the basic parameters of the challenge. Please post to comments which components you’re doing the best with (and why) as well as which you’re struggling with (and why).

Guidelines:

Avoid Grains: Consume no grains or gluten products. This means bread, pasta, tortillas (sniff), beer (sniff, sniff), pastries, cookies, etc… Check labels for wheat/gluten containing items. Generally, try to avoid packaged foods.

Avoid Sugar: Consume no refined sugars. This means honey, fructose, coconut sugar, agave, etc. If you’re craving sweets, eat some fruit. 

Hydrate: Drink ½ oz of water per lb of bodyweight daily. Herbal tea and seltzer are Kosher too. Diet drinks are not.

Sleep: Sleep at least 7 hours per night

Bonus Points:
1 Point: Fish Oil
1 Point: 9 Hours Sleep
1 Point: Workout
1 Point: Active Recovery 20 min or Meditation 10 min

Also, don’t forget to RSVP for the 2013 CFSBK Community Paleo Potluck. All are invited! While you’re at it not forgetting things, click the “online waiver” link on the left and fill one out if you havent already.
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Robb Wolf Answers The Most Common Questions About The Paleo Diet
Tips From a Silver Medalist Rower CrossFit

Fitness: 3×5
Add 5-10lbs from last week. Pull the same version you started out with last week

Performance: Dynamic Effort Deadlifts 40% Plus Bands x 2 reps every 30 seconds for 4 minutes
Take 2-3 quick warm up sets to get to work weight (40%) then add bands. Focus on moving the bar fast, and being aggressive at the hips and quads with a tight finish position, no soft knees or hips. Dead start, no touch and go.

250-325 Red Band
325-400 Blue Band
400+ Green Band

Post loads to comments.
DL e2/6
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As Many Rounds As Possible In 7 minutes of:
20 Double Unders
15 Kettlebell Swings
20 Double Unders
10 Push-Ups

Post rounds and Rx to comments.

75 Hollow Rocks in as few sets as possible

Post total number of sets to comments

Fight Gone Bad 2012

• Don’t forget to RSVP for the 2013 CFSBK Community Paleo Potluck on Saturday, January 19th at 6:30pm. Everyone is invited to this event! Please let us know what you plan on bringing in the event page.
• Our digital waiver is now conveniently located on the left navigation bar of the web page. If you haven’t filled this out, we’re officially mad at you. Please go fill it out today.

Bikes Get Another Day

Because our bike rack hasn’t come yet we’ll allow bikes to be stored in the gym through Monday and Tuesday. We expect it to come in on Tuesday at some point at which we’ll be offering additional bike parking outside. Remember your locks moving forward, people!

Dr. Judy Wants (Me) You To Get A Flu Shot.. And Free Shoes

Free Vivo Barefooots

Fitness: 1 Hang High Pull + 1 Hang Power Snatch

Performance: 1 Hang Power Snatch + 1 Hang Snatch
 
Post loads to comments.
Snatch e2/6
________________

In teams of 3 Complete:
Run 800 meters together then,
75 Man-Makers with one partner working at a time then,
Run 800 meters together

Manmaker = DB Push Up + Renegade Row Left + Renegade Row Right + Squat Clean Thruster

Post results to comments.

Attempting something you’ve never done before in front of a room full of people watching. NO BIG DEAL

Big thanks to Dave, Rachel and Nahla for hosting the first Paleo Potluck of the challenge last night!

Dynamic Effort Deadlifts This Cycle

By: David Osorio

This cycle will be the second time we’ve seen Dynamic Effort Method Deadlifts with Accommodating Resistance programmed for Group Classes.  Lets explore what these methods are and who they’re appropriate for.

Dynamic Effort Method
As the name implies, Dynamic Effort (DE) work focuses on developing speed and explosiveness. This is accomplished by using a sub maximal weight lifted at maximal speeds.  Your muscles ability to produce force is dictated by a number of variables including overall size, angles of insertion on the bone, muscle shape, muscle fiber type and finally neuromuscular control.  The DE Method aims to help optimize that last variable by training your body to fire a large number of motor units quickly and efficiently.  You see, your muscles arent simply hunks of meat that are either “on or off”.  This is intuitive when you think about it a little.. consider holding a child’s hand versus holding a heavy dumbbell.  Your body senses that you need to work harder in the second scenario and will engage more motor units to accomplish the task at hand (pun intended).  Motor units are subdivisions of muscles that are recruited depending on what you’re trying to accomplish. Fewer motor units are used for light and fine motor patterns like writing and putting on clothes while more motor units are requited for heavy and fast patterns like lifting weights and jumping. When you’re first learning a new skill, that awkward, uncoordinated feeling you experience is your body not knowing how to best produce a firing pattern that will express effective, efficient movement.  The more you practice a skill, the better your bodies internal “software” gets at using the “hardware” resulting in better movement.  Lifting weights is no different, when you go to attempt a 1 Rep Max Deadlift, part of the equation regarding whether you’ll hit it or miss the lift is how good you are at firing up lots motor units.  By training a particular % continuum of your 1RM at high speed, you develop an explosive capacity to generate lots of force quickly.

Accommodating Resistance
We’ll also be playing with some Accommodating Resistance (AR) this cycle by way of bands and chains. The point of AR is to modify the amount of resistance you experience throughout the range of motion.  In any exercise, you’ll notice that there are “easier” and “harder” parts during the rep.  For example in Deadlifts, people often miss lifts at the bottom or around the knee, rarely after they get the bar onto the thigh. Similarly, the first 1/4 of a Back Squat is a hell of a lot easier than everything that happens at parallel and below (this helps explain the popularity in commercial gyms of partial squats).  The reason for this is that at certain points during the bar’s path you find yourself in more mechanically advantageous positions based on joint angles, muscle positions and where the resistance (barbell/body weight etc) is relative to the primarily muscles trying to move it.  Bands and chains can make those “easier” areas harder by changing how that resistance is expressed throughout the movement.  Watch this video of Bands and Chains used in Deadlifts and notice how at the top of the lift, when it’s usually the easiest, either the band is stretched out the most pulling the bar down or more chains are hanging from the bar increasing the amount of weight being lifted. The result of this kind of training is more well rounded strength and an increased ability to accelerate the lift through the range of motion.

Appropriateness
DE and AR are advanced training techniques used with seasoned Group Class lifters.  Think of the continuum of development like this:

• Phase 1: Basic technical practice at submaximal weights and speeds (2-4+ Months)*

• Phase 2: Strength and connective tissue development with medium and heavy weights (4-9+ Months)*

• Phase 3: Fancy shit used to overcome plateaus and individual weaknesses (9+ months of consistent training)*

*Generalized guidlines

If you haven’t spent extensive time with a particular lift and exhausted a linear progression, Dynamic Effort and Accommodating Resistance won’t give you the most return on your time. You’re better off getting as strong as you can at the base lift before using advanced methods.  You want to milk your body for all the strength potential you can get before digging into the bag of tricks to squeeze out your remaining capacity.  It’s inherently human to want to try advanced techniques in order to accelerate your development, but as anyone proficient in their craft knows, without a solid foundation, you won’t come close to what you’re capable of.  If your deadlift numbers are still gradually moving up, keep doing what’s clearly working and ride that train as long as you can. If you’ve been stalled out in your Deadlift for sometime, despite regular lifting and many, many attempts at lifting 1RMs, consider trying DE and AR methods.  When in doubt, ask a coach and as always, we’ll be doing our job and telling folks which to do if we feel you’re better off doing one or the other.

Happy Lifting!

Related Videos:
Dynamic Effort Day at Westside
Jay Fry Speed Deadlifts at Westside