Nancy shows us what trajectory she’s on. Great work!

There is No Active Recovery Tonight! Sorry folks!

The Look Feel Perform Better Challenge Ends Today!

OR DOES IT. You’ve spent the last few weeks cultivating new habits and while some of them may have waned a bit, compare your current behaviors to that of December of 2012. Are you better, worse or the same than the end of last year? Long term change is all about trajectory and consistency, if you make a 180 degree turn and “splurge for a while” before getting “back on the wagon” it’s going to be MUCH harder to reclaim what you’ve been working on. My advice? Take what’s been working for you and hold on tight, the longer you can commit to these changes the easier they eventually become. You’ve only been at it for 6 weeks, think about what 6 months would produce.  You might tweak the parameters, modify the point system (or ditch it) or even set up new ones for yourself to take it to the next level. Think about what you found successful and engaging about the challenge and continue forward! 

Final steps:

1. Perform the Capacity Test to get your post challenge results. This will be the WOD on Thursday so you’ll have an opportunity then or Friday to perform it. If you can’t make it either of those days let us know and we’ll try to accomodate.
2. Fill out the Post Challenge Form with your “after” pictures and responses. These are due one week from today on the 19th.
3. Attend the Potluck/awards ceremony! We’re pushing it to FRIDAY, March 1st in order to get everyone’s entries in and go through them all. Mark your calendars.. more details to follow!

“If you’re training people, you’ve got one oar in the water if you are not talking to them about nutrition.” – Greg Glassman
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CrossFit Nutrition Guide
Paleo Diet Testimonials Robb Wolf
Cooking with the Chans

The Scale Of The Known Universe
Blizzard Nemo Time Lapse

1-1-1-1-1
See if you can set a new PR today!

Post loads to comments.
DL e6/6
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“Annie”

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

There is a 10 minute cap on today’s benchmark WOD

Post time and Rx to comments.
compare to 5.5.12

Queen Asha gets her squat on

Congratulations Brandon!

CFSBK would like to congratulate Brandon R on competing in his first Olympic weightlifting meet this weekend. The results:

I places 1st in my weight class.  I competed against 3 others.   My attempts on the snatch were 60, 65, hit them both and since I knew I was leading in my weight class I went for 75 but missed.  My attempts at C&J were 80, 85 & 90. (kilos)

Lost Ünd Found

The LÜF is overflowing which means we’ll be donating everything to charity at the end of the week (Friday). Please check out the pictures our awesome Front Desk staff took to see if any of your stüff needs to be found.

• Water Bottles
• Clothes Pt. 1
• Clothes Pt. 2
• Shoes
• Misc stuff

What’s the most valuable (interpret however you’d like) thing you’ve ever lost?
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Fit and Feminist 100: The Strongwomen
Relax! You’ll Be More Productive NYT

12 minutes to work on Hang Snatch Technique. Make it a full squat if you have the ability to receive in the bottom. Either way, commit to your receiving position today and don’t rush out of poor positions.

Post loads to comments.
Snatch e6/6
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10 Rounds of:
3 Burpees
10 Yard Heavy Farmer Carry

Go heavy and move quickly.

Marian L Gets Over The Bar

• There is No Teaser Class today

• Attention CSA Participants: New recipes for this month’s haul over at The Daily Paleo

“I Just Wanna Deadlift”

By Dr. Mike

It wasn’t an easy day for my coach.  The conversation went something

like this.

“I wanna deadlift.”

“Well, we need to work on your overhead organization and positioning.”

“But, I just wanna deadlift!”

“We need to do some overall conditioning and work on core stability as a priority.”

“But, … !”

“Its not in today’s rotation of exercises.”

“But, … !!”

Frustration building, he responded:  “Too many deadlifts will make your … ears fall off.”

“But, … !!!  Goddamn it!”

“I think we are having a communication problem today. Later for you. And the deadlift.”

“Yeah? Well, when is “later” going to happen…?  Because I just loooove to deadlift…”

“ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN TODAY!!!  GOT IT?”

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Deadlift Technique: How To Take The Tension Out Of The Bar Eric Cressey
First Pull-Ups, Then Combat, Marine’s Say NYT
Weight Loss vs. Fat Loss Tony Gentlecore

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

Performance: Attempt a New 1RM
Potential attempts: 90%x1, 95%x1, 100%x1, 100%+x1, ???x1
Rest 2 minutes between the first 2 attempts, 3-5 as needed for the rest. Cut out the 95% set if you’re feeling great.

Post loads to comments.
BSQ e6/6
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3 Rounds for max reps of:
1:00 Double Unders
1:00 Box Jumps
1:00 Rest

Post points per movement and Rx to comments

Kim Z Gets Ready to 1RM

Classes are on as Normally Scheduled

Woo hoo! Come on down to the gym and get your squat on. Please leave your snow boots up by the front of the gym to avoid a bunch of snow being tracked into the main training floor.

There is No Active Recovery today
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The Kipping Handstand Push-Up
2012 CrossFit Games – Medball-Handstand Push-up: Women, Heat 3
Think snow is bad? At least it’s not RAINING SPIDERS

2013 CFSBK Open Team

Our numbers are growing and Team CFSBK now has 62 competitors registered for the 2013 CrossFit Open.  We’d like to welcome everyone aboard and thank them for representing the old skull and bones. This season will without a doubt be our most memorable to date. If you’re on the fence about joining, read the information below to see if it’s right for you. All are welcome to join. Post any additional questions to comments.

See the current team roster
If you’re signed up for the Open, please upload a picture of yourself so your teammates know who you are. Surely you’ve got one picture that can top the picture of Pukie.

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 5 weeks (March 6 to April 3) to find some of the fittest folks out there. The workouts are intentionally designed to be a little more inclusive than even the average CrossFit workout to maximise 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. At the end you’ll see how you rank against the gym, your region and the world. Last  year nearly 70,000 people from 73 countries participated in the Open, this year proves to be even bigger.

Sign up today!

Herschel understands the importance of Rest Days

Happy birthday to David T and Charlie!

Blizzard Advisory

Open Gym will take place as scheduled this evening!

Stay tuned to the blog for any other schedule changes this weekend.  Stay safe, everyone!

This weekend

There is No Teaser, Comp Class or Active Recovery while David attends an Olympic weightlifting seminar in Long Island City.

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You’re snowed in! Pick one movie, one board game and one more activity to pass the time..

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

Performance: Work up to a heavy single on the Push Press
Take three attempts to establish a new 1RM

Post loads to comments.
PP e6/6
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5 Unbroken Rounds of:
10 Kettlebell Swings
10 H2H KB Swings
10 Goblet Reverse Lunges
10 Kettlebell Swings

Rest as needed between sets and go heavy as possible

Post loads to comments.

Nancy about to lockout a press

Happy Birthday, KH!
Happy belated Birthday, Liese M!

Blizzard Schedule Update:

Since the snowfall is expected to start tomorrow morning and not get heavy until late afternoon on Friday expect AM and afternoon classes to be on. As of now we’re operating on a normal schedule but check the blog for any cancellations. If things get really bad and we need to cancel OG I’ll post something on the blog by 4:30pm on Friday.

Thanks

Fight Gone Bad Fundraiser Follw Up

Last fall, for our annual Fight Gone Bad event we picked the Brooklyn Community Foundation to be our charity, so that teams’ fundraising would have a local impact by supporting Brooklyn’s hardworking nonprofit community. After Hurricane Sandy, when the Brooklyn Community Foundation quickly organized the Brooklyn Recovery Fund, it was clear to us that the nearly $50,000 we raised through Fight Gone Bad should back the work local nonprofits were doing in storm-devastated Red Hook, Coney Island, and beyond.

To date, the Brooklyn Recovery Fund has distributed more than $650,000 in emergency relief grants to food pantries, local churches, and community-based organizations on the ground here in Brooklyn. But the Brooklyn Recovery Fund isn’t done yet. They’re now focusing on costly emerging longer-term needs, especially related to rebuilding homes and businesses – as well as investing in neighborhood coalitions that can create greater resiliency in their communities and be better prepared for the future.

See where the money you raised went and view a summary of the Brooklyn Recovery Fund’s activities here. And keep up your support for the Brooklyn Community Foundation by checking out their “Brooklyn Love” aparty on February 21st in Crown Heights! Details and tickets at BROOKLYN LOVE

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Is CrossFit Saving Olympic Weightlifting? Manimals Guide

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

Performance: Work up to a heavy single on the Front Squat
Work up to a new 1RM in 3 attempts or less. (5 warm up sets, 3 work sets)

Post loads to comments.
FSQ e5/6
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Partner Workout

AMRAP 12 Minutes:
20 Calorie Row
20 Wall Ball Shots 20lb,10′ / 14lb,9′

Work in teams of 2 with one partner working at a time. Go hard on the Row and try to get your Wall Ball Shots unbroken each round.

Stella Z mid Sit-Up

• By popular demand, Janelle R’s famous Paleo-friendly tequila Jell-O shots recipe can be found on The Daily Paleo
• Happy Birthday, K-Mo!
  

CSA Pick Up Tonight

Another 900lbs of organic and humanely raised meat from Herondale Farm will be available for pick up this evening from 6-8pm. If you’ve got any issues picking up your share please contact Michele at mignyc (AT) gmail.com.

Massage at CFSBK

Inka has been part of the SBK community for nearly two years. As an athlete, bodyworker, and regular to crossfit workouts, she understands first hand repetitive movement patterns and the stress they can put on the body. This familiarity allowed her to learn a wide variety of treatment techniques to help prevent overuse injuries. She strongly believes that the mind and the body are connected and that regular exercise and bodywork is a key component to maintaining one’s health.  

Inka is offering sports massage geared towards breaking down adhesions, relieving trigger points, unadhering myofascial restrictions, and increasing range of motion. Techniques include Myofascial Release and Trigger Point Therapy. 

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The Old Show with Jon North

Janelle R overhead at Hail To The Queen!

Happy Birthday, Charlotte K!

• Big thanks to Bekka P who took some awesome pictures at the event this weekend which can be found here.
• There is no Active Recovery, Teaser Class or Comp Class this upcoming weekend as David will be at an Olympic Weightlfting Seminar in Long Island City

• Curious about Thai Massage? Check out this video by Elyse Sparkes with some techniques that will be used at the workshop on the 23rd.

• CFSBK’s CrossFit Open team is currently 46 strong!  Are you on the fence about signing up? Check out why these people have signed up.
• We’re kindly asking our members to try and avoid parking in the spot right in front of the gym. We’ve got a handful of coaches who drive to work and having that spot can be a huge lifesaver for us finding parking everyday. Thanks!!

DIY Cool Downs

We pack as much Strength and Conditioning into our Group Classes as possible.  A basic template for what a class looks like is something like this:

DROMS
Couplet or Triplet Warm-Up
Some Targeted Stretching
Barbell Strength Work
Conditioning or Assistance Work

or Like this

DROMS/Names
Soft Tissue Work (Foam Roll/Lax ball)
Barbell or Movement Review/Warm-Up
Longer Conditioning

What’s missing?  Well, it’s the oft overlooked cool down.  We’ve done a pretty good job of doing away with allowing people to remain sprawled out on the ground after workouts but something we need be better at is getting you guys doing DIY cool downs.  By finishing a hard effort (the workout) with a medium to long cool down, you flush out the metabolites in your blood stream with oxygen rich blood. What that means for you is quicker recovery time, less soreness and helps shift your central nervous system back into a normal state.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

5-10 minute Row at 20-22 s/m
You could just as easily row for a set distance like 500m, 750m or 1000m but using a time stamp ensures you’ll be on the erg for enough time to get your blood flowing and actually settle into your cool down. Focus on technique at minimal intensity.  You should be able to have a conversation with the person next to you about how awesome cooling down is.

2+ Easy Laps Around The Block
Roughly 2/3 of a mile, don’t be afraid of that third lap if you’re up for it.  Again, this should be very light and easy, the basic test is that you should be able to hold a conversation during it. You can also focus on a soft landing and upper body mechanics. My recommendation would be to also add in some upper body DROMs in at the end of this.

DROMS + Informed Freestyling then Foam Roll
Similar to the DROMS we do at the beginning of most classes.  When I do these on my own, I like to count our the reps in my head. Usually 10-15 reps each side makes for a thorough cool down. Remember that since this can be less vigorous than the other modalities you’ll have so spend enough time moving to get the benefit. Check a clock and intend on 10 minutes of cooling down. You can go through Greg A’s warm-up DROMS and then some light calisthenics like squats, sit-ups, jumping rope or dynamic mat based movement like downward dogs to hip mobs etc. Finish off with some foam rolling on the the primary muscle groups you just worked.

Remember, none of these are a second workout or should in any way be described as “hard”. You might mentally feel like they’re hard since you just want to peel your shirt off and walk home, but really they’re not and you’ll get back to “normal” much quicker this way.  Also- in terms of length, the above cool downs are all about 10 minutes, which isn’t set in stone.  If you ask coach Nick, he’ll tell you that the cool down should be twice as long as the workout, if you’ve got the time, go for it, otherwise do at least 10 minutes.

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Adaptation Error: No Cool Down MobilityWOD

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

Performance: 9×2 Dynamic Effort 55% (plus bands) x 2 reps every 30 seconds for 4 minutes
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 e5/6
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5 Rounds For Time of:
12 Kettlebell Swings 32kg/24kg
20 Anchored Sit-Ups

Post time and Rx to comments.

An Opportunity to state how you’d like to finish the month.

Happy Birthday, Jay R!

Will Power!!!

How is the LFPB Challenge going for you? Are you still forging strong or are the changes you committed to at the start of all this beginning to dwindle away? This write up is for those of you in the latter camp that might be getting frustrated with yourselves and losing motivation to follow through with your initial goals.  I hope this can help put some things into perspective for you and hopefully give you some tools to reclaim positive behaviors.

Will power is an expendable resource. Instead get good at compromising.
The beginning of the year is a perfect storm for starting a change process. It seems like everyone around you and all you hear about is how people are starting resolutions and making positive changes to their lifestyle.  Asking for no bread at dinner, getting up early and making breakfast before taking that 6am WOD class all seem so natural, why haven’t you always been doing this!? But, as time goes by those habits might seem more like huge emotional drains versus staying up late, waking up at 8am then getting a bagel and coffee before taking the subway straight to work.

Lets break down why this switch might happen:

No one said this would be easy! Behavior change takes time, commitment and the right perspective. You won’t be perfect and that’s okay, accept it. What’s important is to find the triggers the DERAIL you and avoid them like the plague.  It may take 6 months of consistent change before things totally feel natural, intuitive and easy. Rome wasn’t built in a day (or 6 weeks). Stay strong and know thyself.

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WE ATE PALEO BEFORE IT WAS COOL.

Work up to a heavy single

Post loads to comments.
e 5/6
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For Max Reps:
Tabata Row (for calories)
Rest 1:00
Tabata Dumbbell Thrusters
Rest 1:00
Tabata Pull-Ups

Post reps per movement and Rx to comments.

CFSBK’s Lady Warriors

Great work to everyone who competed in yesterday’s Hail To The Queen event in Long Island City. We had a strong showing and every one of our ladies represented the gym will with excellent technique and intensity. Big shout out to Coach Melo who made top 10 in this event. To see the full results, click here.

Registration For The 2013 CrossFit Open

Registration is now live. Whether you are the Fittest on Earth or it’s your first time competing in CrossFit, welcome to the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games Open!

The Open will put competitors through five workouts over five weeks, starting March 6 and ending April 7.

The first workout will be released at 5 p.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday, March 6. To be in the running for Regional or Masters Competition, you must register, complete the first workout, and submit your score by 5 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday, March 10.

If you registered for the 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games Open, CrossFit for Hope, or the Online Judges Course, DO NOT create a new account. Use last year’s username and password, and you’ll be led through the Open registration process. This way last year’s results will be linked to this year’s. You’ll be able to compare times, lifts, and benchmarks. Send any questions to support@crossfitgames.com.

It’s on! Get registered and ramp up the training. Fewer than five weeks remain until the first workout is announced.

How to Register: 
How to Register as an Athlete

Sign up today and register for team CrossFit South Brooklyn!!! We’re currently 40 Strong!

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Dave Tate Speaks at CFHQ