Fitness: 4 Warm-Up Sets then your second 3×5 LBBSQ exposure. Bar speed should remain quick.

Performance: 4-5 Warm-Ups sets then a heavy 3×5. Next week is a 3×3

Post loads to comments.
LBBSQ e2/6 compare 9.1.12
____________________

Performance
For Time:
Run 1/3 mile
21 Strict Ring Dips
Run 1/3 Mile
15 Strict Ring Dips
Run 1/3 Mile
9 Strict Ring Dips

Fitness
For Time:
Run 1/3 mile
21 or 42 Push-Ups
Run 1/3 Mile
15 or 30 Push-Ups
Run 1/3 Mile
9 or 18 Push-Ups

Post time and Rx to comments.

Athlete Of The Month

Barbara Kryszko!

Wow…what a long way Barbara has come since walking in to CFSBK. Some people don’t make it through Foundations, and some people decide after a short while that Crossfit isn’t for them for whatever reason. Neither of these fitness fates was to be for her. The self professed non-athletic vegetarian was up for a challenge and saw something else in store for herself. We’re glad she did.

Fox – (whispered) Barbara, you’re Athlete of the Month…

BK – Yeah, nice joke. Isn’t there a rule that you have to eat meat or something?

Fox – Haha! Nope, tell me how you found CrossFit South Brooklyn and why you stayed.

BK – Well I had a friend who was talking about signing up and I figured “If she can do that, I can do that”. I don’t know, I think it was just the right time in my life and I was up for a challenge. To be perfectly honest I had “donated “ more money to gyms and health clubs over the years than I care to admit. CrossFit just clicked for me.

Fox – What was it that clicked?

BK – Well believe it or not I used to be about 40 lbs heavier than I am now. I cleaned up my diet a bit and started walking and was able to lose weight, which is great. The bad part is that I did that twice. I lost a bunch of weight and eventually gained it back. I decided that I needed to be healthier and felt like this was going to be a part of it. The community aspect of the gym, the non-judgemental attitude of coaches and athletes alike, the support systems in place, these are all reasons why I stayed in the beginning. Then I started seeing results and understanding that there was an intelligent process at work here. I love that there’s always room to grow.

Fox – I’m so glad we have been a part of that, and I can’t even begin to picture you 40 lbs heavier! Tell me about this “meat free” diet of yours 😉

BK – I knew you’d want to talk about that. Well, I’ve been a vegetarian since high school. My (well meaning traditional Polish) parents used to try and get me to eat meat with little success. By the time I was in high school they understood that this was my choice, or at least they (almost) gave up on trying to get me to eat meat. I gave it up for Lent under the auspice of religion. My Catholic parents couldn’t argue that one and they let me be. I’d first made the decision as a child while in Poland on vacation with family. I remember playing with the chickens that kept in the yard, and then being served chicken for a family meal, and putting it together.

Fox – Being a successful CrossFitter on a vegetarian diet can be a challenge. How do you go about getting enough protein to recover?

BK – I eat lots of eggs, like a few dozen per week. I also eat lots of lentils which I soak and supplement with protein powder too. Unlike many vegetarians I eat no grains. Going gluten free was one of the best things I’ve ever done for my health and now I avoid all grains. To make up the difference in calories I also eat a ton of fat.

Fox – Smart choices! I love it. Tell me a bit about you outside of the gym. Where are you from? What do you do for work and fun?

BK – I’m from the Detroit suburbs. I grew up there and went to college an hour away. I was born in Detroit proper though and went to school at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, so I consider myself a city girl. I had a pretty traditional Polish Catholic upbringing, which meant Polish language school and folk dancing and all. I came to New York on a family trip when I was about 13 years old, loved it, and knew I’d live here. I moved to Brooklyn when I came to New York and have been here since. I work as a public interest lawyer, i.e. the kind that doesn’t make tons of money but has a lot of meaningful and rewarding work. For fun, besides CrossFit I like to spend time with friends, eating a great meal, enjoying a good glass of wine and exploring what NYC has to offer. I also recently started meditation and am really drawn to it. I find it to be a nice parallel to CrossFit.

Fox – What do you see as your strengths and weaknesses in the gym?

BK – I’m working on getting stronger with weights, and finding it in myself to just let it rip every now and then. I think I do better on longer, chipper style workouts. I can really tune in with myself and keep moving. I find this to be somewhat similar to meditation.

Fox – Really interesting stuff. Last question. What do you think we should look for in a future AOM?

BK – Someone who is balanced and has a spirit to persevere. Someone who is enthusiastic about not only their own process but also about others. Something I really love about CFSBK is that it fosters both individuals and the community to be the best they can be.

————-

Huge congrats to Barbara. We couldn’t be prouder to have her as a member of the community, and to see the progress she’s made in sticking with the program even while the friend who prompted the challenge that brought her to us bowed out long ago. We look forward to still more progress and to seeing her ‘let it rip’ on a WOD every now and again. And, to seeing her demo some of the traditional Polish folk dance.

Matt Ufford and Fight Gone Bad 2010

Fight Gone Bad 2012

As of last night, we have a total of 56 athletes signed up for FGB!  Last year we had about 100 so we’re over halfway there.  Now we understand that some of you are new to FGB and might not be sure what you’re signing up for so we thought we’d answer a few questions here about it:

What if I can’t attend on Saturday 10/20?
Sign up anyway and select the option to be on Fight Gone Belated!  We’ll do our best to coordinate a make-up date with those athletes that can’t attend so that you can still participate in the fun!  You’ll still get to create a team name, participate in fundraising and get a FGB tshirt!

Why are we fundraising?
In the past, our annual FGB Fundraiser has been a great way to bring our community together to support great charities.  And because Brooklyn has been good to us, we want to help give back to the very community CFSBK is proud to call home.  That’s why we chose to support the Brooklyn Community Foundation.  If you haven’t already, make sure you visit their website to check them out.  Or if you’re lazy at least check out their list of Grantees and we’re sure you’ll find one or two not far from you!

Will there be a fundraising minimum? 
While we’d love everyone to make attempts to raise funds, there will be no fundraising minimum to participate.  However, as in years past, there will be prizes awarded to the top Individual and Team fundraiser! 

Ok, you keep talking about fundraising but how should I do this and when should I begin?
Once our registration deadline ends on 9/11, we’ll create teams consisting of 5 athletes.  Shortly after, athletes will get an email from us with their team assignments and all of the details to set up your fundraising page.  We’ll be using Crowdrise as our fundraising platform and participants will have individual fundraising pages that will be super easy to share with friends and family!

What is this workout again? What if I can’t do the workout Rx’d?
Here’s a description of the workout.  And don’t worry, we’ll have scaling options available! 

So the day begins at 9am but how long will it last?  When will my team go?
The length of the event will depend on how many total athletes/teams we have.  We will run 2 teams through the workout simultaneously and will have new heats starting about every 20 mins.  Unfortunately, we won’t be able to tell you exactly what time your team will be going until closer to the event.   We hope though that you plan on spending a few hours with us, not only competing but also supporting your fellow teams.  And as usual, we’ll have some tasty adult beverages to enjoy!

Ok, I’m sold.  Where do I register?
Sign me up for Fight Gone Bad 2012!

______________________
The Revolutionary Guide To Manly Short Shorts 70s Big
Gillian Mounsey Bench Presses Body Weight For 30 Reps GM
Institute for Justice takes the case of paleo blogger, files suit Hunter-Gatherer
Comparing Mortality Rates Between NFL and MLB Players Grantland

Fitness

5 Rounds of:
In 1:00, perform 10 Ring Rows
In 1:00, perform Max Reps Double Unders, Attempts or Single Unders
In 1:00, perform 10 Strict Dumbbell Presses
In 1:00, perform Max Reps KB Swings
_________________

Performance

5 Rounds of:
In 1:00, perform 7/4 Strict Pull-Ups
In 1:00, perform Max Reps Double Unders
In 1:00, perform 7/4 Handstand Push-Ups
In 1:00, perform Max Reps KB Swings

Score is highest/lowest DU/KB round
Post pull-up and DB rx to comments.

Steph P at Kilimanjaro
On Tuesday, August 28th around 10:30am local time in Tanzania, Africa, I reached the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro, 19,341 vertical ft above sea level with 9 other Team Fox members.  Together, we finished the 6 day trip (4.5 days up, 1.5 days back down) and have collectively raised over $77,000 for Parkinson’s research.  The climb was probably one of the most mentally and physically challenging things I’ve done to date, and by far one of the most rewarding.  It was a caveman’s worst nightmare – basically eating bread at every meal.  Here I’m jumping as high as I possibly could at the summit, which ended up being about 3 inches off the ground.  

I want to thank everyone who’s supported this journey – whether with great words of encouragement or with donations to Team Fox.  My brother and I have raised just over $23,000 together, surpassing our $20,000 goal!!  There is always a continued need to fund PD research, so if you’d like to see more of our story, you can check out www.teamfox.org/goto/paddocks.

Supple Leopards Unite

I talked to Kelly Starrett last night and he said based on the number of book orders we have in so far, we’re  one of the top affiliates on track to possibly win the Affiliate Gym Raffle. Anyone interested in pre-ordering “Becoming a Supple Leopard” should email David(AT)CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com with “Leopard” as the subject line. We’ve got about 80 orders in so far!  The deadline for the raffle is Sept 14th, so we’re going to extend the window the gym has to maximise our total.

AFFILIATE GYM RAFFLE
The affiliate gym that orders the most books (wholesale prices when purchasing 10 copies or more), wins a free Movement and Mobility Seminar with Kelly Starrett at their gym. To purchase wholesale books, please download and complete the Wholesale Book Order Form (11-49 books) or Wholesale Book Order Form (50+ books) and return it to juliet@sanfranciscocrossfit.com for processing. Over 10 books = 50% off the cover price and over 50 books = 55% off the cover price.  (David does all of this, just email him to confirm you want the book)

It’s a Birthday Party

CFSBK is celebrating our 5th anniversary on Friday, September 28th.  Mark your calendars for food, drinks, debachury and burpees!

Sign up for Fight Gone Bad!

Time is of the essence! Fight Gone Bad 2012 is approaching. If you participated in any of our previous Fight Gone Bad events you know how amazing this event is. The teams, the t-shirts the charity.  Each year we come together for 17 minutes of hell to give back a little to those in need. This year we’ll be supporting The Brooklyn Community Foundation! Read up on the BCF and take a moment to sign up.

Sign me up for Fight Gone Bad 2012!

Registration deadline: 9/11

___________________
In a Mass Knife Fight to the Death Between Every American President, Who Would Win and Why? (per JB’s Request)
Donny Shankle Talks Hand Care
Cobalt Blue’s Story
Karen Pierce Does 100 Thrusters at 95lbs

Fitness: Perform 4-5 Warm-Up sets then a reasonably heavy 3×5 across

Performance: Perform 6-7 total sets to find a heavy single. Afterwards drop back to 80% and do 1 set of 4-10 reps. Prioritize upper back integrity.

Post loads to comments.
conjugate squat e2/6
___________________

Perform 5 Rounds for max reps of:
1:00 Max Calories Rowed
1:00 Max Wall Ball Shots
1:00 Rest

Post total reps and Rx to comments.

Dogs Are An Important Component of Fitness!

• Registration for FIGHT GONE BAD 2012 will be open through 9/11. Sign up today!!
• We currently have 55+ orders in for Kelly’s book. Remember to email David(at)CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com with “Leopard” as the subject line if you’d like to be included in the wholesale/presale promotion.

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

Fitness: Perform 3-4 Warm-Up Sets then a 1×5 Work Set 5-10lbs heavier than last week

Performance: Perform 2-3 Warm-up Sets then 1 Speed Deadlift performed every :30 for 8 intervals.

Band tension at the top of your pull should be about 20% of your true 1RM. Use the guide below to select

Band Tension Guide:
350-400+lbs: Thin Green
300-350lb: Blue Band
250-300: White
200-250: Red
Less 200: No Tension

Please Re-Read the Dynamic Effort Deadlift article if you think you want to do the Performance programming this cycle. Remember, unless you’ve got 9+ months of accumulated deadlift training, you’re better off doing the heavy 5’s in Fitness.

Post loads to comments.
DL e2/6 compare to 8.27.12
____________________

4 Rounds NFT of:
6 Barbell Romanian Deadlifts
Accumulate :25 in an L-Sit

Performance folks can load the RDL around 60% of your true 1RM, fitness folks can load it around 60% of today’s work sets.  Use a double overhand grip.

Fight Gone Bad 2011

Announcing Fight Gone Bad 2012!

Since 2008, CrossFit South Brooklyn has conducted a yearly fundraiser in the form of a workout called “Fight Gone Bad”.  In the past we’ve raised funds to serve such charities as Wounded Warrior Project and LiveStrong. This year, we wanted to keep our support local and will be raising funds for the Brooklyn Community Foundation.  BCF is an organization dedicated to improving the lives of people in Brooklyn by strengthening communities through local giving, grantmaking and community service.

When?
Saturday, October 20th, beginning at 9am.

What is Fight Gone Bad?
Three rounds of:
Wall-ball, 20/14lb, 10ft target (Reps)
Sumo deadlift high-pull, 75/55 pounds (Reps)
Box Jump, 20″ box (Reps)
Push-press, 75/55 pounds (Reps)
Row (Calories)

In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute.The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. On call of “rotate”, the athletes must move to next station immediately for best score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

WOD Demo

How do I sign up?
Just click on the link below to register!  Once we’ve got folks registered, we’ll then assign 5-person teams and send you info on how to start your fundraising efforts!

Sign me up for Fight Gone Bad 2012!

Registration deadline: 9/11

Feel free to post any questions to comments.

__________________
Keeping your Gym Environment Strong Cathletics

Happy Birthday, Coach Margie!!

A Very Red Malcolm Does a Beach Headstand to Press Out

Attention Mobility Fans:

As many of you know, Kelly Starrett, creator of the infintely useful MobilityWOD is coming out with a book.  This mamoth hardcover book will be 400+ pages, contain 3,500+ photographs and no doubt be Kelly’s magnum opus.  The gym will be buying a few copies and wants to know if you want in too. At retail, the book will cost $59.95 but pre-order sales will be $29.98 for orders of 10 or more.  If you’d like to get in on the pre-sale discount, please email David(AT)CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com with “Leopard” as the subject line.

“Becoming a Supple Leopard”
The Ultimate Guide To Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance
By Kelly Starrett with Glen Cordoza
Website

Current Pre-Orders In:
1. Jason F
2. David McG
3. Tom S
4. Nino D
5. Laura M
6. Noah B
7. Alex H
8. Inka H
9. Gabriel B
10. Erica/Greg N
11. Joy M
12. Rickke M
13. Carlos and Christine G
14. Richard G
15. CFSBK!

If you’re not on this list, you need to email me ASAP to jump on the pain train to mobility town.  I’ll be ordering the books late this week and then will hit everyone up at the gym for the $$.

____________________
Stopping The Spread Of Misinflammation Starting Strength
What is Labor Day?  Wikipedia
Prevent an Avocado or Guacamole from Turning Brown with an Onion Lifehacker

Fitness

5 Rounds not for time of:
10 Reps, Bench Press
12 Ring Rows or 5-10 Strict Pull-Ups
______________

Performance

Strength Cycle Takes To The Wall

Remember we are Closed Tomorrow for Labor Day. Classes are on as normal today, including Open Gym this evening.

CFSBK Book Club Details

__________________
What are your Labor Day Plans?

Fitness: 4 ascending Warm-Up Sets then your first 3×5 LBBSQ exposure. Bar speed should remain quick as you’ll be adding to this start weight for the next 5 weeks.

Performance: 4-5 ascending Warm-Ups sets then some heavy 3×5 Work Sets across. Leave a little room to add weight next week as you’ll be seeing one more exposure of 3×5 before we move to triples.

Post loads to comments.
LBBSQ e1/6
_________________

With a partner, perform about 4 Rounds or 20 minutes of:

Fitness:
3 Wall Walks with a :10 Hold at the top (alternate people)
8e Weighted Reverse Lunges
1:00-2:00 Plank or weighted plank

Performance:
3 Headstands on AbMat. Hold the top for :05-:10
8e Weighted Reverse Lunges
2:00 Plank or weighted plank on your forearms

Headstand Video 1
Headstand Video 2

Every year for Labor Day weekend I come down to Virginia Beach and visit Christy, my best friend from college.  She is actually the one that got me started in CrossFit.  I got to go to her gym today and do a WOD that was appropriately titled the Birthday Sh*tstorm (they do one wod a month for the people who have a birthday in it) and it was a doozy.  I just wanted to share my experience at CrossFit Unrivaled. Everyone was awesome, the wod was crazy and Britney our coach was great!  Highly recommended if anyone traverses to the Virginia Beach area.  Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend! – Shaye L

Attention Mobility Fans:

As many of you know, Kelly Starrett, creator of the infintely useful MobilityWOD is coming out with a book.  This mamoth hardcover book will be 400+ pages, contain 3,500+ photographs and no doubt be Kelly’s magnum opus.  The gym will be buying a few copies and wants to know if you want in too. At retail, the book will cost $59.95 but pre-order sales will be $29.98 for orders of 10 or more.  If you’d like to get in on the pre-sale discount, please email David(AT)CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com with “Leopard” as the subject line.

“Becoming a Supple Leopard”
The Ultimate Guide To Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance
By Kelly Starrett with Glen Cordoza
Website

Dance, Whitney… DANCE!

Bob Ross Remixed PBS
Mister Rogers Remixed PBS
Julia Childs Remixed PBS

7pm Group Men’s Relay Race Team

Were you reading the comments this week regarding how the internet sucks us in? Check out Samir C‘s previous blog post on The Distraction of Distraction

Holiday Weekend Schedule

Saturday: Normal Group Classes
Sunday: Normal Group Classes
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: Normal Group Classes (Monday’s Deadlifts will be programmed)

Dynamic Effort Deadlifts This Cycle

By: David Osorio

This cycle will be the first 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

_________________
Park Slope’s Juventino Disclosed
Squat Quick Test Is It Your Ankle Or Your Hips? MobilityWOD
Nutrition For Injury Recovery Precision Nutrition

3 Rounds of:
In 5 Minutes
Row 500m
AMRAP Hang Clean and Shoulder To Overhead

Rest about 4-5 mintues between each round

Work Weight Options:
155/105
135/95
115/75
95/65
75/53
65/45

Post total reps completed and Rx to comments.

Assistance Work
Dumbbell Press
1×10 Warm-Up
1×20 Work

Malcolm S on his Hands

Gym Equipment Etiquette Reminders

While not comprehensive, these pointers can help your rack up credibility points at the gym.

Plyo Box Storage: For years we’ve told you, “DON’T STACK THE BOXES!!!” because they get wedged on top of each other and end up stuck together… well we take it back*! Josh M put some carpet material on the inside of each 16″+ box (thanks Josh!) so now you CAN stack them without fear of a coach reprimanding you. We’ve also painted some numbers on the boxes.  When you put them back, please organize them with the red numbers facing forward.

*This does not apply to the smaller 12″ wooden boxes we usually keep by the jump stretch bands. Those most certainly get wedged together and are a total pain in the ass to seperate. NEVER stack the small wooden boxes!

White Boards: We often do workouts that require you to track rounds or reps on the fly.  To make your life a little easier we cut up some whiteboards into little tablets for personalized use (Thanks DMak!).  Two points of etiquette with these. 1. Please erase your board after you’re done with it. 2. If the workout requires you to track rounds (as opposed to reps) please write a bunch of dashes on the board and use your finger to track completed rounds.  Keeping the marker uncapped during the workouts dries them out and leaves more stuff on the ground for people to potentially step on.

Erg (Rower) Handles: When you’re done with an erg, please put the handle all the way back in the window.  We know it seems intuitive to house them in the little dock that concept 2 provided but if you leave them there too long it weakens the spring that provides recoil on the handle.  The small dock is only for rest periods or partner transitions.

Bumpers: When you’re breaking down your barbells make sure to put them back in an orderly stack. If you’re the first person back to a low set of bumpers and the PVC holder is down, put it back so all the remaining bumps can be stacked properly. Also- whenever classes are large and we’re running low on weight, try to use the largest bumpers available.  For example, if you’re squatting 165, your bar should have a pair of 45s and a pair of 15s on it. Not 25s, then a bunch of 10s and change.

Bailing: Bailing is a necessary part of lifting heavy and metcons but don’t go crazy with it.  People can get a little bail-friendly and drop weight they could have just as easily put down under control.  Excessive dropping puts wear on the bumpers AND the bars. You’ve no doubt noticed the bumpers with big cracks and no metal inserts in them.  Why is that? Too much bailing! Also- it should go without saying but NEVER bail an empty bar, these will quickly destroy the finest barbells.

Bikes: We have a pretty lax policy on people leaving their bikes up by the front during class.  That being said there are two things to consider. First off, you should lock your wheel to the frame of your bike to discourage would-be theives. In the 2+ years we’ve been on Degraw street there has only been one attempted bike theft incident.. but you’re better off safe than sorry.  Secondly, please do not put your bike in front of the sign in desk, garbage can or fridge.  Stacking your bike in front of any of these makes it hard for other members to use the front area at all.

Being mindful of your foot print:  During peak hours the gym can be quite crowded.  If you’re stretching out on the mat or working on something, please be mindful of your surroundings and do your best to be as efficient with your personal foot print as possible.  This is especially true for jumping rope which can make it very difficult for people to get around you. If you’re going to skip rope, make sure you’re not in a high traffic area. If you want to use a rack or set up a barbell somewhere, make sure to ask a coach first if theres room and where you can go.

Finally, if you’re not sure about something, don’t hesitate to ask a coach.  A CrossFit gym is probably very different than the commercial gym you spent the last X years in.

Related Reading:
Degraw Street Etiquette 101 David Osorio
Gym Etiquette Noah Abbott
Bad CrossFit Gym Etiquette Satire Video

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