Fitness

3 Rounds for time of:
400m Run
21 Overhead Squats
12 Kipping Pull Ups or 6 Strict Pull Ups or 12 Ring Rows
If you can’t perform an Overhead Squat due to mobility, substitute a Front Squat instead

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Performance

3 Rounds for time:
400m Run
21 OH Squats 75/55
12 Pull-Ups or 4 Muscle Ups

Post time and Rx to comments.

This is me standing in front of one nameless moai (mo-eye) that is part of Ahu Tongarki, which is Easter Island’s largest ceremonial platform consisting of 15 restored moai.
All of them would have had the ‘red hats’, which are known as topknots.  This ahu represents the very pinnacle of the Rapu Niu stone carving period and the sheer effort and expense involved in having created such an extravagant ceremonial altar is considered beyond belief.  It is the largest ceremonial structure anywhere in Polynesia with a length of 220 meters from the end of one wing to the other.
All of the moai on the island were at some point thrown down.  When the first Europeans landed on the island in 1721 the moai were all standing, but by 1838 none were left standing.  No one knows why. There are many theories.  This platform was restored between 1992 and 1996.
– Kevin R
(Kevin has been training with David since years before CFSBK existed!)

Happy Birthday, Sarah H

Summer Soiree

From Dom R:
On Thursday, July 26, the Prospect Park Junior Committee is hosting its annual Summer Soiree in the Prospect Park boathouse. The party features cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, music, a silent auction, and more. All proceeds support the Prospect Park Alliance, a nonprofit organization that works in partnership with the Parks Department to maintain and restore Prospect Park. Buy your tickets here and show your love for the park!

Tough Titsday Powerlifting Meet

Come watch SBK’s strong women move big weights! Sunday, July 22nd at 2pm is our second Tough Titsday Powerlifting Meet, where the ladies will be testing their one rep maxes in the Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift. Spectators are encouraged and welcome! Post event celebrating will happen at about 5pm. For more details and to see the competiors, click here.

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Spirit Of The Games Award: Deborah Cordner Carson
Marathons are Yawn 70’s Big
The CrossFit Games Analysis 70s Big
AJ Roberts – From Strongest To Fittest ATG

Fitness

Perform 3 sets of the following:
A) High Bar Back Squat x 8 reps. Start light in anticipation of adding weight over 8 exposures.
Rest 30 seconds
B) 5 Lat Activations
Rest 90-120 Seconds

3 Rounds For Time of:
50 Double Unders or 25 attempts or 150 Single Unders
30 Sit-Ups
If 30 sit ups are no big deal for you add weight via dumbbell
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Performance

Spend 15 Minutes working up to a heavy 5 rep High Bar Back Squat. No failing, no bailing. Leave room to go up for 5 reps next week.

3 Rounds For Time of:
50 Double Unders
20 Kipping Knees to Elbows
If you can’t perform a kipping knee to elbow, scale the volume to 10

Post results to comments.

Kate B during FGB5

Athlete Of The Month
Kate Brash

This AOM has been a long time coming and I’m very proud and excited to see her under the spotlight.  Kate Brash has been an outstanding member of our community from the start and someone I’ve always wanted to feature for AOM.  Kate showed up pregnant at CrossFit with kind of a hazy idea of what she was getting herself into. Regardless, she stuck with it through and through and impressed everyone on staff with her dedication to smart training and her encouraging and approachable nature.  Lets all get to know a little more about KB..

David O: Hi Kate, congratulations on earning the title of July Athlete of the Month!

Kate B: Thanks, I’m excited.

DO: So lets start from the beginning, can you tell me a little bit about your athletic background before CrossFit?

KB: Well I grew up in the DC suburbs and loved sports but was never a “good sport”.  I was a really sore loser and would get into fights with umpires, curse at people and get kicked out of games.  It was not a pretty scene, I just really hated losing.  When I was about 14 I became exposed to Kayaking at summer camp and searched out a program with my twin sister back near our home.  I was a competitive kayaker for about 5-6 years.

DO: Getting into fights?? That seems very uncharacterisitc of the KB I know, but kind of hilarious. Also, you’re saying there’s a KB2 walking around somewhere?!

KB: Well we’re fraternal, so not exactly but I do have a “twin” sister.   I’ve gotten a lot more mature about competition since. Well, maybe I’m just better at redirecting it..

DO: So what happened with Kayaking?

KB: Well the kind that I did was really focused on racing, so when I realized that I wasn’t olympic bound it didn’t make for the best recreational activity.  It was also logistically a tough sport to keep up with, lots of long drives, early mornings and expensive equipment.

DO: I see. Any other athletic endeavors pre-CrossFit?

KB: Back before getting pregnant I ran the 2007 NYC Triathalon.  I actually really loved training for the event but was less excited about the race itself.  I got pregnant right after that Tri but still signed up for another sprint Triathatlon in Montauk before having Gus.  After having my first kid I found it really hard to keep up with exercise, especially triathalons which were really time-intensive. Beyond that I would try and take classes at commercial gyms which were okay.  I enjoyed spin classes but that’s about it.

DO: So what brought you to CrossFit?

KB: I heard about it through my friend Charlotte Kaiser, we were close in High school and kept in touch evern since.  I saw her Facebook post about Fight Gone Bad which really intrigued me.  At this point I was pregnant with my second (Sadie) and I knew Charlotte had trained with you guys while pregnant so we talked about her experience and she put my mind at ease.  I figured Charlotte is pretty level headed and wouldn’t lead me astray.  I also had been getting sick and not feeling well in general throughout this pregnancy and thought exercise would help me through it.

DO: Tell me about starting CrossFit while pregnant.

KB: Well I did 1 on 1 Foundations with Fox since I wanted to take things a little slower at first.  I was happy to see how well things could be modified for me and how supportive and encouraging everyone was.  My goal was to keep my shit together until the upcoming Fight Gone Bad, which I successfully competed in. 

DO: You’ve mentioned to me that you weren’t that clear about what CrossFit was all about when you started.  What was your initial reaction when you came to the gym?

KB: I loved it!  Back when I was training for Kayaking we would do basic calisthenics, barbell training and hard workouts in this awesome rickety clubhouse on the banks of the Potomac in DC.  When I walked into CrossFit I felt like I had found what I was looking for. It felt like the same down to earth rugged fitness I had loved as a youth.  I did feel somewhat conflicted with my training intentions as CrossFit is focused on increasing performance and I had to prioritize general health above metrics at this point.

DO: I remember people using you as a rallying point for not having any excuses to not train.  It was a really fun experience for the staff and community to see you CrossFit as you kept getting bigger and bigger.  Very inspirational!  So why have you stuck with CrossFit?

KB: Well it’s a more substantive experience than any other gym.  It’s not just sets and reps at a place that has weights available for me to use.  Theres more context to the experience, if I stopped coming, I feel like I would be missing out on seeing friends I’ve made, being pushed hard and feel like I was letting people down.

DO: You’ve also had some knee issues you’ve worked around, right?

KB: UGH, yes.  I’ve had knee issues for seemingly no apparent reason since college.  I had orthoscopic surgery in my early 20’s but didn’t do PT afterwards which I think really hurt me. I could barely bend my knee for about a year after surgery.  I also tore my ACL in 2005 while skiing in Switzerland.  It was horrible, I was with my husband (Benet) and I was really hesitant about skiing in the first place.  On our first run he took off and I fell and hurt myself at the top of the mountain.  No one spoke English and I was in agony.  Eventually Bennett came back when I didn’t turn up at the bottom of the mountain and I had to go to the hospital. I had it reconstructed and did a bunch of PT after that.

DO: You also re-aggravated it while doing lateral jumps at the gym.  I remember that we had been scaling for you as a pregnant special population which included avoiding plyometics and running. Post partum, we overlooked that you had significant knee issues and were rolling you back into regular training.

KB: Yeah I was really mad at myself for that, I knew I shouldn’t have done it. It didn’t feel so bad right afterwards but got worse and worse as time went on. I ended up doing some personal training with Shane but when it wasn’t getting better I decided to get surgery in June of 2011. I did PT for about 6 weeks and then came back to CrossFit.  It’s been good since then and I’ve recent been adding some modest running to see how it feels.

DO: A cautionary tale no doubt.  What else should we know about KB outside of your fitness life?

KB: Well I went to Haverford and studied anthropology.  It seemed like the least focused major that I could really do whatever I wanted with. After college I moved to San Francisco for a while and then back to NY to go to Grad school at NYU to study environmental policy.

DO: Why environmental policy?

KB: In college I spent about 4 months on an Alaska trail crew. We would Kayak around Alaska in the national parks and clear trails and upkeep the facilities.  Since you’re in protected land no motors were allowed so everything we did was manual labor.  It was a really significant experience for me and one of the most beautiful and rewarding things I’ve ever done.  The following summer I did the same thing in Payette, Idaho, except we were hiking, not kaying, obviously.
  I really fell in love with he outdoors and wanted to help protect it.  I’ve worked for the last 8 years on climate change policy, trying to help educate the public.

DO: That sounds amazing. So just a few more questions.  First, what advice would you give a new CrossFitter?

KB: Don’t worry about ramping up the weights or intensity too soon. Just developing proper technique is plenty of stimulus in the beginning.  I sometimes see people wanting to get aggressive with their numbers too soon.  It takes a really long time to get good at this stuff, take your time and enjoy the process.

DO: Kate B for president!  Great advice.  Next, what should we look for in a future AOM?

KB: I really think anyone could be an AOM.  I think it’s really informative and interesting to learn about people and their backgrounds. I’d want to know about everyone we train with.

DO: Okay, but what qualities do you think make someone stand out to you?

KB: I think it’s important for people to be thoughtful about their training. To know why they’re here, what their current strengths and weaknesses are and how they’re trying to gradually improve.

DO: Spoken like a true champion.  Finally, where is your head at training wise right now?

KB: I just finished the Tough Titsday classes with Coach Margie which I would Highly recommend to anyone. It was great to really learn more about the lifts and how to approach them.  I feel like I learned how to plan my weights and not be so intimidated by heavy loads.  I’m considering doing an upcoming Strength Cycle.

DO: Kate picks things up and she puts them down.  Thanks so much for spilling your guts, Kate and congratulations again.

_______________________
Women’s Obstacle Course

Happy Birthday, Coach Laurel!

New Classes!

Effective June 1st we will be adding 4 new CrossFit Group Classes.  Afternoon CrossFitters can rejoice for Tuesday and Thursday 12pm classes and evening members now have more options with Tuesday and Thursday 8pm Group Classes.  This is part of a larger programming shift where we’ll be phasing out On Ramp and expanding the scalability of all our Group Classes.  More details on that this week…

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Unpacking the Hero WODs Blakemaster
Thin Air, Thick Bonds CrossFit

For Time:
Run 1 Mile
100 Pull-Ups
200 Push-Ups
300 Squats
Run 1 Mile

Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. Start and finish with a mile run. If you’ve got a twenty pound vest or body armor, wear it.

There will be a number of movement and scaling options available so whatever your level of fitness is we’ll find the appropriate challenge.

In memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005.
To read more about “Murph” click here.

Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a special holiday where we honor and remember the men and women who died while serving our military.  Today’s workout was one of Michael Murphy’s favorite WODs which he called “Body Armor”.  Each year we come together to do this workout and celebrate those who have given the ultimate sacrafice for our country as well as recognizing those still with us who continue to serve.  CFSBK would especially like to thank members from our gym who serve in the armed forces and related fields.  Your efforts are appreciated and respected, this workout is for you!

The gym will open at 9:00AM and we will be starting the first heat of folks exactly at 9:30AM.   We’ll be starting new heats of up to 20 people every 45 minutes and recommend that you arrive 15 minutes early for whichever heat you’d like so that you can warm-up and do any movement prep you’d like.   The last heat will run at 11:45AM so make sure you’re here before then if you want to complete Murph.

The BBQ itself will start by 12PM. If you can, please bring a side dish or some beverages so that everyone can eat their fill.

Happy Birthday to Carlos G., Marian L. and Avi S.!

“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.” – John F. Kennedy
___________________
Portraits of War NY Times
Jim Comes Home NY Times

Spend 20 minutes working up to a heavy 1 rep Jerk.

Focus on driving the bar up with the legs and driving under to lock out with the arms. Stabilize before bailing.  

Post load to comments.
compare to 12.29.11

Jenna J. keeping her elbows nice and high.

There is no free Teaser Class class today!

CFSBK Softball Team Batting Practice Today!

The CFSBK Softball team will be meeting today for batting practice. Please bring your softball bats!
Details: 2pm at Brooklyn Sports and Party Center, 800 3rd Avenue b/w 26 & 27th Street, Brooklyn. 

Memorial Day Murph is tomorrow!

The gym will open at 9:00AM and we will be starting the first heat of folks exactly at 9:30AM.   We’ll be starting new heats of up to 20 people every 45 minutes and recommend that you arrive 15 minutes early for whichever heat you’d like so that you can warm-up and do any movement prep you’d like. The last heat will run at 11:45AM so make sure you’re here before then if you want to complete Murph.  The BBQ itself will start by 12PM. The gym is providing steaks, sausages, beer and buns. If you can, please bring a side dish or some beverages so that everyone can eat their fill.

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Split Jerk Demo Catalyst Athletics
Wrist Mobility Crossfit Invictus
Annie T. Killing Diane CF Games

5 Rounds for time
2 Deadlifts 315/225
3 HSPU
4 C2B Pull Ups
5 Burpees
*10 min cap

Scaling Options will be available.  In it’s best capacity this is a ‘Fast & Furious’ 3-5 minute WOD. Cap is 10 minutes.

Post time and Rx to comments.

Marian L. (hand)walking the Red Carpet in L.A.!

There is no Active Recovery class today.  Tomorrow’s free Teaser Class is also canceled.

Memorial Day Murph is 2 days away!

As always, we’ll be doing “Murph” and then finishing off with some Beers and BBQ! The gym is providing steaks, sausages, beer and buns. 

What should you bring?  Your family, friends and a side dish or some beverages so that everyone can eat their fill. 

Please let us know you’re coming and what you’re bringing by posting to comments Here!

Book Club Reminder

This Month’s CFSBK Book Club book is…. “A Visit From The Goon Squad” by Jennifer Egan.

Jennifer Egan’s spellbinding interlocking narratives circle the lives of Bennie Salazar, an aging former punk rocker and record executive, and Sasha, the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Although Bennie and Sasha never discover each other’s pasts, the reader does, in intimate detail, along with the secret lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs, over many years, in locales as varied as New York, San Francisco, Naples, and Africa.

The discussion meet up will be on Sunday, June 3 at 5pm. 
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How Do Astronauts Lift Weights in Space? Outside Mag
You Thought You Did Well During Your Wendler Rep-Outs? YouTube
Earn Your Carbs Talk to Me Johnnie

Joy showing us that there’s no rest for the Injured.

Happy Birthday Asta F.!
Happy Belated Birthday Levi!

Due to the Holiday Weekend, Saturday’s Active Recovery and Sunday’s Teaser Class have been canceled!

Memorial Day Murph is 3 days away…..

2012 CrossFit North East Regionals start today!

Good luck to our Captain David O. this weekend who is at Reebok Headquarters in Canton, MA acting as Competition Director for the North East Regionals!  Check out this week’s Regional Preview Video to see who to watch out for. 

The Wrong Bin Free Screening

In The Wrong Bin, Emmy nominated filmmaker (and fellow CFSBKer!) Krishnan Vasudevan, exposes the ever-increasing environmental and economical costs New York City incurs when its residents recycle poorly. Since 2002, when the city closed the Fresh Kills landfill and began sending all of its trash out of state, the city’s annual land filling bill has doubled from $600 million to $1.3 billion a year. This amount could be drastically decreased, however, because nearly 36% of the 2 million tons NYC sends to land fills each year is recyclable.

Featuring interviews with experts in the field, The Wrong Bin reveals many issues revolving around the poor recycling habits of NYC residents, the people those bad recycling habits really affect, and why it is necessary for NYC to get better at recycling as a whole.

When: Tonight, Friday at 7pm.
Where: Two Moon Art House and Cafe in Park Slope
For more info and to RSVP click HERE!

How many cups of coffee or tea do you drink a day?  How does too much/too little of it affect you?
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Guts, What’s Going on Inside Us Radiolab.org
Everything You Need to Know About Coffee Precision Nutrition
I’ll Have My Coffee Facts with a Splash of Pictures Please The Oatmeal

As Many Rounds As Possible In 20 Minutes Of:
Run 400 meters
12 Hang Squat Cleans, 135/95#
12 Burpees

When coming off the ground, the Hang Squat Clean must come to a fully extended position before coming back down to start the clean. If your legs are fried from “Hammer” and “Morrison” you can sub Hang Power Cleans instead
Burpees are strict, loss of midline will be no repped.

Post rounds and Rx to comments.

Two thumbs up for Running!

How Does it Feel To Have Succeeded?

Murph is 4 days away!

Mark your calendars! Memorial Day Murph is happening this Monday, May 28th. As always, we’ll be doing “Murph” and then finishing off with some Beers and BBQ! The gym is providing steaks, sausages, beer and buns. 

What should you bring?  Your family, friends and a side dish or some beverages so that everyone can eat their fill. 

Please let us know you’re coming and what you’re bringing by posting to comments Here!

Dr. Jason Fidler

Biography
Dr. Jason Fidler has been serving members of Crossfit South Brooklyn as well as other members of the Crossfit community for over 3 years. He was trained at New York Chiropractic College not just in the art of medicine but also by Crossfit Level 1 trainers, who eventually opened up Crossfit Asheville in N.C. (http://www.crossfitasheville.com/coaches/)  He is schooled in the functional movements that crossfitters routinely perform, their commonly associated training injuries ( (shoulders, hip flexors and wrists) and the most effective forms of treatment. He has gained critical insight into practice management by working at two highly regarded boutique rehab clinics in NYC.
 
Dr. Fidler has held full spine Active Release and Kinesio taping certifications, two very effective sought-after treatment protocols, since 2006. As a former collegiate athlete and personal trainer himself, Dr. Fidler is a regular physician at all of the NYC endurance races and Crossfit competitions. Additionally, Dr. Fidler has undergone training in Elite Sports Science at the Lake Placid Olympic Facility. This has helped add to his skill set further instruction for athletes in neuromuscular re-education to prevent future injury. Consider MobilityWOD with a manual therapy edge. For patients with serious disc herniations looking for relief while avoiding surgery, Dr. Fidler is also trained in non-invasive spinal decompression therapy. Perhaps, most importantly, is Dr. Fidler’s ergonomic experience in which he provides a high quality workstation consult for the purpose of making the repetitive motions of work and daily living activities less traumatic to your body.

Rates and availability:
Dr. Fidler is now seeing treating athletes during open gym hours Friday 5:30 to 8pm and Saturday mornings 9am to 1pm.  Dr. Fidler will be renting space out of CFSBK, these services are considered seperate from the gym’s training programs.
 
Initial consult and treatment = $100
Follow-ups = $40 (cheaper than most co-pays)
 
Get the most out of your workouts and achieve peak performance and optimal health.

To learn more about these services and book an appointment, click here.

Why would we consider the Burpees in the link below a no rep?
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How to do an (Im)Proper Burpee YouTube
Hang Squat Clean Demo Catalyst Athletics
78th Precinct Pushes to Enforce the Illegal Use of Electric Bicycles, Coaches Fox and Noah Rejoice Park Slope Patch

50-40-30-20 and 10 Rep Rounds Of:
Wall Ball Shots, 20/14 10′
Box Jumps, 24″/20″
Kettlebell Swings 1.5p/1p

B Scale: 40-30-20-10 reps for time
C Scale: 30-20-10 reps for time or NFT

There is a 30 minute cap on this workout

U.S. Army Specialist Scott Morrison, 23, of Blue Ash, Ohio, assigned to 584th Mobility Augmentation Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, based out of Fort Hood, Texas, died on September 26, 2010, from injuries suffered on September 25 when insurgents in Kandahar, Afghanistan attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He is survived by his father Donald, mother Susan, brother Gary, and sister Katie.

Post rounds and Rx to comments.
compare to 7.13.11

Sameer P. is ready for KB swings!

Happy Birthday, Julie B. (aka Jules)!

Due to the Holiday Weekend, Saturday’s Active Recovery and Sunday’s Teaser Class has been canceled!

Murph Day is 5 days away…..

The CFSBK Softball Team!

What’s your favorite Summertime sport?
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How to Get Sh!t Done Working From Home Greatist.com
45 places to go in 2012 NY Times
 

Michael B (Turtle Monster) and Noah B (Silver Jumpsuit) Battle it Out For the Fate Of The Earth at Kaiju Big Battle 

Fundamentals, Virtuosity and Mastery

An Open Letter To CrossFit Trainers
By Greg Glassman, CrossFit Journal, August 2005

In gymnastics, completing a routine without error will not get you a perfect score, the 10.0—only a 9.7. To get the last three tenths of a point, you must demonstrate “risk, originality, and virtuosity” as well as make no mistakes in execution of the routine.

Risk is simply executing a movement that is likely to be missed or botched; originality is a movement or combination of movements unique to the athlete—a move or sequence not seen before. Understandably, novice gymnasts love to demonstrate risk and originality, for both are dramatic, fun, and awe inspiring— especially among the athletes themselves, although audiences are less likely to be aware when either is demonstrated.

Virtuosity, though, is a different beast altogether. Virtuosity is defined in gymnastics as “performing the common uncommonly well.” Unlike risk and originality, virtuosity is elusive, supremely elusive. It is, however, readily recognized by audience as well as coach and athlete. But more importantly, more to my point, virtuosity is more than the requirement for that last tenth of a point; it is always the mark of true mastery (and of genius and beauty).

There is a compelling tendency among novices developing any skill or art, whether learning to play the violin, write poetry, or compete in gymnastics, to quickly move past the fundamentals and on to more elaborate, more sophisticated movements, skills, or techniques. This compulsion is the novice’s curse—the rush to originality and risk.

The novice’s curse is manifested as excessive adornment, silly creativity, weak fundamentals and, ultimately, a marked lack of virtuosity and delayed mastery. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to be taught by the very best in any field you’ve likely been surprised at how simple, how fundamental, how basic the instruction was. The novice’s curse afflicts learner and teacher alike. Physical training is no different.

What will inevitably doom a physical training program and dilute a coach’s efficacy is a lack of commitment to fundamentals. We see this increasingly in both programming and supervising execution. Rarely now do we see prescribed the short, intense couplets or triplets that epitomize CrossFit programming. Rarely do trainers really nitpick the mechanics of fundamental movements.I understand how this occurs. It is natural to want to teach people advanced and fancy movements. The urge to quickly move away from the basics and toward advanced movements arises out of the natural desire to entertain your client and impress him with your skills and knowledge. But make no mistake: it is a sucker’s move. Teaching a snatch where there is not yet an overhead squat, teaching an overhead squat where there is not yet an air squat, is a colossal mistake. This rush to advancement increases the chance of injury, delays advancement and progress, and blunts the client’s rate of return on his efforts. In short, it retards his fitness.

If you insist on basics, really insist on them, your clients will immediately recognize that you are a master trainer. They will not be bored; they will be awed. I promise this. They will quickly come to recognize the potency of fundamentals. They will also advance in every measurable way past those not blessed to have a teacher so grounded and committed to basics.

Training will improve, clients will advance faster, and you will appear more experienced and professional and garner more respect, if you simply recommit to the basics.

There is plenty of time within an hour session to warm up, practice a basic movement or skill or pursue a new PR or max lift, discuss and critique the athletes’ efforts, and then pound out a tight little couplet or triplet utilizing these skills or just play. Play is important. Tire flipping, basketball, relay races, tag, Hooverball, and the like are essential to good programming, but they are seasoning—like salt, pepper, and oregano. They are not main courses.

CrossFit trainers have the tools to be the best trainers on earth. I really believe that. But good enough never is, and we want that last tenth of a point, the whole 10.0. We want virtuosity!!

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How To Make The Perfect Hardboiled Egg 
Why Your 20’s Will Define You Greatist
Fleet Of Ambulances On Hand For 41-Year-Olds’ Touch Football Game