Thursday 080724

Compare to 080510.

Woman left brain damaged by detox
Weightlifting equipment through the ages (via)
They will know you by your hands
Jack Bauer's plan of attack / Thor's sorcerous ways
Fartlek vs. LSD
Delicious DIY salad dressings
Mmmm...burgers

CAPTION CONTEST!

The 10 best foods you're not eating
The mainstream media's finally catching on: The good news about saturated fat
Berries do a body good
Avocados are good for you. So's alcohol (in moderation). Why not combine the two?
Rowing back to the gym
CF Santa Cruz's 100-day burpee challenge
The tactical strength challenge--who's in?
The top 6 fight scenes of the last 6 years

Congratulations to the 11th graduating class of Elements here at the Manhattan Black Box! From left: Nikos, Tripp, Scott, Cliff, Paul, and Daniel. For more pics of them, click here.

And here we see Elements Workshop #12 tackling the CrossFit Total for the first time ever. From left: Gina, Sarah, Coach Hari and Jenny. For more pics of them, click here.


Haven't signed up for Elements yet? Click here to pre-register!

Click here to see your options for Elements and sign up already! Questions? Confusion? Email me.

Tuesday 080722

Post loads to comments.

The front squat compromise
When yoga harms rather than heals
Mirrors don't lie. Mislead? Oh yes.
Anatomy and physiology for jocks (CF Journal)
Training at the same time of day
The 10 mental illnesses Batman indisputably has

Post time to comments.

Eat your way to a better brain
The politics of the cashew
Brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor studied her own stroke as it happened -- and has become a powerful voice for brain recovery.
The CrossFit Endurance blog--when one WOD a day just isn't enough for you, you sick bastard, you
How to determine your optimal performance weight

Audrey and Elise, just hangin' around...

Compare to 080304.

A famous economist once quipped that in the long run, we're all dead. The need to balance our efforts between the short-term and the long-term is sometimes difficult. In the context of CrossFit, it is worth considering how we balance our efforts today relative to this week, this month, this year, and longer.

CrossFit defines fitness as "work capacity over a broad range of time and modal domains." We accept that definition and don't argue whether the WOD takes us two minutes, twenty minutes, or sixty minutes. If someone tells us they stuck with the 50-muscle-up WOD for ninety minutes and completed it, most of us would be impressed. We're always racing against the clock, but the clock keeps ticking. Whether we're in the race or on the sideline, the clock keeps ticking.

A friend and affiliate owner emailed me yesterday about a client who had injured herself during the recent 5 x 5 deadlift WOD. He wanted to blame himself for turning his head on her. She rounded her back and pulled something. My friend wondered what he could have done better. My answer: Nothing. I know he did everything he possibly could to instill the proper technique. He's obsessed with his athletes' safety. The problem is that some of his athletes are not equally obsessed, and that brings me to the subject of this post.

In addition to maximizing their effort during any given WOD, athletes need to think about maximizing their effort for the week, the month, the year, and beyond. You won't do that by letting yourself get hurt, by overtraining, by eating crap, or by sleeping poorly. You won't get there by compromising your form for the sake of a PR. Sooner or later, your poor form is going to catch up with you. (The laws of physics enforce themselves.)

It's no trick to show up when you're feeling fine and blast through the WOD. The trick is to feel fine most of the time; to keep yourself healthy enough that you can do hundreds of WOD's per year. Before your next WOD, step back for a minute and consider that the effort you are about to put forth is a single effort in what should be a chain of hundreds and thousands of such efforts. Don't break the chain.

SATURDAY 080719
Rest Day Seminar Topic: Ring Dips and Muscle-Ups
Technique, skill practice, optional WOD.

Post thoughts on the rest day discussion and/or the rest day seminar to the comments.

Zach, new to Elements, practices his wallball technique at a free beginners' class. Don't forget that we've got free beginners' classes at Manhattan Black Box on Saturdays and Sundays at 10am. Plus Black Box Brooklyn has even more times/days.

Compare to 080422.

Why Batman could exist--but not for long (via)
Muscle fatigue is caused by the brain. Here are 10 ways to train your brain to delay muscle fatigue.
My friend Todd Levin finds out how Charles Atlas can make a man out of you
The diaphragm plunger, or why we want you to hold your breath when you lift something heavy
Meet the women of the gridiron
Eric Cressey looks at the incredible hip rotation and power of a homerun swing and a fast-ball pitch

Thursday 080717

Post rounds completed to comments.

Unrestricted low-carb diet wins hands down
Sunscreen and melanoma
How to review your blood test results (via)
Looking for realistic healthy habits to adopt
Food, not nutrients

Courtesy of The Onion

Wednesday 080716

Compare to 070106.

How much weight does Obama lift?
How to cause a cancer epidemic
Improve your genes with diet and exercise
Primal breakfast suggestions for people on the go
From losing to lifting

Brian D. goes heavy

Last but not least, happy birthdays all around to both Brett NYC and CrossFit NYC co-owner Josh Newman. Happy birthday, guys!

Sounds gimmicky: Body-sensing shirt could improve your tennis swing
I believe in the soul. Metabolic conditioning. The deadlift. The pull-up.
Tofu causes dementia?
Whether you know it or not, that is why you keep coming back and busting your ass. There has to be an element of enjoyment.

Marisela, Tyler Durden, and Brian D. practice their freestanding handstands back at the Black Box Version 1.0

Cllck here for the skinny on Brooklyn Elements Workshops, and how they'll get anyone who signs up for them a free first month of membership at the Black Box Brooklyn.

And click here to pre-register for Manhattan or Brooklyn Elements Workshops!

Monday 080714

Compare to 080221.

An argument in favor of having another beer (every day)
Is the RDA of dietary protein a minimum or a maximum? And why is there so much
confusion on this issue?
Reading Between the Lines, by Dave Castro--August 07 CF Journal
Consistency and momentum as keys to success
Chess-Boxing. Yes, I said "chess-boxing."

If you haven't already seen it, check the picture on yesterday's blog post from last Friday night's Rest Day Dinner & Birthday Party for Jeff. All of those in attendance had a great time with amazing food at Marlow & Sons and even more amazing company. A gym that can have this much fun is the kind of gym I know I want to be a part of. Click here to see the entire set of photos.

Jeff and his chocolate triple-layer birthday cake (no actual beef was in said cake) made from scratch by Avery

Avery and Dan Def share a laugh

Jeff is ready for very first endorsement deal: peddling Bacon Salt!

Compare to 070321.

This is evidence of the weird times and strange behaviors that happen at a Rest Day Dinner. Stay tuned more evidence tomorrow.

Post rounds completed to comments.

This is the first 30-minute AMRAP I can remember seeing (hence the title of this post). A sign of more higher-volume WODs to come? Do be sure to express your thoughts on that in the comments.

And in lighter news, look who's on the Affiliates blog! If you can identify all the CFNYCers in that pic, prove it in the comments below and/or over there, but also be sure to give a shoutout on behalf of the Black Box over there at the very least.

Lisbeth Darsh, co-owner of CF Watertown, who I've linked to many times before for her great writing on the Watertown blog, is now in charge of the Affiliates blog as well and is doing a wonderful job.

The cure for your allergy: a hookworm
Relative strength formulas
Grains and human evolution

Heather, another recent visitor we had from Canada, works the C&J

Rest Day Seminar: Rowing
Technique, skill practice, optional WOD.

Happy birthday to not only a great member of the Black Box, but also a recent Level-1 certified CF trainer and one of the driving forces behind the revitalization of our Brooklyn space, Jeff!

The land before CrossFit
"Flavor, in Italian dishes, builds up from the bottom. It is not a cover, it is a base."
Intermittent fasting, stress, and anxiety
Enough with the bullsh*t excuses: Demons OUT!

REST DAY DISCUSSION #13 by Hari Singh

What do people really experience when they watch a great female athlete perform? Typically, we can only speculate, like the author of this New York Times article on Dara Torres, 41, who has just made the woman's US Olympic Swim Team: "It is as if [the mothers and aunts in the audience] are looking at her and seeing a vision of middle age that society has long been blind to: the matron as a model."
But of course, the author doesn't really know what the mothers and aunts (or the fathers and uncles) are thinking.
On Monday, CrossFit.com posted a video of a fourteen-year-old female athlete during an extraordinary display of athleticism and determination. We don't need to speculate on the audience's reaction to this athlete. It's all posted to the comments:

• I was standing about 10 ft. from her during the WOD. It was one of the most powerful things, both physically and emotionally that I have ever had the privilege to be present for. (#18)
• I have tears running down my face...simply amazing! (#28)
• Holy crap Kallista!!! I was cheering at my laptop near the end and gave a Tiger Woods arm pump after the last one. Damn! (#33)
• One of the most powerful, inspiring videos I've ever seen. Get me some tissues. (#36)
• I only wish I could have been there. Kallista Pappas' performance rivaled Nicole's performance in 'Nasty Girls.' She displayed the toughness and intensity that seperates elite athletes from all others. The dilema now is if that video will inpsire or crush the spirits of 20-something men everywhere. I, for one, was inspired. (#37)
• I'm sitting here in tears right now. That kid is my hero. (#39)
• I wonder how many boys in her class can clean and jerk 100 pounds ONE time. (#40)
• After she fell backward not only did she land hard but the barbell nailed her shins-then she appears to be shaking it off and squating to get ready for the next reps! That girl has heart! (#50)
• Kallista, YOu are an amazing. Your determination was awesome to watch! You Rock! (#55)
• I have A 13 year old daughter so I have a great reference point Watching Kallista got me choked up. (#56)
• Kallista: I'm 25. College football. Rugby. Military. Rodeo. ... I used to think I was tough. You are tough. (#57)
• That girl's heart is bigger than my liver. Such a great experience seeing her gut through that workout. (#58)
• I must say this girl was freaking awesome. I was standing front and center watching her scream out those last few reps. It was absolutely incredible. I wish I had half the heart that she does. (#70)
• There were many great moments this weekend, but none better than while I was timing Calista on the C&J. Simply one of the most inspiring moments of my life. After jerking her 23rd rep, she fell backwards and I couldn't catch it in time and the bar fell on her legs. Visibly hurt, she got up, dug in and finished like a true champion. I had tears in my eyes the last 10 reps and could barely count. (#75)
• Kallista: your effort transcends greatness. Truly awe-inspiring. (#76)
• Amazing performance by Kallista, of course, but I was even more impressed by how this crowd - her competitors included - got behind her and cheered her through each and every rep. Catch the moment at 3:46 where Jolie "Tough Love" Gentry is wiping her eyes. I wasn't there, but I assume that she was so touched by the moment that she started crying. Show me many other competitions where your competitors will cheer you on and then shed tears at your performance. (#78)
• Kallista...you are one of the most inspiring athletes I have ever known. (#82)
• Mr. Pappas - My hat's off to you. You and your wife deserve a round of applause. As a father of 4 daughters, I know it ain't easy. But it sure is satisfying like nothing else when they turn out right.(#91)
• I can't believe that you can clean 100 pounds! I might do weight lifting when i'm tall enough and old enough. for now I do crossfit with my mom. (#96)
• As soon as I can get the tears out of my eyes I'm going to show that video of Kallista to my daughters. (#102)
• Nicole in nasty girls has inspired me for the last three years since seeing it. Your video will inspire me for years more (#104)
• Thanks for making a grown man cry. (#108)
• I bow down to Kallista, amazing work. (#115)
• that video brought tears to my eyes. i guess because it was a girl trying to do something great and it made me think of what i want for my own daughter. (#121)
• Your performance will go down in the books as one of the most inspirational and touching moments in CF history. Well done! A performance that, as my children grow, I will make them watch over and over again. (#123)
• Kallista, you are a star! I don't think I've ever been as moved emotionally from watching a vid. I, too, had tears rolling down my cheeks. (#134)
• Thank you for showing what true determination and strength is. (#172)
• You proved that the human spirit is unbreakable. (#196)
• There were proud tears running down this serious, military guys's cheeks watching that video of Kallista. You are truly inspiring. I screamed out loud when that bar came down on your shins. It would have been an amazing performance without that, but seeing you rebound from that just made it more impressive. That video will stick with me for years. (#203)
• You are one of my new heroes (#205)
• Kallista- Darling girl, you are a delight to my life. Thank you for your amazing inspiration. I never ever cry, and can hardly even flinch, no matter what goes down. You shook something out my soul, and had me in tears and joy as I watched you. I was mesmerized by your soul, as it battled against the bar and imposed your unbreakable will over it. I am still hoarse voiced from screaming for you as you struggled and endured. . . . If I was ever to have been a mother, I would have wanted you for my daughter. (#209)
• Watching you do the C&J's gave me goosebumps. I have never in my life seen such a display of fire, determination and focus. . . . You inspire the athlete in all of us - watching you makes us dig a little deeper even when we feel there is nothing left. (#215)
• I was there and saw her do it but seeing it again actually started the tear ducts going. Then I looked over at my 11mo old, scarfing her breakfast down and told her that she can do ANYTHING she puts her mind to. (#230)
• Goose bumps and tears flowing, Kallista, you are an amazing young woman. Thank you for the inspiration. (#233)
• I wish you were on my wrestling team. You could show my boys what intensity means. (#241)
• Kallista, amazing. It was a joy to watch, didn't know why I was crying but evidently a lot of other people felt the same way. Thank you for the inspiration. (#245)
• Kallista is the true hero from this event...worth every mile from Texas to see this! (#258)
• I hope I'm man enough to inspire my daughter to be like that. (#264)
• My neighbor came over to make sure that I was okay. I didn't know that I was screaming for you and rooting you on. (#270)
• Kallista~ You are the epitome of an athlete! (#280)
• An amazing, singular feat of strength, stamina and will. I humbly stand in awe. (#346)
• The video was amazing: There's always going to be someone faster/stronger than me, but I can aspire to the intensity, focus, and bravery that Kallista showed. (#399)
• I was at a loss for words....valor...that's the word. (#459)
• My 7 yo daughter, who does CossFit Kids, watched the video with me and said, "I hope I can be like Kallista one day!" I smiled, hugged her, and said, "I hope so too, honey, I hope so too!" As the father of 3 daughters, I could learn a lot from Kallista's parents, who apparently have 4, and obviously are doing something right!! (#514)
• When I saw the video this am before work I was almost in tears to see this much grit and determination from such a young lady. . . . I immediately sent this off to my six kids ranging from 48 to 19, they are real winners and I knew they would love to see another winner in action. (#527)
• This is 2 years in a row that you have moved me to tears. I am so proud of you, not just for your how you compete but for how you conduct yourself outside the competition arena. (#576)
• I was in the ring when Kallista went to that place after judging another competitor. I turned to my fellow judge . . . to say "where does it come from?" Kallista, 48 year old men can have 14 year old heroes. I also judged the C&J event for the Games' oldest competitor, Jacinto from the Black Box in NYC. 4 reps left with 2:00 remaining, recovering from surgery, and he rocked them out in 1:30. Right in front of me. "Where does it come from?" The hair on the back of my neck stands up still, each time I run that image back. (#579)
• Showed my daughters (6, 4) the video this afternoon. They talked about Kallista all day and at dinner. They just wanted to watch women do the Girls' WODs all night. Thanks for the inspiration. (#650)
• Kallista, your performance was totally inspiring!! (#708)
• What an amazing video. My girls (7 & 9) loved watching it too. Thanks for being a great inspiration Kallista! (#729)
• Kalista's performance was one of the most awe inspiring demonstrations of heart, courage and strength I have EVER witnessed. I am humbled, stunned and re-motivated in both my training and my coaching. (#749)
• Kallista - Fantastic work. Young women like you are terrific role models for girls like my six year old daughter. I love being able to show her movies of other physically fit women to give her something to aspire to. (#755)
• Kallista, wish I had half the heart you have shown. (#786)
• Kalista, You are one amazing woman! This video made me so choked up that my son had to console me! Your drive, focus and determination to succeed is breathtaking. Like I said when I met you at the games - you ARE my hero!! (#789)

Click here for a pre-Games interview with Kallista.

Compare to 080412.

Obviously we won't be running a 10K at the Black Box today, but come down to find out what each instructor cooks up for his class. Should be interesting...

Statins for everyone: pregnant women, 8-year-olds (plus commentary on why these might be bad ideas)
Worth It: A garage crossfitter tackles the WOD at 2 affiliates
Why people are so bad at preparing for catastrophe
Survival of the sudsiest
Renewing the culinary culture should be a conservative cause?

One of our most recent visitors, Kris from Canada, shows us how to clean and jerk 155 pounds and make it look easy. Nice work, Kris!