CrossFit NYC: The Black Box

135, 145, 155, 155, 145, 145, 145

(-32,40)

Does the elements 'B' class get to do Fran tomorrow?
I feel queasy already.

heavy squats. hmph. i hope my leg doesn't wussy out again. took 2 days off, maybe i'm healed. we'll see at noon class.

when does the next round of elements classes begin.

Question for Keith and Cort: What weight kettlebell should I buy?

Greg this one should be about right for you.

http://www.olfstore.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=82

LMAO you jerk! Just because you're half Mongolian doesn't mean you should be so mean to us regular joes ok? Answer the question Genghis Khan!

That was pretty funny though. :)

"Combines huge versatility with great looks!"

Bwaahhaahaha!

Quick question: how fast does one's Fran have to be for one to earn the right to critique Josh and Brett's (http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/AFT_FRAN.MOV) thrusters?

Hey everyone, I'm new to crossfit. I come from a powerbuilding background and i am EAGER to jump on the Crossfit Train.

Is the front squat the only exercise for today or do we pair it with another workout.

mr. durden, you are a funny funny man.

yeah im sure that one would be perfect for a weighted deadhang.

Hey greg buy your kettlebell at gym source so you dont have to pay for shipping. The prices are pretty good, I picked up a 20 pound one for $34.

Thank you ALEX! Figures it would take a woman to be man enough to answer a question Keith couldn't. I'll look into today.

Greg i cant remember the name of place where i got my KBs but same as newer ones at box! I get a good discounted rate and its near my house--cud pick it uo 4 u. Google the training room or studio in nyack ny. U can email me if u have ?s'C1sarena@optonline.com or call me 8455980931

His number is 8453580414 and his name is Jeff! U can talk to him and tell him ur my friend fm CF! Thats the KB guy

steve, on slow lifting days, people generally take care to do 3 complete rounds of the standard crossfit warmup (http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/faq.html#General7) before starting their work sets, which is a pretty good workout all by itself. if you have anything left over afterwards, you can work on various skills (handstands, l-sits, muscle-ups, etc).

what don't you like about his thrusters, ewen? it's true he doesn't bring the barbell "up and back," but i think that's just a function of the haste with which he's performing the exercise. his range of motion is good--the same amount of work is getting done (that is, the 95lbs is traveling from the floor to the top of his reach).

(well, from a bottomed-out squat and up)

Well, I can't look at the videos from here, but it seemed to me that they barely straightened their arms at the top, and certainly didn't push their heads through like we're told to. So I would tend to disagree that their range of motion is optimal.

Let's just say that 2:30 with perfect thrusters would be just as impressive, that I like my CF gods to be beyond reproach, and that I'll worry more about this when I get a sub-3' Fran.

FS 3-3-3-3-3-3-3

122-125-127F (2/3)-125-126.5-127-128

Thanks all for the support and encouragement. This took me a long time as my body wanted to recover between sets today more than usual. Patience Allison--thanks for bearing with me!

BW 155

185, 205, 215, 225, 210, 210, 210

I came in around 10:45 because I was in a rush; banged it out in 20 minutes and left. Tremendous PR with 225lbs, a 20lb increase since the last FS workout; backed down because I have REAL track practice this week. Ugh...

That's why you jump so high kid. Good ish son of Xavier!

I agree with Dammit-homeboy was doing the damn thing. I thought it was a nice range of motion and he still got a solid work effort out of it. Very explosive.

You French are so picky! LOL

Make that 25lb increase, just looked at my numbers from last time.

Front Squats

3-3-3-3-3-3-3
135,155,165,175,185(-1),175,180

To paraphrase Coach, if we agree to meet for lunch and you ask me do you want me to meet you at the right place or at the right time? I would say Yes. In order for it to work we have to meet at the right place AND the right time. So if you ask me whether you should do it with good form or do it fast, my answer is YES.

You want good form AND speed. AFT's form ain't great but his time is amazing. Like everybody, he has stuff to work on. You should not look at that video as an example of good form and you should not use it as an excuse to do things poorly. You should look at it for inspiration to go faster. You should strive for virtuosity, not mediocrity.

Greg, instead of buying a kettlebell, just keep coming into the gym and using ours everyday. Save your money for important things like buying me presents.

LMAO....yes Keith. Good point. I need money to buy you a tighter shirt so you can pretend flex for all the new people who come in.

You said you wanted the Hello Kitty shirt, right?

I want a Hello Kitty shirt, Greg!!! ...... I mean...

Is anybody willing to do this one day/next Fran?

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_InNOutFranEdit.wmv

I'm crazy enough to do it, anybody else? Kevin? Adam? Greg?

I want some hello kitty biker shorts so I can parade around and make everyone call me Gluteus Kahn.

Couldn't find biker shorts, so I orderd a pair of these for you:

http://www.tashascloset.biz/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/323?osCsid=36

Hope you like 'em, they cost like, 3 beers man!

LMAO Keith I can't mess with you anymore man!

And yes Brian you can a shirt too. Sheesh

if you watch greg and annie's fran race on the demos page (or greg and josh's), none of them are bothering to thrust their heads through. there's an unavoidable degradation of style and form as athletes approach their performance limits. we should all be striving for virtuosity, but chests hit the pull-up bar for every rep of a sub-3:00 fran only in some platonic-ideal crossfit heaven.

that said, i like the fact that the last couple days of main-site videos have featured critiques of some crossfit superstars. nice to know they have stuff to work on, too.

If he really wants to "parade around," we need to get Tyler a Hello Kitty banana hammock.

As far as Brian's challenge goes, I'm willing to join in as long as I can scale down the burger consumption a bit. If I could do 3 singles instead of a triple/double/single, I'd be willing to risk it.

On today's workout I got up to 120#. It seems impossible right now for me to go higher without totally losing my form and doing funky things with my back that will probably not do me any good in the long run.

Brian, congrats on that 25# increase--oh to be 17 again.

Fast Food Fran?!?! Its on!!

Dammit

I disagree. If you watch Annie closely her form is near perfect on the thrusters. I see her poking her head through the arms on almost every rep. Greg, Josh, AFT all cheat the top of the thruster slightly. In fact, I think Annie's pullups were better than all those guys too. She seemed to clear the bar definitively while the rest of the guys were just barely getting chin to the bar.

Having good form allows for the athlete to be beyond the criticism of haters. It's the same when squatting below parallel. It allows us to compare apples to apples. People can claim a 500# squat and a 2:30 Fran time but can those claims stand up to scrutiny. I'd rather be above the scrutiny of others. I want my reps (and all of your reps) to really count.

Why leave yourself open to the debate of whether your reps were as good as somebody else's? Do it right, do it fast and leave no doubt in your mind or in anybody else's mind of the quality of your performance.

holy preach day! everyone seems to have something to say except me. weird.

went light today because of my leg (and cause gluteus khan wasn't there to force me) things were ok, but man front squats are hard!

72-82-84-86-86-86-86

p.s. allison, that banana hammock comment was too much. i think i threw up a little in the back of my throat.

Gluteus Khan I came through today with your Hello Kitty boy shorts and you weren't there so I gave them to Court. LOL

I went up 10lbs on FS and did three sets of my new max. Feeling good today PR 175lb. Thanks Court for the breathing advice.

Paul found out the hard way today that JT doesn't stand for Justin Timberlake lol. Good job bro.

Dammit-love the beard. You look like a sagacious woodsman-knowledge of the wild has changed you lol

Nice to meet you Dan Def and the illustrious Marisela! The Purple Rain Sdtrk hit the spot!

Allison your write-up was pretty cool.

Nice job today everyone!!.
Front Squats 185-205-205-205-205-205(2 reps)-205(2 reps)

I'm down for Hello Kitty Under Armour Compression shirts, but thats just how I roll. Don't forget Choco Cat shirts!!

6:28 Fran

Amazingly, my form wasn't beyond reproach! Some might even say it wasn't as good as Josh, Brad, et al in the videos.

I'm dumbfounded.

On a more serious note, I'm quitting early in those sets. Have to find a way to will myself to do one more rep. And another.

Congratulations on your first Fran, my fellow peeps of the elements A group!

Worked up to 150x3 (1/2 volume week)