CrossFit NYC: The Black Box

Hari, which model rope did you get from Buddy Lee's site?

Justin, I asked him the same question yesterday. Here's his response:

Aero Speed Complete Jump Rope Training System
SKU:

This complete product includes:

* The Buddy Lee Hyperformance Aero Speed

I'm off to Phoenix for the week then the Flagstaff Cert. See y'all next week.

Dan, enjoy and send my please best to Dr. Garrett Smith! He is the Tuscon affiliate and will be at the cert there!

Drink it up!

All the stuff I've read in the past few years about marathons becoming so popular highlighted the downside -- too many amateurs getting involved. Something like Chicago was bound to happen.

If a marathon time is 4.5 hours or more that's a walking pace. Why bother saying you ran a marathon if you actually walked it? Find a nice 26-mile trail on a mountainside and walk. It's a far more pleasant experience.

Justin. I have the Buddy Lee Jump Master Jump Rope. It's excellent. I have seen the Aero and think it's awesome too. In fact, I'll probably buy an aero at some point for myself just because I like the look of it much better than the jumpmaster.

The book and video are good too. He breaks stuff down really well as you have probably noticed by the videos on the site. There are going to be some Buddy Lee seminars coming up at CrossFit affiliates soon so stay tuned for those.

Dan

Have a great time at the Cert! Represent.

Sam,

Agree with your general point, but 5.8 mph isn't what I would call a standard walking pace.

mariselas show is tonight
so im gonna catch the 530 for blade runner

Another running death this weekend at the Army 10 miler in Washington, DC
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,299961,00.html

no more honey?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,299982,00.html

no more college?
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003930609_burns07.html

"the competition is derived from a 19th century Finnish robber baron whose men were tested by hauling heavy sacks. The men, the site says, were also not averse to stealing women from nearby villages."
http://www.sunjournal.com/story/233079-3/OxfordHills/Narrow_victory_in_wife_carrying_contest/

must see pics!

the problem with long distance running is not the amateur effect, it is the fact that it has become competitive for "normal" people. whether you are competing with yourself or with another, it is a sport that only an elite few are really good at, and by nature.
i remember someone asking me last year why they started the race staggered (handicapped start at 7:30, pro women 8 pro men 8:30 and everyone else at 10:10) and "what if there is an underdog?" truth is that if you were EVER running a 5 minut mile someone would have noticed long ago and you wouldn't figure it out during your first marathon.
i have been a "runner" for going on 6 years and i have only now realized that my body was not made for long distance running. i'm not saying everyone, just me and i now realize why i feel so crappy when i am training for a race. my body doesn't respond well to it. in the past few years it has gotten to the point where people think they can compete and get really upset with themselves if they don't run fast but the truth is none of "us" are ever going to win. so why not take it slowly and enjoy the scenery. ingnyc marathon is awesome, even if you are not a fan of the sport and i admire people for running it, but dying during a marathon or even getting sick is the result of poor training, weather, dehydration and probablly an unhealthy desire to finnish fast. whatever that means.
my time last year, after four grueling months of diligent training was 5:16:34 and it was awesome.
i thought i wanted a better time this year, but i just want to have fun.
i wonder how many women have died during long distance endurance sports.
or gotten rhabdo.

Maxed out at 32kg +2 lbs, ie 72.5 lbs (38% bodyweight). Palms facing back, chin barely over the bar.

Great job this morning Brian, and Xuan and Dan M. too.

oh! and by the way...

i do have a show tonight!

please come down and have some free peanuts.

back fence
corner of bleeker and thompson
8:30-11:30pm

bring your friends

[Hopes the weight of clothing and shoes is included in totals.]

"
Humans were just not designed to work for extended periods of time at 80-90% VO2max. Our evolutionary blueprint, the last draft of which was completed well over 10,000 years ago, set us up as great slow-movers and occasional fast sprinters. Our two primary energy systems are: (1) fat-based, which allows for long slow steady walking across the Savannah (or the Queen K after dark); and (2) ATP-based, which gave our ancestors 20 seconds of balls-out sprint speed to escape the charging saber tooth tiger (or let grandma lift the '67 Ford truck off gramps when the jack failed). We just weren't designed to operate at high revs for long periods of time. Doesn’t mean we can't, we can, but it's at an appreciable cost that I will explain shortly. It just means we weren't evolved to. Even our hunter-gatherer ancestors probably relied more on superior tracking skills and walking than they did running for hours or days after their prey. In fact, the energy costs of doing the latter were so high as to almost guarantee extinction. (Imagine your predicament when you run after an antelope for four hours and he gets away. Now you not only don't have any food, you’ve used up all your glycogen and, oops, there’s that frikkin' saber-tooth again, licking his chops.)

But our bodies are among the best in Nature at adapting to hostile environments and self-destructive lifestyles. It's that capacity to adapt that allowed our ancestors to pass along their DNA blueprints to us, but it's also what allows us to today to weigh 500 pounds when we overeat a little, or allows addicts to thrive on a 60 Vicodin a day, when the rest of us would die taking 10. During the Irish potato famine, many went from living on nothing but 14 pounds of potatoes per person per day to living on nothing but seaweed and shoe leather for months. Now that’s what I call adaptation. But, I digress."
Mark Sisson

so, can anyone tell me how many of those who have died from endurance training are women?

i'm just curious

can anyone tell me how many of those who died during endurance training were women?

i'm just curious.

sorry for two messages

sorry for two messages

Marisela,

This doesn't exactly answer your question, but it is closely related:

http://www.arthurdevany.com/2006/11/should_my_daugh.html

A complete archive of all of Devany's posts on Endurance Training, Death, Injury and Risk:

http://www.arthurdevany.com/endurance_training_death_injury_and_risk/

Ewen, thanks for pointing out that 5.8 mph is nothing to sneeze at for a marathon. I'd be more than happy to complete the marathon at that pace!

Good news to all of you who want details on how to Zone according to CrossFit principles. HQ has just made issue 21 of the CF Journal available for anyone to read for free:

http://www.crossfit.com/journal/library/cfjissue21_May04.pdf

Now you have no excuses any more!

i am curious because i think that women aren't generally as competitive as men. maybe it is that historically, men have always been the more desired athletes, with only a few exceptions. and by desired i mean that the public watches them more than women's sports. there is more money in men's sports, so they compete harder.

don't get me wrong, i think women compete hard, but the pressure is never quite the same when the paycheck is substantially less.

up until 1984 there was no olympic marathon for women. in fact the people in charge decided that anything over 1500 meters was "unsafe for women" meaning that they were worried for women's reproductive organs. so, from the 1940's there was no woman's running over 1500M.
in 1984 joan benoit went on to win the first ever woman's marathon with a time of 2:22:04, which was fast enough to beat out 18 of the 24 men's marathon winners from years prior. almost 25 years later at the age of 50 she is still running strong enough to be lance armstrongs pacer at the 2006 ingnyc marathon and has 3 sons. so much for the effect it has on the reproductive organs.

did i forget to mention that this marathon in 1984 was held in los angeles in smoggy 85 degree weather?

i know these are elite athletes, but there is a lot more involved in marathon running than just "fitness". if someone dies while running a marathon, chances are they are pushing themselves too hard (hello captain obvious). and the mentioned reasons above could kill you during any physical activity if ignored.

my point is that some people are made to compete in this sport, just like any other sport and people get involved because of the inspiration they have from the elite's. to disregard it as "bad for you" is silly. if we have do that, we might as well dismiss any kind of martial arts as "bad for you".

marathon running=bad for you
boxing=sport?

what kind of sense does that make?

bwt 202lbs

50 overhand
50 underhand
60 o
60 u
70 o
70 u
80 o
80 u
85 o PR
85 u(fail)
85 u PR

post, some kettlebell practice with 1 pooder

First of all, Marisela, women are weak and need to be protected. The cost of this protection is deducted from their appearance fees and prize money, of course. Fair is fair (sex).

Second, competitors should be allowed to knock out other runners on their way to the finish line. 26.2 miles of gloveless boxing, baby!*

*Some might say that rugby already fits this description, but rugby is an imaginary sport that nobody plays. In fact, the rugby World Cup is not under way right now, and France certainly did not upset overall favorites New-Zealand two days ago (as evidenced by the American media's non-coverage of this non-sport).

When you keep hearing "fierce this", "fierce that" every second on America's Next Top Model (not that I would know), you end up forgetting what the word really means.

Oxford Eng. Dictionary

fierce, adj.
1. Of formidably violent and intractable temper, like a wild beast; vehement and merciless in anger or hostility.

See also:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wqgr4ZyzBno

Generally speaking, I do not believe that some people are made to compete in Marathons and other long distance events. I do not believe humans, in general, are designed for that activity. I do not believe that humans are designed to smoke, take drugs, eat 5000+ calories a day (sometime just from sugar) and do lots of other things that are bad for the body. However we adapt well and sometimes even excel at things like overeating and long slow distance running and body piercing.

Just because some people are good at it doesn't mean they should do it. Certainly, the marathon is not going to go away. It'll always be around as a test of people's endurance and fortitude. Therefore, we will keep weeding out the non-hackers in Darwinian style. Personally I think it should be capped at 3 hours. If you can't finish it in 3 hours they should let traffic back on the streets and you are on your own.

That cracked me up Ewen. Fierce. I've had the misfortune of watching season after season of that hideous show.

kids, don't use smith machines:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m6vcyQqx_Q

LMAO thank you Dammit for the clip! I'm not going near one ever again!

Ewen the fact that you watch Top Model enough to have the misuse of the word fierce to annoy you is pretty funny in and of itself.

Marisela writes:

"i am curious because i think that women aren't generally as competitive as men. maybe it is that historically, men have always been the more desired athletes, with only a few exceptions. and by desired i mean that the public watches them more than women's sports. there is more money in men's sports, so they compete harder."

It doesn't matter what is true of a general group. It matters what is true of individuals. Men are taller than women, but that doesn't make me taller than a woman who is 5 foot 7.

I can think of no better example than CrossFit to rebut the premise that male athletes are naturally preferred to female athletes. When I was at the Cert, I looked around as both men and women were doing Fran. Virtually all eyes were on the women. Read the main page. Everyone is in awe of Nicole, Annie, and Eva.

People once reflexively preferred male doctors to female doctors, but today, if the better surgeon for a given procedure is a woman, only an idiot would pass.

please, big, strong, crossfit men, protect me.

no, seriously, i need it

Ewen - the loss is not being taken well. ...
Fans' bounty on referee
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22548504-5001021,00.html

Although the media blackout you've mentioned is pretty effective. The only reason I've heard of the All Blacks is because of their legendary and awesome pre-game ritual called The Haka, which is based on a Maori genre of posturing dance. Example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zvs4T4RU30

I think WOD classes should do this to pump themselves up before approaching the pullup assembly.

Don't hate on ANTM

Moon I love that clip. Saw it a free years ago. There is another one Adidas made too. Off the hook.

We should do that before every CF workout-guys and girls!

I agree with Hari-seeing a WOD done by Eva and Nicole is just as impressive, if not more, than seeing it done by OPT or Greg A.

The messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens (where the race gets it's name)gave his message that Greece had defeated the Persians and then promptly died.

People were dying from Marathons since Day 1

haka is sick! bro.
I got to join in on one with Tongan Marines once
does guys are crazy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnhdDlxjYfA

Weighted pull-ups 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

8,12,16,20,24,32,40f,37

singing tongan marines.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c88_1189650381

Juan - have both. Hakattack! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_BCKZqDLUM

humans are no better adapted to squatting three times their bodyweight than they are running 26 miles, reading thousands of books in eight years to become an expert in some arcana or getting punched in the face for three minute intervals. training is adaption. discovering what one can achieve with perseverance is why anyone does this sort of thing.

speaking of arcana: Pheidippides died after running 150 miles in two days, took part in the battle of marathon, then running 26 miles back to Athens to let everyone know the Greeks one. Even ultramarathoners don't do that.

40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70 (PR)

I disagree (natch). Humans are genetically adapted to lift heavy. It was lifting heavy in order to build a home and carry our dinner to that home that strengthened our backs and got us to walk upright and stop dragging our knuckles. The same cannot be said for running long slow distances.

Fighting too is part of our history. Almost all animals fight for food or sex. We are no different.

We are genetically adapted to certain things like lifting, fighting and language. We are not genetically adapted to long distance running and eating sugar all day...that comes from "training."

This one really made my elbows sore.

BW=217.5 lbs

24kg, 32kg, 40kg, 52kg, 54kg, 60kg(f), 60kg(f)

The two 60 kilo failures were only about 0.5-1.0 inch short. Looks like I have a goal for next time.

Now back to your regularly scheduled evolutionary adaptation discussion

BW 165

Worked up to 48 kg (106lbs)
again matching previous PR

Failed at 2 attempts to 56KG (123lbs) then went back down to 52kg but was already gassed from previous efforts trying to keep up with Adam(my mistake). Should have tried 52k first.

I hate to admit I watch all those reality shows. Including "Rock of Love" with Bret Michaels and "I love New York". Just saw "Americas Most Smartest Model" (not a typo) and have to say I was hooked.
Have to refrain from turning that damn tv on.

Kevin I have been hooked on the Rock of Love show and naturally wathced the "reunion" last night-complete train wreck-I LOVED IT- I am dying for him to take off that headband. He must be absolutely bald. And then to have it topped off with America's Most Smartest Model. The spelling bee was outstanding but that they were studying the dictionary was th ebest. That they have Ben Stein as a judge is nothing short of genious. Name type of trees-- "umbrella tree" !
I hope u also watched Gene Simmons Family Jewels. Another outstanding piece of television!

A 3 hour marathon cap!? Really? Considering that's at 8.833 Miles per hour, it seems that Keith is weeding out a huge amount of the pack. Especially considering that the fastest runner at Utah in the "youthful" divisions was 2:45 when I ran back in August.

Thought I'd post this gem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEyxLHy0TkQ

I might have been slightly kidding about the 3 hour cap, but I think some sort of cap would make it a whole lot better. The fact is that having it open ended allows too much riff raff in. It's like crunches. People love crunches because they are relatively easy and they burn. Think about the average couch potato that gets a burst of energy from a kung fu movie or infomercial can get on the floor and do 200 crunches even after months of inactivity. Sure they might "feel it" but it ain't exercise. It isn't going to have any noticeable effect on the body other than soreness and a infinitessimal increase in rectus abdominus strength (which will quickly be lost again due to resuming a life of inactivity).

Similarly John Q Public can sign up and run a marathon without any health screening or any fitness screening. It's significantly harder than 200 crunches but requires little skill and more determination than training. Training is left entirely to the runner and there is no limit to how long he can take to finish. It's a recipe for disaster. People will just run themselves to death, literally.

Obviously, if the barriers to entry were a little higher, then we would have fewer deaths.

Thanks for the zone link Allison!!

I'm not sure when I'm going to make it back to the box, but I miss it already.. :*(

weighted pull-ups
25-50-75-95-100-110-115(fail)

god work tonight, elements guys!

And he speaks the truth Dammit, you along with god!
GOOD job elements class!

And nice Marisela. Whoever hasnt been to a gig of hers yet, get yourself to her next one!

5#, 10#, 8kg, 12kg, 12kg + 2#, 16kg, 16kg

after a month of no pull-ups, this felt great.

Pullups

16kg, 20kg, 24kg, 32kg, 40kg (failed), 40kg (failed) 40 kg (got chin over the bar but the Russians and the East Germans (Mike and Cort) would have preferred more extension of the arms! So I'll call it a Marion Jones attempt-got it done but some weren't satisfied. LOL

Dammit good seeing you and thanks for the spring tip.

(From memory, but I'm sure the bookends are correct)
BW - 5# - 7# - 11# - 13# - 15# - 8kg (PR)

Thanks to Dammit for his idea to bring in the stretch reflex and Greg for reminding me to use the Magic Lifting Dust.