Tuesday

Please register at “Memorial Day Murph 2012″ and join us this Saturday 5/26 and/or Monday 5/28 to honor fallen military members by doing the WOD “Murph”. Your donation will suport military charities and you’ll receive an awesome T-shirt from Forged. Thanks for your support.

On June 28, 2005  a team of 4 Navy SEALs led by LT. Michael P. Murphy on a mission to capture or kill a key Taliban leader, found themselves seriously outnumbered in a firefight with well over 100 enemy troops. Pinned down and under intense enemy fire, their communications operator severely wounded, they were in desperate need for help. Due to the mountainous terrain, their communications could not be received. Understanding the situation, LT. Michael P. Murphy moved to open exposing himself to enemy fire, to use his satelite phone to request immediate support to save his team. LT Murphy was mortally wounded making that call. They continued fighting until Lt. Murphy and two of his three team mates were mortally wounded. His fourth team member, severly injured himself, managed to escape where he was taken in by a local villager until he was rescued 4 days later. He went on to tell the story in a book titled “The Lone Survivor”
For his selfless leadership, courageous actions and extraordinary devotion to duty, LT. Michael P. Murphy received the Medal of Honor, the first service menber to receive the medal in Operation Enduring Freedom, and the first Navy recipient of the medal since Vietnam.

Lt Murphy had a favorite workout he would do to prepare for his deployments. He was an avid Crossfitter and would make sure he wore his body armor for this workout, which he started calling “Body Armor”. After his death, the crossfit community renamed it, it would now be referred to as “Murph”. A very demanding workout had just been given a name, and a soul.

Monday

We are CLOSED today to celebrate the life of Al Flemming, the founder of Westchester Gymnastics, who passed away unexpectedly two weeks ago. He will be greatly missed, forever cherished and always remembered. Our thoughts, prayers, and heart go out to the family. Al was an incredible person, he gave us the opportunity to start out our business and for that we will forever be grateful to him and his family. May the love of friends and everyone who knew Al, bring peace and comfort to the family.

Al Fleming

Wednesday

The gym will be CLOSED April 22-29.

We are planing an Olympic weightlifting clinic for next month. Exact date and price will be posted soon.

“Fran” showed her pretty ugly face yesterday. Despite the fact that we all fear her, everyone did an amazing job. Many got PRs and others did it Rx for the first time. BCF athletes are definitely stepping it up!

Monday

I was going to write a few words about the CF Games Open competition but “Olympic Steve” said it best on a post on Facebook:

“The positive atmosphere, energy, enthusiasm, teamwork, etc. at BCF from day one of Open WOD 12.1 to the last day of WOD 12.5 was just an awesome environment to be a part of. It was great to see our BCF family step up it’s game and compete every single week to post higher numbers and lift bigger weights, which ultimately led to a bunch of PR’s for many of us. I also believe that not only was this a great opportunity for us to identify our strengths, but more importantly our weaknesses (we know what they are now, so NO more excuses).  A big fat THANK YOU and CONGRATULATIONS goes out to Cesar, Olga and the entire BCF family.”

I’m so happy that we had over 30 athletes compete on the Open. We are lucky to have such great members. I can only imagine how many will do it next year.

Chrissy knows how to pick things up and put'm down

Wednesday

Last weekend the energy in the gym was great, we all had a blast even though a lot of us had the dry coughs after those damn burpees. We are all anxious to know what the 2nd CrossFit Games WOD will be tonight. Any predictions?

A few other testimonials from our members:

• “I’m so happy I found out about Crossfit a couple months ago! After not working out for a couple years, I said to myself I need to do something. I was told about Crossfit through my sister, came in, did the trial, and even though it was the hardest workout I ever tried I was still like “Yeh I gotta do this, this will get me in shape and get me to where I want to be.” Cesar, you the man! When I move out West, I expect you to open up a gym where I go and move too (…I guess Olga can come too ).”  - Max Byer.

• “CrossFit changed my life! It gave me workouts that are different each day. I am never bored and always challenged. All I have to do is show up and Cesar takes care of the rest. The small groups keep me motivated and the camaraderie of my classmates is inspirational. I am no longer standing around at a gym waiting to exercise. I leave each workout exhausted and drenched in sweat. Each workout is total body and I am stronger than I have ever been in all my years as a triathlete or semi professional soccer player. Thank you Bravo CF!”  -Brandon Beck.

• “My last few months at Bravo Crossfit have been amazing. Cesar and Olga are extremely encouraging, and are always there to give crossfitters of any fitness level that extra push. I used to be the kid who couldn’t climb the rope in gym class. Now, I can’t wait for the next time rope climbs are in the WOD!”  -Jacob Jabbour.

• “Bravo CF is the best way you can get yourself in great shape. The training is not for the faint of heart, it is intense, but you will see results immediately. You will feel and look better. Every workout is different, and we use all types equipment from barbells to kettleballs to med-balls. Cesar is a great instructor, and everyone in the class is really friendly. If you want to get in shape, this is the class for you.”  -Joe Romano.

Friday

The following was written by Tanya Saffadi. She’s been with us for a few short months.

“So why did I start, well, I was like everyone else, I was too busy, I had no time, I had to focus on my full-time job or my family, anything other than myself. Luckily for me, both my girls are in a gymnastics class in the same building as Bravo Crossfit. So I spent a bunch of Saturdays sitting on the bench waiting and watching my girls during their gymnastics class. I’d see the Crossfit classes going on and one day said, what the heck, I am going to try it, I am sitting here anyway!
I am also fortunate enough to be married to a crossfitter, who fully supports me, encourages me and helps me get better every day of my life. He started his crossfitting life at Bravo Crossfit as well.
I was coming out of a crazy stressful job, working as the HR Executive for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, things in my personal life were somewhat complicated, I was not eating healthy or exercising, I had all the typical NYC life stressors and I needed something…
That something turned out to be Bravo Crossfit. When I was stressed and anxious, Bravo Crossfit was the answer, when I was sad, Bravo Crossfit was the happy place, when I needed an escape, they didn’t know it, but Bravo Crossfit was the place to escape too. When my heart raced during a WOD, or I wanted to stop during a WOD, and it was all perfectly acceptable because I was a beginner and working so hard, I deserved to be able to stop, but with the cheering and support of my crossfit teammates I never did!
It replaced some of the pain and stress inside with strength all over my body that was so great, nothing else mattered, and that made me feel incredibly good. I was addicted instantly.
Since then, my body and mind have been transformed. Everything in my life is the WOD (workout of the day) now, and life in general is so much easier to get through with that mindset.
In addition, I went to the dentist the other day; he looked at me and asked ‘have you been working out a lot?” I thought this was an odd question from a dentist, so I said “yes, why do you ask?”, he told me that my gums looked amazing, stronger and healthier than they have ever been, he went into describing anaerobic exercise and how it greatly increases blood flow through the body, including the gums and teeth, making them stronger and healthier.
One of my other doctors saw healthy improvements and changes and also asked me if I was working out hard? She said my hormone levels are literally changing in my body, an increase in testosterone actually promotes bone growth, reduces depression, increases sex drive, and acts on the brain, muscles, liver and blood vessels, and enhances cognitive functions.
My body in every way, inside and out has become better, my mind is flooded with new hormones, my emotions are improved, my body, mind, soul and spirit are evolving.
My daughters are proud of me, my husband is proud of me, I have actually inspired friends, co-workers and neighbors to start exercising as well. Nothing but amazing good has come to my life because of Bravo Crossfit. How could I not do CrossFit!”

Tanya Saffadi

Saturday

*Classes are CANCELLED for tomorrow.
Stay safe and see you all on Monday!

Hurricane "Irene"

Friday

*There are NO classes tomorrow. We will be competing in the Metro Dash.
Regular classes on Sunday.

Metro Dash Obstacle Course.

Wednesday

Yesterday I was talking about body fat percent and muscle gain to some of the athletes. Then I found this great post from CrossFit Southbay. Ladies!….please take a minute and read it. It will answer many of your questions.

Skinny Fat
by Cody

One of the most difficult things to fight as a coach is the thought that “Lifting weights is going to make me ‘bulk up’” from girls. My first response is to shake my head and contemplate shoving my hand in a toaster to cure the frustration… Yet, when I stop and think about it, I honestly like the way CrossFit makes my body look. And I know there are many of us in the gym that wouldn’t be as enamored with CrossFit if we didn’t see aesthetic results in combination with fitness results, so I do think it is a valuable question that needs to be answered.

The first thing you need to do is look around the gym at girls that have been CrossFitting for a long time. If we created “bulky bodies”, you would see them at CFSB. All the above are CrossFitters that have been with us a long time… Strong, not bulky, don’t you agree?? (Sorry for not including all our awesome girls, but I only went back three pages on flickr).
Definitions and Misconceptions:
To begin, we need to address some misconceptions about how the body works…

• You cannot “tone” a certain portion of your body. Your body will not lose fat in one spot at a time, it will only lose fat. Thus, you must reduce your overall body fat percentage to see results in the area you want. This is why the “ab-(insert attention-grabbing verb)” you see on TV won’t work to help you get a better midsection.
• Lean – having little to no surplus fat – Thus, to look “lean”, you need to have low levels of body fat.
• Toned – seeing muscle definition on a human body – Thus, to look “toned”, you need to have low levels of body fat combined with having enough muscular development that you can see the shape of the muscle under the skin. This is usually accomplished at below 20% body fat on women, and below 10% on men.

First, I want to establish that having muscle doesn’t mean being bulky…
The first thing you need to do is compare these two women:

For reference, the girl on the left is a runway model and the girl on the right is an elite CrossFit athlete. Both have approximately 12-15% body fat. Both are doing something they love, and the bodies they have created help them do that.
On the left, we have a runway model who has almost zero muscular development while also having almost zero fat deposits. She has enough essential muscle to not fall over walking, but not much more than that. If you want to look like the girl on the left, sorry, but we cannot help you get there. Although, if you have an apple and a cigarette a day for about a year, you could get close.
The girl on the right has spent years developing her strength and muscle. She has battled heavy weights and pushed herself to the limit to squat, deadlift, and lunge heavier weights every time she comes into the gym. She weighs approximately 40 lbs more than the runway model due to the large amount of muscle that she has acquired. She is likely approaching her genetic limits in the amount of muscle she can develop without going on a bodybuilding routine. Between her and the runway model, there is likely very little difference genetically, yet there is a huge difference in training and diet (more on this shortly).

Same elite CrossFitter, now dressed up, still bulky??

Thus, you can have a large amount of muscle without ever looking “bulky”. Don’t you agree??

Now that we know that muscle doesn’t make you “bulky”, what does??

Well, the answer is fat. Excess adipose tissue will result in less than satisfactory aesthetics. This is regardless of the amount of muscle you have. This is easily seen in the image below:

The image at left shows a female figure that has a large amount of fat, while having a very small amount of muscle. This is described in the fitness community as “skinny fat”. While not overly “bulky” she most certainly doesn’t have the aesthetics that most of us work so hard to attain. The woman in this image is likely at a level close to 30% body fat and likely has a similar amount of muscle as the runway model. So even though she may look fine wearing a sweater, it is a different story at the beach.
The trick is how to fix this. Well, option 1 is to starve yourself and do tons of cardio, surviving on a diet heavy with running and light on food, and you will end up looking like the runway model above. Option 2 is to develop muscle to burn away the excess fat while doing cardio, resulting in looking more like the elite CrossFitter above.
Ok, so we have started to establish that building muscle isn’t a bad thing, right?? Yet, you are afraid that by squatting and deadlifting, you are making your legs and butt bigger, thus getting more “bulky”, correct??
Here is the kicker, the reason your legs (and shoulders and arms and back) are getting a little bigger is that you have now started to add some muscle to them. Now, that muscle will burn more calories, starting to help whittle away at the amount of fat you have on your body, even while you sleep. You now are able to achieve that “lean” and “toned” look, as your body fat levels have decreased, and your muscle is starting to show, giving the “toned” look.

Some people keep saying to be leaner they just need more cardio and less strength. Well, yes, if you just do “more cardio”, you will lose more fat, but you would also lose muscle because without strength training, your body burns muscle as well as fat. So, instead of looking more like a Victoria Secret model, you start to look more like a runway model. Then, once you stop doing “more cardio” you will gain fat even faster now that you don’t have the muscle to burn the extra calories, resulting in the “skinny fat” look. You can see this in ex-athletes that have tried to “get leaner” by doing “more cardio” only to result in having more fat with less muscle.

This can also happens as we age, as the muscle we built by running, jumping, and playing in our childhood and teens atrophies due to under-use with a more sedentary life, so people in their early twenties are seen as having “high metabolisms”, supposedly not having to work to maintain lean body shapes. This “high metabolism” is because the muscle they built in their teen years is burning excess calories and fat, and with the low body fat levels, you can see their “toned” muscle underneath. However, as they take day jobs and do not stimulate their bodies, their muscles atrophy, burning less calories and thereby lowering their “high metabolism” and leading to increased body fat as they age. Usually, people try to do “more cardio” to regain their lean, toned bodies that they had when they were younger. However, since they do nothing to build new muscle or maintain their current muscle, they slowly transition to a thin, but “skinny fat”, look as they age.

Train like an athlete…. Look like an athlete…
Most people can agree that they want to get “toned” and “lean”, but have you ever asked someone that was “toned” and “lean” what they have done to get that way?? You should, because almost every athlete I know that looks “toned” and “lean” has spent years working to develop strength, power, speed, endurance, and stamina for a sport. They move HEAVY weights quickly.

Lastly, you will never be able to create muscles like a man lifting weights.

ANY WOMEN YOU SEE WITH MUSCLES LIKE A MAN HAS TAKEN STEROIDS!! This is the defined truth, a woman’s muscle development is much different than a man’s. This is because males have 20-30 times the testosterone of women, resulting in deeper voices, more body hair, and more muscle development. Women just physically cannot build muscle like men can, sorry but it is a scientific fact. Some of the maximal amounts of muscle you can put on a female frame can be seen below. These are women that built their bodies using sports and strength training.

An extremely high level of muscle on a female will look like the pictures above, but again, only with many YEARS of weights training and a focus on a clean diet.
So, lastly, just to clarify, “bulky” means fat. Which does not happen when you work hard at CrossFit!

Saturday

Dedicated to all the Girls WHO Dig this life.
Crossfit Girl
She enters the gym with pride
This is her space
This is where she shines
A light goes on when the timer starts
Push, Push, Push
Drive, Drive, Drive
One more round
One more rep
I can do this 
I was born to do this
She keeps fighting
Fighting the pain
Fighting her mind
She’s a crossfit girl
They say she‘s too strong
They say she can’t do that
They say she’ll get injured
Who are they
Who dares deny her, her strength
Who dares to say she is not beautiful
She fights on
Fights all the non believers
Fight’s all the theys
She is what woman can be
Should be
Strong, determined, a fighter
She’s a Crossfit Girl
She sweats 
She burns
She falls down with exhaustion
Only to stand tall
Stand first
Reach out her hand to help others through it all
She’s a Crossfit Girl
The timer stops
Sweat dripping from her forehead
Chest suffocating for air
She smiles inside
Knowing what she has done
What she just conquered
A peace and confidence radiates from her being
It’s time to go
To leave her temple
Her sanctuary
Her place
She leaves for home
To nurture a child a spouse a lover
Thinking of the next time the next day the next challenge

She’s a Crossfit girl.