The Drop-In Diaries: Brick Grand Central

Well here’s a shocker for anyone who knows me: I took a trip to NYC. During my time in Manhattan, I stayed at a hotel in the Midtown East neighborhood. The nearest box is Brick Grand Central, one of the licensed Brick facilities that, in addition to CrossFit classes, also includes B|FIT, a strength and conditioning program; B|X, a HIIT class; B|STRONG, the bodybuilding/strength program; Barbell|Club; and BRICK|Academy for new athletes, among other offerings. Basically, Brick isn’t just CrossFit, and because it’s a licensed facility, it does lack the grittiness I love in a box. But that aside, I attended the 6:30 am CrossFit class on Wednesday, August 8. Ben was coaching that morning.

Brick Grand Central Facility

Walking into Brick Grand Central is kind of an experience. It’s located right near Dos Toros Taqueria (yum!). You enter and walk down a flight of stairs, where there are three different rooms. Only one of these rooms will be for CrossFit, but the front desk staff will direct you to the appropriate place. Brick has plenty of equipment, and if you need something that isn’t in the CrossFit room, a coach will be happy to snag it from another room (like if you need a 10-pound wallball instead of a 14-pound one). I didn’t inspect the bathrooms or locker rooms; I left my bag in the back of the room, which is perfectly safe. One thing about the floor: it’s definitely thicker and springier than the flooring I’m used to at my box. I would have had to jump to reach the pull-up bars, though. The more drop-ins I do, the more convinced I am that Holly installed the shorter pull-up bar just for her vertically challenged clientele.

The Programming

Class started off with a pretty good warmup. We did two rounds of a 100-meter row, 10 mountain climbers, 10 light kettlebell swings, 10 goblet squats, and 15 situps. It wasn’t the most exciting warmup, but it got the job done: warmed up muscles, got them moving, got my heart rate elevated. It’s harder to do a more “fun” warmup when you’re in a basement facility with climate control. Then we moved on to the workout. You know, I’m not a fan of programming that uses the exact same movement in the strength as it does in the WOD. That said, this wasn’t too terrible (because I like deadlifts).

Strength/Skill

• Deadlifts, 4 sets of 10 (I used 105 lbs.)

Metcon

For time:

• 50 wallballs (20/14) – I used a 10 lb. wallball
• 25 deadlifts (225/155) – I went with 85 lbs.
• 40 wallballs
• 20 deadlifts
• 30 wallballs
• 15 deadlifts
• 20 wallballs
• 10 deadlifts

In a rare display of brain cramping, I forgot to write down my time.
The CoachingBen did a fine job coaching the class. Since the WOD was pretty straightforward, and since I’ve been CrossFitting long enough to know better, he didn’t have any tips or advice for me. 

Overall, I liked Brick Grand Central, but I am really glad Clear Lake CrossFit is my home box. If you’re in the Midtown East area, it’s a good place to get in a workout, and if you’re traveling with a friend who doesn’t CrossFit, there are options for your companion, too.