CrossFit Open

The 2017 Crossfit Open: 17.4 – The Repeat

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17.4 – The Repeat

When Dave Castro announced that 17.4 was going to be the 16.4 workout, I wasn’t surprised. I knew it was going to be heavy and it includes a few movements that we haven’t seen. My goal for the Open was to hit a PR on the repeat workout and I wanted to reach the handstand push ups on this one.

17.4 – AMRAP 13 Minutes

55 deadlifts (225 lb.)
55 wall balls (20 lb., 10ft)
55 row (cals.)
55 hand stand push ups

If you want to know how I did last year read this post. Sadly (like the gif above) I did not reach the handstand push ups. I actually did a lot worse than last year. I was only able to complete 37 calories on the rower, 12 calories short of my 16.4 score.

I started the deadlifts in sets of six. I took short breaks in between each set and broke the sets in fives after five sets. I continued doing the deadlifts in sets of five but I couldn’t keep it up for long and finished the deadlifts around five minutes. The wall balls were the movement that I started to hit a wall on. I decided to go for bigger sets at the beginning but I couldn’t sustain it. I would break it up into much smaller sets of five or six reps. I finished with the wall balls at 9:58 and started on the row. I started to feel discouraged with my time. I knew going into the row that I wouldn’t finish but I was going to try as hard as I could. I pulled with a pace of 800 – 900 cals/hr and finished with 37 calories.

I wanted to redo the workout on Monday but after a day of playing beach volleyball, my left foot was bruised. I didn’t want to risk damage to my foot and decided to do this workout once. I have accepted that this would be the first workout of the Open that I wouldn’t PR but I’m optimistic. I know where my weaknesses are and I plan to work on them in the coming year. I hope your workout went better than mine and congrats if you hit a PR.

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The 2017 CrossFit Open: 17.3 – The One Without Dumbbells

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I know the equation above is not a solve for x. I have no clue what it means and it may be gibberish.

17.3 – The One Without Dumbbells

17.3

Prior to 8:00, complete:
3 rounds of:
6 chest-to-bar pull-ups
6 squat snatches (95 lb.)
-then-
3 rounds of:
7 chest-to-bar pull-ups
5 squat snatches (135 lb.)
*Prior to 12:00, complete:
3 rounds of:
8 chest-to-bar pull-ups
4 squat snatches (185 lb.)
*Prior to 16:00, complete:
3 rounds
9 chest-to-bar pull-ups
3 squat snatches (225 lb.)
*Prior to 20:00, complete:
10 chest-to-bar pull-ups
2 squat snatches (245 lb.)
*Prior to 24:00, complete:
11 chest-to-bar pull-ups
1 squat snatch 265 lb.

*If all reps are completed, time cap extends by 4 minutes.

When Dave Castro announced the workout I stopped following at 185 lb. snatches. My max recorded snatch is 175 lb. and 185 lb. is too heavy for me. My wrist has been giving me issues during snatches so I was not confident at attempting that weight. I don’t know why I’m thinking about the heavy snatches when the path to get there is going to be very difficult.

I did 17.3 twice. Unlike 17.1 and 17.2, I liked this workout to do it twice. I finished the first workout in the fourth round, completing four 135 lb. snatches. I completed the second workout in the fifth round, completing three 135 lb. snatches.

I did the chest-to-bar  pull-ups in single reps which didn’t take me much time. I also did the 95 lb. snatches touch and go. This lowered my time by at least two minutes but I had to catch my breath when I started on the 135 lb. snatches. I took about a minute on the snatches because I did them in singles. I started the fifth round at six minutes but I knew I wasn’t going to make it to the next round. I finished with three snatches, two reps short of my goal. I didn’t finish the second round of snatches but I did my best and I beat my first score by almost a full round. I’m happy with my result and I hope I’ll be able to hit 185 lb. for reps next year.

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The 2017 CrossFit Open: 17.2 – Legs

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17.2 – I Can’t Feel My Legs!

Last week it was my back and this week it’s my legs.

17.2 – AMRAP, 12 Minutes

2 Rounds
50 ft. dumbbell lunge (50 lb.)
16 toes-to-bar
8 dumbbell power clean (50 lb.)
-then-
2 Rounds
50 ft. dumbbell lunge (50 lb.)
16 bar muscle ups
8 dumbbell power clean (50 lb.)

Etc., alternating between toe-to-bar and bar muscle ups every two rounds.

Last week it was a single dumbbell, now it’s two! My biggest worry was getting at least one rep on the muscle ups. I haven’t done one since August and I failed in my previous attempts. I should have focused on the lunges since they were the hardest movement.

The workout started off great. I used the dumbbell stacking technique and did the lunges quickly. The toes-to-bar were done in sets of five and six. The cleans were not too bad either. I started to feel my legs get tired during the second round of lunges. I could feel my legs tightening up and had to rest at the end of 25 ft. I switched my grip to having one dumbbell head rest on my shoulder since it was becoming more difficult to stabilize the dumbbells when they were stacked. I finished the last set of lunges and went for another round of toes-to-bar and dumbbell power cleans.

Fatigue had set in and I was barely able to complete the reps on the toes-to-bar. I did small sets and then singles. I finished the cleans and started on the lunges. I finished 25 ft. and took a minute to catch my breath. It was close to time cap when I started my last 25 ft. of lunges. I finished at 11:55 and didn’t get to the muscle ups. After the workout I signed my sheet and went outside to throw up. I pushed myself to the limit and I wasn’t happy with my performance. I wanted to at least attempt a few muscle ups but I overestimated my fitness. However, this workout has given me the motivation to start going harder and pushing myself in workouts. I know I can do better, I just need to put in the work. I hope your workout went better than mine.

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The 2017 CrossFit Open: 17.1 – Spinal

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17.1 – My Back is Broken

The Open has arrived and 17.1 didn’t disappoint. Like last year, 17.1 had a new movement, the dumbbell snatch. While burpees and box jumps are not new to Open workouts, burpee box jump overs have only been seen at Regionals. It was a fun workout that rewarded those with great conditioning.

17.1 – For Time, Time Cap: 20 Minutes

10 dumbell snatches (50 lb.)
15 burpee box jump overs
20 dumbell snatches (50 lb.)
15 burpee box jump overs
30 dumbell snatches (50 lb.)
15 burpee box jump overs
40 dumbell snatches (50 lb.)
15 burpee box jump overs
50 dumbell snatches (50 lb.)
15 burpee box jump overs

After seeing this workout performed on the announcement show I knew I wouldn’t finish. I haven’t worked on conditioning since the last open and I knew it would bite me in the ass. The workout started great. I went unbroken for the first two rounds but I was exhausted and it has only been six minutes. I started to chip away at the 30 dumbbell snatches but I couldn’t do it unbroken. I broke it up into small sets. The burpee box jump overs were broken up into small sets as well. This continued until time cap, finishing at 40 dumbbell snatches and one burpee box jump overs.

I did that workout in the morning and by the afternoon my back was sore. My form started to give out towards the end and I used more of my back than my legs. It has been two days since I did the workout and I’m still sore. I’m going to take a few days off before heading back to the gym. I’m ready for 17.2!

If you don’t understand the meme, watch the video below.

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CrossFit Games Season 2017

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The Open is Coming

The first workout of the 2017 season is tomorrow and I have a mix of emotions. I’m excited and anxious to see what we will be doing this year. Usually a repeat workout is thrown in somewhere but I hope it doesn’t involve thrusters!

I made a list of all the movements from the previous years. Seven movements have appeared in a workout each year: chest to bar pull ups, double unders, muscle up, snatch, thruster, toes to bar and wall balls. The hardest movement for me will be the muscle ups. I was able to do the muscle up workout last year but I haven’t been doing them lately. I attempted a few reps a week ago and I wasn’t successful. I need to work on that skill and hopefully I can complete a rep before it shows up in a workout.

Dave Castro posted an Instagram picture of 35 lb. and 50 lb. dumbbells with the wording, “you’ve been warned” written in chalk. Dave Castro’s Instagram has been the source of clues for Open workouts in the past and this is no different. I’m going to assume dumbbells will be in the open somewhere and I should be practicing some movements with 50’s.

Last year I set a goal, to finish higher on the local leader board. I believe I will finish higher on the leader board but it’s not going to be by much. I will try my best and give it 100%. I will be posting my workout experience after the submission deadline since I will probably do it twice. Good luck to all and I hope you crush your workouts.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

My Week As Rx (Probably Scaled): March 14 – March 20

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Monday

Redid 16.3 and was able to get an additional muscle up! Check out my post on it HERE.

Tuesday

Deadlifts – 5×3 at 80% (315 lb.)
Haven’t done heavy deadlifts in a month so I took it easy and slowly worked up to my 80%. I focused on my form and technique and felt great after.
Partner WOD
 
30 deadlifts (225 lb.)
10 box jumps (24 in.)
25 deadlifts (225 lb.)
15 box jumps (24 in.)
20 deadlifts (225 lb.)
20 box jumps (24 in.)
15 deadlifts (225 lb.)
25 box jumps (24 in.)
10 deadlifts (225 lb.)
30 box jumps (24 in.)
We decided to split the reps evenly at five reps per person which worked out great. Initially I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to handle the weight but I felt that I could recover during the box jumps. I didn’t have a lot of recovery time during this workout since my partner didn’t need much rest. We slowed down a bit towards the end but we finished the workout at 8:42. It was faster than expected since I thought we would finish after 10 minutes.

Wednesday

Partner WOD – 16 Minute Time Cap
Run (1000 m)
–Then AMRAP–
20 handstand push ups
20 pistol squats
20 row (cals.)

This was a fun workout since I did this workout with one of my gaming friends. He’s been looking for a way to lose weight and I recommended my gym, CrossFit Gof Metgot. He likes the gym and has been consistent with workouts. He’s been doing great and I hope he sticks with it. Another friend has just finished the on ramp and will be starting regular classes soon.The run was broken up into 100 m shuttle runs. We each did five runs and then started on the rest of the movements. We broke up the reps in half. I felt like 10 reps a round would be okay, and would have a good enough time to recover for the next movement. I was able to do the workout Rx and my partner had to scale the handstand push ups and pistols.

The run was different since it was a shuttle and not a straight run. I was able to keep the same pace throughout and recovered just in time for the rest of the workout. I was able to keep a constant pace on the handstand push ups. I did the reps unbroken except for the last set. I took a bit longer on the pistol squats however. I’m not as strong on pistols which caused me to take more time. The row was great. I was able to actively recover and not lose intensity. Our score was 3 rounds + 20 hspu’s + 20 pistol squats.

Thursday

Snatch Complex – 1 Rep Heavy
1 power snatch + 3 overhead squats

I’m starting to like snatch complexes. My wrist has been limiting a lot of my overhead work but today it wasn’t too bad. I warmed up light and worked up to a 135 lb. rep. I was limited on time so I didn’t add more weight. Also, 135 lb. is my 1RM for power snatches so I’m not sure if I could have went heavier.

WOD – EMOM for 8 Minutes

5 power snatches at 60% 1RM (85 lb.)
5 lateral burpees over barbell

This workout was going to be tough. I just finished a heavy snatch complex and it had burpees. My main goal was to sustain a high intensity, so I decided to try and finish all the reps before 30 seconds. I didn’t want to go with heavier snatches since I would have rested longer. I was doing well for the first few minutes, finishing the round around 20 seconds. I hit the wall around the fifth minute. I could feel myself slowing down finishing the reps around 25 – 30 seconds. I tried to push through it but I wasn’t able to finish the last round under 30 seconds. I finished at 40 seconds which is not too bad. I was able to sustain a high intensity for most of the workout. I’m happy with my performance.

Friday

I did my first attempt of 16.4 which you can read HERE!
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Open Workout 16.5: The One We Did Two Years Ago

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We made it! After four weeks of killer workouts the 2016 Open is coming to a close with an epic workout. If you’ve been playing the “Guess the Workout” mini game with Dave Castro and instagram, the picture of roadkill with the caption “#16point5” was eye opening. Many people predicted thrusters and a repeat workout. Most of us were thinking 14.5 or 15.5, either way it was going to suck.

When he announced 14.5 is 16.5, I wasn’t scared, I was excited. Check out this POST for my history with 14.5. It has been a year since I redid 14.5 and I wanted to hit a PR with this workout. I was shooting for under 20 minutes but it was going to be difficult.

Workout 16.5

21-18-15-12-9-6-3

Thrusters (95 lb.)
Bar facing burpees

I wanted to break the thrusters up into three sets until the round of nine. I would probably be able to do two sets or go unbroken. My strategy for the burpees was to keep a steady pace. The last time I did it, the burpees were the hardest part.

I was able to get through the first three rounds of thrusters without much trouble. Fatigue set in but I was able push through it and stick to my game plan. The burpees however were a different story. I started out consistent but I hit a wall midway through the round of 15. I was exhausted and as much as I wanted to keep up with my pace, I started to slow down. I would take long breaks in between reps. Thankfully I had my coach and fellow members push me to keep going. It was tough, but I finished with a time of 21:14, which is 4:34 PR! I didn’t finish under my goal time but I’m happy with my performance. In the future, when we retest this workout, I will be under 20 minutes!

I hope you hit a PR with that workout. I will be trying to catch up with my weekly posts and recap the open. It has been a crazy five weeks.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

My Week As Rx (Probably Scaled): February 29 – March 6

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Monday

Gymnastics Skill Work
 
I started this skill work doing some handstand work. Did a few drills then moved on to rig. I watched as another member worked on muscle ups and I decided to work on them as well. I did a few warm up exercises and drills. I did a few pulls and was able to pull to my sternum and then to right above my stomach. I got a few tips from people who were watching and on my next pull I was able to get my first muscle up!
It was a great moment. One of the coaches yelled out, “did that just happen?!” I got down and waited a few seconds to attempt another one. It wasn’t as nice as the first one, but I was able to get up. At least I didn’t do the “chicken wing”. It’s true what they say. Every rep is easier after you get the first one. I need to work on my form and get stronger so that I can do them strict. Next up, ring muscle ups!

 

Running WOD

Run (1000 m) x 2

I hate running but it’s a necessary skill that I should develop. Thankfully I was coming off of my bar muscle up high that I was ready for anything. I decided to pace with my fiance for both intervals. She is a better runner and I wanted to keep up. The first 1000 m went well. I kept a good pace and kept up with my fiance. The second 1000 m was the same except a bit slower. I was a bit winded and did my best to keep up. I finished the first interval in 7:04 and the second interval in 7:35.

Wednesday

Front Squat Pause – 5×3 (215 lb.)
I haven’t done a pause front squat workout since August so I’m a bit rusty. I’m not sure of my numbers either so I decided to work up to a three rep heavy. I started my sets at 185 lb. and moved up from there. I tired to focus on keeping my elbows up, chest up, keeping an active bottom position and staying tight. At that weight it was easy to achieve all four goals. I did this for three sets before I decided to move up to 215 lb. This is where it gets difficult.
I noticed I wasn’t able to stay tight in the bottom position during the pause. I was holding my breath too long! I need to work on my breathing during the pauses. I was able to keep my elbows and chest up and the active bottom position felt great. Still need to work on staying tight during the pause.
Partner WOD – AMRAP 20 Minutes
Run (200 m)
3 deadlifts (115 lb.)
5 hang power cleans (115 lb.)
7 push jerks (115 lb.)
While one person runs, the other partner starts the workout. when the running partner finishes the run. They take over from wherever the other partner left off. I did this workout with my fiance and it was tough. She’s a faster runner and I tried to keep up. I didn’t know how to pace this workout so I started off by trying to get over one round per run. The deadlifts, power cleans and jerks are relatively light so it wasn’t too bad. I started out by doing a round and three deadlifts. My fiance was able to keep up with the pace thankfully. This worked well until minute 10. I noticed a slowdown in my run times and I was only able to finish a full round before she finished her 200 m run. We were able to finish a little over 11 rounds of this workout.

Thursday

WOD – “FGB Style”
3 rounds, 1 minute per station
Handstand push up
Double unders
Box jump
Toes to bar
Pistol squat
Rest 1 minute
 
My goal for the workout was to try to stay consistent. I wanted to to do at least 15 hspu’s, 50 double unders, 15 box jumps, 10 toes to bar and 10 pistol squats. While I was able to complete 100 reps for the first round, the reps for each movement were different. I was able to stay consistent on the hspu’s and box jumps but not the toes to bar or pistols. I did better on the double unders which brought up my score. The following rounds were the same except for the toes to bar and pistols. I would only do around five reps for each movement.  I was exhausted by this point and I’m not that great at them yet. I was able to do more reps on the box jumps and double unders to make up for my reps. I completed 100 reps for the first round, 96 reps for the second and 90 for the third.

Friday

This was the second week of the open so check out my post on 16.2 HERE!
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Open Workout 16.4: Glutes on Fire!

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We’re close to the end of the open with two more workouts to go and this workout is no joke.



Workout 16.4 – AMRAP 13 Minutes

55 deadlifts (225 lb.)

55 wall balls (20 lb.)

55 row (cals.)

55 hand stand push ups

My first reaction after Dave Castro’s mic drop was, “my back is going to get destroyed”. 225 lb. is about 54% of my 1RM but I didn’t take it lightly. I was hoping to at least make it off the rower but I wasn’t sure what to expect. I decided to do this workout Friday and then redo it on Monday if I didn’t like my score.

After a short warm up. I started the WOD. I decided to break up the deadlifts into sets of five. This strategy worked great until the last 10 reps. My back as a bit fatigued and I could feel my hamstrings tighten as well. I powered through and made it to the wall balls. I decided to break up the wall balls into sets of 10. I’m better at wall balls than deadlifts so I figured sets of 10 would be okay. The first round was good, I was able to hit ten reps before my first break. Then I started to get no repped. The ball wouldn’t hit above the line or the ball wouldn’t hit the wall at all. I took about 20 seconds to rest and refocus and started again. This time I only did sets of 5 with a short rest in between. This worked fine for the rest of the reps in this round.

I was exhausted by the time I got to the rower. I strapped in and started on my row but it was tough. My pace was between 800 cals/hr – 1000 cals/hr. I’m usually able to keep a pace above 1000 cals/hr but I wasn’t able to during this workout. I struggled and by the 13th minute I was only able to complete 41 calories. I was short of my goal by 14 calories. I unstrapped my feet and slumped to the floor.

With my total score of 151 reps, I’m not sure if I want to redo this workout. It was difficult but the deadlifts did take a toll on me. If I can recover by Monday I’ll consider redoing it. I really want to get off the rower! Hope your 16.4 attempt goes better than mine.

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Open Workout 16.3: The One With Bar Muscle Ups

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Muscle ups are here to stay. After last years workout announcement, I was waiting for it. Would this be the workout that I would finally get a ring muscle up? Nope, Dave Castro programmed bar muscle ups. Thankfully, I did my first rep last week and have been practicing every day at the gym since. No muscle up scaling this year. I figured I could have done at least one round, but I wanted at least two. I also did this workout twice.

Workout 16.3 

7 minute AMRAP

10 snatches (75 lb.)
3 bar muscle ups

The first round was exciting. I didn’t know what to expect since I just learned how to do bar muscle ups. The snatches were light I started by doing the snatches unbroken. When I got to my first set of muscle ups, I looked at the bar for a few seconds before I started. I would complete a muscle up and then wait a few seconds to attempt my next one. I felt good on the bar and I didn’t rush the reps. I did fail a rep once, which took about 15 seconds to get another one. I finished the workout with 3 rounds, 10 snatches and 1 bar muscle up.

The second time around I wanted to get two more reps and finish four rounds. I felt more comfortable doing the bar muscle ups and I felt confident. My pacing was better and I wouldn’t take as much time between muscle up reps. I finished the third round of snatches a minute earlier than my last time. I took a deep breath and started on the muscle ups. I failed the first rep with a minute to go. I took about 10 seconds and completed a rep. Took another 10 seconds and completed the second rep. With about 15 seconds to go I attempted the third rep and I failed. I tried to complete it but I couldn’t. With only five seconds left on the time. I stopped there.

Just like 16.2, my redo only yielded a one rep difference. It was also the difference between me accomplishing my goal of completing four rounds. I was bummed for a few minutes after the workout but I eventually got over it. I feel more confident on the bar now, next up is rings. I hope you did well on 16.3 and if you got your first muscle up, congrats!

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