Congratulations Adam C., Joe F., Kia H., Thomas M. and David G., for completing our Elements Workshop curriculum!
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Rest today.
No composition today—you’re free to post your own to comments.
Congratulations Adam C., Joe F., Kia H., Thomas M. and David G., for completing our Elements Workshop curriculum!
—
Rest today.
No composition today—you’re free to post your own to comments.
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Steve, how did the hopper go? I heard something about sideways jumping burpies? Jeff
writing a review right now! it was more fun than i should be allowed to have…will post later tonight, i have a date now with some braised lamb shanks and broccoli.
braised lamb shanks and broccoli? man, i want a date with you!
heard you pulled 405×2. badass.
Steve – Your killing us here. I keep checking for an update…even checked the Crossfit BWI page to try and get some info. C’mon man..spit out the lamb and cough up the goods!
caution: long post to follow.
The 2009 Midatlantic Crossfit Challenge: my account and what I learned
Wed 10/14. Light Nraf in the am, big nap in the afternoon.
Thur 10/15 no wod, biiiiiig nap in the afternoon
Fri 10/16 no wod, big nap AGAIN, then food prep: 3 post-wod young coconut smoothies, 8 scrambled eggs with olives and peppers, salad of 3 chopped apples, 3c blueberries, couple fistfulls of pecans. Also, pack any possible necessary equipment for the next day: weightlifting shoes, tape, chalk, weightlifting belt (sorry coach), jump rope, noggin pad for hspu, blanket, pillow, earplugs, warm clothes.
Sat 10/17 game day! Up at 0530, ate a filet of smoked mackerel (yum!) and apple/blueberry/pecan salad, COFFEE, fish oil. Arrived xfit BWI at 0700 to sign in. Wods 1 and 2 drawn at 0745: wod 1 would be a strength test, between 1-3 rep max. Wod 2 would be monostructural (run, row, etc), a couplet, or a triplet. No named wods were in the hopper. For wod 1 they drew deadlifts for a 2 rep max. There was no schedule for this wod, we just had to get it done before 1230. We were allowed 15 min and 3 attempts to find our 2 rep max. One dude pulled 595 for 2. Astounding! I knew something was up when he was warming up with 505. I pulled my one rep max of 405 twice and totally could have pulled 15-20lb more, but I had done my 3 attempts already, so hard cheese.
For wod 2 they pulled out 95(65)lb OH squats, bastards (a version of the burpee where you jump laterally over the resting barbell), and pushups, in a 21/15/9 rep scheme. Heats were running at 20 min intervals, with a 15 min cap to complete the wod. I went at 1100 (I deadlifted at 1000) and completed the wod in 7:14. This wod TRASHED my shoulders! I was surprised to see many folks folding under the OH squats. The pushups were the hardest part for me. After wod 2 I was ranked 18th overall.
After that, I found a clear spot on the floor, made my bed and crashed out- ear plugs in, hat over eyes, ice on low back (After having some coconut smoothie, of course. mmmmmm).
They had sandwiches (with bread- wtf?) and salad for lunch. I just ate my eggs and fruit salad- pre-wod foods that I am used to and that have served me well. No way I was sending my insulin on a pre-wod rollercoaster with a sangwidge!
Wod 3 was drawn at 1245. This would be a chipper with 7 moves. They pulled out double unders (yay!), back squat (yay!), ghd situps (yay!), snatch (yay!), wall ball (oh shit!), push jerk (yay!) and toes to bar (yay!) in a rep scheme of 30/7/30/7/30/7/30. All barbell moves would be done with 135(85)lb with the same bar, so for the squats you had to snatch it and put it down on your back. The women’s weight was originally 95lbs, but after realizing that most of the women just couldn’t get that weight up, they lowered it a little. The better you did in the morning wods the later your heat would be. I had to go to work so I requested to be put in an earlier heat. I did this wod in 8:46. The toughest parts of this wod for me were the surprising amount of aggression required for the snatch and the grip for the toe to bar at the end. Many folks had trouble getting under the weight for the snatch. I figured fuck technique and get angry! Seemed to work OK for me.
Every time I do a xfit competition (this was my 3rd time), I learn something new. Some things were:
1.Take care of every factor that you CAN control- your transportation, your food, warm clothes, enough coffee, your equipment, etc. I was glad to have my blankie and pillow and especially my earplugs, as you all now know I am fond of naps. My back got tight and I was glad to have ice packs. They had non-paleo eats, but I had my own food too.
2. I heard a lot of negative self-talk from some competitors. They were talking about their nerves, their inability to lift this or that weight, that they were cold/tired/hungry, couldn’t get in a good warm up, blah blah, wah, wah. Sure, I was nervous but I didn’t show it- if you ACT calm, cool, and collected, your body actually starts to think that that you ARE calm, cool and collected. I might have been dying on the inside, but nobody had any idea! Its a lot like the body language of finishing the wod on your feet.
3. I felt the magic of adrenaline! A week ago I couldn’t BUDGE 405 from the floor (some of you witnessed this) and at the MAHC I lifted it twice and didn’t feel A THING! I need to learn to tap into this more regularly. Of course, loud music and a bunch of people yelling at you helps too. (more yelling please)
4. I learned to stick to my game and know that I am my only competition. A few days before the MAHC I looked at the stats of some of the other competitors. Some had VERY impressive numbers and it made me nervous! It took me a day or so to realize that the only person I have to prove anything to is myself. There will always be somebody better than me, and there will always be somebody worse.
5. It is NOT easy for the winners to win. They just work HARDER than everybody else. I witnessed Christy P (she got 1st) do wod 2 and she was beating herself to a fucking pulp. It was astounding how hard she pushed. She did NOT make it look easy- I felt so bad for her! She gutted it out right to the bitter end and she showed me that it really never does get easier. And things gained easily aren’t worth celebrating, right?
So, overall it was a great experience. Crossfit has such a strong community that I am very proud to be part of. I saw lots of old friends and old coaches and it was great to catch up with them and see how they’ve progressed. It felt good to cheer them on when they competed. Also, it’s nice to see my own progress. At last year’s hopper I got a DNF due to my inability to double under. They were a non-issue this year. My pushup endurance was a problem this year, as was my snatch form (it was pretty much a muscled-up shitfight). Add ’em to my goat list for next year! And I look forward to seeing many of y’all there too, competing and yelling!
Keep Squattin’!
Steve D
PS: I think I came in 17th overall, but I never saw the final standings as I had to leave early!