A. High Hang Snatch off Blocks, work to a heavy single. The barbell on the boxes should come up to your hips.
- Worked up to 155#. Getting better at these
B. Above Knee Power Clean Cluster @ 205 lbs, 1.1.1 x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
- These were much harder than I thought they'd be. Missed only 1 rep though. Very lucky not to have injured my wrist....it was a pretty ugly miss!!
C. Weighted Ring Dips @ 20x0, 2-3 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 2 minutes between sets.
- Did most sets at 65#
D. Every Minute on the Minute x 10 Minutes of the following:
7-10 Chest to Bar Pull Ups
- Ugh. These sucked or more accurately - I sucked! Did 10 unbroken reps only the first 3 sets. Then dropped down to 7 unbroken reps then dropped down to sets of 4 and 3 within each minute. Don't know how I've managed to get worse at CTB pull-ups!!
Monday, July 29, 2013
Sunday July 28, 2013
Was bothering me that I wasn't able to complete Friday's programming so, I did a make up session today.
A. 2 Push Press + 2 Split Jerks off blocks, work to a heavy set.
- Worked to 200#.
B. 1 Power Snatch + 1 Squat Snatch + 1 Snatch Balance + 1 Overhead Squat @ 135 lbs x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
- No problem with these. Snatch technique was feeling solid today.
C. Single Leg Back Extensions @ 30x1, 8-10 repetitions x 3 sets, rest 2 minutes.
then did some skill work.
Strict Muscle-Ups AMRAP
- Did a bunch of sets of 3 and 4 then did a couple sets of 5!
A. 2 Push Press + 2 Split Jerks off blocks, work to a heavy set.
- Worked to 200#.
B. 1 Power Snatch + 1 Squat Snatch + 1 Snatch Balance + 1 Overhead Squat @ 135 lbs x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
- No problem with these. Snatch technique was feeling solid today.
C. Single Leg Back Extensions @ 30x1, 8-10 repetitions x 3 sets, rest 2 minutes.
then did some skill work.
Strict Muscle-Ups AMRAP
- Did a bunch of sets of 3 and 4 then did a couple sets of 5!
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Saturday July 27,2013
A. Low Bar Back Squat @ 80%, 4 reps x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
Worked up to 275 which I was pretty happy with. Didn't realize how much easier low bar back squats were compared to high bar!
Cashed out with a 20RM back squat which I haven't done in years! I did 20 reps at 225 which is a PR from years ago when I was squatting pretty regularly. Was happy because I felt like I had a lot more in me! The last time I got 20 reps at 225 I felt like I was going to puke!
B. 20 Minute AMRAP of the following;
Run 200 Meters
5 Wall Balls
10 KBS @ 53 lbs
15 Sit Ups
I felt like I crushed this one. Got nine rounds and maintained a good pace throughout.
Friday July 26,2013
Shoulders were hurting bad from my Oly lifting session last night and just feeling a bit over trained. Therefore I decided not to do my scheduled programming for today.
20 min amrap of
400m run
10 box jumps@30"
15 kb swings@,70#
25 double unders
Wednesday July 24,2013
A1. Close Grip Bench Press @ 20x1, 3-4 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
- worked up to 205
A2. Pendalay Barbell Bent Over @ 30x1, 3-4 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
-all sets at 135
B. Every Minute on the Minute for 20 Minutes of the following:
3 Power Cleans @ 135 lbs
6 Lateral Burpees
- did pretty well with these. Felt easy.
Tuesday July 23rd,2013
A. Front Squat @ 33x1, work to a heavy set of .
- Failed on 3rd rep@245. Actually didn't even attempt the 3rd rep because 2nd rep was very sloppy. I will get this next time!
B. Deadlift @ 30x1, 3-4 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
-worked up to 335
C. Row x 100 Meters x 10 sets, rest 1 minute and 10 seconds between sets.
- all sets below 1:27
D. Back Extensions, hands on butt @ 40x1, 12-15 repetitions x 3 sets, rest 2 minutes.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Monday July 22, 2013
A. Above Knee Squat Snatch off block, work to a cluster of 1.1
- worked up to 145#
B. Above Knee Power Clean and Split Jerk @ 80%, one on the minute, every minute for 10 minutes.
- all sets at 205
C. Single Arm KB Waiter's Walk @ 70 lbs x 30 seconds/rest 30 seconds between arms x 5 sets.
- these suuucked!! Almost dropped down to 53# but I decided to suffer through with 70.
D. L Pull Ups on the minute, every minute x 3 repetitions x 10 sets.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Friday July 19, 2013
A. Clean and Jerk on the minute every minute x 12 minutes, 1 rep every minute @ 205 lbs.
- These felt pretty light and easy today
B. 1 Power Snatch + 1 Snatch Balance + 1 Overhead Squat @ 135 lbs x 5 sets, rest 1:30.
C. Single Leg Romanian Deadlift @ 30x1, 7 reps/each side alternating x 3 sets, rest 2 minutes.
- Had to feel these out as I hadn't done them in ages. First set @ 45#, 2nd @ 60#, 3rd @ 70#
D. 5 Minutes of the following: On the Minute Every Minute:
3 Muscle Ups
7 Thrusters @ 95 lbs
+
rest 5 minutes
+
7 Minutes of the following: On the Minute Every Minute:
7 Overhead Squats @ 95 lbs
7 Pull Ups Chin Over Bar
- First part was far worse than the second. My muscle-ups have been shit lately and I was worried about being able to get through them unbroken but I was able to. Was taking me about :30-:33 to get through each round of M/U's and Thrusters. On the second part, each round took less than :20.
- These felt pretty light and easy today
B. 1 Power Snatch + 1 Snatch Balance + 1 Overhead Squat @ 135 lbs x 5 sets, rest 1:30.
C. Single Leg Romanian Deadlift @ 30x1, 7 reps/each side alternating x 3 sets, rest 2 minutes.
- Had to feel these out as I hadn't done them in ages. First set @ 45#, 2nd @ 60#, 3rd @ 70#
D. 5 Minutes of the following: On the Minute Every Minute:
3 Muscle Ups
7 Thrusters @ 95 lbs
+
rest 5 minutes
+
7 Minutes of the following: On the Minute Every Minute:
7 Overhead Squats @ 95 lbs
7 Pull Ups Chin Over Bar
- First part was far worse than the second. My muscle-ups have been shit lately and I was worried about being able to get through them unbroken but I was able to. Was taking me about :30-:33 to get through each round of M/U's and Thrusters. On the second part, each round took less than :20.
Wednesday July 17, 2013
A1. Close Grip Bench Press @ 22x1, 4-5 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes.
- Worked with 195. Didn't feel that strong on these today
A2. Parallel Grip Weighted Pull Ups @ 30x1, 3-4 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes.
B. Single Arm KB Press @ 50x1, AMRAP 30 seconds x 5 sets, rest 30 seconds between each side/rest 3 minutes between sets.
- First 2 sets @ 24kg, then dropped to 20kg for the rest
C. 4 Sets of the following:
20 Seconds of Hang Power Cleans @ 115 lbs
rest 20 seconds
40 seconds of Airdyne
rest 40 seconds
60 seconds of Burpees
rest 60 seconds
- Worked with 195. Didn't feel that strong on these today
A2. Parallel Grip Weighted Pull Ups @ 30x1, 3-4 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes.
B. Single Arm KB Press @ 50x1, AMRAP 30 seconds x 5 sets, rest 30 seconds between each side/rest 3 minutes between sets.
- First 2 sets @ 24kg, then dropped to 20kg for the rest
C. 4 Sets of the following:
20 Seconds of Hang Power Cleans @ 115 lbs
rest 20 seconds
40 seconds of Airdyne
rest 40 seconds
60 seconds of Burpees
rest 60 seconds
Tuesday July 16, 2013
A. Front Squat @ 20x1, work to a heavy set of 3. No more than 5 sets.
- Worked up to 240
B. Deadlift @ 30x1, 4-5 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
- 315#
C. Row x 22 seconds x 10 sets, rest 2 minutes between sets.
- All sets @ 1:27 pace or less
D. GHD Raises @ 30x1, 8-10 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes. Hands on Chest.
- Worked up to 240
B. Deadlift @ 30x1, 4-5 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
- 315#
C. Row x 22 seconds x 10 sets, rest 2 minutes between sets.
- All sets @ 1:27 pace or less
D. GHD Raises @ 30x1, 8-10 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes. Hands on Chest.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Monday July 15, 2013
A. Hang Squat Snatch: work up to heavy single
- Worked up to 160#. Felt decent on these
B. Clean & Jerk Cluster @ 75%, 1.1.1.1.1 x 5 sets
- Decided to do all squat cleans on these. Went with 185#
C. Farmers Walk @ 2 x 70# KB, :45 work/:45 rest
- Started getting tough in 4th round!
D. Rope Climb EMOM for 15:00
- Worked up to 160#. Felt decent on these
B. Clean & Jerk Cluster @ 75%, 1.1.1.1.1 x 5 sets
- Decided to do all squat cleans on these. Went with 185#
C. Farmers Walk @ 2 x 70# KB, :45 work/:45 rest
- Started getting tough in 4th round!
D. Rope Climb EMOM for 15:00
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Saturday July 12, 2013
A. High Bar Back Squat @ 70%, 4 reps x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
- Actually did low bar BS today with 225#. Trying to prepare for an online challenge WOD where the winner gets a chance to compete on Freddy Camacho's team in a CF MAsters Team throwdown
B. 15 Minutes on the Clock: On the Airdyne
15 Seconds all out every 1 minute.
- I went hard in these. Even hit 1,200 watts a couple of times! Maintained a pace of over 500W pretty consistently
C. 20 Minute AMRAP of the following;
Row 250 Meters
5 Burpees
10 Kettlebell Swings
5 Step Box Jumps
- This one was in my wheelhouse. I got just over 10 rounds.
- Actually did low bar BS today with 225#. Trying to prepare for an online challenge WOD where the winner gets a chance to compete on Freddy Camacho's team in a CF MAsters Team throwdown
B. 15 Minutes on the Clock: On the Airdyne
15 Seconds all out every 1 minute.
- I went hard in these. Even hit 1,200 watts a couple of times! Maintained a pace of over 500W pretty consistently
C. 20 Minute AMRAP of the following;
Row 250 Meters
5 Burpees
10 Kettlebell Swings
5 Step Box Jumps
- This one was in my wheelhouse. I got just over 10 rounds.
Thursday July 11, 2013
A. Clean and Jerk Cluster @ 80%, 1.1.1.1 x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
- Worked up to 200#
B. Snatch on the Minute, Every Minute @ 115 lbs, 3 repetitions x 10 minutes.
C. Romanian Deadlift @ 30x1, 6-8 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 2 minutes between sets.
D. Complete the following for time
Up-Ladder of
1,2,3....8,9,10 Burpee Hops over Kettlebell
2,4,6.....16,18, 20 Goblet Squats
3,6,9.....24,27,39 Russian KB Swings
- Worked up to 200#
B. Snatch on the Minute, Every Minute @ 115 lbs, 3 repetitions x 10 minutes.
C. Romanian Deadlift @ 30x1, 6-8 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 2 minutes between sets.
D. Complete the following for time
Up-Ladder of
1,2,3....8,9,10 Burpee Hops over Kettlebell
2,4,6.....16,18, 20 Goblet Squats
3,6,9.....24,27,39 Russian KB Swings
This was a good ol' fashioned ass whuppin'. I was crushing it until about the 7th round. I was losing my grip due to massive amounts of sweat and had a hard time hanging on to the KB on the Goblet Squats. The swings and burpees weren't too bad but the squats sucked pretty hard by the 10th round!
Wednesday July 10, 2013
A1. Close Grip Bench Press @ 30x1, 4-5 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 2 minutes.
- Worked up to 205
A2. Weighted Pronated Pull Ups @ 30x1, 4-5 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 2 minutes.
- All sets with 45# KB
B. 4 Sets of the following:
30 seconds of Kettlebell Swings @ 70 lbs
rest 30 seconds
30 seconds of Wall Balls
rest 30 seconds
30 seconds of Power Snatch @ 95 lbs
rest 30 seconds
30 seconds of Row
- Worked up to 205
A2. Weighted Pronated Pull Ups @ 30x1, 4-5 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 2 minutes.
- All sets with 45# KB
B. 4 Sets of the following:
30 seconds of Kettlebell Swings @ 70 lbs
rest 30 seconds
30 seconds of Wall Balls
rest 30 seconds
30 seconds of Power Snatch @ 95 lbs
rest 30 seconds
30 seconds of Row
Tuesday July 9, 2013
A. Front Squat @ 33x1, work to a heavy set of 3. No Max Attempts.
- Worked up to 235
B. Deadlift Clusters @ 30x1, 2.2.2 x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
- Worked up to 315
C. Row x 200 Meters x 10 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
- All sets between 1:23 and 1:28 pace
D. GHD Raises @ 30x1, hands on ass, 8-10 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 2 minutes between sets.
- Worked up to 235
B. Deadlift Clusters @ 30x1, 2.2.2 x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
- Worked up to 315
C. Row x 200 Meters x 10 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
- All sets between 1:23 and 1:28 pace
D. GHD Raises @ 30x1, hands on ass, 8-10 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 2 minutes between sets.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Monday July 8, 2013
A. Power Snatch Cluster, work to a cluster set of the following, 1.1.1, no more than 5 sets.
- 135, 145, 150, 155
- I just realized that I misread this and did clusters of 1.1.1.1.1....Oops!
B. Clean and Jerk @ 70% Cluster, 1.1.1.1.1 x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
- 155, 185, 190, 195, 195
C. Weighted Side Bridges x 20 seconds/each side x 5 sets, rest 20 seconds between sides.
D. 10 Minutes on the Clock:
Every Minute on the Minute Complete the following:
3 L-Pull Ups
7 Burpees
- These weren't too horrible. L-Pull ups felt a bit awkward as I hardly ever do these.
- 135, 145, 150, 155
- I just realized that I misread this and did clusters of 1.1.1.1.1....Oops!
B. Clean and Jerk @ 70% Cluster, 1.1.1.1.1 x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
- 155, 185, 190, 195, 195
C. Weighted Side Bridges x 20 seconds/each side x 5 sets, rest 20 seconds between sides.
D. 10 Minutes on the Clock:
Every Minute on the Minute Complete the following:
3 L-Pull Ups
7 Burpees
- These weren't too horrible. L-Pull ups felt a bit awkward as I hardly ever do these.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Sunday July 7, 2013
A. 10:00 on the clock
- 2,000M Row, AMRAP Double Unders
- Row=6:59, D/U=150
B. 50 Cal Airdyne
75 Wall Balls
50 Cal Airdyne
75 Wall Balls
- Time was 15:12. I felt slow as hell on this today. Second round of WB's ended in pathetic sets of 5 !!
C. 10:00 on the clock
- 2,000M Row, AMRAP Double Unders
- Row=??, D/U=100
- 2,000M Row, AMRAP Double Unders
- Row=6:59, D/U=150
B. 50 Cal Airdyne
75 Wall Balls
50 Cal Airdyne
75 Wall Balls
- Time was 15:12. I felt slow as hell on this today. Second round of WB's ended in pathetic sets of 5 !!
C. 10:00 on the clock
- 2,000M Row, AMRAP Double Unders
- Row=??, D/U=100
Wednesday July 3, 2013
A. Close Grip Bench w/ 40# chains, 3-4 reps @ 30x1
- Worked up to 185#. Felt pretty good with these today
B. 4 sets of
:30 Double KB FS @ 2 - 53# KBs
:30 rest
:30 sprints
:30 rest
:30 Power Clean @ 95#
:30 rest
:30 Airdyne
- Worked up to 185#. Felt pretty good with these today
B. 4 sets of
:30 Double KB FS @ 2 - 53# KBs
:30 rest
:30 sprints
:30 rest
:30 Power Clean @ 95#
:30 rest
:30 Airdyne
Thursday July 4, 2013
A. EMOM: 3 Power Snatches @ 140# , followed by AMRAP Double Unders
- Didn't really push hard on these. Only got about 250 total. Left myself 20-30 seconds to recover before each set of snatches.
B. 20:00 AMRAP of 400M run, KBS @ 70#, 15 air squats
- 8 rounds + 100M Run
- Didn't really push hard on these. Only got about 250 total. Left myself 20-30 seconds to recover before each set of snatches.
B. 20:00 AMRAP of 400M run, KBS @ 70#, 15 air squats
- 8 rounds + 100M Run
Tuesday July 2, 2013
Slowly getting back into things. Did a nice, light run - maybe about 3.5 miles through StoneHill College. Cashed out with 5 sets of 50 double unders.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Masters Comp - Day 2
Woke up feeling really good considering what I went through yesterday. Honestly, I can think of plenty of days in my regular training routine where I've been through much worse!
My first heat did not start until after 10:00 so I didn't show up early like I had to on Saturday. That extra time helped me relax a bit and mentally prepare. First workout was a descending 10-1 ladder of Deadlifts, Toes to Bar and Box Jumps. I figured that this was, at most an 8:00 workout and I felt pretty confident that I could keep moving at a steady pace throughout. The one area that concerned me was the TTB's. I know that my technique is not great and I lose my kipping rhythm very easily. This definitely cost me in the second to last Opens WOD this year. Luckily, I got all my reps unbroken on this one and ended up with a decent score which put me in 2nd place on the workout - just missed first by 1 second!
Next up - 3:00 AMRAP of rope climbs. Of all the weekends' workouts this one required the least amount of strategy. You can either get up and down that rope or you can't!! I got up and down 10 times. I started my 11th climb but I had nothing left in my forearms and couldn't make it past 5'. Still, my 10 reps put me in first on this workout and I managed to hang on to first going into the Finals with a pretty good lead over 2nd place.
I was really concerned that the Finals WOD would be a total beatdown involving some heavy squatting movement or some pulling movement that would blow out my hands. There was some squatting but it wasn't heavy and there was some pulling but very few reps. I felt very confident that I would do very well on this workout which was...
3 Rounds of
- 5 Squat Snatch @ 115#
- 2 Muscle-Ups
Then... 30' Front Rack Walking Lunge with the barbell
Strategy wise I had trouble deciding whether to go balls to the wall by going touch 'n go with the squat snatches or drop every rep. I decided that I would start out by going touch 'n go and see how things went. I was actually crushing this WOD until my very last muscle-up. In the 3rd round I made my first muscle-up attempt but it was a very ugly, taxing rep and I should have dropped down and shaken it out before attempting my second. Of course, I barely missed my second rep. Let me just say there is nothing worse you can do in a workout than "barely missing" a muscle up. There is probably no costlier failure in the sport of CrossFit. The energy that you spend fighting to get up there costs so much recovery time. I missed one more time and started to get frustrated. Another thing that had happened is that a blood blister on my hand that I had acquired from the Rope Climbs had ripped wide open during my snatches and I had blood all over my left hand, making the ring slippery. On my third attempt of my very last muscle-up, I barely got up and locked it out. I got right to the barbell and started lunging toward the finish line. Mike Giorgio (who had a GREAT weekend) was a few steps ahead of me and I couldn't close the gap. So, I finished third in the Finals but still hung on for the win.
After all this, I feel so relieved and happy to have come out on top. I had been through about 4 other competitions where I finished 2nd or 3rd and I was starting to feel like Phil Mickelson before he won his first Masters (the golf tournament, not CrossFit for old people!). I feared that I would always be the guy who finished second but didn't have it in him to close things out and win.
The reason that I do these competitions is not all about winning and losing. It's about getting better and learning where my weaknesses are. I know that the mental game is always something I need to work on. This weekend taught me the importance of training in uncomfortable conditions. What I mean by that is in a competition, the rings will not always be set up to your ideal height. You should practice different techniques for gripping the rings at different heights. In a competition you don't have a huge gym floor to hop around on when doing double unders. It's usually a much smaller area. CrossFit competitions are loud...and chaotic...and things often happen that are outside of your control. Being able to battle through those conditions is something that can make you an elite competitor.
Other random thoughts from the weekend...
1. TJ's Gym really put on quite a show. The heats all went off on-time, the judging was decent (wasn't perfect, never is!) and the atmosphere was great! It was so good in fact that I am considering making a cross country trip in January to the NorCal Masters event that they run every year.
2. Love the CrossFit community and my favorite part of competing is making new friends and reconnecting with old friends and acquaintances.
3. I hate my programming/I love my programming!!! My workouts are often a miserable grind. I'm talking an hour and a half to 2 hours of all work/no fun. But I totally get it now. The way I have been training had me so well prepared for this competition and I owe it all to my coach Kevin O'Malley who is becoming a master at his craft.
4. Although there were not huge numbers for athletes, the ones that showed up were legit. There were at least 5 guys that had me worried all weekend and any one of them could have won this competition. I need to continue to step my game up.
5. As happy as I am with the overall result, I still find myself obsessing over things that I could have done better. It amazes me that I am just never satisfied. I guess that means one of 2 things - 1) there is just something wrong with me or 2) I am someone who never likes to get complacent. The moment I start thinking that I am "great" at something is the moment that I stop striving to be better.
My first heat did not start until after 10:00 so I didn't show up early like I had to on Saturday. That extra time helped me relax a bit and mentally prepare. First workout was a descending 10-1 ladder of Deadlifts, Toes to Bar and Box Jumps. I figured that this was, at most an 8:00 workout and I felt pretty confident that I could keep moving at a steady pace throughout. The one area that concerned me was the TTB's. I know that my technique is not great and I lose my kipping rhythm very easily. This definitely cost me in the second to last Opens WOD this year. Luckily, I got all my reps unbroken on this one and ended up with a decent score which put me in 2nd place on the workout - just missed first by 1 second!
Next up - 3:00 AMRAP of rope climbs. Of all the weekends' workouts this one required the least amount of strategy. You can either get up and down that rope or you can't!! I got up and down 10 times. I started my 11th climb but I had nothing left in my forearms and couldn't make it past 5'. Still, my 10 reps put me in first on this workout and I managed to hang on to first going into the Finals with a pretty good lead over 2nd place.
I was really concerned that the Finals WOD would be a total beatdown involving some heavy squatting movement or some pulling movement that would blow out my hands. There was some squatting but it wasn't heavy and there was some pulling but very few reps. I felt very confident that I would do very well on this workout which was...
3 Rounds of
- 5 Squat Snatch @ 115#
- 2 Muscle-Ups
Then... 30' Front Rack Walking Lunge with the barbell
Strategy wise I had trouble deciding whether to go balls to the wall by going touch 'n go with the squat snatches or drop every rep. I decided that I would start out by going touch 'n go and see how things went. I was actually crushing this WOD until my very last muscle-up. In the 3rd round I made my first muscle-up attempt but it was a very ugly, taxing rep and I should have dropped down and shaken it out before attempting my second. Of course, I barely missed my second rep. Let me just say there is nothing worse you can do in a workout than "barely missing" a muscle up. There is probably no costlier failure in the sport of CrossFit. The energy that you spend fighting to get up there costs so much recovery time. I missed one more time and started to get frustrated. Another thing that had happened is that a blood blister on my hand that I had acquired from the Rope Climbs had ripped wide open during my snatches and I had blood all over my left hand, making the ring slippery. On my third attempt of my very last muscle-up, I barely got up and locked it out. I got right to the barbell and started lunging toward the finish line. Mike Giorgio (who had a GREAT weekend) was a few steps ahead of me and I couldn't close the gap. So, I finished third in the Finals but still hung on for the win.
After all this, I feel so relieved and happy to have come out on top. I had been through about 4 other competitions where I finished 2nd or 3rd and I was starting to feel like Phil Mickelson before he won his first Masters (the golf tournament, not CrossFit for old people!). I feared that I would always be the guy who finished second but didn't have it in him to close things out and win.
The reason that I do these competitions is not all about winning and losing. It's about getting better and learning where my weaknesses are. I know that the mental game is always something I need to work on. This weekend taught me the importance of training in uncomfortable conditions. What I mean by that is in a competition, the rings will not always be set up to your ideal height. You should practice different techniques for gripping the rings at different heights. In a competition you don't have a huge gym floor to hop around on when doing double unders. It's usually a much smaller area. CrossFit competitions are loud...and chaotic...and things often happen that are outside of your control. Being able to battle through those conditions is something that can make you an elite competitor.
Other random thoughts from the weekend...
1. TJ's Gym really put on quite a show. The heats all went off on-time, the judging was decent (wasn't perfect, never is!) and the atmosphere was great! It was so good in fact that I am considering making a cross country trip in January to the NorCal Masters event that they run every year.
2. Love the CrossFit community and my favorite part of competing is making new friends and reconnecting with old friends and acquaintances.
3. I hate my programming/I love my programming!!! My workouts are often a miserable grind. I'm talking an hour and a half to 2 hours of all work/no fun. But I totally get it now. The way I have been training had me so well prepared for this competition and I owe it all to my coach Kevin O'Malley who is becoming a master at his craft.
4. Although there were not huge numbers for athletes, the ones that showed up were legit. There were at least 5 guys that had me worried all weekend and any one of them could have won this competition. I need to continue to step my game up.
5. As happy as I am with the overall result, I still find myself obsessing over things that I could have done better. It amazes me that I am just never satisfied. I guess that means one of 2 things - 1) there is just something wrong with me or 2) I am someone who never likes to get complacent. The moment I start thinking that I am "great" at something is the moment that I stop striving to be better.
Masters Comp. Day 1
Game Day is finally here! I can still feel the butterflies in my stomach but I somehow feel less anxious than I did yesterday.
Had about 3 hours of pacing, stretching and warming up before the first heat of my first event. It was the one WOD that I had taken the time to test before the comp. so I thought I knew what to expect. It was an ascending ladder of 1 min. AMRAP Clean and Jerks with CTB Pull-ups every other minute.
Things were going more or less according to plan through the first couple of rounds. I had listened to a bunch of other athletes say that they were going to back way off on the pull-ups because of how the scoring was weighted and I decided to do the same. I made sure to leave myself at least :20 to get back to the barbell before each new C&J round.
For some reason, this WOD went very differently when I did it in the actual comp. There were so many factors that made this tougher than doing it in the comfort of my own gym.....the close quarters (almost ran into the guy in front of me a couple times), the heat and humidity, the chaos of having lots of heats going on at once and being confused by the clock announcements (this would come up again later!).
By the end of the ladder I was pretty well gassed and I only managed 2 (although I could have sworn it was 3) successful reps at 195#. This was good enough for 4th overall but I was pretty disappointed with the result.
2nd WOD was a very short one that consisted of 70' prowler pushed followed by 25 Double Unders. This was by far the easiest WOD I did all weekend although it was also the one that had the smallest margin for error. Just one little mishap like getting your rope tangled or dropping it could cost you 5-10 seconds and move you down about 10+ spots. Thankfully, this one was uneventful and I had only one miss on my Double-Unders. My time of 1:59 was good enough for second place.
Next was a 5:00 WOD that started with a 1,000M Row followed by AMRAP wall-balls in the remaining time. I have a good gauge of how fast I can row 1,000M however; I have never had to do wall-balls immediately after so I was trying to determine just how hard to go. I kept my pace at 1:40-1:43 the whole time and got to the Wall-Ball with just a few short breaths in between. I fired off 40 unbroken wall-balls and was still feeling great when I thought I heard my judge say "TIME!". However; there were still 4-5 seconds left and I had wasted them by dropping my wall-ball. This was a pretty frustrating turn of events and it could have proved costly but I still managed to finish 2nd and the guy who finished first beat me by 4 reps. Not likely that I would have closed that gap in 4 seconds.
WOD 4 was a shuttle "sprint" that added on a new movement in each round. I had practiced this one the other day and thought that I should do pretty well. In my heat, I was step for step with a competitor in the next lane -Joe Ames right up until the burpees. Joe actually was a few reps ahead of me starting his burpees but I was able to catch him and sprint (or stumble??) to the finish line to win my heat. This time was good enough for second overall. So, after 4 workouts I had climbed to first overall in my age division with 2 workouts on Sunday + the Finals.
Had about 3 hours of pacing, stretching and warming up before the first heat of my first event. It was the one WOD that I had taken the time to test before the comp. so I thought I knew what to expect. It was an ascending ladder of 1 min. AMRAP Clean and Jerks with CTB Pull-ups every other minute.
Things were going more or less according to plan through the first couple of rounds. I had listened to a bunch of other athletes say that they were going to back way off on the pull-ups because of how the scoring was weighted and I decided to do the same. I made sure to leave myself at least :20 to get back to the barbell before each new C&J round.
For some reason, this WOD went very differently when I did it in the actual comp. There were so many factors that made this tougher than doing it in the comfort of my own gym.....the close quarters (almost ran into the guy in front of me a couple times), the heat and humidity, the chaos of having lots of heats going on at once and being confused by the clock announcements (this would come up again later!).
By the end of the ladder I was pretty well gassed and I only managed 2 (although I could have sworn it was 3) successful reps at 195#. This was good enough for 4th overall but I was pretty disappointed with the result.
2nd WOD was a very short one that consisted of 70' prowler pushed followed by 25 Double Unders. This was by far the easiest WOD I did all weekend although it was also the one that had the smallest margin for error. Just one little mishap like getting your rope tangled or dropping it could cost you 5-10 seconds and move you down about 10+ spots. Thankfully, this one was uneventful and I had only one miss on my Double-Unders. My time of 1:59 was good enough for second place.
Next was a 5:00 WOD that started with a 1,000M Row followed by AMRAP wall-balls in the remaining time. I have a good gauge of how fast I can row 1,000M however; I have never had to do wall-balls immediately after so I was trying to determine just how hard to go. I kept my pace at 1:40-1:43 the whole time and got to the Wall-Ball with just a few short breaths in between. I fired off 40 unbroken wall-balls and was still feeling great when I thought I heard my judge say "TIME!". However; there were still 4-5 seconds left and I had wasted them by dropping my wall-ball. This was a pretty frustrating turn of events and it could have proved costly but I still managed to finish 2nd and the guy who finished first beat me by 4 reps. Not likely that I would have closed that gap in 4 seconds.
WOD 4 was a shuttle "sprint" that added on a new movement in each round. I had practiced this one the other day and thought that I should do pretty well. In my heat, I was step for step with a competitor in the next lane -Joe Ames right up until the burpees. Joe actually was a few reps ahead of me starting his burpees but I was able to catch him and sprint (or stumble??) to the finish line to win my heat. This time was good enough for second overall. So, after 4 workouts I had climbed to first overall in my age division with 2 workouts on Sunday + the Finals.
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