Nice little Sunday over here.. Matt got to experience the joys of finishing a workout (almost) before the sun appears! He is back in training, friends, and he seems serious about this one.. He has another half marathon planned for Nov 1 and my money is on him making it to the start line (and finish line, of coarse..but first things first, yes?) of this one! So since I needed to be out the door by about 7am to go clean/workout/work at the gym, he had to get rolling early. I reminded him that I do this every day to allow him to get to work on time.. He appreciated the reminder, but I continued to help him understand how I've been doing this for him for a couple years now (since I stopped working full time) and that him doing it once a week is really no big deal.. I'm such a big help sometimes.. So he did his run and then I got on my way!
Today I planned to meet up with Jaclyn and Nicci to enjoy some cardio, CrossFit Games style.. We took on the Triple 3! What.. You don't automatically know exactly what I'm talking about? Do you even lift? (Kidding..). So this was a workout which proved to be quite the athlete fave at the games this year!..or not at all. I give crossfitters a hard time on these events because it just seems that there is NO thought to pacing at all. Like they've never run more than 800m at a time, so have no clue how to pace a longer run, yet still try to tackle it at break-neck speed? Only to die at or before the finish line.. Baffling.. I have no idea what the times and paces of the top athletes were in this event, and my argument isn't that they didn't go fast, but that they didn't race smart. I'm sorry, but there really isn't any reason to crumble or lose function of your legs at the end of a 40 minute workout. That's the kind of stuff you see at the end of an ultra event where the body is so out of whack..as in the Ph balance is off in such a way from extreme, prolonged physical exertion that your brain and muscles are no longer communicating or cooperating.. Not because of poor pacing and a lack of understanding their body.. I'm just saying, since events like these seem to appear at the games every year?.. Perhaps it wouldn't be a terrible idea to learn what pace you can maintain to allow for a strong finish.. We put time in to weightlifting.. We wouldn't walk up to a barbell 50# over our 1 rep max and try to snatch it, so why would you try to run a race way over your body's capabilities? Anyhow.. So I was looking forward to taking on this workout with my buddies. I will say this.. Though it took me a bit longer than I had hoped, this was due to lack of proficiency in the double unders and not poor pacing on either the row or the run.. Oh, shoot! I still haven't explained what this 'triple 3' is! It goes a little something like this:
3000m row
300 double unders
3 mi run
Fun, right?! So rowing is not my strong suit and I knew I had to take that part pretty easy to not ruin the rest of the workout. I think I paced around 2:10/500m? Something around there.. Got off the rower around 13:00, which was where I figured I would be. My butt was sore, but overall, it went fine. The double unders, however.. I didn't think this would really be hard, but I've also never really don't 300 of them in one set? I'm sure we have done 300 in a workout before, but doing them all in a row..my shoulders were on fire! I wound up breaking the last 200 into sets of 25, which went fine, but it took me around 6 minutes to finish..yikes! I didn't start my run until after the 20 minute mark..probably closer to 21 minutes..so my goal of 'sub 40' was pretty much out the window at that point. Nicci and I ran together and we ran strong. Not super fast, but held around just under 8 min miles the whole way, so came in at 44:46. Oops? Like I said..the double unders were where I went wrong. I wouldn't have done either of the other 2 parts any differently..at least not at this point in my training.. Guess I need to work on my capacity for bigger sets of double unders? Seriously.. Will my list of things to work on ever get smaller? It has to, right? At some point? Not any time soon, it seems..
After I cooled down from that, I decided that I wanted to see where my overhead squats were these days.. It had been a while since I had looked for a 1 rep max on those, so I just wanted to give it a try. The OHS were feeling pretty good, so I kept going up 10# at a time until I hit what felt like a pretty solid max at 185#! Pretty sure that was a 20# pr for me, so not too shabby. I guess I could have gone for more, since I didn't fail that weight, but it felt like a good place to stop..
Next up..you guessed it! Muscle ups! I did 10 strict and then 20 kipping muscle ups, which went in sets of 5/5/4/4/2.. Those last sets of 4, I just didn't feel like my hands were in the right spot and that 5th wasn't likely to happen..so not perfect, but not too bad..
I called it good after that, so wrapped it up! Like I said.. Nice little Sunday!
GLI comp 1/'14
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Midline Marching to a different drum..
First, to finish off my Friday, I did head back to the gym for a little more work.. I did the gym's workout, but with a slight twist to work on the things I need to work on.. It was:
15 min AMRAP
10 alt kb snatch (I used the men's wt of 53#, because I need to work on the heavier snatch wt)
15 toes to rings (I did sets of 5 MU)
20 alt jumping lunges
400 m run
I made it through 3 rounds of my altered version of the workout and I felt good about it! The sets of 5 on the MU went well and, despite the bruises on my forearms, the snatches actually went well and felt strong. I'm not sure why the bruises came up because it didn't hurt and I didn't have any crashing down/awful rep issues..but anyway, I felt like it was some solid work.
Next up is Saturday fun at the gym! Day 6 workout went like this:
5 sets of 2 strict press at 90%(110#)
50 strict HSPU
4 sets of 6 good mornings(75#)
2:00 paralette L-sit (done in :30 intervals..still not my best movement! But maybe a little better?)
The workout was the 'midline march' from the games
3 rounds
25 GHDs
50' unbroken hs walk
50' overhead lunge(115#, I used a fat bar)
Well. Once again, I'm reminded that I'm not Rich Froning because what took him about 5 min? I think? Took me almost 12.. I mean.. I did use a fat bar, which hurt my wrist and grip more than I expected.. And I did have an extra 50' walk in there due to the way the gym was set up.. But mostly I'm pretty sure he just went faster than me.. But. My handstand walks were fine, my lunges felt strong, and GHDs just take the time that they take, no? I don't rush them, just do what needs to be done there.. So. 11:55 was the time on that one.
Next I did some sets of MU..of coarse.. Then I still had a bit of time before the team workout, so I worked on lighter weight, quality squats.. Still working on that strong bottom position, and they felt good! Worked on sets of 5 from 105-155#.
Finally the team workout for the day and it was a fun one! It was teams of 3..
100 burpees to plate
90 kb swings(53#)
80 overhead lunges(45#)
70 box jumps(24")
60 calorie row
50 HSPU
40 CTB pull-ups
30 pistols (each leg)
20 wall climbs
10 muscle ups
*every _5 min, do 100 du
*Every _10 min, do 100' shuttle run
I enjoyed the workout and had a good group to work with. I was pleased that after all that work, I was still able to get a set of 5 MU, so.. Maybe I'm on the right path there.. Will certainly keep working on it!
15 min AMRAP
10 alt kb snatch (I used the men's wt of 53#, because I need to work on the heavier snatch wt)
15 toes to rings (I did sets of 5 MU)
20 alt jumping lunges
400 m run
I made it through 3 rounds of my altered version of the workout and I felt good about it! The sets of 5 on the MU went well and, despite the bruises on my forearms, the snatches actually went well and felt strong. I'm not sure why the bruises came up because it didn't hurt and I didn't have any crashing down/awful rep issues..but anyway, I felt like it was some solid work.
Next up is Saturday fun at the gym! Day 6 workout went like this:
5 sets of 2 strict press at 90%(110#)
50 strict HSPU
4 sets of 6 good mornings(75#)
2:00 paralette L-sit (done in :30 intervals..still not my best movement! But maybe a little better?)
The workout was the 'midline march' from the games
3 rounds
25 GHDs
50' unbroken hs walk
50' overhead lunge(115#, I used a fat bar)
Well. Once again, I'm reminded that I'm not Rich Froning because what took him about 5 min? I think? Took me almost 12.. I mean.. I did use a fat bar, which hurt my wrist and grip more than I expected.. And I did have an extra 50' walk in there due to the way the gym was set up.. But mostly I'm pretty sure he just went faster than me.. But. My handstand walks were fine, my lunges felt strong, and GHDs just take the time that they take, no? I don't rush them, just do what needs to be done there.. So. 11:55 was the time on that one.
Next I did some sets of MU..of coarse.. Then I still had a bit of time before the team workout, so I worked on lighter weight, quality squats.. Still working on that strong bottom position, and they felt good! Worked on sets of 5 from 105-155#.
Finally the team workout for the day and it was a fun one! It was teams of 3..
100 burpees to plate
90 kb swings(53#)
80 overhead lunges(45#)
70 box jumps(24")
60 calorie row
50 HSPU
40 CTB pull-ups
30 pistols (each leg)
20 wall climbs
10 muscle ups
*every _5 min, do 100 du
*Every _10 min, do 100' shuttle run
I enjoyed the workout and had a good group to work with. I was pleased that after all that work, I was still able to get a set of 5 MU, so.. Maybe I'm on the right path there.. Will certainly keep working on it!
Friday, August 8, 2014
It's Friday!
All Fridays really mean for me is a) everyone else seems to be excited about it and in a slightly better mood..and b) I get to have a couple long, non-rushed (sort of) days of training.. So.. Yay, Friday!
Yesterday I just went in to the gym for 1 mid morning workout, since Matt had to leave early for work.. Good news about that was that I think I finally got the quality, uninterrupted sleep that I've been needing! 9 straight hours, y'all. So I was feeling pretty good. Miles and I got Mason off to school and then we headed for the gym. Miles has become quite the pro at hanging in the playroom there..he knows just how he wants things set up..table here.. Chairs there.. Tent up..Computer on.. Snacks on the table.. And then he's pretty much good to go.
All I had planned to get in that day was a 5k row.. Ouch! Hurt a bit, but I feel pretty good about how it went.. My pace was around a 2:12/500 m avg for the whole row.. I held back a bit for the first 3k and then was able to pick it up in the last 2k. My overall time was 22:20. I don't remember what it was last time, but my goal for the next time I row 5k will be to have my avg pace at 2:10 or under.. Something to work for! After I got the feeling in my butt back, I decided to do some snatch complex work.. High hang (work on full extension), push press, snatch balance (work on bottom position), and OHS.. Good times! I did 3 sets of the complex at 85/95/105/115/125. Then I worked on the ol muscle ups..again. I know that, for me, the success of my sets of MU relies completely on my grip on the rings. I'm not sure why, because I watch other folks rep out several MU without seeming to have any concern on how they are holding the rings.. But maybe they DO consider how they hold the rings, but I just can't tell? Or maybe it's something that came more naturally for them, so they don't even know they do it? I don't know.. But, for me..it's all about my grip.. So I'm working on how to put those rings in a better spot to be able to maintain a good grip throughout consecutive MU. I made some progress and did some good sets of 4. I will continue to get back on the plan of working on these things about 4 times a week.. I WILL figure this out!
So that was Thursday..
Today I was excited, but a little unsure of how it would all go, as far as the workout and strength stuff went.. I always think it will all go great, but it doesn't always necessarily workout that way.. So today was:
5 sets of 2 front squats at 90%, so 185#. These went well, so it gave me some positive energy moving into the rest of the work
1 clean EMOTM x 10 min: 3 at 155, 4 at 165, and 3 at 175. This also went well, so starting to get excited about the dy..
3 sets of 5 clean extensions at 100%(190#)/3 sets of 10 GH raises w 15#
And the workout..:
5 clean and jerk at 145#
15 TTB's
4 clean and jerk at 155#
15 TTB's
3 clean and jerk at 165#
15 TTB's
2 clean and jerk at 175#
15 TTB's
1 clean and jerk at 185#
15 TTB's
This took me 19:32, but I got it done! Obviously, since I only reached a 185#+ clean and jerk last weekend, this was the first time doing it in a workout, so I wanted to be slightly cautious to be sure not to have any misses.. And I didn't miss any! The 185 clean may not have been beautiful, but I got it done and I was pretty psyched. I'm hoping to head back in later for some more of that MU work! But we will see.. If not, though..still a pretty solid day of work. For now, though.. Time for a little rest. Gotta get some energy stored up for the weekend!
Yesterday I just went in to the gym for 1 mid morning workout, since Matt had to leave early for work.. Good news about that was that I think I finally got the quality, uninterrupted sleep that I've been needing! 9 straight hours, y'all. So I was feeling pretty good. Miles and I got Mason off to school and then we headed for the gym. Miles has become quite the pro at hanging in the playroom there..he knows just how he wants things set up..table here.. Chairs there.. Tent up..Computer on.. Snacks on the table.. And then he's pretty much good to go.
All I had planned to get in that day was a 5k row.. Ouch! Hurt a bit, but I feel pretty good about how it went.. My pace was around a 2:12/500 m avg for the whole row.. I held back a bit for the first 3k and then was able to pick it up in the last 2k. My overall time was 22:20. I don't remember what it was last time, but my goal for the next time I row 5k will be to have my avg pace at 2:10 or under.. Something to work for! After I got the feeling in my butt back, I decided to do some snatch complex work.. High hang (work on full extension), push press, snatch balance (work on bottom position), and OHS.. Good times! I did 3 sets of the complex at 85/95/105/115/125. Then I worked on the ol muscle ups..again. I know that, for me, the success of my sets of MU relies completely on my grip on the rings. I'm not sure why, because I watch other folks rep out several MU without seeming to have any concern on how they are holding the rings.. But maybe they DO consider how they hold the rings, but I just can't tell? Or maybe it's something that came more naturally for them, so they don't even know they do it? I don't know.. But, for me..it's all about my grip.. So I'm working on how to put those rings in a better spot to be able to maintain a good grip throughout consecutive MU. I made some progress and did some good sets of 4. I will continue to get back on the plan of working on these things about 4 times a week.. I WILL figure this out!
So that was Thursday..
Today I was excited, but a little unsure of how it would all go, as far as the workout and strength stuff went.. I always think it will all go great, but it doesn't always necessarily workout that way.. So today was:
5 sets of 2 front squats at 90%, so 185#. These went well, so it gave me some positive energy moving into the rest of the work
1 clean EMOTM x 10 min: 3 at 155, 4 at 165, and 3 at 175. This also went well, so starting to get excited about the dy..
3 sets of 5 clean extensions at 100%(190#)/3 sets of 10 GH raises w 15#
And the workout..:
5 clean and jerk at 145#
15 TTB's
4 clean and jerk at 155#
15 TTB's
3 clean and jerk at 165#
15 TTB's
2 clean and jerk at 175#
15 TTB's
1 clean and jerk at 185#
15 TTB's
This took me 19:32, but I got it done! Obviously, since I only reached a 185#+ clean and jerk last weekend, this was the first time doing it in a workout, so I wanted to be slightly cautious to be sure not to have any misses.. And I didn't miss any! The 185 clean may not have been beautiful, but I got it done and I was pretty psyched. I'm hoping to head back in later for some more of that MU work! But we will see.. If not, though..still a pretty solid day of work. For now, though.. Time for a little rest. Gotta get some energy stored up for the weekend!
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Sleep walkin through Muscle Ups
Guys.. I'm SO tired!..says pretty much any person out there.. But I don't know what my problem is, I just cannot seem to un-tired myself. I have myself in a little cycle that I'm determined to fix tonight because another day of this.. Wake up kinda tired, but go to and get through early workout anyway.. Almost fall asleep driving home and then be a miserable, tired, grumpy, unproductive fool all morning until I can finally sleep a bit during Miles' nap.. rest like a champ and feel better in the afternoon, then stay up way too stupid late watching stupid TV..finally fall asleep..wake up.. Repeat. NO good! So tonight. Tonight, friends.. No stupid TV. Just early sleep. I need to get back on track with doing 2 workouts, which I took these 2 days off from that partially because of sleep, partially to rest a bit after the busy weekend, and partially to let my baby hands heal up from Monday.. So, anyway.. Here's to getting back on track tomorrow.
But for now.. Here's what was up for today..
5 sets of 2 bench press at 160#
10 EMOTM of 5 strict dips with a :05s descent..fun!
3 sets of Romanian Deadlift at 190#(100% clean max)/3 sets of 15 strict TTB's
'Muscle up biathlon' from the Games:
400m run
18 MU (any time you come off the rings, run 200n)
400 m run
15 MU (same deal with the penalty 200m lap)
400m run
12 MU (same 200m penalty lap)
Well.. I've hit kind of a wall with my sets of muscle ups and I really need to figure this out! I had been working on increasing the sets..first 3's, then 4's..now I need to get 5's consistently and that hasn't quite happened yet. I realize it's just the start of August, which I was increasing the reps in the sets each month.. I think I just need to get back to where I work on the MU sets at least 4 times a week. Between last week going a bit easier and now this week being so tired, I've gotten out of that habit just for a minute and I can definitely tell..so time to get back on track! So given that I had to get on the road to get home for Matt to go to work, I decided to put the time cap, which was used at the games (but not for the same reason, obviously!) of 17 minutes on the workout. I plugged away at the reps and runs until time was up. My sets were all in 4's and 3's, which is what I had been practicing, so no surprise there.. I guess I was just hoping the sets of 5 would just be waiting for me there? Like, you did your 4's last month..we're ready for 5's! But, no. I guess it's an improvement that I was able to maintain those sets of 3 and 4, but also made me realize I still have a lot of work to do. So I made it through the first round of 18 and then through 7 of the 15 MU in the next round. So all in all, I completed 25 MU and about a mile and a half run in the 17 minutes. Not gonna win me first prize at the games, but I guess that's where I am on that skill right now. Kind of bummed.. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong, dang it! Work harder, I guess..
So that was that. Depending on how this afternoon feels and goes, I may go into the gym for something, but we will see. But first.. REST!
But for now.. Here's what was up for today..
5 sets of 2 bench press at 160#
10 EMOTM of 5 strict dips with a :05s descent..fun!
3 sets of Romanian Deadlift at 190#(100% clean max)/3 sets of 15 strict TTB's
'Muscle up biathlon' from the Games:
400m run
18 MU (any time you come off the rings, run 200n)
400 m run
15 MU (same deal with the penalty 200m lap)
400m run
12 MU (same 200m penalty lap)
Well.. I've hit kind of a wall with my sets of muscle ups and I really need to figure this out! I had been working on increasing the sets..first 3's, then 4's..now I need to get 5's consistently and that hasn't quite happened yet. I realize it's just the start of August, which I was increasing the reps in the sets each month.. I think I just need to get back to where I work on the MU sets at least 4 times a week. Between last week going a bit easier and now this week being so tired, I've gotten out of that habit just for a minute and I can definitely tell..so time to get back on track! So given that I had to get on the road to get home for Matt to go to work, I decided to put the time cap, which was used at the games (but not for the same reason, obviously!) of 17 minutes on the workout. I plugged away at the reps and runs until time was up. My sets were all in 4's and 3's, which is what I had been practicing, so no surprise there.. I guess I was just hoping the sets of 5 would just be waiting for me there? Like, you did your 4's last month..we're ready for 5's! But, no. I guess it's an improvement that I was able to maintain those sets of 3 and 4, but also made me realize I still have a lot of work to do. So I made it through the first round of 18 and then through 7 of the 15 MU in the next round. So all in all, I completed 25 MU and about a mile and a half run in the 17 minutes. Not gonna win me first prize at the games, but I guess that's where I am on that skill right now. Kind of bummed.. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong, dang it! Work harder, I guess..
So that was that. Depending on how this afternoon feels and goes, I may go into the gym for something, but we will see. But first.. REST!
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Workin my Ninja Warrier grip strength!
Ah, Tuesday.. Here we are already! I really need to catch up on my sleep, but we will get there, I'm sure.. Some day.. Anyway. Monday I got right back in the swing of things, as far as training Nd everything.. No rest for the wicked! 'WWtED', yknowmsayn.. Probably not. That's fine. But I actually felt fine, body wise.. Even though we were up and about for a long time through the competition weekend, the events were short and spread out and it actually amounted to a relatively lighter workout load for a weekend for me.. I'm not sure what that says about me? But either way, other than a little more sleepy than usual, I felt good to go monday mornin.. So I went!
Mondays workout was:
5 sets of 2 squats at 90%, so 225#.. Which felt heavy, probably because of the sleepiness thing..
10 min EMOTM of 1 snatch at 70-80%, so I did a couple at 125#, which is about 70%, then moved to 135# for the rest! which put me closer to the 80% mark. It went well..felt pretty good.
3 sets of snatch extension at 100%(155#)/3 sets of 15 GHDs with 14# medball
Then the workout! One of the Games workouts that I had wanted to try..
12/15/9 complex
8 Deadlift (115#)
7 cleans (115#)
6 snatch (you guessed it..also at 115#. Wt stays the same through the workout)
8 pull-ups
7 chest to bar pull-ups
6 bar muscle ups
6 DL
5 cleans
4 snatch
6 pu
5 ctb's
4 bar MU
4 DL
3 cleans
2 snatch
4 pu
3 ctb's
2 bar MU
It sounds complicated, but I swear it makes sense and isn't hard to follow along.. Basically there were 21 barbell and bar movements in the first round, 15 of each in the second, and 9 of each in the third round. I knew the bar movements would be stronger for me, so I planned to do singles on cleans and snatches, which worked well. I had practiced the pu/ctb's/bar MU combo connecting them prior to the workout and, though it wasn't easy, I could do it.. But during the workout, I could not get the bar MU to connect out of my CTB pu.. So that took a little extra time, but I just quickly dropped and would re-start the bar MU portion, always doing the rest of the set unbroken. I did run in to a slight hiccup when a significant portion of my hand decided to jump ship and bail on me.. Thanks a lot, hand! It had been a while since I'd dealt with a rip, but I could kind of tell I was about due.. I made it through the weekend just fine, but there was a decent amount of bar and barbell work, so my hands were slightly tender.. Then the bar and barbell work on Monday, my hand had just had it. But I continued and got it done in 8:50. Not quite as fast as I had hoped for. I also think I could have pushed harder because right after the workout, Mike was asking me where the hardest part was and I had a hard time identifying one.. Likely meaning I didn't push it enough. I also quickly transitioned into the gym's workout for the day (with a slight modification to avoid more pull-ups!), which was:
200 m shuttle run
50 squats
40 abmats
3 strict MU (my alteration.. It was 30 pull-ups as written)
200m
40 squats
30 abmats
2 strict MU
200m
30 squats
20 abmats
1 strict MU
So that was it for Monday's exercise! I got to head back later to work, which was fun.. Good stuff!
Now here we are on Tuesday and I'm feeling super sleepy.. Like I canNOT wait for nap time today! But I got my workout in.. Today was:
5 sets of 2 Deadlift at 90%, so 275#. This was made extra interesting with my grip issue dealing with my raw rip. I had wrapped it up in some stretchy tape and didn't think it would be that bad, but every way I tried to grab on to the bar seemed to pinch that raw spot and it hurt like the dickens! (Poor me.. So sad..) So I had to just grab on with my fingers and that made it a little tougher to pull.. But, I guess the good news there is that the weight felt fine..just my hand that was hurting..
Strict pull-ups with :05 second descent: 5 reps EMOTM x 10 min..yeouch! But I made it..
3 sets of 1 push press (155)/3 sets of 15 back extensions(35)
Workout was: heavy/strict Diane (I think)
21/15/9:
Deadlift (205)
Strict HSPU
Again, with the hand/grip issue, I had to keep the DL sets small..mostly 3's with a quick reset to try to hang on. Strict HSPU went pretty well. I broke up the sets of 21 and 15 into 2 smaller sets, but saved enough in the 'HSPU reserve tank' to do the last 9 unbroken.. Finished in 8:34.
So I survived my tender hand issue for the day. I actually think I'm just going to try to rest and heal the rest of the day today.. I have some fun on tap with the rings tomorrow, so my hand better be ready! I'm sure it will be.. It has almost a whole 20-some hours to do so! Maybe I need some more protein..rest? Preparation H? I don't know.. HEAL, little hand! HEAL!.. There.. That ought to do it!
Mondays workout was:
5 sets of 2 squats at 90%, so 225#.. Which felt heavy, probably because of the sleepiness thing..
10 min EMOTM of 1 snatch at 70-80%, so I did a couple at 125#, which is about 70%, then moved to 135# for the rest! which put me closer to the 80% mark. It went well..felt pretty good.
3 sets of snatch extension at 100%(155#)/3 sets of 15 GHDs with 14# medball
Then the workout! One of the Games workouts that I had wanted to try..
12/15/9 complex
8 Deadlift (115#)
7 cleans (115#)
6 snatch (you guessed it..also at 115#. Wt stays the same through the workout)
8 pull-ups
7 chest to bar pull-ups
6 bar muscle ups
6 DL
5 cleans
4 snatch
6 pu
5 ctb's
4 bar MU
4 DL
3 cleans
2 snatch
4 pu
3 ctb's
2 bar MU
It sounds complicated, but I swear it makes sense and isn't hard to follow along.. Basically there were 21 barbell and bar movements in the first round, 15 of each in the second, and 9 of each in the third round. I knew the bar movements would be stronger for me, so I planned to do singles on cleans and snatches, which worked well. I had practiced the pu/ctb's/bar MU combo connecting them prior to the workout and, though it wasn't easy, I could do it.. But during the workout, I could not get the bar MU to connect out of my CTB pu.. So that took a little extra time, but I just quickly dropped and would re-start the bar MU portion, always doing the rest of the set unbroken. I did run in to a slight hiccup when a significant portion of my hand decided to jump ship and bail on me.. Thanks a lot, hand! It had been a while since I'd dealt with a rip, but I could kind of tell I was about due.. I made it through the weekend just fine, but there was a decent amount of bar and barbell work, so my hands were slightly tender.. Then the bar and barbell work on Monday, my hand had just had it. But I continued and got it done in 8:50. Not quite as fast as I had hoped for. I also think I could have pushed harder because right after the workout, Mike was asking me where the hardest part was and I had a hard time identifying one.. Likely meaning I didn't push it enough. I also quickly transitioned into the gym's workout for the day (with a slight modification to avoid more pull-ups!), which was:
200 m shuttle run
50 squats
40 abmats
3 strict MU (my alteration.. It was 30 pull-ups as written)
200m
40 squats
30 abmats
2 strict MU
200m
30 squats
20 abmats
1 strict MU
So that was it for Monday's exercise! I got to head back later to work, which was fun.. Good stuff!
Now here we are on Tuesday and I'm feeling super sleepy.. Like I canNOT wait for nap time today! But I got my workout in.. Today was:
5 sets of 2 Deadlift at 90%, so 275#. This was made extra interesting with my grip issue dealing with my raw rip. I had wrapped it up in some stretchy tape and didn't think it would be that bad, but every way I tried to grab on to the bar seemed to pinch that raw spot and it hurt like the dickens! (Poor me.. So sad..) So I had to just grab on with my fingers and that made it a little tougher to pull.. But, I guess the good news there is that the weight felt fine..just my hand that was hurting..
Strict pull-ups with :05 second descent: 5 reps EMOTM x 10 min..yeouch! But I made it..
3 sets of 1 push press (155)/3 sets of 15 back extensions(35)
Workout was: heavy/strict Diane (I think)
21/15/9:
Deadlift (205)
Strict HSPU
Again, with the hand/grip issue, I had to keep the DL sets small..mostly 3's with a quick reset to try to hang on. Strict HSPU went pretty well. I broke up the sets of 21 and 15 into 2 smaller sets, but saved enough in the 'HSPU reserve tank' to do the last 9 unbroken.. Finished in 8:34.
So I survived my tender hand issue for the day. I actually think I'm just going to try to rest and heal the rest of the day today.. I have some fun on tap with the rings tomorrow, so my hand better be ready! I'm sure it will be.. It has almost a whole 20-some hours to do so! Maybe I need some more protein..rest? Preparation H? I don't know.. HEAL, little hand! HEAL!.. There.. That ought to do it!
Sunday, August 3, 2014
And..CF Unbreakable Garage Games Day 2
You guys..you won't believe it, but we had MORE shenanigans at the competition today.. After we got out there and rehashed yesterday's ridiculousness a bit more, we decided there was nothing left to say or do about it and just to move on and work hard and do our best.. So, we did!
Our first workout set for today was a snatch + overhead squat complex.. You must snatch the weight overhead, and then complete 3 overhead squats (a full squat in the snatch would count as the first OHS, so..of coarse, since I planned to go heavy, if things were going well, I was going to do a snatch + 2 additional OHS.. That's how I roll!). We warmed up and waited our turn. I was feeling pretty good. The weight was moving well and I was starting to think that maybe another PR could be in the works! Jaclyn wasn't feeling as confident, but I knew she would be fine.. She started off at a couple lighter/safer sets, dropped one of them, so we decided she should go with a hang snatch, which she finds to be more consistent, and that worked well. She got the 115# she planned on, and then got a pr match at 125! I started in on the 125# and all was working well. 135, 145.. All were going well, so it was time for the pr match at 150#.. And I got it! It actually felt pretty easy.. We added on the 155# and after an initial slight miss out front, I got it!..and then managed to hang on for the OHS, too. Yay! We had about a minute left, so we went back to 130# to let Jaclyn go for a pr and, despite her lack of confidence going in, she got it! Unfortunately, I think the surprise of it all was a little too much, because she lost it on the OHS, but a pr snatch, none-the-less. So 2 more PR's for the pair of us! We ended up a mere 5# behind the team that was tied with us, which we were actually quite proud of, given that the lifts are a significant strong point for at least one of their gals, so being that close to their numbers was a good thing for us. Especially given that we aren't in a heavy weightlifting focused cycle right now, so only doing snatches 1 or 2 times a week! Anyway.. So we were happy about that..
The second workout was a 21/18/15/12/9/6/3 couplet of Deadlifts (185) and pull-ups. We had talked about how we would break it up..first person on the DL aims for just over half the reps, then as the second person finishes up, they move to the pull-up bar to complete the set unbroken. We executed this plan perfectly, and for that, I'm quite proud of us! We were moving well, communicating well, and through the first, and biggest set, we were rep for rep with the first place gals.. We kept moving, and though their Deadlifts were slightly faster, we were keeping up and catching up on pull-ups.. Then..somehow..things....changed.. We were still moving.. They were still moving.. All at about the same pace, though we seemed to be moving to and through the pull-ups quicker..but then, all of a sudden..they were done? I think we were in our round of 6's or maybe finishing 9, when they were done.. We finished strong and, though confused a bit, went to congratulate them on their work. Looking back, the one gal did seem a bit uncertain of whether she should take the praise, but maybe that's just me looking into things a bit too much, but it did strike me as odd.. At first, I just wondered how we fell so far off pace, but then our 2 JoCo supporters mentioned that 'things seemed odd' and that perhaps a round was missed?! No way, I thought..that couldn't happen..could it!? So I guess we speculated a bit, but obviously couldn't do more than that.. Our suspicions were confirmed, however, when our coach, who had come by to support us and watch the workout..who is known for his 'rain man-esque' ability to count reps (sorry, Mike.. You know people call you that, right? It's a compliment?.. I think?.. Anyway. He has an uncanny ability to keep track of numbers in a workout, and probably other ways, too, I've just never tested him on that.. He may or may not know what kind of underwear they sell at Walmart or what time Jeopardy is on..) and keep track of where people are in the workout (even when you think he's not looking!), said that he watched and was counting and is 100% sure that they skipped the entire round of 15. WHAT?! The whole round?! How does that happen.. How did the judge miss that.. How did they miss that.. Everyone watching.. NO one wants to stand up and ask 'how did they go from matching reps with that team to finishing over a minute ahead of them?'?! Nobody?! I'm sure most would wonder why our coach didn't say anything, but you also have to see it from his side.. How would it look for him to go up to the owner, whom he has never met, to make a big stink 'swearing' that he 'knows' they missed the reps based on nothing but his own counting.. Especially when it would only look like he was trying to boost his own athletes or being a sore loser.. So, no. Though I momentarily wished he had said something, ultimately I can understand that it wouldn't have been the right move.. For anyone.. But, still.. I think anyone that was watching had to think something strange had happened there. Heck, if WE had finished that far ahead of them when it had been clear that we were rep for rep through the workout, I would have immediately wondered what had happened.. You're telling me they didn't find that odd? We are also fairly sure that they watched their recording of it later.. So they knew they cut the workout 30 reps short, but yet said nothing.. We talked a bit about what we would have done, had the roles been reversed.. If we had made a mistake like that in a competition.. Or what we would do if they DID come to us and acknowledge the mistake.. And the bottom line was, we would have just appreciated the acknowledgement and their honesty. We wouldn't have run to the judges or started yelling and carrying on about how the scores should change, etc, etc.. We just would have appreciated that they recognized the mistake and felt bad out it.. But, no. I will say, though.. For sure, their group wouldn't make eye contact with me the rest of the day.. Whether that was because of a guilty conscience or not is obviously just assumption.. But they went from regular, smug smiles and chatting with us to literally avoiding eye contact and not responding when I said 'hello' directly to the girl as I came out of the restroom.. So.. That was kind of weird.. All of it. I still cannot believe such a huge mistake just went unceremoniously swept under the rug.. Huh.. Not doing much to entice us to return to your fine establishment for any more of these competitions that you plan to host, there, CF Unbroken.. I will say, the owner, Jim, seemed aware that something was up.. Something was off with those results.. But, again, unwilling to question further or really look in to solving the problem.. I also find it ironic (or is it coincidental?) that I had overheard this team discussing with Jim that morning about how important it is to have well prepared judges and to be sure that they are clear on the workouts and standards and such..but yet, the poor judging wound up saving them the trouble of completing 30 (THIRTY) of the reps in the workout! Again.. Huh..
Well, so that was that.. Needless to say, we were a bit disheartened after that and I think Jaclyn (understandably) was struggling to get motivated for the next thing.. With feeling screwed over in 2 of the workouts now, and after tweaking her elbow a bit in the OHS.. It wasn't turning out to be quite the day we had hoped for.. And, spoiler alert, but it didn't get much better from there.. The next workout was an atlas stone(65#) ground to shoulder and a sprint.. So for the first round, 1 person had to do 10 atlas stones over the shoulder, and then sprint across a loooong open field, full of high grass and pot holes (are they called pot holes in dirt? I don't know, but you get what I mean, yes?), run back, then the second person completes that work.. Then for the rest of the 12 minutes, you do as many rounds of the 10 stones and sprints, broken up however you want between the 2 partners. We planned on doing 5 each on the stones, and then whoever did the first 5 stones, would do the sprint, switch, repeat, etc.. I think it went well.. We were even with the lead in the first round, but then they slowly pulled away.. I think we just weren't as fast on the stones.. We ran fine, but just couldn't catch back up.. But we gave it our best and, again, wound up in second.. No complaints on this one! We definitely got second..fair and square, which we much prefer to all the drama. Give us a nice clear cut finish over missed reps or boo-hoo-ing fans any day. Of coarse, I wanted to win that, but it was fairly clear from early on that they were cruising through those stones more efficiently than we were.. So. That was that!
Finally, it was time for the 'championship workout', which would be worth double points..which sounds exciting! But in reality, the teams were pretty set.. The final workout was another 'move heavy, odd objects' kind of thing.. Which was fun, but I prefer a more 'technical' kind of workout for a final, but obviously, that is because it suits me better, so you can't always count on that! But, like I said, it was fun and I enjoyed the workout. It was a 500m (each, which I think I PRd on that! I was pretty proud, since rowing is NOT my thing!), then each complete a 200' overhead carry(85#.. Very awkward!), a 200' farmers carry (44#), and a 200' sled push. Guess what..we got..second! Womp womp.. We happened to be up against a crazy good rower, so though we both rowed solid 1:50-ish/500m pace, we were still probably 20 seconds behind? And stayed about there throughout.. So. Again.. That was that. 2 days of work, 3 PRs, lots of solid teamwork and communication, dealing with an abnormal amount of BS in getting worked over by judging/comp directors/other competitors.. All comes out to a second place finish. While I'm never disappointed with a second place, it's certainly harder to take with all the silly crap.
My overall take-away from the weekend? Jaclyn and I make a great team. We worked hard, communicated, stepped up when it was needed, and we did a damn good job. I would partner with her again any time! So, I hope we can find another good comp to get in to.. As for this comp? The volunteers and members from the host gym were all incredibly nice, kind, supportive, interested in our feedback and feedback from other competitors on how things were going and if we needed anything from them. I enjoyed the community at CF Unbroken quite a bit. On the flip side, however, I think that in their effort to impress certain competitors and, what seemed to me as, insecurity on whether or not they were doing a good job, they allowed outside influences to alter the results of the competition, and that really just cannot happen.. I understand that judges aren't perfect and that they just want to do what they can to keep things fair and keep people happy, but to allow for teams and their fans/support crew to get in the ear of the comp director and cause a change in the results of the judges ruling on the 'field of play', is pretty crazy, and not a good thing for the validity of the competition. Finding volunteers that are willing and able to uphold the standards and give out 'no-reps', when they are called for, and to be accountable for keeping track of reps and rounds in the workout that they are judging..it's not easy! But it's such an important part of these competitions and truly can make or break the whole thing. I feel like, though well meaning, the judging at this competition completely dropped the ball. There was a lot of reps allowed that should never have counted.. There was uncertainty in themselves on whether the rep or round or time count was right.. That's the whole thing! That's what you're doing out here! Not that they need to tell me what the workout is, that's on the athlete.. I feel like they were more 'rep counters' than judges, and clearly had some trouble with that part, too. Again.. Don't get me wrong.. I've judged before and it is NOT easy. I feel like a lot of the responsibility is on the director of the competition.. Provide your judges with stop watches, when warranted.. Provide them with score cards that are pre-marked with reps and rounds, so they can physically mark them off as completed, leaving no need to question whether a round was missed..'nope. Marked it off right here. They got all the rounds'(or not.. I'm totally not bitter about that. 30 reps?? No big deal.. Not at all..). Things like that can go a long way.. Then instead of worrying whether their chicken scratch on the paper makes any sense, or whether they are counting right, they can focus on judging the quality of the reps and completion of the workout.
To the folks of Unbreakable and the other competitors this weekend, thank you for your hospitality and for your kind words of support. I thoroughly enjoyed the workouts and was excited to come and complete them and test our abilities on them. The workouts were pretty well rounded and, I thought, fun! Unfortunately, I don't really think I will be back.. Which makes me sad.. Both because it is a nice gym in a decent location for me with kind members, and also because that eliminates a potential source of close competitions to sign up for.. But with all the events of the weekend, I just don't see how it would make much sense to return. I won't even mention the prize packages (oops! I just did..), but the 3rd place gal approached me and she was ticked! I must say, when it was advertised as having 'cash prizes and swag from sponsors' for podium finishers, you kind of expect..some..cash?? Especially when each team paid good money to enter?? I get that this is business, and obviously the host expects to make some money for hosting.. But ALL the money? Generally, some of the entry fee goes to the prize packages.. Generally.. Just sayin.. Any time you sign up for these, you don't plan to win, or to win money..but when it is advertised as such..well.. You kind of expect it. I'm not complaining about the kind donated gifts from their sponsors/vendors, but.. The cash?? Maybe they forgot it??
What, too negative and selfish to end on that note? Hmm.. Nope! That's all I've got. I will say I am SUPER excited about the workouts for this week because we are finally tackling some of those Games workouts I watched the top CF athletes work through about a week(?) ago.. So, I'm psyched! Hope it goes as well in reality as it does in my head! (Spoiler..it never does..) but it will be fun trying!
Our first workout set for today was a snatch + overhead squat complex.. You must snatch the weight overhead, and then complete 3 overhead squats (a full squat in the snatch would count as the first OHS, so..of coarse, since I planned to go heavy, if things were going well, I was going to do a snatch + 2 additional OHS.. That's how I roll!). We warmed up and waited our turn. I was feeling pretty good. The weight was moving well and I was starting to think that maybe another PR could be in the works! Jaclyn wasn't feeling as confident, but I knew she would be fine.. She started off at a couple lighter/safer sets, dropped one of them, so we decided she should go with a hang snatch, which she finds to be more consistent, and that worked well. She got the 115# she planned on, and then got a pr match at 125! I started in on the 125# and all was working well. 135, 145.. All were going well, so it was time for the pr match at 150#.. And I got it! It actually felt pretty easy.. We added on the 155# and after an initial slight miss out front, I got it!..and then managed to hang on for the OHS, too. Yay! We had about a minute left, so we went back to 130# to let Jaclyn go for a pr and, despite her lack of confidence going in, she got it! Unfortunately, I think the surprise of it all was a little too much, because she lost it on the OHS, but a pr snatch, none-the-less. So 2 more PR's for the pair of us! We ended up a mere 5# behind the team that was tied with us, which we were actually quite proud of, given that the lifts are a significant strong point for at least one of their gals, so being that close to their numbers was a good thing for us. Especially given that we aren't in a heavy weightlifting focused cycle right now, so only doing snatches 1 or 2 times a week! Anyway.. So we were happy about that..
The second workout was a 21/18/15/12/9/6/3 couplet of Deadlifts (185) and pull-ups. We had talked about how we would break it up..first person on the DL aims for just over half the reps, then as the second person finishes up, they move to the pull-up bar to complete the set unbroken. We executed this plan perfectly, and for that, I'm quite proud of us! We were moving well, communicating well, and through the first, and biggest set, we were rep for rep with the first place gals.. We kept moving, and though their Deadlifts were slightly faster, we were keeping up and catching up on pull-ups.. Then..somehow..things....changed.. We were still moving.. They were still moving.. All at about the same pace, though we seemed to be moving to and through the pull-ups quicker..but then, all of a sudden..they were done? I think we were in our round of 6's or maybe finishing 9, when they were done.. We finished strong and, though confused a bit, went to congratulate them on their work. Looking back, the one gal did seem a bit uncertain of whether she should take the praise, but maybe that's just me looking into things a bit too much, but it did strike me as odd.. At first, I just wondered how we fell so far off pace, but then our 2 JoCo supporters mentioned that 'things seemed odd' and that perhaps a round was missed?! No way, I thought..that couldn't happen..could it!? So I guess we speculated a bit, but obviously couldn't do more than that.. Our suspicions were confirmed, however, when our coach, who had come by to support us and watch the workout..who is known for his 'rain man-esque' ability to count reps (sorry, Mike.. You know people call you that, right? It's a compliment?.. I think?.. Anyway. He has an uncanny ability to keep track of numbers in a workout, and probably other ways, too, I've just never tested him on that.. He may or may not know what kind of underwear they sell at Walmart or what time Jeopardy is on..) and keep track of where people are in the workout (even when you think he's not looking!), said that he watched and was counting and is 100% sure that they skipped the entire round of 15. WHAT?! The whole round?! How does that happen.. How did the judge miss that.. How did they miss that.. Everyone watching.. NO one wants to stand up and ask 'how did they go from matching reps with that team to finishing over a minute ahead of them?'?! Nobody?! I'm sure most would wonder why our coach didn't say anything, but you also have to see it from his side.. How would it look for him to go up to the owner, whom he has never met, to make a big stink 'swearing' that he 'knows' they missed the reps based on nothing but his own counting.. Especially when it would only look like he was trying to boost his own athletes or being a sore loser.. So, no. Though I momentarily wished he had said something, ultimately I can understand that it wouldn't have been the right move.. For anyone.. But, still.. I think anyone that was watching had to think something strange had happened there. Heck, if WE had finished that far ahead of them when it had been clear that we were rep for rep through the workout, I would have immediately wondered what had happened.. You're telling me they didn't find that odd? We are also fairly sure that they watched their recording of it later.. So they knew they cut the workout 30 reps short, but yet said nothing.. We talked a bit about what we would have done, had the roles been reversed.. If we had made a mistake like that in a competition.. Or what we would do if they DID come to us and acknowledge the mistake.. And the bottom line was, we would have just appreciated the acknowledgement and their honesty. We wouldn't have run to the judges or started yelling and carrying on about how the scores should change, etc, etc.. We just would have appreciated that they recognized the mistake and felt bad out it.. But, no. I will say, though.. For sure, their group wouldn't make eye contact with me the rest of the day.. Whether that was because of a guilty conscience or not is obviously just assumption.. But they went from regular, smug smiles and chatting with us to literally avoiding eye contact and not responding when I said 'hello' directly to the girl as I came out of the restroom.. So.. That was kind of weird.. All of it. I still cannot believe such a huge mistake just went unceremoniously swept under the rug.. Huh.. Not doing much to entice us to return to your fine establishment for any more of these competitions that you plan to host, there, CF Unbroken.. I will say, the owner, Jim, seemed aware that something was up.. Something was off with those results.. But, again, unwilling to question further or really look in to solving the problem.. I also find it ironic (or is it coincidental?) that I had overheard this team discussing with Jim that morning about how important it is to have well prepared judges and to be sure that they are clear on the workouts and standards and such..but yet, the poor judging wound up saving them the trouble of completing 30 (THIRTY) of the reps in the workout! Again.. Huh..
Well, so that was that.. Needless to say, we were a bit disheartened after that and I think Jaclyn (understandably) was struggling to get motivated for the next thing.. With feeling screwed over in 2 of the workouts now, and after tweaking her elbow a bit in the OHS.. It wasn't turning out to be quite the day we had hoped for.. And, spoiler alert, but it didn't get much better from there.. The next workout was an atlas stone(65#) ground to shoulder and a sprint.. So for the first round, 1 person had to do 10 atlas stones over the shoulder, and then sprint across a loooong open field, full of high grass and pot holes (are they called pot holes in dirt? I don't know, but you get what I mean, yes?), run back, then the second person completes that work.. Then for the rest of the 12 minutes, you do as many rounds of the 10 stones and sprints, broken up however you want between the 2 partners. We planned on doing 5 each on the stones, and then whoever did the first 5 stones, would do the sprint, switch, repeat, etc.. I think it went well.. We were even with the lead in the first round, but then they slowly pulled away.. I think we just weren't as fast on the stones.. We ran fine, but just couldn't catch back up.. But we gave it our best and, again, wound up in second.. No complaints on this one! We definitely got second..fair and square, which we much prefer to all the drama. Give us a nice clear cut finish over missed reps or boo-hoo-ing fans any day. Of coarse, I wanted to win that, but it was fairly clear from early on that they were cruising through those stones more efficiently than we were.. So. That was that!
Finally, it was time for the 'championship workout', which would be worth double points..which sounds exciting! But in reality, the teams were pretty set.. The final workout was another 'move heavy, odd objects' kind of thing.. Which was fun, but I prefer a more 'technical' kind of workout for a final, but obviously, that is because it suits me better, so you can't always count on that! But, like I said, it was fun and I enjoyed the workout. It was a 500m (each, which I think I PRd on that! I was pretty proud, since rowing is NOT my thing!), then each complete a 200' overhead carry(85#.. Very awkward!), a 200' farmers carry (44#), and a 200' sled push. Guess what..we got..second! Womp womp.. We happened to be up against a crazy good rower, so though we both rowed solid 1:50-ish/500m pace, we were still probably 20 seconds behind? And stayed about there throughout.. So. Again.. That was that. 2 days of work, 3 PRs, lots of solid teamwork and communication, dealing with an abnormal amount of BS in getting worked over by judging/comp directors/other competitors.. All comes out to a second place finish. While I'm never disappointed with a second place, it's certainly harder to take with all the silly crap.
My overall take-away from the weekend? Jaclyn and I make a great team. We worked hard, communicated, stepped up when it was needed, and we did a damn good job. I would partner with her again any time! So, I hope we can find another good comp to get in to.. As for this comp? The volunteers and members from the host gym were all incredibly nice, kind, supportive, interested in our feedback and feedback from other competitors on how things were going and if we needed anything from them. I enjoyed the community at CF Unbroken quite a bit. On the flip side, however, I think that in their effort to impress certain competitors and, what seemed to me as, insecurity on whether or not they were doing a good job, they allowed outside influences to alter the results of the competition, and that really just cannot happen.. I understand that judges aren't perfect and that they just want to do what they can to keep things fair and keep people happy, but to allow for teams and their fans/support crew to get in the ear of the comp director and cause a change in the results of the judges ruling on the 'field of play', is pretty crazy, and not a good thing for the validity of the competition. Finding volunteers that are willing and able to uphold the standards and give out 'no-reps', when they are called for, and to be accountable for keeping track of reps and rounds in the workout that they are judging..it's not easy! But it's such an important part of these competitions and truly can make or break the whole thing. I feel like, though well meaning, the judging at this competition completely dropped the ball. There was a lot of reps allowed that should never have counted.. There was uncertainty in themselves on whether the rep or round or time count was right.. That's the whole thing! That's what you're doing out here! Not that they need to tell me what the workout is, that's on the athlete.. I feel like they were more 'rep counters' than judges, and clearly had some trouble with that part, too. Again.. Don't get me wrong.. I've judged before and it is NOT easy. I feel like a lot of the responsibility is on the director of the competition.. Provide your judges with stop watches, when warranted.. Provide them with score cards that are pre-marked with reps and rounds, so they can physically mark them off as completed, leaving no need to question whether a round was missed..'nope. Marked it off right here. They got all the rounds'(or not.. I'm totally not bitter about that. 30 reps?? No big deal.. Not at all..). Things like that can go a long way.. Then instead of worrying whether their chicken scratch on the paper makes any sense, or whether they are counting right, they can focus on judging the quality of the reps and completion of the workout.
To the folks of Unbreakable and the other competitors this weekend, thank you for your hospitality and for your kind words of support. I thoroughly enjoyed the workouts and was excited to come and complete them and test our abilities on them. The workouts were pretty well rounded and, I thought, fun! Unfortunately, I don't really think I will be back.. Which makes me sad.. Both because it is a nice gym in a decent location for me with kind members, and also because that eliminates a potential source of close competitions to sign up for.. But with all the events of the weekend, I just don't see how it would make much sense to return. I won't even mention the prize packages (oops! I just did..), but the 3rd place gal approached me and she was ticked! I must say, when it was advertised as having 'cash prizes and swag from sponsors' for podium finishers, you kind of expect..some..cash?? Especially when each team paid good money to enter?? I get that this is business, and obviously the host expects to make some money for hosting.. But ALL the money? Generally, some of the entry fee goes to the prize packages.. Generally.. Just sayin.. Any time you sign up for these, you don't plan to win, or to win money..but when it is advertised as such..well.. You kind of expect it. I'm not complaining about the kind donated gifts from their sponsors/vendors, but.. The cash?? Maybe they forgot it??
What, too negative and selfish to end on that note? Hmm.. Nope! That's all I've got. I will say I am SUPER excited about the workouts for this week because we are finally tackling some of those Games workouts I watched the top CF athletes work through about a week(?) ago.. So, I'm psyched! Hope it goes as well in reality as it does in my head! (Spoiler..it never does..) but it will be fun trying!
Saturday, August 2, 2014
CF Unbreakable Garage Games day 1
Ok.. So I'm super tired and a little ticked off..but I'll try to focus on the positive and move this along!
Quick question for you, though.. When is a Tie in a TIMED event NOT a tie?? If you have an answer other than 'when members of one of the tied teams pitches a big enough bitch fit to somehow convince a seemingly usually levelheaded and 'no BS' kind of guy to disregard the actual time results and inexplicably hand the win over to that team', then I'd love to hear it. Oh, wait..that's right.. Keeping it positive.. Got it. Honestly. Look. Hosting a CrossFit competition is tough and there are a lot of pieces and parts and room for error.. I get it. Which is why, despite most peoples' reactions when I have explained this situation, while I'm not super impressed with how this was all handled, I can empathize with the director/owner of the gym and see how a poor (in my opinion) decision could be made. You want the whole story?.. Hold on.. I'll get to it. But first, let's go through the events of the day!
So today was day 1 of the Garage Games, hosted by CrossFit Unbreakable, which I had never been to before, or really met anyone from there, either. Their gym is pretty large and the event is modestly sized (8 scaled teams and 8 rx teams for both males and females, I think? Or close to that.. So just 2 heats of each with 4 teams of 2 per heat), so there is plenty of room for competing, warm up, sitting around, etc.. I've been to some competitions where you felt like you couldn't even bend over for a toe touch to warm up without knocking some one or some thing over, so I definitely appreciate the space. We got there plenty early ('we' being Jaclyn, my teammate, and I), though it took me a minute being lost in warehouse hell looking for the place..but I eventually figured it out! So the first event was a 1 rep max clean and jerk with the caveat of having to pick a team starting weight, and then you must move up 'ladder style' in 5 or 10# increments through the 10 minute time limit. Though you have to pick a starting weight, both teammates don't have to lift at each weight.. That was a little confusing to us at first when reading it, but it's basically just a 1 rm.. We warmed up a bit and were feeling good. Jaclyn was aiming for around 150-160#(starting at 135), and I was hoping for a pr of 180/185#. We had attempted maxes a couple weeks ago, so we had a good idea of where we would be. Jaclyn was looking solid through 160, but she short cut her split a bit in the jerk at 165 and wasn't able to hold on to it. 160 was a good showing for her! I was moving pretty well..hit my 175, which had been my pr, and was feeling good, so kept going. 180 went up well. 185 went up just fine.. We still had just under 3 minutes on the clock, so I figured..let's go for it! We added the weight and I walked around a bit. My boys had shown up during this time, so got to wave to them for a little extra boost. I think around the minute mark, I lined up and went for it..and 15# pr! I got 190#?! Not sure where it came from or why it wasn't there a couple weeks ago, but I'm pretty excited about that.. Maybe all those front squats are working?! So that was the first workout and we took second there..
The next workout was a 10 minute AMRAP of 25 double unders and 10 box jumps. You could split up the work however you wanted, but while 1 person jumps, the other holds a 95# bar in the front rack. I way under estimated the effect of that hold! It wasn't physically hard to hold, but it was getting in the way of breathing, which was not helpful.. But we decided to go for 2 rounds at a time, and then switch..repeat..for 10 minutes.. It actually went pretty well. It got to where the DU/ box jumps felt like the rest time, since you were able to breathe through that, while the holds started sucking worse and worse.. But we kept on..didn't slow down and wound up in first for that one to overtake the overall lead.
The final workout of the day was also a good one..and that was where the drama ensued.. So it was a chipper with 60 burpees, which we did in alternating sets of 10; then 40 shoulder to overhead (85#), which we did in something like 15/20/5; the plan was for me to then take all 20 toes to bar, which was fine.. Then it was 60 kettle bell swings(35#).. Jaclyn took 40 of those, again, because the plan was for me to take those TTB's and then hopefully do well with bar MU at the end..but before that, we had 40 thrusters(85#) to get through! This is where it started getting rough, but we soldiered on.. Started with sets of 10 each, then 5's until we were finally done! Jaclyn started us off on the 20 bar MU and she got through 3. I hoped to get up there and just crank them out, but it was just not meant to be! I got us to 10.. Then Jaclyn added 3 more.. I wanted so badly to finish us up (which would have spared us the tie break issue), but my grip said no and I came down with 2 to go.. Jaclyn hopped right up and finished up.. At first, I thought we had edged out the other team.. That's what it looked like from my perspective.. But when the 2 judges turned in their scores, they had us in a tie! Which..was fine by me.. I couldn't see exactly when the other gal finished compared to us, so wasn't going to argue with what the 2 separate, unbiased judges had written down and seen.. Well.. That must just be me because unbeknownst to me at the time, the other team was carrying on about how there was no way we tied and they thought they won..etc, etc.. But there was the judges time sheet, you say? It should just end in a tie because that's what the results from the unbiased judges said? Well.. I guess not.. We were called over to 'discuss the results of the workout', which I had no idea there was even any dispute or anything to discuss, so I was a little caught off guard when I was told not only did we not win, we tied, based on the judges.. BUT..since 'other people' said they saw that team finish first, they are giving them the win. Wait.. What?? Was basically my reaction.. I said, 'based on what?', to which they responded, 'human error'.. Huh??! I still don't get it. I protested slightly, but didn't want to be 'that guy' that makes a big scene over a point at a competitive exercise event for adults.. Apparently I left that role to the others.. So, again.. Look. I get it that they wanted the win.. They thought they won.. But, guess what..we did, too! We just weren't big babies about it, yelling and swearing until I somehow convinced others that the tie should go in my favor.. It never even would have occurred to me to bitch about the tie or the times written down, but I guess that's what ya get for being the nice guy. So..despite actually finishing in a tie for first, we were given second in that workout, which leaves us tied for first (with you know who..) overall heading in to day 2. We have 3-4 workouts tomorrow ( the 4th being the final, should we qualify to participate), so hopefully all will right itself in the end and the silly point that they cried themselves into won't amount to much.. Fresh slate moving in to day 2! I'm looking forward to the workouts, so wish us some luck!
Quick question for you, though.. When is a Tie in a TIMED event NOT a tie?? If you have an answer other than 'when members of one of the tied teams pitches a big enough bitch fit to somehow convince a seemingly usually levelheaded and 'no BS' kind of guy to disregard the actual time results and inexplicably hand the win over to that team', then I'd love to hear it. Oh, wait..that's right.. Keeping it positive.. Got it. Honestly. Look. Hosting a CrossFit competition is tough and there are a lot of pieces and parts and room for error.. I get it. Which is why, despite most peoples' reactions when I have explained this situation, while I'm not super impressed with how this was all handled, I can empathize with the director/owner of the gym and see how a poor (in my opinion) decision could be made. You want the whole story?.. Hold on.. I'll get to it. But first, let's go through the events of the day!
So today was day 1 of the Garage Games, hosted by CrossFit Unbreakable, which I had never been to before, or really met anyone from there, either. Their gym is pretty large and the event is modestly sized (8 scaled teams and 8 rx teams for both males and females, I think? Or close to that.. So just 2 heats of each with 4 teams of 2 per heat), so there is plenty of room for competing, warm up, sitting around, etc.. I've been to some competitions where you felt like you couldn't even bend over for a toe touch to warm up without knocking some one or some thing over, so I definitely appreciate the space. We got there plenty early ('we' being Jaclyn, my teammate, and I), though it took me a minute being lost in warehouse hell looking for the place..but I eventually figured it out! So the first event was a 1 rep max clean and jerk with the caveat of having to pick a team starting weight, and then you must move up 'ladder style' in 5 or 10# increments through the 10 minute time limit. Though you have to pick a starting weight, both teammates don't have to lift at each weight.. That was a little confusing to us at first when reading it, but it's basically just a 1 rm.. We warmed up a bit and were feeling good. Jaclyn was aiming for around 150-160#(starting at 135), and I was hoping for a pr of 180/185#. We had attempted maxes a couple weeks ago, so we had a good idea of where we would be. Jaclyn was looking solid through 160, but she short cut her split a bit in the jerk at 165 and wasn't able to hold on to it. 160 was a good showing for her! I was moving pretty well..hit my 175, which had been my pr, and was feeling good, so kept going. 180 went up well. 185 went up just fine.. We still had just under 3 minutes on the clock, so I figured..let's go for it! We added the weight and I walked around a bit. My boys had shown up during this time, so got to wave to them for a little extra boost. I think around the minute mark, I lined up and went for it..and 15# pr! I got 190#?! Not sure where it came from or why it wasn't there a couple weeks ago, but I'm pretty excited about that.. Maybe all those front squats are working?! So that was the first workout and we took second there..
The next workout was a 10 minute AMRAP of 25 double unders and 10 box jumps. You could split up the work however you wanted, but while 1 person jumps, the other holds a 95# bar in the front rack. I way under estimated the effect of that hold! It wasn't physically hard to hold, but it was getting in the way of breathing, which was not helpful.. But we decided to go for 2 rounds at a time, and then switch..repeat..for 10 minutes.. It actually went pretty well. It got to where the DU/ box jumps felt like the rest time, since you were able to breathe through that, while the holds started sucking worse and worse.. But we kept on..didn't slow down and wound up in first for that one to overtake the overall lead.
The final workout of the day was also a good one..and that was where the drama ensued.. So it was a chipper with 60 burpees, which we did in alternating sets of 10; then 40 shoulder to overhead (85#), which we did in something like 15/20/5; the plan was for me to then take all 20 toes to bar, which was fine.. Then it was 60 kettle bell swings(35#).. Jaclyn took 40 of those, again, because the plan was for me to take those TTB's and then hopefully do well with bar MU at the end..but before that, we had 40 thrusters(85#) to get through! This is where it started getting rough, but we soldiered on.. Started with sets of 10 each, then 5's until we were finally done! Jaclyn started us off on the 20 bar MU and she got through 3. I hoped to get up there and just crank them out, but it was just not meant to be! I got us to 10.. Then Jaclyn added 3 more.. I wanted so badly to finish us up (which would have spared us the tie break issue), but my grip said no and I came down with 2 to go.. Jaclyn hopped right up and finished up.. At first, I thought we had edged out the other team.. That's what it looked like from my perspective.. But when the 2 judges turned in their scores, they had us in a tie! Which..was fine by me.. I couldn't see exactly when the other gal finished compared to us, so wasn't going to argue with what the 2 separate, unbiased judges had written down and seen.. Well.. That must just be me because unbeknownst to me at the time, the other team was carrying on about how there was no way we tied and they thought they won..etc, etc.. But there was the judges time sheet, you say? It should just end in a tie because that's what the results from the unbiased judges said? Well.. I guess not.. We were called over to 'discuss the results of the workout', which I had no idea there was even any dispute or anything to discuss, so I was a little caught off guard when I was told not only did we not win, we tied, based on the judges.. BUT..since 'other people' said they saw that team finish first, they are giving them the win. Wait.. What?? Was basically my reaction.. I said, 'based on what?', to which they responded, 'human error'.. Huh??! I still don't get it. I protested slightly, but didn't want to be 'that guy' that makes a big scene over a point at a competitive exercise event for adults.. Apparently I left that role to the others.. So, again.. Look. I get it that they wanted the win.. They thought they won.. But, guess what..we did, too! We just weren't big babies about it, yelling and swearing until I somehow convinced others that the tie should go in my favor.. It never even would have occurred to me to bitch about the tie or the times written down, but I guess that's what ya get for being the nice guy. So..despite actually finishing in a tie for first, we were given second in that workout, which leaves us tied for first (with you know who..) overall heading in to day 2. We have 3-4 workouts tomorrow ( the 4th being the final, should we qualify to participate), so hopefully all will right itself in the end and the silly point that they cried themselves into won't amount to much.. Fresh slate moving in to day 2! I'm looking forward to the workouts, so wish us some luck!
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