Renegades of squat

First WOD after the competition; no rest for the wicked: Renegades of squat is three rounds of:

• Front squats (115lbs)
• One minute rest
• Back squats
• One minute rest
• Air squats

Score is total number of reps. My count was 80+76+69=225

Element Crossfit Challenge 2010

Yesterday I competed at my first ever CrossFit competition: Element Crossfit Challenge 2010. I was equal parts excited and nervous, but in the end it was both tough and a lots of fun.

After nearly two years of training I felt I was ready to join in on all the fun and participate in the men's scaled division. Out of 18 competitors I finished in 12th place, which is not bad at all. I had a few things working against me, including battling a lingering cold and missing nearly an entire minute of an AMRAP on account of a judge's error. And as one of the older competitors, it felt good to finish in a respectable position. Perhaps next year, with some more focused training, I could finish in the top 50th percentile. That said, many of the competitors in the scaled division were quite good; I'll have my work cut out for me in '11.

Here's how the day went down:

Event #1: Beep Test

Talk about a perfect way to get the day started: The infamous beep test. Going in my PR was 8.5 -- so it was with great delight that I made it all the way to 10.5. Wow! And I wasn't too far from 11 -- a slip on my last turn-around may have cost me a bit early. Very, very pleased with this result.

Event #2: Clean to thruster ladder

This event freaked me out, but in hindsight it wasn't bad at all. I totally regret not giving more in the pull-ups -- but still ecstatic that I could do prescribed pull-ups in the kipping style. I came agonizingly close to finishing the circuit at 155lbs, but I failed to keep it overhead. I am still unable to thruster more than 145lbs, but I am very close. I only managed 19 pull-ups, and I think that's where I lost some valuable points.

Event #3: 5 x deadlifts, 5 x pull-ups, 10 x kettle-bells: AMRAP in 8 minutes

This was a pisser because I started about 45 seconds late. My ref was still going over instructions with me when the clock started. I was extremely annoyed, and I'm sure it impacted on my performance. The judges only gave me 3 extra movements as consolation, but the damage was done. It definitely cost me an entire round, possibly two. I ended up with 8 full rounds plus three movements. That said, it was my best event of the day as the 10th best in the field.

Event #4: 10-1 clean & jerk, burpees

Wow, this was much tougher than I expected -- mostly because I had no legs left at this point. I was at near panic after the first two rounds, worried that I might not be able to finish. But I was able to chip away, and as the rounds decreased in volume my spirit rose. And I came very close to finishing in the time allotted: I completed three c&j when the 13 minute buzzer went off. Had I known I was that close I might have fought my way a bit better through that one. Final score: 13.3, putting me in 12th place.

In the end I was much sorer and tired than I thought I was going to be. My shoulders ached, my right hand was cut, my back was tight, and my right foot was mildly sprained. Ample recovery time and some Ibuprofen is definitely in order.

Primary take-away from this event: Competing is fun!

Check out all the final standings. Here are some photos I took at the event.

It's all in the hips

BUY-IN: 20 Ring Dips

WOD: Four rounds of:

• 10 Squat Cleans 135 lbs/ 95 lbs
• 15 Box Jumps
• 15 Ring Rows*

* Ring Rows are full plank position do not drop your hips or bend your knees, fully parallel to the floor, full extension at the bottom , hands to armpits at the top.

CASH OUT: 5 minutes of hip mobility work- duck walk, pigeon, frog stretch, side lunge,deep lunge etc.

Time = 21:43

EFC Ontario Challenge 2010

I will be participating in the EFC Ontario Challenge 2010 at Element CrossFit in Mississauga this coming weekend. The event will mark my first CrossFit competition. The four WODs have been posted (disappointed there's no rowing or wall-ball shots, relieved there's no box-jumps, OH squats or snatches).

I'm excited and a little bit scared! I'll be sure to blog about it afterward.

Whole lotta burpees

WOD composed of 90 burpees, 42 push jerks and 2km of running:

• Run 800 m
• 15 Push Jerks 135 lbs/95 lbs
• 15 Burpees
• Run 600 m
• 12 Push Jerks
• 20 Burpees
• Run 400 m
• 9 Push Jerks
• 25 Burpees
• Run 200 m
• 6 Push Jerks
• 30 Burpees

Time = 27:32

It's worth noting that I accidentally did push-presses instead of push jerks.

Summer Solstice WOD

WOD: Six rounds of:

• 12 Deadlifts @ Bodyweight (185lbs for me)
• 12 Pull ups
• 12 Box Jumps
• 12 Ball Slams
• REST 1 Minute

Time = 24:02

Nasty girls variation

First WOD in one week; felt pretty good:

• 400 m run
• 50 Double Unders

3 rounds of:

• 10 Hanging Power Cleans 135 lbs/95 lbs
• 50 Squats
• 7 Sumo Deadlift Highpulls 135 lbs/ 95 lbs

Finish with:

• 50 Double Unders
• 400 m Run

Time = 18:43

Kelly

Did Kelly for the first time today: Five rounds of:

• 400m run
• 30 x box jumps (24")
• 30 x wall ball shots (20lbs)

Time = 30:48

A sub 30 minute time is definitely doable, with the gains having to come on the box jumps.

30 is the number

Today's WOD:

• 400 m Run
• 30 Hanging Squat Cleans 95 lbs/ 65 lbs
• 400 m Run
• 30 Steps OH Lunge with Barbell 95 lbs/ 65 lbs
• 400 m Run
• 30 Weighted Sit ups 35 lbs/ 25 lbs plate
• 400 m Run
• 30 Man Makers 35 lb/ 25 lb Dumbells

Time = 27:50

Note: I did the lunges at 75lbs.

Deadlifts and burpees

WOD:

• 1 x Deadlift 275 lbs/185 lbs
• 1 + Burpee

- Every minute on the minute 20 minutes
- first minute 1 deadlift, 1 burpee
- 2nd minute 1 deadlift, 2 burpees
- 3rd minute 1 deadlift, 3 burpees
- etc.

Made it to the 14th round.

A ton of work

Actually, make that eight tons of work.

Very interesting WOD today where we had to back-squat a ton (2500lbs) during each round, followed by a 400 meter run.

We could choose any weight, but the sum total had to reach one ton.

For eight rounds.

I did 95lbs x 24 reps/round -- which was probably not a great idea -- fewer reps may have been more ideal.

So, in total, we back-squated 20,000 lbs (!) and ran 3.2km.

Time = 32:42.

Fairly happy with that time. It was a bruiser.

Curtis P's 'n stuff

A very demanding WOD today that I did totally prescribed: Five rounds of:

• 6 x Curtis P's @ 115lbs
• 12 x toes to bar
• 18 double-unders

Time = ~28:50

...bleeded all over the place.

Running Grace

Running Grace today:

• 1 mile run
• 15 x clean-and-jerk (135lbs)
• 800m run
• 10 x clean-and-jerk
• 400m run
• 5 x clean-and-jerk

Time = 21:55

A good future goal for this one is a sub 20 time. That would require, quite obviously, more aggression on the run, but there's no doubt that I could have ripped through the C&J's a bit quicker.

Later in the day I did a 5k run.