The Crossfit Open will begin again later this month. That's me containing my excitement. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the Open. I'll start with the negatives. (Note: If you ever say to me "I have good news and bad news", I'll always choose to hear the bad news first. Likely some insight into my psyche there. Let's move on...)
Things I don't like about the Open:
- I don't like participating. I consider myself an above average cheerleader and a below average athlete. The Open not only confirms my athletic inadequacies, it pounds the message into my skull by making me go through it for five straight weeks. When I first did the Open in 2014, I wasn't thrilled with my performance, but I had an optimistic outlook for the future. Surely I was going to get better at the Open as I trained more, right? (Wrong.)
Open stats, plateau is thy name
- Based on the stats above, it is a pretty safe bet that 60 to 65 thousand men worldwide will beat me this year. About 4,500 to 5,000 men in the Atlantic region will prove fitter than me. Approximately 1,300 men within the state of Pennsylvania will fare better than me on the five tests that await us starting on February 23rd. There's not much point in repeating this process.
- I'm not a fan of the team competition at the gym. It's not a bad idea, I just think there are better ways to do it. As the guy who keeps score of events like this, it seems like there is some sort of controversy every year when there doesn't need to be. I'm also a bad teammate because I root for all of the athletes from the other teams. (Proof that I'm an above average cheerleader.)
- It's clear to me that Crossfit HQ's primary focus with the Open is to ensure that the top athletes get to Regionals and there is nothing wrong with that. However, they sell the Open as this great event for the community and that is BS. It is a great event for the community within your gym, but that's because a great community exists there to begin with. As for the overall Crossfit community, you get to see people cheat at the highest levels and screw people over who deserve to advance to the next stage. Making matters worse, these people tend to be praised rather than made an example of.
- Workouts have now been divided into two levels: RX (hard) and Scaled (easy). There should be some sort of intermediate version because there is a huge amount of the Crossfit community that falls in that range, but that would require HQ to listen to the community.
- Because all RX scores go above Scaled scores, athletes might decide to try and get 1 rep of the RX workout rather than do the more appropriate Scaled workout. This seems contrary to the typical message preached in Crossfit.
- You have to pay $20 for....drawing a blank. I've heard it's for coming up with 5 workouts that aren't all that different from ones we already pay for. I've heard it's for the worldwide scoreboard, which takes an absurdly long time to update. I've heard it's to pay for the update shows and the people who put those together. Pretty sure I'd rather just hold on to my $20.
- Finally, the director of the Crossfit Games, Dave Castro, seems more interested in proving how clever he is than coming up with workouts that all Crossfit gyms can handle logistically. The first workout of the 2016 Open left affiliates scrambling at the last minute to try and accommodate their athletes. An announcement for this year's Open has had the same effect. (I'll be covering that announcement when I get to the WOD.)
Things I like about the Open:
- That whole cheerleading thing I mentioned. Unless I show up early for my class or stay late, I rarely get to cheer on a bunch of other athletes at KOP. I don't have a great track record for finishing workouts early, so during my classes, I tend to get cheered on when I'd rather be doing the cheering. The Open allows me to cheer on tons of people from my gym and there's nothing I enjoy more.
- It is really cool watching someone do something during the Open that they have never done before. You just throw them in the workout and they magically do it. There is this unbridled joy that comes across their face as they look partially in shock that they were able to complete a movement that they had never found success with in the past. I have yet to make this magic happen in any of my three Opens so far. (Proof that I'm a below average athlete.)
- The gym gets together and has a great time hanging out every Friday night for 5 weeks. We'll either stick around the gym or we'll go out after the workout is over. Aside from Festivus at the end of the year, I'm not sure there's a better event at our gym purely from a social perspective.
Based on the number of bullet points above, it might seem like I have a deep hatred of the Open, but that couldn't be further from the truth. If I was prioritizing all of the bullet points, the three positive ones would fall in my top four (along with how I feel about participating). A lot of the points at the bottom of the negative list are just nitpicky things that bug me but aren't deal breakers. I gave some consideration to skipping this year's Open, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt like I should do it. (Full disclosure: I asked for new Crossfit sneakers for my birthday. The new Nanos come with a free registration to this year's Open. Seemed like an omen that I should do this year's Open.)
So how did a recap of Dudes After Dark lead to this long rant about the Open? Because the WOD seemed heavily influenced by a recent announcement made by HQ concerning the Open. They told all affiliates to be prepared for an Open workout with dumbbells this year. The DB weight would be 50 pounds for the guys and 35 pounds for the girls. (When affiliates complained about not having a large enough supply of 50 pound and 35 pound DBs, the response from HQ was along the lines of "figure it out". Yay community!) That announcement seemed to sync up awfully well with the workout that was programmed on Tuesday night:
Tuesday WOD:
Partner WOD
10 rounds
12 DB thrusters (50/35)
1 rope climb (15')
*Each partner does a full round, partners alternate rounds
Dudes After Dark was 80% dude this week as Heleen joined myself, Cline, Actuary Mike, and Noel for this workout. Having an odd number of people in class meant we would need to go with the dreaded siamese twin when forming our teams. We'd sort all that out later on. LC had us begin the warmup by grabbing some light DBs to practice thrusters. Thrusters with a barbell can be painful, but I'd much rather do them than something like burpees. Thrusters with a DB do not hold the same allure. With the barbell, you can keep the weight steady and under control as you go from the bottom of a front squat to the top of a push press and back down again. The DBs are much more unwieldy and you can easily start wobbling as you do thrusters with them. You can have one DB pointing forward and one pointing to the side if you start losing control of them. The destabilization caused by the DBs makes a tough movement that much harder.
We don't do DB thrusters all that often, but I recalled doing them in a workout with 35 pound DBs and being miserable almost the entire time. Today I'd be doing them with 50 pound DBs. Why use 50 pound DBs if I knew I hated doing them with 35 pounders? Because this workout was a prep for the Open and I was going to have to use 50 pound DBs (for thrusters or something else) unless I decided to do the Scaled workout. Might as well get used to how this was going to feel. Before jumping up to the 50 pound DBs, I warmed up with 25 pound DBs. I did a full set of 12 reps like we were going to do in the workout. The verdict? Not bad, but not as easy as I would have hoped. After all, this was only half of the weight that I'd be using for 5 rounds.
We moved over to the rope where LC showed us the different ways one could climb the rope. Noel had never used the J hook method before. He didn't seem thrilled about trying it originally. Then he gave it a go. Two pulls later, he was tapping the 15' mark. He adjusted to that awfully quickly! Speaking of adjusting, Mike claimed that he had only climbed the rope a few times before. This story felt eerily similar to the one he had told about his ability to do handstand push-ups. Sure enough, the guy with almost no rope climbing experience did two climbs in the warmup before making 5 more climbs in the workout. Those were pretty impressive accomplishments, but they paled in comparison to what Heleen would do. I mentioned Heleen in yesterday's blog post as someone who picked up tough movements very quickly. On Monday, she was able to do pistols on her first attempt. On Tuesday, she watched LC teach the S hook method, then used it to climb the rope all the way up to the 15' mark on her first attempt. Cline would later dub her "The Prodigy". Seemed like a very appropriate nickname to me.
LC told us to get the DBs we'd be using in the workout and to use the restroom if we needed to as we would be starting the workout in a couple of minutes. Cline and Noel had gone to the men's room, leaving Mike, Heleen, and myself in the gym. Mike asked if the three of us wanted to team up. We agreed to this setup, meaning that Mike and I would be the siamese twins. We would both have to complete the round before Heleen could begin her round. I let Heleen know in advance that she was likely going to have to wait on me (not Mike) to come down from the rope before it would be her turn to go. Cline and Noel returned and we let them know that they were going to be a team since the three of us had formed one team. As they got ready, I tried out a few thrusters with the 50 pound DBs. This was going to be rough. LC had told us to choose a weight where we could do the first round unbroken and do no more than 2-3 sets for the other rounds. I wasn't entirely sure I could manage that, but I'd give it my best shot.
Mike and his bald siamese twin led things off for our team. Just as I've begun doing with barbell thrusters, I focused on going as fast as I could through the reps. I got through 10 reps before I started to wobble, but I kept it together to finish the last two reps. Mike and I got to the rope at about the same time. I raced up and touched the 15' mark, buying myself a few extra seconds of rest while Mike completed his first round. When he got back down to the floor, Heleen began her first round. She did her thrusters and then climbed about halfway up the rope before sliding back down. It was twin time again.
There was no chance that I could string all 12 thrusters again. I completed 6, took a break, then hung on for another 6. Mike was on the rope already when I got to my rope, but I climbed fast enough that I was the first twin back to the floor. There were still three rounds to go, but I was already hoping that Heleen would have some slow rounds so that I could catch my breath. She would end up giving us a break of about a minute between rounds. I would soon begin giving her longer breaks than that.
For the third round, I attempted to break my thrusters up into two sets of six reps. The first set was six reps. The second round would not be. I made it through 4 reps and then had to put the DBs down. Mike was climbing his rope as I shook out my arms and talked myself into doing 2 more thrusters. As I got to my rope, Mike was headed back down his. I continued to make up some time on the rope climb, but I knew I was going to be the slow twin from here on out.
While I was watching Heleen complete her third round, I made the decision to try and go 5-4-3 on my thrusters the rest of the way since I wasn't able to handle 12 reps in two sets any longer. That is just what I did in round four. Mike headed to his rope as I finished the set of four. I watched him climb as I caught my breath. After completing my last 3 thrusters, I walked over to my rope. Mike was already back down from his climb, so I was definitely holding up our team. I jumped up, shimmied my way to the 15' mark, and returned to the floor. Just one more round to go.
After Heleen completed her fourth round, the twins took on their final round. Not a lot changed from round four to round five. I went 5-4-3 again on my thrusters. Mike had completed his rope climb by the time I finished my thrusters. I was really tired, but I reminded myself that I could climb to the 15' mark even when I was out of breath. A couple of pulls later, I was slapping the 15' mark and sliding down the rope to let Heleen finish things off for our team. About a minute or so later, she stopped the clock for us. Final time: 14:54.
Cline and Noel smoked us in this workout, although the gap might not have been as large if I didn't tire out during those last three rounds. The 50 pound DBs were really difficult to operate with and if DB thrusters appear in the Open, I will be in a lot of trouble. At least I know what to expect now.
Wednesday preview: More DB work! I become convinced that I know what the toughest part of Wednesday's workout is. Then we do the workout and I discover that I am way off. Plus, I have to race like hell so that I am not holding up the very speedy guy I am sharing equipment with.
We don't do DB thrusters all that often, but I recalled doing them in a workout with 35 pound DBs and being miserable almost the entire time. Today I'd be doing them with 50 pound DBs. Why use 50 pound DBs if I knew I hated doing them with 35 pounders? Because this workout was a prep for the Open and I was going to have to use 50 pound DBs (for thrusters or something else) unless I decided to do the Scaled workout. Might as well get used to how this was going to feel. Before jumping up to the 50 pound DBs, I warmed up with 25 pound DBs. I did a full set of 12 reps like we were going to do in the workout. The verdict? Not bad, but not as easy as I would have hoped. After all, this was only half of the weight that I'd be using for 5 rounds.
We moved over to the rope where LC showed us the different ways one could climb the rope. Noel had never used the J hook method before. He didn't seem thrilled about trying it originally. Then he gave it a go. Two pulls later, he was tapping the 15' mark. He adjusted to that awfully quickly! Speaking of adjusting, Mike claimed that he had only climbed the rope a few times before. This story felt eerily similar to the one he had told about his ability to do handstand push-ups. Sure enough, the guy with almost no rope climbing experience did two climbs in the warmup before making 5 more climbs in the workout. Those were pretty impressive accomplishments, but they paled in comparison to what Heleen would do. I mentioned Heleen in yesterday's blog post as someone who picked up tough movements very quickly. On Monday, she was able to do pistols on her first attempt. On Tuesday, she watched LC teach the S hook method, then used it to climb the rope all the way up to the 15' mark on her first attempt. Cline would later dub her "The Prodigy". Seemed like a very appropriate nickname to me.
LC told us to get the DBs we'd be using in the workout and to use the restroom if we needed to as we would be starting the workout in a couple of minutes. Cline and Noel had gone to the men's room, leaving Mike, Heleen, and myself in the gym. Mike asked if the three of us wanted to team up. We agreed to this setup, meaning that Mike and I would be the siamese twins. We would both have to complete the round before Heleen could begin her round. I let Heleen know in advance that she was likely going to have to wait on me (not Mike) to come down from the rope before it would be her turn to go. Cline and Noel returned and we let them know that they were going to be a team since the three of us had formed one team. As they got ready, I tried out a few thrusters with the 50 pound DBs. This was going to be rough. LC had told us to choose a weight where we could do the first round unbroken and do no more than 2-3 sets for the other rounds. I wasn't entirely sure I could manage that, but I'd give it my best shot.
Mike and his bald siamese twin led things off for our team. Just as I've begun doing with barbell thrusters, I focused on going as fast as I could through the reps. I got through 10 reps before I started to wobble, but I kept it together to finish the last two reps. Mike and I got to the rope at about the same time. I raced up and touched the 15' mark, buying myself a few extra seconds of rest while Mike completed his first round. When he got back down to the floor, Heleen began her first round. She did her thrusters and then climbed about halfway up the rope before sliding back down. It was twin time again.
There was no chance that I could string all 12 thrusters again. I completed 6, took a break, then hung on for another 6. Mike was on the rope already when I got to my rope, but I climbed fast enough that I was the first twin back to the floor. There were still three rounds to go, but I was already hoping that Heleen would have some slow rounds so that I could catch my breath. She would end up giving us a break of about a minute between rounds. I would soon begin giving her longer breaks than that.
For the third round, I attempted to break my thrusters up into two sets of six reps. The first set was six reps. The second round would not be. I made it through 4 reps and then had to put the DBs down. Mike was climbing his rope as I shook out my arms and talked myself into doing 2 more thrusters. As I got to my rope, Mike was headed back down his. I continued to make up some time on the rope climb, but I knew I was going to be the slow twin from here on out.
While I was watching Heleen complete her third round, I made the decision to try and go 5-4-3 on my thrusters the rest of the way since I wasn't able to handle 12 reps in two sets any longer. That is just what I did in round four. Mike headed to his rope as I finished the set of four. I watched him climb as I caught my breath. After completing my last 3 thrusters, I walked over to my rope. Mike was already back down from his climb, so I was definitely holding up our team. I jumped up, shimmied my way to the 15' mark, and returned to the floor. Just one more round to go.
After Heleen completed her fourth round, the twins took on their final round. Not a lot changed from round four to round five. I went 5-4-3 again on my thrusters. Mike had completed his rope climb by the time I finished my thrusters. I was really tired, but I reminded myself that I could climb to the 15' mark even when I was out of breath. A couple of pulls later, I was slapping the 15' mark and sliding down the rope to let Heleen finish things off for our team. About a minute or so later, she stopped the clock for us. Final time: 14:54.
Cline and Noel smoked us in this workout, although the gap might not have been as large if I didn't tire out during those last three rounds. The 50 pound DBs were really difficult to operate with and if DB thrusters appear in the Open, I will be in a lot of trouble. At least I know what to expect now.
Wednesday preview: More DB work! I become convinced that I know what the toughest part of Wednesday's workout is. Then we do the workout and I discover that I am way off. Plus, I have to race like hell so that I am not holding up the very speedy guy I am sharing equipment with.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.