"CrossFit Games Open 11.6"

CrossFit Games Open 11.6

Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes of the following rep scheme:
3 Thrusters (100#/65#)
3 Chest to bar Pull-ups 
6 Thrusters
6 Chest to bar Pull-ups 
9 Thrusters 
9 Chest to bar Pull-ups 
12 pound Thrusters 
12 Chest to bar Pull-ups 
15 Thrusters
15 Chest to bar Pull-ups 
18 Thrusters 
18 Chest to bar Pull-ups 
21 Thrusters 
21 Chest to bar Pull-ups…

This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 21, go on to 24. If you complete 24, go on to 27, etc. Stop at 7 minutes.

Results

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Tackling Open WOD 11.6:

Open WOD 11

We are excited to announce the conclusion and the results of the 2011 CrossFit Games Open. After 7 weeks and 6 WOD’s of punishing and challenging nature, in which over twenty-five thousand people started the Open, we are down to the Top 60 men and 60 women in each Region along with the Top 20 men and 20 women in each Master’s category. As the weeks have worn on and the numbers have dwindled lower with each passing workout, our athletes (and those fellow CF’ers and friends who have come up week after week to be validated for their Open performance) have competed with their best effort, all their heart, and all their passion. 

15 of us at SRCF competed. Of those 15 we have two who have advanced! Congrats to Pat and Mark who both move on! Pat goes to the CF Games after finishing 10th in the 45-49 Masters Division and Mark qualifies for Regionals after he finished 55th in the Northwest Region. Pat will go straight to the CF Games from July 29-31 in Los Angeles and compete at the Home Depot Center against the other 19 men in his division. Mark will go the the Northwest Regionals from June 10-12 at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. Both spots are huge accomplishments and a testament to their training, efforts, and desire for pushing to be better CrossFit athletes. It is awesome to have them represent our box and pretty epic that we have one in Regionals and one in the Games. We are truly proud to be able to go watch both of them compete and will be there cheering and pushing them on through each and every rep!

A word on the Open:

I had three main goals for our box at the beginning of the Open. 

  1. Host the Open in our box with an atmosphere of fun, intensity, integrity, and quality.
  2. Push our participation to the highest it could be both through registered athletes and through programming the WOD on a weekly basis for all to get the chance to experience the WOD’s, thus enhancing our community in our box.
  3. Advance one or more athletes to Regionals, one to the Masters, and qualify a team for Regionals.

I can proudly say we achieved 2 and 2/3 of those goals! While not having a team advance (our team finished 33rd), we hit all the other goals and that is something that is a testament to everyone from all of our Coaches, SnoRidge CrossFitters and the competitors themselves. Every week it was amazing to see the support for everyone that our box showed. People came and cheered, volunteered, counted, judged, and more. We judged each other strictly and within the established rules. No deviations. Everyone who competed was legit and there was no “grey area”. Every competitor set some sort of PR with each WOD. Everyone grew in some way. The number of inspiring moments are too many to list. We had a large participation and turnout each week. Several already commented they want to compete next year. The elite community of our box was strengthened simply through having these Open WOD’s become “mini-events”. 

Many of us likely are more hungry now for next year and have goals set for what they want to work on and improve. I certainly do, both for me personally and for our box. That makes the whole CF Games Open more than worth it. For some of its many flaws in website, standards, video requirements, rankings, and more; it truly did achieve what CFHQ set out to do. It was a worldwide inclusive event that was the largest fitness contest yet. It was open to all who wanted to compete and found the very top CF athletes across the world. Last but not least it built the community. The CF Games Open has been challenging, fun, filled with adversity, and is a trial by fire that you just don’t get in most other things we do in day to day life. So for those who are considering it next year? Get to training now. Take your nutrition serious. Make goals. Start working the things you suck at. Be it flexibility, running, barbell technique, basic gymnastic movements, whatever they are start taking the time to make a plan and get better at them. Work hard at them. Be patient, be diligent and be consistent. My training for next year’s Open starts tomorrow. Who’s with me?

Pat going unbroken on thrusters in WOD 11.6:

Pat 11

Mark flying through the Toes-to-Bar in 11.5:

Mark_11

Story of Awesomeness

Yesterday’s WOD and results will be posted later today but first I wanted to share this story of awesomeness from Cristin that we received recently (with her permission). The transformation we have been lucky to witness and be a part of has been nothing short of epic.

Thank you for sharing your story with all of us:

Cristin_Walking Lunge

Hey Tom and Michelle,

I have been keeping a “journal” of my weight loss and CrossFit journey from this last year. Today I kind of reflected on my 100th WOD and wanted to share it with you. You have both done so much for me and had such a huge impact on who I have become. Your box, the amazing coaching, and the environment that you guys strive to provide for your athletes, has completely changed every aspect of my life and I will forever be grateful. I am not kidding when I say that SnoRidge is seriously the best box out there and I feel so lucky to be a part of it. Thank you for helping me become the person that I have always wanted to be.

Cristin

100th WOD of Awesomeness…by Cristin L.

Yesterday was my 100th WOD! It may not seem like that big of a deal, but for me it was huge! I remember that I used to go to Cody’s gym (Cristin’s brother) and watch people workout. I desperately wanted to workout too. My weight was never what kept me from participating. It was fear. I was afraid of what others would think. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to finish. I was afraid that I would feel like even more of a failure.  I can now finally say that I am no longer a spectator. I am a participant.

100 WOD’s ago, I was 56 pounds heavier. I couldn’t run a 400 without walking and I was full of fear that I was going to fail and be defeated. I lacked any self-confidence and I was embarrassed of who I was. Fast forward 100 WODs…I can now run every 400 without walking at all. I am so excited every time that I walk into the box because I know that as long as I give it my very best, there’s no way that I can fail. But even better, I finally like who I am and have found the self-confidence that I have always lacked. The shame and embarrassment is gone. 

CrossFit has made me stronger, leaner and faster. But more importantly, it has given me more happiness, self-confidence, ambition, and determination than I have ever had in my life. It has surrounded me with an awesome group of people who inspire me, celebrate my wins with me, and always encourage me to be a better person. CrossFit has taught me that I can do anything that I put my mind to. All I need to do is make a goal and be determined to crush it. I finally feel awesome…

CrossFit is so much more than just a workout. It’s a community, it’s a support system…it’s a family. SnoRidge is hands down my most favorite place on earth. I would much rather be there than anywhere else. It has completely changed every area of my life. I can honestly say that I am finally the person that I never thought I was good enough to be.

I can’t wait for the next 100 WOD’s…”

Keep it up Cristin! We can’t wait either!

Cristin KB Swing

Story time:

Story Time

Run Forrest Run!

Complete Each Individual Max Effort Run For Time:

1 Mile Run
Rest 3 Minutes
1200m Run
Rest 2 Minutes
800m Run
Rest 1 Minute
400m Run

Results

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As Forrest would say “I was running!”

Running

Borrowing an article posted from Rainier CrossFit: How Little Sleep Can You Get Away With? NY Times

Read this then go get 8 hours of sleep. Don’t fool yourself that waiting until the weekend can make up for that deficit. (Me included!)

Catnap:

Post 11.5

Speaking of rest and recovery, before you leave the box and after the WOD make sure you are stretching. That 5 or so minutes of stretching can make a world of difference in sore backs, tight legs, pain in places like knees and other joints. Don’t fool yourself by saying you will stretch at home. Remember your muscles are warm, loose, and prepared to stretch right after the workout.

Pat tackles the CrossFit Games Open WOD 11.5:

Pat_Open WOD 11.5

Pat completed the latest Open WOD today and should maintain a solid spot in the Masters Top 20 rankings. Keep it up only one WOD left! (Top 20 men’s masters in each age bracket go directly to the CF Games this July)

Notes:

Got a heads up from Anna that if you want to get your body-fat measured (aka the Chunky Dunk as Michelle calls it) by the BodyFat Truck then hit them on Monday. They will be over near Ridge Fitness on Center ST. We have had them come to the box in the past and can look at arranging it this summer if there is interest.

Do Not Hang Your Head

Read Rob’s (CrossFit Dad) blog post first 

The Most Important Words I Heard This Week

“Do Not Hang Your Head”

  Rob OHS

I’m sure almost everyone out there who has done a WOD has at some point thought “I give up” or “Not today” or even worse “I quit”. When that thought creeps in what did you do? Did you tell it to shut the F up? Go harder or ignore it? Maybe you resigned yourself to suffer through until it was over? Probably yes to all of them. Did you hang your head? I hope not.

If you get to that point at some WOD in the future don’t do it. Don’t hang your head. Dig deep, push hard, and fight. Fight like Hell. Who cares if someone ELSE beats you. Just don’t quit and beat yourself. Believe and be proud of giving it all you got, and if you didn’t get the outcome you desired then chalk it up to something that you need to work on and get better at.

Rob realized this in the Open WOD 11.4, and he quickly stopped hanging his head and fought hard. As a result he put up a bunch of overhead squats (that were very close to his 1 rep max) and stayed in the running for another week. He also inspired a bunch of us watching, including his family. Well done.

CrossFit Lisbeth “Expectations

Bar Burpees with Justin and Andrea from The Compound:

Bar Burpees

CF Games Update:

CrossFit Games Leaderboard BETA test Looks like they are getting closer to fixing all the issues out there like displaying correct rankings and submitted scores. 

Taking on the CrossFit Open Part 3“, CrossFit Journal preview video [wmv] [mov]

Push It

For Time:

400m Run  
21 Push Press (115#/75#)
400m Run  
18 Push Press
400m Run  
15 Push Press
400m Run  
12 Push Press

Results

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Eric takes in the mountains (Remember knuckles to the sky!):

Eric_Push Press

Rob got his first Muscle-Up today and then knocked out a few more!

Rob_1st MU

 Congrats to Rob. That is a seriously big PR! Especially since the Open WOD this week has muscle-ups in it. Just in the nick of time!

Speaking of, here is the WOD for Wednesday (CrossFit Games Open 11.4):

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 10 minutes of:
60 Bar-facing burpees
30 Overhead squat (120#/90#)
10 Muscle-ups

WOD Instructions

* For this WOD scale 3 Pull-ups and 3 Dips per Muscle-Up

CrossFit SportsCenter Update: Update on the Open: Week 3.

Team Karen

In Teams of 2 Complete for Time:
300 Wallballs (20#/14# to a 10’/9′ line)

* Partition Reps as needed
** Medball cannot hit the ground or team incurs a 5 burpee penalty during the WOD

Results

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Tag Teams:

Team Karen

Another great Saturday and a tough Team WOD that everyone crushed. Minimal burpees!

Notes:

HyperFit USA – “DFL” (or Dead F*cking Last)

Good read and reminder. It doesn’t matter where you finish, it’s just that you finish with integrity and gave it a solid effort. Leave the gym better than when you walked in. Head high and be proud, this stuff is hard.

Adaptation

For time:

100ft. Walking Lunges 
21 Kettlebell Swings (53#/35#) 
21 AbMat Sit-ups
100ft. Walking Lunges 
15 Kettlebell Swings 
15 AbMat Sit-ups
100ft. Walking Lunges 
12 Kettlebell Swings 
12 AbMat Sit-ups
100ft. Walking Lunges 
9 Kettlebell Swings 
9 AbMat Sit-ups
100ft. Walking Lunges 
6 Kettlebell Swings 
6 AbMat Sit-ups

Results

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Cristin and Jeff demo a good walking lunge and kettlebell swing overhead position:

Cristin_Walking Lunge Jeff_KB Swing

CF Games Open Update: Team Squatch is in 23rd place in our Region and that’s with not all of our best scores entered yet! Let’s hope we climb and stay in the Top 30. 

More importantly is everyone was able to complete the WOD as RX’d this week from our team with several rounds! (We are bummed that Lucy is unable to complete WOD 11.3 due to being on an island vacation with no access to a barbell thus will not be able to continue “in the running” for the Open.)

Considering for many that one rep of the men’s 165lb. or women’s 110 lb. clean and jerk is at or over their previous max that alone is a huge PR. The determination, positive thinking and junkyard dog effort was inspiring this week. Today we saw several of our competitors push their fears aside and attack this WOD with confidence and technique. This resulted in new PR’s, lots of rounds, and a belief that you can all put more weight overhead with more practice on either those cleans or jerks!

Also thanks to Petra from lululemon athletica Bellevue Square for coming out and conducting a goal setting seminar for several people tonight. Forming realistic goals that are near, medium and long term will allow you to weave them together while working towards a career, health and personal/family life balance. Having specific, measurable, achievable, results oriented, and time dependent goals are required to making sure your journey has an end point; and is not just a drive down a wandering road. We hope you all got something out of it and would love to see you share your health goals in the box with us. We are here to help you achieve them.

Pics of some of our athletes who tackled the CF Games Open WOD 11.3 today:

Michelle_Finish the Rep

Nan_Split Jerk Josh_Clean

Split Jerk_Rona Kim_Clean 1st pull

Sean_Split Jerk

Jeremy_Push Jerk

Quote of the Day: “The greatest adaptation in CrossFit is between the ears.” ~ Coach Greg Glassman

One athlete who best portrays and explains how he has adapted between the ears from CrossFit is Chris Spealler. The 3rd place 2010 CF Games finisher and winner of the Spirit of the Games Award sat down for a video interview with SicFit about his experiences in the past few Games and how he has changed his mental approach to believe in his ability, not define himself through his numbers or performances, and be content with his effort and desire to better himself both mentally, physically, and spiritually. Videos below.

Excerpt below from The Fire Inside by Web Smith on the CrossFit Journal

“The Spealler interview, he takes us through the reflection and perspectives that helped him finally achieve his podium finish in 2010. What you will see is an athlete with laser focus and unparalleled humility. A Christian from an early age, Spealler discusses how this past year he was finally able to be at peace with his ability. At the CrossFit-USAW Open, I was able to closely observe his pre-competitive ritual, and that inner peace was apparent. There was no adrenaline boost or an outward showing of emotion. Rather, he glanced at his wife and newborn, smiled and carried on. Consistently, they were reminders of his peace. And just as consistently, Spealler got the weight overhead.”

Chris Spealler Interview with SicFit:

CrossFit Games Open WOD 11.3

CrossFit Games Open 11.3

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 5 minutes of:
Squat clean (165#/110#)
Jerk, Push or Split (165#/110#)

Results

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Moe_Front Rack

Movement Standards for the WOD:

Squat clean and Jerk
In this movement, the barbell goes from ground to overhead with the athlete passing through a full squat position while the barbell is racked on the shoulders. This can be a full-squat-clean-thruster, a power-clean-front-squat-split-jerk, or anything in between as long as the three key positions are reached. The barbell begins on the ground. Touch and go is permitted. No bouncing. The athlete must pass through a full squat with hips below knees. The barbell must come to full lockout overhead with the hips, knees and arms fully extended, and the bar directly over the heels.

WOD Demo with Pat Sherwood and Heather Bergeron – video [wmv] [mov]

For the CF Games Open this WOD is heavy. It’s technical in it’s strictest form. At the same time it’s also not completely unforgiving. By allowing each rep of the clean or the jerk to count, this allows people to get at least one rep done and stay in the competition. It also allows for some alternatives like a power clean to front squat, thruster, or split jerk. If this is anyone’s close to 1RM in any of the movements, then it becomes a 5 minute strength WOD to establish that one rep and stay in the game, if it isn’t then it’s go like Hell and keep the rounds piling up. 

Jill and Laura locked out:

Jill_Overhead Laura_Lockout

Rob, Moe and Matt celebrating the completion of another Open WOD:

Right Side Up

Notes:

Modifying and scaling is all part of CrossFit. Besides just lowering the load or limiting a movement due to strength or skill limitations, there are other purposes for which scaling or modifying a movement is called for. One example is a limitation from a physical injury. Part of what we do is modify workouts for any athlete in need. Don is one example; recently having had a plate from a long ago injury removed from his wrist his WOD’s are modified until he is fully healed.

Don and the one handed suitcase deadlift:

Don_Suitcase DL - 1 Don_Suitcase DL - 2

4 Minute Max

Four Minutes of Max Reps of Each Exercise:

Row (Calories)
Handstand Push-ups 
Back Squats (95#/65#)
AbMat Sit-ups

Results

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Happy birthday to Karrie (with husband Josh):

Post Birthday WOD_Karrie and Josh

Karrie asked for a birthday WOD in just her second WOD after completing Elements! How’s that for “jumping right in”? Hope you liked your workout today and we look forward to many more.

Read this post related to the CF Games Open: CrossFit One World: Superhuman????

Here’s another great read on the stages of the dreaded double-under: The Double-Under De-Mystified by CrossFit Northern Ireland

Post thoughts to comments.

Rona back squatting for reps:

Rona_Back Squats

Got Results?

Moe’s Logbook:

Logbook

Quote of the day: “If you go out there to not lose, you’re not going to perform to the best of your ability.” – Chris Spealler

Do you get results? Specifically in CrossFit. How do you know? Besides looking better, feeling stronger, moving faster, having more energy, sleeping soundly, or getting sick less often; how do you know quantitatively what your workout results are? One sure way to know is to track your progress. Do you have a WOD book or workout log? Maybe you use an online tool or computer to track your results?

If you aren’t writing it down or recording it somehow then it will hamper your training progress. The purpose behind maintaining a logbook is mainly two-fold: 1) to provide a historical record of your past workout performances and 2) to provide a reference from which to base future workout performances on.

The benefits of a logbook (or WOD book):

  1. A tool to dial in your training to push you to achieve new PR’s (personal records)
  2. Allows you to train smart and safe by knowing what movement, load, or equipment to use for each WOD
  3. Provides a context to trouble-shooting or modifying your training by understanding your frequency of CF, other activities, rest, periodization, and strength/skill development
  4. Lets you instantly realize if you have done something previously to help prepare for your training session and workout

We recommend that you keep a log. We provide everyone a book when you start Elements and for those who are more biased towards online or technology we recommend using either a simple spreadsheet or taking advantage of beyondthewhiteboard.com that will allow you to post your workout results. If you don’t want a plain B&W notebook and want something more personalized go for it. There are plenty of options to express yourself with a WOD book. Also big thanks to Marc and Laura who have stationed a laptop at the box for everyone to use to enter their results to beyondthewhiteboard before they leave if needed! This will be made available this week. 

If you have questions on keeping a logbook and want some ideas on what to write or record don’t hesitate to ask!

Kristy and Nan know what to load on the bar because they track their WOD’s:

Changeout