Favorite Open 17.3 moment

So 17.3 has been announced. No dumbells this time. Instead, it's a couplet of chest to bar pull ups and squat snatches. The head-to-head-to-head between Sager, Fraser, and Panchik was fun to watch. Early on, though, Panchik and Fraser started pulling away and leaving Sager behind. They both finished the workout within the 24 minute cap.

But for me, the best moment of the workout was in the last 30 seconds of Sager's 24 minutes. He kept failing 265# and in the last few minutes you can hear the huge crowd cheering him on. Goosebumps. Finally, it was the last 15 seconds or so and he had only one more chance to make the lift. And he did!

Screen cap from the YouTube video

Looking at the image, you can almost hear the crowd explode. Sager went on to get in I think a couple CTB pull ups or so after this. Amazing. I guess this is why he's called "The Comeback Kid." And this moment reminded me of that clean speed ladder event in the 2014 Games when Lauren Brooks was able to save her clean even though she'd gone on one knee. And also that time at the Games last year when Josh Bridges went on to complete the squat clean ladder.

So even if I'm not as obsessed about CF as I used to be, it's moments like these that remind me how proud I am to be part of such a community.

Apr 22 WOD: 2 AMRAPs and a run

Last Saturday's CFMNL Open Finals was fun! The heat was unforgiving and a lot of people ripped their hands doing toes to bar on the rig that was set up in the field, but it was an unforgettable first in the history of CrossFit in the Philippines. CrossFitters from as far away as Bacolod and Pampanga came to compete and it was just an awesome display of strength and skills... and abs. There were abs everywhere you looked. At the end of the day, you'd think that people who didn't have their abs on display were the exception and not the norm.

See what I mean?
(photo from Gigay G.'s instagram)

The only one from CFMNL who won in one of the categories was Michelle, who was in the female big Rx category. Another person I know who won was my co-parent and Ang Tibay coach Russell, who was in the male medium Rx category.

Who woulda thunk 2 years ago that CrossFit would get so big in the Philippines that there would be such an event like this? Of course, it wasn't a super big event, but it's a start.

Spectators baking under the sun
(photo from Gigay G.'s instagram)

Anyway... It's back to reality and back to the box today. The WOD had 3 parts:

4 minutes AMRAP

5 hang squat cleans as heavy as possible (not exceeding 165/115)
5 burpees

Rest 3 minutes, then 6 minutes AMRAP

4 overhead squats as heavy as possible (not exceeding 135/95)
8 ring dips

Rest 3 minutes, then maximum distance run in 8 minutes

For the first part, I used 75 lbs; my score: 3 rounds + 1 HSC. For the second part, I used 45 lbs and did jumping ring dips; my score: 4 + 1 OHS. For the run, I was able to run 1 mile -- my first time to run an 8-minute mile!

Apr 17 WOD: PWOD

It was one of those partner WOD days again at CFMNL.

12 minutes AMRAP

12 wall balls (20/14)
12 burpees

Partners do alternate rounds, so one person does 1 round while the other rests. Then the other partner works while the other one rests. I got paired with Rae, who's really good with burpees. She credited that to all the burpees they'd had to do at bootcamp. Blechhh! Anyway, I used a 14 lb ball and together, Rae and I did 8 rounds and 10 wall balls.

In other news, the CFMNL Open Finals is going to be held this Saturday at the Army Soccer Field in Taguig. Anton and Jerwin from the midday/lunch crew qualified to compete in the Men's Medium Rx category so some of us are planning to go and cheer. Another friend who qualified is a co-parent who owns a garage gym. It's gonna be wild! Fun and wild!

Apr 5 WOD: Open 13.5

I tried my hand at the last Open workout and you might think it's *just* 4 minutes, but the Fran-ish misery it brings will make you think twice. You wanna do well but you don't know if you wanna do well enough to get a bonus time of 4 minutes and prolong the agony. Dave Castro is an evil genius.

For the CFMNL Open competitors, this was the scale:

I'm glad I looked at the standards for the jumping pull ups. Most important points: the distance from the bar and the head has to be at least 6", and the rep starts from a dead hang position with the arms locked out. Turns out, they're not so easy to do! I finally settled on a double underhand grip, which made it easier to make my chest touch the bar.

My score: 50

And that concludes the Open season for me. I'm sad that there aren't anymore live announcements to look forward to, or articles and videos giving tips on how to go about the workouts.

Mar 28 WOD: Open 13.4

Today and tomorrow are holidays here but CrossFit Open don't care. Life goes on for CrossFitters and the box is open today so athletes can have a shot at 13.4. I watched the live announcement again, and this time it was Spealler vs. Holmberg. I think it's such a testament to these elite athletes' mental and physical training that they are able to do these workouts at the drop of a hat. They know when to push, when to pull back, and how to pace themselves. They are ready for anything.

So, 13.4 is:

Grabbed from the CF Games site

I was rooting for Speal (I love underdogs), and at first I thought he'd lose because he got a few reps behind Holmberg in the C&J, but then he started catching up in the toes to bar. I love his heart and the way he gave the workout his all. In the end he won with 110 reps to Holmberg's 102.

Whew. Anyway, this is the scale for the CFMNL Open competitors:

Grabbed from CFMNL

My score: 66

Mar 21 WOD: Open 13.3

I watched the live announcement on the CF Games website again this morning. I feel like such a CrossFit dork for setting my alarm to make sure I didn't miss it. Then again, I'm sure millions of CrossFitters around the world did the same. Well, maybe not millions, but, you know... a lot.

Grabbed from the CF Games site

So it turns out that 13.3 is 12.4. I remember doing this last year. I used a 10 lb ball for the wall balls and I only made it through those. For the CFMNL Open, this was the scale they gave:

Grabbed from the CFMNL site

I've never used a 14 lb ball for wall balls before and of all the days to do it, it had to be today. I told Miggy about it and he said, "Good!" with a big, happy smile. Well, when push comes to shove, there's no other way to do it but to just do it.

My score: 120 (sucks that I wasn't even able to do the double unders with my nifty new Rogue SR-1 rope!)

Mar 20 WOD: OTM + Wendler

Strength: Dead lift

70% x 3 = 3 x 125
80% x 3 = 3 140
90% x 3+ = 5 x 160

Assistance: Kettlebell swings

5 x 10 x 16 kg

I haven't been feeling the Wendler love lately but I still do it. It's probably because of the lack of sleep, so I'll be glad when my shift changes and starts an hour earlier.


WOD

OTM (on the minute) x 20 minutes

Odd: Choice between push ups or dips, 8-12 reps
Even: Choice between max reps pistol squats, 10 kettlebell goblet squats, or 20-40 double unders

My score: 102 push ups; 115 pistols

So another thing to add on my ever growing list of CF stuff to work on: pistol squats. I need to work on doing it with my leg out in front and not letting it stray to the side when I need to balance myself.

In other news, 13.3 is going to be announced tomorrow, 8 am (Philippine time)!

I found this floating around on Pinterest

For me, half the battle is in my mind. I need to just shut up and do the work.

Mar 14 WOD: Open 13.2

I woke up this morning just in time to watch the live announcement of the Open workout 13.2 on the CrossFit Games website.

Grabbed from the CrossFit Games site

On paper, it looks deceivingly simple. But you know these are the ones you should be wary of. I watched the head-to-head throwdown between Annie and Lindsey Valenzuela and it was fascinating. They both started out hard and fast, and while Annie was able to sustain her pace, Lindsey started slowing down a bit until she was a round behind Annie. The latter scored 361 (12 rounds + 1 shoulder to overhead) while Lindsey scored 335 (11 rounds + 5 shoulder to overhead). Which means they did each round in less than a minute. That is insane.

For the CFMNL Open, this was the scale that they gave:

Grabbed from CFMNL

I'm registered under the female medium Rx category so I used 55 lbs for the shoulder to overhead (push press) and dead lift, and got a 20" box for the box jumps.

My score: 201 (6 rounds + 6 box jumps)

Mar 13 WOD: Running and wall balls + Wendler

Strength: Back squat

So it turns out this Wendler thing works. Because I checked my log and saw that what I could only do 5 reps of last month, I was able to do 7 reps of today.

65% x 5 = 5 x 80
75% x 5 = 5 x 95
85% x 5+ = 7 x 105

Assistance 1: Walking lunges (15 lb plate)

5 x 10

Assistance 2: Overhead squats

1 x 10 x 35
2 x 10 x 45
2 x 10 x 55

The heat was suffocating! I really felt those beads of sweat dripping off my nose in that last set. Summer has truly arrived.


WOD

I sucked at the WOD! We had to do 3 rounds of the following against a 3 minute running clock:

- 400m run
- Max reps wall balls
- Rest 3 minutes

That means you'll have to finish the run faster so you can do a lot of wall balls. I was able to finish the runs in 2 minutes or so, but I always had to take a breather before going at the wall balls. Hence, my very poor score: 35.

In other news, Open workout 13.2 will be announced tomorrow! I'm excited about it because I can't wait to see how my boxmates do, but at the same time I dread it because I know it's not going to be a walk in the park. Either way, there's no escaping 13.2.

Um, actually, 13.1 crushed me. But whatever.
One down, 4 to go!

Mar 8 WOD: Open 13.1 + Wendler

Strength: Shoulder press

It's deload week anyway, so I figured I might as well get this cycle over and done with. I didn't get the chance to do assistance work, though, because the bootcamp class was full again.

40% x 5 = 5 x 25

50% x 5 = 5 x 30

60% x 5+ = 10 x 35

Boring. The WOD, however, was anything but.

WOD: 13.1

I had mentally prepared for 13.1 yesterday. I read the Coaching Roundtable article on Tabata Times, I watched Julie Foucher's demo video:

I watched Carl Paoli's video breaking down 13.1:

Truth to tell, I wasn't able to focus on anything else because I was too busy checking out facebook and twitter for news about how my boxmates were doing. I was thinking so much about the workout that I'm pretty sure I even dreamt of the snatch last night. I am geeky and obsessive like that.

Well, on to the workout. Coach Matt agreed that I should be moved up to the medium Rx category, so this was the scale I used. 17 minutes AMRAP:

- 40 burpees to 6" target

- 30 snatch 45 lbs

- 30 burpees to target

- 30 snatch 55 lbs

- 20 burpees to target

- 30 snatch 65 lbs

- 10 burpees to target

- AMRAP snatch 75 lbs

I did pace myself on the burpees (not that I could do them fast in the first place) but the sheer number that had to be done before the snatch really does a number on your legs. By the time I reached the second snatch set, my form was suffering and it was getting more and more difficult to get the bar up.

My score: 115 (70 burpees + 30 snatch 45 lbs + 15 snatch 55 lbs)

CrossFit Open Workout 13.1

The first Open Workout of 2013 (more popularly known as "13.1") was announced 12 hours ago and the social media world -- the CrossFitting social media world, at least -- exploded with tweets and posts reacting to the announcement.

Grabbed from the CF Games website

Yep, that's the workout. In my humble newbie opinion, it seems to have been designed to weed out the weak from the outset. Anyone can do burpees, but the snatch is a whole other animal. It could make or break your chances of getting in a lot of reps, depending on your strength and whether or not you have the technique down.

At the local CFMNL Open, though, we are given scales.

Grabbed from CFMNL

I'm signed up for the Baby Rx category, but now that I've seen the weights that will be used for the Med Rx category, I want an "upgrade". I'm not sure if the coaches will allow it but I know I'll feel like I'm shortchanging myself if I do PVC overhead squats instead of the snatch. Besides, I don't want to be labeled a sandbagger!

Mar 5 WOD: Cleans

The first 15 minutes we did a clean complex similar to the snatch complex we did yesterday. We worked up to a heavy set of power clean + squat clean (touch and go). I shared a bar with Isabelle and Rach and we were able to work our way up to 95 lbs.

The metcon was similar to yesterday's as well. OTM x 10:

- 5 hang squat clean
- 15 box jumps (30/24")

Rach and I shared a 65 lb bar and used the prescribed 24" box. It was so hard on the legsss. I was panting like you wouldn't believe. Coach Jordan said that the recent WODs were geared to help us get ready for the Open (both the CFMNL Open and the Reebok CrossFit Open). That informational tidbit and the thought of having someone count your reps while you're working out makes me want to hyperventilate. (Note to self: It's just another WOD. It's just another WOD. It's just another freakin' WOD.)

I'm excited to see who among my boxmates will make it to Regionals. CFMNL is ready!

Feb 22 WOD: Good sweat + Wendler

Strength: Shoulder press

3 x 70% = 3 x 40
3 x 80% = 3 x 50
3+ x 90% = 6 x 55

Assistance 1: Good mornings

1 x 10 x 35
1 x 10 x 45
1 x 10 x 55
1 x 10 x 65
1 x 10 x 75

Assistance 2: Sit ups

5 x 10


WOD

We did body weight exercises today - sooo not my favorite!

It was 12 minutes AMRAP:

50 squats
30 push ups
15 pull ups

Rest 8 minutes, then reverse tabata (10 seconds on, 20 seconds off) L-sits.

Coach Matt worked out with us and at the beginning I tried to keep up with him (I know, what was I thinking?!) but he's just so fast. I just did my best to keep moving and not rest so much. Ooh, and I'm so happy I'm able to do a lot of real push ups now. However, I can't help but worm some of the reps, especially towards the end of the workout. Also, instead of doing assisted pull ups I did ring rows.

My score: 2 rounds + 6 pull ups

Oh, and big news: I finally found the guts to sign up for the CFMNL Open. I haven't paid yet though, so I might still be able to back out if I suddenly lose my nerve. Coach Matt said I could sign up for the Baby rx (no weights) initially, and if they think I could handle it they'll move me up to Medium Rx (35# thruster, front squat, overhead squat, push press, 16 kg kettlebell, knees to stomach, jumping pull ups).

I'm scurred.

Feb 20 WOD: Kettlepees + Wendler

Strength: Dead lifts

Warm up: 5 x 65; 5 x 85; 3 x 105

3 x 70% = 3 x 115
3 x 80% = 3 x 135
3+ x 90% = 6 x 150

Assistance 1: Kettlebell swings (WOD)

7 x 10 x 16 kg
3 x 10 x 12 kg

Assistance 2: Good mornings

1 x 10 x 35
1 x 10 x 45
1 x 10 x 55
1 x 10 x 65
1 x 10 x 75

WOD

Today's workout was simple -- OTM x 10 of the following:

- 10 kettlebell swings (as heavy as possible)
- 5 burpees

That means you have to finish as quickly as possible so you'll have time to rest during the remainder of each minute. I used a 16 kg kettlebell the first 7 rounds, then went down to a 12 kg.

My score: 10 (though I admit that a few of my burpees were a li'l janky)

In other news, CFMNL is having it's very first Open. I wasn't seriously considering signing up until this afternoon, after exchanging tweets with other boxmates. There are 3 categories: Big RX, Med Rx, and Baby rx. I have only to decide which category to join.

Poster grabbed from CFMNL

More details here: http://www.cfmnl.com/th_event/cfmnl-open-sign-up/. What am I getting myself into?!