Why Iceland Women are Ridiculous CrossFitters

In case you haven't done so, go check out my recap of our visit to CrossFit Reykjavik and meeting Iceland Annie. If you have, read on.

from crossfit.com: Davidsdottir, Thorisdottir, and Helgadottir (l to r) all qualified for the CrossFit Games

A few months ago, an article came out about the Icelandic women and how they absolutely DOMINATED the Europe region during the Reebok CrossFit Open. (see "The Icelandic Advantage" by Jane Holgate) The top 3 women out of all of Europe are from Iceland: Annie Thorisdottir, Katrin Davidsdottir, and Thuridur Helgadottir swept the top spots. Hjordis Oskarsdottir followed closely in fifth. 


Guess what. During the European Regional Competition in May (yes, ALL of Europe was a region), the top three repeated: Annie first, Katrin second, and Thuridur third. Hjordis came in eighth. Astounding consistency and showing of fitness for a country the size of Ohio.


The above-mentioned article cites 3 main reasons why these Icelandic women dominate the scene: genes, mental fortitude, and culture. Emma Keen, a non-Icelandic athlete said in the article, "“I think their general attitude to their well-being is much more serious than in the UK where a lot of people's expendable income here is spent on alcohol and socializing and begrudge £30 gym membership,” Keen says. “The Icelandics think nothing of spending a lot of money to benefit their health.”


[Warning: this has absolutely no scientific steeping, but purely speculation and observation. So for you geeky scientists that need proof, you can look elsewhere.] I absolutely think culture has a lot to do with it. I saw evidence of it during our trip to Iceland.  Besides visiting CF Reykjavik and working out with their team going to regionals, here's why.


In one of the hotels we stayed in, we were flipping through channels and came across this Icelandic game show that pitted high schoolers against each other in fitness skills. Even though it was in Icelandic, seeing these young teenagers doing push ups, dips, max holds from a bar, and other movements was unlike anything that you'd see State-side. It was clearly a normal thing for these high schoolers to be involved with physical fitness in more than just a "40-minute-walk-around-the-track" PE class. Anywho, here are some screen shots of the events. 

obstacle course involving monkey bars, cargo nets, and other activities

lifting "stones" - looked like rubber balls filled with sand

this was the biggest difference between Iceland women and American women: max DEFICIT push ups

boys held their own in a max dips contest

max hang = mental fortitude

I did say why the Iceland women are ridiculous CrossFitters. Why not men? My theory is that while the teenage boys were in the competition, they were doing similar things that other males across the world do. In the US, it's socially acceptable for a guy to be doing dips, push ups, and pull ups. If you are a female and you do these things, then good on ya, but let's be clear you are probably above average in terms of strength. 


Do you think the US could ever get to this point? Would this even be something you would like to see? Working in education, I see gym classes being cut left and right to give more classroom time, so I think the attitude of Americans would have to change a great deal for fitness to play a bigger role. 

Azadeh Bouramond: Dominated South Central Region

Azadeh Bouramond - picture from Crossfit.com

Azadeh Boroumand. You likely didn't know of this name before the first weekend of CrossFit Regional competition, and even if you did, it's probably because you're related to her, work out with her, or somehow remembered her from a few CrossFit.com videos she was in. That's actually how I recognized the name, but I won't act all high and mighty and tell you I knew all of her stats. Here's some background that I found on the interwebs.

Boroumand is not a stranger to competition with her background in volleyball. She went to U. of Pittsburgh for it, but after college, wasn't sure where she was headed. She ended up at Get Lifted, a gym in El Paso, TX run by Paul Smith (who incidentally placed 4th in the men's division at the South Central Regionals) Boroumand was on the team for the Affiliate Cup at the 2010 Games and then placed 6th as an individual during the 2011 South Central Regionals. This year, she placed 45th in the world during the Open, but it was her performance at Regionals that really convinced people of her dominance.

One of the regions to kick off the season this past weekend was South Central where Azadeh Boroumand (first name pronounced AH-zah-deh) absolutely crushed the competition. She placed 2nd in the first event ("Diane") and didn't look back after that, placing 1st in every other event. Where else did we see this extremely rare occurrance? You got it, Iceland Annie's regional performance last year. And oh yeah, Annie went on to win the 2011 CrossFit Games.

At 26 years of age, Boroumand stands at 5ft. 10in. and 155lbs. and is a great example that you can be a lean, feminine woman and STILL be a badass that is strong/agile/fast/etc.  At the South Central region she blazed through the row/pistol/hang clean workout in just over 12 minutes, (beating her competition by over a minute and a half) and then proceeded to snatch 170#. What?! She even elected to not go on to the 175# bar since she already clinched first place for that workout. Going into the 6th and final event, she literally could have come in last and still would have maintained 1st place and gone to the Games. Staying consistent though, Azadeh came in 1st for that workout, securing her spot in the 2012 CrossFit Games. (note: both men and women had to complete the first mini-workout of Event 6 which included muscle ups and heavy deads in order to go to the Games) Out of the 6 workouts she did, she currently holds 4 of the best times/results out of the three regions that competed (South Central, South East, Canada West)

If you hop on the Boroumand Bandwagon, I don't blame you. She'll be a force at the Games, and clearly has the tools necessary to stand up to past winners Kristan Clever and Annie Thorisdottir.

picture from Get Lifted

Thoughts on Reebok CrossFit Games Open WOD #12.1

A year ago, 26,000 people around the world signed up for the CrossFit Games Open. CrossFit opened the doors to the world once again (50,000 people as of Feb. 22, 2012 in fact...) to throw down and see who is the fittest in the world. Folks will have 5 weeks and as many workouts to sort themselves by region. Top 60 men, top 60 women, and top 30 teams move on to each regional competition. From there, 2-3 each of men, women, and teams move on to the CrossFit Games held at the Home Depot Center in California. Last year Rich Froning Jr., "Iceland" Annie Thorisdottir, and CF New England were the respective winners. In the Masters Division, the winners were: Scott DeTore, Susan Habbe (45-49), Gord Mackinnon, Mary Beth Litsheim (50-54), Steve Anderson, Shelley Noyce (55-60), and Greg Walker (60+). 

 Something new this year is that past champions need to compete in the Open. In the past, champions have always had a bye to the Games. This year, if a champion takes a qualifying spot at Regionals, an additional person is invited to the Games (on top of the 2 or 3 already qualifying). Let's take a look at the first workout of the 2012 season. 

Mid burpee. Photo courtesy of Tom Cercedes of CF Del Val

WORKOUT 12.1
Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes of: BURPEES
This workout begins from the standing position. The Athlete will move from flat on the ground to touching an object with both hands that is 6 inches above their max reach. Score is total reps completed.


STRATEGY
Keep moving! Some folks will go all out from the start, but may be gassed by minute four. This is totally dependent on how you work and what your stamina is like. If you know you can go the full 7 minutes at high intensity, go for it. If, however, you know 7 minutes is a long time for burpees, keep a pace so that you are just moving the whole time. Also, if you're someone who likes to rest, perhaps try going at full intensity for a set amount of reps and then take 5-10 seconds to rest. Try to have someone nearby to yell at you, encourage you, or do whatever it is that you need to keep moving. It may help to pick a number ahead of time and try to reach that number. Something that may be helpful is to chunk numbers so that you create mini goals. For instance, pick 25 as the first number to get to and then count another 25. Since most people work better with short term goals, this could be helpful mentally. The fact is, you can always do one more. This is a testament to your ability to push your limits and quite simply, how much you're willing to give. It's a matter of WILL.

In terms of the actual burpee movement, there are some things that might help, namely, where you jump your feet. One possible way is to jump your feet OUTSIDE your hands, not in. Doing this creates less emphasis on your knees/quads and more on your posterior chain and hip flexion. If you watch anyone extremely proficient at burpees, they always jump their feet out and keep their hands in a push up width, however, this is usually not to a target. The second consideration is this target. Jumping your feet INSIDE your feet will allow you to stand taller, essentially making your jump shorter. BUT it places more emphasis on the quads which will probably be burning anyway. 

REACTION
 In true egalitarian fashion, CrossFit has posted a workout that is accessible to everyone around the world. Simple in nature, yet devastating by the end of 7 minutes, burpees haunt CrossFitters in their sleep (and while awake). The fact that no equipment is necessary makes this one of, if not the most accessible workout to date. EVERYONE from eight year veterans to day one CrossFitters should be able to get a score and could theoretically do it two or three times to best themselves. However, the standard of jumping 6 inches will be quite different for those who usually speed through with half open hips and hair-thin jumps. Generally your lighter, more agile athletes will fare better at this single modality workout. Heavier athletes are probably cursing this workout, (if you were anywhere near social media when the workout came out, you probably saw things like this actual paragraph posted by my friend, Prime (as in Optimus Prime): 

"Way to knock it out of the park Crossfit HQ. Reduce the open from 6 weeks to 5 and why dont we have week one be a 7 min AMRAP of burpees? Way to go. Next week will be a 6 min AMRAP of hugs and cartwheels.....but the RX will come in a FULL bear hug, ass out hugs are scaling."


Needless to say, Prime is much larger (and stronger) than me and his reaction is hilarious. Either way, this is just the first of five workouts. I guarantee strength and size will play a bigger role (pun intended) overall for the CrossFit Open and true Transformers will reign supreme. At the end of these five weeks, everyone will have forgotten the simple burpee workout and will be talking about that crazy C+J/OHS/Snatch/deadlift/etc. workout. 

Speal at CF KoP for a cert

Christy Phillips winning 2010 CF Central East Region

PREDICTION
This one is going to go to my favorite CrossFitter, Chris Spealler. Although I have Mikko coming in a very close second (he once did 1000 burpees for time and did 30 burpees every minute with REST for the first 15 minutes), Spealler simply has a shorter way to go on the hip opening and jump. Although Speal has gained weight for the Games season, I still think he's got the engine he's always had. For the women, it's a little tougher to predict, but I'm going to go with Christy Phillips from CrossFit MPH in DC. I was able to see Christy's performance in the 2010 Central East Regionals and she is a force. Her determination to win is what's going to get her 1st in this workout. 

How many burpees are you going for? 

What's your strategy? 

What are your predictions??

Register for the 2012 CrossFit Games Open

It's Feb. 1st and you know what that means. Make your mom proud and register for the CrossFit Games Open. Last year over 26,000 athletes competed around the world over several weeks by completing the workouts on their own or at a registered CrossFit affiliate and submitted their scores. I'm pumped to see the turnout this year after Reebok's huge endorsement and support and ESPN2's coverage of the 2011 CrossFit Games. Registration is only $20 for US residents.

Who's registering?? Any new CrossFitters?

How many people do you think will register?

click on the picture to register

Thoughts on CrossFit Open Sectionals WOD #11.6

In 7 minutes, complete:

3 thrusters, 100#/65#

3 chest to bar pull ups

6 thrusters

6 c2b pull ups

9 thrusters

9 c2b pull ups

12...

12...

15...

15...

etc.

This workout is an AMRAP of sorts. You basically continue up the ladder until 7 minutes is over. Or, as Tony Budding puts it in the video explanation "the workout never ends." OOF!

Some people may call this Fran, (21-15-9 thrusters and pull ups); actually it's anything but Fran. Thrusters for men are 5# heavier and chest to bar adds a completely different element to the workout. Also, the repetitions are a ladder UP, not down. In addition, it's a time priority workout (time is constant, amount of work done is up to you) vs. Fran which is a task-priority workout (amount of work is constant, time is up to you). 

PREP WORK
Make sure your lats and overhead position (thoracic spine) are in check. Get that foam roller and work your upper back and lats. Then get a lacrosse ball or tennis ball and roll on that for a bit. Good overhead position is going to help you not get a "no rep" for locking out overhead in the thruster. Working the lats will also help with the front rack position so you're not holding that bar with only your arms. Speaking of thruster, let's focus on your squat. Open that hip capsule with the foam and ball and then get yourself up against a wall in a squat 90 degrees (lay on the floor, butt up against a wall and pretend the wall is the floor in a squat).

THRUSTER

Barbell must start on the ground, no racks. You MAY squat clean it and you should. From the bottom you should go into a steady, but rhythmic set of thrusters. At the top of the thruster, be sure to get that bar over the heels. It is not enough to just get the head through the arms as is the case in other standards. In going fast, judges must be sure the arms are completely locked out at the top as it is easy to move quickly and not fully extend those elbows. At the bottom, hips must be below knees, aka below parallel. Try your best to hang on to these reps and not drop the bar; dropping will cost you precious seconds in this short workout. Thrusters take a lot out of people, so these will get heavy and breathing will get hard.

Check out Jon Gilson from Again Faster on efficient Thrusters

CHEST TO BAR PULL UPS

For those that may not know, a chest to bar pull up is where you pull violently and touch your chest to the pull up bar. Anything below the clavicle will count in this case, but it MUST touch. Judging will be tough for this, especially if the athlete is wearing a loose shirt. Judges will have to hold onto the attached pull up bar and feel the vibration from contact; as an athlete, make it easy for the judge to count, don't come close and cause them to have doubt (again, nothing worse than a missed rep even if you know it touched) By adding chest to bar, many people with butterfly pull ups will need to revert back to kipping. Those that have butterfly chest to bar will prevail over those that don't, simply by the fact that it takes less time to cycle through pull ups butterfly style. If you have butteflies, (not the nervous kind, the pull up kind) but are not confident in your butterfly c2b, stick with kipping. Better to stay in rhythm and lose a second or two rather than lose your rhythm and having to drop from the bar to reset. If you don't have chest to bar at all, get that big kip going and pull with all your might! 

STRATEGY

7 minutes is not a lot of time. However, doing these two movements may make it feel like a long time. You want to move consistently and steadily. The trick here will be to get through the 3s, 6s, and 9s and then focus on not breaking the remaining thrusters. (this number may be less or more for you, depending on strength and lungs) If you do feel the need to drop the bar, try to instead rest in the front rack position standing up. From here, take a couple of breaths, front squat, and go into the next thruster. This is a way to rest while keeping the bar up off the ground. (High elbows help in the top position!) 

For pull ups, make every rep count. Again, a missed rep takes just about as energy as a true c2b, so try not to waste that energy. For those with weaker pull ups, come off the bar and reset yourself, then get on and get a big kip going. The more efficient you are at kipping, (tight, hollow gymnastic body instead of loose, flailing spastic one) the better you'll be in the long run.
GRIP will be a huge factor in this workout. You should know this if you've ever done regular Fran. Be prepared from some tight forearms. This might be a reason to go into that front rack position for just a beat.

PREDICTIONS

The best in the world can do Fran in sub 2 minutes; c2b Fran in under 3 minutes. Knowing this, combined with the fact that the ladder for this WOD is going UP, makes me think that top athletes will get around 180+ repetitions. Athletes will score themselves as having 0 rounds and a total amount of reps. Below, I added each round after each thruster and pull up.  "3s" means the round of 3s. The first number is the total after completed thrusters, the second number is total after completed pull ups. (assuming you complete each part of that round)

"3s"

3

6

"6s"

12

18

"9s"

27

36

"12s"

48

60

"15s"

75

90

"18s"

108

126

"21s"

147

168

"24s"

192

216

If someone reaches 180 repetitions, they would have done the same amount of reps as a double Fran (which is a total of 90 reps). This will have the person doing the first 12 thrusters in the round of 24. Do I think it's possible for someone out there to get into the pull ups of that round? Yes. We've seen some really amazing performances (at least on the scoreboard) and seeing videos of some of these guys and gals doing regular Fran is scary. I haven't predicted particular people before, but my money is on Dan Bailey out of Ohio for this one. I first saw Dan last year when I was judging Regionals and he is a monster who literally will put everything on the line for a WOD. Thrusters and c2b are right up his alley (along with most other movements). For women, I think top reps will be around 150. 

OVERALL

The goal of HQ was to include as many people as possible in the sectionals workouts. Over 24,000 registered which I would call a success for that goal. The pros of this format was to be as inclusive as possible and allow flexibility in getting the workout in. It also was cool to compare yourself to others around the WORLD, let alone your region. As for cons, some people would say it was too long or drawn out. I know some people's training has suffered due to scheduling their week around the sectional WOD. I'm not sure what next year will bring, but I can imagine HQ sticking with the goal of inclusion and openness. The CF community is reliable for providing feedback, so I'm sure the higher ups are already thinking of how to proceed next year. With the popularity of CF and how much it has grown, I can see regions such as "Asia" or "Europe" expanding to have their own continental regionals. As for the US, who knows how they'll format it. All I know is that I need to get training for next year!

UPDATE: Josh Bridges came in first with an incredible 169 reps. Want proof? Here you go:

Any advice for WOD 11.6 you have if you've already done the WOD or foresee anything we should keep in mind?
What are your thoughts on the entire sectional format? Like? Dislike?

Thoughts on CrossFit Open Sectionals WOD #11.5

how I expect to feel after this workout

AMRAP in 20 minutes:

5 power cleans, 145#/100#

10 toes to bar

15 wallballs, 20# to 10'/14# to 9'

Another WOD, another AMRAP. Seems like HQ is staying consistent on allowing the most number of people to stay in competition. Just like the last few WODs though, the second movement is one that may present a problem for some athletes. This one is going to be a burner and like the picture says, I expect to be toast after this one. 

POWER CLEANS

Five power cleans at a moderate weight. Certainly not heavy, but not light either. Technically these do NOT have to be power cleans; if this is near your max, you can squat clean it. The standard is that the bar must start on the floor and end standing completely straight up with elbows slightly in front of the bar in a rack position. Stronger athletes will be able to string two or all five cleans, but make sure not to bounce off the floor as this will result in a "no rep." Form is key here, especially in the later rounds. Pop that hip open and let the posterior chain do the work, not your arms! At the top, you can save yourself some time by not going into a full rack position with triceps parallel to the ground; instead, get elbows around enough to count and then move onto the next rep. You may drop the bar after each rep, but the bar must not be moving at the bottom.

TOES TO BAR

Exactly how it sounds. Hang from the pull up bar with straight arms, start with both feet behind your body and then swing them up to touch the pull up bar either with the tops of your feet, actual toes, or soles of your feet. Both feet must be touching the bar at the same time. You may string these, but your feet have to come behind your body. Arms may bend, but only after you have straight arms at the bottom. Most proficient athletes will string these and use a kipping motion to get several or all in a row. Others who may struggle with this movement will have to do their best to get one! For those that don't know what this movement is and are also wondering what CrossFitters do for "abs," I suggest you give a set of these a try!

WALL BALLS

Standard weights and heights, there should be no surprise here. Squat must be below parallel before the start of the movement and ball must TOUCH at or above the designated height. The ball may NOT be caught off the bounce; you may either catch it and start your next wall ball OR you have to let it drop and make sure it is not bouncing before you pick it up. Since it has to touch the wall at 10ft. or 9ft., essentially this means the middle of the ball will be touching the line. (since the medicine ball is a sphere and the point closest to the wall will be perpendicular to the wall; in other words, the top of the ball will never touch the wall) What this means is that for those athletes whose normal standard is entire ball OVER the line, this is a bit easier movement, since the standard calls for only the ball to touch AT or ABOVE the line. Don't make more work for yourself if you don't have to, but also make sure you don't waste a rep by shorting it. This also means that even if you throw the ball 15ft. in the air, it will not count unless it touches the wall. Those with depth issues; you CANNOT use a box or ball to check depth, as this will aid in the push off/bounce at the bottom. Use a good judge that can give you good feedback. 

TIMING

20 minutes is a LONG time for this WOD. The first few rounds could potentially go by very quickly, but why rush and burnout? Take it slow and steady, trying to string each section of the WOD. See below for why. 

ANALYSIS

Looking at it big picture, this WOD focuses on the following body movements:

pulling with posterior chain (hamstrings/glutes/erectors)

pulling with midline/abs

pushing with glutes/hamstrings

In other words, your "core" is going to take a beating. 

Assuming you got at least one rep in the 5min. AMRAP of 165#/110# squat clean to overhead WOD, you can do at least one rep here. Ideally you'll want to string the cleans and at five reps, this should be doable at least for the first few rounds. Take a deep breathe and hold it, and power through those cleans. 

Toes to bar will deteriorate the fastest, no matter what the skill level. Local muscular failure will occur anywhere from 3rd to 5th round for fairly fit athletes; sooner for others. Technique in kipping will be paramount in order to string t2b. Make sure you hit the feet every rep, as a miss will be costly. I can easily see people going to singles or doubles of these in later rounds. 

Wall balls are literally a pain in the butt and your glutes and lungs will be firing from these. Again, stringing will be ideal and breaking them up into sets of 10/5, 8/7, 5/5/5 will be used by many. 

Breathing is important in this long workout. A quick deep breathe in before each clean might be one strategy, or holding your breath for all five could be another. During toes to bar and wall balls, it will be important to keep a nice, steady, even breath. If you've never practiced belly breathing (breathing not just to the lungs, but all the way down into the belly), then you might want to experiment before this WOD. 

Grip is going to surprise people I think. The grip from t2b will fatigue and you will feel it on the cleans. Try to keep a looser grip on the t2b instead of a death grip. I think this will help you in the long run. You may tape to prevent rips, this might be a good idea since the t2b is a big swinging motion. 

This is not a WOD I can see many people doing twice within a few days, simply because of the toes to bar. I've seen many people need at least a few days to recover. Warming up thoroughly and stretching before AND after the WOD will help this recovery, especially any hip openers, glute stretches, and midline stretches. Massages and ice are your friend after this workout! 

PREDICTIONS

20 minutes is a long time. There will be some folks who will have a score of 5 from the cleans and I'm not sure how they plan on spending the next 19-18 minutes of the WOD. Hopefully they can muster up the momentum and technique to get at least a few toes to bar. (Lean back and REACH with those piggies! Use a kip similar to a pull up) For those with t2b, I would expect coming out of the gate pretty nice, but then coming to a screeching halt around rounds 4-7 because of muscle fatigue. Those that can't handle the cleans will lose time there as well, especially if they are heavy enough to be treated as max efforts later in the workout. A full round of this is 30 repetitions and a quick round would take about 45 seconds. I predict firebreathers and top scores will be in the 14-15 rounds for both men and women. Those that will come out on top are those who can handle the 145/100 weight well, that have the gymnastic prowess and technique to keep moving on those toes to bar, and the lungs to get those wall balls done. 

Other thoughts, especially from those who have tried it? 

coming next...WOD 11.6 (AMRAP in 7 minutes of thrusters and c2b pull ups)

Thoughts on CrossFit Open Sectionals WOD #11.4

Camille Leblanc-Bazinet transitioning on the muscle up

HQ just came out with the following for WOD 11.4:

AMRAP in 10 minutes of:

60 bar-facing burpees

30 overhead squats, 120#/90#

10 muscle ups

This workout is continuing the trend of separating the pack of 23,000+ people competing. It allows those folks to get at least 1 repetition, while allowing those with the skills to advance further ahead. 


BURPEES
This burpee is different than normal ones in that there is no standard for vertical position of the body. All they want you to do is have thighs and chest on the ground at the bottom, be perpendicular to the barbell, and then jump with two feet over the barbell and land on two feet. You may come up from the burpee and step UP to the bar, but you have to jump OVER the bar with both feet. (aka no step overs or bunny hops over) If the jump over is no good, you MAY jump back over correctly without completing a new burpee. I imagine staying low and twisting mid air to be in position for the next burpee will make people more proficient than others. Going fast out of the gate probably won't be advantageous since it will gas you more than desired for the OHS.


OVERHEAD SQUATS
This weight is moderately heavy enough to separate people at this point. Your shoulders and chest will be feeling the burpees a bit, but your lungs even more. You must control breathing and composure to get these overhead squats done in as few sets as possible. Dropping the bar will cost athletes a good deal of time to snatch or clean and jerk back up. You may squat snatch directly into an overhead squat. Interestingly, there was no mention of taking the bar off a rack. While people are asking, I would play it on the safe side and take it all from the floor rather than risk the very off-chance that HQ would accept a bar off the rack. Range of motion will be key here; judges need to be discerning of open hips at the top and below parallel at the bottom. HQ knows this is a movement that a lot of people short, so mind your hips and butt!


MUSCLE UP
For those that may not know, a muscle up is getting from a hanging position on gymnastic rings to pulling yourself up and into a dip on top of the rings. In gymnastics, it's such a basic movement that it is not scored in competition, but in CrossFit, it's a high skill and strength movement. The reason they placed these at the end of the WOD is that HQ knows many folks will not be able to complete this movement. For those that can do them, ten repetitions is not unreasonable and they can move on to the second round. However, doing 60 burpees and 30 OHS right before will tax you and I think many people who have mu's will be surprised by this when they get to the rings. In terms of range of motion, flashing the wrists out ensures that a full lockout at the bottom is obtained. At the top, elbows must be straight and up at the top of the dip. Tony Budding mentions that this should be a true muscle up with no huge kips or roll overs. This might be cause for confusion, as most people need a pretty big kip. However, there are "butterfly muscle ups" and some videos out there of people being inverted on the rings with feet completely above them and then using the downward momentum to swing into a muscle up. I believe this is what HQ does NOT want. As long as you don't try to be "cutesy" with it, just do your regular muscle up. Lungs will recover by now, but muscle fatigue will be the biggest factor. You will see a lot of people resting longer than you think they should, but they are trying to get a feel for their body and recovering enough to succeed on that mu rather than fail an attempt.


TIME
Ten minutes is not a long time domain, nor is it intended to be. It is meant to weed out those who cannot do a muscle up, and to some extent, a moderately heavy overhead squat. 


STRATEGY
Get through those burpees. Fast enough to get them done, but not so quickly that you burn out for the overhead squats. Try to get all 30 overhead squats without dropping the bar. If this isn't possible, try to get them done in as few sets as possible. This is a heavy weight for some of you (me included!) so do the best you can. Make sure you hit the standards because there's nothing worse than going through most of a movement and getting it taken away from you. If you have muscle ups, get as many as you can get done. Each one will separate you further and further from the pack. If you are lucky/fit enough to get a full round down, get on those burpees as quickly as possible. 


PREDICTIONS
I can't see anyone doing 2 full rounds, however, I can see a LOT of scores of 60 and 90 (60 for those who can't handle the OHS weight and 90 for those who don't have muscle ups). Beyond that, I see the top 20% guys getting 1 full round plus some burpees. The elite men may get 1 round + 60 burpees + some OHS and elite women will get 1 round + some burpees. I would be really amazed at anyone that gets 2 full rounds (and I would want to see video!) 

Thoughts on CrossFit Open Sectionals WOD 11.3

Apologies in advance, I was away on business in the beginning of the week, so I am getting to this late.

Ditty about to jerk at CF KoP

HQ surprised me with this one. As their message was "everyone should do these workouts, no scaling is encouraged" I didn't expect there to be a heavy lift, let alone for multiple repetitions. However, they have given the bigger, stronger folks what they've wanted: 

AMRAP in 5 minutes of:

Squat clean, 165#(men)/110#(women)

Jerk, 165#(men)/110#(women)

You can think of this workout in many different ways, in fact, at least 10 ways:

-squat clean and press

-squat clean and push press

-squat clean and push jerk

-squat clean and split jerk

-squat clean and thruster

-power clean and front squat and press

-power clean and front squat and push press

-power clean and front squat and push jerk

-power clean and front squat and split jerk

-power clean and front squat and thruster

The whole point is that you must achieve 3 key points:

1. the bar must start on the ground 

2. you must be in a squat below parallel with the bar in a rack position

3. you must lock the bar out overhead in a stable position with hips, knees, and arms locked out with feet underneath the hips

SCORING:

Because this is a heavy weight, splitting up the scoring in to a squat clean and jerk does 2 things:

1. allow most people to clean and squat the weight. If there is failure, it would most likely be on the jerk, not the clean. 

2. differentiates people's scores after they submit them. Let's say two people complete 20 clean and jerks, but one of them is able to squat clean the bar in the last two seconds. That person achieves one more rep (41) than the other person (40). This will prevent a lot of "ties" at the same data point. 

STRATEGY:

Form will be key here. 5 minutes is a LONG time to do heavy olympic lifting and anything involving a loaded squat (even a wall ball) taxes the body unlike most other movements. Some people might be strong enough to string together the first 5 or even 10 repetitions. Personally I think this is not advantageous in the long run. Instead, let the bar drop from the top. Controlling down to the bottom will reserve your resources and allow for better recovery. 

The best method (if you can manage it) is the squat clean and thruster. It will save the most time which again, saves your body from being under that bar. Using the momentum gained from the thruster up can make a huge difference. Of course, if no momentum can be gained from the bottom of the squat, then a split jerk or push jerk must be used. If splitting be sure to bring those feet back in and don't drop the bar too early!

Let's say you get the squat clean, but fail on the jerk. You are allowed to power clean and then attempt the jerk. However, the 2nd clean will not count towards your points, even if you do a full squat. In other words, you cannot count two squats in a row. It must be scored squat/jerk/squat/jerk/squat/jerk, etc. 

In terms of timing, consistency is key. Don't walk too far away from the bar and be sure to set yourself properly. Deep breath in and drive yourself into the ground ready to receive that bar in the rack position. Either dive under the bar in a full squat or power clean it and go down into the squat. Rise up either into the thruster or stand up, set your feet back under the hips for the jerk, and get under that bar. Drop the bar and repeat, but ONLY if you are recovered enough for the lift. Failure on a clean is frustrating to the mind and taxing on the body.

MISTAKES PEOPLE WILL MAKE:

-not locking out their arms, hips, or knees

-not locking out with the bar over their heels (when tired, most people will keep the bar out front)

-rushing too fast and gassing themselves in the first minute

-dropping the bar too early and not demonstrating stability. This is a fine line but bar cannot be wobbling

-not bringing their feet back in from a split or being too wide on the push jerk. I don't think Tony Budding actually addressed foot width, but I would not count someone who was very wide even if they had the bar overhead locked out. Feet need to come back under the hips or at least come in from a wide squat width

THINGS THAT WILL BURN:

-glutes, shoulders, quads, lungs, lower back

I PREDICT:

-top guys will get 90+ reps (45 clean and jerks) This equates to 9 per minute or about one every 6-7 seconds. There are people capable of basically dropping the bar and completing a rep right after that for all of 5 minutes. Top women will get 80+ reps.

-this will separate the crowd immensely. It will also push the stronger people way ahead of the pack. Some of the lighter guys (who may be doing this with bodyweights below the prescribed weight) might complain about this, but it just goes to show that strength and technique matters. Chris Spealler is 5'5" and 145lbs. but I bet he gets 30+ reps.

Thoughts on CrossFit Open Sectionals WOD #11.2

a perfectly plank push up at CrossFit KoP


AMRAP in 15 minutes of:

9 deadlifts (155# for men, 100# for women)

12 push ups (release hands at bottom of the push up)

15 box jumps (24" for men, 20" for women)

UPDATE (see at bottom)

This is the second of six workouts posted by CrossFit HQ for over 23,000 people that have registered for the CrossFit Open Sectionals. Folks will have from Tuesday night until Sunday to post their times on the official Crossfit Games site. They must either do the workout at a registered affiliate or video tape themselves with strict standards in each case. The first WOD was AMRAP in 10 minutes of double unders and light power snatches. A definite gut check and lung burner. This one is not too different, although it has some elements that need to be considered. Let's dive in. 

Folks are going to start out gun-ho, especially those on the lighter side. People that won't be happy are those looking for strength-based WOD with a heavy element. Lets face it, 155# deadlift is not that heavy at first glance. This was done with intention. CFHQ wants everyone to participate and NOT scale. A 155# deadlift will be achievable by the majority of competitors. Even if it's not, they have 15 minutes to set a PR and even if they get one single rep, that person is still in the running. Deadlifts cannot be bounced off the ground, nor can you use a sumo deadlift position, meaning hands need to be outside the legs. Deadlifts CAN be dropped from the top which may come into play later in the workout. 

After the deads come 12 push ups. Again, not incredibly difficult, although women will have a harder time than usual since one of the standards is no "snaking" or bowing of the body. The body must be fully plank and straight through the entire range of motion which will be tough for those used to getting away with the snaking. Other standards include feet no wider than shoulders and hands can't be so wide that their elbows form an angle greater than 90 degrees at the bottom of the push up. Another thing people might not be used to is the "Games standard" push up introduced in the summer of 2010. At the bottom of the push up, athletes must release their hands off the ground. This ensures that they are fully on the ground at the bottom and not "shorting" their push up. It will take some time away from people, so practicing and getting a rhythm will be important. 

Lastly, the athlete must complete 15 box jumps at 24 or 20 inches. You may not step up on the box (unless in the two older Master divisions) and hips must be completely open either standing on the box or jumping off and above the box. Heels do not have to be completely on the box although it is recommended for safety. At CrossFit King of Prussia we use 25in. and 21in. boxes, respectively, so we will need to configure them in a way to achieve standards. Hopefully regularly using them will make the 24in. seem easy!

Although the main critics are those who want to display their raw strength in a max deadlift or at least heavy dead rep scheme, the fittest will still come out on top. 15 minutes is a long time and if an athlete reaches 10 rounds (entirely realistic since the first posted result is 10 rounds, 9 deadlifts by Paige Nutt) then they will have completed 90 deadlifts, 120 push ups, and 150 box jumps. Athletes will want to come out and go nuts on the first few rounds, but they should be careful to save some gas for minutes 10-14. Minute 15 is just adrenaline and I wouldn't be surprised if they get more work done in that last minute than the middle rounds. (This typically happens for every workout) Consistency will be key. Being able to drop the bar from the top may sound good, but those who do the best will be holding onto that bar and completing all 9 deadlifts in one shot. Same goes for the push ups and box jumps. There is a lot of transition and places in this WOD to rest and your body will be telling you to do just that. Those who rest less will come out on top. By minute 6 or 7, the lower back will be on fire from the deadlifts and this in turn will affect box jumps and somewhat push up stability. Deadlifts will get ugly with rounded backs, but perfect form is not a requirement of the WOD. Also around that time your chest will be blown up from the push ups. Having hands off at the bottom will become a welcomed rest station in between reps, but again, tell yourself not to rest too long. The plank position will be a problem, but must be maintained for submitting an official score. Frustration might set in during the push up station, but you must remember that it's twelve reps and one by one they should be done. For box jumps, resting at the top will allow the reflex reaction at the bottom to spring back up.

One of the hardest things to do for this WOD will actually be: judging. Deadlifts will get ugly, but making sure people open the hip at the top in the beginning when they are flying through will be tough. Also tough will be making sure athletes don't bounce the bar off the ground intentionally. As for push ups, there's so much grey area as to what is "snaking" and what is not that I can see people arguing, especially those that might do it without the self-awareness to know what they were doing. Box jumps will be like the deadlift: needing to make sure the athlete opens the hip at the top even if they are moving fast in the first rounds. A big piece of judging is telling the athlete what they need to correct and in the first round or two, this can be tough with speedy athletes. Being able to count current reps, keep track of rounds, AND tell the athlete in a split second what they should or shouldn't do is a tough thing! Judging at Central East Regionals last year taught me that.

In the end, I think the folks who have the strength endurance to get through 100+ deadlifts and 120+ push ups will come out on top. Those with good box jumps might prevail since they have the most reps, but I think these people's lungs and fast twitch will suffer from the deads wrecking their back. This is also not a workout I expect people to do twice (as they may have done for the first WOD) since they will need a few days to recover. Strategy should be nice and steady, trying to complete each section unbroken. This will cut down on rest and ultimately increase rounds. Remember, each rep counts, so even one more box jump could put you ahead of 10 or even 50 people. Total reps in one round is 36. Each deadlift should take about a second, each push up slightly less than a second, and each box jump a little over a second. Top people simply won't stop the entire 15 minutes or if they do, it will be very short rest time. Placement of the equipment is also key. Have the bar and box close to each other so you don't waste time transitioning. After the box jumps, your lungs will be burning and you will want to rest before picking up that bar, but it must be a quick transition in order for you to stay competitive. I predict top men will have 14+ rounds and top women will have 12+ rounds. 

 I like that it is a workout that is similar to a normal mainsite WOD. Classic CrossFit. Although critics say that it is too much like WOD 11.1 and favors light guys/gals, it is doing what HQ wanted: including 99% of those who paid $10 to register and compete among the best in the world. There are professional athletes competing with soccer moms and grandads and that to me is pretty cool. I predict that there will be opportunity for stronger folks to display their power, but it will most likely be in a CrossFit Total (max shoulder press, back squat, deadlift) or max lift (clean and jerk, bench press, etc) so that grandma can still be in the competition with a PVC bench press. (although there are plenty of grandmas out there with impressive bench presses!)

What are your thoughts on WOD 11.2? Happy with it or not? Plays to your strengths or weaknesses?


UPDATE:  thoughts on the Sectional WOD push up standard for women: watching some girls try it tonight, I noticed that at the bottom of their push ups they were, uh, anatomically already in a "chest up" position. Even if you don't move at all during the push up, you will still have your shoulders way above your hips. To mitigate this (and avoid a 'no rep') you should both ‎1. lift your butt up to become level before the actual push up and 2. keep your head DOWN (look down at the ground) instead of looking up or forward. This will keep your spine aligned correctly and allow you to stay in a plank position for the push up

2010 CrossFit Games: PA/MD/DE Sectionals

Edit: Updated with my results below each WOD

So in case you are not engrossed in the community that is CrossFit, the PA/MD/DE sectionals are Saturday, March 13, 2010 at our very own CrossFit King of Prussia. Over 120 men and over 30 women are registered; only top 20 men and top 20 women move on to Regionals which will be held in Ohio in May. Below are descriptions of the workouts and links to the official Games pages.