13.3 Ball Rash get used to it

BALL rash is something the entire crossfit community will have to get used to after 13.3 and that’s exactly what I’ve got right now.
    Let’s have a look at 13.3, we’ll talk strategy and I’ll give it a go.

13.3 the WOD - also known as Karen plus
150 wall balls men: 9kg to 10ft, women: 6kg to 9ft
90 double unders
30 muscle ups

The breakdown and strategy 
Well this is basically a revisit of 12.4 start with 150 wall balls, make sure you're nice and warm before you start this so you can get to the right depth in the squat before throwing the ball up the wall. Next up find a way to break it down many people do it in 10s. For me I go 50(2x25), 40(2x20), 30(2x15), 20(2x10), then 10 which you just smash out of the way or if you're really exhausted (2x5). Try not to drop the ball ever and catch it in a position where you don't have to adjust it before squatting and throwing again. Now if you're lucky enough to get through your 150 wall balls it's onto the double unders, find your rhythm and breath through it break it down if you have to but just get them out of the way. Then muscle ups you champ, if you've done these before (ever) just find your focus, 3, 2, 1. Now the top competitors are likely to get past those muscle ups and into the next set of wall balls as we've seen in previous years. Also there's a good chance you wont give this WOD another go in a couple of days, you'll see what I mean. However I do think if I ever do Karen in a normal class I'll just chuck on 90 double unders, why not!

My turn
Alright, due to some interesting weekend scheduling (parties and visitors) I gave this a go on Friday. The wall balls I broke it down as I said above and this year, they felt pretty good. I probably shouldn't have used chalk to cross it off. But it did give me focus. I had a few no reps, mostly for not hitting the wall, but that's always been my problem. I also dropped the ball after no repping, wasting precious time. The height however was not a issue so much usually at Crossfit Northside we aim for 10ft so 9ft was a bit of a walk in the park. Next up the double unders last year I didn't even finish these, I was so out of breath. This year I got through them doing on average 9 at a time simply because I was pretty tired from Karen. I finished them with 21 seconds to spare. So just for shits and giggles I attempted a muscle up. As I reached my arms up to the rings I was surprised at how sore they were. I simply did not have the power to get up. Also it would have been a crossfit miracle if I completed one because I never have before.

That's me getting ready for wall balls!

One day later
My legs are soooo sore and I have ball rash on my forearms and neck. Classy I know.

Come back soon and I'll give a prediction for next week's WOD we're over the halfway mark. Do you think they'll give us 12.5's Fran style WOD?

13.2 the breakdown the trial

A QUICKY is our WOD for round 2 of the Crossfit Games 2013 open. No doubt you've already seen it but today we'll break it down, we'll check different strategies, I'll give it a go and see how my prediction was.

First up
WOD 13.2

10 min AMRAP
5 chest to overhead Men 52.5kg (115lbs) Women 35kg (75lbs)
10 deadlifts Men 52.5kg (115lbs) Women 35kg (75lbs)
15 box jumps Men 61cm (24") Women 51cm (20")



The strategy
So the idea with this one is to go as quick as you can (well duh). Try not to break, keep a steady but fast pace and because it's only 10 minutes push yourself.

Start by cleaning the weight to your shoulders then push press or push jerk it overhead. Alternately if you're really strong press away! Just pick something you'll be able to maintain and do fast. Go for five, don't drop the bar this will waste heaps of time.

On the last rep don't drop the bar it'll go flying off, rather lower the bar and head straight into deadlifts. Just keep pushing out the reps.

Then box jumps here's another spot where you can certainly pick up time. Jump, step or use a combination, just do it fast. For some it may be quicker to jump or less time wasting to step. Pick your poison.

Transition time is another point of difference, to make up time go faster.

My turn...
I got into the box this morning, a little earlier than usual so I could roll out a bit. I've been fighting a virus for the past couple of weeks. Hanging out the washing was exhausting, to give you an idea of how bad it was. Although I'm on the mend and I was feeling good. I warmed up using a 20kg bar for the C2O and DL then tried different box jump methods.

Before it was my turn to go I counted a couple of different people and noticed the box jumps seemed harder to maintain so steps seemed the goer.

I warmed up again, stepped to my bar as the timer counted down, feeling less Jenneke than last time (see blog). I hit it, the hardest thing I thought would be the push press, but it all seemed like a 'fair' weight, not crazy heavy but in no way a pushover. I just kept going and going. Never putting the bar down until my last round. Rookie error. I got 199 reps thats 6 rounds and 5 C2O and 4 box jumps. Looking back on it I should have pushed harder and completed my deadlifts quicker. My transition time should have been speedier and if I had to do it again I would know it's not 'that' difficult. I say this now, I was sooo spent at the time. Will I have another go though? Maybe if tonight isn't too crazy and if I'm feeling better tomorrow.

My prediction
Didn't fare as well as other predictions though I did get the combination aspect right. Just the wrong combination. I said 12min AMRAP 21 double unders, 15 wall balls, 9 toes to bar.
Well that would certainly fit in for 13.3.

Check back later for my actual prediction and how it goes next week.