13.4 It's either 'Fran'ish, leftovers or a big fat combo - my predictions

WHAT are they doing to us? It seems The Crossfit Games Open WODs have almost been complete repeats from previous years. Let’s look at the pattern so far, find out what we’re missing and I’ll predict 13.4.

That's me during WOD 1

So far in 2013
All AMRAPS and all combination or repeat
WOD 1 - burpees and snatch ladder - a combination of 12.1 burpees and 12.2 snatch ladder
WOD 2 - chest to overhead, deadlifts and box jumps - a combination of 12.3 and 11.2
WOD 3 - Karen, double unders, muscle ups - a repeat of 12.4

What’s missing
Well we haven’t seen toes to bar, cleans and overhead squats or 12.5 which is basically a variation of Fran (chest to bar pullups and thrusters).
Therefore the only thing left for the Crossfit gods to do is to combine these leftovers with Fran for 13.4. Alternately we could do Fran one week and a killer of a chipper for the next.
Now remember the WOD has to be done in a relatively small area that can be filmed and judged easily.

Here’s my predictions it’s either a little bit Fran, leftovers or a combo
Fran rep ladder 7 min AMRAP
3-6-9-12...
Thruster 45/30kg (100/65lbs)
Chest to bar pull-up

Leftovers
12 cleans 60/35kg (135/75lbs)
10 overhead squats 60/35kg (135/75lbs)
9 toes to bar

Combo
3-6-9-12....
cleans 60/35kg (135/75lbs)
overhead squats 60/35kg (135/75lbs)
chest to bar pull-up


Check in to see what it is, I’ll give it a go and we’ll predict the final WOD.

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?

And how are you?

I WAS never really a morning person but the thought of finishing a nine hour day then going to the gym sounded even worse. Actually if it weren't for set Crossfit sessions I would probably never do go.

However when I get into work in the morning and people ask how are you? I can genuinely say I'm good.

Knowing, although they probably don't care, I've already pushed myself to the limits, spent an hour with a really great group of people and when I eat that freddo at lunchtime it wont hurt me.

This all goes through my head, silent accomplishment, ahhhhhh. It was all worth it. And how are you feeling today?

(Picture - I took this one on the way to the gym last week, unfortunately with winter setting in I'll see less and less sunshine each week but it's yet another reason I wake and WOD each morning)

This week has been okay smashed my crossfit total, still working on my deadlift though. Ahhh I hate deadlifts, I'm been working on engaging my stomach. Someone said something interesting to me actually, have you ever noticed how crossfitters walk really weirdly up to the bar before a big lift? That's because they're making sure their muscles are engaged and ready to go. Bring on the strain lol. I've also been working on my jogging and getting back to a semi good time for my 5km. However I'll have to keep stretching because I'm feeling tight around the ITB again. Running is so hard on your body!

Till next time xo

What is Crossfit

THIS is for all of you who read my posts and ask, what is this crossfit and how does it work? For everyone else it's just me trying to explain crossfit as succinctly as possible.

Crossfit is a newish sport that combines endurance, speed, strength, flexibility and power.

Each day you'll arrive at the gym (the box) for a workout (Workout of the Day - WOD) and you work to your own level of fitness to complete it. The WODs are a selection or combination of weightlifting, gymnastics, everyday or standard gym movements.

For example skipping, box jumps, running, sit-ups, dips, muscle ups, squats, pull-ups, deadlifts, wall balls, bench press, rope climbs... basically anything.

Video: this one is a commercial essentially, but it does show the element of surprise and that desire to do better. Fitness is not a sport but crossfit is. It is not the be all and end all just something that has been growing in momentum that I enjoy.

How it works, for me, is through the element of surprise -

The programmer comes up with a workout each day and you don't usually find out what it is until you get to the gym. By not knowing what each day holds, it's less monotonous. It also means you'll work on many different movements so you don't just become good at one thing - giving you better all round fitness. By achieving all-round-fitness it means your skills are more transferable to other sports and everyday life.

The challenge -

Because the recommended weights/movements are so heavy/difficult each week you try that little bit harder to get closer to doing them properly. This doesn't mean you get into the gym and try to do something unachievable it just means you push your limits safely by working at a lighter weight (scaling down) until you can do it properly. Then when you can finally reach that goal you've worked so hard for, say push 50kg above your head or do a body weight pull-up without assistance or even a handstand, it's such an achievement.

The three week rule -

If you've ever noticed you see the most improvement in a sport in the first three weeks then your performance gets stuck and nothing really happens until you change your training? You won't so much notice this in crossfit as the workouts are similar but rarely the same so you constantly improve. By completing the same movement at different weights, speeds, intensity or the number of repetitions you'll reach your goal more quickly. I'll go through the science of this more in a future blog.

Everyone sucks at something - competition -

First off there's a competition with yourself as you try to reach your goals. Then with the people around you who are just that little bit better at the workout, the people you want to catch up with. You also get a chance to put your training to the test rather then just pumping iron at the gym for no other reason then to look good. You get to check your scores against the person next to you and even across the globe. The last thing, I'm not sure if everyone else feels this way but I certainly do, because everyone has that one thing they're not great at you'll beat them at something. For instance you'll probably beat the strongest person at running or the quickest at weightlifting. A little success is a great motivator.

The community -

You can go to a crossfit gym anywhere in the world and still be able to participate. Each person in there is trying to achieve their own goals and there's a fighting spirit about most gyms. You can walk down the street and be able to pick out the crossfitters. It's a niche and a common ground which connects us. Everyone has a tip, story, achievement they're willing to share.

On a more personal note -

I enjoy showing the unsuspecting how strong I am, for instance the other week I was doing a photo shoot for a firefighting story and there was a 20kg container on the ground and in my finest business attire I just picked it up with one arm and moved it hahahaha. I love doing that sort of thing. Also my rockclimbing skills are improving dramatically with my strength. Pretty useless for me personally but I'll take it.

Further more -

If you read last week's post about 'goats' I deadlifted 75kg for 3 reps and my goal for this year is to lift 80kg once really well. So close and it's not even June! As it's school holidays I haven't had my weekly sporting events however I've still gone for two runs.

Also we have a challenge coming up at Crossfit Northside towards the end of the month which I'm looking forward to seeing everyones' improvements from last year :)

Till next week!

12.4 my legs are killing me!

IF I only got one more rep I would have had 200, but I'm sure everyone wanted one more rep. That's what keeps me motivated as well as how much better I will be at the Crossfit Games next year, in theory.

'Karen' was definitely a challenging way to start off the fourth WOD this year and I dare say the thought of 150 wall balls would have stopped people from giving this one a second try.

To recap 12.4 was a 12 minute AMRAP of 150 wall balls (for women - 6kg throwing it up to the 9 foot mark) followed by 90 double unders (double skips) and 30 muscle ups.

It was my first time ever doing Karen RXD and the first thing I told my awesome counter Michelle was please count it in 50's I do not want to hear okay that's 67 keep going.

I'm lucky that squats have always been my thing and being taller I didn't have to throw the ball as high. I also had Michelle tell me to yell lower if my squats were starting to get iffy so I wouldn't get no reped. I pushed through 25, 20, 15 and 10 at a time and finished them with a few minutes to spare.

The walk from wall balls to my skipping rope was epic. My legs were like jelly, my mind was a blur and my heart was racing. My recovery time is getting much better but I still have to work on my endurance.

I took a sip of water and asked the gods to give me rhythm. I missed a few skips but persevered five or four at a time. I wanted 90 but 49 was still pretty awesome.

The top people so far got...

Australia- Men: 261 (150 wb, 90du, 21mu) Women: 261

World- Men: 323 (1 round plus 150wb and 23du) Women: 266 (150wb, 90du, 26mu)

I just submitted my score so I'll let you know tomorrow what position I'm coming at through a comment. Hopefully a little better than 515 where I have been sitting after WOD 2 and 3. By the looks I could be 330 in Australia, that's so exciting!!!!

One day on my legs are sore, my neck is sore, my shoulders and lats are sore, my head is sore all though that's probably St Patricks Day/friend's hen's night related. lols bring on next week.

Come back soon to find out my predictions for the final open WOD, whether or not I get it and what my plan will be.

(picture - no picture I forgot, I'm so sorry I might try and get one during the week)

12.4 Muscle ups whatevs

CAN'T do muscle ups? Don't even worry most people will be lucky to even get that far in the 2012 Crossfit Games WOD 4. At least I know I will be...

Today we're going to go through the WOD breakdown, strategies and my goals.

The 12.4 Crossfit Games Open is...

12 minute as many reps as possible -

150 Wall balls (Men - 20lbs/9kg to 10foot/3m Women - 14lbs/6kg 9foot/2.74m)

90 double unders

30 muscle ups

I'm not sure what the Aussies are doing as far as weights are concerned it's generally 10kg for guys 5kg for girls. 9kg is good for our guys though! For us girls we usually go to 10ft anyway... mixed bag!

So first up we have to complete notorious benchmark WOD Karen. It starts with the ball to the ground you pick it up, squat to hips below knees then thrust it up and push it to the recommended height. Catch it and go again.

Now 150 is a lot of reps so the key is to stay focused and keep going. I like to break it down into manageable chunks. 50 (or 2x25) 40 (2x20) 30 (2x15) 20(2x10) 10. "Keep on with the force, don't stop... Don't stop till you get enough," as Michael Jackson said.

90 double unders, have the rope pass twice under your feet in each skip. To get consecutive double unders is a real crossfit achievement usually one of the first most people get but gosh they feel good. Breath, relax, keep your arms in close to your body and let your wrists do the rest.

If you've gotten to the muscle ups congratulations. Now I've never done one of these but if I had to give advice I'd say deep breaths and make each movement count. You don't wanna be swing under the rings for too long or failing attempts just go, go, go!

Now for my goals but I'll give you a bit of background... I started crossfit in Septemberish 2010

In dec 2010 I tried Karen, just me and two trainers at 9.30am in the middle of the Australian summer... I got 100 wall balls in 11.44mins then gave up. At this stage I was a one session a week crossfitter.

In July 2011 I finished Karen in 9.44mins almost RXD very close but not RXD enough.

Here's the thing though, I used a 5kg ball and went 10foot high. So I'm hoping to stay focused keep persisting, If I finish Karen in under 9 minutes this time round I'll be really really happy.

For the double unders my max consecutive is about 63 so in theory I'll just catch my breath and concentrate on relaxing my shoulders that's the spot that burns.

Muscle ups... If I did these it would literally be a miracle, I can do a kipping pullup and a pushup but thats about it. Miracle. lol.

Tune back in soon to see how I went and find out what my predictions for WOD 5 are.

Tuesday's prediction wasn't too bad double under I got. I knew they'd throw in muscle ups at the end of a long wod sort of similar to WOD 4 last year.

(video: the official breakdown)

12.3 if only I could have caught my breath I'd be able to rock this

THE hardest workout by far was certainly the Crossfit Games WOD 3 - 15 box jumps, 12 push press and 9 toes to bar.

My initial plan was to go all out and get as many rounds completed as possible, which I guess is what anyone would hope to do every time.

15 box jumps complete, 35kg push press which I semi jerked most times was not too bad, I just kept telling myself I've done 55kg, 35 is easy. Toes to bar... I got about three or four done properly, then I realised how hard it was.

Before starting the workout I was having a chat to a few of the other crossfitters and there were a range of different strategies and levels of nervousness.

The main concern was indeed the toes to bar and how ripped their hands were going to get so I absolutely covered my hands in strapping tape... only to find my hands were getting sweaty later.

During the first round - a couple of times I managed to get one foot up then kick the other foot to the bar. Either way, slowly, I got the first round completed.

Second round box jumps were good, push-pressing was a little harder and I went back to the bar.

Breathlessly I jumped up and tried to kip my way up with only a little luck. At about five reps in ripped tape of one of my hands to give me time to catch my breath again.

Then I kipped again and found the rhythm, I could get one leg up easily and kick the other up sort of like an eight-year-old trying to do flips on the monkey bars.

I finished the second round and still couldn't get my breath, kept pushing and thinking I'll catch my breath on the box jumps, push press or toes to bar.

I got to the third round of toes to bar took off the strapping from my other hand and had a rhythm going one leg at a time.

I'm pretty sure I was the only one doing it this way but hey, whatever gets you through it is the way to do it. I also had great support from the rest of the team at northside, thanks guys.

In the end I got three rounds and 15 boxjumps.

That places me in

WOD 3

Australia 520

World 6735

Overall

Australia 515 of 709 so far

World 6645 of 7738

Not bad. I can only imagine how much better I would be this time next year.

Visit again soon to find out my prediction for next week, my strategies for the WOD 4 and results.... Two weeks to go!!!

(picture - this one is from Katrina who was taking photos on the day, (thankyou!) i've got no strapping on my hand so I can only assume it's late round two or three)

Predictions for WOD 1 2012 Crossfit Games

SPECULATION about the first workout in the 2012 Crossfit Games is well and truly underway with the first round to be released in less than two days.

In my mind I can break it down to give educated guess and think about my ideal workout.

In all seriousness the only way to predict the WOD is to look back at the 2011 games which more than 26,000 people took part in.

If there's any pattern it's here so let's work with the knowns to sort it out.

• Last year there were six WODS, all AMRAPs (as many rounds and reps as possible to get your best score).
• Each WOD could be completed in a relatively small area, for video recording purposes I'm sure, that cuts out runs, farmers carries and the like.
• The equipment used was the box, bar, rings, medicine ball and skipping rope. So pretty basic.
• Weights were pretty light for the first weeks and it got harder in either weight or reps as the rounds went on.
• Each WOD had two to three movements.

To refresh your memory Week 1 WOD 2011 was:

10 min AMRAP

30 Double-Unders

15 Power Snatches (M 75lbs/35kg : W 55lbs/25kg)

My prediction Week 1 WOD 2012:

10 min AMRAP

10 chest to overheads (M 100lbs/45kg : W 65lbs/30kg)

15 burpee box jumps

I'd like to add situps in there but it's not according to the 2011 pattern.

What I'd like to see:

10 min AMRAP

10 overhead squats (M 100lbs/45kg : W 65lbs/30kg)

10 pull ups

30 double-unders

Although I think my arms would get sore but I'd like a combination like that.

(Picture: Alternately you could just ask the crystal ball found in all good Crossfit gyms)

Let the games begin!

WELCOME to the Crossfit Games and my 5 week long column looking at the lead up to each round with some expectations, breakdowns and results.

Follow me through the games as a first time competitor from Brisbane in a relatively new-to-the-scene sport that is a combination of strength, speed, endurance and technique. If you haven't got one you haven't got anything, but the motivation to get better.

Each Thursday (Wednesday in the US) for five weeks a Workout of the Day (WOD) is posted. All competitors across the globe entered in the Crossfit Games will try to get their best score for the WOD. They have a week and their videos will be posted online as proof.

The best scores move through the ranks - opens (my level), regionals (basically nationals), the games(for the 60 best athletes and 30 best teams).

Officially the first WOD comes out at 5pm February 22 that's PT + 18 hours and you get EST so bring on 11am Thursday, February 23.

I've now signed up for the competition added my affiliate Crossfit Northside, uploaded my pic and specifications. However not my best times, I'm only just starting to rack up the RXD (as prescribed also known as very hard without a handicap). I'll inform you more as time goes by, let's just hope I can do the first one as recommended and we'll take it from there.

Here we go... Let the Games begin!

(picture - that's me at a Crossfit Challenge in mid last year)