Tuesday, June 30, 2015

6/29/2015

AM
6000m row@Z1

PM
A. Back squat, 3-3-2-2 build so that only last set is heavy, 2:30 rest
B. Muscle ups, 3xAMRAP(-1) unbroken; :90 rest
+
For 18:00
1st: 4 alternating pistols w/:01 dead stop @bottom
2nd: 7-10 tough ring rows
3rd: 35 double unders
+
3 rounds not for time:
4/side powell raises, 40x0
10-15 reverse hypers

AM
complete

PM
A. 195-215-235-240
B. 7-6-5
+
complete
+
complete
PR 12-15-15
35#/side for RH


Z1 row felt excellent today.

Everything in the PM session went really well. Back squats were feeling good, I'm definitely building more confidence with these. 

Muscle ups felt excellent today, so much better than last week. I was able to jump up to the rings and kip right away instead of having that weird swing like last week. All sets were really fast. I would have liked to PR on this but I could feel myself catching the last dip lower than usual so I called it. I got one less rep than last week but I also had :30 less rest between sets today so I'm very happy with this. It's cool that 7 unbroken muscle ups isn't really a big deal to me anymore and I can do it on a regular basis.

The EMOM went better than last week, dead stop pistols were a bit easier. I tried starting these in my nanos but alas, I could not hold the stop at the bottom without tipping over so I had to switch to my lifting shoes. Conner had a good laugh watching me fall over in my nanos. These felt better than last week, I'm doing them without knee sleeves but I wish I could do these without my lifting shoes. Also, I'm still going up on my toes. Ring rows were done with feet up on a box, 8 the first set then 7 for all sets after that. All double unders were unbroken. 

Really good day in the gym, it was fun watching all my friends PR their snatch. 

Sunday, June 28, 2015

6/28/2015

Long, unplugged hike

complete

6/27/2015

A. Front squat, 10x2 @50-55% 1RM, 10x1, begin a set every :60
B. Weighted pronated CTB pull ups, 3x2-3, 31x0, 2:00 rest
+
AMRAP in 10:00
10 unbroken CTB pull ups
15 unbroken wall balls, 14 to 10
200m run
+
Not for time:
1200m sled drag outdoors, heavier than last week

A. complete @125
B. 10-12.5-15
+
3 rounds+50m
+
complete w/75# on sled


Today started off well and sort of went downhill....merrrrrr.

Front squats felt excellent. I love these. 

Weighted CTB pull ups were so much easier than last week and I have no idea why. I was able to hit 15 for 3 with no problem. 

The AMRAP....eeeeshhhh. All my CTB pull ups were butterfly and felt really good. Wall balls weren't bad either. It was the running that got me. For some reason, having the running third instead of starting each round with running felt a lot harder. I don't even know if that makes sense. But I was breathing much harder than last week. After my third round I came in and stood there looking at the pull up bar for a full 30 seconds before I jumped up there. I could have easily gotten 4 rounds but I was being a little B at the end. Merrrrrr. 

The sled drag was TERRIBLE. I had zero energy during this. None. 75 pounds felt like 150 pounds. I was stopping to switch directions way more than normal. Heather came out to join me for my last 800 meters which was nice of her. She'll tell you that I was complaining A LOT. I just didn't have it in me for some reason. 

On a "social activities" note- Heather, Lauren, Emily and I all went to dinner and then saw the movie Inside Out. It was an excellent movie and I highly recommend it. I related the most with the character "Bing Bong"

He was made out of cotton candy and his rocket was fueled by the power of song. 

6/26/2015

AM
45:00 airdyne @Z1, off every 5:00 to walk around for :30

PM
5:00-10:00 strict deficit handstand push up practice
+
A. Power snatch clusters, 3x1.1.1.1.1; :10 between singles, 2:00 rest
B1. Halting snatch grip deadlift (pause just below knees on way up and down), 3-3-3-3 @snatch max, :60 rest
B2. DB bench press, 5-5-5-5, 41x1; 2:00 rest
+
3 sets for even times:
10m handstand walk
500m row
60 double unders
4:00 walk rest

AM
complete

PM
complete, 45s+15s
+
A. 105-115-125
B1. complete @165
B2. 25-35-40-45
+
3:08- DU 57/3, row 2:00.9
3:03- DU UB, row 2:00.9
3:06- DU UB, row 2:00.0


Everything felt great today. Deficit HSPU practice was much better than last week, I was able to replace the tens with fifteens so the deficit was a little deeper, and my shoulders also weren't as tight today. I even did a double at one point! These are getting better. Sweet. 

Snatch clusters went well, every rep was nice and quick. The set at 125 got tough around the third rep but I was never in danger of failing or catching it lower than a power position. 

Snatch deadlifts were so easy, 165 felt so light. This is a good sign. This really only bothered my thumbs, I looked like Alex shaking my hands at the end of each set. 

DB bench press felt really easy. 

I really enjoyed the 3 sets for even times. Handstand walk was quick and unbroken on all sets. I tried to pace the row faster than normal, I want to try to push myself harder on rowing when it shows up in a workout. I tripped up on the 57th double under during the first set but the next two sets were unbroken. 

Thursday, June 25, 2015

6/24/2015

AM
6 sets easy:
:60 row
:60 front leaning rest on ground
:60 airdyne
:30/side plank
:60 single unders

PM
A. Overhead squat, 4x2-3 @42x1; 2:00 rest
B. 1-arm DB row, 3x10-12/side, 20x1; :60 between sides
C. 1-arm farmers walk, 2x40-60m/side; :90 between arms
+
5 sets:
:10 prowler sprint w/straight arms, outside loaded for very fast foot turnover
2:20 walk rest
+
3 rounds not for time:
5-10 glute-ham raises, 20x1
5-10m handstand walk
:30 L-sit on parallettes accumulation 

AM
complete

PM
A. 115-125-135-140(2)
B. 30-35-40
C. 50m/side-50m-40m w/100#
+
complete w/90# on prowler
+
complete
10 GHR
10m HSW


Meh. Today was alright. Overhead squats were really tough, my shoulders were very tight. That tempo is a bitch, the 2 second hold in the bottom got pretty hard once I reached 140. 

DB rows were good, my forearms looked jacked as hell when I was done. 

1-arm farmers carry was rough, only because it's so uncomfortable and awkward to carry that thing. It always causes my knuckles to rub against my thigh when I'm carrying it and it hurts! And there's really no way around it either. The right arm was fine but the left arm was tough, my left hand is still sort of tender from when I ripped it last week and I could feel it being pulled as I was carrying the thing(I forget what it's called....). It was uncomfortable but whatevs, gotta suck it up. 

Prowler sprints were fine, :10 isn't bad at all. I was able to hit a good speed right away. I actually missed prowler sprints in a weird way, although I'm sure I won't be saying that in a few weeks when they're up to :20. 

Not for time stuff was okay, my hips were super tight during this, especially on the L-sit. Shoulders felt tight on the handstand walk. L-sit was broken up into 3 sets if :10 each time, I don't know if I'll ever be good at this. 

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

6/23/2015

AM
10 sets:
:30 airdyne @90% aerobic
:30 airdyne @50%
+
3 rounds:
:10/side 1-arm passive hang from bar
20m/side 1-arm DB overhead carry, tough
+
10 sets:
:30 airdyne @90% aerobic
:30 airdyne@50%

PM
A. Power clean, build quickly to a max for the day
B. Power clean, 3x1 @90% of A, rest as needed
C. Behind-the-neck shoulder press, 3x6-8, 31x1; 2:00 rest
+
10:00 @90-95% effort-should still be very tough, just not 300FY:
airdyne calories

AM
complete
DB carry 40-50-50

PM
A. 210
B. complete@190
C. 65-70(6)-70(6)
+
142 calories


The passive 1-arm hang from the bar was tougher than I thought it would be, especially on the left side. My left hand is still a little ripped from last week so it hurt to hang from the bar. The DB carry was harder on the left side than the right. 

PM session was solid all around. I was really happy with where I ended up on the power clean, especially since I just hit a PR of 212 last week. It's nice to know I can power clean 205 easily now and hit 210 as well. The reps at 190 were easy, I don't think I rested longer than a minute between reps. 

Behind the neck shoulder press was tough but getting better I guess? It felt harder to control than last week. 

I had totally forgotten about the 10:00 airdyne piece until I was writing my programming in my notebook. I wasn't really worried about it, since it wasn't actually 300FY I felt like the pressure was off. I had a good pace from the beginning and tried to keep it steady the whole time, I definitely wasn't going at a 300FY pace but it was 95% for sure. My breathing was actually pretty good during this, it was my legs that fatigued first. I ended up getting 10 calories less than my 300FY PR, so I was happy about that. I wasn't fucked up at all afterwards, I was recovered within 2-3 minutes so I know if I did 300FY again and really went for it I could probably PR. 

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

6/22/2015

AM
5000m row @Z1

PM
A. Back squat, 3-3-3-3 build so that only last set is heavy, 2:30 rest
B. Muscle ups, 3x AMRAP(-1) unbroken, 2:00
+
For 15:00
1st min: 6 alternating pistols w/:01 dead stop @bottom
2nd: 7-10 tough ring rows
3rd: 40 double unders
+
3 rounds not for time:
5/side powell raises, 40x0
10 light/moderate reverse hypers

AM
complete

PM
A. 175-195-215-230
B. 8-6-5
+
complete
+
complete
10# DB for PR
25#/side for RH


Back squats were feeling good today, I think the PR last week boosted my confidence a bit on this. 230 was tough, I was having to pause for a second at the top before each rep, but I think I still could have gone a little heavier. 

Mehhhhhhhhh the muscle ups were disappointing. They are still feeling very off and I'm not sure why. I was able to get 8 the first set, which ties my muscle up PR. The 8th rep was a struggle, I caught it REALLY low and it took me probably five seconds to steady myself and press out of the dip. The second set was the worst, my swing was all over the place and I was just not in a good rhythm at all. The third set was alright, my hands were starting to hurt at this point. Meh. These have definitely been much better than they were today. All the sugar I had on Sunday probably didn't help either. I've just been feeling very heavy lately and I'm looking forward to tweaking a few things with my food so I can lean out more and feel lighter. 

The pistols with the dead stop at the bottom were hard, oh my god. This was frustrating for a number of reasons. I was wearing my lifting shoes but I wasn't able to pull up my knee sleeves since it was so humid, so my pistols were slower than normal. I know this will only help me because I need to get used to doing pistols without relying on knee sleeves, but every rep was such a struggle and very slow. Also, I go up on my toes for pistol squats instead of staying flat, so it was difficult to stay balanced in the dead stop at the bottom. There were a few times when I would tip over and have to use my hand to steady myself. These were pretty frustrating. Rings rows were completed with feet up on a box. I did 9 the first set, then 8/7/7/7. Double unders were all unbroken except for the third set.

Monday, June 22, 2015

6/21/2015

long, unplugged hike

I was not able to complete this today due to birthday/father's day activities. 

I had a great day. I had plans to meet Heather for breakfast at Sleepy Bee and when I got there, all my friends were waiting for me. Mark, Brandie, Austin, Emily and Cody surprised me! It was the coolest. Those guys are just the best and I'm lucky to have them as friends. After breakfast we walked to Red Tree and got some (more) coffee. Then Pat and I saw Jaws as his Father's Day gift since it's his favorite movie of all time and they were showing it at the movie theater to celebrate it's 40th anniversary. 

Pretty excellent day. 

Birthday breakfast with my best pals

6/20/2015

A. Front squat, 8x2 @50-55% 1RM, 10x1, begin a set every :60
B. Weighted pronated CTB pull ups, 3x3-5, 31x0, 2:00 rest
+
AMRAP in 10:00
200m run
15 unbroken wall balls, 14 to 10
3 dead hang to inverted, controlled descent
+
Not for time:
1200m sled drag outdoors, heavier than last week

A. complete@125
B. 10-12.5(4)-12.5(3)
+
3 rounds + 10 wall ball
+
complete with 70# on sled


It's nice to be front squatting again, I really enjoy it. 

Weighted CTB pull ups were WAY harder than I thought they would be, I got a little ambitious on this. I have never done these before so I did a few strict CTBs with just bodyweight and thought it would be fine to just add ten pounds for my first set. I was able to get five reps, but it was really tough. I added 2.5 for the next set and only got four. The tempo was making it really difficult. 

I thought the AMRAP went well, breathing felt great the whole time and I thought my transitions were pretty quick. Wall balls were really easy today. The dead hang to inverted sort of halted the flow, it was very interesting to have those in the middle of an AMRAP and it was actually the hardest part. It was really tough to do those when I was breathing harder, I've only ever done them in Z1 pieces. 

Sled drag was completed in the rain with my buddy Brandie. We had a lovely chat and also had three different strangers ask us what we were training for. 

6/19/2015

AM
45:00 airdyne @Z1, off every 5:00 to walk around for :20-:30

PM
5:00-10:00 strict deficit handstand push ups practice
+
A. Deadlift, build to a max for the day-make sure I'm there for these
B. DB bench press, 6-6-6-6, 41x1; 2:00 rest
+
5 sets:
500m row @2:03.0-2:03.9/500m
2:00 walk rest

AM
complete

PM
complete
+
A. 345 (PR+20)
B. 15-25-35-40
+
2:03.1
2:03.4
2:03.3
2:03.2
2:03.1


Strict deficit HSPU practice was tougher than I thought it would be, my shoulders were really sore. Maybe I didn't warm them up properly? I did a few regular strict HSPU then added 45s, then 10s on top of that and that's where I stopped. It wasn't so much pressing out of the handstand as it was keeping my feet on the wall and not falling over. I would press up and my feet would start coming off the wall, so technically it was a no-rep. I just need to keep working on it. 

I was SO EXCITED about the deadlift PR! I thought I would probably PR by at least ten pounds today, I haven't tested a deadlift max in a year. Stephen was standing next to me the whole time and he would just tell me what weights to add/subtract. I had no idea what was on the bar once I got past 195, and I think that definitely helped because I wasn't over-thinking anything, I was just lifting. I pulled 335 and said, "This is starting to get pretty hard" and Stephen said "Do you know how much is on the bar? That was a 10 pound PR" so that was pretty awesome. He told me to add five pounds on each side and go for 345. I got it! It was pretty tough and I definitely got lightheaded when I reached full extension. It's pretty cool to be able to deadlift 200 pounds more than my bodyweight. 

DB bench press actually went better than I thought it would, I used to really suck at this but it has improved a bit. 

Row repeats felt harder than they should have....merrrrr. 

Friday, June 19, 2015

6/18/2015

(Made up from Tuesday)
24 sets:
:30 airdyne @90% aerobic
:30 airdyne @50%

complete

Thursday, June 18, 2015

6/17/2015

AM
6 sets easy:
:60 row
:60 FLR 
:60 airdyne
:30/side plank
:60 single unders

PM
A. Overhead squat, 4x3-4 @42x1, 2:00 rest
B. Muscle ups, 3xAMRAP (-1) unbroken, 2:00 rest
+
4 sets:
:30 row @100%
:30 rest w/feet in straps
+
3 rounds not for time:
10-12 light reverse hypers
5-10m handstand walk
:30 L-sit on parallettes accumulation 

AM
complete

PM
A. 105-115-125-135(3)
B. could not do this due to tear on my hand, subbed in 10:00 of strict MU practice
+
159m
149
143
140
+
2 rounds complete (ran out of time before I had to coach class)
10#/side on RH


Meh today was just okay. The overhead squats actually went pretty well, the tempo was definitely tough but today was actually the best my OHS have felt in a long time so I was happy about that. I almost had the fourth rep at 135 but I tipped forward coming out of the bottom and lost it. That tempo is no joke but overall these felt really solid today. 

I was pretty sad about not being able to do the sets of max unbroken muscle ups, (maybe I can do this another time when my hand isn't shredded?) I probably could have hit a PR on these today. Oh well, another time. I decided to work on strict muscle ups instead, and it did not go so well. My first four reps weren't very close, Stephen said I was pulling too slowly and not being aggressive enough turning over. The 5th attempt was probably the closest I've ever been but I still felt like my hands were in a weird position and I couldn't turn over. I am going to watch some progression videos because it's really bothering me that I can't do this. I'm making it my goal to get a strict muscle up by the end of the month, DAMMIT. Nobody makes me bleed my own blood! NOBODY.

The row sprints felt very terrible, as expected. I should have stretched my legs more before I did this, they were really tight the entire time. After this was over I was bummed out because I thought I did worse than the last time I tested this, but it turns out I actually improved. I tested this in October and my numbers were 154, 145, 140 and 139. Today they were 159, 149, 143, and 140. So not a huge improvement, but still better than last time. 

I was only able to complete 2 rounds of the NFT stuff before I had to rush out and coach class. I was definitely not recovered enough from the row sprints while I was doing this, I thought I was going to puke during the reverse hypers. 


Wednesday, June 17, 2015

06/16/2015

AM
24 sets:
:30 airdyne @90% aerobic
:30 airdyne @50%

PM
A. Power clean, build to a max
B. Behind-the-neck shoulder press, 3x7-10, 31x1; 2:00 rest
+
21-15-9 for time:
Deadlifts, 155
Box jumps, 20
Burpees
+
10:00 airdyne @Z1

AM
subbed in an hour nap between coaching classes due to terrible nights sleep, will make up on Thursday

PM
A. 212 (PR+2)
B. 55-65(9)-65(8)
+
7:43
+
complete


I was up most of the night with a really bad stomach ache so I didn't get much sleep before I had to wake up at 4:30. I took a nap on the couch at the gym during the time I would normally do my Z1 so I will make this up on Thursday, I wanted to make sure I felt good for my PM session. 

I was excited about the power clean PR, it's been awhile since I hit a PR on this. 212 actually wasn't very hard. I went for 215 but totally chickened out. I think I could probably hit it in the next few months. 

The behind the neck press was HARD. Oh my. I was able to get 10 reps at 55 so I went to 65, I thought I was going to hit 10 for sure but on the 9th rep I paused too long behind the neck and lost the momentum to press it up. I was only able to get 8 reps for the third set. This was tough and I'm sure I'll be seeing more of this in the future. 

I thought the deadlift/box jump workout went well, although my burpees definitely could have been faster. I broke up the deadlifts 11/10, 7/4/4, then 9 unbroken. I tried to stay moving on the box jumps and keep my transitions short but I still could have been faster on this. 

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

06/15/2015

AM
6000m row @Z1

PM
A. Back squat, build to a max for the day
B. Back squat, 1x max reps @85% of A, 30x0
+
20 sets for time:
5 unbroken CTB pull ups
+
12 sets:
:30 airdyne @90% aerobic
:30 airdyne @50%

AM
complete

PM
A. 280 (PR+10)
B. 3 reps @240
+
8:04
+
complete


Excellent day! I was not really expecting to PR my back squat, the last time I did any type of back squat I hit 235 and it felt really tough, so I went in with my expectations pretty low today. I worked up to an easy 255, then I couldn't decide if I should just jump to 275. Luckily I asked Stephen first and he told me to go to 265 then 275. I was able to hit both of those pretty easily so I went up to 280 for a 10 pound PR! Sweet. It actually didn't feel that bad, I think I could have added 5 more pounds and now I'm confident I could hit 285 another day. 

The reps at 240 were ROUGH. Jesus. The 3 second descent made it even worse. The first two reps weren't terrible but the third rep was really slow out of the bottom with a rounded back. Bleck. I knew I wasn't going to get the fourth rep but I knew I was supposed to go until failure. I wasn't even close to standing up the fourth rep. This test is pretty terrible. 

I was happy with my time on the 100 CTB pull ups and I think I could have done this under 8:00 if I didn't rip. All my CTB pull ups were butterfly and felt really good. It wasn't until the 16th set that I could feel my hands starting to rip so I started taking longer rest. On the 18th set I moved to a smoother bar to see if that would prevent my hands from ripping, but I tore anyways on the 19th set. I asked Stephen if I could just finish because the damage was already done. I ripped even more on the last set. I definitely could have done this under 8:00 if I wasn't so concerned about my hands. Next time I'll probably wear grips or tape. Oh well. I beat Conner so that's all that matters. KIDDING CONNER. 

That's a deep one


This is me trying to shower with that hand tear



Monday, June 15, 2015

6/13/2015

5:00-10:00 standing broad jump practice-no maximal attempts
+
A. Good morning, build to a tough but perfect triple, 32x1
B. DB external rotation, 1xAMRAP up t 8/side @10% of tested CGBP, 30x0
C. Powell raise, 1xAMRAP up to 8/side @10% of tested CGBP, 30x0
D. Trap 3, 1XAMRAP up tp 8/side @10% of tested CGBP, 30x0
E. Side plank, 1x max hold/side up to :90
F. Sorenson hold, 1x max hold up to 2:00
+
Not for time:
1200m moderate sled drag outdoors

complete
+
A. 125
B. R-8, L-6 w/15#
C. R-6, L-7 w/15#
D. 7 w/15#
E. :80 each side
F. 1:42
+
complete with 65# on sled 


Standing broad jump practice was alright....I am just a terrible jumper. I also need to work on the correct technique for this.

I don't think I've ever done weighted good mornings, I liked these. 

I realized I don't think I've ever done the scap tests, I figured my left side would be a little weaker on the DB external rotation but I was a little surprised I got one more rep on the left side on the powell raise. 

Side planks were alright, my stability on these has definitely improved but still needs to get better. 

The sorenson hold got tough very quickly, it was getting really hard to hold myself up in a good position. 

Sled drag was very enjoyable even though it was hot as shit outside. 

I thought today would be super boring, and it was a little bit, but it was also very productive. 


6/12/2015

AM
45:00 airdyne @Z1

PM
A. DB rear foot elevated split squat, 1x max reps/side up to 8@ .33 bwt/hand, 30x0
B. Close-grip bench press, build to a max for the day
C. CTB pull ups, 3x10-15 unbroken; rest as needed
+
3 sets for even times:
400m run
3 rope climbs
12 burpees
3:00 walk rest
+
10:00 airdyne @Z1

AM
complete

PM
A. R-8, L-7 with 45#
B. 135 (150 Fx1) 
C. 15-15-15
+
4:02
4:30
4:28
+
complete


I haven't done RFESS in awhile, I thought it went pretty well. 

I was very disappointed with the bench press, I really wanted to PR this today. I've been stuck at 145 for the past year. I hit 135 very easily so I jumped to 150 because I thought with bench press it was okay to make larger jumps. This turned out to be a bad move, and I failed 150. Merrrrr. I have accepted the fact that I will be at a 145 bench press until I die. 

CTB pull ups felt GREAT. They are getting so fast and easy. I was able to do 15 unbroken butterfly each set and I was never worried about failing or slowing down. I'm excited to keep improving the cycle time on these. 

The run/rope climb workout was ehhhhhh not great. My run was consistent each time but I slowed down on the rope climbs during the second and third set, I was resting too long between climbs. Burpees were as steady as they could have been, I tried not to slow down on those. It was really just the rope climbs that suffered. This workout made me sad, I thought I was getting better at these. 

Sunday, June 14, 2015

2015 Regionals Recap

It has been two weeks since we got back from the 2015 Central Regional in Minneapolis, and it was one of the coolest and best experiences of my life. I attended my first regionals competition in 2011 when it was still held in Columbus. I remember watching all the females compete and knowing I was nowhere near that level yet, but I wanted to be. My goal from that point on was to some day go to regionals, whether it was as an individual or as a team. Once I joined CSC, I realized I only wanted to go on the team because it looked like so much fun. I've always enjoyed the team aspect of competition much more than the individual side, plus all the athletes at CSC are awesome and who wouldn't want to be on a team with them? I was the alternate in 2013, and last year we didn't send a team. During the Open this year everyone worked really hard because we all wanted to send a team to regionals, and the hard work paid off. We ended up qualifying a team and BAM. We were off to Minneapolis! I was thrilled to finally get the chance to represent CSC at the Central Regional with my pals. 

We arrived in Minneapolis and checked in at the convention center where we got our athlete passes and free stuff (neck pillow! Shoes!) and also had a chance to test out the true form treadmill and check out the warm up area. 


Awkward team photo after getting our free Reebok gear


I'm not going to recap all 7 events, so in my typical writing fashion I'm going to make a list of my favorite moments from regionals and also talk about some things I learned along the way. Please enjoy. 


My favorite moments from regionals 

1. Finishing third in our heat for event 2
For those of you who don't know what the workouts were, event 2 looked like this:
We were all looking forward to this event, we knew it would be a good one for us. The males went first and had to finish all 175 snatches before the females could start on our snatches. While we were doing our snatches, the men were doing the rope climbs, then they moved on to the thrusters while we did our rope climbs, then the females finished with the thrusters. This workout was all about speed and quick transitions. Jessie, Brandie and I broke up the snatches in quick sets of 10. Once we got to the rope, that's where we started to pick up speed and pull ahead. I was first to the rope and my first transition to Brandie was pretty slow (Sorry Stephen) but we got faster after that. We were all quick up the rope and got the climbs done pretty quickly. I was first to the thrusters, then we started splitting them up 7/8/5. It wasn't until I had finished my first set of thrusters that I looked over and realized we were only one of three teams at the bar, everyone else was still on rope climbs. This is when things really got exciting. I could hear Stephen and Pat yelling from the side, telling us to keep moving and to keep our transitions fast. Brandie and I each got no-repped once or twice for not putting our head all the way through at the top of the thruster so I think that put us behind a little bit. We got to our last 15 thrusters and I started with my set of 7. I could hear Alex and Jessie telling me to just do all 15 reps but I just couldn't, I could feel my cycle time slowing down so I dumped it and Jessie finished her 8 reps. We crossed the finish mat in third place, 5 minutes under the time cap. It was such an exciting moment and it was a great way to end the first day. 

All smiles after a great finish!

2. The muscle up/hang clean event on day 3

The first event on day 3 looked like this:
The females went first, and the first male could not start on the GHD sit ups until the females had finished the entire workout. This basically meant the event came down to how fast the chicks could cycle through muscle ups and heavy hang power cleans. I was excited for this event because muscle ups and HPC are two of my favorite movements. We had practiced this workout a few times and had finished under the time cap, so we knew we would do well on this one. I was the first female on the GHD sit ups and they went surprisingly well, in practice I had always come off the GHD machine really dizzy and disoriented but this time I didn't feel nearly as bad. I was able to knock out 8 muscle ups before Brandie finished her GHDs and came over to help me. I think we were at 18 or 20 when Jessie came over, and from there we just cycled through one person right after the other. Whenever I would come off the rings, Brandie would be right behind me and Jessie would help her up. We just stayed in that rotation and kept our transitions fast. I fatigued on the muscle ups faster than I thought, I was down to singles sooner than I wanted to be, but we just kept moving. I was first to the bar on the hang power cleans and when I picked it up it felt heavy as shit. I was actually pretty surprised. We broke up the HPC 7/5/3 until the last 10 reps, Brandie did 1 and I was able to finish out the last 9. I was so proud of us on this workout, we communicated really well throughout the muscle ups and we moved the weight quickly on the hang power cleans. It was really fun getting to stand on the finish mat with Jessie and Brandie, cheering on the guys while they finished. They crushed it, and we came in 5th in our heat. A lot of teams in our heat didn't even finish under the time cap, so I was really proud of our performance. This was a good day to start off the last day. 

3. Hanging out with my team in Minneapolis 
This doesn't really have to do with the competition, it's just one of my favorite things about the entire trip in general. It definitely would have been more convenient for regionals to be in Cincinnati or Columbus like it has been in the past few years, and it would have been a lot cheaper as well. But now we were in a different city together, and after the competition ended each day we would all get lunch and then hang out. It was really fun walking around Minneapolis with everyone and getting to spend so much extra time with my team was really cool. I think if regionals had been in Cincinnati, we would have just gone home after each day was over. Instead, we basically did everything together, and I think it made the trip a lot more fun. I laughed so much during those three days and I really enjoyed spending time outside of the gym with my teammates. We went to some cool restaurants, walked around Minneapolis, and went swimming at the YMCA. Also, I can say with confidence that we've all been bonded for life after the things we witnessed in that sauna.

Team trip to Whole Foods

Minneapolis is neat!
And now, an open letter to the unamused treadmill judge
If any of you watched the first event on day 2 (the treadmill/wall ball workout), you probably remember this guy:
He is just NOT AMUSED
Dear unamused judge in lane 10,
Judging by the look on your face, I can tell you were not thrilled about having to stand there for four minutes while I ran on the treadmill at a literal snails pace. I'm sorry you didn't get to judge one of the other 9 female runners who were all 5'9", blonde, and were actually good at running. If we're thinking about it in Lord of the Rings terms, they were all Galadriel the elf queen and I was Frodo the hobbit. But I really tried my best, and that's all that matters. I hope I can come back next year and entertain you with my improved running skills. 

Your friend
Chels

Things I took away from regionals

1. I have improved a lot but I have a long way to go
I know I have really improved over the past year. If these events had come up one year ago, I wouldn't have been able to string muscle ups together, I wouldn't be able to do strict handstand push ups, I wouldn't be snatching 145, and my rope climbs would have been extremely slow. I have come a long way in just one year, but I still have a ways to go. There are still a lot of things I need to work on, and the treadmill/wall ball event was a glaring weakness. It took me almost 4 minutes to do 50 wall balls, and that just can't happen. I'm able to move quickly when it's short bursts of moving the barbell or gymnastics movements, but I need to be able to grind through shitty work when I'm by myself on the floor. The wall ball event was a perfect example of how I still need to improve on sucking it up and pushing through the pain. It was a terrible feeling to look up and see Conner standing on the treadmill, waiting for me to finish. I never want that to happen again. I know this event was just one of many, and I'm very proud of my performance on everything else. I'm looking forward to continuing to work on my weaknesses while also improving my strengths. 
2. It's very important to trust your training 
As we were warming up for the snatch event, everything was feeling really good. I hit my opener (145) three times and it was feeling excellent. Then Jessie and I hopped in with another group and I failed 140. This one missed rep completely shook my confidence. As we were waiting in the corral I was talking to Alex and asked him what I should do if I failed 145. Should I take off the 15s and just snatch 115 so I can at least get in a score? Alex looked at me and said, "Why are you talking about failing lifts? Have you hit it in practice? Then just make the fucking lift." and he was right. I snapped out of it right then and my nerves went away. Why was I questioning myself right before we were about to step out on the competition floor? I had hit 145 in practice every single time and had never missed. At this point I could snatch it in my sleep. So why all of a sudden was I letting one bad rep in warm up freak me out? After that, my attitude completely changed. I went out and snatched 145 easily because I knew I had done it in practice one million times and I knew I was capable of doing it. Regionals is all about trusting your training. We put in the work, we put in the practice, and now it was time to go show what we could do. Regionals isn't the time or place for self-doubt, it's the time to trust all the training you've been doing for the past year. 

Regionals was one of the best experiences I've ever had. I can't even really put into words how cool it was to be out on the floor competing with my friends in that type of atmosphere, and I am so thankful I got to be part of it. 

Jessie, Mark, Conner, Brandie, Alex- thank you for being the best team. I really couldn't have imagined a better team to share in my first regionals experience. You guys are all incredible athletes and great people. I think what's really cool about our team is that when it comes down to it, we're all good friends. We enjoy each other's company, laugh a lot, and have a genuine respect for one another. It was an honor to compete and represent CSC with all of you. 

Stephen- Thanks for being the best coach, as usual. I didn't actually think my goal of going to regionals would happen but you made it come true. Your programming and coaching have made me a better athlete than I really thought was possible. You're the best, and when I discovered your love of cheese my respect for you grew even more. 

Dad-thanks for making sure I was able to get to regionals and cheering for me the whole weekend. And mom, for cheering from home!

Now it's the off-season, and it's time to set some new goals. Competing at regionals made me realize I want to go back, and I want to just completely dominate. I'm going to take the next year to really improve my weaknesses and my mental toughness. A lot can happen in a year, and I'm going to continue to work hard, focus on my training, trust my coach, and have fun training with my friends. This year has already been so amazing, I'm excited to see what the next season will bring. 


Onward







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