Friday, April 3, 2015

4/3/2015

10:00 gymnastics skill work of choice, keep everything easy
+
2000m row @Z1
+
800m sled drag easy outside OR 15:00 airdyne @Z1

complete
+
complete
+
complete with 60# on sled


It was so nice to get back to gymnastics skill work, and it was fun working with Brandie! I rotated between ring muscle ups, bar muscle ups, and legless rope climbs. Muscle ups felt great today, easily hit 3 every time. I practiced on the fat rings AND the skinny rings because I want to be prepared for everything when I go to the combine. The skinny rings actually weren't bad at all, I don't know why my muscle ups were so terrible when I had to use the skinny rings at Boston Pro Day. 

Legless rope climbs are getting better. I did the first one using a kip but it's just too slow. Stephen told me to try using the "bicycle kick" because it's much faster and more efficient. I did three rope climbs with the bicycle kick and it's so much better! It really doesn't fatigue my arms any more than using the kip and it's twice as fast. Neat! Now I just have to work on touching the top of the rope before I use my feet.....

I used 60# on the sled drag so I could keep it moving the whole time. 

Excellent day, looking forward to Grid practice tomorrow!

2015 CrossFit Open Recap

The 2015 CrossFit Open ended a few days ago and it's hard to believe it's actually over. We spent so much time thinking about it, talking about it, and training for it, and now it's done. I had mixed feelings going into the Open this year. I've never been a huge fan of it because the workouts were usually all about long metcons and light weight on the barbell. I always felt like the Open exposed my weaknesses instead of my strengths, and it usually just ended up making me feel bad about myself as an athlete. However, part of me was looking forward to it because I have made leaps and bounds in my training this year, and I also knew it was something I would get to do with all my friends. There's always a great energy surrounding the gym during the Open, and I really enjoy that aspect of it. 

I'm not going to go through each workout week by week, I already did that multiple times in previous blog posts and no one wants to read that shit over and over. Instead, I'm going to make a list of what I thought were the best moments during the Open. So, here it is (in no particular order).


My Top 5 Best Moments from the 2015 CrossFit Open


1. Seeing a large improvement in mental strength
I have never been very mentally tough as an athlete. Usually when something would start to hurt, I would tell myself it was okay to slow down or back off. I've never pushed myself mentally in the Open, I would talk myself out of doing well before the workout even started. I would tell myself it was okay to do poorly because these workouts didn't showcase my strengths anyways and I knew I wasn't going to get that good of a score, so why go all out? That was not the case this year whatsoever. From the very first workout, I could tell something had changed for me mentally. I wanted to do well and I wanted to leave it all out there. I wanted to do my very best on every single workout, even if they didn't play to my strengths (looking at you, 15.2. A-hole). I wasn't afraid to hurt and I actually wanted to repeat every single workout so I could get the best possible score. I pushed hard every time, I did what Stephen said, I shut off my brain and kept going. This was my fifth Open and I can honestly say this was the first year I gave my very best on every workout. It was something I wanted for myself, to prove to myself that I could push beyond the pain and push past the point of wanting to quit. This was a huge growing experience for me, and I made myself very proud. 

2. My performance on 15.3
When I heard muscle ups were the first movement in 15.3, I basically reacted like this:



Muscle ups are definitely one of my biggest strengths. I was really excited about 15.3 because I was still nursing my wounds from the soul crushing blow delivered by 15.2 and I needed a win. Stephen told me I needed to get into the third round of this workout and that's what I did. This was by far my best performance on any Open workout ever. It was one of those moments where it felt like the stars had aligned, everything went according to plan from start to finish. I was feeling great, my muscle ups were on point, I never failed a rep, I never go no-repped on any wall balls, and I did exactly what Stephen told me to do from beginning to end. I was breathing hard but I just shut off my brain and ignored the pain. When it was over, Stephen told me I didn't have to redo it because it was a max effort. I was so proud of myself. This was also the first time I had ever been the top female contributor for our gym, so that was really cool. More importantly than the score, I had gotten my confidence back after feeling so deflated the previous week. 15.3 was the workout that showed me just how far I've come in the past year. If this had shown up last year, I would have been doing muscle ups one at a time and I would have been bent over with my hands on my knees resting way too long between every set of wall balls. Progress is the coolest!



Just two fit friends doing cool stuff together
3. Making it my #1 priority
Last year the Open was just kind of another thing going on in my life. At the time, I was working at the bank, not eating well, not getting enough sleep, stressed out and distracted. This year, the Open was front and center. I had basically taken the past year and dedicated it to training, and I wanted to make sure I gave this my absolute best effort. I made sure I was getting enough sleep, I ate completely clean, I did everything my coach told me to do and I didn't let anything else get in the way of a good performance. I basically told my friends that unless our plans ended before 10:00, I was out of commission for the next five weeks. It paid off because I had my best finish in the Open so far. I'm proud of myself for giving it my all and I have no regrets. 

4. Getting to lift a heavy barbell during 15.1A
I was SO pumped when I heard 15.1A was build to a max clean and jerk. That is my shit. This made me really excited about the Open in general because I knew it was going to be different than anything they had done before. I love building to a max lift, especially in a competition setting. I feel like the adrenaline does half the work. On my first attempt at 15.1, I got 155 reps and clean and jerked 191. On my second attempt, I got 175 reps and still clean and jerked 191, which made me pretty happy considering I was way more fatigued the second time around. I made larger jumps and hit 191 pretty easily. This was one of my favorite parts of the Open, lifting heavy is the best. 
Two members of the CSC lifting team
5. Watching my friends succeed
The absolute best part of the Open was getting to watch my best friends deliver outstanding performances every single week. I was so proud of everyone and I was being inspired by them constantly during the Open. Heather didn't have muscle ups at the beginning of December and then she completed more than a full round of 15.3 in March. Dave made 185 look like nothing during 15.4. Austin did pull ups until his hands were shredded in 15.2. Emily completely destroyed 15.5, and watching Alex give absolutely everything on 15.5 was something I'll never forget. The list goes on. I watched everyone at CSC give their best every week and I feel lucky to call them my friends. Everyone supported and encouraged each other and the environment was nothing but positive. This was my favorite part about the Open. Now please enjoy some pictures of my friends being fit and awesome.

Heather with a 201 clean and jerk PR during 15.1A

Alex and Teej, 15.2

Dave during 15.4
Sammy after 15.5
This was my best Open so far for many reasons. Performance-wise, I placed 111th in the region, which is the highest I've ever placed and it's a huge improvement from my 183 spot last year. I also feel I performed my best on every single workout. My dedication to the training process paid off, I reached my goal of contributing at least three scores and I walked away each week knowing I did my best. My breathing has improved, my transitions have gotten faster, my gymnastics are better and I can still move heavy weight. I still have a lot to work on but I feel like my weaknesses are getting smaller. 

I was also in a completely different mindset this year. I was focused and wanted to do my best. I didn't mind doing the workouts twice (except for 15.5....I mean.....) because I wanted to put forth my best effort. I wanted to do well for the team and for myself. I also didn't let the Open shatter my opinion of myself. The Open can sometimes feel like that relative at Christmas who only harps on the fact that you're single and doesn't want to talk about all the other cool shit you have going on in your life. It can occasionally make you forget how far you've come and how well you've been doing. In the past, if I had a bad performance or the workouts didn't play to my strengths, I would feel bad about myself. I would tell myself I actually hadn't improved that much and that I sucked. This year, I told myself to do the workouts to the best of my ability and to not let a poor performance (Ahem....15.2...) change the way I view myself. It's just like James Fitzgerald says- you have to distance yourself from the results and don't let it define you. We don't have any control over what the workouts are, all we can do is take what is given to us and do our best. 

111th in the region!

Smiling after a successful Open


I want to thank my coach, Stephen Flamm, for always being there to guide me through the entire process. I would have been lost with him. I did whatever he told me because I trust him, he knows me as an athlete and knows what I'm capable of. He was the voice in my head during the painful moments when I wanted to stop and he pushed me to do my best every week. I think I can speak for all of us when I say he did an excellent job of coaching his athletes through this Open. He invests in his athletes and we are lucky to have him.

Dad, thanks for always cheering me on and believing in me!

To my friends at CSC, thanks for making this the best Open I've ever had. It was a real pleasure getting to go through the Open with you guys, you're the most talented and hilarious people I know. You're the best. 

Now that the Open is over, I'm looking forward to getting back to normal training. It's time to get ready for the Grid Combine in two weeks, and I can't wait. There is also still a chance the CSC team can make it to regionals, and I plan on being ready if chosen to compete. I'm excited to see what will happen in the next few months. Onward!

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