kc.yyc

YYC CrossFit Newbie Trying to live a healthier lifestyle

[kcyyc-blog]

Double Grace

I just completed "Double Grace". Double Grace 60 Clean and Jerk for Time @135lb/95lb Did not strategize this workout properly. Tried to break it up into sets if 5 but doing 60 singles is a better way to attack this workout.

[kcyyc-blog]

July 22, 2014 - Derek Austin Workout

I just worked out with Derek Austin 10 mins Find your 1RM bench press 1RM Bench Press: 235lbs 3 Rounds for Time 180lb Bench Press (10 rep Max) 180lb Sled Push 40m Time: unknown - it was a killer though

[kcyyc-blog]

Tabata Intervals - July 22, 2014

Tabata Intervals for Reps: 1. Ring Support 20/15/8/5/6/5/8/3 2. Back Extension 12/10/9/8/8/8/8 3. Medicine Ball Clean – 20#/14# 2/4/4/5/4/3/4/2 4. Chin Over Bar Strict Hold 5/5/5/5/5/5/2/5 Total Score 250

[kcyyc-blog]

Nate

I just completed "Nate". 20 Minute AMRAP 2 Muscle Ups Subbed 2 C2B Pull-Ups and 2 ring dips for 1 MU 4 Handstand Push Ups Subbed 1 HS Lowers for 1 HSPU 8 KB Swings – 2.0 pood 4 rds - 4 C2B 4 Ring Dips - 3 KBS

[kcyyc-blog]

June 7, 2014

I just completed "June 7, 2014". 3 Rounds for Time Run 800m 15 DB Thrusters @ 35lbs 10 Toes-to-Bar

[kcyyc-blog]

Heavy(ish) Randy

I just completed "Heavy(ish) Randy". 75 Power Snatches for Time 95lbs I have to work on my hip extension and driving under the bar. The whole series from hang to high hang to hip extension to shrug and getting under the bar felt very dis jointed.

[kcyyc-blog]

June 4, 2014

I just completed "June 4, 2014". 5 Rounds for Time: Run 200m – (25lb X 2) 7 Push Jerk – 135lb Coach’s notes: For the runs carry one plate in each hand using your fingers to grip. Push Jerks from the floor.

[kcyyc-blog]

14.5 - Thrusters and Burpees.

Saturday March 29, 2014

14.5 - Thrusters and Burpees.

 I think everyone knew that the last workout of the Open was going to be thrusters and burpees, but I don’t think anyone knew that the rep scheme was going to be as brutal as it was.

 “The clock – save you it will not. You WILL do 168 reps or you will quit in the process of trying.”

 Wow, as painful as this sounded, and seeing as how I’ve never really done a 95lb thruster or that high of volume of thrusters, I was actually excited for this workout. After the live announcement, just like every other, I headed to CFC and went to practice some movements and get a feel for what it’s going to feel like being in the “suck”.

 Coach Colin (OG) and Coach Todd were teaching a class. After warming up, I grabbed a 95lb barbell and went to work. OG and Todd gave me some pointers to help with the thrusters, tell me to come out of the thruster to try and “launch” the bar overhead rather than “pressing” it overhead. After a few reps, I moved on to burpees. Making sure that there was a two-foot take off, and trying to close the distance between the bar and my feet to not waste energy I was now becoming aware how painful this workout was going to be.

 “Try doing 5 thrusters and then 5 burpees to get a feel for the transitions.” Todd said making sure that I don’t do too much before the actual event. As I cleaned the bar into my first thruster and got it overhead, both Todd and OG said in unison “BREATHE”. I dropped the bar and laughed cause I know I have a bad habit of going through the first few reps of anything without breathing. I focused a lot on breathing and trying to get a rhythm.

 Saturday came and 14.5 at CFC was officially underway. Not set heats for this workout, just wait until your name comes up and get after it. Coach Erin Ewasiuk was my judge for this workout. It felt like my whole CrossFit experience came around full circle today since Coach Erin was my coach for most of my Intro program at CFC. I told her my goal was to try and finish in less than 30 minutes.

 I decided to break this workout into 3 sets if I could. It seemed like most people were thinking the same thing. Round of 21 felt pretty good on the thrusters, three sets of seven felt great, the burpees weren’t too bad, but they quickly got harder and harder. The tough part of this workout for me was mentally telling myself to do the three sets, there were times in the early rounds (round of 18 and 15) where I wanted to break it up into more sets but having the people at CFC cheer me on gave me the mental strength to keep them as three sets.

 I think the my favorite part of this workout was the cheers from Erin beside me telling me “(The thrusters) are easy for you, just pick up the bar and do it” and later on towards the end of the workout “Okay, Ken, you have two minutes to finish this workout. Keep moving” as I got to the round of 6. When I got to the round of 3, I was so close to finishing and I just tried to push through as quickly as I could. Those last three burpees felt like death, probably because I held my breath as I did each one. As I lay on the ground, Erin comes up to me asking me to sign my scorecard but all I could do was raise my and to signify “I need a minute”.

 29:13, I finished under 30 minutes. I met my goal. I was happy about it. It felt good to finish my first CrossFit Games Open on a high note and to give me the confidence that I could finish a workout like this. I think the best part was, no one at CFC gave up, everyone finished. It was a good confidence booster for a lot of us.

 Later that evening as we got together to celebrate finishing the Open, we talked about how this last workout felt. My time was considerably slower than most people, but everyone was proud of what I was able to accomplish.

 After two months of CrossFit, one Open competition, the community, the support, and the fun, I am ranked 67,581 out of 80,284 men worldwide and 1,675 or 1,917 men in the Canada West region. I can’t wait to see what will come next! 

[kcyyc-blog]

14.4 - The Chipper (Row, Toes-to-Bar, Wall-Balls, Cleans, and Muscle-Ups)

Saturday March 22, 2014

14.4 - The Chipper (Row, Toes-to-Bar, Wall-Balls, Cleans, and Muscle-Ups)

 14.4 was the workout I was most afraid of. Watching archived footage of chipper events, seeing how tough physically and mentally it can be, I knew that this was going to be the biggest CrossFit challenge I have yet to face.

 Still being about 2 months into my CrossFit journey, I have nothing close to what would be considered a muscle up; I even have trouble with supporting myself on the rings let alone attempting a muscle up. So my goal for this event was to get to the cleans and hopefully finish all 30. I went to CFC and practiced some of the movements with Derek (Storbakken) and Cody (Austin) trying figure out strategy.

 My ambitions for this workout were quickly squashed. Watching some of the athletes at CFC that I admire make their way through this workout, it was obvious that it was going to be a lot more challenging than expected. As I struggle with bodyweight and gymnastic movements I knew that the toes-to-bar were going to be an obstacle I must try and overcome.

 Mike Sydoryk was there to help coach me and judge my work. The 60 calorie row felt pretty decent. I started out pretty quick/strong out the gate and then gathered my thoughts and said to myself “whoa, you might want to save some for the rest of the workout” so I finished the row in about 3:14. Nice and warm now, I moved over to the pull-up bar and proceeded to chip away at the toes-to-bar. This was possibly one of the most frustrating things I have gone through. Mike kept me sane with his motivating commentary “Good pace, Ken. Take a deep breath and get back on the bar. Good, just keep moving.”

 As I tried making my way through the bar, I kept looking at the clock, trying to figure out a way to pace my remaining reps. It seemed as though time just kept going by faster and faster, frustration building, I knew that if I could get to wall-balls I could at least put up a score that I could somewhat be satisfied with, but that never happened. After a few failed attempts at the toes-to-bar, the time cap came and went and I never made it passed the second stage of the chipper. I felt frustrated, disappointed, angry, and annoyed with myself. I wasn’t really tired, I couldn’t really explain why I couldn’t get through the toes-2-bar, maybe it was my grip (which I really need to work on), maybe I overthought this workout, or maybe it was this nice belly of mine that prevented me getting my toes to the bar. Either way, it was a disappointing outing on my end. Just for fun, threw some wall-balls and went to cheer on the other athletes completing the workout.

  Coach Jason chatted with me a couple of days after the workout and asked me how 14.4 went. I told him I was disappointed in myself, and that I had no reason as to why I couldn’t even get passed the second stage. Jason looked at me, blinked, and just said “Hey, you got it done. You set a benchmark, you know what to work on, and you’re still new at this. Was this the first time doing that many toes-to-bar at once?” Now that I think about it, yea, this was the first time doing that many toes-to-bar all in one workout. It is something to be proud of. It’s the little victories that matter and add up to big victories.

[kcyyc-blog]

14.3 - Deadlifts and Box Jumps

Saturday March 15, 2014

14.3 - Deadlifts and Box Jumps

 It was like my Thursday was becoming more and more routine. Wake up, go to work, rush home and watch the live announcement.

 "As many reps as possible of 10 deadlifts 15 box jumps...15 deadlifts 15 box jumps..."

 Yes!! Finally, 2 movements I can actually do. It also helped that one of our workouts earlier in the week was a heavy deadlift work out. There was some confidence brewing.

 After watching a few videos on how to game this workout, I decided that breaking up the deadlifts into smaller sets and knowing how my knees get during box jumps, I decided to do step-ups and step-downs.

 The first 10 deadlifts at 135lbs felt great, not too heavy, but just enough resistance to get things firing. The 15 “step ups” weren’t too bad either. I was able to complete the first round with no real trouble. Tack on another 50lbs for the next set of deadlifts and things start to feel a little heavier. I decided that I would break up these deadlifts in to sets of five, where on the fifth lift I would just drop the bar, take a nice deep breath and get right back at it. It was a good pace. I could sense the fatigue factor settling in now, especially when it came to the 24-inch box. I felt that, trying to alternate the leg being used to step up each time so my legs wouldn’t burn out was a good idea at the time but my legs just felt so heavy my cycle rate became slower and slower.

 Getting to the round of 275lb deadlifts was part of my goal, getting to 100 reps was the other part of my goal for this workout. I did get to the 275lb deadlifts but fell short of my 100 rep goal by seven reps. I was still happy with the result, but I had that same feeling of wishing I did more. My judge (Audra Arlain) gave me a hug, said I looked good in the workout and congratulated me with getting the workout under my belt.

[kcyyc-blog]

14.2 - Overhead Squats and Chest-to-Bar Pull Ups

Saturday March 8, 2014

14.2 - Overhead Squats and Chest-to-Bar Pull Ups

Even though I never got the 200 reps I set my goal for with the Double Unders and Snatches I felt pretty good after the event. 

                                                                                 Probably still riding the high from the first workout and replacing the nerves I had with new ones, I eagerly awaited the 14.2 announcement.

  March 13, 2014 I rushed home as quickly as I could from work, turn on my computer, went to YouTube to see what I was in store for.

  As Dave Castro announced, "overhead squats" I thought to myself "yes" and a smile on my face. Then Dave Castro decided that out of all the other movements he could say, "Chest to Bar Pull-Ups". I hung my head in shame. "Well this will be a short 3 min workout for myself, I can't even do strict pull-ups, how am I supposed to do 10 C2B pull-ups on less than 3 minutes?!?"

  I went to CFC after watching Talayna and Camille do what I thought I could not, I decided I was going to practice pull-ups. Coach Jason was there teaching the class and have me some pointers to think about when trying to get my first C2B.

  As much as I tried, I couldn't get my chest to that bar. Even though it's only about 3ft from my hands to my chest, that bar felt like it was 10ft away. Not the biggest confidence booster to say the least.

  Game Day - I got to the box around 1:30 to soak in that amazing energy I felt the same time last week. As I worked on some mobility and asked for tips from some of the thee athletes, my nerves started to creep up. Cody told me that a wider grip to shorten the distance to the bar would help and to even grip the bar supinated might be easier (advice I would take to heart).

  My heat is up. In front of me - my judge Michelle Savard, a 95lb loaded barbell, and a pull-up bar. 3-2-1-GO I snatched that 95lbs and got my OHS done as quick as I could. Looked at the clock and say that I had more than two minutes to get my first ever C2B. 

  Michelle stood there telling me to calm down, relax, and just worry about getting that first one. "Get a hard kip! Harder! KIP HARDER!!....ONE!". As I dropped from the bar to reset, it was like music to my ears...I got my first ever C2B! I was pumped! I got back on the bar, Michelle still right by my side telling me to kip like my life depended ok it. As Aly called "3-2-1-TIME!" I never got to the 10 C2B but I got my first five. Michelle came up to me with a huge smile and gave me a hug and congratulated me and all I could say was "thank you...I wish I could have gotten more!"

  As I walked past the rig to get my water and cheer on the next heats, I was met with everyone high-diving me and congratulating me on getting my first C2B. Wow, I couldn't believe the support I was getting for what I thought would be a small milestone to others. 

  As I suspected, it was a short 3 min workout for me. I worked as hard as I could to get those 15 reps, and I know I have to work on a lot more...but its 15 reps I will never forget.

[kcyyc-blog]

14.1 - 10 min AMRAP: Double Unders and Snatches

Saturday March 1, 2014

14.1 - Double Unders and Snatches

After watching the Live Announcement my first thought was “crap…double-unders”. I went to CFC and did the workout and then ran to a frazzled Aly who was figuring out the logistics of the first workout and asked if it was too late to register to do the Open with CFC. That same night, I practiced trying to get my double-unders to prepare for 14.1.

 Saturday morning came and my nerves were in full effect. I watched the first heat (which had games athlete Brett Marshall) in amazement at how easy they made the movements look. Next thing you know, my heat is up.

 Mentoring Coach (at the time) Audra Arlain chats with me minutes before we start. She goes over standards, what she wants to see to get a good rep, and how she will count my reps. Still nervous, Coach Aly counts down, there’s the beep and I attempt my first double-under of the Open.

I was actually relieved when I attempted my first double-under, I completely botched it and it got all tangled up in my feet, but that was probably the best thing for me to go through. Since I messed up my first one, I knew it couldn’t get any worse, my self-consciousness disappeared, I took a deep breath and started getting after the workout.

 My goal for the workout was to get to 200 reps. It seemed achievable, even though I knew I had little experience with double-unders and have really only been doing CrossFit since January 2014. However, I didn’t realize how tired I would get in the latter part of the workout. Snatch 75lbs overhead felt good the first 2 rounds, but then after the third round of double-unders (which were taking longer and longer each round) those snatches were starting to feel a lot heavier than 75lbs. Seeing me slow down with the snatches, Derek Storbakken just kept saying “Just get one. Back on the bar, Ken. Pick it up, all you need is that first one.” Along with Audra and Derek pushing me to go on, I heard another person cheering me on telling me to push harder and keep going. Someone that I haven’t met at CFC yet, mentoring coach Tania Nash was there to motivate me to finish the workout strong.

 In the end I got stuck in the 4th round trying to get my double-unders which seemed to have deserted me. I finished with 136 total reps, well shy of my 200 rep goal, and I was completely content with that, because at the end of those 10 minutes, I had completed my first CrossFit Open workout.

[kcyyc-blog]

Postponed

So my recounts of my 2014 CrossFit Games Open will placed on hold. I submitted what I wrote to the CrossFit Journal, and looking at their requirements, it mentions that if it is published anywhere else, they will not republish it. I guess we'll see how it goes before I post the full thing.

[kcyyc-blog]

My CrossFit Open Journey

5 weeks, 5 workouts, 5 benchmarks, 5 chances to prove my fitness. I started CrossFit in January 2014.

 After a good 45 min conversation with Coach Jason, he convinced me that doing to do the Open. “It will be fun” he said, “It will be good for you” he said, My reservations came because I just started CrossFit in January 2014. My thoughts were “I don’t have double-unders, don’t have chest-to-bar pull-ups let alone strict pull-ups, definitely don’t even want to think about muscle-ups”. Yet Jason still encouraged me to do the Open. “You will be surprised with what your body can do in an environment like that. It’s fun, you will set some benchmarks and then you have something to compare yourself against the next time”

On Wednesday March 26, 2014 I logged on to the Games website and signed up for the Open. 

Over the next few days, I will recount my CrossFit Open journey and my experience doing the event for the first time and my results.