Carla's 2014 CrossFit Open experience

Are you thinking of doing the CrossFit open this year? Here is a post from one of our members Carla. She was a little newer to our box but had solid form and technique. She rested when needed and left a wake of destruction in pat throughout the open workouts. It was awesome having her be a part of the 2014 Open and I can't wait to see what she will do this year as the athlete she has become.

14.5 Thrusters and Burpees. Oh My!!!

I admit that I started off being very apprehensive about signing up for the Crossfit Open.  I thought I was ‘too new’ to enter a competition as I had only been doing Crossfit for 6ish months.  After all, there were lots of things I could not do in the box that I imagined would be important in the Open, like headstand push-ups, chest-to-bar pull-ups , muscle ups, Olympic lifts, and the list goes on.  However, I learned very quickly that none of that mattered.  What mattered was the effort and determination that went into every rep, the satisfaction of doing my best, learning where I needed to improve and most importantly celebrating our successes (and the end) of every workout with the Starke family. 

It was an inspirational experience that was loaded with rewards.  The pain was temporary.  Being a part of Team Starke,  and the camaraderie that goes along with that was definitely the highlight for me.  A HUGE thanks to all Paul, Jesse and all the coaches that have help me find my strength again and made it possible.  A special thanks to Laurie Kraus who threw loads of encouragement my way in the beginning…she was definitely instrumental in getting me to sign-up.  Last but not least, thanks to all the judges and especially all the Starke members who came to cheer us all on.  

And after 14.5 I thought….DONE, NEVER AGAIN! but chances are…I will likely give it a go again next year.  Hope to see you thereJ

Carla post 14.5

My First Time...

My First Time

It’s not THAT type of story.  Awkward…

It all started last year when FrostFit 2014 was approaching. I remember being asked to compete and it was a definite “no”. I was far too intimidated to get out in front of a group of people and nail through a number of workouts over the span of a weekend. EVERYONE would be way better than me and that was daunting. It also wasn’t the case. 

I wanted to check out the event first hand, so on a Saturday morning after our workout myself and a few others from Starke headed to CrossFit Winnipeg to take in some of the workouts. When I got there I was surprised at how chill it was, people sitting and standing around in a gym where a group of athletes of all fitness levels, shapes, sizes, techniques, and intensity were barreling through the workouts. I LOVED it!  Its such a great atmosphere with everyone cheering and so much excitement. Who wouldn’t like that?

So then FrostFit 2015 was approaching and I knew I wanted to compete this year. When Lorrie Gren asked me to compete with her I immediately said, “Yes!”, until she said “In the RX category” and then I felt like I had to go for a nervous pee. RX Category? I’d never done a competition in my life and I was about to sign up for one in the RX category?! I had a number of conversations with both Lorrie and Paul trying to convince myself I could do this and eventually I did, I just had to put my best into it. Online registration, done!

Now it was a matter of training! I made sure for the weeks leading up to the event I was doing all of the CrossFit options for the WODs and that I got into the gym as many Sundays as possible to get in some extra skill time on the ones I wasn’t all that great at (insert mumbling swears about ring dips/muscle ups here). I also made a pact with myself that post holidays (i.e. January 1^st up to the event); I would work on clean eating, no alcohol, and a better sleep schedule. I was on a role.

Friday, January 9, 2015 – I popped into the gym for my 5:15pm class and made sure to take it easy so that I’d be in a good position for the competition the next day. I was starting to feel real nervous all over again and began cursing my inabilities. After taking a deep breath, I got myself back on track and kept in mind that I would be going in with nothing but determination to give it all I got.  I headed home, packed up my clothes and food for Saturday, and then it was time for bed.

Saturday morning I woke up excited to get to CrossFit Winnipeg to watch the athletes from Starke competing in the Novice category. When I arrived I was happy I hadn’t missed anyone yet and got cozy on the ground with my coffee, ready to watch. Laurie & Carla, Caitlin & Mandy, Dan & Ryan, and Adam & Jesse all came out like beasts and worked their asses off to finish up their first workout.  I think I nearly lost my voice screaming and cheering for them and was SUPER pumped after they all annihilated the workouts. Such a proud mamma moment. Is that creepy or endearing? Regardless, it was awesome to see everyone accomplish what he or she set out for!

Once it came time for Lorrie and I to hit the ground and do our first workout, I really did have a nervous pee this time and then took a few deep breaths and BOOM on the floor. Our first workout was: Squat Clean starting at #95 all the way to #185.  I was a bit nervous going in but was comfortable knowing I could get o at least #145 which was my one rep max. Low and behold Lorrie and I both nailed down #145 each and then moved on to #155. I said I would try it and if I couldn’t do it then I would start the Deadlifts to get a few points in before throwing in the towel. I prepped myself in front of the bar and BAM, I PR’d at FrostFit!  Did the #155! I was SO excited!  Second workout was: 3 stations, Snatch (#95) and Muscle-up ladder, then Double Under's, rope climb, cross overs, and legless rope climb, and then shoulders to overhead (#95), and Box Jumps (24”). Going in this was the workout that Lorrie and I were dreading the most. Starting the first workout I was so bummed and embarrassed almost that Lorrie had to do the snatches and muscle-ups herself, second workout I lost my double under's and so Lorrie did the double under's and rope climbs and I did the crossovers, and last workout we both did our share of overhead and box jumps. Coming out of this overall workout, it wasn’t our best and I felt a little “defeated” in the fact that I couldn’t help Lorrie out in all the movements, but no time for a pitty party, it was time to get ready for our last workout of the day.  

Third workout was: a 700m row and 30 overhead squats (#75) with a 6minute time cap.  This one was tougher then I imagined, but we got ‘er done and were happy to be done for the day with excitement to sleep!

Sunday, our last day. I arrived on time to watch all of Starke's athletes compete in the morning and man was it ever amazing how intense the crowd was. Everyone was cheering like mad, Starke being the loudest support group ever known to man! Lorrie and I had one workout to get done in the morning as well before semi-finals and finals and we were worried. Lorrie had a cold, and was not in a good state with her shoulder and hamstring. We looked over our workout again and started to strategically plan how we would divide and conquer. Here was our last workout: 15 minute time cap, 9 x Clean (#95), 9 x ring dips, 15 x Deadlift (#155), 15 x Handstand Pushup, 21 x Kettle bell Swing (#35), 30 x Chest to Bar Pull-ups, 21 x Kettle bell Swing (#35), 15 x Handstand Pushups, 15 x Deadlift (#155), 9 x Ring Dips, 9 x Clean (#95). I’d do the Cleans, Lorrie would do the ring dips, I’d do the deadlifts, we’d share the handstand pushups, Lorrie would do the Kettle bell Swings, we’d share the Chest to Bar Pull-ups, and then same on the way back. We were the first group in our Heat to finish, something I wouldn’t have thought possible! 

After our workout we found out that 5 of the 6 Starke teams were going straight to semi-finals, Lorrie and I were one place short of the semi-finals finishing in 13^th place. It might not have been where we wanted to be, but in hindsight this was my first competition ever and I went in to the RX category trying my best, and Lorrie fought through her cold and her injuries, so just finishing all of our workouts was an accomplishment in my books!  Plus, it was time to lose my voice cheering on the Starke teams who did make the semi-finals anyway.

Laurie & Carla and Mandy & Caitlin worked their butts off in the Novice Ladies semi finals and Laurie & Carla were the last ones standing in the Burpee Ladder! Then Dan & Ryan and Adam & Jesse annihilated the same workout and yet again Starke was last man standing with Dan & Ryan topless doing their “thang”! 

Mandy & Caitlin made it to the finals and made our entire Starke family so damn proud. They went in with determination to give it their best and man was it amazing to watch! To finish the weekend off, Laurie & Carla took home the title of “Top Female Masters Division” and then we all shared our experiences and love for food at the Olive Garden with our Starke Family!

All in all I would say that going in I was absolutely nervous, but I’m human and nervousness is “ok”, even “normal” if you wish, but it was an amazing experience. FrostFit threw me a challenge, a place to fight through workouts with the support of our insanely loud mouthed gym, and an avenue to recognize what movements I need to work on for the next year to be better when I register again. That’s right, I’ll register again…you should register for it too and challenge yourself in something you may have never done before. If FrostFit isn’t entirely your “thang”, then make sure you come out next year and let us be known for the loudest, most supportive, and insanely fun box in Winnipeg! Starke, you make my heart full. 

The end.

What's In A Score And Why Do We Post It?

Coach Russell Deadlifting everything... If there were children present I'm sure they'd be hanging on the ends of the bar too! 

What’s in a score and why do we post it?

Every day we walk into the gym, and for most of us the first thing we do is venture over to the big white board in the corner and find out exactly what is planned for the day. We see the warm up and we see the workout, and we can begin to mentally prepare ourselves for what is to come, but as our eyes move down towards the bottom we notice what else is posted on the board. The scores (times, reps, and weights) put down by members earlier in the day. We see names we recognize, we see some we don’t, we see scores that we think are in our range of doable, and some that seem downright incredible.

But why exactly do we post our scores on the board for everyone to see? First off, while it’s important that you keep personal track of the workout and your daily score in your own journal/binder, the board serves as an open journal, and feedback for the coaches and programmers. While the WOD’s are programmed with a specific goal in mind, in order to keep variety in the workouts (one of the things we love) there has to be some element of the unknown. Scores on the board allow the coaches to judge things like the time it should take to complete, assess previous performances and the weights used and make modifications for the current class. Posting your score helps other classes.

Secondly, it holds us accountable. The coaches always ask that you count your reps, that you do every rep and you do them to the best of your abilities. Posting your score keeps you accountable to every one of those reps.

“If everything that you ate in the past week was going to be written on the whiteboard in your box, for everyone to see, do you think you would eat differently?” –FletcherFitness: Sport Psychology for Elite Fitness

When you look at the scores on the board you know that every pullup was over the bar, every pushup was full depth, and every wallball was to height. You know that every person who put their score up on the board before held themselves accountable, and that you held yourself accountable to those same standards whether or not you did the an identical workout or a modified version.

Thirdly, it allows athletes to gauge suitable modifications to a workout. For many of us, the RX version of the workout is not entirely possible. Sometimes we have to modify the movements (from C2B down to pullups or bands) or the weights. At the same time, many of us know in and about where we sit in terms of our abilities, and who as well sits with us at that same ability level. When we post our scores, it works two-fold. One; it gives people a chance to see possible weights and mods:

The workout is Fran. Athlete B looks on the board and sees athlete A did it with 75#’s and pullups earlier in the day. Athlete B knows from past experience that Athlete A is at close the same fitness level as them. They know that 75# pounds will probably be a suitable weight, and that 95# might be far to heavy and defeat the goal of Fran.

Two; it gives them a goal to set as well. Athlete B sees Athlete A did it 6 minutes. This gives them a score to shoot for and maybe even beat. Though it is not a competition! It is still a chance to push yourself and in turn leave a score that will push others.

Finally and most importantly, if nothing else, posting our scores at the end of the workout is a badge of honor. Posting a score on the board is a privilege. It’s a right you earn when you get through the often times grueling list of demands above. When you post your score up on that board it isn’t about a number, it isn’t about who is fastest or who is strongest. There is no best and there is no worst. The scores are simply a statement that you came in, gave it everything you could find and that you earned that right. We all earned that right. It’s the equalizer among us all, that it doesn’t matter if your Fran is 2 minutes or 20, your space on that board and your accomplishment is every bit as important as everyone else. That we are all in this together. That is how you build community. And that is why we do what we do, every day.  

My 2014 CrossFit Open Experience By Ashlee Mann

My experience participating in the Crossfit Open 2014...

When I signed up for the Open, like most first timers I had no idea what to expect. I signed up because of the coach’s encouragement and my friends at the gym were participating. I assumed I would last maybe one workout because of my skill level and the fact that during the Open there is very little modification allowed.  I knew the Open workouts were designed to be challenging for the top athletes so my mind set was to do the portion of the workout that I could do and if I got to a point where I couldn't do the outlined exercise then I would simply stop and wait until the next week's workout. Little did I know, Paul had a completely different plan and I was about to challenge myself more than I ever thought?

I have never been one to enjoy seeing the workout posted before going to the gym for the simple fact I can usually talk myself out of going or convince myself that there's no way I can do "that" workout. I was surprised to find myself constantly checking Facebook and Instagram and looking forward to the workouts being posted on Thursday evenings.

There was an arrangement at Starke for everyone doing the Open to get together and do the workouts together. I was a little hesitant on that idea only because it's embarrassing when you can't do an exercise and struggling in front of an audience isn't my idea of fun. It was bad enough there was going to be a judge watching my every rep to ensure it counted. I dreaded the words “no rep”.

The first workout was announced, 14.1- 30 double unders and 15 power snatches for as many rounds as possible in 10 minutes. My first thought was this is going to be pretty straight forward, 10 minutes of attempting to do 1 double under. Up to that point, I had pretty much given up on even getting one double under. When it came to the workout, I practiced for about 45 minutes before, with only minimal success and watched everyone else do their workout. When it was my turn, I went as hard as I could with minimal breaks for 10 minutes to get as many double unders as possible. I got 10 reps! I was really surprised and happy. Right after my 10 minutes was up; I went to the bar and did the power snatches. Even if the reps didn’t count, I had to lift that bar. 

After week 1, that is when my mindset changed. I really enjoyed watching and cheering on the other participants, it was amazing and inspiring to see how everyone fed off the energy of the group, preformed the workouts and really pushed themselves beyond what I’d ever seen them do in our regular classes. I realised the judges were there to cheer you on and hold you accountable to every rep, not just to say “no rep”. It made me want to push myself beyond what I thought I could do to see what I could do. 

Week 2- 14.2 10 overhead squats, 10 chest to bar pulls ups etc. Going into that week I assumed I would drop by the gym to cheer on my fellow participants and do my 10 overhead squats. Paul informed me that I was doing the whole workout, even if only the first 10 reps counted. Lori provided me some pointers for my modified pull ups and it really helped me to improve my form for not only that workout but now every time I do pull ups. I counted 10 reps for this workout as well. 

Reporting your weekly reps/score to the Crossfit Open website was really cool. It was interesting to look over the standings on a regional and worldwide scale. It proved to me what a great community Crossfit is becoming all over the world and that it caters to all ages, demographics and skill levels of people. 

Week 3- 14.3, deadlifts and box jumps/step ups. This week was the hardest workout for me because the deadlift weight was challenging, step ups were even more challenging and I could do the workout to the required standards. I put absolutely everything I had into this workout and I felt like I was at my max the entire time. Paul was my judge for this workout and if were not for his encouragement I would have never attained the 94 reps I reported. This was by far my favorite workout of the Open. 

As the Open workouts progressed, the more challenging they became and the more I felt I pushed myself. Even though I was doing the Open for “fun”, I felt a sense of responsibility to push myself to get the highest score I could, for my gym, for my fellow participants and most importantly, for myself. 

For 14.4 I reported 60 (for the 60 calorie row) and completed the rest of the workout, without the muscle ups, on a modified scale.  For 14.5 it took me 28:58 to complete the thrusters and burpees which wasn’t bad for 6:00am, in my opinion.   

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the Open, I loved cheering on my “team” and having the motivation from the judges at Starke. It was a great challenge and I learnt lots about pushing my own limits. Watching my fellow participants and the videos on the internet were inspiring to say the least. I am looking forward in participating in next year’s Open and by that time I would like to have an unassisted pull up, 20 double unders, a prettier burpee, be more efficient on my wall balls and a 290lb deadlift. 

Are You Open To The Open?

This year the CrossFit Open starts on February 25th. Last year was even better than the previous and I would love to see more people challenge themselves with the 2015 CrossFit Open.

The open is a great way of challenging yourself and seeing where you rank in our box, city,  region, Canada, and in the world!

There are five open workouts in five weeks over the duration of the open. Workouts are released to the world on Thursday night usually with a battle between some of the CrossFit Titans you see competing in the games. The workouts are anywhere form five to twenty minutes in duration and can range from couplets, to ladders, to pyramids, to chippers, to whatever Dave Castro decides to throw at us.

The workouts are judged and scored by judges who have completed the online course and know the exact standards for the workouts. The reason behind having the standards is so that we are comparing apples to apples and it's a level playing field. If your squat isn't low enough your rep won't count. If you don't hit your target on the wall balls your rep won't count.

Every workout will have a specific set of standards and limits and it is our job to make sure that they are followed so that scores are recorded as accurately as possible.

Having someone judge you allows you do perform your best and make sure that you can focus on the task at hand vs. counting reps and performing your movements.

Last year we did the workouts on Friday night and had a lot of fun doing them as a group. We all came and threw down round after round and watched, learned, and prepared for our turn.

I want as many people to test themselves with the event this year and I hope that you will challenge yourself with this unique event.

Last year was the first year that there was a "Scaled division". This division is a great opportunity for those who may not have pull ups, muscle ups, double unders, and other movements that may come up in the standard open workouts. This gives everyone a chance to participate, test themselves, and suffer with everyone else! Your workouts are still judged and you need to submit your scores so that you can see where you stand on a local and global scale.

I think the open is a great way to challenge yourself and rank yourself among tens of thousands of others. Its a great way to find weakness, and a great way to strengthen our community by working together and supporting each other in our common goals of being fitter, healthier, and better.

Are you open the the Open? I am

Paul