12.2 is in the bag, and just as all the naysayers predicted, CFDC suffered an overwhelming majority of heinous shoulder injuries – torn rotators, shredded labrums, arms literally ripped from their sockets!
Class was broken into groups of 4 people for the strength session, with everyone working up to, or staying at, 80% of their one rep max front squat. The energy from Saturday carried over to Sunday, and it was awesome to see people really pushing themselves, not just for bigger numbers, but BETTER numbers.
Tom made mention of this during class, but it bears repeating: 80% of your 1RM means, oddly enough, 80% of your 1RM. It doesn’t mean 90%, 85%, or even 82.5%. It also doesn’t mean 80% of the 1RM you want or wish you had. Quite often we make use of workouts which are based off of percentages of our 1RM. Working at these percentages allows a lifter to work in greater volume, either by reps or sets, with better control, better form, and, hopefully, better power. When you purposefully ignore the prescribed percentage, you dilute the objective of the workout. Yes, you can move 80% of your max lifts relatively easily – that’s the point. When a workout is programmed like this past Sunday’s 3 x 8 Front Squats at 80%, or last Sunday’s 5 x 5 Deadlifts at 75%, the intent is not to have you grind out a new 3RM or 5RM. Instead, it’s to help perfect your form and technique, working to master each intricate piece of the lift at a sub-maximal weight. It’s lifting smarter to get stronger.
Post front squats, everyone in class got the chance to see just how strong their cores really with a few reality-check core exercises.
Working in the same groups of 4, each group worked their way through the above core exercises with 2 partners working while the other 2 rested. Once the first 2 were done, the second 2 took their place. Groups continue in this fashion until they had completed two AMRAP sets of each exercise.
Nice work – lot’s of awesome enthusiasm. Rest up, and get ready for Tuesday. Here’s hoping for weighted L-Sits in 12.3 – with Sebastian on our side, we can’t lose:
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I came in early on Saturday to re-do last Tuesday’s workout with taped wrists (thanks to Julia for where to buy it and thanks to Sara for showing me how). OHS are still incredibly tough, but with taped wrists I could at least finish. My rounds were about 3 minutes each.
I had an awesome time watching everyone do 12.2! There were some pretty cool moments, like watching Andraea and Ami simultaneously crank out those 75# snatches. Congrats to everyone on great performances, it was exciting to watch. I set a PR of starting the clock successfully 6 times. :o) I’ve found myself wanting to cheer people on all the time now — life would be much better if people cheered for each other. “You’ve GOT this PowerPoint! BRIEF IT!” Maybe it will catch on. Or maybe my coworkers will just give me strange looks. Shrug.
Front squats went okay; I worked up to my last set at 45# (up from 40# previously). Being a novice is cool because I go up in weight most weeks. Thanks to Sara for great coaching; the pressing the elbows together cue was helpful. My quads are sore today, always good. I liked the core work; subbed my knees in for the L-sits and L-hangs.
Here’s the zucchini muffin recipe I used. Very easy. I’m pleased with Paleo baking, so there will likely be more treats in the near future.
•2 1/2 cups almond flour (I used Trader Joe’s almond meal)
•1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
•3 eggs, lightly beaten (room temperature is best so they don’t make the coconut oil solidify when mixed)
•1/3 cup honey
•1 teaspoon cinnamon
•1/2 teaspoon baking soda
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1/2 cup grated zucchini
•1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 375 and line muffin pan with liners or grease well with coconut oil. Mix almond flour, coconut oil, eggs, honey, and cinnamon until thoroughly mixed. Stir in baking soda, salt, zucchini and walnuts. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 12 servings
http://paleorecipes.tv/recipes/paleo-zucchini-muffins-recipe/ (random website, but I looked around at lots of recipes and liked this one best.)
Another awesome weekend at CFDC. Some notable memories were Sara gutting out some reps at 100#, Ben Brown horsing around 135# like it was his job, and Dan slinging around 165# on Sunday morning to move into the top 60 in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Great stuff and great attitudes from everyone!
I feel so much better this Monday than I did last Monday. Amazing what happens when you listen to Tom and use the prescribed percentages! I went too heavy on deadlift last week, and made sure not to make that mistake this week on front squats. I kept the weight moderate and focused on proper positioning. Also, I normally get bitter when Tom programs core work instead of a metcon. But, for some reason, I really enjoyed it on Sunday. The hollow position work seems to be paying dividends for everyone.
Lastly, thanks for taking that hilarious l-sit picture. Lost in the humor, however, is the fact that that was my first ever hanging l-sit. I’ve never been able to achieve that position before. The positioning work is really helping!
I couldn’t drag any of my crew out of there on Saturday and it was definitely worth being 15 minutes late to our wedding planner meeting to see another round of badass athletes throw down some more snatches. Saturday felt more like a mental grind for me. I felt okay with the 45#s, but as you’ve all heard me complaining enough about already, it took me over 6 minutes to get 1 at 75#s. And yes, I feel proud of hitting the PR, but it was still so frustrating, as I know a lot of others agreed with me. Watching Ami, Steph, Andraea, and Sarah hit those higher weight reps was inspirational and Amelia and MC’s undying efforts helped push me through mine. Watching the men fight through their reps too was awesome!
I was dragged to the 9 am yesterday, but feel like the extra focus on the cleans did me well. I worked with MC, Amelia, and Steph on the front squat and I know that three of us worked at 95 lbs, which was a bit more than we had planned. It felt okay though. Looking forward to next week!
Thank you for sharing that recipe, Katie! I didn’t have one but listened to multiple people rave about those muffins the rest of the weekend. Almost bought some zucchinis to try to make those bad boys today myself, but just couldn’t be bothered. Too much of a project for a Monday, maybe this weekend.
Great energy in the gym on Saturday and yesterday for 12.2. It was awesome to watch so many people do so well and hit PRs. CFDC’s the best. Although MC and I were both a little confused by what we were supposed to say before we broke from the huddle cuz we weren’t there for 12.1. It was a funny moment.
Sunday turned out better than I had expected. I worked with 105lbs and that’s just shy of 80% of my max. It was a good move to stay a little lower after a brutal workout.
This was a hella weekend (in a very good way) for me. From Katie’s wonderful muffins and excellent timekeeping (good job on both fronts), to the energy displayed at Saturday’s workout, to Saturday’s workout (challenging but fun…sorry if my grunts and yells were disturbing), to Sunday’s class, to Winnie’s yoga demo, and (finally) Winnie’s Sunday evening Iyengar yoga class…I woke up this morning feeling as if I were on cloud nine. 🙂
Saturday: I was a little disappointed that I was one rep away from fifty snatches (my revised goal was sixty reps). But I came away from that experience knowing that (a) I really appreciated Coach’s text messages to me on Friday night while I was at a (somewhat boring) birthday party, (b) I really appreciate both Coach Brose and Coach Salty’s wise advice on Saturday on how to approach the workout (I listened), and (c) I felt the “love” as I was performing my workout (thank you CrossFit DC family).
Three cheers for Team CrossFit DC on an excellent effort with Open workout 12.2! I’m really proud of all my teammates.
Sunday: I worked up to 160# x 3 on the front squats. I took it relatively easy Sunday morning as I focused on my depth (good, but getting better…kudos to Winnie) and worked on improving my technique (keeping my elbows high and pushing my knees out by rolling my quads outward). The hollow holds, plank holds, L-sits, and hanging L-sits were a good change-of-pace. I’m almost at a ninety-degree hanging L-sit…it will come in due time.
Watching Winnie’s performance at the yoga demo was a thing of grace and beauty. She made it look so easy; though – trust me on this one – it is not.
Finished my weekend with pain and torture from “Mistress Winnie” (also known as Sunday’s Iyengar yoga class). As I’m writing this comment, I feel really good…ready to get back into the swing of things for tomorrow’s class. 🙂
I was happy to hit a PR of 75# on the snatches on Saturday. I went into it knowing I wanted to try and was happy to get that rep up before time expired.
I seem to be the guinea pig for the Open workouts as I have gone first each time! Nice to get them over with…
Sunday I did my working sets at 95#
I’m out of town so will miss tomorrow night but should be back on Thursday.
I watched the videos of Annie Thorisdottir and Lindsey Valenzuela doing 12.2 and lemme tell ya, those ladies could have used the CFDC cheering squad. Annie T. can’t possibly be human by the way.
I’m getting kind of used to these amazing Saturday’s at the gym. I was a little nervous about 12.2 but not nearly as nervous as for burpee madness. The round of 45 felt just fine. I did 2 reps at 65# (a PR for me) before trying 75#. My technique came apart on me but I made some valiant attempts. It was so inspiring to watch everyone and the ladies, Julia, Sara, Ami, Andrea hit rep after rep of the heavier weights. Looking forward to getting there.
Thanks to everyone that pushed me to sign up for the open. It has been fun to step out of my comfort zone. It is helping me set some new goals as well.
The front squats felt good on Sunday. I worked at 85# and really concentrated on not collapsing at the bottom of the squat. Thanks for the extra coaching Sara.
Thanks Katie for the wonderful muffins on Saturday and for posting the recipe. I’m all over it.
12.2 was a lot of fun and Erica and I were sorry to have to leave early. The snatches were harder than I anticipated, which seems to be a recurring theme with the open workouts. 10 minutes passed really quickly.
Sunday’s WOD was great. Worked with Mark, SBV, and Chris on the front squats. The 9 AM class covered front squats and it definitely helped going into this workout. See everyone tomorrow…..know it is only Monday, but I can’t wait until Saturday!
Also wanted to add that I think it’s pretty awesome that our coaches are leading by example in this open so far. With Chris contributing to our team scores in both rounds so far and Tom not only burpeeing like a champ, but coming off a recent no-snatch hiatus to put up big numbers, it’s really great to have such awesome role models.
Erica, thanks so much for the kind words. I’ve actually learned a lot from jumping in, especially yesterday. Its great to be part of the team, but that was a workout I really could have done better and contributed points wise. I eased in, took my time and did some reps at 95 and 115. By the time I got to 135, I had been too uncommitted to have the time to hit 60. And, I am the one with a torn callous, right after we posted on hand care.
Katie, you are amazing! I hadn’t realized you came in to redo Tuesdays workout beforehand. thanks for being such a dedicated team member and awesome baker.
Overall I was blown away by the dedication and focus shown under pressure. that workout was a tougher mental hurdle than 12.1. Not only did you have to ignore the voices telling you to back away from the pain, but stay focused and trust in the technique. It was a great lesson to watch Dan add 5 reps to his first attempt by taking his eyes of the clock and focus on Chris’s coaching.
Thank you for all the support on Sunday, I can’t emphasize how much it helps to have your friends cheering you on! I’m so excited and proud that we have so many folks from CFDC participating in the open and cranking through each of these workouts.
I think (and I’m sure most would agree) that with a all these workouts the challenge is as much mental as it is physical… and sometimes turning off your brain and letting someone else do the thinking for you (i.e. Salty on Sunday, thanks dude!) can make a world of difference. Still something I’m working on, but I feel that the better I get at listening to cues and to what coach’s Tom and Chris tell me on a day-to-day basis, the better I’ll get. Thanks again everyone, can’t wait for 12.3!
also great to see Max back in class!
Yes! It was great to see Max! And he still has perfect squats!
All these comments make me wish I had timed my comeback a little sooner so I could be part of the CFDC open team. But it was good to be back. Nothing was different — great people, coaching, and environment. And I still misplace my water bottle every four minutes!
And I learned a new drinking game!