Participating in the CrossFit Games Open

Since this is my 10 year anniversary of starting CrossFit, I decided to actually put down $20 and participate in the CrossFit Games. I know that I am definitely not going to make it regionals or anything like that, but I did want to see how I would stack up against other athletes. So far, I'm not doing so bad! I am trying to keep in mind that I'm recovering from bursitis. This means I'm trying to push myself, but not push myself so hard that I reinjure myself. It's been an interesting experience so far, 

18.1

I ended up doing 18.1 twice. I initially did the scaled version (with a 20lb dumbbell and knee raises), but I forgot to record it. Since I don't go to an actual affiliate, I have to take video of all my workouts, with a timer visible on the screen. Scaled wasn't too bad, so I picked up one of the 35lb dumbbells, decided I could make it work and attempted it again two days later. I was able to complete 191 reps. Unfortunately, I messed up the video link, but luckily I'm so far down in the rankings no one has even looked at it!

Workout 18.1

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
8 toes-to-bars
10 dumbbell hang clean and jerks
12-cal. row

Women use 35-lb. dumbbell

Score: 191 reps, Rank: 65125, Percentile: 62

20 minute AMRAP 8 toes to bar 10 35lb dumbbell clean and jerks 12 calorie row

18.2

Since I did 18.1 Rx'd, I decided to go Rx'd for 18.2 too. I haven't done squats for three months, so I was thinking this might be rough. AND BOY WAS IT. I did it Friday morning, it is now Monday, and my legs are still burning. I hate burpees and the burpees were the best part. I am definitely bummed that I didn't finish and couldn't quite get to the cleans, but I haven't done cleans in about 6 months, so, really, it probably wouldn't have gone very well. I did manage to do an 85lb clean prior to starting, so that was an accomplishment in itself for me right now.

Workout 18.2

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 reps for time of:
Dumbbell squats
Bar-facing burpees

Women use 35-lb. dumbbells

Score: 87 reps, Rank: 97998, Percentile: 43

Workout 18.2a

1-rep-max clean

Time cap: 12 minutes to complete 18.2 AND 18.2a

Score: 0 lb, Rank: 86022, Percentile: 49

1 -> 10 35lb dumbbell squats Bar-facing burpees

18.3

This was just a total beast of a WOD. I still haven't seen a video of anyone who actually finished it. I originally did it scaled just to see how far I could get. It went ok, but it wasn't my best day for pullups. Then I ran 20 miles on Saturday, felt ok afterwards, so I decided to try it again as prescribed on Monday morning. The weird thing with the Opens is that you score better even for just attempting Rx. My max overhead squat previously had been 75lbs, so I wasn't sure about the 80lbs. At best, I would get through to the second set of double unders and, at worst, I'd get a score of a 100. I managed to PR my overhead squat and get three of them. It was worth it to attempt because this was my second best place and helped pull me back up from a poor showing last week. I hate burpees.

Workout 18.3

2 rounds for time of:
100 double-unders
20 overhead squats
100 double-unders
12 ring muscle-ups
100 double-unders
20 dumbbell snatches
100 double-unders
12 bar muscle-ups

Women perform 80-lb. OHS, 35-lb. DB snatches

Time cap: 14 minutes

Score: 103 reps, Rank: 69761, Percentile: 59

2 rounds for time of: 100 double-unders 20 overhead squats (80lbs) 100 double-unders 12 ring muscle-ups 100 double-unders 20 dumbbell snatches (35lbs) 100 double-unders 12 bar muscle-ups completed 103 reps

18.4

I ended up doing this one Rx first and then scaled to get my actual workout because I absolutely cannot do handstand pushups. The 155lb deadlifts weren't that bad, but I don't know if I could've done all the deadlifts at 205lbs coming off my hip injury. However, I am definitely not alone, since I still places in the top 42% by just getting the initial 21 deadlifts. Watch near the end of the video for my hilarious attempts at handstand pushups.

Workout 18.4

For time:
21 deadlifts, 155 lb.
21 handstand push-ups
15 deadlifts, 155 lb.
15 handstand push-ups
9 deadlifts, 155 lb.
9 handstand push-ups
21 deadlifts, 205 lb.
50-ft. handstand walk
15 deadlifts, 205 lb.
50-ft. handstand walk
9 deadlifts, 205 lb.
50-ft. handstand walk

Time cap: 9 min.

Score: 21 reps, Rank: 71273, Percentile: 58

Workout 18.4 For time: 21 deadlifts, 155 lb. 21 handstand push-ups 15 deadlifts, 155 lb. 15 handstand push-ups 9 deadlifts, 155 lb. 9 handstand push-ups 21 deadlifts, 205 lb. 50-ft. handstand walk 15 deadlifts, 205 lb. 50-ft. handstand walk 9 deadlifts, 205 lb. 50-ft. handstand walk Time cap: 9 min.

18.5

Relative to everyone else, this was my best workout. I also did it twice. For my first attempt, I had gone climbing the nigth before so the chest-to-bars were a little rought and my grip was not my friend. I ended up with 42. I rested up during the weekend and tried again on Monday and improved by 6 thrusters and 3 chest-to-bars. Caveat: I can't do overhand grip CTB pullups. When I looked at the movement requirements, I noticed that it said underhand and mixed grip are also acceptable. I found that, with underhand grip, I could get my chin over the bar with a kip and then squeeze a bit extra to hit the bar beneath my collar bone. It got dicey for a few, but I made it and did 21 total! Plus all the thrusters. This is definitely something I want to work on for next year. I've definitely increased my upper body strength over the past year, so I think getting actual CTBs is a good goal.

Workout 18.5 = 12.5 = 11.6

Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes of:
3 thrusters
3 chest-to-bar pull-ups
6 thrusters
6 chest-to-bar pull-ups
9 thrusters
9 chest-to-bar pull-ups
12 thrusters
12 chest-to-bar pull-ups
15 thrusters
15 chest-to-bar pull-ups
18 thrusters
18 chest-to-bar pull-ups

This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc.

Women use 65 lb.

Score: 51 reps, Rank: 55710, Percentile: 67

Workout 18.5 = 12.5 = 11.6 Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes of: 3 thrusters 3 chest-to-bar pull-ups 6 thrusters 6 chest-to-bar pull-ups 9 thrusters 9 chest-to-bar pull-ups 12 thrusters 12 chest-to-bar pull-ups 15 thrusters 15 chest-to-bar pull-ups 18 thrusters 18 chest-to-bar pull-ups This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc. Women use 65 lb.

End Result

Worldwide: 70,490 (out of 172,008), 59th percentile
Mid-Atlantic: 4,910 (out of 11,836), 58th percentile

Basically... much better than I could've hoped. I'm sure there are some people who just did scaled who are maybe better than me, but hey that's the way they score it! I ended up in the top 41% of female CrossFit athletes in the world. Feeling pretty good about myself!

Let's Talk About Food

I've been exercising a lot for years. And I thought that, overall, I was a pretty healthy eater. Yet I never lost weight. I've never been super overweight, so I didn't worry too much about it. However, it did bug me. I was spending 9+ hours per week exercising (even more if you include my speed walks to and from work), yet I was still sorta chubby and did not feel very confident in myself. Last June, one of my friends turned me onto the Fit Girls Guide. It can be a bit corny, but I found the online community to be pretty inspiring. I started exercising (stressercising at the time) a bit more, but I still didn't really lose any weight. In October, I decided to use MyFitnessPal to start tracking my food and I found that I was consuming a lot more calories than I thought. I still felt like the amount of calories that FGG generally has you eat per day was still too small for me, but I started to cut the sizes of my meals and eat more snacks. I cut down from 2600 calories per day to 1800 and it made a huge difference. Since November, I've lost 20 lbs and hit my original goal weight.

Point one: calories do matter and tracking what you eat really helps you think about what you are putting in your body.

However, it's not just calories. What you put in matters too. I do a lot of weight training, so my goal macro percentages are 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbohydrates. When I started tracking this more closely, I noticed that I actually was very high in my carb intake and pretty low on protein. So I switched a few things around. I decided to try the Wellpath protein blend and I've really loved that. I get the vanilla blend with the green addition and my favorite smoothie so far has been to 12 oz water, a scoop of protein, one kiwi, and stuffing the rest of my vitamix full of baby spinach. Delicious, high in protein, and low in calories. A nice, nutrient dense start to my day. I also have a steady selection of protein bars in my cabinet at work so I am never without an instant meal in case I forget. My favorites are Epic Bar Chicken Sesame & BBQ and Oatmega Chocolate Peanut Crisp. Both bars are high in protein and low in sugar. I also got ProBar Chocolate Supergreens Base Bar, but I can't really recommend it because each bar has 16g of sugar. Speaking of sugar: one of the things I've noticed in the FGG community is eating things that are "healthy" like the ProBars, but they are actually full of sugar and have way more fat than you actually should eat. Fat is good, but it should be in moderation. Given the food available to us, it's much easier to eat a really fat heavy diet than you would think. When looking at nutrition/protein bars, look critically at the nutrition facts and make sure it has less than 10g of sugar and is well balanced. The Oatmega bar is a good example: 7g of fat, 21g of carbs, 14g protein. Assuming you are eating these as part of a balanced diet, that is a good protein boost in your day.

Point two: determine how much fat/carb/protein is good for you and find foods that fit your goal. Beware of "healthy" foods with excess sugar.

Another key thing not to forget is that you also should not be starving yourself. If you are exercising a lot, you need to be nourishing your body! It can't run effectively on empty. You will feel exhausted if you aren't getting enough calories in your day, especially for breakfast and lunch. Speaking of feeling exhausted and running on empty, sleep is also vitally important to weight loss and all around healthy living. If you aren't sleeping, you won't be able to kick ass at the gym and your body will suffer.

Point three: get sleep and feed yo self.

Alright, that's all I've got for now. Take care of yourself!