Crossfit Armoury - Week 4: Mobility + Team Series Crossfit [week 1]
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| Canes and KettleBells Team Picture; (left to right; Tony, Sari [captain], Karen, Terry) |
Preventative Maintenance:
Mobility Class - Thursday
Mobility Instructor: Arri M.
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| source: https://nikosgiagkou.wordpress.com FOAM ROLLING |
Today's series focused on Low Back, Hip and Core. The popularity of this class is growing. Every time I attend one of these, it's full.
Equipment that was used for this class were light rubber bands (almost latex thin), tied at the ends, thicker rubber bands, and high density foam rollers.
The light rubber bands were used around our knees. This was to help activate muscles around the hips and glutes. While the band is tied between our knees, we were to shuffle from one end of the box to the other; approximately 50' and then back in the other direction. And we are to bend our knees, into an almost sitting position while shuffling sideways.
Foam rollers were used on our quads, hamstrings, hip flexers, IT (Iliotibial Band). I've included a foam roller poster I yanked from the source listed below. There is tons of videos out there that shows you how to foam roller if you don't know how. Or better yet, just attend a mobility class. :)
The use of the thicker rubber band was attached to the rigs, knee high. We would insert one leg into the loop while lying on the ground with legs extended upwards. The loop would wrap around the ankle/achilles area. The other leg on the ground. The intention of this is to help stretch/strengthen the hamstrings. We alternate legs and hold them for about 3 minutes.
Advance Skill Development
Gymnastic class - didn't attend
I opted to skip both the Olympic lifting and Gymnastic class due to the upcoming competition. It's a judgement call on my part as I didn't want to overly tax my body. I ended up swapping out my Gymnastic class for the Mobility class.
Team Series Crossfit Competition
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| Practicing at 6:30 AM for Event 3 with mon Captain Sari; Partner Deadlift @ 270 lb |
EVENT 1 & EVENT 4: Friday; September 11 @ 1:00 PM
EVENT 1: (SCALED)
Scaled Workout
For time:
Females complete:
100 single-unders, each
75-calorie row, total
50 step-ups, total
Then, males complete:
100 single-unders, each
75-calorie row, total
50 step-ups, total
Scaled Standard
F - 20-inch box
M - 24-inch box
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| Our Judge, Ray going over and answering questions prior to the judging of Event 1with Karen and Sari |
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| Karen on the Concept2 Rower, waiting for Sari to finish her skipping (singles under) before starting her rowing. While Judge Ray watches and counts the number of skips |
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| Karen getting some air while skipping |
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| Judge Ray over-seeing Sari calorie row |
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| She's getting closer to the 75 calories |
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| She makes it!! |
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| Karen working thru the Box Step Ups |
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| Karen making it to the top of the box |
My Thoughts:
Event 1:
We opted to do scale as one of the members (Tony - that's me) didn't have the double under mastered. Yes, it's on my list of things to conquer. I do feel like this year will be the year I will be have double under figured out. Now that I managed my first Strict chin-up.
This has been one of the main goals that I wanted to accomplish since I've started with Crossfit. I will give credit to my captain, Sari. We were practicing our partner deadlift for event 3, when I had mention that I had some fears about doing Event 4. She wanted to see how I was doing my pull-ups and perhaps provide some suggestions. I stepped up to the rack, grip the above bar with hands facing me and proceeded to pull myself up from a dead hang. There I was with my chin going over the bar! Sari was surprised as much as I was. Here I was, 6:15 AM on a Wednesday; cranking out my first Strict chin-up. And typical of me, I'm completely unfazed, non excited about my accomplishment. Why? Because its too damn early for my brain and my emotions to connected that I should be celebrating my WIN. I actually got scolded by one of my 7 AM class mates for not being more excited about this personal win. I think some point later in the day, I was celebrating my first WIN in my head.
Now back to Event 1... Trying to figure out where my slow downs are. I think it revolves around my skipping for more than 20 singles in a row. I've been changing the way I skipped based on the feedback from Coach Jason (his advice a few weeks ago) and a few other members at the gym. It seemed to have helped, as I was doing it wrong. The good thing about the judging, is that I don't usually count and focused more on the skips. The other area were I think I need to work on is the Step Ups. As it was pointed out to me by a few audience members; I can streamline the way I do step ups from the corner. It's just the way I was lifting my leg up. I'll give this a try another time when we have Step-ups in a WOD. Thanks Donna for the advice. Not much to say about the rowing aspect, as that is one of my strengths. I had set the damper to 7.5 and was able to get 95 to 98% of a calorie on a single pull. That's just my estimation. I ended up rowing 40 calories before switching off with my partner, Terry.
Our score/total time for this event was 16:08 Karen/Sari time: 7:45 Terry/Tony time: 8:23
EVENT 4: (Rx'd)
Rx'd Workout
Complete as many reps as possible in 15 minutes of:
Male 1 and Female 1 each perform:
5 thrusters
5 chest-to-bar pull-ups
Then, Male 2 and Female 2 each perform:
10 thrusters
10 chest-to-bar pull-ups
Then, Male 1 and Female 1 each perform:
15 thrusters
15 chest-to-bar pull-ups
Then, Male 2 and Female 2 each perform:
20 thrusters
20 chest-to-bar pull-ups
Etc., following the same pattern
Rx'd Standard
M - 95-lb. thrusters
F - 65-lb. thrusters
F - 65-lb. thrusters
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| Karen doing the chest-bar pull-ups |
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| She makes it looks so easy! |
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| One of the many thrusters; Judge Tracey watches on |
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| Tony doing his thrusters; while Judge Ray watches on |
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| Thruster |
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| Sari making the Chest-to-Bar looks so simple |
My Thoughts:
Event 4:
Instead of doing each event in the sequence it was released. We opted to do Event 4 after Event 1; so it not overly taxing the same or similar muscles.
In a last minute decision between our Captain, Sari and Terry, and consult with both Karen and I. We decided to do this even Rx'd instead of Scale. Even though, I just learned how to do my chin-up. We were going to go for Chest to bar. Why you ask; it's mainly to get more points. Based on passed games, if you do an event Rx'd, it's worth more than Scaled.
That and the fact that there was a time cap of 15 minutes; I would be the one trying for the remaining time to get my first Chest-to-Bar. That I did try, as the thrusters were not a problem for anyone of us.
I came pretty close to having my Chest to bar, but close doesn't count. It's something I'll have to work on.
My personal win on this event was that I did accomplish 7 chin-ups. That's 6 more than I did Wednesday; and 7 more than I've every done. I did make more than 7 attempts, but most of the latter ones were my chin not reaching the bar. I gave it everything I got.
Our score on this event was 50 (Rx'd).
Special thanks goes to two people (Ray S. and Tracey P.) who took time out of their busy schedule and judges us on a Friday afternoon at Crossfit Armoury.
EVENT 2 & EVENT 3: Sunday; September 13 @ 10 AM
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| Event 2 & 3 Pictures |
EVENT 2: (Rx'd)
Rx'd Workout
As FF and MM pairs, complete as many reps as possible in 20 minutes of:
30 clean and jerks (females)
30 clean and jerks (males)
30 clean and jerks (females)
30 clean and jerks (males)
Etc.
Rx'd Standard
Switch athletes after every 5 reps and increase the weight of the barbell after each set of 30 reps.
Females use 95, 105, 125, 145, 155, 165 lb.
Males use 135, 155, 185, 225, 245, 265 lb.
EVENT 3: (Rx'd)
Rx'd Workout
42-30-18 reps for time of:
Muscle-ups, with static deadlift hold
350-lb. partner deadlifts
Rx'd Standard
The 45-lb. barbell must be loaded with 135 lb. on one side and 170 lb. on the other side.
Resting a day in between competition was helpful. I probably wished that I had an additional day in between, maybe more. But that wasn't the case as we all have pretty busy work/life schedules. That's also the reason we did the testing back to back with a 20 minute break in between.
We had some issues finding a judge who was available during the time we were doing our testing and a location. Since Karen is actually from another crossfit box; we decided to do our testing there and with a judge from that location. Actually, its the box that both Terry and I had left prior to joining Crossfit Armoury; familiar territory.
While we did arrive early to warm-up, set-up and familiarize our self with the workout. The Sunday crew of Crossfitters started to come in to do their workout routines. First group to arrive was the Downtown branch of the same facility. I found myself a bit nervous and at the same time, chuckling inside myself when I saw some familiar faces. Most of those who walked in were quite surprised to see us there. Puzzled and full of questions by many. I think we tried to answer as much as we could before running off to start our testing.
It was a good visit with most of the folks and I did find myself lingering around after finishing both events. It was definitely nice to see everyone again!
Prior strategy was to do Event 2 as Rx'd and Event 3 as Scaled. Again, some last minute decisions were made to do Event 3 Rx'd for more points. I really do appreciated my team mates for having confidence in my ability to handle heavier weights.
Event 2 consisted of doing Clean and Jerks (Push or Split). While the weight is heavy to start off with, I'm most impressed by Karen who had informed us prior that if and when we get to the second round for the women; that weight of 105 lb is her 1 RM. She had to do 15 of them. Between all the support from our team and the great coaching from both Terry and Sari; she maned to complete 12 of them. Totally amazing, watching her overcoming her struggle. Way to go Karen!
Our score on this Event 2 is 87; the tiebreak is 9:22
Event 3:
Here we go again, Rx'd the workout. So, instead of using 270 lb for the deadlift component, Rx'd requires 350 lb. (170 lb on the men's side and 135 lb on the women side, with the bar being 45 lb).
This is also the weight we will be using for our static deadlift hold. Other difference for Rx'd is 42 Muscle Ups vs 80 Hand-release push-ups.
Yah, no problem. Three of us (Karen, Sari, and I can't do Muscle Ups), while Terry is the only one that can. I like lifting heavy weights and the ladies are very strong. The decision was to have the ladies alternate each time that Terry would need a rest from his Muscle Up attempts. And I would do the static deadlift hold for the guys side. Communication is key between all of us. Any drop of the 350 lb deadlift static hold while Terry is performing his muscle up would called a no-rep. That happen once, only once. It was my fault as I had a bad grip.
There was a 30 minute time cap. The big question, was who was gonna tire out first. At some point, I listen to Karen and opted to use gloves on the static Deadlift hold. Shit, things get heavy quick. Worst is when you have a tight shoulder (which you know it's an injury).
That face I make in the pictures, kinda tells you why I'm not smiling. I tried alternating grips, alternating shoulders for the deadlift static hold. There was a push at the last 5 minutes just so Terry can finish 39 reps. I was losing my grip strength (regardless with gloves or not). Sari even suggested putting chalk on my gloves and of course my fingers. I even tried using the hook grip. I fought with everything I had the last three minutes. I think it was the longest three minutes. In the end, it was done. Thirty minutes went by, and our team did it!!!
Our score for this event was 39 reps. Thats 39 reps of Muscle up done by Terry, and 350 lb deadlift static holds between Tony and Karen/Sari. All communicated between the four of us.
I love teamwork!! Great work everyone!!!
Special thanks to Karen M., and Sarah M. for sneaking us in early (15 minutes) before the box officially open and Christian V. for judging us. Also thanks for all those who were working out and later became our audience while we did our best in our team crossfit workouts!
Post Team Series Crossfit [week 1] thoughts:
Here are some of my WINs that I'm taking away from this week of competition.
- did my first strict chin-up (one of my biggest goal to do since I started Crossfit 2.5+ years ago)
- did more than 1 chin-up (which I did on Friday during my attempts to do Chest-2-Bars)
Injury:We had some issues finding a judge who was available during the time we were doing our testing and a location. Since Karen is actually from another crossfit box; we decided to do our testing there and with a judge from that location. Actually, its the box that both Terry and I had left prior to joining Crossfit Armoury; familiar territory.
While we did arrive early to warm-up, set-up and familiarize our self with the workout. The Sunday crew of Crossfitters started to come in to do their workout routines. First group to arrive was the Downtown branch of the same facility. I found myself a bit nervous and at the same time, chuckling inside myself when I saw some familiar faces. Most of those who walked in were quite surprised to see us there. Puzzled and full of questions by many. I think we tried to answer as much as we could before running off to start our testing.
It was a good visit with most of the folks and I did find myself lingering around after finishing both events. It was definitely nice to see everyone again!
Prior strategy was to do Event 2 as Rx'd and Event 3 as Scaled. Again, some last minute decisions were made to do Event 3 Rx'd for more points. I really do appreciated my team mates for having confidence in my ability to handle heavier weights.
Event 2 consisted of doing Clean and Jerks (Push or Split). While the weight is heavy to start off with, I'm most impressed by Karen who had informed us prior that if and when we get to the second round for the women; that weight of 105 lb is her 1 RM. She had to do 15 of them. Between all the support from our team and the great coaching from both Terry and Sari; she maned to complete 12 of them. Totally amazing, watching her overcoming her struggle. Way to go Karen!
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| Karen successfully completing 12 reps @105 lb |
Our score on this Event 2 is 87; the tiebreak is 9:22
Event 3:
Here we go again, Rx'd the workout. So, instead of using 270 lb for the deadlift component, Rx'd requires 350 lb. (170 lb on the men's side and 135 lb on the women side, with the bar being 45 lb).
This is also the weight we will be using for our static deadlift hold. Other difference for Rx'd is 42 Muscle Ups vs 80 Hand-release push-ups.
Yah, no problem. Three of us (Karen, Sari, and I can't do Muscle Ups), while Terry is the only one that can. I like lifting heavy weights and the ladies are very strong. The decision was to have the ladies alternate each time that Terry would need a rest from his Muscle Up attempts. And I would do the static deadlift hold for the guys side. Communication is key between all of us. Any drop of the 350 lb deadlift static hold while Terry is performing his muscle up would called a no-rep. That happen once, only once. It was my fault as I had a bad grip.
There was a 30 minute time cap. The big question, was who was gonna tire out first. At some point, I listen to Karen and opted to use gloves on the static Deadlift hold. Shit, things get heavy quick. Worst is when you have a tight shoulder (which you know it's an injury).
That face I make in the pictures, kinda tells you why I'm not smiling. I tried alternating grips, alternating shoulders for the deadlift static hold. There was a push at the last 5 minutes just so Terry can finish 39 reps. I was losing my grip strength (regardless with gloves or not). Sari even suggested putting chalk on my gloves and of course my fingers. I even tried using the hook grip. I fought with everything I had the last three minutes. I think it was the longest three minutes. In the end, it was done. Thirty minutes went by, and our team did it!!!
Our score for this event was 39 reps. Thats 39 reps of Muscle up done by Terry, and 350 lb deadlift static holds between Tony and Karen/Sari. All communicated between the four of us.
I love teamwork!! Great work everyone!!!
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| I obviously in my zen place with eyes closed |
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| The view from the back, I'm hiding my weighting belt underneath my shirt. |
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| Sari reminding me to breath while holding the weight Terry on the Muscle Up Ring (left, in red shorts), while Judge Christian watches |
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| Terry Cranking out the Muscle-Ups (2 to 3 at a time) |
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| Sari, Posing with the 350 lb Partner Deadlift Bar Our Judge Christine (left) and Karen (right) watches on |
Special thanks to Karen M., and Sarah M. for sneaking us in early (15 minutes) before the box officially open and Christian V. for judging us. Also thanks for all those who were working out and later became our audience while we did our best in our team crossfit workouts!
Post Team Series Crossfit [week 1] thoughts:
Here are some of my WINs that I'm taking away from this week of competition.
- did my first strict chin-up (one of my biggest goal to do since I started Crossfit 2.5+ years ago)
- did more than 1 chin-up (which I did on Friday during my attempts to do Chest-2-Bars)
I suspect that my injury came about due to the load that I had put on my shoulders. A lot of strict Pull-ups/chin-ups; especially when I don't use that movement that often. Then on Event 2 (Cleans and Push Jerks), catching the weight [135 lbs] incorrectly, was the final straw. Of course, it would happen on my last rep of 15. I knew it wasn't good when I caught it and I felt a pull in the back of my shoulder. Should I had stopped. Well, I did after that 15 reps.
And of course, like a typical guy. I opted to continue with the 350 lb shared [partner] deadlift static hold.
I knew already in my mind that I would be seeing Arri for my physiotherapy fix. [I remember joking to him the week before, asking if I should pre-book my appointment]. Who knew that I would be following thru with that comment.
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| Injuries to my shoulder; Arri (my physiotherapist) had decided to tape it up after my treatment |
I remember when I use to attend a community gym, and participated in different classes ranging from Fat Camp to Toughen Up (think of it as High Intensity Interval training without Olympic lifting) to Kettlebell class. I frequently got injured. For those who doubt me, I can show you the receipts from physio that I attended. I can almost say there was more injuries there than I did from Crossfit.
Nuff said, I think most of you get my point. All one can do it to prepare ourselves to the best of the ability, do what you can to be strong, efficient, and leave the egos at the door. Make sure you take that time to get your rest (sleep) and recovery.
That's what I plan to do for the next few days and see how the shoulder feels.
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| photo credit: http://teamseries.crossfit.com |
If your curious to see our scores, check out the following link: https://games.crossfit.com/teamseries/#/
Our team name is Canes and Kettlebells
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| Master divisions (40's) @ Crossfit Armoury (left to right; Sari, Terry, Karen, Tony) |
Our current standing is:
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| as of Sep 15, 2015 @ 12:07 PM (Master division - 40's) |
Looking forward to week 2 in October; wondering what great Workouts that Crossfit HQ will drop on us. We will be ready!!
Thank you for sharing this. How lucky you have a supportive friends. How I wish I can also go to the gym and do some workouts like that. But since I got injured, I'm just doing some workout with pro bar every morning.
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