CrossFit Open 14.1

My first thought on Thursday night when they announced the workout was “Hey I can do that”. As it turns out, that was only partially the case. The workout was as many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of 30 double unders and 15 75lb snatches. My double unders lately have been pretty good so I felt confident in those. Keeping the weight the same throughout the exercise made the snatches possible unlike last year when they went up to 135lbs in round 2, well past my max of 115. So overall, I was happy. I initially thought I would be able to do about 200 reps.

This workout was a repeat from the 2011 Open which I also participated in. In looking back at what I did then, I got 2 rounds + 30 double unders + 5 snatches for a total of 135 reps. So much for my dreams of 200 reps. I’m not sure how much training I was doing back then though so I was pretty confident I could beat that. My strategy was to shoot for 2 minute rounds.

The gym was crowded tonight and it made it hard to warm up. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about my fitness, I am a slow starter. I would prefer to be dripping wet and panting when I start a workout. I had to start almost cold tonight which was problematic. Also, I didn’t bring my own rope for whatever reason which was a big mistake. The double unders, which should have been the strong point of the workout, were disjointed and difficult. I had to work way too hard at them which caused cascading problems in the snatch. I think the most I strung together was 17 and that was in the last round.

As it turns out, while 75 lbs is doable, it’s still almost half my body weight. I watched guys there who were 200-225 pounds and a 75 lb snatch for them is much easier. I resorted to clean and jerks in the last set. Starting out cold with an uncomfortable rope meant the entire affair was a struggle. I ended up at 165 which given my previous total is fantastic. Still, I was hoping for a better performance on this one since it included exercises I felt semi-decent at.

Next week, I’m going to have to figure out a warmup strategy. Instead of cheering people on beforehand, I’m probably going to run around the neighborhood. Starting cold will lead to further poor performances and should be an easy fix. Plus if there are any more double unders, I’ll definitely bring my own rope.

Right now, I’m ranked in the top 50 of South Central but I’m sure that will drop as the week goes by. Overall, I’m glad to have the first workout behind me and will look forward to the next four weeks.