CrossFit Open Recap

Back in January, I signed up for the CrossFit Open. I wasn’t too sure I was going to be able to perform all the exercises after coming up against a snatch ladder in 2013 in the very first workout that I couldn’t do. Still, I was looking forward to the challenge and having a goal to train towards.

Fast forward 3 months and the 2014 Open is over. I finished in 4017th place out of 8055 putting me almost exactly at my goal of being in the 50th percentile in the country in my division which is old men but not the oldest men (40-44). In the South Central region, I finished at 315 out of 637, also in the 50th percentile. More importantly, none of the workouts ended up being too difficult to do. The very first workout cost me badly as I was unprepared in several ways not the least of which was providing my own rope for double unders. I finished in the 75th percentile in that workout so I really made up ground in the other four. The workout I felt like I did the worst in, 14.2, was actually my best.

Since January 1, I’ve done 55 workouts. That’s probably more in 3 months than I’ve done since leaving college and the preparation really showed. My back squat and deadlift both increased including an all time best in back squat. My shoulder press is near my all time max and I am able to do body weight exercises like burpees and pullups without too much strain. As part of 14.3, I lifted over 10,000 pounds in the deadlift portion in 8 minutes. I’m proud of the effort and results from this year’s Open.

I’m going to have to find a goal to keep the level of training up. Already this week, training has dropped off though that has more to do with 4 straight days with 12 hours at work plus suffering with some weird body aches all day Sunday. Still, having a goal provides motivation for increasing improvement. I loved running the Spartan Beast 2 years ago so maybe I can find one of those within range of a road trip.

In other news, the vegetable beds are all planted. There are 19 tomato plants, 8 pepper plants, 3 eggplants, beans, radishes, spinach, corn, beets, turnips, lettuce, onions and garlic. Now that the weather has turned warmer, it’s amazing how fast things start to grow. The cool season veggies are really taking off and we could probably have a spinach salad now if we wanted along with some baby onions to go in it.