Exciting Weekend

Saturday October 20

Warmup/mobility
5min double under practice 
shoulder prep 

Strength Skill
10 min to practice Handstand Walking

WOD 
Part1 (0:00-10:00)
– 50 Ring Dips (strict, not for time)
Part 2 (12:00-17:00)
– 100 box jumps (20″/16″ – for time)
Part 3 (20:00-35:00)
-3 Rounds
  400m run
  10 Burpee Broad jumps

Steve competing at NLI last weekend

This Weekend many of your coaches have left you in order to further immerse themselves in what we do… CROSSFIT. McCoy will be out in Carlsbad lifting like we have only seen McCoy lift, while another five of us head out to Palm Springs. We will come back from our Outlaw Training Camp more experienced, more educated, having gained yet more experience in the realms of pushing ourselves to a limit (where we progress either by pushing out or learning from our limits), and we will further develop our eye for improving all of you on your journey through crossfit.

I obviously haven’t actually been on the camp yet, but I’m convinced that those positive changes will occur. That’s just the way crossfit works. All I have seen is our schedule, which looks like a wod-packed weekend. If I improve under the guidance of Rudy’s watchful eye, then I will have gained the knowledge of cues that facilitate my movements. If I do not succeed at improving, I will have a diagnostic experience, and better understand where my limitations are. And after all this learning, I will be placed into an environments where, knowing the capacity of my movements, I will have to challenge my drive to do well and the mental aspects of crossfit. Only through challenging it can I really understand what I am capable of. This is how we train for competitions. I will come back with the tools of that experience. 

The better I get at crossfit, the more I realize how far I still can progress. Knowing yourself is an important tool when it comes to performing with purpose. If I know how much I can push myself, and I know what I can expect from the capacity of my strength and movements, I can approach competition workouts with a meaningful drive, and a pace that will allow me to keep moving without holding back on what I am capable of.

As soon as the clock in the box beeps, it seems like some magic power has been bestowed over people. When before the Wod they were barely able to string 3 pull-ups, suddenly they’re stringing 10. The expectation of going for time will allow your body to perform what it is capable of. But competitions do more than that. You are there to perform and you have no choice but to perform. Competitions give you that adrenalin, drive, and sense of purpose to perform beyond your perceived abilities. And this is why I compete. Competitions make me a better athlete. That makes me a stronger and a more capable human being.

At my second competition an event ended with a 1k row. I got onto the rower only seconds before another girl. I was adamant that I was first up until that point, so I was not going to give up that title. I pulled so hard and so fast that as soon as I finished I tried stepping out the rower and passed out. Now I don’t recommend that anyone try to pass out during a wod at the box, but what I learnt was that I am capable of pushing myself that hard. I would never have done that at the box. Similarly, last year I believed that I was completely incapable of doing handstand pushups. On a Wednesday my good friend kat asked me if I’d join their team for a team comp. I said sure. On the Thursday I found out it involved 50 hspu. On Thursday I did my first HSPU to an abmat. On the Friday I managed it to the ground. On the Saturday, at the comp, it was a deficit HSPU. I didn’t manage a single one. But thanks to that competition, I finally had the push to discover HSPUs.

If you are an athlete RXing most WODs, competitions are experiences that will improve you, your performance, your drive and your mental strength. They can change your life.

Everyone should sign up for the OC Throwdown. Registration is from the 21^st OCT- 10 NOV. It is free to register. Starting the 3^rd of Nov you will get to do qualifying workouts, just like at the open, in order to participate at the OC throwdown. The qualifying process is fun, low stress. It’s amongst your friends at our box. And if you fail at performing well… so what, you don’t qualify and you wont feel like a fool trying to WOD against some of the badass athletes that did make it. And if you do make it… AWESOME, you have an amazing experience coming up.

Another low stress comp you should register for is the Saturday Night lights at golden state crossfit. It starts at 4pm Nov 3^rd. It’s a partner comp. There is a beginner/intermediate division, so you don’t have to be rxing stuff to participate. Its super close by. And the other totally cool aspect is that although you will be with a small group at golden state, 2 other boxes further out will be hosting the same comp at the same time. So you are in fact competing with two other competition locations at the same time. Zeb and I have already signed up.

So put yourselves into the environments that result in positive change. Sign up for comps. Ask questions, get educated, experience… At least that’s what your coaches are doing!