The come down.

Wednesday, July 31st, 2013

Gymnastics!

Mobility:

DROM
Theraband Shoulder Warm Up

3 rounds of

Prone HS hold, 30 seconds

Standing shoulder extension x 5

3 rounds of

Hollow hold 30 seconds

Hug a twinkies x 10

For Quality, as slow as possible even, for 20 minutes

Inverted to lower, rings or bar, straight arm- straight body- (straight leg is the goal but tuck is the classic version) x 10 reps

Strict Handstands push ups x 10 reps

(The idea is to use the Sommers protocol to get warm, then engage in some movement based, prerequisite strength work.)

I am reposting this picture because how could I not. 

This will be my Games recap as best I can and concisely as possible. In bullet point form, these are my major take aways from the weekend.

1. Support – Leading up to the Games, the team would joke that we thought the gym members were actually more excited than the six of us. So, we knew would have backing during the weekend but what entailed was absolutely beyond any of our expectations and was truly inspirational. To walk out from tunnel and see the patch of blue in the crowd with our big dumb heads bobbing in the middle of it while hearing “Paradiso” being chanted was one of the more surreal experiences of my entire life. The fact that everyone cared so much and all the interactions I had with members over the course of the weekend leads me to my next takeaway.

2. Inspiration – I feel silly even writing this but in many of the conversations I had over the weekend and since getting back to coaching, the word inspiring came up when talking about the team and myself and Diso have noticed a general sense of being “fired up” on a gym wide scale. If sending a team to the games galvanizes our members to push their own limits to either compete or just be better in each class they attend then that is the most important part of an affiliate being represented at the Games by either a team or individual. It brings the gym together on a level that is impossible to recreate through another event. 

3. The Team – I do not have the time or energy right not to completely rehash the events over the last year that resulted in our team going to the games. I can save that for another post regarding the specifics of our training (if anyone is actually interested in that). What I will say is that I have never been apart of a group or team that I has worked harder toward a common goal. When we found out we were going to the Games, we trained to our absolute breaking points on a daily basis because we all had a sense of this being bigger than us, as my previous points proved. I could not be more proud of Jessica, Lara, Lauren, Jesse, and Steve. We were not a powerhouse team by any means but we made it and we held our own against some of the best in the world. This point brings me to my conclusion…

4. Going Back – For all the reasons I just wrote and for a million more – I want to go back. I want to figure out how to send a Paradiso team to the Reebok CrossFit Games every year. I know that this will be a nearly impossibly tall order but at least now, I have some sense of what it takes, how much damn fun it can be, and how good it can be for the gym. I am forcing myself to take a week off, as is most of the team, but I am more fired up than ever to start training for next year. Who knows where this will go and if we ever get back there but damn if we aren’t going to train our asses of trying. 

One more huge thank you to all the gym members who supported us and a special thank you Diso for all the coaching and corralling of the six of us. Until next year…