Nick Momrik

2012 CrossFit Games Open Workout 12.3

Yesterday ended up being a rest day because the scheduled workout had push presses. My shoulders would have been wrecked for Open workout 12.3, which I was doing today with a group at the box.

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 18 minutes of:

15 Box jumps, 24″ box
12 Push press (shoulder to overhead), 115#
9 T2B

Damn! 18 minutes is a long time. When I saw this workout I knew I could place much better than I did with snatches, but there is a potential to fatigue early on and totally suck. I can do box jumps all day long, but 115# would get heavy early, and since I ripped my hand open on Wednesday, I wasn’t sure how the T2B would go.

I watched all of the videos CrossFit HQ and the Journal put out on efficiency and read some strategies and lessons learned on blogs. Seriously, I think I have a problem. I’m just some average guy trying to challenge myself. You’d think I had a chance to make it to the finals the way I think about these workouts.

My strategy going in:

Box Jumps: Rebound as much as possible and try to complete all reps unbroken.
Shoulder to overhead: Start with push jerks from the very first rep. Push presses would fatigue my shoulders much faster. I know this because of how much 95# thrusters take their toll on me. Once push jerks no longer work, switch to split jerks. Break each set into 2 sets of 7 and 5 as long as possible and then break them up even more as needed. Try not to drop the bar, but instead rest in the rack position.
T2B: Do a knees to elbow and kick the feet up. Drop my legs straight down from the top and try not to swing them out away from the body or everything will start to swing. Break each set up into 6 and 3 or maybe even 3 sets of 3 depending on how it goes. Grip is probably going to be an issue.

In order to deal with my ripped left hand and prevent ripping on the right hand, I made some tape grips following this video.

To help prevent ripping I planned to try changing my grip on the bar.

After checking out some athletes on the leaderboard with scores similar to mine for workouts 12.1 and 12.2 I set my goal at 6 rounds, which comes out to 3 minutes per round.

How did I do? Not too bad. 5 complete rounds plus 15 box jumps and 6 push presses for a total of 201 reps. I’ll take that. My strategy was solid, but my gut instinct about problem areas was right on the money.

I missed a bunch of box jumps in the 1st round because I’m so used to rebounding off the top like we do in class. Once I remembered to extend my hips at the top, box jumps were smooth sailing. I rebounded at the bottom as much as I could, but once I get a little tired I’m afraid I’ll miss the box. I completed every round of box jumps unbroken as expected. Can we do a workout of all box jumps? 🙂

As planned, I started with push jerks right instead of attempting any push presses or strict presses. The weight was heavy right away. I don’t think I ever got 7 in a row and I had to break up the 12 into 3 or 4 sets on every round. 115# adds up quick with my lack of strength.

Grip was definitely an issue on the toes to bar, but more because of my swinging than anything else. When my feet came back down with each rep I could reach to touch the ground and stop myself from swinging out of control. This wasted a lot of time and I broke the 9 reps up into 2 or 3 sets each round. I need to learn how to kip these. The tape grip and grip change really helped to save my hands.

I was fast out of the gate (too fast) in round 1 and think I had it done in around 2 minutes, but it was the 115# that really killed my momentum. Three workouts done and 2 to go.

Triple 8 Minute AMRAPs

Final results are in for workout 12.2 of the 2012 CrossFit Games Open. For the snatch workout I finished 1,703rd out of 2,125 in the South West region and 23,604th out of 31,287 in the world. That puts me in 1,624th place in the region and 23,040th in the world after 2 workouts. I dropped in both rankings, but heavy weights are not my thing compared to most of these guys. I’ve only been doing workouts with barbells for 2 months of my 4 month CrossFit journey!

The deadlifts hit me a bit harder today. Pretty sore in my legs and lower back. I can feel all of the pull-up work we did yesterday in my shoulders and upper back too. Or maybe I’m just getting old!

When I saw today’s workout I had mixed feelings. No strength work, but three metcons. Interesting to say the least. From the pull-ups and T2B I knew today had the potential to wreak havok on my hands, and it did.

Warm-up

Stretch
600m Run

Rest 8 minutes between AMRAPs.

WOD #1

8m AMRAP

250m Row
5 HSPUs
10 Thrusters

I flew through the first row, knocked out the HSPUs using 1 AbMat, and did the thrusters unbroken at 95#. Second row went well too, but then I hit the HSPUs and got stuck. The first two were ok, but I had a lot of trouble with the next three. Tried kipping them out with some success, but I took me a long time and I fell off the pace. All that work wore me out for the thrusters and I had to break them up into small sets. I managed to get out the final row just before the time ran out. So I completed 2 rounds plus 250m of rowing.

WOD #2

8m AMRAP

40 DUs
20 HR Push-ups
10 Pull-ups

DUs, I own you! I started off with a streak of 20+ and thought, “This is easy.” Haha! I fell off the pace a bit, but this was the first WOD where I didn’t suffer too much from DUs. I kept my head and tried to relax, which really helped with my rhythm. The second round of HR Push-ups were tough. In the second round I set a new PR by getting all 10 pull-ups in a row by kipping. I have a nice wound to show for it as you can see in the picture. I only tore up my left hand this time and it’s under a different finger than the first time I tore up my hands. Funny thing is, that was exactly one month ago. I sure hope the Open workout doesn’t require anything on the bar because I don’t know what I’ll do. I finished 2 rounds plus 14 DUs for this WOD.

WOD #3

8m AMRAP

20 Box Jumps
15 T2B
10 Ring Dips

I used a 24in box for the jumps and substituted GHDs for the T2B since my hand was already tore up. I didn’t substitute anything for any of the ring dips today. I finished 2 rounds plus 20 box jumps, 15 GHD, and 2 ring dips.

Once everything was all said and done, that was a pretty cool program for today. I really love how they switch things up at the box. I’m going to miss the programming when I head back to Michigan, but I’m excited that the box back home is making a lot of changes and going to become a CrossFit affiliate this summer. Damn, I love this shit!

Deadlift Soreness

My legs and back are really sore from RDLs on Sunday and deadlifts yesterday. I used the foam roller for the first time today. Wow it really brings everything out in those sore areas.

Warm-up

600m Run
3 rounds
- 10 PVC Shoulder Pass-thrus w/ shrug
- 15s Dead Hang
- 30s Plank (on hands)

First time doing a dead hang during class. Focus for them is on keeping the shoulder engaged. I think it was also the first time I had done planks on my hands.

Strength

4 Sets

2-3 Weighted Pull-ups, 2-1-X-0 tempo
20s Rest
MAX Strict Pull-ups, 2-0-X-0 tempo
20s Rest
30-45s L-Sit (cumulative)
2m Rest

I really struggled with the strength work today. I used an 18# KB for the weighted pull-ups and was able to get 2 or 3 each round. But that completely knocked me out for doing strict pull-ups. It was an adventure trying to get 2 or 3 of those with such a short rest. I did the L-Sits on PVC parallettes with my knees slightly bent and tried to get 10-15 seconds at a time.

WOD

In teams of 2, complete the reps however you want, but you must run together.
4 Rounds

12 DB Renegade Rows
400m Run

I paired up with Dominic, who I hadn’t met before. We split up the renegade rows by each doing 6 in each round. I used 25# DBs but should have used 30s. We finished first in 11:43. My endurance is improving a lot lately. I really pushed my pace in the 3rd and 4th rounds.

I took out the jump rope after a rest and knocked out a couple of good DU streaks. Didn’t try more than a minute. I’ll do a longer practice session on them tonight. Last night while looking for tips on DUs, I found a great video for progressing through DUs, from Again Faster. Check it out.

http://vimeo.com/2969537

The Bar Takes a Piece of Me

I wasn’t really sore this morning from yesterday’s Olympic lifting session. I do feel a bruise near my neck from doing cleans though.

Warm-up

3m DUs
6 each of Push-up complex (Under the fence, knee to elbow at bottom of push-up, foot to outstretched hand at top of push-up)
50 Sit-ups
6 each of Push-up complex

I think we did something else in the warm-up, but I can’t remember what it was.

Strength

5 Sets

5 Deadlifts
20s Rest
MAX HSPU
3m Rest

Since I had just done RDLs last night I wasn’t sure what I’ve have left in the tank for deadlifts. I started with a warm-up set at 135# and then my rounds went like this:

165# DL / 7 HSPU
195# DL / 7 HSPU
215# DL / 5 HSPU
245# DL / 6 HSPU
275# DL / 4 HSPU

Everything felt pretty good. Today was the first time I tried HSPU with only 1 AbMat. It’s definitely harder than 2, but I’ve come along way since doing stink bugs 2 months ago. 275# is a new PR for deadlifts by 5#.

WOD

5 Rounds

8 Deadlifts, 85% of 5RM
20 Wall Balls

I used 235# for deadlifts and a 15# MB so that I could keep up the intensity throughout. In the first round I did all 8 deadlifts unbroken, but then broke them up into sets of 5 and 3 for the rest of the rounds. Each round I tried to do the wall balls unbroken, but had to take a break of 2-3 seconds during a few of the rounds. I finished in 10:41. On one of the the deadlift descents, the knurling of the bar scraped my knee and took a souvenir.

Go Go Go

It’s been a busy day! I hadn’t been to the Olympic lifting class in a couple of weeks, so making sure I made it was my top priority. I hadn’t been hiking in a couple of weeks either, so that was also a high priority. I really wanted to get out golfing too so I could work on some swing changes and get more practice with my new clubs.

In order to get everything in, I woke up at 7am and headed out to Piestewa Peak. I hiked 2.72 miles in 1:03:03. I rushed home, ate, showered and sped off to the golf course where I walked 18 holes. The pace of play was good for a Sunday, so I got home with plenty of time to eat and relax a bit.

When I got to the gym, I worked on DUs for about 5-10 minutes to warm-up. Still struggling. I ended up being the only person to show up for the Olympic lifting class, which was kind of cool, because it meant I got a 1-on-1 session with John for the entire hour! It’s such a great opportunity to get tips and coaching from someone that has competed in the Olympic lifts. I’ve come a long way with my technique since the first time I tried the lifts.

We started with clean and jerks. I warmed up with the bar a bit and then did a few sets of doubles at 95#. Moved on to doubles at 115#, 125#, and 135#. Then switched to singles at 145#, 155#, and 165# which were all PRs! On Wednesday I set a 40# PR in the snatch and today I hit a 30# PR in the clean and jerk!

For the second half of the class I did Romanian deadlifts (RDLs). I did 2 or 3 sets of 5 at 95#, then sets of 5 at 115# and 135#, and a final set of 3 at 155#. The RDL is a little hard to get used to, but when you do it right you can really feel it through your hamstrings and ass. I’m going to be sore tomorrow. I just looked at what tomorrow’s CrossFit workout is going to be and there is a bunch of deadlifts in both the strength work and the WOD. Great!

Treadmill Run Attempt

I didn’t get much sleep last night. Was wide awake at 6:30 so got out of bed after already laying there for a good 45 minutes. My left calf is sore. I guess it could be from intervals or the jump rope yesterday. I played 18 holes of golf, but rode in a cart since they didn’t allow walking on that course on weekends.

I wanted to go for a hike, but Duke and North Carolina were playing, so I watched the game instead. During halftime, I went outside and practiced DUs for 10 minutes. Couldn’t get a rhythm going and barely got more than a few streaked together. Just when I was making progress, I run into a brick wall again.

After the game, I went over to the gym in the apartment complex and jumped on the treadmill. I was planning to do a slow 30 minutes, but the cushioning in my left shoe came loose and kept sliding back towards my ankle. I’ve had this pair of Inov-8 F-Lite 230’s for about 4 months now, but haven’t been wearing them much since I bought the Inov-8 Bare-XF 210 CrossFit shoe. Because of the setback with the shoe, I only managed 7 minutes on the treadmill so then I did 30 minutes on the stationary bike.

No Pain, No Gain

I’m still a bit sore from the snatch workout that was Open workout 12.2. I’ve been tempted after both of the first workouts to try them again, but talk myself out of it. I have no shot at advancing to regionals and very little chance of helping our box’s team by being one of the top 3 men in a workout. I’m doing this to push myself and one shot at each workout is enough. I know I could do better and learn from mistakes I make in the first attempt, but I’ll take that knowledge into the class workouts instead.

I just got done with about 15 minutes of DU practice and a run. I started to get a headache from so much jumping! I set a new PR with 33 DUs in a row and I’m stringing together streaks more consistently. Jumping a bit higher is really paying off. I’m still taking a beating from the rope though. As you can see in the picture, today it was my hands.

I did Tabata intervals and ran 1.74 miles in 15:21. I covered about 0.63 miles during the actual interval portion which is nearly identical to the last time I ran them. I didn’t feel quite as good today.

After I got done running, I jumped for about another minute to see how I would do fatigued and I knocked out 17 in a row. That was a good note to end on.

DU Practice Makes Progress

My body feels like it was hit by a bus. All of those failed attempts at 135# snatches took a toll on my shoulders and back.

I’m going to try and get at least 5-10 minutes of DU practice every day until I can knock them out consistently. If I’m in for a CrossFit class, I’ll work on them before class, otherwise I’ll get out to the parking lot here at my apartment.

Today’s practice started out pretty rough. I tried going back to single-single-double-single-single-double, but couldn’t find a rhythm. After a few minutes I started working on a higher jump for singles to get the feel for it. I had to slow the rope done quite a bit for these, but they felt like I was on to something. It didn’t take more than a minute or so for these to feel comfortable, so after starting with 2-3 high jump singles I shifted to doubles. I knocked out 16 in a row. Shortly after I did 12 in a row. Not too much later, a new PR with 26 in a row! I think I found my key. I did a few more and called it a day.

Great progress for the first day of DU practice. I bet the CrossFit Games Open workouts are going to have DUs next week or the week after so I have time.

2012 CrossFit Games Open Workout 12.2

Final results are in for workout 12.1. I tied for 19,217th out of 34,595 men in the world and 1,267th out of 2,314 in the South West region. Well on the way to achieving my goal of beating 10% of men. So far, I am an average CrossFitter and I’m perfectly fine with that after 4 months in this crazy cult. If I finish the Open in the middle of the pack I’ll be thrilled.

As I mentioned in my post this morning, I thought it was pretty brutal doing the workout right before a class last week, as the “warm-up”. So I went to class this morning and came back to the box tonight for the Open workout. I was feeling pretty beat after the morning class.

Workout 12.2

Proceed through the sequence below completing as many reps as possible in 10 minutes of:

75# Snatch, 30 reps
135# Snatch, 30 reps
165# Snatch, 30 reps
210# Snatch, as many reps as possible

DAMN! That weight jumps fast for men. My PR in the snatch was 95#!

I flew through the first 30 reps at 75# and took my time adding the weights so I could catch my breath. Went for my first attempt at 135# and barely got the bar to waist-high. Fuck! I took my time and kept trying. I got closer and closer with each attempt. I started to concentrate on an explosive jump and then using my arms to pull and get the weight moving faster.

At first I was afraid of getting that weight up and then dropping it on myself because it was so much heavier than I had ever attempted. With each attempt I gained confidence even though I was failing.

I finally got one. Then I got another and another. They weren’t pretty, but I got the weight up and gained control. I ended up getting 6 reps at 135# which I’m thrilled with. It was a PR by 40# and after the first 5 or 6 tries I didn’t know if I’d even get one. Two workouts in the books, with 3 to go.

I’m taking a rest day tomorrow and going to walk 18 holes of golf in the afternoon instead of working out.

Double CrossFit Day

I’m sore in a lot of places from Monday and Tuesday WODs. I must be crazy, because I’m going to CrossFit twice today. It is a leap day, so might as well make the most of the extra day. Right? I could have skipped the morning class to rest up for the open workout, but I didn’t want to miss out on back squats since it’s been a couple of weeks since the last time we did them.

Warm-up

2 rounds

45 Lateral Broadwalk steps with small band around ankles (each direction)
15 Lateral Hip Extensions
15s Lateral Hip Extension Holds
15 Supermans

Those broadwalks really work the hip area. Surprises me every time we do them.

Strength

4 Sets

6-8 Back Squats, 3-0-X-1 tempo
90s Rest
5 Scapular Wall Slide, 3-0-3-0 tempo
90s Rest

For the back squats I did 115#, 135#, 165# and 185#. In the last set I could only get 4 reps. Taking 3 seconds to lower in the squat really wears you out.

WOD

12m AMRAP

20 Walking Lunges
10 Push-ups
30 DUs

Fuck DUs! Who came up with this method of jumping rope? I still suck at them. I’m going to have to start practicing them every morning before class or something because doing them once or twice a week isn’t getting me any better. I spent at least 2-3 minutes of each round trying to get my DUs. Ideally it should take 30 seconds or so. While everyone else was getting 5, 6, 7 rounds in, I completed 3 plus 20 lunges, 10 push-ups, and 3 DUs. Terrible!

Check out the nice picture of my right elbow and arm. I’m literally whipping myself with the rope. I have similar whip marks on the top of both hands. I will master DUs before I head back to Michigan in April. New goal!

I’ll be back in the box later tonight to do Open workout 12.2. It was pretty rough last week doing 12.1 as the warm-up before class and since the owner/trainer Gayle (she’s tied for 55th woman in the world after 12.1!!) was looking for people to do it tonight with her, I figured I’ll try a new plan of attack. This also gives me zero time to think about the workout after it’s announced, which I think will be good. Get to the box, find out what the workout is, and get ‘er done!