CrossFit Oakdale had 3 teams compete in the same sex partner competition at Resident CrossFit on Saturday.
It was a well run, on time event. The workouts were challenging, the divisions were easy to understand and best of all, it was close. I would recommend competing in this event next time it comes around. At least for the RX division, I would be thoughtful about what you are biting off. There were some challenges there.
Father and son team Tim and Conner took 3rd in the deadheads, a jumping pull-ups and clean workout, in which you had to hang onto a bar as your partner work. Tim said Conner couldn’t walk yesterday from doing so many jumping pullups. Great job boys.
Alden and Cody from Sonora took 3rd in the brutal sandbag carry, and they were 1 rep away from tying for second place.
One of the best benefits, in my mind, of competing is putting yourself in a tough situation to see how you respond. Once you have some time under your belt in CrossFit, and you have gotten over the fear of working out in a warehouse, a competition is a great way to see how you respond to a “stressful” situation.
I will tell you I put myself in a tough spot. I don’t want to say it was fun, or that I really enjoyed the moment, but I was aware that it was happening as it was happening. Bryce and I were doing pretty well, and came into the 150# sandbag carry and clean event looking pretty strong. Bryce threw the bag around no problem, and in the first round, I did ok.
Now, I never play with the heavy bag. I know I don’t do enough grunt work stuff – heavy pulls, carries, etc. On the second round, Bryce killed it. I knew as he blew through the second round that I wasn’t really ready. Sometime in the second round, the heavy bag got me, and I had no legs. I couldn’t really pick up the bag, and I certainly couldn’t do it quickly.
As I was flailing, I was very aware that all my friends were standing around, cheering on, getting quiet, watching me get my ass kicked. I think the normal responses here are either to be embarrassed and get mad. Sometimes, mad helps and you can power through. I didn’t really get mad, but I knew I couldn’t just stand there. I did the best I could to get the bag to Bryce so he could smash it.
Was there a lesson there? I don’t know. Bryce was patient while I sucked. That’s cool. Do more grunt work in training? Probably.
I will say Bryce and Amie had used the competition bug to advance their fitness over the last 3 months. Identifying weaknesses and beating the hell out of them has made both of them into formidable CrossFit athletes.
Workout of the Day
Strength
Back Squat
5 sets of 3, 72.5%
Conditioning
AMRAP 14
Parking Lot Run
12 Toes to Bar (odd rounds)
12 Pullups (even rounds)