2013 CrossFit Open Workout 13.4 Redux – WE Win!

This one’s not about me. (Sure, I’m the guy in the forefront of the field of view, but actually, I’m tucked the furthest back in the whole building.)

This one’s about community (specifically at North Shore CrossFit in Danvers MA, but really across all concepts, localities, and people groups).

When you watch the video below, do yourself a favor and look past me. See everyone else in the mix. Watch as we all feed off of each others’ energy, encouragement, and achievement.

Everyone plays as an individual, but everyone’s playing on the same team.

Some will register scores for global comparison in this workout and others will just post another “I did it!” on their social media pages or run home and tell their families about something new they just did. Some went at it with prescribed weights and ranges of motion while others modified either or both to suit their particular conditions and experience levels.

When I watch this video, sure I’m looking for things that I did well and things that I can tweak to be better next time (no, I will not be three-peating this one, at least not in 2013!), I also watch for the thrill of seeing all the barbells head straight for the ceiling within a few seconds after “GO!” is called (what an awesome sight!) like pistons in a giant engine of sheer human power output without regard to cylinder age, finish, displacement, or origin.

When I watch this I notice the individuals, the everyday athletes, the folks who, outside of this building, you’d never know were such monsters of movement:

• I see Matt tearing it up, who just a couple months ago, had surgery on a foot and who a few days ago was identified in a photo that I still can’t believe was him (at 2x his present size and about 1/4 his current physique).
• I see Adam, who two years ago was just looking on from the sidelines, watching, supporting his then girlfriend (now fiance, a phenomenal athlete in her own right) at a weightlifting competition, never once letting on that he was going to dive in and become a benchmark for so many to chase after.
• I see [Super] Ed, who decided that he’d spend his birthday with the crew, doing what we all love to do – pushing past our comfort just so we can say we did those 60 reps and demonstrate what we’ve been working on over the last few years [he even gifted us with A) no burpees, and B) coming to play in full uniform!].
• There’s Tara over there playing hurt, scraping for every rep (sticking those jerks like a nationally ranked weightlifter or something), knowing that within reason, once the condition it indicates is acknowledged and addressed, pain is just another obstacle to be overcome along the way.
• I’ve got Amos counting my reps, knowing what my target is and making sure I stay on pace to achieve it – he got me exactly there (he’d go on in Heat 2 to put out some serious work himself, with solid focus and a ton of determination).
• Toward the end, you’ll hear a little bit of extra moral support from my brother Dave, who just came to check things out (and who now has a completely different perspective on CrossFit, up close and personal).

When you watch the video, don’t just see me. See the people I’m surrounded by.

See the adrenaline-pumping hearts and at-capacity lungs of thirty individuals all out to get past their own mental inhibitions and achieve something they’ve never before achieved (this is just one of two heats – half of those folks hadn’t even stepped up to the bar yet).

Don’t just watch this to see “another one of those CrossFit workouts”. See what a community of like-minded individuals who don’t focus on or fight about their differences can do when they’re targeted on the same things, knowing that their own psyches are their only enemies.

If you really think about it, it might even make you wonder what great achievements these people must be able to accomplish outside of the gym too. If you’re so inclined, go check out a CrossFit near you and ask. I don’t think they’ll be timid about it; and if you’re not so inclined, just enjoy the game from the bleachers (but please do find something that you enjoy that engages your own mind and body in such a manner that it produces greater health for your own story).

2013 CrossFit Open workout 13.4:

• 5 AM Thursday, Heat 1 – 63 reps
• 6:30 PM Friday, Heat 1 – 64 reps. I win again!

Heat 1 in its entirety:

One need not be a BIG dog to LEAD from the pack. – steelbladeninja

The Pull of Community: 13.2 Redux

I rushed home off the train today after a long and arduous day at the office, starving for a good workout to get rid of the last two days’ jumbled workbrain.

I had made the 5:30 PM train which meant I could get home and zoom to North Shore CrossFit in time for the 6:30 PM attack on the CrossFit Open 13.2 workout. I was stoked for it, but only to get the movement in. I didn’t go looking to break any records since I had already done it at 5 AM Thursday morning. My intent was just to jump in and have some fun on a Friday evening with a crew of great folks hitting it hard together.

I opted to go in heat 2 since I led off the morning before and I knew what that felt like. I counted for my buddy Amos, who took off like a shot and stayed steady throughout, leaving every last bit of energy on the mat. Dude, you certainly deserved the turf time afterwards!

Like I said, when I first walked in, my sights had been just on having some fun and working out the stress of the last couple days. That was short-lived. As soon as Amos was finished with his win, the game was on and my own expectations were raised to meet the pull of the community – people who know my potential because we’ve been in the trenches together for years, and people whom I haven’t known for very long but whose unfamiliarity didn’t matter to them or to me – we’re all part of the same community. There were folks who knew that the 214 reps I happily recorded early in the morning  the day before was less than I had in me, next to folks whom I love but never get to work out with in person, next to folks I’ve never met before. They were all pulling for me. (What the heck? I just came to have some fun! Now I have to work hard!)

The bar had been raised [thanks Ed, just wait until the next time I get to count you! >:o} ]: 240 reps was the new goal – same weights, same 10 minutes but tonight, the game was different. I got a boat load of encouragement and some strategy I didn’t have going into it the first time (just because there aren’t too many folks around at 5 AM, and certainly not many who have already lived through it). I decided to push for it…I was feeling good, why not?

The strategy provided great efficiency I didn’t have in my first attempt and the biggest push came from the community that had me boxed in on all sides, pulling for me to stay on course through the 10 minutes (including guys whose scores I can only ever dream of producing). When it was all over, I had missed my goal. Yes, I missed it – by two reps – but I had surpassed my production from the prior day by 24 reps! Six reps shy of a full round!

I went in looking to skate through a workout, but came out with a bigger smile than anticipated, and a significantly better score. All because a crew of people, from all different times, places, and positions in life, decided to throw some extra energy my way and keep me gunning for a higher goal. This is what community is about. This is what we were made for.

I certainly could have, but I definitely wouldn’t have done it without you NSCF!

A couple more days before this week closes up – go get it! [Yeah Burpee, that means you!]

Thoughts on CrossFit Open Workout 13.2

After logging seven rounds plus four reps for a total of 39 shoulder-to-overhead barbell movements at 115 lb, 70 barbell deadlifts at 115 lb, and 105 jumps to a 24″ box in 10 minutes at today’s 5 AM session at North Shore CrossFit, I posted that I had only 100+ reps to catch Iceland Annie – the defending CrossFit Games women’s champ who demonstrated the workout last night.

Fact: Iceland Annie is 10+ years younger
Fact: Iceland Annie is a young woman who work on fitness as an occupation, while I’m a dude who doesn’t
Fact: Iceland Annie is an inspiration to thousands of people around the globe (I’m not, just yet anyway)
Biggest fact: My “meager” 214 reps this morning, though only about two-thirds the workload that Iceland Annie cranked out in last night’s workout demo, is still a whole lot more work than the me who could have slept past 4:30 AM this morning would have done by now.

Lesson:
In this game, it’s me against me, you against you.

Yes! Use those out front as inspiration, challenge, encouragement, and motivation but it isn’t necessary to compare our performance directly to theirs (unless we’re gunning for their spot in the world, then you better be keeping a close eye on them).

We can and should all be inspired by the top performers in all of their particular fields (whether athletic, occupational, familial, etc.) and strive to emulate their work ethic, but let’s let them play their game while we play our own. Everything we can implement from their examples into our own lives will make us better today over what we were yesterday, and no matter where that puts us today, there’s no shame in that game!

3-2-1 Go get it people!

[And then smile really big when you’ve done your best!]