We made it! After four weeks of killer workouts the 2016 Open is coming to a close with an epic workout. If you've been playing the "Guess the Workout" mini game with Dave Castro and instagram, the picture of roadkill with the caption "#16point5" was eye opening. Many people predicted thrusters and a repeat workout. Most of us were thinking 14.5 or 15.5, either way it was going to suck.

When he announced 14.5 is 16.5, I wasn't scared, I was excited. Check out this POST for my history with 14.5. It has been a year since I redid 14.5 and I wanted to hit a PR with this workout. I was shooting for under 20 minutes but it was going to be difficult.

Workout 16.5

21-18-15-12-9-6-3

Thrusters (95 lb.)
Bar facing burpees

I wanted to break the thrusters up into three sets until the round of nine. I would probably be able to do two sets or go unbroken. My strategy for the burpees was to keep a steady pace. The last time I did it, the burpees were the hardest part.

I was able to get through the first three rounds of thrusters without much trouble. Fatigue set in but I was able push through it and stick to my game plan. The burpees however were a different story. I started out consistent but I hit a wall midway through the round of 15. I was exhausted and as much as I wanted to keep up with my pace, I started to slow down. I would take long breaks in between reps. Thankfully I had my coach and fellow members push me to keep going. It was tough, but I finished with a time of 21:14, which is 4:34 PR! I didn't finish under my goal time but I'm happy with my performance. In the future, when we retest this workout, I will be under 20 minutes!

I hope you hit a PR with that workout. I will be trying to catch up with my weekly posts and recap the open. It has been a crazy five weeks.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!