17.5

10 Rounds: For Time

9 thrusters (95 lb.)

35 double unders

The last open workout of 2017 was not a repeat. We knew thrusters were going to be in this last workout since thrusters were in the last workout the past few opens. Fellow gym members speculated on movements and many thought it would be dumbbell thrusters, double unders and one more movement. The announcement came and we sort of predicted it (wasn't too hard to be honest). Thrusters and double unders. This should be easy right?

Earlier in the week we did a workout that had burpees, thrusters at 135 lb. and double unders. I was feeling confident but after watching a few heats at the gym I started to get a bit worried. Guys who are a lot fitter than me were finishing 15 - 20 minutes. I knew I was going to be in for a long workout and was shooting for a time under 25 minutes.

The first few rounds of the workout went well. I was finishing the thrusters unbroken and my double unders were not too bad. I would trip myself around 20 reps or so but I was able to keep my pace. The middle of the workout was where I started to break up the thruster set. I would do five reps then four reps after a short break. I was also tripping on the double unders after five to ten reps and took a long break after each trip.

The last two rounds were brutal. I was so close to finishing and did my best to finish. I was able to string the double unders and finish those quickly but I would be extremely exhausted after. The last round of thrusters were done unbroken and I did my best trying to finish the last round of double unders unbroken as well. During the double unders, I started to hyper ventilate and I could barely breathe. I started to feel light headed but I had a few reps to go. I closed my eyes and heard 35 yelled out by my judge and immediately fell to the ground. It was tough and I finished at 23:03. I was under 25 minutes but I was hoping to be a bit faster.

I know I have a few things to work on. Breathing was key and I didn't do it efficiently. Also, doing double unders while fatigued. I hope you're last workout went better than mine.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

I finally finished painting Testament of Menoth but I've been working on some other stuff too. I finished assembling Thyra (not pictured), Blood of Martyrs, the Deliverers Sunburst Crew and Malekus. I need to get them primed so I can finally put on some paint. Need to paint my unit of Daughters as well in order to run a Thyra list. 

Lift Heavy and Level Up! 

Picture taken before I started painting Testament.

When Dave Castro announced that 17.4 was going to be the 16.4 workout, I wasn't surprised. I knew it was going to be heavy and it includes a few movements that we haven't seen. My goal for the Open was to hit a PR on the repeat workout and I wanted to reach the handstand push ups on this one.

17.4 - AMRAP 13 Minutes

55 deadlifts (225 lb.)
55 wall balls (20 lb., 10ft)
55 row (cals.)
55 hand stand push ups

If you want to know how I did last year read this post. Sadly (like the gif above) I did not reach the handstand push ups. I actually did a lot worse than last year. I was only able to complete 37 calories on the rower, 12 calories short of my 16.4 score.

I started the deadlifts in sets of six. I took short breaks in between each set and broke the sets in fives after five sets. I continued doing the deadlifts in sets of five but I couldn't keep it up for long and finished the deadlifts around five minutes. The wall balls were the movement that I started to hit a wall on. I decided to go for bigger sets at the beginning but I couldn't sustain it. I would break it up into much smaller sets of five or six reps. I finished with the wall balls at 9:58 and started on the row. I started to feel discouraged with my time. I knew going into the row that I wouldn't finish but I was going to try as hard as I could. I pulled with a pace of 800 - 900 cals/hr and finished with 37 calories.

I wanted to redo the workout on Monday but after a day of playing beach volleyball, my left foot was bruised. I didn't want to risk damage to my foot and decided to do this workout once. I have accepted that this would be the first workout of the Open that I wouldn't PR but I'm optimistic. I know where my weaknesses are and I plan to work on them in the coming year. I hope your workout went better than mine and congrats if you hit a PR.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

I finally made some time to paint and Testament is finally finished. I know it's been awhile since I posted painted models but I want to make this a more frequent segment. I recently assembled a few minis that I can hopefully prime and paint. I'll be posting more photos in the upcoming weeks to show you what's on deck. Check out some of the pictures of Testament below.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

17.3

Prior to 8:00, complete:

3 rounds of:

6 chest-to-bar pull-ups

6 squat snatches (95 lb.)

-then-

3 rounds of:

7 chest-to-bar pull-ups

5 squat snatches (135 lb.)

*Prior to 12:00, complete:

3 rounds of:

8 chest-to-bar pull-ups

4 squat snatches (185 lb.)

*Prior to 16:00, complete:

3 rounds 

9 chest-to-bar pull-ups

3 squat snatches (225 lb.)

*Prior to 20:00, complete:

10 chest-to-bar pull-ups

2 squat snatches (245 lb.)

*Prior to 24:00, complete:

11 chest-to-bar pull-ups

1 squat snatch 265 lb.

*If all reps are completed, time cap extends by 4 minutes.

When Dave Castro announced the workout I stopped following at 185 lb. snatches. My max recorded snatch is 175 lb. and 185 lb. is too heavy for me. My wrist has been giving me issues during snatches so I was not confident at attempting that weight. I don't know why I'm thinking about the heavy snatches when the path to get there is going to be very difficult. 

I did 17.3 twice. Unlike 17.1 and 17.2, I liked this workout to do it twice. I finished the first workout in the fourth round, completing four 135 lb. snatches. I completed the second workout in the fifth round, completing three 135 lb. snatches.

I did the chest-to-bar  pull-ups in single reps which didn't take me much time. I also did the 95 lb. snatches touch and go. This lowered my time by at least two minutes but I had to catch my breath when I started on the 135 lb. snatches. I took about a minute on the snatches because I did them in singles. I started the fifth round at six minutes but I knew I wasn't going to make it to the next round. I finished with three snatches, two reps short of my goal. I didn't finish the second round of snatches but I did my best and I beat my first score by almost a full round. I'm happy with my result and I hope I'll be able to hit 185 lb. for reps next year. 

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

Last week it was my back and this week it's my legs.

17.2 - AMRAP, 12 Minutes

2 Rounds

50 ft. dumbbell lunge (50 lb.)

16 toes-to-bar

8 dumbbell power clean (50 lb.)

-then-

2 Rounds

50 ft. dumbbell lunge (50 lb.)

16 bar muscle ups

8 dumbbell power clean (50 lb.)

Etc., alternating between toe-to-bar and bar muscle ups every two rounds. 

Last week it was a single dumbbell, now it's two! My biggest worry was getting at least one rep on the muscle ups. I haven't done one since August and I failed in my previous attempts. I should have focused on the lunges since they were the hardest movement. 

The workout started off great. I used the dumbbell stacking technique and did the lunges quickly. The toes-to-bar were done in sets of five and six. The cleans were not too bad either. I started to feel my legs get tired during the second round of lunges. I could feel my legs tightening up and had to rest at the end of 25 ft. I switched my grip to having one dumbbell head rest on my shoulder since it was becoming more difficult to stabilize the dumbbells when they were stacked. I finished the last set of lunges and went for another round of toes-to-bar and dumbbell power cleans. 

Fatigue had set in and I was barely able to complete the reps on the toes-to-bar. I did small sets and then singles. I finished the cleans and started on the lunges. I finished 25 ft. and took a minute to catch my breath. It was close to time cap when I started my last 25 ft. of lunges. I finished at 11:55 and didn't get to the muscle ups. After the workout I signed my sheet and went outside to throw up. I pushed myself to the limit and I wasn't happy with my performance. I wanted to at least attempt a few muscle ups but I overestimated my fitness. However, this workout has given me the motivation to start going harder and pushing myself in workouts. I know I can do better, I just need to put in the work. I hope your workout went better than mine.

Lift Heavy and Level Up! 

The Open has arrived and 17.1 didn't disappoint. Like last year, 17.1 had a new movement, the dumbbell snatch. While burpees and box jumps are not new to Open workouts, burpee box jump overs have only been seen at Regionals. It was a fun workout that rewarded those with great conditioning. 

17.1 - For Time, Time Cap: 20 Minutes

10 dumbell snatches (50 lb.)

15 burpee box jump overs

After seeing this workout performed on the announcement show I knew I wouldn't finish. I haven't worked on conditioning since the last open and I knew it would bite me in the ass. The workout started great. I went unbroken for the first two rounds but I was exhausted and it has only been six minutes. I started to chip away at the 30 dumbbell snatches but I couldn't do it unbroken. I broke it up into small sets. The burpee box jump overs were broken up into small sets as well. This continued until time cap, finishing at 40 dumbbell snatches and one burpee box jump overs. 

I did that workout in the morning and by the afternoon my back was sore. My form started to give out towards the end and I used more of my back than my legs. It has been two days since I did the workout and I'm still sore. I'm going to take a few days off before heading back to the gym. I'm ready for 17.2!

If you don't understand the meme, watch the video below.


Lift Heavy and Level Up!