I did not sign up for the open but I did attempt 19.2. 

Fridays (Guam time) are going to be boring but at least Dave Castro is not jerking us around with mystery workouts. We are back to our regular programming but I have a lot of takeaways from this years open.

Movements


Surprisingly, we didn't do two movements that were in the Open since 2011. Snatch and wall balls were not featured in a workout this year. They will more than likely be in next years Open.

My Placement


My goal was to be on the first page (for Guam) but that didn't happen. I placed 62nd, my lowest placement in the open. Either I'm getting worse or everyone else is getting more fit.

My Takeaway

I placed 62nd because I didn't do the work. I can't blame anyone or anything except myself. It sucks but I do have a plan. My conditioning needs a lot of work. This past year, I have been doing a lot of Olympic lifting and not much cardio. I need to find a balance between these two and I need to work in more gymnastics work as well. I want that muscle up! I have a full year to work on these things and hopefully I can get back to the front page of the leader board. I hope you hit some goals in this years Open and if you didn't, we have a lot of time to work on it.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

18.5 is a repeat workout but instead of Dave Castro telling us what workout it was going to be, the community was able to vote. Three workouts were available 11.6, 13.5 and 14.2. I haven't done these workouts before so this will be a first for me. Choosing our workouts for 18.5 was like a choose your own adventure or in this case, suffering. Each workout repeat had chest-to-bar pull ups and thrusters or overhead squats. I wanted to do 14.2 but in the end 11.6 won the vote.

18.5 -  AMREP 7 Minutes, CrossFit Games Open Workout 11.6/12.5

3 Thrusters
3 Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups
6 Thrusters
6 Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups

Game Plan

This is going to be a grind. Thrusters are 5 lb. heavier than what were used to and the chest-to-bars are going to get tiring really quick. I'm going to start with a steady pace and not go hard right out of the gate. Thrusters were going to be tough and will have to keep the chest-to-bars at a small reps per set. I might do singles at higher reps. It's the last workout for the open so I'm going to try and have fun. 

The Workout

I did not follow the game plan. After thinking about the workout, I might have went too hard in the first few rounds. The first round of three was easy, I did everything unbroken. The second round was broken up into sets of three for the chest-to-bar and unbroken on the thrusters. The round of tweleve was where things went crazy. I completed the thrusters in sets of two, seven and five. I did the chest-to-bars in fast singles however, I had to take breaks in between a few reps. On the last two reps, my lats started to cramp up and I barely finished. When I got to the bar, I only had a minute left. I pushed my hardest and was only able to complete ten reps by time cap. My total reps for the workout was 70.

Final Thoughts

I know their are a lot of areas I can improve on and if I redid this workout, I could probably get a better score. My breathing was horrible as well as my pacing. I should have broken up the reps better and slowed the pace. The thrusters were not too bad but going unbroken was not the best idea. I wanted to do well since it was the last workout and I pushed myself too quickly. I didn't do a lot of reps but my body was shot. I couldn't move for a few minutes after. I had to concentrate to lower my heart rate and my breathing eventually returned to normal. This was my toughest workout yet.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

18.4 - For Time, 9 Minute Time Cap

21-15-9

Deadlifts (225 lb.)
Handstand Push-Ups

-Then-

21-15-9
Deadlifts (315 lb.)
50-ft. Handstand Walk

Initial Thoughts

The last time I did Diane was three years ago. I did it scaled and finished in four minutes. With the weights being heavier and the handstand push-up standard being a little harder, this is going to be interesting and I'm shooting to at least finished Diane under time cap. I'm not even looking at the 315 lb. deadlift or handstand walk. If I make it to the second deadlift, it will be icing on the cake.

Game Plan

After watching a bunch of tips on Youtube and Instagram, I decided I was going to try to keep a steady pace and try not to go hard out of the gate. I'm going to break up the deadlifts and handstand push ups into a few sets enough to not go to failure on either movement. The new handstand push-up standard is going to be an adjustment and I'm not sure how that's going to go.

The Workout

I warmed up with the deadlifts and was very comfortable with 225 lb. I tried out the new standard for the handstand push up and realized how hard it was going to be. My upper body was going to be tired before the end of the first round. During the first round, the deadlifts were easy. I broke it up into sets of five and finished at 1:12. The next seven minutes were a struggle. I started strong and finished disappointed. A few friends recommended that I break up the handstand push-ups into sets of three. The first six reps were good but I could feel my shoulders and triceps start to fatigue. A few reasons were I was trying to make sure my feet were above the line at the top of the rep and when I finished. I would hold this handstand position for about three to five seconds each rep which takes a toll.

As I completed more reps, my form started to suffer. I would arch my back and I wouldn't be able to press out to my fullest. That's when the no reps started to come in. After my first no rep I was about half an inch below the line. I tried my best to get my heels up but I was holding a handstand for about 10 seconds by this time and my arms gave out. A few more reps and no reps and the time cap hits. I was only able to finish 17 handstand push-ups.

Final Thoughts

Without a judge, I would have did great in this workout. However, it's this kind of thinking that is holding me back. Instead, I should be trying to "hold the standard" as Logan from Deuce Gym would say. A lot of people were able to get through the first half of this workout and with a lot of work, I will be able to get through it as well. I wasn't defeated by the standard, I was defeated by myself. At least their is a way forward and with some time, I'll be able to complete these handstand push-ups without a problem.

What's Next


We have four movements that have not been used in a workout but has been featured in every Open: chest-to-bar pull ups, barbell snatch, thruster and wall ball. We also haven't seen a repeat workout yet but I can't see any workout that has all four in it. The movement that is definitely going to be there is the thrusters and not sure what else, probably wall balls. This last workout is going to be fun and it's probably going to hurt.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

18.3 - 2 Rounds For Time, 14 Minute Time Cap

100 Double-Unders 

20 Overhead Squats (115 lb.)

100 Double-Unders

12 Ring Muscle-Ups

100 Double-Unders

20 Dumbbell Snatches (50 lb.)

100 Double-Unders

12 Bar Muscle-Ups