Crossfit Games...

Over the last two years Crossfit has become my main exercise programming. The general philosophy of this programming is constantly varied, functional movements done at high intensity and basically prepares you for any physical challenge. The exercises can involve anything from power or Olympic lifting to bodyweight gymnastic movements (pull-ups, push-ups) to "cardio" (run/row). I love it because everyday is different, there is always something that you can work to improve on, and it keeps me in shape to participate in just about any physical activity I enjoy. The first year and a half I worked out with a friend at the base gym doing the main website's workouts scaling as necessary and teaching ourselves the various movements and lifts. When J was born she began going to Crossfit Hampton Roads to train while I took a few weeks off to recover and slowly work back to full capacity. I began to train there a day or two a week and over the last 6 months exclusively as I love working out with the trainers and the wonderful community of athletes there. Earlier this year I was asked if I would participate in the gym competition/try-out to determine the top 3 men and women that would form a team to represent the gym at the upcoming Crossfit Games. The gym competition was in early March and I placed 2nd overall for the women after 3 events securing me a place on the team. We've trained hard the last few months and this last weekend traveled to Logan, OH to represent our gym at the Crossfit Regional Games. This competition had athletes from seven states come and compete in both the individual and team competitions working to advance to the CrossFit World Championships in July held in Los Angeles this year. The team competition consisted of 3 events the first day and a final event two days later. Each team had 6 athletes but only 4 would compete in each event. Our team members were Jay, Brent, Jeremy, Nicole, Courtney, and myself.

The first event each athlete had to complete 3 rounds of the following movements for time: 20 kettlebell swings to full extension overhead(55#/35#), 10 chest to bar pull-ups, 20 burpees(push-up chest to ground, jump to standing, then lateral jump over sand bag), 20 box jumps (24"/20").

The second event the four athletes had 15 minutes to work to a one rep max snatch which is a Olympic weight lifting movement where you take the bar from the ground to locked out overhead in one quick movement. At the end of the 15 minutes we had 5 minutes to complete the maximum number of handstand pushups with each rep completed added as an additional pound to our cumulative total.

The final event of the first day involved a 5K trail run on very hilly terrain that included a 20# sandbag carry up a steep, 400m long hill at mile 2.

On the last day, the final team event was 50 muscle ups (hanging from gymnastic rings you have to do a pull-up, transition to a dip and press to full extension of your arms above the rings), pick up and carry a 10 foot long, 250 pound log up and down a hill about 250m, complete 100 thrusters (95#/65#) (squat with weight then press out overhead), log carry again, then 200 deadlifts (135#/95#), and one more log carry.

Of the 32 teams that competed in the four events, we ended up in fourth place overall and the top six advance to the finals. So we're headed to L.A. in July!!

It was a fun weekend participating in a great competition and hanging out with friends from the gym. We witnessed many incredible feats of strength, endurance, and sheer willpower in both the individual and team events. We had some other athletes from the gym that traveled with us to cheer us on and they took all the awesome photos. Our coach's nice write-up is here.

The competition was near Hocking Hills State Park which I would recommend visiting if you're ever in the area. We only got a chance to hike to Old Man's Cave which was amazing as you hiked 200 m from the road and you dropped down into this incredibly beautiful gorge. The pictures from my point and shoot don't do it justice.