For the first time, this weekend I got a taste of what competing
publicly feels like, despite being part of smaller competitions taking place in the
"box" I train at, it wasn't the same. The difference this time... I
competed against people I never met, in a strange place, and outdoors
under a scorching sun - while being the only person fully covered.
Before I go into details of the competition...I have to admit, last week I had a major breakdown regarding my training for competing in Crossfit 2012. Having told the world my plans, it came with the consequence with the pressure of expectation, and not necessairly of those by others, but of myself and my progress. After much reflecting, crying (a tank of it!), and talking to some people...I realized I have always had one goal - keep getting stronger - with or with no competition in mind.
So on a Thursday afternoon, I randomly decided - with no plan, no training for this particular competition - what the hey! Let's go compete for fun! Not only I had fun, I surprised myself with my result!
On Friday morning the 2nd UAE Fitness Challenge which is organised by Men's Fitness and Shape ME Magazine took place in the Le Royal Meridien, from 9am-1pm. The competition had three categories: Individual Men, Individual Women, and Teams.
The competition was a 12 Minutes AMRAP (aka - As Many Rounds As Possible) of:
I guess the moment it hit me that I was competing was after they demonstrated the movements, they called my name in Heat 1 (basically a certain number of people competing in a group). They shouted my name..."Amna Al Haddad", and a whole bunch of the peeps I knew there were rooting for me and I felt an adrenaline rush!
Two minutes later, the competition began. As I finished my first round, I breezed through it...but it started gettng harder in round two...having competed outdoors for the first time fully covered was a bit of a challenge on its own. I never did any extrenous activity outdoors before, so I started feeling extremely dehydrated, and running is one of my weaknesses alongside box jumps ( although some said I beasted the hell out of those! Still work in progress in getting my rhythm & soft landing). I kept my mind focused on the simple fact, this is only 12 minutes (although from hell) it's just 12 minutes. Give it all I've got!
As the countdown began, I have completed 4 rounds + 10 box jumps + 15 push ups + 17 kb swings. Today they announced the scores...and I ranked 13th out of 20 contenstants in the Individual category (both men and women). I am very very pleased with my result...because the TOP Athletes (PT's, winners of big titles, and regular competitors) were in their 6th or 7th round and I was in my 5th. This means I am catching up with the best...so watch out boys and girls!
The top three women were:
The top three men were:
All in all it was an amazing experience to be part of the UAE Fitness Challenge. But no one can deny that Crossfit LifeSpark two coaches, regular crossfitter men and women really stole the show. We walked in quiet, but walked out loud.
Next Fitness Challenge here I come,...but wait, which direction to run again?
For more, click HERE to see the workouts, WOMEN athletes, MEN athletes, and TEAMS.
Yours Truly,
GymFreak @ 999fitness
Before I go into details of the competition...I have to admit, last week I had a major breakdown regarding my training for competing in Crossfit 2012. Having told the world my plans, it came with the consequence with the pressure of expectation, and not necessairly of those by others, but of myself and my progress. After much reflecting, crying (a tank of it!), and talking to some people...I realized I have always had one goal - keep getting stronger - with or with no competition in mind.
So on a Thursday afternoon, I randomly decided - with no plan, no training for this particular competition - what the hey! Let's go compete for fun! Not only I had fun, I surprised myself with my result!
On Friday morning the 2nd UAE Fitness Challenge which is organised by Men's Fitness and Shape ME Magazine took place in the Le Royal Meridien, from 9am-1pm. The competition had three categories: Individual Men, Individual Women, and Teams.
The competition was a 12 Minutes AMRAP (aka - As Many Rounds As Possible) of:
- 10 Polymetric Box Jumps (m = 24inch, w = 20inch)
- 15 Hand Release Push Ups
- 20 Kettlebell swings (m = 16kgs, w = 8kgs)
- 100m Run
 |
| Photoshoot by Shape ME |
Two minutes later, the competition began. As I finished my first round, I breezed through it...but it started gettng harder in round two...having competed outdoors for the first time fully covered was a bit of a challenge on its own. I never did any extrenous activity outdoors before, so I started feeling extremely dehydrated, and running is one of my weaknesses alongside box jumps ( although some said I beasted the hell out of those! Still work in progress in getting my rhythm & soft landing). I kept my mind focused on the simple fact, this is only 12 minutes (although from hell) it's just 12 minutes. Give it all I've got!
As the countdown began, I have completed 4 rounds + 10 box jumps + 15 push ups + 17 kb swings. Today they announced the scores...and I ranked 13th out of 20 contenstants in the Individual category (both men and women). I am very very pleased with my result...because the TOP Athletes (PT's, winners of big titles, and regular competitors) were in their 6th or 7th round and I was in my 5th. This means I am catching up with the best...so watch out boys and girls!
The top three women were:
- Candice Howe (My awesome coach who is very humble! @CandiceHowe)
- Inger Larsen (The queen of double-unders who trains with us @CrossFitLSDubai)
- Lisa Doe
The top three men were:
- Justin Ahrens
- Phill Robson
- Paul Hymers (@fitnessindubai)
The top three teams were:
- CrossFit LifeSpark - Coach Ben & the boys!
- Core Direction
- Glory Girls (Super Duper awesome strong women! @GLORYGIRLFIT)
 |
| CrossFit LifeSpark Team: From left to right, Lee, Luke Coach Ben, Coach Candice, me, and Chris. |
All in all it was an amazing experience to be part of the UAE Fitness Challenge. But no one can deny that Crossfit LifeSpark two coaches, regular crossfitter men and women really stole the show. We walked in quiet, but walked out loud.
Next Fitness Challenge here I come,...but wait, which direction to run again?
For more, click HERE to see the workouts, WOMEN athletes, MEN athletes, and TEAMS.
Yours Truly,
GymFreak @ 999fitness
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing. i really appreciate it that you shared with us such a informative post..
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