Week 5: Final Week of the CrossFit Games Open 12.5

This was it. This was the final workout about to be announced for the CrossFit Games Open 2012. When I saw the workout at 5am in the morning, I had a sigh of relief (while many worldwide were unhappy). Why? It's exactly like last year's 11.6 workout.

Although I didn't participate last year in the Open, because I did not know anything about CrossFit back then. When I decided to compete in Crossfit five months ago, my coach and I revisited last year's open workouts to see where I would've stacked up and what I need to work on. 

The Workout 12.5:

It's a reverse FRAN! AMRAP 7
Weight: Men = 45kgs, Women = 30kgs

 Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme of:
30kgs thrusters, 3 reps
chest to bar pull-up, 3 reps

30kgs thurster, 6 reps
6 reps of chest to bar pull-up
30kgs thrusters, 9 reps
9 reps of chest to bar pull-up

 ...etc until the 7 minute is up!

My Experience and Workout score:

Just three months ago I did the exact same workout. I recall how hard it has been, but because I had done the workout before, for once I had a realistic expectation what I can achieve. Back then, 30kgs way beyond heavy, I did not know what a chest-to-bar pull up was!

So when I did the workout in the end of November 2011, my total reps was: 23 (meaning I finished my 6 and was 3 reps into my 9).

So how did I score in just a 3 months period? DOUBLE THE REPS! 


My score: 45 repetitions (meaning I entered my 12 rep range by 9 reps, which came as a shock actually!)


So I decided to do the workout again, because I had a feeling I can get at least 5 extra repetitions. However, I got the exact repetitions in both attempts. It really only confirmed how well I am actually doing, despite not having recovered 100% when I re-tried it!



My Regional and International score: 


Score WOD #5: 51st!!!!!!!!! I rocked it, and was within the top 60 women in this workout!
International score of #5: among the 8000 women competing WORLDWIDE! 

Overall regional score: 77th! During the first 4 weeks, I was scoring an average of 80-90 points which left me with 92 points, but after the final workout, I did so well, I ranked 77th in the whole of ASIA out of 170 women who registered to compete!

Final Words: 

The past 5 weeks have been an incredible journey. I have learned a lot about myself, my capability both physically and mentally. There were very low moments for me in this competition. especially because I didn't meet my initial goal of making it top 60. However, I learned many good lessons taking part in my first ever competition, and an international one.  The most important thing is...your attitude toward everything makes all the difference. Literally! Also, never forget to have fun! Ever!

To a point, I have accepted the fact I won't go to korea to compete in regionals this year....I made peace with how things turned out, but all the sudden, I realized that in my final workout I have contributed to a team score, which I have been taking part of! It meant one thing...I CAN GO TO REGIONALS, in a TEAM!

So, I am currently doing everything in my physical ability to help me and my team, CrossFit LifeSpark Dubai to make it to Korea Regionals (May 4-6). We currently rank 3rd in the Asia region! So I am seeking sponsors and all the local support I can get! Find out more HERE.  

Please spread the word!

Yours Truly, 

Looking for Sponsors: CrossFit Regionals

Now that the CrossFit Games Open are over,  I have found out that I have actually have a shot to make it to the second stage! note: detailed blogpost on week 5 to follow in a few days.

Here is a quick preview of the competition in a previous blog post HERE:

What are the CrossFit Games Open & Regionals? 

The Open is a five week long worldwide competition which includes anything from Olympic weightifting, to gymnastics, to kettlebell training and a variety of skills. Each week, one workout is announced which we have to complete. Regionals? Through the open, the top 60 women, top 60 men, and 30 teams with the highest score in their REGION, will move to stage two, and for us the regionals will take place in KOREA. 

Who Am I? 

I am a 22-year-old Emirati, who is the first Emirati and GCC national female to take part in this worldwide competition, the Crossfit Games Open.

How am I eligible to compete in the second stage?

I was competing as an individual during the 5-week long competition and scored 77th in ASIA. However, I was also contributing to a team score. In the final week, my score was good enough to land me a spot in the top 3 women in our team, CrossFit LifeSpark Dubai.

 

What's next? The competition details:

Date: 4-6 May

Location: South Korea

What Am I looking for? 

Someone to help me and my team to get to regionals through sponsorship of travel costs.

How much do we need? 

Flights: 30,000AED

Accommodation: 20,000AED

Get in touch:

E-mail: info@999fitness.ae 

Our time is running out....any support you can give would make a difference!

Week 4: Crossfit Games Open 12.4

Leading up to the fourth week of the competition, I had a bit of a hiccup. My lower back was quite sore - beyond the typical 2 day soreness - and my worry was if something heavy will come up and make my lower back condition worse. 

Surprisingly, nothing heavy have come up in the fourth workout, but it worked my lower back beyond my liking nonetheless.

The Workout 12.4

AMRAP 12:

150 Wall Balls (M=9kgs, W=6kg)
90 Double Unders
30 Muscle Ups

This was the workout that separated the men from the boys. As far as I am concerned, ladies are always ladies. Call me sexist! 

My Experience and Workout Score:

When I first found out what the workout is, my expectation, as in usual, was beyond high! I expected to finish 240 reps (150 wall balls + 90 double-unders). I knew I could do both movements physically. I worked very hard to get double unders in the past 8 months, and I was SO excited they finally come up. 

But the surprise came with how HARD it was doing 150 wall balls with 6kgs when my lower back was not 100%. Wall Balls require you to use your whole body, you squat below parallel, and throw the ball, and catch it back down into a squat. Everyone else were talking about how fried their legs were....not me, it was my back. [Note to self: Don't work up to a 5RM max deadlift during a competition! Hey I got a new personal best of 85kgx5...anyway, not the point!]

In fact, only the top athletes were able to finish 240+ reps, and no woman was able to finish more than one round.

Knowing how the condition of my back was, I knew my performance wasn't the best. So I attempted the WOD twice:

Score 1: 100 reps

Score 2:  112 reps

Truth be told, my back was still not 100% in the second attempt, but I managed to get 12 more reps. I literally after getting 70 reps as I reckon, did each rep as a single as it reduced the pressure on my lower back. But the second score made a difference in my final score, so it was SO worth it. 

Regional Score: 

Score WOD #4: 88th

Total score: 92nd (got a better placing than the last 2 weeks!)

You can check my full athlete profile and scores HERE.

Final Words:

I would say the only thing that was disappointing for me in this WOD is that I didn't get the chance to show off my double-unders and get a good score in it, especially because I worked for 8 months to get them! That's almost a year! Although my score may be average in this workout, I know I pushed hard enough given the condition of my lower back, which is slowly getting better now with deep tissue work, icing, and resting. 

By now, I can safely say this year I will not be able to make it to top 60 and go to regionals, which is the 2nd stage of the competition. However, I have to admit that I did myself proud in the past 4-5 months with my hard work and dedication...and the blood, sweat, and tears that I threw on the floor (yes, all 3 apply), and some bruises! Don't mean to scare ya!

So tomorrow we'll find out the last and final workout for the Open competition, I am quite saddened by the fact it's ending and I will miss the anticipation of it. However, there will be a lot more local competitions that will take place locally, so I will be taking part indeed. 

Lets see what's the final workout going to bring!

Week 3: CrossFit Games Open WOD 12.3

Three weeks down into the competition, and it ain't getting easier. It's getting heavier and more technical as expected.

As I awaited the workout on Thursday morning... I had a sense of relief when I found out what it is because I know I physically could do it and high expectation about what I want to achieve...So what was the WOD?

The Workout 12.3 

A 18 minute AMRAP (as many reps as possible) of:

15 box jumps (M=24inches, F=20inches)

12 push press (M=52kgs, F=34kgs)
9 toes to bar 

My Experience and Workout score:

I knew this is the kind of workout that I needed to give it my all and my best at one go. In my mind, I had one shot and one shot ONLY. Why? It's a long workout to begin with, and doing heavy push presses within a 4-day period again would be nuts (I am still not fully recovered 100% from the workout! haha)

Also, only recently I established that my maximum push press is 40kgs, and 34kgs is not very far off. So as I got ready to do the WOD and hearing 3, 2, 1...GO! I took on the box jumps, and as I moved into the push presses... I pushed the weight with all my might the first round...but I knew as I started the push presses that they will slow me down, but I was surprised by how much. 

I think in this workout, the tough part was not mental, but it was purely physical - and not in the sense I was gassed out or kept stopping, but I was limited strength-wise in terms of I started failing in some of the reps and the fact I did a few press-outs fatigued my muscles further. 

So, what was my score? 3 rounds + 15 box jumps = 123 total repetitions. 

Regional and International Score:

  

Regional Score (WOD 3): 83rd out of 170 women

Total regional score (WOD 1+2+3): still standing 93rd in the region. 

International score (WOD 3): Among the top 13,000 out of at least 20 thousand women.

Total International score (WOD 1+2+3): Also among the top 13,000.

Final Words: 

I don't doubt for a second that on Thursday, I gave the workout my all.

But the tough part about taking part of a competition, I learned, is that no matter how good you are, compared to yourself, there is always someone who is better than you, and your best may be not "enough" on a scoreboard. However, in the end of the day what matters is how far YOU have come. How far YOU have achieved. How far YOU pushed to get to where you are today. 

Really, putting 34kgs 36 times over my head is PRETTY damn impressive and I am very content with how I did for ME. 

Four months ago, my coach and I were worried whether I will be able to do the workouts RxD (as perscribed) meaning without scaling things down to make it eaiser. And so far, I've done each workout RxD and it got me to be part of the top 95 people competing in ASIA.

Yes, the likelihood of me making it top 60 in the region this year may not be possibility due to nature of the workouts, number of people taking part, my strength levels...and I only had four months training! But imagine where I will be after one year of crossfit training under my belt? Yup. A small beast.

& here is a short video I want to leave you all with to show my progress. Four months ago I couldn't put 10kgs overhead, now I can and squat 40kgs! 

 

Week 2: Crossfit Games Open WOD 12.2

I recall Wednesday night very well. I couldn't sleep one bit. I woke up every hour to check my phone - to check what is the Workout Of the Day (WOD) for the CrossFit Games Open Competition.

At 5 am on Thursday - we found out.

The Workout 12.2:

It was a 10 minutes AMRAP of...Snatch Ladder

Ladder 1: 30 Snatch (M 34kgs) / F 20kgs)
Ladder 2: 30 Snatch (M 61kgs/ F 34kgs)
Ladder 3: 30 Snatch (M 75kgs/ F 45.5kgs)
Ladder 4: Max Rep Snatch (M 95.5kgs / F 54.5kgs)

My Experience and Workout Score:

My initial reaction was worry. I knew there will be a heavy WOD. At first I knew for a fact I can finish the first ladder within a few minutes (3-5), and would have had another five for the rest.

Problem is...I did not have a 34kgs Snatch. If anything, I was 2 kgs off. Few weeks I did a 32kgs snatch and believed that would be good enough for the Open, but I was proven wrong...but I didn't let that stop me.

Although 2kgs may sound very insignificant, those knowledgable about the Olympic lifts will tell you even 0.5kgs makes a huge difference on whether you can get the lift or not. To add to that, my experience in the Olympic lifts is merely 4-5 months only. Which in other words, is an infant. 

Unlike any other sport, CrossFit doesn't include bodyweight categories, and the first weight introduced in the ladder is almost half my bodyweight as I currently weigh 49.5kgs. So it's damn impressive that I did pretty well in the first ladder to start with.

Snatch set up

Mid-movement (split snatch variation):
failed attempt because I couldn't lock out

I decided to attempt the WOD three times, hoping I will get the 34kgs each time and the results were: 

Score 1: 30 reps

Score 2: 30 reps

Score 3: 30 reps

 
The Goal, Regional and International Score:

Goal: Have the right mindset and attack each WOD with my best ability, and make it to top 60 in the region.

Regional Score WOD #2: 89th

Total Regional Score: 93rd. 

International Score WOD #2: Among the 15,000 of the 20,000 women competing

Total International Score: Among the 14,000 of the 20,000 women competing.

*PS scores will be finalized on Wednesday 5 am. To keep up with my scores, click HERE.

Final Words: 

It is good when a workout like this come up is to reflect on my journey. Why? The first two times I did the WOD, I didn't handle it very well. My mindset wasn't where it needed to be. I was disppointed and was angry with myself because I couldn't get the lift. I have trained very hard, and to be 2kgs off is quite disappointing.
 
In all of my three attempts, I was so close to getting them, I had the bar sitting on my head in one of them even...but I couldn't lock out. The weight was too heavy. 

However, in my last attempt I changed my mindset, I went there believeing I could do it. And again, I was VERY close to getting 3 reps, but that's not the point anymore.

Yesterday I walked out of my 3rd attempt with my head held high, because I know, in my heart, I did everything I physically and mentally could for this workout with the given time-frame and my physical cability. I am proud of my efforts and the fact I did this three times as I was truly determined to get that 1 rep.

In fact, four months ago, I couldn't snatch 20kgs AT ALL. This weekend I snatched 20kgs for 30 reps in less than 4 minutes. This on its own is an achivement.

Plus, I am still in the race...and there are three more WODS which will determine my final score and whether I will be in the top 60.

Yours Truly,