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!