Week 1: CrossFit Games WOD 12.1

Want to know who are the fittest people in the world? Follow the CrossFit Games which have kicked off on the weekend!

What are the CrossFit Games Open? 

It's 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 (5 am UAE time), which none of the athlete know about ahead of time, and have only 4 days to complete it. Scores are uploaded online and validated by either an affiliate or Crossfit HQ. 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, the regionals. Currently over 60,000 people are competing in the open!

The Workout 12.1:

It was as many reps as possible in 7 minutes of...BURPEES!

Athletes had to touch their chest to the ground
and then jump 6 inches above their reach.

My Experience and Workout Score:

When I found out the workout, I was relieved at first - it's something ANYONE can do. A 13 year old or a 70 year old (and yes, a woman got 71 reps, too!) But...it's a workout that is challenging for me because one of my weaknesses is my capacity.

Surprisingly I did a lot better than I thought I could. Given I had four days to finish the workout, it meant I can do it as many times as I wished to do so. I did the workout from hell, twice.

My first score: 77 burpees in 7 minutes
My second score: 82 burpees in 7 minutes


The Goal, Regional, and International score:

My goal is simple -do the best I can for ME and hope to make top 60 to make it to regionals this year.

Regional Score: My score was changing on the leaderboard during the 4-day period as more people uploaded their scores. At fist, I was in the top 20's, down to 30s, 40s, 50s and my final score after closing of the week one is...81 out of 146 women in Asia.

International Score: Not only do I have a regional score, I have an international score as well which is currently 10764 out of 19789 women worldwide

After the end of week 5, the sum of all five workout scores will determine whether an athlete will move on to the next stage or not. So a score in one workout that is below the 60 mark is not necessairly a disqualification of any sort.


Final Words:

Whether I make it to regionals or not this year, nothing beats the experience of taking part of a big international competition. Not only that I will still have a final score that determines where I stand in terms of my fitness regionally and internationally.

For the next 5 weeks, I will write a blogpost to document the journey each Monday. Also you can follow my progress through my athlete profile HERE.

Yours Truly,

Reflection: Four months training for competition

It's finally here.

Nerves are kicking in, blood swimming in my veins from the adrenaline rush, and my palms are sweaty. But most importantly I feel that I've done all I could to take part of something big.  

The competition that I have been training for and talking about for four months has arrived. A week from today, the CrossFit Games 2012 open will kick off on the 22nd of February, US time.

I have been through a journey in the last four months. Not just physical, but mental. I decided to take my fitness levels beyond the four-walls of a typical gym. I decided to take part in an international competition on a whim after a training session in October.

What's so nerve-wrecking about the competition, you ask me? You don't know what you'll be competing at and against whom. Last year 27,000 people took part, this year it's estimated to be 100,000 people across the freaking globe! and I am one of them.

Stating next Wednesday, each week for five weeks one workout (aka WOD) will be put up online on the Crossfit site, and you only have four days to complete the workout and validate your score. The workouts will include anything from - Olympic lifts, powerlifting, gymnastics, skills (double-unders, wall balls, toes to bar), and met cons (metabolic conditioning, meaning cardio).

They will be paired differently each week with different rep ranges and weights.

Here is the tricky part for me. In four months I have honed all the skills with hard work - from double-unders to toes to bar, to learning more than 20-30 movement patterns. Not only that, I also increased my strength level significantly. Week on week, I was PRing (having new personal records), I was learning new lessons, how to mentally deal with a gain or a disappointment, learned to listen to my body, learned to be in tuned with myself and my thoughts.

Despite all that, my fear since the day I started and until today is always going to be weights. It's always going be my "goat", because no matter how strong I am as female who weighs 50kgs (110kbs), to be able to lift as much as other female crossfitters will always be my challenge. And that's okay - because strength is built over time, not overnight.

I have faced a lot of stumbling blocks in the past few months.  Some were harder to get pass through, some were just a "typical bad day," but each time I got up and took a step forward nevertheless.

Challenging areas:

My mobility - which I have been seeing a physiotherapist for week in week out to ensure I work on it and get my body to work in harmony, and this process is still on-going. Boy, 4 months ago I couldn't overhead squat 10kgs, now I can do so with 35kgs!

Olympic lifts -I have been working on my Olympic lifts on weekly basis with an Oly coach Ikaika Paakaula, who has 15 years experience. In just four months...I was able to improve my Olympic lifts technique and I can do a clean with 42.5kgs, which is REALLY close to my own bodyweight!

Diet -  My eating habits has always been off and on. But recently I did something that although saddened me in a way, it also helped me a lot at the same time. I have done my "Allergy test" to see if I have any issues with certain food items. 36 out of 300 items were marked as "intolerant" from a not so-severe to extreme intolerance. Through that list, I have changed my eating, added new items, removed a few items. It's still not 100% yet, as everything is a process and takes time to sink in and adapt.

Mental - Mental challenges are the worst - not the training, not the sweat, or not the muscle burn you have during WODs. It's the thoughts that swam in my head. But with time I am slowly, I repeat, SLOWLY, learning how to deal with my negative thoughts. Thanks to great coaching by @CandiceHowe, I am much better at dealing with mental breakdowns.

I owe it to her and CrossFit LifeSpark for making me a better well-rounded athlete, physically and mentally. When I first made the decision to take part in crossfit, oh boy, little did I know what it takes... but I made it this far and hopefully I will make top 60 athletes in the region!


Starting next week, I will write a blog post about each workout, how well or not so well I do, and where I rank worldwide. So stay tuned!  

Strongmen Championship in Abu Dhabi

 

The UAE never disappoints...and this time around, it was yet another a great sporting event.  

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, the World Strongmen Championship 2012 was held in Abu Dhabi, khalifa park from 11-13 Feb.

25 athletes were being asked to test their physical strength through lifting heavy weights and objects, and those who were not strong enough were eliminated in event 2 and 3. 

Some of the movements included were farmer's walk, log lifts, truck pulls, tire flips, apollon axle, below are the movements and weight used.

February 11 (25 athletes)
Apollon Axle; max
Farmer’s Walk: time, 160 kg, 50 m
Deadlift: 300 kg, for reps
Tire Flips: 320 kg, time, 8 reps
Duck Walk Medley: 220-, 240-, 260 kg

February 12 (15 athletes)
Arm-over-Arm: bus; time, 20 m
IronMind Sandbag carry: 120 kg for distance
Super Yoke: time, 350 kg, 25 m
Manhood stone: 180 kg, reps
Log lift:125 kg for reps

February 13: Final (8 athletes)
Apollon/’s Axle for reps
Farmer’s + Duck Walks: time, 50 m
Truck pull: time, 25 m
Tire Flips: 320 kg, time, 8 reps
Mas-wrestling

Mark Felix looking solid in his first rep in the
apollon axle

This guy had the best technique out of all,
kept repping 'em!

One of the funny moments that I came across... as I was standing at the back among the athletes, I saw a person, pretty much 3x my size hovering in front of me who said "Where did you get these from? (pointing at my vibrams)"

He stood there for a good few minutes trying to figure out what I was saying, which was "Go sport," maybe he understood it as me cheering him...who knows! Then one of the organisers came and told him, "later buddy!"

Too bad, could've taken a photo with him! 

Anyway, I had to leave before the event was over, so I am not sure who won the title. The team will departure on Tuesday.

For more information, visit IronMind website for the results, HERE.

Or visit the event's Facebook page. 

Yours Truly, 

A weights-junkie.

U Energy Games: My Experience

Monkeying around!

Despite not making it to the finals in the U Energy Games as I hoped I would, I took home something else - an experience in a big local competition.

On the 27th and 28th January, a two-day competition organized by U concept took place at the Weight Loss Show. The U Energy Games  included three events; Day 1, Day 2: semi-finals and finals.

During Day 1, all the athletes did not know what they'll be doing - and what they'll be competing at exactly. We had a rough idea (a scary one, too!) of what might come up. Luckily enough, I have been doing Crossfit, and I have in a way adapted to set my fears aside and push - despite the unknown.

As we were informed of the workout in Day one - you could tell it is something that will be challenging. So who took part? People from all different ages - those in their 20s to those in their 50s. There were 25 males who took part, 7 females and 5 teams (of four people).

I entered as an individual but was representing my community, CrossFit LifeSpark Dubai alongside my coach, Candice Howe, and three teams.

So after the briefing, you could tell some freaked out, some accepted the challenge and some were indifferent. I personally was excited on pushing myself and see how far I can go. So the workout in day one was:

Few seconds before the race

- 250m Row
- 10 Wall Ball with 6kgs for women, 9kgs for men
- 10 pull ups
- Sand bag carry, 25kgs for women, 35kgs for men, walk up the hill, jump over the wall and back
- 10 rope pulls 
- 10 burpees
- 10 push press, 20kgs for women, 30kgs for men
- 50m Lunges (knee touch the ground)
- 20 box jumps, 20inches for women, 24inches for men
- Jerry cans carry (50kgs)
- Finally a sprint to the finish line.

Sand bag carry - 25kgs

Doing my favorite movement!
Pull-ups!

50kgs Jerry can carry!

It was pretty awesome competing among some of the best athletes in the UAE and people from all different backgrounds. And I would say one of my best moments was when I did my pull-ups and many people looked surprised by someone my size doing pull-ups for reps.

Even a guy approached me and said...."One day I want you to teach me how to do pull ups like that!"

Surprisingly enough, this is the first competition that I have been part of that other Emiratis participated in. It wasn't women though (no surprise there), but at least some 5-6 local guys, which was interesting to see how they'd react to my taking part. Not too bad, actually!

The first day was meant to include all segments of the community and allow everyone to participate - but in the end of the day, there was a score - one that gets you through and one that doesn't.  In my case, I was placed 6th in the female category. My score, however, was not good enough to pass me through next stage. Although I did everything by the book and had great technique.

Me running to the finish line!

Here, I had a little issue with the judging and I have discussed it with the organizer - who listened to my points and I have heard his. We both came to an understanding that the judging should have been stricter, but the ultimate goal is to let everyone experience that feeling of "passing through the finish line," so they feel a sense of accomplishment. So kudos to them for hosting such an event.

Overall, I think this competition is by far the best that I have been part of - it was outdoors (although I caught a cold!), it was well organized, and challenged UAE residents on a whole new level, and most of all - it felt like a real competition. I even felt like as if I was in the US competing for a minute there!

U concept definitely did a wonderful job on hosting their first big event and I am definitely going to look forward for the one coming next year. By then, I will be stronger and faster - watch THIS space! 

Moving on the competition, although I did not take part of the second day - all the athletes from LifeSpark Dubai did, so I went to cheer them on.

During the semi-finals and finals, Candice was placed first in the female category, and 3 of our teams took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places (and 2 of teams had to compete against each other in the end!)

As in usual, when we went there, people asked - "what is this Crossfit thing? Who are these guys?" We are the CrossFit LifeSpark team! We walk in quietly and let our actions speak louder than words - and walk out with big prizes, too!

In another note, the competition I have been training for four months is really near - 22 days and counting! I am excited, but also very nervous. Taking part in this competition is a big deal for me - your prayers for me to make it would mean a lot. It would mean I will go to Korea and compete!

Yours Truly,

I am Back...a Competitor!

I ended last year's post with a somewhat negative note. I started my new years with a depressive episode. Only to realize I am a lot stronger than I thought.

Sometimes, I like to fail. But not too deep to the point where I literally have to do many pull-ups I physically cannot. But I did it, eventually. I climbed my way up again...only to find myself fighting harder.

In my last post, I discussed how I had fears. Many fears, but guess what? I am smashing each of these...one at a time. Domino effect!

My fears & progress:

1. Cannot do double unders:

Now guess what? Just 5 days after I wrote that post. I got my double-unders, and soon enough I will be able to string them together.

    2. Olympic Lifts:

My Snatch technique is getting much better. I am not a scared "to go under the bar" while doing a clean...and I just added 1kg to my clean @ 41kgs. Trust me, in the olympic lifts, one KG is what makes you or breaks you. So yes, 1kg...is a big deal. Getting closer to my 50kgs goal in 35 days.

    3. Learned how to do rope climbs:

After just 30 minutes of practising. More so, was able to pull my body at least 2cm off the ground by only pulling with my two arms, no legs. (ehm, good upper body strength indicator!)

    4. I am good enough and I know it:

I may not be as fit or as strong as other women all over the world. But as Amna, I have improved so much and I am beating MY own records and not one someone else's. I dislike when someone tries to compare me or when I compare me with others and their progress. In the end of the day, this is my journey, my vibrams, my blisters, my sweat, MY tears. This is me. 


   5. My fear of not making it in the competition: 

My response? Went right ahead and threw myself among the wolves and joined a local competition, the U energy games @ the Weight Loss Show, which will in a way prepare me physically and mentally for the competition I am training for that is taking place from the 22nd of Feb until the 25th of March (countdown time!) 

If you fear something? Jump right into it. You'd be surprised by how not so scary it is as you might've thought.

Yours truly,
Always a fighter


For more information on the U energy Games, visit their facebook page HERE. Do come and cheer for me ;). I wouldn't mind any support!

Competition: My Fear of Not Making It

I have a fear. A fear that I won't make it through Crossfit Open 2012. I have been training rigorously as some know, but am I getting closer to where I need to be? Unfortunately, I don't think so. I have been training for competition for exactly 10 weeks, and there are about 9 more weeks left.


You'd think there is enough time. Wrong. There is not. 


If I were to tell you I have not made any gains in the past 10 weeks, I would be a liar. If anything, I have made some awesome personal gains; some of which include my 90kgs deadlift, 65kgs back squat, 40kgs squat clean, 30kgs snatch, 1RM Weight-pull ups @ 10kgs, my wallballs are better, my box jumps are improving...I am improving, but am I improving enough to make it? 


You see, crossfit is unlike any other competition. There are no weight classes; which is what makes it exciting but also very nerve-wrecking for a 50kgs, 5'2 small girl like me. Most crossfit women who I have seen compete are beasts and majority - not all - but majority weigh in their 60s with experience in Crossfit or other sports.


Yes, I was weight-training before, but not this way. Not even close.


However, when it comes to doing body-weighted movements, my light weight helps; with push ups, pullups....etc, but what worries me is that there will be a big weight thrown in the Open which will immediately disqualify me; especially anything overhead.


Although my overhead position improved SO much in the past 10 weeks; before I was not able to hold more than 5kgs and squat it down without dropping the bar. Yet, I recently did an overhead squat with 25kgs, and HERE is a video similar to what I did with 1kg less.


I have been going for physiotherapy for the past 10 weeks and doing extensive 30-45 minutes mobility exercises everyday (aside from my actual training). The goal of the physiotherapy is to make sure I get mobility, better range of motion, prevent injuries and work on existing injuries.


Yet, I wonder...is it enough? Am I doing enough to make it? Am I doing everything I should be doing to get through?


Another major concern of mine is....DOUBLE-UNDERS! Before Crossfit, I never skipped in my life, let alone do a double-under (which basically when you jump once and the rope goes under your feet twice.) I have been going at it for at least TWO months. I get it occasionally - out of the blue - and then it disappears for a long time. And to be honest, I am not sure how to get them. EVERYONE exhausted their double-under cues to me, I watched numerous videos...and it's just not happening. Will that be what stops me from making it through the open to go through Asia Regionals? 


I have quite a lot of these doubts. A lot of people tell me that I have passion and my passion will get me through. I don't think passion without hard work is enough. I have the passion, I am working hard, and spending a lot of money on my training and physio. Yet, I still wonder...is it enough?


I really for once in my life want to do something daring. I never did anything so. I want to make it to the regionals, even if it's just for ONE workout. I know I am not strong enough to make top 10 or go to the Games. Not because *I am not strong as me*, but I am not strong compared to the other women who have years of experience under their belt, while me...I have only been technically doing crossfit for 4-5 months.



It may seem that I am "making excuses", and maybe I am, but my excuses are realistic concerns, too....yet I am still training , working hard, and making gains. So my goal is to keep focusing on getting ME better. Getting ME stronger. Getting me to perfect some skills. Yet sometimes, my body doesn't respond the way I want it to.


I have these fears. And a lot more. They came up sometimes. It's normal and I need to let it out, because if I don't I will be cheating myself and only drive myself crazy with self-doubt.


Yet I am still trying and going to give it a shot - because I never know if I don't try and I don't want to regret not giving it all I've got. But at the same time, I want to be realistic and not disappoint myself if I don't make it or disappoint those who supported me, either.


Yours Truly,
GymFreak @999Fitness

My Experience: UAE Fitness Challenge

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:

• 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

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:

1. Candice Howe (My awesome coach who is very humble! @CandiceHowe)
2. Inger Larsen (The queen of double-unders who trains with us @CrossFitLSDubai)
3. Lisa Doe

 
 The top three men were:

1. Justin Ahrens
2. Phill Robson
3. Paul Hymers (@fitnessindubai)

The top three teams were:

1. CrossFit LifeSpark - Coach Ben & the boys!
2. Core Direction
3. 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