CrossFit Games: South Central Regionals

[talonraid]

I just got back from watching my first ever CrossFit Games. This one happened to be be the Regional match for the South Central U.S. I had a friend of mine and his brother who both qualified for the Regional competition and both made it through their first exercise heat. Well done.

It was a lot of fun to watch and of course made me want to give it a shot next year.

 

[bubba hotep]

Another msg board that I visit has a lot of fitness talk and I have seen it mentioned a number of times that the people who actually do well in the CrossFit Games don't train by CrossFit anymore. Also, one of the CrossFitters was talking about the 100 burpee in 5 min challenge - beat down city. Are you back in Texas yet?

 

[Abide]

If you are anything like me you will probably have to get a lot stronger.

 

[talonraid]

Bubba: Yep, I'm back in Texas. I didn't hear of a single person at the CF Games who wasn't affiliated with a CF box. I would be amazed if anyone could NOT train for CF and do well at it. It would be like training for one sport and competing in another...unless I totally misunderstood you. Of course I have learned that CF has more haters than barefoot runners. People love to run it down, but I can't fathom why. Again, it seems like people would not worry about the activities of others if it doesn't affect them. Strange...

Abide: Yes, I'm gonna need to get much stronger fo' sho'. My toughest challenge so far has just been learning or "re-learning" olympic lift techniques and mastering that F$%#$$ing jump rope. For example, double unders were my arch nemesis until the light bulb finally came on. I was beating the crap out of myself until then and if a WOD calls for double unders and you can't get them done quickly every little hippie art teacher in class will kick your ass for time. I've decided to trade heavy for technique for the time being. I've got eight months to develop technique then work on heavy. I go with lighter than I can manage and ask the coaches to point out every rep I do with improper technique. (I do the same with other exercises as well, box jumps, push ups, toes to bar, etc.) While watching the Games I realized that a judge can be a huge factor in your results or you can completely negate the judge. If you have sh*tty technique and get "no repped" for it, it could be the difference between moving ahead or going home. However, if your technique is solid then the judge really doesn't matter. I saw a couple of dudes and a few teams who were shut down because they didn't complete the work in the correct manner even though their lifts were faster/heavier than the guys who moved on in the competition. Thinks like not opening up the hips on deadlifts or box jumps completely took a few competitors out. That's just poor attention to detail.

 

[talonraid]

Just for kicks, here is a short video of the women's first workout. There was a chick who set the world record for Diane. Something like 2:21...effin' amazing. The fastest dude on the same workout was around 3:30.

 

[dutchie53]

Wow, that is impressive.

 

[Abide]

Do you do it at home or a box?

I think it might take a few years to be successful at competing. Unless you are already squatting 400+ and pulling 500+ then your technique work will go far. You wil probably have to scratch running barefoot too.

 

[Abide]

Oh and nice kipping headstand pushups what a crock of Sh!t. One of the reasons I have no interest in the comps is that people always find a way to game the movements and water them down.

 

[talonraid]

Abide, I workout in a box now. I started on my own, but it's an experience of a different level in a box.

Also, we are just gonna have to disagree about Kips. Again, I think too many people try to compare CF to other sports. CF is a sport of it's own, and in that sport Kipping pullups, handstand pushups, etc are not only allowed but encouraged. When I hear people say Kips are cheating it makes me wonder if its cheating when a wide receiver uses his legs and hips to jump high for a pass (I think strict jumping for wide receives should start from the planted stationary position and no arm swing for extra height is allowed). Or, perhaps it's illegal or cheating if an outfielder puts a hand on the wall to make a last ditch jump to snag a homerun ball near the top of the wall. Why the hatred of CrossFit technique I have no idea. It's not like a CF cult member entered the olympics and kipped something for the win. Different sport bro.

Edit: Kind of like saying finding a technique that allows you to run further, faster and more often by using less energy is cheating...I suppose. Or do we all have to heel strike for it to count?

 

[Abide]

Hey I'm not a hater of crossfit, in fact if it didn't kick my ass so much I would probably do it more. But the whole short cutting in competition piece of it bothers me. For example when they teach a proper handstand pushup, one that is geared for building strength and minimizing injuries, the hand placement should be directly outside your shoulders and drop to your forehead (which I guess is another point of contention). But look at how she is doing it, even ignoring the kip and the resting in a headstand, her range of motion is what 6 inches... maybe? That's what they do in Insanity, I like to think CrossFit is better than that but they just seem to ignore it once they are "competing". Although maybe you are right Crossfit is all about conditioning to get better at other sports for me, I don't really get the sport of it.

And I don't think or never said kips are cheating. They just look stupid

 

[talonraid]

Ah, my bad. I totally misunderstood your post. I'm probably a little sensitive since I was wearing a CF T-shirt the other day (yep I'm a cult member) and some dude started talking to me about it then just started ripping it apart. I was totally amazed by his class "A" hatred. He was pissed about everything though. Kips, high intensity training, women lifting heavy, CF people who couldn't lift as much as traditional weightlifters, etc. etc. It was very much reminiscent of the shoddies who are mad and will engage on the barefoot issue out of the blue.

So, Abide, accept my public apology and warm, moist embrace. Besides if you keep doing CrossFit it will suck less, it still doesn't get easier though.

 

[bubba hotep]

Bubba: Yep, I'm back in Texas. I didn't hear of a single person at the CF Games who wasn't affiliated with a CF box. I would be amazed if anyone could NOT train for CF and do well at it. It would be like training for one sport and competing in another...unless I totally misunderstood you. Of course I have learned that CF has more haters than barefoot runners. People love to run it down, but I can't fathom why. Again, it seems like people would not worry about the activities of others if it doesn't affect them. Strange...

Yes, the haters seem to be out in force when it comes to CF. My interpretation was that they were kind of like saying that people are "cheating" they get to one level using CF but then "had" to switch to other types of training to get to the top in the CF games. They just opened a CF that I can easily jog to and the wife and I are strongly considering joining. I'll probably be down your way for work later this summer and we should grab a beer.

 

[talonraid]

Bubba, definitely let me know when you're gonna be here and I'll take you to Freetail or the Saucer for some fellowship and bible study.

 

[Abide]

Ah, my bad. I totally misunderstood your post. I'm probably a little sensitive since I was wearing a CF T-shirt the other day (yep I'm a cult member) and some dude started talking to me about it then just started ripping it apart. I was totally amazed by his class "A" hatred. He was pissed about everything though. Kips, high intensity training, women lifting heavy, CF people who couldn't lift as much as traditional weightlifters, etc. etc. It was very much reminiscent of the shoddies who are mad and will engage on the barefoot issue out of the blue.

So, Abide, accept my public apology and warm, moist embrace. Besides if you keep doing CrossFit it will suck less, it still doesn't get easier though.

Accepted although you didn't really need to apologize. I followed the mp for about a year and a half and my lifting philosophy has definitely changed from it. I unfortunately like to run too much and from my experience it doesn't jive too well with metcons. So now I just lift and run and occasionally do some conditioning work.

Why do you like the box better than doing it on your own? More convienient?

 

[talonraid]

...
Why do you like the box better than doing it on your own? More convienient?

A couple of things. First of all having a quality coach or two there to correct your technique, offer advice to improve something or just to motivate you when your mind is screaming "stop before you die!" is helpful. I had some bad technique on a few lifts when I was doing it by myself and I've had to unlearn those habits.
Also, the competitiveness of having other people in the class is a natural motivator. Let's face it, even if we don't want to admit it, we are competitive creatures. Having the 100 pound elementary school teacher ripping out snatches (ahem) next to you while you're gasping for air is a good incentive to keep going.