CAL - Championship

“In training, you listen to your body. In competition, you tell your body to shut up.”

 – Rich Froning

This past weekend was the CAL Championship that was hosted by OBP in Woodbridge, VA. After 5 weeks of competing every Saturday at different boxes we were in the Championship to win it all. During the regular season, we were separated from our other 2 Verity teams competing in CAL; the Championship held all divisions at one box (Novice, Open & Upper) meaning our Verity family was able to cheer each other on & watch each other compete – I absolutely loved this.

Now on to the wods . . . because of our regular season standing (1^st place), our team, Verity Strong, got a bye for Wod 1 so our first wod of the day was Wod 2:

10 minute time cap:

21 Burpees to plate with hand release

21 Thrusters (105/70#)

15 Burpee box jumps with hand release (24/20”)

15 Thrusters (115/75#)

9 Burpee box jumps with hand release (30/24”)

9 Thrusters (135/95#)

15 Burpee box jumps with hand release (24/20”)

15 Thrusters (115/75#)

21 Burpees to plate with hand release

21 Thrusters (105/70#)

Verity Strong won this head to head race so we advanced to the winner’s bracket for Wod 3.

Video of us working:

Wod 3:

10 minute time cap:

5 Legless rope climbs

30 Shoulder to Overhead (135/95#)

3 Legless rope climbs

20 Shoulder to Overhead (155/105#)

1 Legless rope climb

10 Shoulder to Overhead (185/125#)

Verity Strong won this head to head race so we advanced to the final Wod; we got a bye for Wod 4.

Video of our guys crushing some legless rope climbs:

Wod 5 (final):

10 minute time cap:

50 Pull Ups

20 Overhead Squats (155/105#)

30 Chest to Bar/Toes to Bar combo or Double Tap

20 Weighted Pistols with Kettlebell (55/35#)

10 Muscle Ups

10 Squat Snatches (155/105#)

Verity Strong won this head to head making us the 2015 Summer Champs!

Video of us working:

Here are my favorite photos from the Championship:

Coach Vinny strategizing

Love this one - all 3 of our Verity teams taking over the parking lot to game plan. =)

70# Thrusters.

Just the sweetest little girl - if you aren't a dog lover you've got some serious problems.

My girl, Meg, keeping things interesting...

LOL! I love her. By the way, I had no idea she was back there!

Puppy kisses are the best kisses. 

105# Overhead Squats in the final.

Weighted Pistols w/ 35# Kettlebell. Truth, I had never done these until this wod - definitely something I need to work on. 

Just crossed that finish line - Champs!

Verity Strong - 1st place.

Verity Strong, Verity Force & Verity Power. 

Willis getting his turn with the cup.

Vinny having a moment. 

That cash though. =D

A special thank you goes out to Phuong, our team photographer, for all of the awesome photos she took throughout this season & for her cheering/support each weekend – we love you!

As stated above, Verity had 3 teams that competed this CAL season: Verity Strong, Verity Force & Verity Power. Not only did Verity Force & Verity Power both make it to the championship, Verity Force placed 2^nd in the Open division with only 4 athletes on their team – that’s some hard work & dedication! Awesome work guys, so proud of you!

In closing, words cannot describe how much fun I had over this 6 week period. Getting to travel to different boxes, meeting new people, holding weekly practices; competing with my teammates & coming out on top was an amazing experience. I can’t wait to see what the next competition season brings for us. Great job Verity Strong!

Do you like what you see above & want to compete in a Capital Affiliate League season? If so, go to their website [here] for standards, requirements and pricing.

200 Club

Last week at our box was “test week” for our competition team. With the CAL season going on these past 5 weeks, I wasn’t too excited about maxing out each day mostly because our CAL team holds practices throughout the week in order to get ready for Saturday competition. Luckily, CAL gave everyone a bi-week so we didn’t have to worry about competing – leaving more room to test our lifts. =) Maxing out is definitely a time of fun, mixed with stress for me. I get those butterflies in my stomach throughout the day thinking about the lifts & then when I’m at the box the nerves really kick in. Increased heart rate & nerves definitely come along with lifting heavy, like my Dad says “If it doesn’t scare you, it’s not heavy enough”.

Monday was Clean & Jerk.

Photo courtesy of stackhealthy.com

My last PR for this lift was 190#. For those of you that follow me on Facebook, you already know about my PR & the video I shared. At the risk of being repetitive, I’m sharing again. =) My lifts that day were 190#, 195# & 200#. Since I had been more in competition mode I wasn’t banking all of my hopes on hitting 200# but that was definitely the number I wanted.

Here’s a video of me hitting 195#:

I was pretty excited for that 5# PR! Since 195# felt good & after hearing my teammate, Vinny, say “That looked too easy, you need to go for 200#”, here’s the video of me hitting 200#:

Tuesday was Overhead Squat.

Photo courtesy of crossfitproper.com

My last PR for this lift was 140# but I had hit 165# for 3 a while back so I knew I could jump from there. I ended with 190# & although I was pretty excited about that number, I felt that I definitely could’ve gone higher if only my shoulder would’ve cooperated. The jerk felt spicy but the squat felt great; I always seem to be nursing something in this sport.

Wednesday was Split Jerk.

Photo courtesy of Functional Muscle Fitness

Obviously since I had PR’d on Monday with my clean & jerk, I knew that I could hit 200#. I didn’t want to repeat that same number though; I wanted to go for something a little higher. Unfortunately, that day I was a lot more in my head; the weights felt heavy each time I pulled it off the rack. My plan was to go for 205#, but instead I went for 202# - there was just something about that extra 3 pounds. The 202# felt good & I probably should’ve gone up but I decided to stay where I was at.

Friday was Snatch.

Photo courtesy of Five Rings Athletics

This lift has always been the one that gets in my head the most, specifically when it gets heavy. I remember being stuck at 135# f-o-r-e-v-e-r. Thankfully during our oly cycle we did so much snatching that it finally felt like second nature to me & I started to enjoy it; not to the point that I enjoy doing cleans, but enough to enjoy them. At the end of that cycle we had to test our maxes & my first lift was snatch. I ended up PRing by 10 pounds (145#) but on my attempt at 150# I dropped the bar on my back & twisted my ankle trying to get out of my own way. I hadn’t snatched heavy since then . . . enter Friday. I had told myself earlier that day that I was going to go by how I felt & then go from there; if I ended up PRing – great! If I didn’t – there’s always next time. I worked my way up & hit 120#, 130#, 140# - all of those felt awesome. My last attempt was at 150#. My first 2 attempts my mental game wasn’t there; I set up, pulled & raised the bar to my eyes but then bailed out. Dammit! My teammate, Vinny, told me to attempt 1more time & then call it a day. I did as I was told but wasn’t able to land it. I decided to revert back to something that one of my coaches once told me, “If you hit 90% of your 1RM you should consider that a good day”. 150# I’m coming for you…

Saturday was Push Press.

Photo courtesy of crossfit.com

My last PR at this lift was 140#. After a programmed metcon on Friday night just about killed me, I wasn’t too excited to attempt another max lift first thing on Saturday morning. After some wandering around the box & chit chatting with everyone, I decided to get on with it. I ended up hitting 165# which is a 25# PR. =) Sometimes you just gotta suck it up & see what happens.

I’m pleased with the PRs that I hit this week & looking forward to more training & competitions to improve in the future. Cardio is definitely on the top of my improvements list. 

CAL - Week 5

Left to Right: JP, Me, Willis, Vinny, Natasha & John

This week Ashburn Crossfit hosted which is only about 5 minutes from my apartment & makes for an easy traveling weekend.

Our wods for week 5:

Race 1: Team Effort (3 Sector, 12 minute AMRAP)

4 Athletes participate with only 2 Athletes on the floor at a time, with unlimited substitutions.    Athletes will complete the required work in each sector prior to advancing to the next sector.  Once a team completes all work in all 3 sectors, they will return to the beginning of the AMRAP (sector 1) and continue working.  Once a team completes all work in all three sectors for the second time through, they will again return to sector 1 and continue working.  The same process continues until time expires.  Each time through, reps will increase by 10.  Score is total reps completed in 12 minutes.   

Sector 1:
First time through - 10 Snatches
Upper: 135/95, Open 95/65, Novice: 45/35
Second time through - 20 Snatch
Upper: 135/95, Open 95/65, Novice: 45/35
Third time through - 30 Snatch
Upper: 135/95, Open 95/65, Novice: 45/35
Fourth time through - 40 Snatch
Upper: 135/95, Open 95/65, Novice: 45/35
*Continue to add 10 reps each time through until time expires.

Sector 2:
First time through - 10 Clusters (Squat Clean Thrusters)
Upper: 135/95, Open 95/65, Novice: 45/35
Second time through - 20 Clusters (Squat Clean Thrusters)
Upper: 135/95, Open 95/65, Novice: 45/35
Third time through - 30 Clusters (Squat Clean Thrusters)
Upper: 135/95, Open 95/65, Novice: 45/35
Fourth time through - 40 Clusters (Squat Clean Thrusters)
Upper: 135/95, Open 95/65, Novice: 45/35
*Continue to add 10 reps each time through until time expires.

Sector 3:
First time through - 10 Back Squats (Bar from floor)
Upper: 135/95, Open 95/65, Novice: 45/35
Second time through - 20 Back Squats
Upper: 135/95, Open 95/65, Novice: 45/35
Third time through - 30 Back Squats
Upper: 135/95, Open 95/65, Novice: 45/35
Fourth time through - 40 Back Squats
Upper: 135/95, Open 95/65, Novice: 45/35
Continue to add 10 reps each time through until time expires.

Verity Strong’s placement in this wod: 1^st

Race 2: Double Double (3 Sector, 12 minute AMRAP)

4 Athletes participate with only 2 Athletes on the floor at a time, with unlimited substitutions.  At the call of "race", 2 athletes move into the first sector and begin work (both athletes working at the same time at their station) while the other two athletes remain at the start line. There will be two stations within each sector and the work (number of reps) must be complete at each station before moving on to the next sector (work DOES NOT need to be synchronized).  Once all work is complete in sector 1, athletes move on to sector 2, and so on. Athletes can work up until the 12 minute mark and do not have to cross a finish line or return to the start line to complete the race.  If a team completes all work in all 3 sectors in less than 12 minutes, they will return to the beginning of the AMRAP and continue working until time expires.   Score is total reps completed in 12 minutes.

Sector 1:
EACH STATION
100 Double Unders with weighted rope
Upper: Red Rope (.75lb)
Open: Blue Rope (5oz)
Novice: singles w/ blue rope (5oz)

Sector 2:
EACH STATION
ALL: 45# plate
75 Hand Release Burpees to Plate

Sector 3:
EACH STATION
Upper: 50 Toes to Bar/Chest to Bar Pull-up Combo
Open: Knees above hips/PU
Novice: Medicine ball sit-up

Verity Strong’s placement in this wod: 1^st

Video of our team trying to survive wod 2:

Verity Strong is in 1^st place overall after week 5.

**Wod 1 was by far my favorite wod this season. Any workout that requires lifting weights I feel confident in, a lot more than gymnastics movements. Wod 2 was definitely a burner, I went into the pain cave at the end of this workout (the video above proves it).

Week 5 marked our last regular competition for the season. We were given a bi-week and then CAL Championship starts on September 26^th at Occoquan Bay Performance (OBP). I’ve really enjoyed these past 5 weeks competing, not only from a competition standpoint but from our weekly practices with our team, strategizing together & all of our Verity teams being involved. I would love to compete in another CAL season again.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from this week:

The ladies. 

95# Power Snatches.

95# Clusters.

Had to sneak this photo in of Willis in the pain cave. ;o)

 Double Unders with weighted rope.

Burpees to plate with hand release. 

Chest to bar & toes to bar combo.

My turn to be in the pain cave. 

Team Verity Strong - loving this CAL season.

Photo credits: Phuong Nguyen

CAL - Week 4

This week we hosted at our box! I really enjoyed having everyone come out to where we wod on a daily basis & see what our box looks like. If anyone is in the Northern Virginia area & you want to get a workout in, stop by Verity - Saturdays are free!

Our wods for week 4:

Race 1: Double Double (3 Sector, 15 minute AMRAP)

4 Athletes participate with only 2 Athletes on the floor at a time, with unlimited substitutions.  At the call of "race", 2 athletes move into the first sector and begin work (both athletes working at the same time at their station) while the other two athletes remain at the start line. There will be two stations within each sector and the work (number of reps) must be complete at each station before moving on to the next sector (work DOES NOT need to be synchronized).  Once all work is complete in sector 1, athletes move on to sector 2, and so on. Athletes can work up until the 15 minute mark and do not have to cross a finish line or return to the start line to complete the race.  If a team completes all work in all 3 sectors in less than 15 minutes, they will return to the beginning of the AMRAP and continue working until time expires.   Score is total reps completed in 15 minutes.

Sector 1:
100 Box Jump overs - EACH STATION
Upper: 30/24
Open: 24/20
Novice: step-up and overs, 24/20

Sector 2:
100 Wallballs* - EACH STATION
Upper: 20/14 to 10'
Open: 20/14 to 10'
Novice: 20/14 to 9'

Sector 3:
100 Overhead Lunges** - EACH STATION
Upper: 45/25# plate
Open: 45/25# plate
Novice: 25/15# plate

*All wallballs will be to the same target for male and female.  If the target is a line at the 10' mark, the ball must be COMPLETELY over the line (not half over).
**OH lunges will count only if the knee touches in front of the designated line, and then the feet come together with the body at full extension behind the line. 

Verity Strong’s placement: 1^st

Race 2: Team Effort (3 Sector, 12 minute AMRAP)

4 Athletes participate with only 2 Athletes on the floor at a time, with unlimited substitutions.  At the call of "race", Athletes will begin with 40 burpees over the bar.  Once the burpees are complete, athletes may begin barbell complexes.  At the 4-minute mark and 8-minute mark, athletes will stop barbell complexes and complete 40 burpees over the bar before resuming barbell complexes.  Athletes can work up until the 12 minute mark and do not have to cross a finish line or return to the start line to complete the race.  Score is total number of barbell complexes completed (*rep counts when barbell is returned to the ground).  Burpees over the bar do not count towards final score.

Sector 1: 
0:00 - 4:00:  40 Burpees over the bar* (Bar facing or lateral as long as ALL teams from the division are the same)
AMRAP Barbell Complex** (Power Clean, Front Squat, Shoulder to Overhead, Back Squat, Shoulder to Overhead, Ground)
Upper: 135/95
Open: 95/65
Novice: 65/45

Sector 2: 
4:00 - 8:00: 40 Burpees over the bar (Bar facing or lateral  as long as ALL teams from the division are the same)
AMRAP Barbell Complex (Power Clean, Front Squat, Shoulder to Overhead, Back Squat, Shoulder to Overhead, Ground)
Upper: 135/95
Open: 95/65
Novice: 65/45

Sector 3:  4 minute AMRAP of
8:00 - 12:00:  40 Burpees over the bar (Bar facing or lateral as long as ALL teams from the division are the same)
AMRAP Barbell Complex (Power Clean, Front Squat, Shoulder to Overhead, Back Squat, Shoulder to Overhead, Ground)
Upper: 135/95
Open: 95/65
Novice: 65/45

*All Burpees are hand release (even though that is not what is shown in the video)

**For the barbell complex, athletes do not have to stop at each movement (it can be fluid); however, they must catch the bar above parallel (can ride it down into the front squat) and must reach full extension at the top of each shoulder to overhead (thruster is allowed).  If ANY part of the complex is no-repped by the referee, the athlete only needs to redo that portion of the rep to continue (do not need to redo the entire rep).

Verity Strong’s placement: 1^st

Here's a video of us working on wod 2:

Verity Strong is in 1^st place overall after week 4. The first wod of this week was a burner & it definitely got spicy quick. I have to say that out of every wod that we’ve done, so far, that was my least favorite.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from this week:

24" Box Jump Overs

14# Wall balls at 10' target

Exhausted.

Lateral burpees with hand release.

Bear complex @ 95# (Power clean, front squat, jerk, back squat, jerk = one rep)

All of the upper division teams.

Photo credits: Phuong Nguyen