Team,
The Sectional WODs are over… or will be over by Sunday of this week and those in the top 60 will be moving on. The video below discusses the Games and the format going forward. How closely do you feel the Sectionals have captured the “unkown and unknowable” component of fitness? Have they been a good test of fitness? Why or why not? Share your thoughts.
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLtTNQtZfDw&feature=feedlik’]
Today’s Workout
Buy-in: Power clean practice (bar or light weight)
- 4 x 3 hang power clean (pockets)
- 4 x 3 hang power clean (knees)
- 4 x 3 power clean (floor or mid-shin)
WOD: “Ergocentric”
Find a partner and make a team name (your choice of theme)
Both you and your partner will complete the following rowing distances for time in relay format (i.e. one person goes then the next):
- 100, 200, 300, 400, 500m
Zone 1: scale as needed!
GAMES PREP: Partner up and go back down the pyramid (100-500 then 500-100 right after).
Cash-Out: FTL stretches
So… “some” of my thoughts:
– I thought the movements were as varied as they could get with minimal equipment although I was expecting more… (ropes, kb’s, pistols, hspu etc).
– because of the format though, some things were left out like running and rowing (which I guess we should expect to see at the Regionals 🙂
– I like amraps because of the psychology of them and feel that they captured a decent range of time domains but that there should have been other types of tests – i.e. a timed metcon or max lift (although the former might have been hard to include in the scoring format they chose).
…and some of mine:
-I don’t think form (online site) should dictate content (six amraps)
-It would be really interesting to see how competitors would fare if this was a 2 day competition rather than a 6/7 week competition
-Our team is awesome!
-Don’t forget to vote May 2nd.
I don’t know if these exactly answer the questions Cam, but here are my thoughts on the competition;
Positives
– The weights (although light for some), likely pushed some competitors. I’d never done a 165 power clean until this!
– The weekly competition allowed for decent recovery between efforts.
– The concept of the Open is brilliant. In theory at least.
– The Zone Coaches and community, in my opinion, did a fantastic job accommodating and judging everyone.
Negatives (or ‘challenges’ if that’s easier to swallow)
– The WOD’s were uninspired and lacked creativity. Previously I saw a video with Glassman on the .com site and he was talking about varied WOD’s ‘we might have you throw a ball…’, he said at one point. He went on to say what I believe is true, if an athlete ‘wants it’, they’ll find a way to make it happen, regardless of their access to equipment.
– Communication out from HQ was dismal.
– I’m not convinced that 6 AMRAP’s, multiple floor to overhead WOD’s, etc is the best judge or is necessary to determine the ‘fittest’ as defined by CFHQ. After the second week, the leaderboard remained relatively stable (i.e. not huge swings in placings). Are 6 WOD’s necessary?
I thought 6 weeks was a drag. Would rather have done it all in a week.
Thought 6 amraps wasnt ideal.
But enjoyed it. And 10$ was a good price.
Was really surprised at which workouts I placed higher on. I would have said heavy weight and long amraps were my biggest goat, but I guess they are tough for everyone.
Oh ya. The zone didactic great job organizing. And I think overall it will get the right people to the next phase of competition. So job… Done.
I don’t think the Open was a great test of fitness, but I think it did a decent enough job at doing what HQ wanted it to do.
They definitely sacrificed testing certain skills and capacities, but did so in order to make each test accessible and easy to implement in any gym. In doing so they accomplished the goal of making it inclusive, while at the same time finding 60 worthy men and women to move on to the next stage, where the stakes will definitely be higher.
I think a true test of fitness should be spread over more than one weekend but I’m not convinced six weeks of amraps was necessary to determine the pool for regionals. Either way I was happy to be adopted by the Zone family for the experience (and beyond I hope!).
Good points all round gang…
definitely some disappointments (website, communication from HQ – right on Rob, varying standards of movement) along the way but I agree with Mike in that the Open did separate the top echelon to go into Regionals.
I’m a bit torn on whether or not I like the 6 week period vs the on-site sectionals. I definitely agree with Sarah that some people who are going to Regionals this year would not have been going (or would have placed lower) if they didn’t have the chance to re-do the WODs as many times as they liked.
I think that was my major issue with the format since I don’t think practicing and re-doing wods is what crossfit is all about. Seeing people’s scores jump up by 30-90 reps on the first wod is a good example. It was a clear indication that they had a significant gap in their “fitness” that could be almost nullified by multiple attempts.
I also know that there are cheats out there that have screwed potentially legit competitors out of positions which sucks.
And Mike, good to have you as part of the fam budday… let’s keep it that way!
turts
At first I thought the Open idea was complete horse shat. Experiencing a Sectional/ Regional first hand was something I beleived to be truly beneficial. Community, Competition, and the level of fitness at these events was inspiring… to say the least.
On the other hand, these past six weeks have (unknowingly at the begining) brought in all the same benefits. From peeps coming in to judge.. to Bridget running ship, the community feel was there. Theres no question the competition was apparent and brought most to level they didnt know they had.
The only thing I wish they did different was mix in something other than AMRAPs. I HATE THEM
This has nothing to do with the topic above, but my Subway restaurant at the Royal Jubilee Hospital is finally complete and we will be giving away FREE SUBS from 11 -2pm this Fri the 29th. Hope to see you guys there 🙂
Awwww-dub thanks for the mention (a hot boy mentioned me!!!).
I was impressed with how the comp did separate people out-look at the girls-annie and kristin #1,2. it is also interesting to how people do in an online way at their own gym. it will add a dimension to regionals and games that people were able to do the same workout and compare-you will have some idea who people are and what their strengths are going into games. eg. i would be interested to see how annie does at games seeing as she showed as top for this open.
cheaters will not prosper, they will be weeded out!
i was so in awe of our gym, the support, the comraderie and the amazing performances (wendy c2b!!!) i hope next year we encourage more members to compete (it is $10), hopefully the whole family! speaking of which-mike you are part of the family, you can’t get rid of us. you better come back from onterrible soon!
things i will think we could see at regionals/games:
a run (rather than a row) 3-8km with some kind of twist-50 burpees before finish? moving something?)
metcom with a row 5 rounds of something
ring handstand pushups-we saw these last year at the games, i think we will see them at regionals
something a little unconventional-wallball burpees
moving an odd object
if anyone is interested-there is a level 1 cert at cf van July 2-3rd. These sell out fast
http://www.crossfit.com/
to reg
Hey guys, Dee and I are planning on doing the last wod, (11.6) tomorrow after the 9:30am class. If two people were able to stick around to judge us that would be highly appreciated! 🙂
i was chatting with Allan today. he said the cf sectionals were good for him as he tried weights and movements that he normally wouldn’t do. This got me thinking about another of the benefits of comp. it did allow a lot of people to test their limits and prove to themselves that they “can” and by doing this it was great for their psyche! did wendy think she was a c2b killer? did nicci think that she could do toes to bar?
having non-scalable workouts is good because it makes you compete with yourself and your mentality.
i congratulate everyone who put themselves out there and did the wods. you are inspirational both to all those watching but hopefully to yourself as well!
I completely agree with B! For both the c&j weight and the c2b, I remember thinking ‘huh. Well, I guess that’s what I have to do!’ where in a regular workout, I would have scaled and left those weights/skills for an open gym ‘some day’ in the future.
The other thing I got out of this competition was seeing some of the zone’s top athletes really giving their all. One of the moments I remember best from the first wod was seeing Krista, out of breath near the end of the wod, giving the bar a mental &^%$-you and whipping out another set of 6 perfect snatches. It’s rare that we get to see our coaches really pushed in a wod and watching them get gassed just like the rest of us and have to work through that – just like the rest of us – was eye-opening… there will never be a time that I’m strong enough and fast enough that I won’t have a limit to be pushed against. And that’s a good thing.
Agreed on all above points – there have been definite issues with the format and scoring etc but all that aside it has been a great experience for our community of athletes… regardless of whether someone gets 10 reps or 150, they will encounter a barrier along the way and that’s what it’s all about.
Sharing the experience of the WODs with everyone has been one of my best times yet at CF Zone. I count myself lucky to have seen so many people break down pre-conceived limits… it has been truly inspirational.
Thanks everyone for your contributions as an athlete, judge, spectator or otherwise, it’s been an absolutely fantastic 7 weeks. For me personally the support shown during these tough WODs helped me get those extra reps that make all the difference – I am humbled by your encouragement and enthusiasm. Looking forward to seeing you all compete next year, along with a whole lot more of our family!!
Turts
Great discussion, gang. I’ve been so impressed with everyone throughout this competition!
As for myself, I agree with the points about testing your “known” limits. I found that, had those Sectionals WODs been posted as a random daily Zone workout, at those weights, I absolutely never would have assumed I could attack it as Rx’d and would have scaled down accordingly. However, when someone was (figuratively) holding a gun to my head, and the rules were that you do it as Rx’d or you quit, I resolved to try and do my best and see how far I got. And the greatest surprise for ME was that… I actually could DO it. And not only that, I surpassed my own perceived top-shelf ability by far more than I could have imagined!
Having found in the past that I don’t thrive mentally in an atmosphere of competition such as this, the mental game was truly the toughest part for me. There were far too many moments where I felt like it wasn’t worth it for me; the fear, the threat of defeat, the stress, being psyched out… But when I managed to shut off my brain and JUST DO IT, I was happy, pleased, surprised and proud. Every time.
Not to mention that I have a bunch of new PR’s, and now know exactly where I stand compared to others based on my abilities skill-to-skill in the gym! I’m very happy. Happy with my efforts, and HAPPY TO BE FINALLY DONE! 😉