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Zone Games 2 Recap

Will grinding out some final pushups in WOD 3
Will grinding out some final pushups in WOD 3

As mentioned in the previous post, the second edition of the Zone Games provided lots of excitement as every rep, pound, and second counted in close battles between athletes in all categories.  Below is a recap of the events of the day.

Event 1:  David and Goliath

conrad-tom-mus

The combination of a heavy strength move (overhead squat 3rm) and a bodyweight endurance move (ring dips, knees to elbows or muscle ups) was meant to balance out the strengths of the bigger athletes with the maneuverability of the smaller ones.   With each bodyweight rep being worth 2lb on athletes’ overhead squat totals, the pressure was on to perform in both tasks to place well in this event.

Each athlete got 4 attempts to achieve their highest 3rm, with each attempt occurring at 2min intervals on the main clock.  After a few jittery starts, most athletes hit strong numbers, some even going above their previous PR’s.  There were several ties going into the bodyweight moves and competitors pushed to the limit to get their extra reps.  Placing in this event were sometimes separated only by one extra rep… which would come back to haunt some athletes later.

The top three in each category after the first event were as follows:

Open Women: Nicole (135), Tie for 2nd – France (119) and Michelle (119)

Open Men: Brett (182), Adam (176), Sean B (174)

Advanced Women: Bonnie (125), Tara (121), Tie for 3rd – Heather (118) and Lindsay (118)

Advanced Men: Paul P (193), Conrad (183), Tom (181)

Unfortunately I don’t have the actual squat vs. bodyweight numbers here in front of me so just the totals will have to do!

Event 2:  Rowbot Thrurpees

linds-thruster

While most athletes were happy the first event of the day was a strength move, almost all were not looking forward to the first real metabolic challenge… rowing plus thrusters AND burpees!  It was obvious just looking at the WOD that it would be a leg and lung burner.  With a 1000m row to lead off and an 8 minute running clock, the competitors had to get through as many rounds of 10 thrusters and 10 burpees as possible to collect all-important reps.  With thruster weights ranging from 55lb (Open Women) to 115lb (Advanced Men), all competitors were faced with a daunting challenge.

Pacing on the row was vitally important – get off 10 seconds earlier than your competitors and you’re ahead early in the AMRAP but you also risk crashing and burning.  In all categories the thrusters were the main separator – the ability to string 10 together on the first set usually led to that athlete getting to the top overall.  All athletes pushed hard in the burpees as well in order to get as many points as possible before the clock ran down.

After the dust and sweat had settled, the top three scores in this WOD for each category were as follows:

Open Women (55lb thrusters):  France (48), Michelle (43), Nicole (41)

Open Men (85lb thrusters):  Adam (64), Sean B (62), Brett (46)

Advanced Women (75lb thrusters):  Bonnie (45), Lindsay (39), Heather (34)

Advanced Men:  Cam (57), Tie for 2nd – Conrad (46), Paul P (46)

Battles between competitors were heating up with only one event to go and 1-2 points between the top contenders.  After these two events, the total points standings were as follows:

Category:
Competitor WOD 1 Rank WOD 2 Rank Total points Place (after 2 wods)
Amber 6 6 12 6
Wendy 4 4 8 4
Nicole 1 3 4 2
Ivy 7 7 14 7
Jess 5 5 10 5
Michelle 2 2 4 2
France 2 1 3 1
Category:   Open Men
Competitor WOD 1 Rank WOD 2 Rank Total points Place (after 2 wods)
Adam 2 1 3 1
Brett 1 3 4 2
Will 5 4 9 4
Craig 4 5 9 4
Sean B 3 2 5 3
Category:  Advanced Women
Competitor WOD 1 Rank WOD 2 Rank Total points Place (after 2 wods)
Tara 2 4 6 3
Heather 3 3 6 3
Bonnie 1 1 2 1
Lindsay 3 2 5 2
Category:  Advanced Men
Competitor WOD 1 Rank WOD 2 Rank Total points Place (after 2 wods)
Paul 1 2 3 1
Conrad 2 2 4 2
Tom 3 4 7 4
Eric 7 7 14 7
Cam 4 1 5 3
Kyle 6 5 11 6
Sam 4 6 10 5

Event 3 – CF Classic

adam-run

There was no better way (although the competitors may disagree) to end off ZG2 than with a classic Crossfit chipper of high rep exercises.  Depending on the category, competitors were faced with 40-50 reps of wallball, double unders, box jumps, kettlebell swings and pullups, before finishing off with 20-30 pushups or 10 handstand pushups (advanced men) and an 800m run.

The WOD was designed for a time domain of 15-20 minutes and it didn’t disappoint.  Several competitors struggled on the skill move of double unders and some had to force themselves through single reps of pullups and pushups.  All emerged on the other side with weary bodies but also with satisfaction of a job well done.

The crowning moment for most athletes was the mental and physical struggle of the 800m run course, which featured 2 laps of the hill up to Douglas, 6 90* turns and 3 180* turns that ebbed both motivation and speed.  The support of the fans, judges, and spectators in front of the Zone and the cheers of Chris “Chariots of Fire” Callendar were all that kept competitors moving to finish the WOD.

As expected for a longer time domain, the ranks shifted a bit in some categories but in others the usual suspects rose to the top.  The times and ranks of the top three in each category in this WOD were as follows:

Open Women:  Michelle (14:16), France (15:23), Nicole (18:14)

Open Men:  Sean B (13:29), Adam (14:48), Craig (15:20)

Advanced Women:  Bonnie (13:43), Heather (14:43), Lindsay (15:25)

Advanced Men:  Tom (15:53), Cam (18:37), Kyle (19:14)

With these results in, the judging and scoring crew tabulated the points to come up with the final standings.  Regardless of placing, every athlete displayed true intensity, courage, and determination and the mood amongst competitors was supportive and encouraging.  The final standings are shown in the table below.

Category: Open Women
Competitor Place (after 2 wods) WOD 3 time Rank (WOD 3) Total Points (3 wods) Final Placing
Amber 6 24:21:00 6 18 6
Wendy 4 20:15 4 12 4
Nicole 2 18:14 3 7 3
Ivy 7 25:23:00 7 21 7
Jess 5 20:45 5 15 5
Michelle 2 14:16:00 1 5 1
France 1 15:23 2 5 1
Category:   Open Men
Competitor Place (after 2 wods) WOD 3 time Rank Total Points (3 wods) Final Placing
Adam 1 14:48 2 5 1
Brett 2 18:23 4 8 3
Will 4 20:18 5 14 5
Craig 4 15:20 3 12 4
Sean B 3 13:29 1 6 2
Category:  Advanced Women
Competitor Place (after 2 wods) WOD 3 time Rank Total Points (3 wods) Final Placing
Tara 3 18:56 4 10 4
Heather 3 14:43 2 8 2
Bonnie 1 13:43 1 3 1
Lindsay 2 15:25 3 8 3
Category:  Advanced Men
Competitor Place (after 2 wods) WOD 3 time Rank Total Points (3 wods) Final Placing
Paul 1 20:05 5 8 2
Conrad 2 19:19 4 8 3
Tom 4 15:53 1 8 4
Eric 7 ’29:57′ 7 21 7
Cam 3 18:37 2 7 1
Kyle 6 19:14 3 14 5
Sam 5 20:09 6 16 6

*In the case of a tie after the full three events, the competitor who finished better in the first event was moved ahead.  If there was still a tie, then a tie-breaker of 5 minutes to a max lift in the deadlift decided the final winner.  In one circumstance this lead to another tie, which was one of the great moments of the competition (more on that tomorrow).

Over the next few days, expect more tales and memorable moments from the Games, including the tie-tie-tie tiebreaker, the spandex phenom, and more!

Til then, nice work everybody, it was awesome to watch you, cheer for you, and compete with you.

Thanks to all the Sponsors that donated prizes:

  • Arbonne (supplied by Bonnie Stefanov)
  • Popeye’s Victoria
  • New Balance (supplied by Adam Giles)
  • The Treatment Room (Tara Hailstone)

Turts.

Today’s Workout:

Buy-in: 4 rounds not for time of:  100 skips, 10 overhead squats (bar/pvc), 15 situps, 10 pvc dislocates

Technical WOD:  Pressing Skills

Keep in mind that the focus here is technique, not weight.  Keep within the range listed below, focus on executing the best possible repetitions.  Coaches feel free to utilize PVC when needed.

1.  Refresh technique on the basic standing Press:

  • 4 x 3 perfect reps on each, working up to a MAX of 70% of your 1RM
  • Focus on chest high, fast drive from bottom
  • Chin back, bar path vertical

2.  Refresh the Push Press:

  • 4 x 2 perfect push press reps, working up to a MAX of 70% of your 1RM
  • work on vertical dip, short and sharp
  • keep the bar on the shoulders through the whole dip and drive
  • aggressive drive to lockout overhead
  • no rebend of knees under the bar

3.  Refresh Split Jerk

  • 4 x 2 perfect reps of the split jerk, build up to a MAX of 70% of your 1RM
  • Work on fast feet – get under the bar, exact same split each time
  • bar on the shoulders in the dip and drive (elbows high or moderate)

Cash-out: Coaches’ choice mobility or foam/lacrosse rolling

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