Zwei Kleine Stueckchen

Gopak by Modest Mussorgsky after being tenderized by 17.1 and yesterday's excitement...

And a handful of Grieg's Lyric Pieces after being heavily tenderized by Gopak, Peer Gynt, Heroic Polonaise, and yet more...

CrossFit Open 17.1

CrossFit Open 17.1 was a brutal opener for the 2017 season but was definitely satisfying.  Thank you I. Ramirez of Valkyrie Photography for these nice shots!

There's always the standards briefing after our warm-up.  My heat was a pretty laid-back heat.

Here I am giving my best dance move with the 20 lb dumbbell snatch...

And here's the dumbbell on its way up to a full lockout.  Did I mention that I like barbell snatches a whole lot better even if a 20 lb dumbbell is a whole lot easier than a 40 lb barbell?  In either event, I was thankful it wasn't kettlebell or I'd be one massive bruise!

Gratuitous funny picture from one of my fellow athletes in a different heat. I think her opinion on this WOD was pretty clear...

 Another shot of me from the side... I would have liked a good shot of my judge's face because every time I glanced up, he looked like he was in more pain than I was!

And a gratuitous picture of the very definition of toughness to show that age isn't an excuse.  Maybe he will represent us again at the CrossFit Games this year too!

Post 17.1 Fun

I survived 17.1 in one piece, but today's WOD was pretty intense too. Thankfully the rep scheme was countable! In teams of 2, we did decreasing reps and increasing sets as follows with a 35 lb kettlebell:

Iteration 1 - 2 rounds each:
Partner 1 goes into a plank position, and partner 2 does the following: 10 hand-release push-ups, 10 sumo deadlift high-pulls, and 10 goblet squats.  The roles then reversed.

Iteration 2 - 3 rounds each:
Partner 1 goes into a plank position, and partner 2 does the following: 8 hand-release push-ups, 8 sumo deadlift high-pulls, and 8 goblet squats.  The roles then reversed.

Iteration 3 - 4 rounds each:
Partner 1 goes into a plank position, and partner 2 does the following: 6 hand-release push-ups, 6 sumo deadlift high-pulls, and 6 goblet squats.  The roles then reversed.  

Iteration 4 - 5 rounds each:
Partner 1 goes into a plank position, and partner 2 does the following: 4 hand-release push-ups, 4 sumo deadlift high-pulls, and 4 goblet squats.  The roles then reversed.

Iteration 5 - 6 rounds each:
Partner 1 goes into a plank position, and partner 2 does the following: 2 hand-release push-ups, 2 sumo deadlift high-pulls, and 2 goblet squats.  The roles then reversed.  

CrossFit Open 17.1

Open WOD 17.1 was as follows:
10 20# dumbbell snatches
15 burpee 20" box overs (step-ups permitted for scaled)
20 20# dumbbell snatches
15 burpee 20" box overs (step-ups permitted for scaled)

30 20# dumbbell snatches
15 burpee 20" box overs (step-ups permitted for scaled)

40 20# dumbbell snatches
15 burpee 20" box overs (step-ups permitted for scaled)

50 20# dumbbell snatches
15 burpee 20" box overs (step-ups permitted for scaled)

I completed all 75 burpee box-overs and 150 dumbbell snatches in 16:31, which was about 3.5 minutes under the 20 minute time cap. Pictures should follow in the not-too-distant future.

The Adventures of the Ferrous Quackers: 3/n

I'm not particularly photogenic in these pictures, but then again, that's a sign that I really, really, really need to crack down on my eating habits and indulge less.

The Adventures of the Ferrous Quackers: 2/n

There are still pictures coming in, but the first of the professionally done photographs are coming in.  Photographers include Anthony Tom, Jorge Huerta, RX Images, and Cheveon Mikulenka.

Holy crap, I really need to stop indulging so much in non-essential junk food and work even harder! 

Bydlo: The Ox Cart

Not sure how much of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition I will actually learn with me prioritizing Chopin's Heroic Polonaise and Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite, but I really have fun with the Bydlo movement.

When the pictures arrive from Valkyrie Photography and/or Boxtribe Games, the Adventures of the Ferrous Quackers will continue!

The Adventures of the Ferrous Quackers: 1/n

My buddy T. Harris and I formed the team known as the Ferrous Quackers (or as one announcer accidentally called us one heat, "Ferrous Quakers").  There will be multiple installations as pictures trickle in. Here's a few odds and ends that have popped up thus far.

Picture from WOD 2, "In the Hole", courtesy of L. O'Dell.  "In the Hole" consisted of the following for the beginner division:
  While partner 1 is holding a 55 lb overhead hold (or overhead squat hold if doable), partner 2 is doing 50 shoulder taps in push-up position.  Then partner 1 moves into a front squat hold at the bottom and partner 2 does 50 26 lb kettlebell swings.  Then partner 1 stands back up, moves into a back squat hold, and partner 2 doe 50 air squat.  We were probably the only team where one person did ALL of the holding.

And then there was WOD 1 "Run, Forest, Run!" which consisted of 1 minute sprint on the TrueForm (aka the death mobile) by partner 1, then partners take turn doing single minute maximum of 10 lb overhead lunges, butterfly situps, 20" box step-ups, and then partner 2 finishes with the run on the TrueForm.

And here's our elite Affiliate Team competing.  I'm hoping to dig up some pictures of my weightlifting coach, who is slaughtering snatches and clean & jerks.

And of course, we had some fun between events. It was nice being in Heat #8 instead of Heat #1 or #2, which gave us a bit of extra time to breathe and warm up as well as observing strategies.