Results from the 2015 CrossFit Open

Photo Credit: CrossFit

Well last week Friday was the last Open workout for the 2015 CrossFit Open.  15.5 was a workout for time and consisted of rowing and thrusters. It began with a 27 calorie row followed by 27 thrusters at 65#, then 21 calorie row, 21 thrusters, 15 calorie row and 15 thrusters and 9 calorie row and 9 thrusters. On Friday, I had a head cold and breathing was not fun, so I elected to wait until Sunday afternoon to give this one a go hoping I would be feeling better. I was looking forward to it, I was hoping I would have finished it in under 11 minutes, but on Sunday I still was not feeling 100% and breathing was still a little difficult. I ended up with a time of 12:28 and was glad to be done! 

Here is how I placed in the State, the Central East Region, and World Wide for my age group; and among my fellow athletes at the box I work out at. 


Michigan: 11 out of 132
Central East Region:  37 out of 472
World Wide: 407 out of 6,156 
Overall at my box I finished 15 out of 35

While I would have liked to have finished in the top 20 for my age & division as I did the previous two years, I am happy with my overall placement this year. I look forward to this time of year because it inspires me to work even harder. Looking ahead, I can work on my weaknesses. I would like to be doing muscle ups before the year is over. Once I am able to get them under my belt I know this will go a long way in the workouts next year. I also need to work on my speed a little more and get stronger at kipping for my pull ups and handstands. 

Congratulations to all the outstanding athletes that participated in this years Open and to those who are on their way to Regionals and the Games later this year. 

In Health & Fitness,

Marissa

*Get Fit! Be Fit! Stay Fit!*

Workout 15.4 CrossFit Game 2015 OPEN

Only one week left in the 2015 Reebok CrossFit Open! My current standings after last week are:

38/472 for the Central East Region and 434/6,158 worldwide. I've moved up quite a bit from last week and I am very excited about that! If only I could have gotten 1 muscle up in 15.3.

I did give 15.3 a second attempt last Sunday to get my first muscle up. I spent the 14 minutes working on it with no success. When it was over, my husband pushed me forward which got me thru the rings and I pushed myself up. Of course, this does not count, I just need to work on “head butting” my way through the rings so I can get up on my own. I will continue to work on them and know that they are not too far away from becoming a reality.



Photo Credit: CrossFit


In the meantime, this past Friday was 15.4 an 8 minute AMRAP of ascending Hand stand push ups (HSPU) and Cleans. I felt pretty good about getting at least 1 or 2 HSPU, so I was excited that I did the first three so easily. Then I had to do the cleans and knew that it wouldn’t be a problem since in 15.2 I did a 125 Clean & Jerk, so I knew I could clean it up. Then I headed back over to the wall for 6 HSPU, and I only got 1. I then spent the last 5 minutes trying to get another one, but again I was not successful. I just couldn’t push myself up. I tried kipping and by the end of the 5 minutes I almost had it and by that I mean I could push my head up off the mat about an inch, but that was about it. So, I completed 5.4 with 7 reps.

What I like about the Open this year is that it showed me where my weaknesses are and what I have to work on. So, over the next couple of months I will spend more time working on my muscle up and learning the kipping for the HSPU. I know I have it in me!


Stay tuned next week to see where I fall in the rankings after the 15.4 submission and what challenges 15.5 will bring.





In Health & Fitness,



Marissa





Get Fit! Stay Fit! Be Fit!

2015 CrossFit Games. Are You Ready?

Are you ready for the Games? Unless you live under a rock, you most likely have heard of CrossFit from your friends (maybe you’ve disowned them because of that fact-I would like to hope not though). Regardless, the hype is here, the 2015 CrossFit Open is commencing soon! Just about every CrossFit athlete is on pins and needles waiting to hear Dave Castro announce the 15.1 Open on Thursday, February 26^th at 5pm PT.

CrossFit is an awesome strength and conditioning program that has been utilized among police academies, military, martial arts, and elite athletes. CrossFit can be tailored for everyone offering scalability for any fitness level. In CrossFit you perform “functional movements that are constantly varied at high intensity.” You usually perform the WOD (workout of the day) for time, for best score, for reps, or for weight. The programs are designed for

Photo Credit: moorestowncrossfit.com

everyone to complete while scaling for load and intensity without diluting the program.  According to CrossFit's Greg Glassman, “the needs of Olympic athletes and our grandparents differ by degree not kind.” While there is nothing new about CrossFit in fact, many of these movements are ancient dating back 10,000 years to pictographs that have been reformulated for our modern times. Everyone can benefit from the functional movements the CrossFit program offers regardless of age, or experience. CrossFit recognizes 10 fitness domains including Cardiovascular and Respiratory Endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Power, Speed, Coordination, Agility, Balance and Accuracy. You won't find machines in a CrossFit box like you do in traditional gyms, YOU are the machine

The Open marks the beginning of an exciting and challenging contest uniting elite athletes

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across the globe all chasing after their dream to compete at the Games in California with the hopes of being the next Rich Froning (4 times Games Champion designated the Fittest Man on Earth), or Camille Leblanc Bazinet 2014 Games Champion (designated the Fittest Woman on Earth). CrossFitters have been preparing for these upcoming 5 weeks since last year getting better, faster and stronger as a result of their determination, drive and intense training. During the Open, anyone can participate by registering at CrossFit. It will be the best $20 you ever spend! I’ve already registered, now it’s your turn.

After the Open, the Regions top 20 men and top 20 female and 15 teams from the U.S. and Canada will advance to the Regionals. From the Regionals, the top 5 men and the top 5 women and 5 teams will receive an invite to go into the CrossFit Games in California. For those in the Masters Division 40+, (this is the division I compete in) athletes have to be among the top 200 fittest athletes worldwide in their age division in order to participate in an online Masters qualifier where the top 20 will be invited to participate in the brutal and grueling workouts the Games are best known for to determine the fittest athletes on Earth.  Will it be you?

Photo Credit: committedtruth.com

This year, CrossFit is making the Open more accessible to athletes offering a scaled option of the workouts, so if you currently attend a CrossFit box and have been on the fence about participating in the Open, you may as well, you have nothing to lose and only everything to gain like confidence, strength & stamina. If your box is anything like mine, chances are you will be doing the Open workout anyway as part of your daily WOD, so why not give it your best effort and see where you fall among other CrossFit athletes in your division and around the world. This year CrossFit is also offering a teen category for 14-17 year olds, which I think is an incredible opportunity for teens. 

This will be my third year participating in the Open. In 2013 I placed 20^th in the Masters Central East Region and 338^th overall worldwide. In 2014 I placed 22^nd in the Masters Central East Region and finished 320^th overall worldwide. There were more than 209,000 athletes registered for the 2014 Open and I’m sure this year will exceed that number. I am not quite among the top 200 athletes worldwide yet, but I am not going to complain about my standings in the top 300 or even 20 within the Central East Region. What I enjoy most about competing in the Open is being surrounded by the amazing athletes at my CrossFit Box CrossFit Macomb in Chesterfield Twp., MI (where I am also a CFL1 Trainer).  

If you currently do not do CrossFit you might be a little unfamiliar with some common terms you might hear such as WOD which is Workout of the Day, AMRAP which is As

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Many Rounds (or Reps) as Possible; Metcon which is Metabolic Conditioning; POOD which is the weight of a kettlebell (1 pood = 35 pounds, 2 pood = 70 pounds); and Box which is a CrossFit gym. Some common workouts include Fran, Grace, and Fight Gone Bad. The Maxes (or big lifts) include the Clean & Jerk, Snatch, Deadlifts, Back Squat and Max Rep Pull ups.

So to all my fellow CrossFitters who have 

registered for the 2015 Open I wish you luck, and for those of you who still need to register or are on the fence go to CrossFit to register. 

 3…2…1…GO!

In Health in Fitness,

Marissa

Get Fit! Be Fit! Stay Fit!