CrossFit Open 17.2

CROSSFIT OPEN – 17.2: DONE – AGAIN, AND THEN AGAIN

Week 2 of the CrossFit Open is in the books! If you haven’t been following, this last challenge was a 12-minute AMRAP of:

• 50-foot weighted walking lunges
• 16 toes-to-bars
• 8 dumbbell power cleans
• 50-foot weighted walking lunges
• 16 toes-to-bars
• 8 dumbbell power cleans
• 50-foot weighted walking lunges
• 16 bar muscle-ups
• 8 dumbbell power cleans
• 50-foot weighted walking lunges
• 16 bar muscle-ups
• 8 dumbbell power cleans

Repeat… (because it wasn’t painful enough!)

This was the second time bar muscle-ups have been programed in the Open, but this year it was far more spicy than last. Before I even got a chance to try the bar muscle-ups I had to go through a “buy-in” of 78 grippy reps of toes-to-bar and dumbbell cleans and lunges.  I was feeling confident, even with my injured finger – “I‘ve got this.”

How it all went down

On Friday PK and I worked on strategy. We did an EMOM (Every-Minute-On-The-Minute) of all the movements, then we tried to knock out 8 Bar Muscle Ups.  Mmmm, it was hard, but we had a plan.

I loved this workout and plan to build it in as part of an ongoing benchmark workout to test grip strength under fatigue. While many in the CrossFit world were crying-out for the barbell, I was happy to see the 35lbs dumbbells again.  I hope we see more of them.

My first 17.2 attempt was Saturday morning with just a few others at the gym. The gym was calm and the workout was completed in a controlled environment. I felt focused and I had a solid plan of how I was going to carry the dumbbells: step-through and turn lunges, break up those toes-to-bar and bar muscle-ups. What I wasn’t 100% on was the tiebreaker time. 3-2-1…GO!

The workout felt good; I never felt winded or that my grip was going to give-out and fail. I had lots and lots of lat pull – I even did a second workout after that included rope climbs and snatches.

17.2 felt good; I never felt winded or that my grip was going to fail. I even did a 2nd workout after that included rope climbs and snatches.

I left the gym feeling as though I could have put out more and moved a bit further outside my comfort zone. My shoulders were a little bruised and my glutes were kind of sore but all in all I was happy with the outcome.

I felt confident that I could repeat this workout and do better. And I did – I repeated it.

The Repeat

On Monday night I repeated 17.2.  I arrived on time and warmed up for my heat but then was asked to wait (ugh!).  Two heats later it was my turn. I hustled a bit more and rested a bit less because I was going for a better tiebreak time in the early rounds (which I managed to do). The atmosphere in the box was great, although loud, and that adds to the hustle and makes you feel good.  But in spite of that I was distracted – first my hand grips tore (used to protect my hands from ripping), then there was an industrial sized fan blowing full-on in my face (it made my eyes and mouth dry), and finally, I found myself stopping to watch the others who were in my heat. In the end my rep score was the exact same as my first attempt.

I liked powering through the lunges, no dropping – moving with focus and purpose. I felt strong here.

Cleans were no issue – per strategy I did all 8 reps and moved straight into the lunges – easy.

And then, with my husband beside me trying to keep me calm (breathe Kate), I knocked out 16 bar muscle-ups, 4-3-3-3-3.  Back to cleans, back to lunges (wind in my face) and then I started to feel fatigue set-in.  I finished another round of bar muscle-ups and then time was up. I was disappointed that I didn’t put away more reps and that I had to settle for a better tiebreak.

The biggest issue with this second go was “me”. I was focused, but I lost my focus. I allowed myself to get caught up in the atmosphere, moved too fast, pumped out too many toes-to-bar in my first round – the adrenaline got the best of me before my brain and plan kicked-in. Lesson learned?  I have an opportunity in the Open to control (as best I can) my environment and I’ll move forward with that.

Now that the bar muscle ups are out of the way, I’m excited for what’s to come for the remaining 3 weeks. I’ve got this.

Kathleen Mitchell

Team Strong Athlete