CrossFit

On Superman, CrossFit, and the Dreaded Fitness Plateau

Superman working out, alongside person struggling to stretch

Decisions. They’re the spice of life. As humans, we get to make a bunch of them every day.

Everything from the clothes we put on in the morning, whether or not we say hi to that stranger on the street, and what we eat for dinner. Many of the decisions we make are seemingly trivial. Some could even have an impact on our day (hopefully, for the better :-).

This post is about some of the more important decisions we make as humans; an ever-changing set of choices that governs our lives. This post is about priorities.

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16.3: Welcome to the Muscle Up Club

CrossFit Open 16.3

Every year in the CrossFit Open, Dave Castro likes to weed out the great athletes, only leaving room for the exceptional. He’ll program a workout that contains an advanced skill, a heavy weight or some ridiculous combination of the two, such that only the elite will prevail.

With the 2nd new movement this year in the CrossFit Open, the bar muscle-up was this year’s separator.

For the everyday athlete in gyms all over the world, however, it was more of a motivator—just what people needed to get their first bar muscle-up… or die trying.

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Retesting Workouts in the CrossFit Open

Before CrossFit, I was an avid runner—10ks, marathons, ultras, and even a few triathlons. Upon finishing almost every race, the inevitable question is, “What’s next?”

“Are you going to do another one?” “Have you signed up for XYZ yet?”

Retesting Open workouts happens in much the same way.

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CrossFit Addict’s Journey to 16.1… And Beyond

So much to talk about, I’m not sure where to start.

This year marks my third consecutive CrossFit Open since starting at CrossFit Addict back in December 2013.

In 2014,

I had no idea what to expect. It was all new to me, but it became quite apparent that something special was happening during those 5 weeks. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

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Pick a Rabbit, Push a Rabbit

Matt McCloud @ SuperFit East Coast Championship

In case you’re not familiar with the term “rabbit” as it applies to competitive sport, let’s get that out of the way now.

The term “rabbit” is used to describe an athlete who is better than you, but only by a small margin. By chasing this rabbit, you push your limits and continue to get better.

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First CrossFit Competition? Here are a Few Tips for First-Timers

First CrossFit Competition Tips

Photo courtesy of SuperFit Games

While I originally sat down to write out some tips for rookies competing in their first CrossFit competition, I realized some of this stuff applies to all competitors, first-timers and veterans.

Shout out to all 15 CrossFit Addict teams competing at the SuperFit East Coast National Championships this weekend. We’ve got quite a few first-timers.

If you’re getting ready for your first CrossFit competition, follow along for a few tips. I’ve been doing CrossFit for a little over 2 years, and I’ve competed in 2 CrossFit team competitions, both locally here in Virginia.

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15.3: Progress & Humility

CrossFit Games Open Story, 15.3: Warfel vs. McCloud

Almost every single day I get dealt a handful of progress and humility. CrossFit is amazing at delivering both. It provides an easy way to measure your progress, and just when you think you’re getting fitter, your coach serves up a big slice of humble pie. Next thing you know, you’re over in the corner creating sweat angels, trying to figure out who just injected Fireball into your lungs (when in doubt, blame Castro).

That’s CrossFit. Every day you get fitter, stronger, faster, better. And everyday you’re presented with a new challenge that reminds you how much more you’re capable of.

Last week I told you how I was Chasing McCloud. He got me by a few reps in each of the first two weeks, but I proclaimed that I was coming for him this week. I’ll save the suspense for another time. I got him. But the workout definitely played to my strengths. Which leads me right into my first topic…

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15.2: Chasing McCloud

Warfel smirks at McCloud

A few months ago, I wrote a post about one of the most notorious CrossFit ladies out there: Fran. It was titled Dancing with Fran, and there’s an excerpt from it that sets this article up nicely:

We all love seeing our names at the top of the Leaderboard, whether that Leaderboard is displaying our Fran time on Wodify or “World’s Greatest Dad” on our coffee mug. But when I post my times, whether I’m near the top, or all the way at the bottom, the most important Leaderboard to me only has one name on it. And that’s mine.

15.2’s Leaderboard

I may have just added a second name to my leaderboard… for this year, at least. His name is Matt McCloud, and he’s beat me by a total of 11 reps on 15.1 and 15.2.

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15.1: The Personal Side of The Open

Warfel smirks at McCloud

I just finished writing about two incredible performances that I witnessed at our gym Thursday night. I love watching others improve, fight, grind, try, fail & succeed. With that being said, I enjoy all the same for myself. So this one is a little reflection on my personal CrossFit journey, and how it manifested itself during tonight’s Open workout 15.1.

Last Year

In last year’s Open, I only posted scores for 3 of the 5 workouts. One called for 135# cleans, which a year ago, I couldn’t do. And another called for overhead squats, which, at any weight, I couldn’t do.

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