I truly have fallen in love with the Open season in CrossFit. It's not because I am in the running to go to the games and it's not because I am avidly following the elite crossfitters of the world and tracking their scores minute by minute. It's because I get to compete with and cheer on my fellow athletes. It's because we get to sit in our plastic chairs at the box and discuss gaming the WOD and how to get as many reps as possible. I love cheering on my friends and fellow athletes! I love the look of determination in their eyes during the WOD and the slightest look of thanks and a fist bump when their done.
When 13.2 was announced; a 10 minute AMRAP of 5 shoulder-to-overhead (115#/75#), 10 deadlift (115#/75#) & 15 box jumps (24/20), I immediately thought about gaming the WOD. Worried about stringing together the shoulder-to-overhead movement, I never really gave thought to the box jumps. I considered that they'd be slower since the box jump takes a little more concentration for me. I calculated, after watching a few videos, that my quads would be smoked. I began to game the transition between the push presses, jerks and strict presses. I ruled out the jerks as I tend to split those and that would have destroyed my time even more. I decided that since 115# isn't all that heavy, that if my quads needed a break, strict press would be my relief. Still, never even considered the box jumps....
13.2 version 1...........
I had two goals for 13.2. First, never put the bar down. Second, more than 200 reps. I felt that was attainable! 3-2-1 go! I succeeded in my first goal of never dropping the bar. That part was easy! What I found difficult was getting any kind of rhythm and speed on the box. I noticed that those around me were transitioning much faster than I was. Not to mention how gassed I was from the jumps and step offs. As the time counted down, I began timing myself on the jumps and realized that most of my jumps were nearly 10 seconds per jump! SLOW!
After the time expired, I saw my lowly score.....164. Wow!!
While I judged the next athlete, I purposely aligned myself so I could watch another adaptive crossfitter, Matt Ramsey, do his WOD. He chose to primarily do step ups over jumps. As I graded and watched Matt in the background, I noticed that he was able to do step ups 3:1 to my box jumps. He also slowed dramatically when he opted to jump.
13.2 version 2............ I decide to give it another go.......
I decided to give 13.2 another shot. Not simply because I wasn't satisfied with my score. But also because I wanted to test myself on step ups and see just how much faster it was. While I timed Matt's step ups, we're different athletes and I wanted to see if I could keep pace with his first score.
Another 3-2-1 go, and I was pushing and deadlifting away. When I got to the step ups, I found a rhythm. I found some speed. I also discovered something very interesting. Being a left below-knee amputee, I found it interesting that I was faster and stronger stepping up on my left foot. Maybe a little quad fatigue!? Maybe I was developing a lot more push and power with the bar on the right and the left felt it's contribution would be in the step ups. I'm not sure.....
I know I felt better though and gamed the movements for what was appropriate to me. During the last round, my quads were a little cooked. I chose to strict press the bar for the last 5 rounds. It saved my legs a little for the final deadlifts.
The difference...... 222 reps. A 58 rep increase!
I've heard a number of other adaptive athletes comment on their adaptations of 13.2. The general consensus was that the step ups were a life saver for the majority of us! Maybe something to consider when CrossFit develops adaptive standards for competition WODs.....
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