Pound For Pound Competition - CrossFit Northampton

CrossFit Northampton...and this is only half of it!

On Saturday 15th June 2013 three intrepid CrossFitters from CrossFit Connect and two much loved spectators (thanks for the support Simon and Cerise!) took to the road to visit CrossFit Northampton, or Unit 22 as it is now known, to take part in the Pound For Pound CrossFit competition.

What set this comp apart from the many others that are now popping up on the CrossFit calender was the fact that all the WODs (or workouts) were to be completed using percentages of the athletes bodyweight. Whereas in a normal competition all the competitors use the same weight despite their size this battle would see the lighter guys perhaps having an advantage as they would have to lift less. Would it be a smaller guy that would come out on top as the strongest 'pound for pound' athlete?

First off I have to say i got massive box jealousy as soon as i walked into Unit 22. What a box! A beautiful 4000sq ft of CrossFit heaven! A 12 station rig custom built down one side of the unit, offices and reception at one end and more wall bars, racks and even a custom built solid set of parallel bars on the other side. So much space! Outside the unit was an empty car park with tyres stacked up ready to be flipped and not really anyone to be overlooked by (aside from a few houses whose gardens backed onto the space). It really was a playground. It made our box at Connect look like a store cupboard. A lovely store cupboard, but still.....

Weighing in having not eaten breakfast (but after consuming far too much dessert the previous night!) myself and Barney were both amazed to weigh in at a shade under 80kg. We looked on jealously at Dean as he skipped off the scales at a nimble 63kg.

The competition kicked off at 9am with 68 guys and around 10 girls taking part. We think the lack of women at this event was down to the fact that the percentages of bodyweight were the same for men and women. And these worked out pretty damn heavy for the ladies. Perhaps at the event in the future we may see these scaled more to make it more achievable for the regular woman CrossFitter, say 70% bodyweight for men and 60% for women. Just a thought?

The WODs ran smoothly and on time and the BBQ was fired up for bacon rolls for breakfast and then a great BBQ for lunch at very good prices. The judging was spot on, the effort put in by every athlete was great to watch and we saw a few new PBs from a lot of people especially in the muscle ups and snatches.

The WODs were as follows:

WOD 1:
For time: 3x rounds of 12-9-6 reps (75% Bodyweight)
Deadlift
Hang Cleans
Shoulder To Overhead

Dean on his STOHs

WOD 2:
For time: 3x rounds of 15 x Bodyweight back squats and 5 x Muscle Ups

Muscle ups are a favourite of mine so i liked this WOD the best.

Barney in full kipping flight

Deano getting his 5 linked muscle ups and a new personal best.

Barney on one of his 45 bodyweight squats. The legs are feeling this one today!

WOD 3:
(70% bodyweight)
1 minute max rep Snatch
30x double unders at the top of the next minute
1 minute max rep Snatch
30x double unders at the top of the next minute
1 minute max rep Snatch
Max rep double unders in the last minute

(Score was total number of Snatches)

Snatch action at 56kg - I got 31 reps in total

Barney with the same weight. Oh to weigh less than we did!

WOD 1 was tough but really only from a grip point of view. Those that could hang on to the bar the longest did the best. WOD 2 was very hard on the legs and then got a lot of people struggling with their muscle ups (a pull up and press out on the Olympic rings) and WOD 3 was real heavy and gassy.

The Connect crew applied themselves admirably with both Barney and Dean smashing out their muscle ups in much better style than they were perhaps expecting. Meanwhile myself and Barney were cursing Dean for only weighing 62kg when it came to the bodyweight back squats as we both loaded 80kg onto the bar. But, its all relative i guess! :)

After the first 3 WODs were done it was the top 24 that progressed into the Semi-finals and i was pleased to find myself in 13th position. Although I'm not sure my legs were happy that i had another WOD to do. Dean finished in 31st place and Barney in 36th. Competitions are funny things in that you always look back at the end and think "If only i hadn't put the bar down" or "I'm sure i could have gone quicker". At the time though its not so easy.

The Semi - Final WOD was a non-stop lung burner with:
1 x Deadlift
2x Chest to bar pull ups
3 x Burpee bar hops

7 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible)

And this is where being light helped a fair bit! The deadlifts were loaded up with 1.5 x bodyweight so the heavy guys were looking at 120-130kg whilst the lighter guys only 80-90kg. Although it was only one rep over the course of 20 rounds this adds up a touch i reckon.

I was super pleased with my score of 19.1 rounds and this lead me to finish in 8th place out of the 24. Only the top 6 qualified for the final so i just missed out. In fact, only by 2 reps in the end. That's what competitions can come down too so you have to remember mid-WOD that every rep truly does count. Something that's easier said than done though.

The final 6 men then had a 50% bodyweight Thruster/Sprint combo to deal with 20/15/10/5 style and Samuel Wisniewski was crowned the winner and the first one to leap back onto his starting box. Samuel weighed in at just over 60kgs as did most of the finalists so it was proven that the lighter guys came out on top in the end. Barry Mairs who did a grand job to make the final was at a big disadvantage having to Thruster 45+ kgs compared to Samuels 30kgs. That's a hell of a lot more weight over 50 reps!

The Final. A sprint / Thruster combo.

I would like to say a massive thanks to Unit 22 and everyone involved in organising the comp. It was a great day, ran smoothly, was well executed and it would be great to see it become a permanent fixture on the calendar of events. A big thank you to all the judges too for giving up their time to count those reps. These events couldn't happen without you guys too.


We will keep you all posted of any more upcoming comps and if you would like to get involved just shout. Although nerve wracking and tough, competitions really are the best way to push yourself and give a purpose to your training. Just ask Dean about his muscle ups.....I don't think he's stopped smiling yet.