The 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games

Its almost here.......................the 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games starts tomorrow, although technically Thursday for us Brits due to the time difference.

So far there are over 46,000 individual people signed up to take on the WODs! Thats more than double last year and a phenomenal amount of people to pit your skills against. And seeing as you have till Sunday to sign up im sure there are going to be even more.

Starting tomorrow, 5 WODs (workouts) will be released over 5 weeks and you will have from Wednesday to Sunday to complete each one, judged by a qualified CrossFit Coach. These scores then get entered into the database and you can see how you stack up against the rest of the world. Time for some humbling me thinks!

Then the top 60 men and women and the top 30 teams from each region (Europe, Australasia and lots in America and Canada etc) qualify for the regionals, which for Europe are held in Copenhagen this year. Then its the top 3 in each region that go through to the final games in California in July. Thats a hell of a lot of competition. Lets just say I'm not booking my flights over there just yet!

We've had an amazing response from our members so far to take part in this beast and 18 of them have signed up so far. Why bother you might think if you are never going to get anywhere near the top? Heres why:

Knowing that you are posting a score against all those other registered people will undoubtedly make you push harder and keep going for longer than you would normally. You know that you will leave nothing in the tank during these WODs and that the spirit and camaraderie of competing will push you further than you thought possible. New records are going to be set along the way and you may just feel a little proud of yourself when you've finished! We can scale the WODs for those that need to so dont worry about being fit enough or strong enough. Taking part in something like this is what CrossFit is all about.

Its going to be great to have a little competition amongst the members of our box and with some quickly rising stars amongst our members the coaches are going to have to start looking over their shoulders too! I cant wait. We will keep a running scoreboard up at the gym for everyone who is signed up.

If you want more info on the games then click here. You can also sign up using this link and for £6 why not get involved in what is going to be a great 5 weeks. If you train at CrossFit Connect then make sure you put us as your gym and i can then add you to our team roster.

Want a little more motivation and some footage of the big players in action?

For more info on CrossFit Connect and how to get started see our website or give us a call using the numbers to the right of this page. We'll happily introduce you to the concepts of CrossFit and how to come down and have a free taster class on us.

Get involved people.....this time next year EVERYONE is going to have heard about CrossFit!

The London Throwdown Qualifiers

Phew! Well that was a crazy week! With the CrossFit London Throwdown happening on February 11th/12th next year it was time to decide who was going to actually get to compete!

The organisers (Jack from In2CrossFit Clapham and Tom from CrossFit Bold) released 3 WODs the Sunday before last and everyone then had a week to give them a go and register their scores, being officiated by myself, Holly or Barney.

There was a slight twist to proceedings as you could give the WODs a go in any order, as many times as you liked and the first two with slightly different rep ranges depending on your preference! It definitely made things interesting!

The WODs were:

WOD 1
75 x Thrusters (25kg women/35kg men)
75 x Burpees Bar hops (both feet together)
75 x Pull ups

These numbers could be done in any order and with any rep range you preferred. More on that below.

WOD 2
Output - 800kg women / 1200kg men Power Clean


5 x rounds of:
5 x Shoulder to overhead (40kg women / 60kg men)
7 x Front Squat (same weight)
9 x Toes to bar


Output - 800kg / 1200kg Power Clean

The output meant your weight choice and reps were of your own doing.
So for a man going for 1200kg, he could do 20 reps @ 60kg or 30 reps @40kg for example.

WOD 3
100 x Double unders
30 x Knee to Elbow Pull ups
30 Hang Squat Snatch (25kg women / 35kg men)
100 x Double unders


It was some really good programming on Jack and Toms part as WOD 1 was definitely a massive lung buster, WOD 2 was more about strength and WOD 3 was definitely the technical one which i bet caught a lot of people out.

As far as WOD 1 goes there was a lot of talk on the FaceBook posts about how best to tackle those numbers. A few people went for 3 lots of 25 reps. Some were swearing by 7.5 rounds of 10 but perhaps the most popular one seemed to be 12,11,10,9 etc down to 3.

I myself did WOD 1 three times (yes, i know im mental!!) and tried three different variations. My first time with 20,20,15,10,10 was 16.44. My second attempt with the 12,11,10,9 etc was 14.50 but the last time i did it with 15 rounds of 5s and managed 13.45. For me that was definitely the best option. Small sets that you didnt have to rest in and you got your breather between the exercises if needed.

The key to WOD 2 seemed to be not dropping the bar between the presses and the front squats as picking it up again cost you lots of time. And WOD 3 was all about the double unders and if your grip strength held out!

It has been awesome at the box this week and we are very proud of everyone who gave these WODs a crack, be it if you were registered to compete or just did one or two of them to see how you fared! It became a real eye opener for people to see what scores they clocked up and then just how good the scores were coming in on the constantly updated league table (nice touch guys, that was cool!). You might see yourself climb up ten places only for the end of the day to come and you dropped back down again! It definitely made you want to repeat the WODs to try and hold your position. I tell you though....im never doing WOD 1 again!

Also, it must be remembered that the guys and gals who are posting the top scores have been CrossFitting for a good few years now. We as a box have only been open since March this year so are in our infancy when it comes to getting our athletes competing. Its been great to see just how far everyone has come in such a short amount of time as there are so many different skills you have to learn to be a truly rounded CrossFitter. And yes, some of those posted times do really seem superhuman!! There are some beasts out there!

I hope this will only drive everyone on to become better and push yourself towards an even higher standard. I know my own training has really ramped up over the last month in preparation for these games and despite the fact of being way off the pace of the top guys i have definitely improved my own times and scores because of it. Thats what it is all about at the end of the day. Bettering yourself. Dont feel dejected that you couldnt possibly compete with the top scores. Train hard, practice, keep motivated and who knows what the next 6-12 months may bring? Take a look back through your training diary and see where you were 6 months ago if you dont believe me! Are you better now? Of course you are.

Lets take a look at our whiteboard this week:

We had 8 athletes register to take part in the actual qualifiers although this came down to 7 due to a badly timed torn callous infection for poor old Lina! :( We are proud to have also seen so many others at the box want to take part in these WODs for, ahem, 'fun'!

So how did we get on?

Holly Gehlcken - 15.49 / 19.11 / 15.35 = Total of: 50.35 (40 out of 110)
Barney Gehlcken - 16.04 / 18.31 / 14.15 = Total of: 48.50 (211 out of 378)
Dave Draper - 13.45 / 9.58 / 9.49 = Total of: 33.32 (66 out of 378)
George Carlo - 18.42 / 18.46 / 17.16 = Total of: 54.44 (243 out of 378)
Simon Welling - 18.04 / 14.46 / 23.38 = Total of: 56.28 (250 out of 378)
Ami Ruff - 23.08 / 18.54 / 23.35 = Total of: 65.37 (64 out of 110)
Matt Evans - 18.23 / 19.44 / Did not do = Total of: 38.07 for two events. (332 out of 378)


It was only the top 60 male and female competitors that would proceed to the finals at Brunel University in February and with 488 registered athletes this was going to be no easy task! Im pleased to say though that Holly did an amazing job to finish in 40th place. And this was despite the fact she didnt get to repeat one of her WODs due to a pesky cold!

We also now have the opportunity to enter a team into the competition made up of two women and three guys. This is to be decided over the next few days.

Back to some regular training now this week. The buzz it created at the box was fantastic and dont forget we still have the UK Series Competition on the cards for those of you still keen to log your scores against others.

Again, a massive congratulations to all those who shed blood, sweat and (perhaps) a few tears over these WODs. Just wait until February when the weekend will go off with a bang and show you just how much CrossFit is exploding in the UK! I for one cant wait.............

Dave

http://www.londonthrowdown.com/

Firebreathers and CrossFit Games Training Sessions

With the 2012 Crossfit Games qualifying WODs starting in 3 short months and the new London Games being held in February 2012, with their qualifying WODs starting mid-December, its time to start some serious training!

Some of you have now been training long enough to enter these competitions and we want to coach you to get there and represent CrossFit Connect!

As we are a fairly new box most of you havent yet had the chance to check out just what it means to CrossFit amongst 100's of other people and feel the electricity created by so many people throwing down WODs as hard as they can. Its what CrossFit is all about; the cameraderie, the spirit, the guts and the determination. It will push your own training to a whole new level as you strive to compete with the best there is. If you feel you need a focus to your training and something to work towards then this is it. Lets step it up!

Starting next week (the 23rd November) we will be running two classes a week for people who are interested in taking their training to the next level and competing at the CrossFit events next year. We believe we have a great standard of athlete at the box and some of you could do really well at these competitions if we put the time in now and train you correctly.

So, we are holding two competition standard or 'Firebreather' classes per week. They will be:

Wednesday @ 7pm - 8pm
Sunday @ 11am-12pm

These sessions will mean doing the WODs Rx'd and to strict competition form...no excuses! Yes, no reps will be called. :) We will be focussing mainly on WODs with some skill work thrown in when needed. Lifting will be done at the regular classes. Our focus will be on getting you to complete the WODs at the Rx'd weights/reps so no scaling will be done. If it takes you 30 minutes to complete Fran Rx'd then so be it. This will encourage you to lift heavier weights than perhaps you would in regular classes and get you used to training at the intensity needed.

Please talk to us about coming to these classes beforehand. Yes, they will be intense. Yes, you will need to be at a certain fitness level to get the most out of them. But, if you have the desire to compete we will do all we can to get you there.

We know this will provide a whole new reason for our members to train hard and have something to look forward to in the process. Its going to be a busy year next year in terms of competitions as CrossFit continues to grow and we look forward to being part of it with a strong team of athletes.

Let us know if you are keen and lets get this thing rolling. Its only about 4 weeks until the first of the qualifiers for the London Games so we have to get on it!

Also, if you know any friends who are already good level athletes and would be interested in training for the CrossFit competitions then send them our way or direct them to the blog.

Timetable Changes

Please note that some adjustments will be made to the timetable to reflect these new classes. Starting Wednesday 23rd November.

Wednesday evenings will now look like this:
6-7pm - WOD class
7-8pm - Firebreathers Class
8-9pm - WOD class

and Sundays will look like this:
10-11am - WOD class
11-12pm - Firebreathers class

As usual, any feedback you have for us over this is always much appreciated. Its hopefully going to be an exciting few months ahead!

Divided We Fall Games 2011

CrossFit Velocity are hosting this years UK CrossFit team games on October 29th /30th.

Velocity are based in Swansea and by all accounts last years event was a cracking day out for all. This year it has grown further and is now a two-day event.

Teams need to consist of 1 woman and 3 men. The cost is £15 each so £60 for the team to enter.

I think we should be able to get two teams together so if anyone is interested the we need to know numbers ASAP. Crossfit Velocity want to know how many teams are entering by THIS WEEKEND (13th /14th August).

Obviously the competition is going to be pretty tough and there will be some excellent athletes taking part (last year Sam Briggs competed who has just finished 4th in the ladies division at the Reebok CrossFit games in California!). But dont let this put you off!

It will just be an awesome weekend away, meeting up with fellow CrossFitters, having fun and banging out some WODs. Plus, what an incentive to up the training over the next few months!

If anyone is keen we would like to know so get in touch with either myself or Holly or discuss it with us at the box over the weekend.

Travel arrangements and accommodation will be made after we know how many people are keen.

It should be a great weekend so lets get CrossFit Connect involved!

The 2011 CrossFit Games.

Well that was certainly an inspirational weekend! We have just witnessed the biggest CrossFit Games so far and you could clearly see the potential this event has to become huge.

With Reebok behind it this year everything was upped from the prize money ($250k for first place anyone?!) to the production scale to the locations and the TV coverage on ESPN. To the detest of many followers CrossFit is now no longer an underground movement. CrossFit is going all glitzy and glamour and moving away from the spit-and-sawdust of how it started out. It has 'sold out' as so many forum scribblers are keen to tell us.

But is this a bad thing?

As an affiliate owner and CrossFitter i have to say 'no'.

If what drew you to CrossFit in the first place was the hardcore, beat your chest, grab an old pair of shorts and workout till your sick kinda thing then i can see why the brand placement, massive product advertising and CrossFit apparel may piss you off. However, ultimately we all became addicted to CrossFit for the same reason. It works. We got stronger, fitter and faster than we had ever been. We pushed ourselves harder than we thought possible because we wanted to lower our times or improve our scores. We wanted to get more technically proficient at the hard Olympic lifts because we wanted to lift more weight above our heads. And we wanted to train as much as we could because we loved training with the community that was created at our local box. Wanting to go to the gym? Now theres a thing.

Something this good is always going to be found out by the wider public eventually. I didn't even get into CrossFit until a couple of years ago. I would call myself a relative newcomer too. But whats wrong with sharing? I opened an affiliate because i was passionate about getting more and more people involved with CrossFit. I wanted to share my knowledge and make real changes in their lives. I wanted to see people go from not being able to hold their own bodyweight on a bar to doing full chest to bar pull ups, to go from feeling awkward with an empty Olympic barbell in their hands to clean and jerking their bodyweight.

When we ran the recent 30-day Paleo challenge at the box (see an earlier post) we saw some incredible changes in our members. To watch as they lost nearly 30kg in combined weight over the course of just one month and became leaner but also stronger and fitter too was inspirational. They now see that what we were saying about CrossFit being a fantastic way to train when they first walked through our doors is true. If you want to make a serious change to your health and fitness CrossFit is one hell of a place to start.

The Games this weekend were a great example of what can be achieved by the human body. All the men and women that competed, including the truly amazing Masters categories, were phenomenal and just looking over some of the times and results that they posted is a real inspiration to keep training harder. We may never reach their level but to finish a workout knowing you have truly given everything is all that can be asked. If you do, the results will follow.

So is CrossFit the be-all and end-all of fitness training? Certainly not. It is just one nicely packaged, results driven, community inspired movement that i am happy and proud to be part of. I will always do my own research and learn from my own experiences as to what works best at any given moment. I think CrossFit can grow further and become even better by ensuring they continue to look at all other training modalities and dont just declare that CrossFit is the only way to go. We can all continue to learn.

So, do i mind that Reebok have come on board; that more and more people are getting in touch with our affiliate because they have started to see the name around the Internet and on TV; that more people like the look of CrossFit because they are bored with their regular way of training and that more people are making a positive change in their lives by dramatically improving their health, diet and lifestyle?

No, you bet i don't.