shanmonster | I Had the Stones for It: UG Series Wasaga Beach CrossFit Competition

I survived the CrossFit competition on Saturday, and even came in fourth place in the womens' masters division!

Admittedly, there were only four of us in the division, but I'm not disparaging myself. They kicked my ass, but not as much as I kicked my own. I managed to complete at least one full round of the exercises in all three heats.

Here's my profile on the competition website.

My first competition was the hottest. It was out on the pave on a sunny day, and I sweat so hard that my face was raining onto the asphalt. This was the workout I dreaded the most because two of the four exercises are among my weakest: pull-ups and double unders. The workout went as follows:

AMRAP (As Many Repetitions As Possible) in 7 minutes of
- 10 135-lb deadlifts
- 15 pull-ups
- 30 double-unders
followed immediately by
4 minutes to find maximum single repetition of clean and jerk.

I managed one full found of the AMRAP plus 3 more deadlifts, and my clean and jerk was 100 lbs. I'm confident I could have lifted more for the clean and jerk, but 4 minutes is not a long time to reset weights on the bar, especially when the plates don't slide easily, your hands are a mess from the pull-ups, and you're knackered!

Considering I only got consistent pull-ups two weeks ago, I'm pleased with this. I can't do them chained, yet, but I will. I wasn't sure I'd get them done, but my judge was excellent, and even coached me along as I struggled. I had about five or six no-reps (shitty ones that didn't count), and I thought I was too destroyed to finish, but I applied everything he said as I went, and my 15th one was my best one of all. The double-unders were done mostly one at a time, with one string of three.

My one competitive pride moment is that I was fast with my deadlifts, and was the first one finished them. I'm better at lifts than I am at a lot of other stuff.

The next event was in sand and water and went as follows:

12 minutes, as many rounds as possible of
- 50 two-armed kettlebell swings (~36-lb)
- 40 overhead log push press (not sure on the weight of the log, but I'm guessing around 100 lbs)
- 30 burpees in the water (full burpee, going belly and chest to ground and up into a jump and clap)
- 20 jumping tuck squats in the water
- 100m water run
- and everything back again.

I made it all the way through and back to 7 more burpees. The kettlebell swings were the easiest part for me. I'm pretty solid on that technique. The log press got old very quickly, and I must admit that while I was running back in the water, I was thinking, "I hope I don't have to push the log again. I hope I don't have to push the log again." Hahaha! Not that I slowed down any, but still....

I think some of the top competitors managed at least 3 full rounds.

The final competition was the hardest one, not only because I was tired from having already completed two tough sessions, but also because of the dread Atlas stones.

Oh. My. God.

I have never exerted myself as hard to complete just one repetition of an exercise as I did to do this. In case you don't know, an Atlas stone is basically a medicine ball made of concrete. The one I was hoisting weighed 70 lbs. I'm strong. I can piggyback a 300-lb man. I can easily lift things up that weigh more than 70 lbs ... if they're not Atlas stones. Particularly if they're not Atlas stones resting in fine, sifting sand.

Here's the workout:

As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of
- 10 Atlas stone pass overs
- 30m walking lunges in the sand
- 10 sandbag ground to overhead lifts (50-lb sandbag)
- 20 Zercher squats holding sandbag (50-lb sandbag)

Not only did I have to pick the Atlas stone up, I had to throw it over a 5' wall, then jump the wall after it and do it all over again. Wall jumps are easy for me, thankfully. But the struggling I did to lift that stone even once was astonishing. The struggle is worthy of paeans, I swear! The ball is made of rough concrete, and was covered with sand.

Lance from my CrossFit gym gave me a few pointers before I did this round, since I'd never lifted an Atlas stone before. Squat with feet a bit wider than hips, keep my body straight and upright, and wrap my arms around the stone. Stand and pull it to my chest, then tip it over the fence.

I'm betting this works best with experience, and also when the ball and your feet aren't digging their ways to China through the soft, shifting sand! The harder I worked, the more the ball and I sank further into the beach. The exertion was extreme. I felt a bit like one of those adrenaline-filled moms who pick a flipped car off their kids. There was much grunting, roaring, swearing, and coughing. My lungs did not appreciate the level of exertion at all. My muscles were screaming. I think I was using every muscle in my body to lift that damned stone. And the whole time, I was getting a solid case of road rash from sandy concrete scraping up my arms and thighs. I at least had a tank top on for this one, so my chest and stomach didn't get road rash, too. I'm going to be scabby and bruised for a while.

Somehow, through sheer stubbornness, I made it through one full round, and got 3 more Atlas stone pass overs done!

In a few weeks, I'm taking a Strongman seminar, so maybe I can figure out the best way to lift these things in more optimal conditions. I don't want to see another Atlas stone until then. Egad.

Now, I'd been scheduled to compete in a fourth round after all this:

12 of each, then 9 of each, then 6 of each as follows:
- 55-lb overhead squats
- 20" box jumps
- chest to bar pull-ups

Despite the exhaustion, I'm confident I could have done the squats and the box jumps. I'm pretty solid on both of those. But I don't think I could do the pull-ups. My hands and fingers were a mass of painful blisters already, and chest to bar is requires even more exertion than a standard pull-up. I've only ever managed one in my life, and that was when I wasn't nearly so tired.

However, since there were only four of us in the masters division, we all agreed to call it a day. We were all exhausted, and don't think the final round would have changed the placings any. I know I would still remain in fourth place, at least.

Here I am with the women in my division, after it all:

[Masters]