So, if you have managed to read to here God bless you, you are a trooper. Here is how it ended, but be warned the hero of the story does not prevail…
The final workout of the Crossfit Open is listed below:

Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below:
100 pound Thruster, 3 reps
3 Chest to bar Pull-ups
100 pound Thruster, 6 reps
6 Chest to bar Pull-ups
100 pound Thruster, 9 reps
9 Chest to bar Pull-ups
100 pound Thruster, 12 reps
12 Chest to bar Pull-ups
100 pound Thruster, 15 reps
15 Chest to bar Pull-ups
100 pound Thruster, 18 reps
18 Chest to bar Pull-ups
100 pound Thruster, 21 reps
21 Chest to bar Pull-ups…
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 21, go on to 24. If you complete 24, go on to 27, etc.

A thruster is a front squat (Barbell high on your chest, full squat) then as you are returning to vertical pushing the weight directly over your head in a shoulder press. This exercise is an oxygen destroyer, it forces your body to use every big muscle group and as a result the oxygen gets depleted very quickly.

Normally this wouldn’t have been a terrible workout for me, but the culmination of the previous four weeks had definitely taken their toll. And I only managed to complete 68 reps, or in English I got through the round of 12 thrusters and pullups and then completed 8 more thrusters in seven minutes. This left me about middle of the pack for this workout.

I finished in 434th place out of 1,424 original entrants overall, my last workout did not make up any ground for me. That put me just outside the top 30% overall in the world. My goal was to be inside the top 25%, so I did not accomplish my goal, but at least I have established a new target to beat next year. I learned a lot and one of the things I really need to do is find a way to help speed my recovery between workouts. By the end of the five weeks I was very beat up.

In the end I am glad that I made myself do it, at my age (46) I find it to be altogether too easy to not push myself to the limit, to not try new things, and it is something I have grown to fear greatly. So beyond the physical benefits of Crossfit, for me there is also the mental benefit of having a great community of friends and athletes who help push me outside of my comfort zone on a regular basis. I plan to test myself yearly and hopefully I can blog about it again next year. If you have any questions about Crossfit or our companies please feel free to e-mail me at Dion@RENEWvation.com.

Thanks for reading and thanks to the Schell Brothers Family of Companies who promote physical fitness as an integral part of a healthy work life balance. And remember – Get outside of your comfort zone!

Ok so in my last post we talked about our company promoting fitness for employees and my participation in the 2012 Crossfit games open. Sunday March 4^th was the last day to post scores for round 2 of the competition. Round 2 was the snatch tree 30 reps at the following weights 75, 135, 165, 210 or as many as you can get in 10 minutes. I knew going in this was not to my strengths, what I wasn’t planning on was disturbing an old injury. GRRR! The workout was hard but more frustrating than anything else, I would do this one again anytime compared to the first workout. However, I didn’t get a second chance, (workouts are posted on Wed you have until Sunday to complete and post your best score), due to my injury.

In a previous life I played college volleyball and beach volleyball at a highly competitive level. Over the course of the years and one dislocated shoulder, I ended up with a SLAP lesion/tear in my shoulder. This was repaired via surgery almost ten years ago. And despite being a painful surgery and recovery I would do it again in a heartbeat because it gave me 95% of my original use back. However, every once in a while it gets aggravated (technical term J) and my range of motion disappears and my overhead strength essentially is wiped out. This occurred about 2/3 of the way through my workout and as a result I finished with 52 reps. I am pretty sure 60 was easily achievable and not being able to redo and get those eight extra reps may hurt my overall goal to finish in the top 25% of the Men’s 45-49 Masters division. Frustrating. As of right now I am still holding steady in the top 25% but a lot of scores still need to be posted. You can follow me at Crossfit Leaderboard; up in the top right is a search box where you can also search by name or affiliate. (My name is Dion Lamb my affiliate is Crossfit Lewes)

So overall a very disappointing round 2. And on top of that I am essentially not able to workout at all until I recover which makes me a little bit nutty. I need to burn off the stress and I’m not sure how to put it in words that don’t make me sound like a nut job, but I suppose if the shoe fits… When you invest so much time and mental energy into something and it changes your life for the better it becomes a part of your identity, and how you feel about yourself. When it is eliminated via injury (this is not my first) I tend to take it harder, it affects my mood, my self-esteem, my overall outlook.

Wow, that does sound crazy, seeing it on paper.

Ok blog followers, I am officially trying to focus on the positive while I heal, my life is very good and I am incredibly blessed. No more whiny pants.

Hopefully I’ll be ready by Thursday. I’ll update on Thursday with the week 3 workout and my health status.