Semifinals 2022 - The MACC 

Wod for Morri 2022 in Italy 

Team Wodapalooza in 2023

These were my last three competitions, until last weekend when I competed at the Reps Ahead competition in Denver, Colorado. That makes 18 months away from competitive exercising. But 18 months doesn’t paint the full picture. In reality, my last serious time on a comp floor was at Semifinals in 2022. I decided that I was done pursuing CrossFit seriously, as an athlete, before the final event at the 2022 MACC. Ever since, I have been training for fun. Pursuing small lifting goals here and there. Running sometimes, other times, not breathing heavily for months This is close to two and a half years away from any type of serious CrossFit Training. 

Then, I agreed to compete in a one-on-one matchup that would be live-streamed on YouTube. My smartest move? Certainly not. Fun? Debatable. A challenge? Most definitely.

I had three and a half weeks to prepare

I agreed to the bout sometime in May. The comp was being held on June 29th, so I had three and a half weeks to prepare. I reached out to HWPO PRO Coach, Steven Fawcett and said… “I’m going to need some help, and I might be helpless”. Ste agreed to prep me with the little time we had. 

Reps Ahead is a newly emerging exercise racing format in which two athletes compete head-to-head in an AMRAP-style workout until one of them reaches a predetermined amount of reps ahead of the other, or they complete the entire workout, and someone finishes with more reps. In other words, you can get knocked out or go to the cards — just like boxing. 

How we approached the training for the event

In this blog, I’d like to share how Ste and I prepared for this event in three weeks. We had two priorities: 

1. Peak and maximize my fitness. Knowing that I was not and wouldn’t be in “competition” shape meant that we had to force my body to perform at the maximum potential of what I did have. 
2. Prepare specifically for the movements in the workout and the format of the workout. 

The workout: 

Until someone is 14 reps ahead or up to 5 rounds: 

AMRAP 3:00 
12 Box Jump Over 24/20” 
6 Thrusters 155/105 
12 Chest to Bar Pull-Ups
Rest 1:00 

These are the three sessions we designed to prepare. I completed each of these sessions two times over the three weeks leading up to comp day. 

Session 1 

A. 3:00 @ Max Effort 
12 Box Jump Over 24/20” 
6 Thrusters 155/105 
12 Chest to Bar Pull-Ups
Rest 5:00 
‍
2-3 Sets: 
3:00 @ Game Pace 
12 Box Jump Over 24/20” 
6 Thrusters 155/105 
12 Chest to Bar Pull-Ups
Rest 1:00 Between Sets 
‍
Every 1:30 x 7:30 (5 Sets) @ Max Effort 
1 Thruster 155/105 
10 Chest to Bar 

The goal of this session is straightforward; practice the workout with the intention to hone a strategy that maximizes my lacking fitness. I did this session twice. The first time absolutely crushed me. I ended up on the floor wheezing after the max effort set and only completed one set at game pace. The second time I did this session, I got the same score on my max effort round and completed the next two sets at a good pace. I approached each set with a different strategy. In set one I tried going unbroken and fast, in set two I did slow box jump overs and broke the thrusters, and in the third set, I tested the first strategy again to confirm which approach felt better. Breaking the thrusters, the second strategy, felt better. 

Session 2

B. 5 Sets: 
AMRAP 3:00 @ RPE 8-9 
7 Cal Row 
7 Cal Ski 
7 Cal Fan Bike 
Rest 1:00 

I also did this session twice. The intention was to really get the lungs open and get used to hard cardio efforts. I improved by about 10% between the first and second sessions.

Session 3

A. Thruster 
5 x 10 @ 155-175lbs
Rest 2:00 Between Sets
+
3 x 3 @ 200+
Rest 3:00 Between Sets
‍
B. 5 Sets: 
2000m Bike Erg 
30 Bodyweight Lunges 
30 Air Squats 
30 Bodyweight Lunges 
30 Air Squats 
Rest 1:00 Between Sets

I also completed this session twice, both times being terrible. I added 5-10 lbs to my thrusters and got a little faster on the five sets. The goal was to hone in on thrusters and push the leg volume.

This session was simple, but it did the job. 

Second to Last Session

Every 2:00 x 24:00 (3 Sets) 
:40 On / 1:20 Off 
1: 15 Box Jump Overs + Max Chest to Bar 
2: Ski Erg 
3: Burpee Over Parallette 
4: Row 

Last Session

40:00 Bike Erg* 
*Every 5:00; Max Effort Sprint for :20 

These final two sessions served as aerobic tune ups. The goal was to keep the lungs turned on and stay used to feeling some pain. 

You will notice a theme across these sessions: simple repeated exposure. When preparing for something specific, repeated exposure to the same stimulus can drive major adaptations. 

The Event 

I knew that my opponent was far more prepared than I was and it was likely I would lose. Given that losing was likely, I decided my only chance to compete was to start in a dead sprint. So that’s what I did. I pushed as hard as I could from 3-2-1 go and was able to stay ahead for the first three-minute interval. Until I jumped up for a set of twelve chest to bar but only did a single before coming down. Oops. My opponent overtook me for the win in the first thirty seconds of the second interval. 

Despite losing, I can say for sure that I was as prepared as possible given the time I had.