The CRUSH Games 2016.

"Better late than never," they say :). It´s throwback time. Time to go four weeks back in time, back to the Crush Games arena.

The interest of the Crush games started already last year, when 12 of our members from Crossfit Key West signed up to compete. Last year we had both individual athletes and teams competing.
What was different from last year was that this year the Crush Games required a preliminary qualifier series. With that been said, every athlete had to earn their right to compete, instead of just signing up, paying some money and showing up to compete. This by it self required tons of bravery.

Online prelims are nothing easy, it takes a lot of work and dedication. This year the Crush Games came out with five workouts that had to be submitted in time. So all of you who saw us, sometimes, struggling at the gym while doing them, also saw the dedication in every of our athletes. Even a few of us signed up for two different divisions, just to make sure we got a spot :). And you know what? It for sure paid off. All of us got an invitation to compete at the Crush Games 2016 :).

Novice-female: Lenka
Amateur-male: Mikus, Maris, John, Eddie
Amateur team-female: Raquel-Jamie-Reyna
Amateur team-male: Ron-Kuba-Vagner
Rx-female: Hanna

We were happy to see 12 of our athletes representing Crossfit Key West this year again. For a small gym like ours, it was pretty damn good.

For my self, this was going to be my first time competing in the Rx division by my self. In a big competition like this I mean. Even got an invite to compete with the Pro women. Naaaaaa, thank you but no thank you, not there yet. Super honored though but happy to be where I´m at :). Those women are something else <3.

What was also different from last year was that all athletes competed two days. Last year everyone competed one day and if you made it through to the final, you competed the second day. This year all athletes competed for two days, Saturday and Sunday. This made the weekend shorter but no less easier, lol.
For two days every athlete had to go through six workouts, three on Saturday and three on Sunday.

I was the first one of us who started early Saturday morning with my first event. I will put out here all my six events for you to see what type of workouts I did at the competition.

SATURDAY: 

RX Division

Event #1

(10 min time cap)

20 Clean & Jerks

Female: 24 Pull-ups / Male: 9 Ring Muscle-ups

15 Clean & Jerks

Female: 18 Pull-ups / Male: 7 Ring Muscle-ups

10 Clean & Jerks

Female: 12 Pull-ups / Male: 5 Ring Muscle-ups

(Female 93# / Male 135#)

Event #2

(10 minute time cap)

5 Rounds

15 Axel Deadlifts

12 Lateral Bar-Hop Burpees (hand-release)

9 Axel Bar Shoulder-to-Overhead

(Female 90# / Male 130#)

Event #3

Field

(2 minute time cap)

160 Yard Sprint

Event #3.1

Field

(8 minute time cap)

80 yard Atlas Stone carry

4 ground-to-overhead

60 yard Atlas Stone carry

4 ground-to-overhead

40 yard Atlas Stone carry

4 ground-to-overhead

(Female 65# / Male 115#)

SUNDAY: 

Event #4

(10 minute time cap)

21-15-9

Power Snatches

Hand Stand Push-ups

Toes-to-bar

(Female 83# / Male 125#)

Event #5

(10 minute time cap)

Buy in: 200 feet Sandbag sprint)

3 rounds

40 feet Sandbag Lunge (F 40# / M 55#)

60 feet Sled Pull (F 45# / M 70#)

60 feet Sled Drag (F 45# / M 70#)

40 feet Sandbag Lunge (F 40# / M 55#)

10 Sandbag Ground-to Overhead (F 40# / M 55#)

Event #6 

(7minute time cap)

3 Rope Climbs

80 Double Unders

20 Alternating Pistols

2 Rope Climbs

60 Double Unders

18 Alternating Pistols

1 Rope Climbs

40 Double Unders

16 Alternating Pistols

Event #6.1

(3 minute time cap)

(starts at the 7 minute mark, ends at the 10 minute mark)

Max Meters on the Rower

I had so much fun this year :).The workouts were great (except a few, lol), but most importantly, I did not get hurt like last year. I paid attention to what I did and gave my all :).

We were 33 women competing in the RX division. I competed in the 2nd heat with a bunch of strong women by my side. Out of six events I won my heat in event 1, 2 and 4. Pretty damn proud about that!

Oh that feeling when it´s all over :). Here heat two is representing. What a sweet group of people! It was so much fun to be on the floor side by side with these strong ladies. Thank you for the push girls! Hope to see you next year again so we can keep on crushing it ;).

So, how did I do? I placed 9th. My goal was to be in the 10 best. Mission completed!:) Was I satisfied of my placement? Yes and no. As a stubborn and competitive person, there will always be something you blame yourself for. There will always be something to improve. And that is why I love this sport. You can only get better, that is why we continue the training day after day. This is a lifestyle to be proud of.

Don´t judge, but damn that cold cider tasted good after the last workout :D.



As I already mentioned, we were 12 athletes representing Crossfit Key West this year. So as a coach I tried my best to support my family between my workouts.

Lenka came to cheer us on last year. So when it was time to sign up for Crush this year she did not hesitate. This girl has been working so hard. Her dedication and motivation is admirable.
Of 45 novice athletes Lenka placed 9th. There you have it, hard work and dedication pays off. This was Lenka´s first time competing. There are no words how proud we are of you strong lady! <3 SLAVNY! ;)

In the male amateur division Mikus, John, Maris and Eddie competed. For Mikus and John this also was the first time attending a Crossfit competetion. And damn they did good. Out of 58 athletes our "old man", Mikus, placed 3rd and John 4th. Maris stepped up his game from last year (48/140) and placed 12th. Eddie moved up from novice devision to amateur and placed 23rd. That is why Crossfit is so cool. There is always room for improvement as long as you are patient and trust the process.

Mikus.

John.

Maris.

Eddie.

We also had two amateur teams this year, male and female. Raquela, Jamie and Reyna competed in the female team and Ron, Vagner and Kuba in the male team. For Raquela, Ron and Vagner this also was their first time at Crush. Both Vagner and Raquela got inspired from watching us compete last year. This is how it works, you get inspired of others <3. And believe me, we have some inspiring athletes in our gym :).

The ladies.

 Jamie, a.k.a "Master Peach".

Raquela.

Reyna.

The gents.

Vagner.

Ron.

Kuba.

The ladies finished 18th and the guys 7th out of 21 teams. How freaking awesome is that? Some bad ass people!:) Everyone did great! Proud to see them work so well as a team. And not just that, but to cheer and support each other no matter what. You guys rock!

What is fun with events like this is that you get to meet new people and make connections. It´s at events like this were you also as an athlete learn about yourself, where you stand etc. Like we witnessed last year, people are there to support each other. It´s not only about competing and winning. You want everyone to succeed, have fun and enjoy fitness in a friendly environment.



To follow big name athletes like,  Elijah Muhammed, Ron Ortiz, Nathan Bramblett and Taylar  Stallings and see them in action was so inspiring.

Team Kill Cliff

Nathan Bramblett

Taylar Stallings

They are just normal people sharing their Crossfit story/journey like the rest of us :).

Even Noah and Maximus came to say hi to us, though Noah didn´t compete this time :).

Most important at competitions like this is your support system, family and friends. Those who cheer you, encourage you and hug you during and after every event. Those who even gives you a massage and makes you laugh though you are hurting. That´s what keeps us together as a community.

A BIG THANK YOU to all of you!! <3 <3

There are really no words to say how proud we at Crossfit Key West are, of each and everyones performance at the Crush Games 2016. We brought one medal home to the box.

CONGRATUALATION MIKUS! <3 I knew you could do it!

That was a rap people. Now we can recharge and wait for the next prelim online workouts, The Open ;). Thank you for believing in me and us! We are enjoying every minute of training Crossfit in the Keys! Thank you guys for everything! Let´s keep it real!

Love, Hanna

P.s Here you can look at more pictures.

North Jax Knockout 2015

Last Saturday me and my friends from the gym competed in a indoor throw down competition in Jacksonville, hosted by North Jax Crossfit. This was the first competition held in their new box. It was a individual one day event, with Men`s/Women`s Elite, Men's/Women`s RX and Men`s/Women`s Scaled divisions. The day consisted of 3 WODs (workouts) and an additional floater, which were announced before the competition.

Six athletes represented Crossfit Key West, including myself, on this day :). Amanda was competing in Women`s Scaled division, Jeremy and Jamison in Men´s Scaled division, Taylor and I, in Women´s RX division and Josue in Men´s RX division.
This was Jeremy and Jamison´s first competition and Taylor´s and my first time competing as individuals. Josue had signed up for the Men´s Elite, but since there was no one else in that division, he competed with the RX men.

Our day literally started off with a "cold shock", lol. Living and working out in the heat of Key West, this felt really cold. Just because I´m from Finland, doesn´t mean I like the cold or enjoy working out in the cold. I have been in Florida long enough to forget how it feels. It really felt like early autumn back home. Cold has never been my thing.
So leaving the hotel we were all dressed warm, with sweatshirts and pants. Arriving at the gym, we were told that it had not been that cold in awhile. So we didn´t have to feel like outsiders after all, hah hah :).

Our first workout was going to be short and intense, all cardio. So we knew we had to warm up well to get our heart rates high before starting. I personally, knew I could go pretty hard on this one, though I´m not strong on wall balls. I also knew that this was gonna be a workout where you could feel the taste of blood in your mouth.  That was exactly what happened. We all could feel the cold. It felt as though your lungs were freezing, and afterwards we were coughing like we had been smoking cigarettes our whole lives.

WOD 1

8 min AMRAP

20 Wall Balls
10 Box Jump Overs

Elite:
WB - 30/20#
Box Jumps - 30/24"

Rx:
WB - 20/14#
Box Jumps - 24/20"

Scaled:
WB - 14/10#
Box Jumps - 24/20"

Standards for movements:
Wallballs - Hip crease below you knees. Wallball will make contact with target set at 10ft for men and 9ft for women.
Box Jump Overs - two feet take off (jump) and two feet land (on top of the box) for both Elite and RX divisions. Jumping off or stepping down will be allowed. Step ups will be allowed in the scaled division only. Both feet have to be on top of the box before stepping down.

In 8 mins I managed to do 6 rounds and 6 reps, which gave me a second place position. It went just as I knew it would. I could go hard with the box jump overs, and take a rest with the wall balls. It was hard. You got to a point where you couldn´t feel your legs anymore.

RX WOMEN AFTER WOD 1

Between workout one and two, we had to do the floater, which was a 500 m row for time. Again, a killer workout, especially after workout one.

WOD 2

The second workout was all about strength.

5 Min to establish: Shoulder to Overhead 3 RM

--Bars will be taken from the racks .
--Press , Push Press, or Push /Split Jerk .
--Feet must be under the hips and full lockout w/control must be shown for all three reps.
--If the bar is dropped on the ground, athlete will be responsible for replacing it in the rack before next attempt.

Here I was trying it out at the gym to know what weight to start out with. Came up to 3x145lbs. I´m happy to say that I did a 10lbs PR (personal record) at the competition. My final score was 150lbs, because I failed the third attempt with 155lbs. I had never gotten 155lbs overhead before, so I was so proud of myself when I achieved it twice :) :). I have been waiting for that 70kg for a long time. This now means that my 1RM must be more then that. I can not wait for those new pr´s ;).

RX WOMEN AFTER WOD 2

Then, workout 3, the one that we all had been "waiting" for. More bar work, which I honestly hate :D. 5 rounds for time. Time cap 15min.

5 Rounds for Time:

12 Power Cleans
9 Front Squats
6 Shoulder to Overhead
*15 minute time cap

Elite: 185/125
RX: 135/95
Scaled: 95/65

--Bars will be taken from the ground.
--For cleans, must be power - no squatting below parallel. Must have elbows under the bar and stand with the bar for the rep to count.
--For the front squats, must squat below parallel.
--Shoulder to Overhead = Press , Push Press, or Push /Split Jerk .
--Feet must be under the hips and full lockout w/control must be shown for all shoulder to overhead reps.

WOD 3

Here you had to be smart. You had to have a clear strategy how to break up the reps so you wouldn´t gas out. For me personally, I knew that I could have done the first round unbroken. After seeing Taylor workout in the first heat, and having her tell me to break up the power cleans, I knew she was right. There was a lot of power cleans which I knew would tire me out. I also knew that I had to go for unbroken front squats and shoulder to overheads. So every round I broke up the power cleans and did the front squats and shoulder to overhead unbroken as I had planned. This paid off really well. I finished first with the time 9:32min :). The workout was still no joke. Everybody had a really hard time finishing it. The boys literally died at the end. LOL! :D Still we´re proud of every one! :)

I was second over all after the three workouts, which took me to the finals. Five of us RX women competed in the last workout. The final workout was announced then and there.

FINAL WOD

3 x 3 Min AMRAP (30sec rest between sets)

3 Min AMRAP 1:

- 400m run 

- Handstand push ups the remaining time

30 sec REST

3 Min AMRAP 2:

- 400m run

- Chest-to-bar pull ups the remaining time

30 sec REST

3 Min AMRAP 3:

- 400m run

- Overhead squats the remaining time 95#

This did not make me excited to be honest. The only thing that made me happy was the handstand push ups, lol. So there was nothing else to do then to go hard on those and try my best on the rest. The first running portion of the workout was already hard. I thought I was going to kill the handstand push ups, but oh my God, they were hard. I got up to 27 reps. The second and third amrap was super hard, especially after a long day of workouts prior. I managed to complete 17 reps of chest-to-bar pull ups and only 7 overhead squats. I was DONE! Thank God it was over! ;) Now it was time to wait for the results.

SCOOOOOOOORE!!!!! ;) ;) ;) 2nd Place!!! 

I can say, I´m a happy girl. I made it to the podium :). My first individual competition in the RX women`s division. Not bad, not bad! :) Events like this just make you hungry for more competitions and drive you to want to get better. Here, you also see where you stand and what needs to be worked on more. For me it´s all about the strength, which I already knew. Still proud of my accomplishment. From here we can only go forward.

Amanda 10th place/12 athletes.

 

Jamison 6th place/9 athletes. Jeremy 8th place/9 athletes.

Our Crossfit Key West family did awesome! <3 We can be proud of our athletes in the Southernmost box! <3 Not only did we do well in Jacksonville, but two of our other athletes also hit podium the weekend before competing in Diesel Fit, Miami!!:)))) CONGRATULATIONS guys one more time!! :)

1st place goes out to Josue!!! :) This didn´t come as a surprise. Josue is an amazing athlete! We are thankful to have him as a friend, inspiration and coach! Congratulations! :)

THANK YOU North Jax Crossfit for a well organized event! You guys did awesome! :) Keep up the great work! Thank you also to the kind judges, and to all the strong athletes we competed side by side against. It was great meeting you all!:) I hope to compete with you another day! :) You are welcome to drop in and work out with us anytime at Crossfit Key West :).

Thank you Josue, Amanda, Jamison, Taylor and Jeremy for a great and fun weekend! You guys ROCK! Til next time! ;)

-Hanna-

P.S. More pictures from the links below.

Pictures

Pictures