Open 18.2 at CrossFit MadMan
Workout Open 18.2 was about legs and saving the engine. It had two parts and all the movements were thigh and hip dominant:
18.2
In 12 minutes time cap:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 reps for time of:
Dumbbell squats
Bar-facing burpees
Men used 50 lb (22.5 kg dumbbells), women used 35 lb (15 kg)
18.2 a
1-rep max clean
Big guys were happy that there is no gymnastic skill involved and they were looking to shine in the second part, potentially hitting new PRs in the clean. Not so fast! The couplet was ascending, which required mental preparation and saving the engine. Hitting the lactate threshold can significantly affect the clean performance. On the other hand, adrenaline makes us less sensitive to pain and discomfort. It reminded me of the heroic stories, when the main character is exhausted by the struggle and yet in the end he manages to lift a heavy rock or fight the decisive battle.
CrossFit at MadMad
I did the workout in Brno, Czech Republic, at CrossFit MadMan affiliate. It was opened last year by Michal Merganič. Michal started with CrossFit in 2013. Since he has established himself as an athlete – winning the Fittest in Czech Republic in 2016 – and a CrossFit coach. For a few months, he worked as a firefighter.
MadMan is located in a garage-ish building on the outskirts of Brno. The session was opened by tactics and movement breakdown. One tiny CrossFitter, for whom there is no category and who would require special scaling, came up to the bar with the intention to climb across, demonstrating and over-the-bar burpee.
Legs are burning
Time cap for the whole workout was 12 minutes, which opened some space for tactics. I am a kind of endurance type, so I did not rush too much with the couplet, taking 5-10 seconds rests between each round of 7, 8, 9 and 10.
The squats were exhausting for the thighs and I knew that they will affect the clean performance. I opened at 80 kg, which I cleaned easily – although I felt burning in my thighs and standing up from the squat was painful.
Immediately I went on to 85 and upon standing up prepared 90 kg for my final attempt. I started lifting 15 second to the time cap, completing the lift successfully. Honestly, true test of strength of power would be if the clean came first in the workout. This combination tests the ability to generate power through fatigue.
Battle of the coaches
The heat that followed witnessed a battle between two coaches from CrossFit MadMan. Michal and Martin Kadlec. Here is the video from the last round of tens and a video of the last attempts on the cleans follows. Michal cleaned 120 kg, Martin succeeded with 130 kg. Nice numbers.
For me, 18.2 proved that I have improved my weightlifting technique and that I have a good recovery ability. However, I should improve in short, intensive workouts, which also requires better carb loading before the performance.
The post Open 18.2 Recap: Ascending Pain and Power Under Fatigue appeared first on BOXROX.