the gorilla takeover

This weekend was the second annual of The Gorilla Takeover competition that my gym, CrossFit Stumptown, and CrossFit Mt. Hood hosts. This time around I didn't volunteer or compete, but instead was there to cheer on Aaron, and his partner, Matt. They competed in the men's scaled team division and came in third at the end. It was an incredible experience to be a part of. I am unbelievably proud of these two guys on how hard they worked. 

We had quite a few members from CFST that competed and they all fought real hard through those tough WODs. I'm so absolutely proud of all of you: Kay, Zoe, Chris, Jenna, Angel, Joe, Adam, Austin, Chris, and of course Aaron and Matt. You all should be so very proud of yourselves!!

It was fun to see how very different each competitor was within a division, and than the differences between a scaled and rx division. There were plenty of new competitors but also a great deal of those who have been around the block. Some were stronger than others and some were fast than others. But the one consistent thing you witnessed was the sheer determination they all had to keep pushing through the suck. Whether it was the AirFit, the burpees, or the farmer carries. No one simply gave up, they worked until the work was to be completed or the time stopped them. And it still surprises me to see other competitors stick around to cheer on their very own competition. This is most definitely a community of people who understands what hard work and effort is and isn't afraid to share in the pain and pleasure of it all.

I am a proud member of the CrossFit community and look forward to my future with it.

This photo was taken from The Gorilla Takeover FB page.

the gorilla takeover wod experience

So as you may have read previously, I volunteered over the weekend at the Gorilla Takeover that my box and another box hosted at the Portland Expo Center. During my time there I was able to watch all the WODs that the athletes had to compete in. Let's just say I did not envy them, but somewhere in the back of my head a thought popped up that maybe our coaches would torture the rest of us with the same WODs. Come Monday things at my box went back to normal and our WOD for the day was Cindy, AMRAP in 20 minutes of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats. I breathed a sigh of relief, and busted out 11 rounds, 5 pull-ups and 3 push-ups (I progressed since the last time I did it). My relief was short lived though, coming in Tuesday evening I found that we were going to experience WOD #1 from the Takeover. And it didn't end there, Wednesday we also experienced WOD #3. Needless to say, between these two days, my body is sore and I believe I'm feeling new muscles again!

The Gorilla Takeover WOD #1
500 meter row then...
21-15-9
Thrusters 95/65
Box Jumps 24/20
(TC 10:00)

The Gorilla Takeover WOD #3
4RFT
10 Alt KB Snatches 53/35
25 Yard Farmers Carry 140/100
2 Rope Climbs 15'
25 Yard Farmers Carry 140/100
(TC 10:00)

Scaled Version of WOD #3
4RFT
10 KB Swings 53/35
25 Yard Farmers Carry 100/80
2 Rope Climbs 15' or 8 Mod Rope Climbs
25 Yard Farmers Carry 100/80
(TC 10:00)

For the first WOD, I modified the thrusters and did push presses at 55# instead due to knee pain. And I did step ups instead of jumping. I finished in 10:30. For the third WOD I did the scaled version with the modified rope climbs and for the first time did my KB swings with 35#. I finished in 14:12. I am unable to raise my arms over my head. I feel wimpy and like a beast all in one! Unfortunately because my arms feel pretty worthless, I will not be attending today's class. And I'll be completely honest, I'm ok with missing WOD #4!

The Gorilla Takeover WOD #4
60 Double Unders
50 Wall Balls (10'/9') 20/14
40 Burpees
30 Weighted Sit-ups 20/14
20 Alt Pistol Squats
10 Handstand Push-ups
20 Alt Pistol Squats
30 Weighted Sit-ups 20/14
40 Burpees
50 Wall Balls (10'/9') 20/14
60 Double Unders
(TC 25:00)

So now having the opportunity to experience what the athletes did this past weekend gives me a whole new appreciation for what some people can do. Our bodies are so capable of amazing things, with the right training, nutrition, and mental preparedness... we can achieve anything. This whole experience solidifies my effort in my sugar challenge. Because if I want to be able to do what these athletes did by next year, I have to be on top of my game.

This photo was found on Pinterest.

the gorilla takeover

This past weekend Aaron and I volunteered at The Gorilla Takeover, a CrossFit competition hosted by CrossFit Stumptown and CrossFit Mt. Hood. It was open to Scaled and RX, as well as Teams and Individuals. The closest thing to a competition I had ever seen was this past summer when I watched the CrossFit Games on ESPN. It was exciting to watch that, but I have been continuously told that it is a much different experience being at a competition. One of my coaches at Stumptown had commented one evening leading up to this past weekend that after witnessing a competition like this, most people who never competed will get a bug to want to compete. Now I understand what he means... but more on that later.

Several of the athletes at the Gorilla Takeover were from my box. I was excited to be able to support them as they competed. Watching many of the athletes from all over the Pacific Northwest was a lot of fun. What surprised me the most was seeing athletes of ALL ages and sizes. What I mean is, we had athletes as young as their early 20's up to 40+, and not all of them were toned and ripped. It goes to show you, anyone can do CrossFit, and not everyone's goal is to have a rock solid body. The goal is to be healthy and fit- and that comes in all shapes and sizes.

Carly from CrossFit Stumptown

The competition was a 2 day event. The first day consisted of WOD 1 - 3. The second day consisted of WOD 4 and then the Final WOD. All teams and individuals did WOD 1 - 4, and then the Top 10 in every division made it to the Final WOD. The first day I did a lot of running around, assisted with moving equipment around in between WOD's. For one WOD we literally had to move 25# and 45# weights back and forth between every Heat, there were over 10 Heats! Needless to say, I got a workout in without even thinking about it. We arrived close to 8 am and didn't leave until a little after 5:30 pm. The second day I didn't run around as much as the previous day, which was good, I was exhausted. It gave me more time to sit amongst the other volunteers and guests and watch the athletes compete. Some  would finish the WOD's efficiently and with very little struggle, and others struggled, some didn't finish. The one thing I noticed though, no one gave up! It didn't matter that they still had 10 more Wall Ball's before moving on to 80 Doubleunders in less than 2 minutes. Even when an athlete knew he or she wasn't going to finish before the time cap expired, they kept going until the buzzer rang. That is some dedication. What was even more inspiring to witness,  was when one athlete was left, all the others that had finished would surround him and her and motivate said athlete to keep going. There are NO egos in the CrossFit world. There is no mentality that "I am better than you." It's a community of people who care about each other, and will help each other to push when we feel like we have no more to give. Many of the men and women this weekend PR'd in their Deadlifts, they fed off the energy that surrounded them. To see the excitement of the crowd cheering on the athletes as they did incredible things- oh how inspiring it was to be there and to share in the moments!

Going back to what I stated earlier about competing. The bug bit me. I definitely became inspired and motivated to prepare myself for a future competition...