Impact The Pack

The Mill:  Some days you get the bear and some days the bear gets you.

Well, the bear was starving.

First of all a big shout out to Crossfit FBO/212 Degrees of Fitness who hosted the The Garage Games, and congrats to all the winners and competitors.  This was my first Crossfit competition, well it was my first competition of its kind.  To put it nicely, I struggled.  To tell the truth, I busted my ass and got my ass kicked.  Think of Happy Gilmore at his first PGA tournament, pitching against Albert Pujols, hitting against Justin Verlander or playing one-on-one against LeBron James.  Well, that's what this competition was like for me.  We sure as hell competed, though.  We, as in my brother and I.  We elected to compete in the RX division knowing that it was going to be crazy hard.  We now know that it was really crazy hard, but we competed the whole way through, and I'll take that any day of the week.  

I struggled out of the gate with the handstand push ups (the horse turd).  Not making any excuses, but I've never gone all the way to the ground before probably because of some mental thing I had going on.  I always stop when I hit a pad about 2 inches off the ground.  An extra 2 inches was the deal breaker.  I rattled off 2 quick ones, knocked out the the overhead squats, got 2 quick handstands then rattled off about 20 no rep variations of handstands (judges were awesome too).  I needed 4 (to keep moving in the workout).  I got 3 (in 6 minutes).  Need I say more.  The experience was awesome.  The people were awesome.  The athletes were awesome.  

As I mentioned in previous posts, I knew I would struggle.  Doing 3 workouts in a day was brutally awesome.  The deadlifts were painfully successful, and the last WOD I was spent.  The deadlifts left my leg a bloody mess, but I enjoyed every rep.  The no rep after no rep of handstands really wore on me.  Nah, I'm just playing.  But tired, I was.  Nevertheless finishing the last WOD under the cap became unrealistic, and finishing each rep was the new goal.  That should have been my mindset from the beginning instead of taking it as a whole and thinking ahead.  My mistakes were evident and my weaknesses were glaring  You definitely see a difference in being coached and coaching yourself.  From technique to rhythm of each WOD the coaching tips were prominent.  The benefits of a coach and a gym for sure.    

With all that said the competition was a great experience.  It left me wanting more, pushing harder, and making new goals.  The atmosphere of a Crossfit FBO was incredible.  After working out by myself for as long as I can remember, and having people watching, cheering, and helping was really something.  Something I can't quite put my finger on.  I know I have been craving that excitement since my brother and I pulled out of the parking lot.  I spent the drive home thinking of the next competition we could get into, and training harder, better, and smarter.  It would be awesome to workout in a gym like that everyday, and train with bumper plates and heavy weight without worrying about dropping it on the floor.  I also spent the drive home trying not to cramp up or fall asleep.

The atmosphere at Crossfit FBO presented by everyone involved was outstanding.  I want to compete. I was missing the edge in the workouts before and this general ass kicking was just what I needed to try and take my workouts to the next level (after my body heals for sure). Compete to get better everyday.  

I'm going to scour the web for upcoming ass kicking competitions.  Time to take it to the next level at the Hammer Mill.  I forgot what competition feels like even it means getting whooped.  The preparation and execution is what it all about now.  Get your mind right.  

Congrats, again, to all the winners and competitors, and thanks to everyone for making it a great experience.   

You can see in the picture below that my hand was still in the claw from the hanging squat cleans. 

My brother Joe and I after the Garage Games.  It was a lot of fun doing this with Joe.    

Garage Games WOD

6/2

8 minute ladder

2hspus

2OHS, 115lbs

3hspus

AMRAP in 3 minutes

17, 315lb deadlift 

7 minute cap

600 m row

27 hang squat cleans, 95lbs

30 hang squat cleans

30 wall balls

Crossfit FBO/212 Degrees of Fitness

Tap into that work ethic.  Make an impact.