First by Rich Froning

Author:Rich Froning
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781414386805
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2013-07-01T04:00:00+00:00

AIR SQUAT

Often just called a “squat” (squatting down so the crease of your hip is below your knee, then standing back up), an air squat is performed without any weight other than your own body. A squat done with weight is either a front squat or a back squat. A front squat is performed while holding a barbell in front of your shoulders in rack position; a back squat is performed with a barbell resting on your shoulders behind the neck.

Climbing the Hill

After the women completed their opening event at the beach, we were bused directly to the Home Depot Center to await the second event. Unlike in 2010, we were told what each event would be about an hour beforehand.

Having experienced both methods, I still haven’t decided whether I prefer to know the events ahead of time or not.

When I know what an event will be, I can look ahead to which movements might give me the most trouble and identify places where my strengths might allow me the opportunity to make up time or reps. So much strategy and so many small things go into completing a CrossFit workout. Sometimes it’s helpful to plan the details ahead of time, like at what point you’ll be able to stop to catch your breath. So in that regard, it is good to have advance notice of what you’ll be doing.

On the other hand, I feel like I’m well prepared for the unknown (despite what happened with the rope in 2010). The unknown is a tough competitor. It’s not a very forgiving one sometimes, but because of the challenge it brings, the unknown also can add an element of fun.

Fortunately I don’t have to decide whether I prefer to know ahead of time or not, because Dave Castro isn’t going to ask for my preference!

The second event, we were told, would be a three-part skills test at the track-and-field venue: L-sit for maximum time, softball toss for distance, and handstand walk for distance.

Out at the L-sit, I noticed other guys not wearing shoes. I was. Why aren’t they? I asked myself. It wasn’t long before I found out.

The L-sit is a gymnastics move that requires you to hold on to low parallel bars (called parallettes) and lift yourself so your legs are parallel to the ground, forming an L. For our event, weight plates were placed under our feet, and we had to hold our pose for as long as we could before our abs gave out and our feet touched the plates.

What I didn’t realize until too late was that those who weren’t wearing shoes gave themselves an extra inch or two of clearance between their heels and the plates. When you’re holding that pose and your abs, triceps, and hips are beginning to burn, that inch or two becomes huge. I know I could have used that little bit of extra space, because my time was forty seconds—not as good as I had hoped. I tied for eleventh.

Here we go again.

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