As Scott Panchik faces Josh Bridges in the 15.4 Live Announcement, I wonder if ALL CrossFit elites are good-looking, or whether that’s just a rule Castro enforces for those doing live announcements.
Here’s what I notice…
At 5’9, Scott is taller than many elite CrossFit athletes. He is also not very “big” in a traditional huge muscles way. Instead, he looks both fast and strong – a very well rounded athlete. I think he’d be really good at obstacle racing. Not the Ultra Beast-type long distance events, but the Sprints? Absolutely.
In the interview before the workout is announced, Scott says he is “looking to make a statement this year”. Josh Bridges says he likes to win more than he likes to breathe. My computer screen is dripping with testosterone. Someone give me a phone book I can rip in half.
I am way more competitive than your average bunny, yet the whole I-want-to-make-a-statement attitude is a bit tiring. Perhaps, it’s a prerequisite of performing on such a high level? Do you have to have a statement to make?
It reminds me of this song – one of my favorites for a workout:
Great tune for a workout, but also kind of depressing. Where is the contentment? [I am in quite a mood today, can you tell? lol]
So, here’s what I will be attempting this weekend:
Some notes from the live announcement:
The guys were dropping the cleans from the first rep. This will be just heavy enough to warrant squat cleans for some (read me). If you are on the stronger side, still don't go all Rambo on this one.
The rep ranges will not be nearly as high for this workout - you'd be a beast to get into the 50s (compare that with hundreds and hundreds of reps from 15.3).
With handstand push-ups, if you have the luxury of doing either strict OR kipping, kipping really served Panchik well - he went nice and slow, and kipped from the very beginning. Bridges definitely did want to win more than he wanted to breathe. Guess what? You need to breathe to win. Go figure.
The standard is new for handstand push-ups - you'd do well to try some of these, and see what the hell it even feels like to be using a line on the wall as compared to simply using the arm lockout as a guideline. Bridges got no-repped for this one many times.
Muscle fatigue will set in way before you'd burn out metabolically - in human language, that simply means that you may simply not be able to do a single handstand push-up any more as your arms would be fried.
Nicole Carroll continues to piss me off with gems of wisdom like "play smart", "seize efficiencies" and "kip these suckers right out of the gate". I have to stop myself from making a blonde joke. I know, I know...
My question is whether I'd be able to learn HSPU between now and Monday. After tearing cartilage in my wrist two years ago, this was something I shied away from. It's definitely not as hopeless as muscle-ups, but scaled 15.4 may still be in my future. As Nicole would say, "dig in and go get'em". #eyeroll YOUR TURN: What's your prediction for 15.5? The word on the street is that we will see thrusters. And burpees. Together. Hugs, SOLO