Fittest On Earth

The Games

The CrossFit Games is the Olympics of the CrossFit world, where arguably the fittest athletes in the world compete each July to be crowned the “fittest man/woman” alive. They must first, however, qualify at Regionals in one of the 18 Regions across the globe. But, to complete at Regionals, you must first qualify in the Open, five workouts released across five weeks. THIS is Week 4! Source

Live Announcement 18.4

This week's Live Announcement of 18.4 can be viewed on YouTube by clicking below:

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In this Live Open Announcement two consistent Crossfit stars, Scott Panchik and Bjurgvin Karl Gudmundsson (a.k.a. BKG) went head-to-head.

This was an evenly matched face-off with Panchik placing in the top 6 for the last five years at the Crossfit Games and BKG never lower than top 10, after a slow start in his rookie year in 2014.

BKG has aspirations of being the first European male on the podium since 2009’s champion, Miko Salo. While Panchik holds the title for competing in the most Live Open Announcements of any male athletes; however, standing on the podium of the Crossfit Games eludes him as well.

Both of these athletes showed they have what it takes in the high-skill, heavy workout. But, Panchik’s pacing and strength down the stretch, never hesitating in the Handstand walk, positioned him solidly ahead of BKG in this matchup.

Catch Up

Hopefully, you’ve read the previous weeks’ posts, introducing the CrossFit Open and 18.1, 18.2 as well as 18.3. If not, you absolutely don’t want to miss the FINAL Live Announcement of the 2018 Open on Facebook this Thursday night at 7:00 CST. It will be EPIC, with the “Dottir’s” in a three-way showdown! Then, follow up with my Results post on this blog to see how I ended up faring.

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Follow Along

Personally, 18.1 and 18.2 were not strong performances for me, which you can read about in my Week 1 Results and Week 2 Results. Week 3 allowed me to hold steady, which you can check out here.

18.4

The Workout

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What The What?

Let me decipher...18.4 is a combination of a benchmark workout called Diane (one of the Girl WODs Crossfit is famous for) and a second workout involving a never-before-seen-in-the-Open movement—the Handstand Walk!

Here’s how it works, you have 9 minutes to complete 21 Deadlifts (DL), 21 Handstand Push-ups (HSPU), 15 DL, 15 HSPU, 9 DL, 9 HSPU. THEN, with a heavier bar complete 21 DL, a 50’ Handstand Walk, 15 DL, a 50’ Handstand Walk, 9 DL and one last 50’ Handstand Walk.

Movement Standards

This demo video from YouTube, clearly explains the movement standards and gives you a visual of what the workout should look like:

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Complaints

There was a new standard for the HSPU this year that caused a lot of grumbling. If you train with this standard of excellence in your HSPU, it was not a problem at all. However, many folks had to adjust their hand placement, keep an active shoulder, and stay lengthened through the spine to achieve the standard—things they were not accustomed to and which held them back.

My Results

I was one such athlete. My grip width was too wide, making each repetition a huge struggle to achieve the standard. I was only able to eek out 10 HSPU before the cap. It truly makes you appreciate the level of Fitness the top-tier Crossfitters attain.

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Photo used with permission of Gavin Grote

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Although my performance was NOT one for the record books, it did allow me to move up the leaderboard. It looks like the new standard wreaked havoc on more than just me.

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I hope you'll continue to follow along as I share the final weeks workout and my results...and see where I finish 2018 on the leaderboard!


Thanks,
Coach JJ


All information was sourced from this Crossfit video

Hi Friends! Thanks For Reading!

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Hi! My name is Coach JJ and I've been coaching and inspiring athletes to better health and fitness for over five years! I'm a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer at CrossFit Edwardsville in Edwardsville, IL, USA. But, my vision is to bring together the Fitness Community on Steemit in order to have a greater impact on improving the health and fitness of our fellow Steemians.

I'm also a mother of two teens and a self-defined “spicy, sassy Christ-follower” who posts about my personal journey, but loves all those on any journey. Feel free to check out my intro post, get inspired on your fitness journey, or ponder on my faith-based posts. If any of this connects with you, follow me and say Hello!

Happy Steeming,
Coach JJ

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