The Open Parker Project: 2014

Photography: Oscar Bravo

I am in the process of redoing every CrossFit Open workout. These are my results and reflections from the 4 workouts of 2014. To learn more about the #OpenParkerProject, read this blog post.

I’ll start by detailing my results for each workout. I’ll list some things I did well, and some things I want to improve on next time. Afterwards, I’ll summarize my learning experience for this leg of the Open Parker Project.

Reminder: on some weeks, I checked my historical score, while on other weeks, I went in blind, not knowing what number I had to beat.

The first thing I noted while reflecting on this chapter of The Open Parker Project was that all my efforts were victorious.

Some by a narrow magnitude (only 2 reps on the squat/pullup WOD), and others by a larger margin ( over 40 seconds worth of extra time on the deadlift workout. I loaded up the plates for 365 but unfortunately hit the time cap before I could lock out my rep!).

Most notably, two of the workouts in the 2014 season were repeated in future seasons: the squat/pullup WOD resurfaced in 2015, and the dreaded thruster/burpee WOD served as the finale to the 2016 Open. What a treat! In this regard, the 2014 season stands as the richest pool of data to pull from.

I want to focus in particular on 14.5 here. I had the option of only racing my score of 10:25 achieved in 2014; after all, I am currently focused on that season’s string of challenges. However, I knew inside that if I only surpassed 10:25, and fell short of my far superior 9:11, I would be disappointed in myself for possibly holding back and not chasing my full potential.

I set a goal for myself of finishing under 9:00. In order to achieve that, I would need to focus on the following: “rack and shove” was my cue for the thruster. To stay efficient, I want to place the bar quickly and fully on my shoulders in the rack position – I don’t want to let my elbows drop and slide the bar down my chest; then, I want to shove it overhead with help from my whole body. For the burpees, I wanted to focus on “deadlift and bench press.” This is something I teach in my workshops – hinge up and down like a deadlift, and bounce of the floor like a bench press.

For me to go even faster in this workout, I will need to shave a couple seconds off of my transitions, and maintain  a slightly faster pace on the burpees. In particular, the round of 12 and 9 really got me here. OUCH!