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Photography: CrossFit Games

This is a summary of my preparation for and experience at the 2017 East CrossFit Regional in Albany.

I withdrew from the event after the first day of competition. I described that decision in a facebook post here.

Basically, I had symptoms of some sort of systemic incident somewhere on the spectrum of “heat injury.” If you’ve followed my career, you may recall I’ve had episodes like this in the past. Typically after a long endurance event outside in the sun (the “Triple 3” event for example). Of course, the strange and troubling thing is that Regionals was an indoor competition, and the event 1 incident was after 10-20 mins of exercise, not 40.

I felt like in some ways this was my competition to lose (and lose I did!). There was seemingly a lot in my favour this year: The East regional was the first of 3 weekends to compete – as a more technical and adaptable athlete, I believe having less time to practice workouts and new skills gives me an advantage over other competitors.

The programming this year was a very broad test of the 10 General Physical Skills (more direct and obvious challenges to balance, agility, coordination, speed, etc.) which seems to favour my type of fitness. Many of my weaknesses and disliked movements were absent, like rowing and GHD situps.

Mentally, going in, everything seemed to be in place for a successful weekend. I had a solid year of training, using past open workouts to compete against myself on a weekly basis. In preparation for regionals, I used a training template that emphasized compounding muscle fatigue each day, especially in gymnastics movements (for example, assault bike and handstand work in the morning, and then burpees, wallballs and push jerks in the afternoon), which, when the regionals events were revealed, was clearly a successful decision.

In the week before regionals, I reduced my volume, while maintaining intensity in things like assault biking and treadmill running, and selectively practiced my weakest skills in the 6 events.

Indeed, I felt great up until halfway through event 1. My breakfast was large that morning, I got a quick tune up from my chiropractor, and I believe my warmup went very well. I had my final nervous bathroom break after checking in at the athlete corral, and we were off to the races. The treadmill run felt quicker and easier than expected, and I had high hopes for an above-average performance.

Unfortunately, you know the story from there.

So, what now? The first order of business is getting some medical attention. I’ve run a couple blood and urine tests, with some abnormal (but not immediately life-threatening) results – now, the doctors want to do some ultrasound investigation and possibly a muscle biopsy. So, I don’t have any solid answers yet, which can make it difficult to decide what to do day-to-day.

Regardless of my performance or my health status, my season is over. So, the question is, am I going to do this again? Will I plan for a comeback, or will I retire and shift my focus? That decision will be guided by my doctors in the coming weeks.

Until then, my path still seems clear: I can work hard to support my health with nutrition, sleep, and rejuvenating activity. I can enjoy the outdoors. I can think about what I want in my life and my career. And maybe I can do more blogging!

Photography: Oscar Bravo

I have completed the process of redoing every CrossFit Open workout! These are my results and reflections from the 4 workouts of 2016. 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 final four workouts of the #OpenParkerProject really hammered home the importance of focus in my pursuit of excellence.

After 3 painful defeats, I was fairly demoralized. The lunge workout was a particularly souring result. I went into it tired, distracted, and defeated. I’d had a late night beforehand, I had a lot on my plate, and I was blaming other things and other people for my state of mind. During the workout, I did make efforts to refocus and get back in the race. However, I also caught myself thinking, “it’s ok, I’m still getting a good workout.” I certainly was, but it could have been even better!

The clean workout (or rather the toes to bar workout!) was a tough defeat because I did most things well. My game plan was to start relaxed, and then build the attack. In hindsight, I started rather aggressively and then I slowed down in the middle. Regardless, I still got to the heavy 315 bar in time to beat my old score!

Unfortunately, I failed 2 cleans that day, earning only 2 additional good reps. In 2016, I went 3/3. In 2017, I went 2/4. It was a technical fault related to my focus: on the lighter bars, I was thinking, “legs… rack!” To get a quick lift and catch. However, at the heavier bars, this left the load out in front of my body. I needed to adjust my focus to sweep the bar in close and bring it into my hips. This cost me a victory.

The snatch and muscle up workout was just lacklustre. I lost by 3 reps, the final 3 muscle ups of round 10. I could have easily earned that time by transitioning faster and not chalking my hands so much. Partly, I was over-confident that I could win this WOD, but at the same time I was afraid of breaking down and failing in my grip. My lack of aggression and focus to move quickly was definitely related to fatigue at the end of the project, and the absence of an active decision to push harder.

I made that decision on the 55-reps chipper workout, and I’m glad I did. By this final WOD, I was sick with a cold, my sleep was volatile night to night, and I was mentally frustrated at my poor prior performances. Thankfully I had enough willpower left to throw all my energy and focus into one final push. I was desperate to finish the Open Parker Project on a high note, and give myself the gift of a confidence boost before the 2017 CrossFit Open. I wrote up a “pre-race focus plan” the night before, selecting a couple cues for each exercise and a couple thoughts for the workout overall. This helped ground me in my warm-up and give me something to fall back on during hard patches of the WOD.

I ended up with a substantial PR; a good score for me, as well as a good score on the worldwide leaderboard. This, combined with my 14.5/16.5 victory two chapters ago, is evidence that I have made improvements since last year, and that I have what it takes when it counts. I need to believe that it counts for the next 5 weeks of the Open! So, I now have no excuses to not have a solid performance. Wish me luck.

Photography: Oscar Bravo

I have nearly completed the process of redoing every CrossFit Open workout. These are my results and reflections from the 4 workouts of 2015. 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 words of the day are “Volatility,” and “Consistency.”

This 5th and penultimate (penta-ultimate??) chapter of The #OpenParkerProject was volatile in its unfolding. I alternated close, stinging defeats with sound, comforting victories. As I near the end of the project, I notice my energy levels and motivation vacillating in comparison to the steadfast demeanour I held at the project’s inception. In other words, I’m tired, dude.

However, if I zoom out and look at the calendar of weeks and months, this seems like an appropriate time to be “digging deep” into some fatigue, about a month before the commencement of the CrossFit season.

I’m observing that I consistently fall short on workouts that include the following: upper body endurance. Whether it’s the grip and arms in pullups or toes to bar, or the triceps and shoulders in handstand pushups and burpees, these WODs have proven the most difficult to secure a victory. I take this as a sign that I am evolving as an athlete. I have been working on the other qualities that MOST hold me back.

Consider the following: 15.1, the toes to bar/ deadlift/ snatch WOD, was a one-rep defeat. Essentially a tie… At least, probably the closest scores I’ve had during the project. However, the qualitative experience and the observable performances were VERY different. In 2017, I held a very consistent pace: I broke up the toes to bar in the second round, and I did singles on all the snatches. Compare this to 2015, when I came out hot, going unbroken on the snatches long into the workout, and doing big full sets of toes to bar for probably the first 3 rounds.

So, in 2015, I relied on muscular endurance to grab points early in the WOD, and then limped through the final half. In 2017, I paced myself out in a more sustainable way, starting slightly slower, but maintaining a better rate of work at the end of the WOD, and obtaining essentially the same score. The only problem was, I paced it out too much. I was playing to remain comfortable, not playing to win. The lesson here is that I now have options: I could have (should have, would have…) done “unbroken” snatches on at least a few rounds. I could have cycled some reps faster, maybe transitioned more quickly. In 2015, I had only one option: play to survive.

If I play that card now, it will certainly hurt, but my tools and capacity are developed enough that I will be rewarded. This observation is consistent with my result on 15. 3, the muscle up/ wallball/ double under WOD. It required 14 minutes of skilled capacity, and I can safely say I gave it my all. I tried to go as fast as I could on every exercise, every round – and my body rose to the challenge (and paid the price afterwards!).

I had 1-2 key focus cues for each exercise, and I was able to keep my mind on these to get me through the pain of the workout. I pushed hard in the final minutes of the workout, urgent to get to the next exercise and win more points. I couldn’t walk properly for the rest of the day. This is the approach and effort that I want to maintain CONSISTENTLY during the 2017 CrossFit Open.

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!

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 2013. 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 theme of this chapter of The Open Parker Project is “Focus.”

I suffered one defeat, falling short of my old score by 4 reps on workout 13.2 (I did not know my score going into it.) I distinctly remember being very distracted during this WOD. Here are some of the things I was thinking about:

• The music is too loud
• It’s almost Christmas!
• I am beating Lindsay
• Lindsay beat me on this workout in 2013, so if I’m ahead of her, I must be doing well.
• I wonder if the push-press will start hurting

– And all sorts of other thoughts that were not contributing to a successful effort.

In contrast, I reigned in my focus for 13.5 and saw an improvement in my performance.

• I decided to move slow and steady for the first half
• I focused on a quick, solid rack position for each thruster rep
• I monitored my breathing and tried to find a good rhythm.

When I compare these two lists, it is clear which is better. Regardless of the content of the thoughts for 13.5 (the victory), the overall focus was internal: I was thinking about things directly related to my movement, my positions, and my pace.

Reflecting on 13.2 (the defeat), the overall focus of my thoughts was external. I was thinking about things that had NO direct influence on my score at the end of the day. I was evaluating my pace based on another athlete, and I was letting the environment seep through the filter of my focus.

The salient lesson here is that I can choose to think about things that will help me perform better. I want to be an infallible firewall of willpower. I want to be a sturdy dike of determination.

Coming up next: WODs from the 2014 CrossFit Open!