Front Range CrossFit | Denver's leader in fitness, strength & conditioning

Workout #4

2 rounds for time of:

500 meter row
10 burpees
20 kettlebell snatches, 24 kg (16 kg) each hand
30 ball slams, 45 lbs (30 lbs)

Modified weights
men - 16 kg kettlebell, 30 lb slam ball
women - 12 kg kettlebell, 20 lb slam ball

The athlete will start on the rower and progress through the workout in the order listed.  The listed number of reps must be completed before moving on to the next exercise.  There is no time cut-off, but please use the the modified weight option if you think this workout  will take you longer than 18 minutes if you do the prescribed weight.

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision.  The ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organizational objectives.  It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." 
~Andrew Carnegie

Agility and Mobility Workout

The A&M workout will be taking a field trip to Cook Park to work on sprint mechanics, so please bring cleats if you have them.  My recomendation is to do the 4:30 CF workout and then drive over to Cook Park.  If you can't make it to the gym to do the 4:30 workout, get there as soon as you can and do a THOROUGH warmup.  We are going to need everyone really warmed up before we start sprinting.

CO Open Workout #2

6 rounds for time of:

7 power cleans, 165 lbs (105 lbs)
150 meter run

Modified weight #1
135 lbs for men
85 lbs for women

Modified weight #2
105 lbs for the men
65 lbs for the women

You will start at your barbell, do 7 power cleans and then run out on the 150 meter course.  You will repeat this for a total of 6 rounds.  Your time will stop when you run back into the gym and touch your barbell.

"Cooperation is the thorough conviction that nobody can get there unless everybody gets there."
- Virginia Burden

The Colorado Open Shout-Out

What a great weekend.  One of the coolest things about the Open is the fact that you don’t have to be a fire-breather to compete.  Yes, some of the best CrossFitters in the area compete.  But for many of the athletes, the Open is the first time that they have experienced the rigors of CrossFit outside their home gym.  And for most of them, it is both exhilarating and terrifying.

It is always fun to watch Jasmine, KO, Nate and Matt push the envelope of what is possible.  But for me, some of the most intense moments take place in the earlier heats, when a newer athlete is trying to beat the cut-off time.  It is in that moment, when the athlete is straining with every fiber of their being to finish the task at hand, that some of the most powerful moments of CrossFit occur.  We had many of those moments happen this weekend.

None of these memorable moments could happen without the passion and energy that the volunteers pour into the event.  Without their commitment, none of it is possible. 

I would like to mention some of them now.  If any of the competitors would like to call-out anyone in particular, this post is the one to do that.

Karen D did the signs, stickers, awards, hang-out space and data entry for the scoring system.
Ron W, from CrossFit HQ, allowed us to use his awesome scoring system and oversaw its use all weekend.
Molly (Brad and Skip’s Mom) helped with registration Friday night, did all of Sunday’s heat cards and ran the Heat Check-in booth with Melissa and Mick.
Karen K did all of the heat cards for Saturday.
Bradley led the set-up and tear-down crew and did untold jobs during the event, all while competing as an athlete.
The T-Shirt Booth Girls: Yorkie, Dre, Shaira and Lulu.
The Registration Team of: Gayle, Amanda, Melissa, Rachel, Stephanie, Dana, Julie and many more.
Big Jon wrote two awesome articles.
JT and Wenke shot over 2500 pictures.
Betsy ran around like crazy keeping the recovery tent stocked with ice and water.
Scott and Jake kept the warm-up room under control.
Roeper ran Operations.
Mark B led the parking crew.
Ryan S led the pit crew team of: Burns, Larry, Tom T, Davis and Tim J.  This group did an awesome job all weekend making sure each athlete had the correct equipment for each workout.
Cori led an unbelievable Judging Team of: Cho, Roberto, John M, Dan, Patrick, Scuba, Tao, Kevin O, Stacy, Lynn Z, Nate W, Powell, Chris, Amanda, Whitney and Roeper.
And everyone who stayed after the event was over and helped put the gym back together.  That was much appreciated.

Jodi and I would like to thank everyone that volunteered.  Every one of you did an amazing job this weekend.  It was an incredible team effort.  By how many appreciative emails we have received, the entire Colorado CrossFit Community agrees.

We will see you all next year.

You know the drill.

Workout #1

3 minutes of back squats, 225 lbs (145 lbs)
3 minutes of pullups

You will have 3 minutes to do as many reps of back squat as possible.  You can re-rack the barbell as often as you wish.  When the 3 minutes are up, you must move immediately to the pullup bar and you will have 3 minutes to do as many pullups as you can.  The pullups can be performed in as many sets as you wish.  Your score is the total number of both exercises. 

"The nice thing about teamwork is you always have others by your side."
- Margaret Carty

Colorado Open Photos

The photos from The Colorado Open are done.  These are high resolution images that you can download from Photo Bucket to your computer.  You can go here to view them.  Enjoy.

We have another installment from Big Jon Kissick.

The Colorado Open – Day 2

The sun was out, and at 9am the asphalt out behind Front Range CrossFit was hot. This may have been a benefit in warming and loosening up some tired and sore bodies.  None the less once the count down ended for the first heat, the bodies, and tires began flying.

Men were flipping 500 lb tires 5 times, sprinting 50 meters out and then back (100 meter total), then flipping the tire 5 more times; women sprinted the same distances but flipped “only” 350 lb tires.  The event seemed to be a crowd favorite, a chance to see top flight CrossFit athletes in a sprint event that wasn’t a single rep max lift.  Heat #13 saw Josh Stavnes of CrossFit Flex Gym post the first sub-40 second time, and in Heat #15 Melody Resetarits of FRCF was the first woman to break 50 seconds.  The judging, as with all the events, was consistent and strict and a few athletes had to be called back for not crossing the 50m turn line or for not doing double foot jumps in and out of the tires; heart breaking reminders of the cost of consistency.

The top three finishers in the women’s workout all came from FRCF. Jasmine Dever, Kristen Olson and Melody Resetarits finished 1, 2 & 3 respectively.  In the men’s workout Luke Lazzo of FRCF had the fastest time of the day, 36.75.  Matt Hathcock of CrossFit Unbroken and Josh Stavnes of CrossFit Flex Gym came in second and third.

After a brief break the competition went back inside for the final workout of the day, a two round medley of rowing, burpees, kettlebell snatches and ball slams.  The early woman’s heats had many athletes battling to find their rhythm with kettlebells and ball slams while trying to beat the 18 minute cut off.  But like sharks smelling blood in the water, these athletes raced to what they knew was the final finish line of the weekend. 

In heat #5 Karen Waeschle of CrossFit Thin Air put on a clinic in the efficient movement of a kettlebell and came in with what ended up being the 4^th fastest time of the workout.  The final heat saw the fastest times of the workout. Jasmine Dever and Kristen Olson of FRCF went 1 and 2 for the event. Louisa Berky also of FRCF posted the third fastest time in the 6^th heat, 11:40. 

With these times the top women finishers for the 2010 Colorado Open are:

Congratulations Ladies!

For the complete women's results click here.

From the women’s final we went straight into the men’s final workout.  Again the challenge became finishing this volume of work in the allotted 18 minutes.  In heat # 2 the unofficial “Most Inspirational Athlete” of the event, Kevin Wu of FRCF, started the workout.  When you weigh 127 lbs, a 24 kg kettlebell and a 45 lb ball slam make up a significant percentage of your bodyweight.  When WuDaMan choose to use those weights for his workout, several athletes were overheard saying, "Well, there goes any excuse I have of not doing workouts as prescribed." The crowd was on their feet the entire second half of his workout which ended 3 ball slams into his final 30.  Rudyard Kipling once hypothesized that both victory and defeat are imposters, but everyone in the gym, for that workout, knew what they had seen was extraordinary.

Extraordinary accomplishments of an individual and collective nature continued to roll through the afternoon.  The men’s final heat took off at a blistering pace which was necessary to pass Josh Steger of FRCF time of 11 minutes from Heat #7.  The pace didn’t drop off and remained neck and neck to the end.  Even so, only Matt Hathcock of CrossFit Unbroken and Matt Johnson of MBS CrossFit managed to beat Josh’s time. 

With those final workout times the men’s standings for the 2010 Colorado Open are: 

Congrats Gentlemen!

For the complete men's results click here.

Awards were handed out to the top three finishers and as the Colorado Open wrapped up more fellowship was shared by competitors and supporters alike. 

We hope you all had a fantastic weekend!  Stay fit, and see you again in one year.

We have a report from our roving correspondent, Big Jon Kissick.  Here is what he writes about the day.

The Colorado Open

Over 9,500 square feet of space + 62 Olympic bars + 8,500 lbs in bumper plates + pull up space for 36 athletes + 180 athletes + 2 known and 2 unknown workouts; all ingredients for some creative approaches to athletic problem solving and a direct but non-linear path to finding out who’s got “It” as a CrossFitter.

The 2010 Colorado Open began with an introduction to the day’s events, clarification of the judging criteria and LeAnn Rimes’ acappella version of the Star Spangled Banner. 

This was followed immediately by Workout #1, which consisted of 3 minutes of max back squat reps (225 lbs, 145 lbs.) followed immediately by 3 minutes of max rep chin-over-the-bar pull-ups. 

The women’s heats started off at a blistering pace until the first re-rack of the squat weight and then quickly settled into a grinding pace.  In the women’s first workout 3 athletes decided to pass on the squat portion of the workout and focus exclusively on the pull-ups.  Natalie McLain of CrossFit Red, who finished this workout in fifth overall, battled with over-bodyweight squats.  Another undersized powerhouse was Megan John of CF Manhattan Kansas who finished tied for first with Domoni Alexander of CrossFit Verve with a rep count of 94. Second and third place in the morning heats were captured by Jasmine Dever and Kristin Olson of FRCF.     

The men’s heats started right after the last women’s heat and saw an immediate drop in the squat rep pace.  Apparently, 225lb back squats at 10 in the morning is about the same as a strong cup of coffee and a 2x4 to the glutes.  Never the less, Sam Matthews of CrossFit Red set an awe-inspiring pace with his squats in heat 2. 

Heat 4 saw the most striking CrossFit contrast when Jerome Gardner of Crossfit Red, one of the larger men in the Open, and Kevin Wu of FRCF, the lightest man in the Open, traded strategies.  Kevin's 8 squats and 75 pull-ups exactly equaled Jerome's 40 squats and 43 pull ups.  Over 100 lbs difference in body mass and identical scores for the workout. 

At the end of the first workout Nate Beard of CrossFit Red and Kevin Montoya of CrossFit Flex Gym were tied for first with 105 reps, Matt Hathcock of CrossFit Unbroken is in second and Dan Finck of CrossFit Castle Rock is in third.

The women’s second workout went off right on time.  But either the heat, the morning’s workout, or the demands of this second workout caught up with some of the athletes and several were having to sprint to beat the 12 minute cut off time.  Workout #2 consisted of 6 rounds of 7 power cleans (165 lbs, 105 lbs) followed by a 150 meter run.

The crowd went ballistic when Cheri Mcalister of CrossFit Defy, a first time CrossFit competitor, stepped it up around the final corner of the run course to clock in at 11:59:54.  In the final woman’s heat of the day, the uniquely CrossFit occurance of athletes who have finished a workout staying around to cheer on the other competitors, happened.  In this last heat a few athletes even ran the final lap cheering on their sprinting competitor.    

The top three finishers in the second women’s workout were Jasmine Dever, Kristen Olson and Shannan Simpson, all of FRCF. 

The men’s clean/run workout started without a hitch, with temperatures on the run course at 91 degrees and the temperature inside the gym approaching triple digits.  Still there remained 100+ spectators for every heat.  The warm-up gym next to the competition spaces is filled with athletes and families preparing or recovering, and the road out back is lined with team shade tents, and vendor booths.  All and all a happening of well over 500 CrossFit enthusiasts here in this corner of Colorado. 

Dan Finck of CrossFit Castle Rock streaked through the third heat with a time of 5:32, almost half a minute in front of the next finisher in his heat.  That time held up as the fastest for that workout with Matt Hathcock of CrossFit Unbroken coming in second at 5:33, and Chris Hoppe of Progressive Fitness CrossFit finishing in 5:59. 

The first day ended with explanations of the tire-flip sprint workout and the rower, burpee, KB snatch, ball-slam workout.  Immediately afterwards many tired backs and hands took off to get some much needed rest.  You can see the overall standings here.

See you at 9AM tomorrow. 

The current leaders of the competition, out on the run course.  Matt Hathcock of CrossFit Unbroken and Jasmine Dever from FRCF.

Sunday's Start Times

The start times for Sundays events will be posted here by 10 PM tonight.  We are going in the reverse order of the current places.  You can see the current standings here.  So the higher you are placed the later your start time will be for workout #3.

Made the 10 PM cutoff by 3 minutes.

Here are the starting times for the Tire Flip Sprint.  Workout #4's start time will be up shortly.

Download Tire Flip Sprint Starting Time

Download Women's Workout #4 Start Times

Download Men's Workout #4 Start Times

Workout #3

For time:

5 tire flips, 500 lbs (350 lbs)
100 meter sprint
5 tire flips, 500 lbs (350 lbs)

Modified weights
men - 350 lbs
women - 250 lbs

The event starts with the athlete flipping the tire 5 times.  The athlete then jumps through the tire, sprints down to the turn-around and returns to the tire, flips it 5 more times and then jumps through the tire.  Time stops when the athlete's feet hit the ground outside the tire after jumping through the tire.  There is a 3 minute cut-off.

Workout #4

2 rounds for time of:

500 meter row
10 burpees
20 kettlebell snatches, 24 kg (16 kg) each hand
30 ball slams, 45 lbs (30 lbs)

Modified weights
men - 16 kg kettlebell, 30 lb slam ball
women - 12 kg kettlebell, 20 lb slam ball

The athlete will start on the rower and progress through the workout in the order listed.  The listed number of reps must be completed before moving on to the next exercise.  There is an 18 minute cut-off.

ROM Standards

Burpee
The athlete will start in an upright position.  The bottom position is reached with the athlete prone on the floor, with the chest touching the floor.  The top position is reached when the athlete jumps over the 6" stick, with the hands clapping at full extension over the head.  The clap must be audible and must happen while the athlete is in the air.

Kettlebell Snatch
The athlete must have the kettlebell hit lockout overhead, with the arm at extension and the hand directly over the shoulder.  The knees and hips must be at extension when the hand is directly over the shoulder.

Important safety information
We don't drop odd shaped metal objects onto the ground.  EVER.  It is dangerous for the athlete, the judge, and anyone else in the vacinity.  It is disrespectful to the athlete, the equipment, the gym, and everyone in the area that might get injured by the athlete's carelessness. 

The first time that an athlete drops the kettlebell to the ground without a hand attached to it, the athlete will be assessed an additional 20 reps to that kettlebell set.  The second time, the athlete will be disqualified from the CO Open. 

Ball Slam
The athlete will pick the slam ball off the ground and raise it up over the head.  The ball must be directly over the head with the knees and hips at extension.  The athlete will slam the ball down onto the ground hard enough that the ball bounces off the ground.  In order for the rep to count, the athlete must catch the ball before it hits the ground again.  You cannot simply raise the ball over your head and then let it drop to the ground.  It must be slammed and you must catch it on the rebound.

Workout #1

3 minutes of back squats, 225 lbs (145 lbs)
3 minutes of pullups

You will have 3 minutes to do as many reps of back squat as possible.  You can re-rack the barbell as often as you wish.  When the 3 minutes are up, you must move immediately to the pullup bar and you will have 3 minutes to do as many pullups as you can.  The pullups can be performed in as many sets as you wish.  Your score is the total number of both exercises. 

There will be an option to scale the back squat.  However, once you modify a workout, your results will only be compared to everyone else that has the same number of modifications.  If you think that the back squat is the only thing that you are going to have to modify, you will do better to just stand under the pullup bar for the first three minutes and then hit the three minutes of pullups really, really hard.  This will not be considered a modification.  But it is your call.

ROM standards

Back Squat
The squat movement starts with the bar on your back and with your knees and hips fully extended.  You must squat deep enough for your hip crease to be below the level of top of your patella.  You must return to the start position to finish the rep.  Each lifting station will have a squat rack.  The barbell must be in the squat rack in order for you to move onto the pullups.  If the barbell touches the ground, the back squat portion of the event is over for you.  You must still get the barbell back into the squat rack before you move to the pullups, but you cannot do any more back squat reps.

You may use a weight belt and weight lifting shoes.  You must use shoes of some kind.  You may use neoprene sleeves, but you may not use knee wraps.

 

Pullups
You must start each rep with your elbows and shoulders completely extended.  The rep will be counted when your chin and EARS are visible over the pullup bar.  Not just your chin, your EARS as well.  So, if you are craning your neck and looking at the ceiling at the top of your pullup, chances are your reps will not count.  You may use any type of kip that you wish, but your chin, as well as your entire ear must be visible over the bar.

You may use athletic tape on your hands.  You may not use gloves, gymnastics grips or anything else between your hands and the pullup bar.  Any kind of adhesive applied to the hands will be cause for immediate disqualification from the CO Open.

 

Workout #2

6 rounds for time of:

7 power cleans, 165 lbs (105 lbs)
150 meter run

Modified weight #1 (counts as one mod)
135 lbs for men
85 lbs for women

Modified weight #2 (counts as two mods)
105 lbs for the men
65 lbs for the women

You will start at your barbell, do 7 power cleans and then run out on the 150 meter course.  You will repeat this for a total of 6 rounds.  Your time will stop when you run back into the gym and touch your barbell.

ROM standards

Power Clean
The barbell must start on the ground, with your hands on the barbell.  The top of the clean is reached when the barbell is in the rack position, with your elbows in front of the bar and with your knees and hips fully extended.  Whatever depth squat you need to achieve the finish position of the clean is fine.  Your barbell must be on the ground, completely stable before you can start your run. 

You will not be allowed to use a weight belt for this event.  You must wear shoes.

Sunday's Events

Sunday's events will be announced in the gym on Saturday night at 5:30 PM and posted on this site shortly after.  There will be two events on Sunday.  As many of you have surmised, one of those Sunday events involves tire flips.  The men's prescribed tire weight is 500 lbs, the modified tire is 350 lbs.  The women's prescribed tire weight is 350 lbs and the modified tire is 250 lbs. 

We will have all of the different tire weights out back on Saturday.  You will need to try them out sometime on Saturday and figure out which tire you are going to use for the workout on Sunday.  There will be a sheet at the Athlete Heat Check-in Tent that you will need to confirm your tire weight.  Anyone that does not give us a tire weight will be doing that workout as prescribed.  There will be NO changes to the tire weight on Sunday. 

Start Times

Here are the start times for Saturday. 

We ranked the athletes by the place that they earned in last year's Colorado Open, then we looked at how people did at the Regional Games, then we used the order in which each athlete signed up.  The earlier that you signed up, the higher your athlete # and the later your start time.

Sunday's start times will be determined by your placement at the end of the day on Saturday.

Download CO Open Men's Start Times

Download CO Open Women's Start Times

Spectators
I have had many inquiries about the cost to watch the CO Open.  Spectators get in FREE.  So bring your friends to the party!

Substitutions
The registration list is now closed.  The last day for substitutions was August 15th. 

Location
Front Range CrossFit in Denver, Colorado. Click here for the address and map.

Check In
Athletes will be able to check in at FRCF Friday night 8/27/10 from 5pm-8pm. or Saturday morning 8/28/10 from 7am-9am. If you can make it Friday night, please do. Saturday morning will be rushed and crowded.

Schedule
1. Heat times will be posted by the end of the day Thursday 8/26/10 here on the FRCF main page.
2. Saturday's events will be announced Friday at 12:00 noon here on the FRCF main page.
3. Sat 8/28/10: 8am Opening address, 9am 1st heat starts.
4. Sunday's events will be announced Saturday at 5:30 pm in the gym and then posted here on the FRCF main page.
5. Heat times for Sunday will be posted here on the FRCF main page by the end of the day Saturday.
6. Sun 8/29/10: 9am 1st heat starts.
7. Award ceremony is Sunday at 5:30 pm.

Information
For more information about the location, schedule, check-in times, or the possible exercises, please click here and scroll down to The Colorado Open -- August 28-29th, 2010.

Cindy

As many rounds in 20 minutes of:

5 pullups
10 pushups
15 squats

"Coming together is a beginning.  Keeping together is progress.  Working together is success."
- Henry Ford

The FRCF schedule for this weekend
August 28th and 29th
As most of you are aware, FRCF is hosting the Colorado Open this weekend, August 28th and 29th.  All normal FRCF workouts are cancelled for Saturday, August 28th.  We will hold our regularly scheduled workouts on Friday and everything is back to normal on Monday.  For those of you in the FRCF Skills Program, feel free to come to the Friday night workout at 5:30 PM. 

4 rounds for time of:

400 meter run
40 situps
40 ball slams, 30 lbs (20 lbs)

"There is only one real failure in life that is possible, and that is not to be true to the best ones knows."
- Frederic W. Farrar