The night before 14.4 was released, Dave Castro- CrossFit’s “Game Master” released a hint on Instagram that the workout would be some sort of Chipper. For those of you who are not sure what a Chipper is– it is a workout whereby a series of 5 – 10 movements are linked together one after another. A Chipper is designed to push the metabolic condition of an athlete, and typically has a time cap that tests, and pushes the limits. At 6pm – Mountain Time – on Thursday March 20th, 14.4 was released, and yes- Castro didn’t lie- it was a Chipper. And it was a chipper with Muscle Ups as a finisher.
The workout for 14.4 was:
14 minute AMRAP:
60-calorie row
50 toes-to-bars
40 wall-ball shots, 20 / 14 lb.
30 cleans, 135 / 95 lb.
20 muscle-ups
And – if the athlete got through the muscle ups, they would get back on the rower and go through the rounds again until the clock hit 14 minutes.
Now– onto my experience. As always, I had planned on doing this workout on Saturday and then again on Monday just to test my body and see if I could do any better the second time. I realize I am not going to Regionals, but for myself I need to know that I got the best score I could and there are no questions about it. Saturday’s attempt at 14.4 was great and I got through 16 cleans at 95lbs giving me a score of 166. I was surprised to even make it to the cleans, so when I picked up that bar with a few minutes to spare I felt great. And as the weight felt heavier I had Dan yelling in my ear telling me to pick up the bar one more time. For me.. out of all of all of those movements, the row was the hardest part. I had never rowed for calories before. Only meters. So it was hard for me to judge how long it should take me and a total mind-fuck when people were getting off the rower before me. For my second attempt I wanted to wear my Olympic lifting shoes, and to do it alone to just zone in to my workout and not have anyone else’s great rowing ability get into my head. Well- Sunday night I was rolling out with a lacrosse ball and had this weird pain shoot up my back to my neck to the point where I couldn’t lift my own head off the ground. I have never had a pinched nerve, but if I had to guess on what it feels like- this would be it. Every time I tried to lift my head, I got this tingling-hard to breathe-pain so I stayed on the ground of a little bit, took a deep breath in, rolled on to my stomach and got up. I iced it for 20 minutes and after a few good stares from Dan and him telling me I should probably not workout on Monday, I took his advice after many eye rolls, and stayed home on Monday. (update: I feel much better)
So, in conclusion— I did not redo 14.4. This is the first Open workout I did not complete twice. Although I am not really certain I would do any better, this is okay because I would much rather be able to walk to today, then maybe get one or two more reps. I have also come to the conclusion that I am horrible at giving my body a rest. I typically do two workouts a day, five days a week and on my rest days, I don’t really stretch out, or give my body what it needs to recover. I need to work on this, and full-heartily plan to do so.
As many of you know from reading my blog and keeping up with my Instagram, each week I have had different sponsors and this week was dedicated to Hallie Lee, who’s blog I enjoy reading (when she updates it!!), is a fellow CrossFit South Denver BEAR Competitor, and who is also an Aveda hairstylist at Starling Salon located off Broadway & Louisiana. She gave me are a really cute hair cut and really cleaned up my shaggy mess. I already had short hair, but she gave me a new style in the back with a hard, curved neck line and short sides, with just the right amount of hair on top to style it the way I like. I love love love Aveda products so for just this I would go see Hallie, but the space she is in is remarkable. So many big windows, a newly renovated salon, and great people who work there. The salon does take walk ins, and if you in the neighborhood for a new, cutting edge hair style- book your appointment now with Hallie. You will not regret it.
One more week and the CrossFit Games Open will come to an end. Crazy how fast 5 weeks can fly by. And after my last submitted score- I will be putting my body through a 6-week catalyst program trying to get stronger, and the updates will be flowing on here as well.
Links!
Hallie Lee’s blog: Barbell Native
Aveda: Official Site
What I am using: Light Elements & Smooth Infusion
Photos!
inner competitor 