Dave Castro decided after 2 weeks of dumbbells in our Open Workouts to go back to a familiar tool for all of us! Down below you will find per usual, the workout standards. Here’s what we all will be performing this evening

3 Rounds of 6 Chest To bars and 6 snatches at 95 pounds
3 Rounds of 7 Chest to bars and 5 snatches at 135 pounds with a time cap of 8 minutes. If you finish all 6 rounds within the 8 minute limit you move on to

3 Rounds of 8 Chest to bars and 4 snatches at 185 pounds. If you finish that within 12 minutes of the start time, you’ll have

3 Rounds of 9 Chest to bars and 3 snatches at 225 pounds. Finish that within 16 minutes of the start and….

3 Rounds of 10 Chest to bars and 2 snatches at 245 pounds. Finish that within 20 minutes and you’ll have until the 24 minute cap is up to finish

3 Rounds of 11 Chest to bars and 1 snatch at 265 pounds!

The chest to bars were the least of my concern. Having worked with Chris Yang, a very disciplined olympic lifting coach for months in the Fall, I was quite confident I’d at least get to the 185 pound bar and possibly hit a snatch at that weight? Chris helped me jump my maximum snatch weight to 210 lbs, which was a tremendous accomplishment in itself. I have been working my butt off on Olympic lifts, it’s not an easy movement to master. So many technical pieces and it can all fall apart with one wrong pull. Confidence is a great tool but Fatigue does set in. I knew I could hit at least 1 rep at 185 if you give me 2-5 minutes to work with.

I followed through with my usual routine during the week, day off on Thursday and was ready to fly on Friday. My girlfriend wanted to come with and watch, I told her this would be a decent night to come. I knew that I had some extra juice just because her presence was there. Something felt different on Friday night. The weight was flying up really easy in warm-ups. I hit a couple snatches at 185 in about 6 seconds, I worked up to a heavy single at 200 pounds, which I had 0 issues standing up. I had also gotten news during the day that my heat included 2 of our top male athletes, which was extra incentive to perform at a higher level.

“Nothing to do with fitness just because…..Posing with the #1 contender for the  Ring Of Honor Heavyweight Championship Bobby Fish

I had been told about 30 minutes prior to our workout that no one had made it out of round 2 in the heats before us. Jake(one of our stronger athletes) walked up to me and said “it may be harder than we think just to get to that 185 bar.” Everyone had stated that the bar felt heavier than 135 pounds getting into round 2. Jake and I both decided that we had to move quicker through the first 2 rounds and let it go when we get into round 3. Hit a snatch, drop and pick it up within 2 seconds. Focus on breathing and let the rest take it’s course.

I swear the second we walked up to our coaches, we were eager to get going. Kind of like a releasing a bull into a stadium who just saw bouts of red flashes. We were already loose and just ready to go. 3…2….1….GO! The 1st 2 rounds absolutely flew swiftly. Adrenaline took over and the bar felt like a feather at 135 pounds. I decided to face the other 2 guys just to maintain pace. I ran to my bar for the final set of 135 pound snatches at the 4:40 mark, literally blacked out and said just run with the big dogs. I eased up on the last set to catch my breath and prepare for the 185 round, knowing I had the goal in the bag. I finished in 6:20, giving me a little less than 6 minutes to hit a snatch at 185 after my pull-ups.

I was pretty tired getting to the bar, I rested for 40 seconds before stepping up for an attempt. Jake hit 185 extremely easy(I’ll get to him later), I missed my 1st attempt. I calmly stepped up to the bar on attempt #2. WHOOSH…….

I got under the bar quick and stood it up! Mission accomplished! My next goal was to get out of the first round of 185 pounds. I still felt simultaneous bouts of fatigue and adrenaline, I knew I had something left. I traded misses and makes after that. With roughly 30 seconds left on the clock, I hit my 4th snatch at 185! I ran to the bar and hit 8 straight pull-ups. 10 seconds to go, I waited until 11:55 to attempt my final 185 lift…..It felt good at point of triple extension…My arms gave out and the bar flew forward. It was over….but I was smiling from ear to ear. What I then noticed was 2 people were loading up Jake’s bar for the 225 round, he had made it out of the 3rd round!!

As Crossfit tradition usually constitutes, a few of us lined up to encourage Jake to hit a 225 pound snatch before the clock ran out on him. The fact that he and I were nervous to get out of the 2nd round was now laughable. He was in the 4th round!! Most of the elite level athletes would either get to the 6th and final round or finish the whole thing in the 24 time cap. Most completed it, but some struggled to get that 265 overhead and stand it up. The fact that Jake made it this far was quite the accomplishment. He lined up 225 pounds and missed his 1st attempt, still looking at the clock, he had 1:30 left to make it. I recall him hitting a 225 pound snatch once in class, just never under the circumstances of performing 72 chest to bar pull-ups and 45 snatches at ascending weights BEFORE making this attempt. With about a minute left to go, perfect pull and triple extension…..he got UNDER IT and stood it UP!! WOW!! 1 more attempt at 225 with about 15 seconds left to go and he nearly hit that one too, barely missing by a whisker. At that time he collapsed to the ground throwing in the towel on an already incredible performance.

Overachieving is what I have done my whole life. Throw a school project at me or something athletic and that seemed difficult and I worked to make it look good when the deadline hit midnight. To think that I set a goal of the top 15% in the World at my age level and looking today, seeing I’m in the top 7% WORLDWIDE is surreal. I have immense confidence going forward into these final 2 Open weeks and beyond.  Granite Games training will take place a week after the Open is over and I’m going to take a major leap by taking on individualized programming from either my coaches or a Games athlete.

As next week approaches, I’ll be spending time out of town in Las Vegas, Nevada. I know in the back of mine to stay loose, don’t go overboard yet still have fun. The goal is and will be smashed!! What will 17.4 entail and what limits will be pushed?? Wait til next week to find out!

My name is Jesse Velasquez and I’m a fitness coach in Minneapolis, Minnesota. If you’d like to explore the Crossfit World a bit more, check out www.crossfitkingfield.com. Browse my website for all of your general fitness and nutrition needs. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @jcvwellness. Email me or search the website if you have inquiries about pricing, customized programming or any other fitness questions!