Conviction CrossFit's Abdominal Snowman Competition

I signed up for this competition online several weeks before and hadn't been thinking too much about it because of the upcoming CrossFit Games Open that is set to start in March.  Some people were curious as to why I would be doing a local comp so close to the world wide open.  I have always been someone who gains a great deal from competing.  I was looking at this like one final chance to knock off some cobwebs from being out of the game for several months.  My last four competitions I had some form of injury or illness so I was very excited to be going into this one healthy.

Cuspis Crew

The workouts

CF Conviction had the workouts posted on video two days prior to the event.  To be honest, when I first saw the workouts I was a little deflated.  There was nothing for guys to lift over 95lbs and it appeared as if all of the time domains were the exact same.  Furthermore, there was two original movements that most of the competitors had never seen before (Weight plate get ups and reverse wall ball).  Now this is just my very humble opinion but I believe that the main point of a CrossFit competition is to find out who the fittest athletes are on that day.  By throwing movements that only possibly athletes that go to the host gym have been exposed to and then programming the same time domain 3 times may not be the best way to do that.  Again, just my opinion.  That said, I think that each one of the workouts on their own were great.  

WOD 1

3 Rounds for total reps of...

1 min hang power snatch (65/95)

1 min push ups

1 min back squat (65/95)

1 min rest

I believe I completed 232 total reps.  As I watched the heats after mine I noticed that several athletes were not being held to the same standard on their push ups.  This happens, some judges will be more lenient than others.  As a spectator I have NO BUSINESS calling out a judge.  It is their call 100%.  If a judge calls something a rep in a competition then that is what it is.  Don't be that guy that stands on the sidelines and argues with a judge, it's quite tasteless.  

WOD 2 

AMRAP in 8 minutes of...

6 burpee box jumps

9 med ball sit ups

12 reverse wall balls

I got to the wall balls on my 8th round.  I had the fortune (or misfortune depending on how you want to look at it) of being lined up next to a fire breather.  We essentially went rep for rep for the first 7 minutes.  I think that a couple of no reps on his part allowed me to pull ahead slightly.  When I first saw the "reverse wall ball" movement I thought it was stupid.  However, after doing them in competition I kind of became a fan of them. That's right, soak it up everyone, Leo is admitting that he talked shit a little too soon!  The movement is great for accuracy and hip extension.  I won't be programming it in a workout anytime soon but it may find its way into a warm up in the future.  

WOD 3

200m. run buy in 

4 rounds of...

12 sandbag clean to back squat

9 toe to bar

30 double under cash out

(10 minute time cut off)

I liked this one the most.  The weight and rep scheme was light/low enough to go unbroken throughout which meant that heart rate would stay up.  

Floater WOD

2 minutes, As many Reps as possible of..

weight plate get ups (25/45)

Here was another place where I saw some athletes being judged/scored differently.  Some athletes were "no repped" for not having their arms fully locked out at the top of the movement when the video standard and pre-event demonstration stated that they didn't have to be.  

The event as a whole ran very smooth.  I believe that all of the heats started on time with maybe with the exception of a couple minute delay at the very end of the day.  Heat times were conviently posted in two locations so athletes knew exactly when to start warming up.  There was a decent sized area designated for athletes to warm up.  They had coffee and I never once had to wait for the bathroom.  The prizes for top finishers were more than generous.  Reebok donated a pair of Nanos for the first place finishers and sports authority hooked up a killer gift card!  It was cool to see a local company like SPN (Simply Pure Nutrients) with a table at the event.  Had I known that the Paleo Wagon was going to be at the event I would defiantly have ordered from them instead of packing a lunch. 

All in all this was a well put together, fun competition.  It was my first time visiting Conviction and I would certainly return for a competition in the future.  The people that were hosting were all super friendly and ultra helpful.  It was clear that they cared about the athletes and the community. 

The Score....

I am rating the CrossFit Conviction Abdominal Snowman Competition a score of....

An extra large frosty glass of chocolate milk!