15.1: The Personal Side of The Open

Warfel smirks at McCloud

I just finished writing about two incredible performances that I witnessed at our gym Thursday night. I love watching others improve, fight, grind, try, fail & succeed. With that being said, I enjoy all the same for myself. So this one is a little reflection on my personal CrossFit journey, and how it manifested itself during tonight’s Open workout 15.1.

Last Year

In last year’s Open, I only posted scores for 3 of the 5 workouts. One called for 135# cleans, which a year ago, I couldn’t do. And another called for overhead squats, which, at any weight, I couldn’t do.

Snatch Like a Boss

In 14.1, I’m pretty sure I did singles for the 75# snatch. Heck, if someone would’ve said touch-and-go to me a year ago, I’d be looking for the nearest car wash. While I didn’t do touch-and-go snatches in 15.1, I did quick singles… at 115#. And they did not slow me down as much as 75# snatches did last year. #winning

As previously mentioned, last year I couldn’t clean 135#. And thought of putting any amount of weight over my head always makes me a little nauseous. So a 1RM clean & jerk after a grueling 9-minute AMRAP sounds like pretty much the worst idea ever.

Clean Like a Boss

Dave Warfel clean & jerk 185#This year, I hit 190# clean & jerk a few weeks ago… fresh. For 15.1a, I considered getting a lighter rep in, just to feel it out, but because I was fighting for air, I decided to rest longer and come out the gate at 165#. Nailed it.

With 185 on the bar, I failed my first attempt. It wasn’t pretty. But I regrouped and hit it the second time around. Boom. #winning

Attempted 195#, but the shoulders didn’t like that very much. 5 lbs under my fresh clean & jerk PR — I’ll take it.

#better

Several people have asked if I’m redoing the workout on Sunday. Nope. Could I do better on 15.1? I’m sure I could. Could I hit my clean & jerk PR? I think so. Could I improve on both scores? Eh, possible but questionable.

But I’m getting better, and I’ve come A LONG WAY since last year. I’m proud of my snatches. I’m proud of my clean & jerk. And I had a blast doing it. No need to re-test — just keep getting better one rep at a time.

P.S. This dude got me by 4 reps in 15.1. And this is my, “I’m coming for ya next time” face.

Warfel smirks at McCloud
Warfel smirks at McCloud after dropping 4 reps to him in 15.1.

Photos courtesy of Drew Sterling & Roman Lifson.