Hello from Flagstaff, AZ!
Carl, Kate, Andres and Jenny and I are all here for the Regional Qualifying Games. Carl, Kate, Andres and Jenny are all volunteers which means they get to tighten bumper plates on bars after they’ve been dropped, watch the 100M sand bag carry lines, keep runners safe at street corners and other critical stuff to make these Games happen. I have been a judge all day today and Jenny did some judging too. The competitors did 2 workouts today. The first was a mix of Power Snatches (135lb for men and 95 for women) and 100M sand bag carry (90lb for men, 70lb for women). The second was 5 rounds of 7 deadlift (275 for men, 185 for women), 30 squats and 7 Hand Stand Push Ups. The standards for range of motion were strict. Each competitor has their own judge. We counted reps and decided whether or not to count the rep. It is hectic, intense, fast and, let’s be real…stressful. Interestingly, we are also allowed and encouraged to coach the competitor. We can tell them what they are doing wrong and what and how to fix it. It was crushingly hard to judge the Hand Stand Push Ups because they had to be locked out at the top. No falling away from the wall while pressing up. Arms 90deg and head to the ground. So many people did the work of the HSPU but it couldn’t be counted because they fell away with bent legs. We are all seeing some incredible performances. Phenomenal athletes. Deep efforts. People have run out of time before finishing. Repeated deadlifts for taking their hands off the bar at the ground. Repeated Snatches for not locking fully out at the top. Repeated HSPU after HSPU until they got one that was complete. Carl, Kate, Andres, Jenny and I are loving watching, meeting, talking to, judging and being around these athletes. But, at the end of the day, tonight at dinner, Carl and Kate and I agreed that we can’t wait to return to you all. All day as I judged I was thinking about all the people that I get to judge and train on a daily basis. Some day, some of you will compete in the Qualifiers, some day I will shout at you to get the perfect HSPU. But right now, you all already give the same kind of effort we saw today. You encourage each other. You are welcoming to each other. The way you all make our Affiliate feel makes me thrilled to get back to you after lunch.
I know you all would enjoy the energy and effort that goes into a Games-level workout. Don’t forget to come at 2:00pm on Sat April 25th to participate in our own Games-level workout. We’ll be strict…and we’re not telling you what the workout will be.
The competitors here found out at 5:30, after their 2 workouts today, that tomorrow brings them:
an 800m run followed by 3 rnds of 10 full squat cleans (155lb for men, 100lb for women), 20 chest to bar pullups and 30 high box jumps (30″ for men, 24″ for women) followed by another 800m run. They get 35min max to finish. Wish them luck.
