Danish CrossFit Open 2010 - WOD 3

The third workout of the day was a 1RM deadlift, to be completed in an 8 minute window. Of all the strength events that could have been drawn, this is definitely my worst in relation to my peers. It seems to always come up, though, so it’s a weakness I’m learning to overcome.

Coming into the event, my personal record for deadlift was a 200 kg lift I did in the Netherlands with the help of a back belt. Without the belt, the most I had done was 190 kg. Getting stronger in this lift has been a priority since moving to Europe last September, but in the last month I have had no access to heavy weights. My expectations were minimal, but I was hoping to match my 200 kg PR and not fall too far behind the field.

My first lift was at 176 kg. Felt fine. My second was intended to be at 191 kg, but actually was at 181 kg. This was a whoops moment and an extra lift I didn’t need to do. For the third attempt, I loaded 196 kg and had to fight a little to get it up. But, considering it was 6 kg above my highest non-belt lift, I still felt pretty good. I then went for 201 kg. This weight felt about the same as the 196, to be honest. It was heavy around the shins, but once I got it past my knees I knew it was coming up. With less than a minute left I decided to go for 206 kg, but it didn’t budge. I think that if I hadn’t taken the unnecessary lift early on, I may have had enough time and juice left to put a better move on that weight. Either way, I PR’d and was happy with the lifts.

More than anything, I was surprised at how little stiffness I felt in my back after these attempts. My form wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t too bad, and usually after a max effort series I can really feel it in my lower back. I see this as a positive sign for the strength gains I have made, even if I still have a ways to go to keep up with the rest of the field. Two guys pulled over 230 kg, one pulled 221 kg, and two others were between 202 and 220 kg. People were PRing all over the gym. It really was an incredible scene that you couldn’t help getting caught up in. The women’s competition was particularly exciting with three of the girls dueling back and forth during the last few minutes trying to one-up each other. Sarah, Ditte, and Liz were all adding 1 or 2 kilograms at a time to out lift the others. Pretty cool.

After the event, I was in a tie for first with Rasmus, who took 3^rd in the event, compared to my 6^th. Things were shaping up for an exciting finish, and they wouldn’t disappoint.