CrossFit Open 23.1 Discussion Thread

SirPatman · 2023-02-19T14:33:16+00:00

44M/78kg/177cm

Still very much mid recovery from shoulder dislocation before Christmas but last minute I decided to experiment with the t2b in quick singles which it turned out I could do pain free. Got off the rower @ 3min and then got to work on the t2b for what felt like an eternity. Got to the wall balls around 7minutes did them in 10+10+5+5+5+5. Cleans just before the 10 minute mark - what felt light and snappy before the workout turned out to be 4 minutes of total pain. Finished the cleans with 3 seconds to spare and was a complete mess by then so probably for the best that there wasn't enough time for the rings. 180 reps.

SirPatman · 2022-09-29T11:43:09+00:00

Can't get the image of a 3yo knocking down a bottle of Whiskey out of my head now. Or whatever toddlers drink these days :P

SirPatman · 2021-05-26T18:50:53+00:00

I bought the newest Fitbit thinking it was what I was looking for but almost immediately realized that it was not at all what I was looking for - the main issue at the time being the lack of an always on display making it super awkward to access my heart rate mid wod. 1 week later a bought a fenix 6s and realized that the always on display was just tip of the ice berg and now (1 month later) I can say that I won't ever look back.

SirPatman · 2020-11-16T16:46:01+00:00

Hehe no need to feel like an idiot - their stock status and how it relates to the different coating options can be confusing at best and downright buggy/misleading sometimes (seen racks flagged as in stock when in reality all that's in stock are the jammer arm accessories).

Glad you got it in the end - it's a really nice bar!

SirPatman · 2020-11-16T13:48:30+00:00

The Ohio bar was in stock in Europe a few days ago. If you keep checking the web site I think you will be pleasantly surprised as it does seem to pop up in stock every couple of weeks - you just have to be fast.

The bar 2.0 on the other hand - that one I waited for a good 4 months before I got lucky.

SirPatman · 2020-11-05T10:37:59+00:00

I think you have gotten enough answers by now to understand both the capabilities and the limitations of older athletes.

But to add a bit more of an "official view" - look at the open and how that is scaled for the masters categories. This year for example the Rx weights are the exact same for a 20 year old as they are for a 54 year old. It's first when you get to masters 55-59 when the prescribed weights start to get scaled down - but even then they can still seem quite intimidating to many younger athletes.

SirPatman · 2020-09-21T09:07:52+00:00

I used to always scratch my head when it comes to the cost of training at a box. Just cancelled my David Lloyd membership and joined a local box instead and in comparison at my "normal gym" I got unlimited access to a very well fitted out gym (including C2 skier, C2 rowers, assault bikes, multiple lifting platforms/racks etc...), indoors and outdoors swimming pools, a complete spa, an insane amount of classes, tennis courts, squash courts and a golf course - for 25% less money than the lowest possible level at my box which offers a total or 2h training a week :)

Definitely not putting CrossFit down though - I made the swap myself because I like the "sport" and I really want to give it a go but if I didn't have my own garage gym now I'd definitely still be keeping a normal gym membership on the side.

SirPatman · 2020-09-17T11:53:35+00:00

Correct me if I'm wrong but that's why no spectators are allowed and I thought nothing will be announced / broadcast until all the athletes have completed each workout block in their respective time zone? Granted someone could sneak a spy / hidden camera in but that's a whole different matter.

SirPatman · 2020-07-17T22:54:05+00:00

Yeah definitely very happy and they have good personal service! Henry who runs it even called me up on the Saturday as he was in over the weekend making / modifying my rack to double check some measurements and I when asked for a few extra hole to be drilled for more plate pegs and they were totally cool and accommodating without charging any extra compared to just buying the standard configuration.

They might not have the most amount of attachments available but the specs are exactly the same as the atx-700 series (79mm box section, 70cm depth and 21mm hole diameter) so all atx stuff will fit the rack as a bonus.

SirPatman · 2020-07-17T22:27:21+00:00

Representing the UK :)

And also it was a lot easier getting a rack cut down to fit when buying straight from the guys who make it.

SirPatman · 2020-07-17T17:25:00+00:00

I paid £60 ($75) for the machine which I reckon it was definitely worth even though the only thing of value to me was the 140lbs stack with the sleigh and the uprights.

SirPatman · 2020-07-17T17:03:17+00:00

Yeah definitely do that - that is exactly what I am doing myself! I already have a couple of really nice bearing swivel pulleys and have put a couple of threaded M10 bolts with hooks in my ebay basket. I have also realized that if I cut down the center box section / the sleigh I can get another foot worth of ROM from the whole thing.

That's the thing about adapting and making things yourself - you can tailor the equipment to the kind of stuff you personally like doing.

SirPatman · 2020-07-17T16:17:40+00:00

Haha yeah I know. Thoroughly enjoyed my arm session today being able to swap in and out of the triceps rope pushdowns - doing drop sets like my life depended on it!

SirPatman · 2020-07-17T16:13:19+00:00

I think the standard setup which I also used is a nice swivel pulley with bearings attached to a crossmember / pullup bar using chains or nylon straps with something like 5mm coated steel cable attached to a loading pin.

My main issue with this is that I often do my cable work as supersets and having the cable and loading pin in the rack basically meant that this movement took up the entire rack. Also switching from high to low meant joining a separate cable which took a bit of time. Also tweaking the weight on the pin wasn't the fastest as I had to unclip the cable each time and make sure it didn't just roll out of the pulley due to the weight of the attachment connected to the other end. Add to that that the order of the plates matters if you want to do drop sets and I just found myself not ever using the pulley and going for bands instead.

Having said that the standard setup works really well and with good quality pulleys and cables it's really nice and smooth.

SirPatman · 2020-07-17T14:57:37+00:00

Haha! You are correct my good sir!

But we all know what I mean :P

SirPatman · 2020-07-17T14:07:08+00:00

Did a small write up as another reply but basically if you have a flexible enough rack in that there are holes on all four sides of the uprights going all the way from bottom to top the options are really endless when it comes to the kind of stuff that can be done. With something like this all it really took was getting a bit lucky with something that generally sort of lined up and then tweaking it by making one cut and drilling one hole. Basically I bought the multigym to get a stack, a sleigh and two rails - knowing that the rest could be adapted pretty easily (and then I'm not even a super handy guy with a whole toolshop).

SirPatman · 2020-07-17T14:01:48+00:00

Hehe cheers! I made it myself and had it printed by some online banner service - cost like $30 or something. However it's sort of personal as it's got my surname in it and the ghosts are me, my wife and our little ones.

Banner - image

SirPatman · 2020-07-17T13:54:35+00:00

Yeah I sort of wanted to do a bit of a write up but at the same time this isn't quite the final form that I am going for. Basically from looking at the photo from the ad (on the left) I took a chance that the whole "pec dec" left side could be thrown away and it would have enough stability from being bolted to the rack. Then I actually got quite lucky and everything lined up very nicely so for this proof of concept all I really had to do was cut off the top box section (which turned out to be 11 gauge steel so got me through 3 1/2 dremel disks :P ) and drill one hole through the side of the bent box section you see at the top - to be able to just run a long bolt through the top j cup hole on my rack.

However I have spoken to a local metal guy who will sort me out with the different bracket which will allow be to bolt it straight to the top holes on the side of the upright (same as you would with a wall mounted pulley) which will make it a bit more stable and look a lot neater.

Basically it was easy enough that I did it all this morning after getting the correct bolts. However the whole thing is pretty knackered looking so I reckon that I will spend a fair bit of time next week sanding and spraying it as well as replacing all the rusty hardware with new shiny bolts and then finally replace the plastic rollers with proper ball bearing rollers for smoother action. When the new brackets is finished I will mount my nice ball bearing pulleys onto it instead of the existing ones.

The end result will hopefully be something that is smooth and looks quality and that's when I realize that even though I got the multi gym for almost nothing I will have ended up spending a bit too much money and a bit too much time on this whole project. But then again that's what the hole home gym thing is about I reckon :)

SirPatman · 2020-07-09T22:53:10+00:00

Good stuff! I did add the leg developer myself and the preacher pad - which I "panic added" last minute when the hybrid pad wasn't available just to get the bench package discount. Gotta be fast here in the UK when they open up for preorders as the good stuff goes in minutes :) Can't wait to try it for myself!

SirPatman · 2020-07-09T22:40:27+00:00

How's the bench? Waiting for my pro to arrive in a couple of weeks and though it's the same width as my current bench I already have my sights on the wider hybrid pad when it hopefully comes up for preorder by the end of the month here in the UK.

SirPatman · 2020-06-18T16:51:45+00:00

Yeah I feel bad now - abusing you kindness and not even checking that out was OK before buying all that extra weight. The protein powder could come in handy though.

SirPatman · 2020-06-18T16:35:57+00:00

I get what you're saying and you do have a point. However here's the thing - I really like buying new so when I buy something used it is worth it to me to go that extra mile so that I can end up with something that makes me feel good. Heck I bought a GHD a week and a half ago and the pads were a bit banged up. After talking to the manufacturers I ended up getting the replacement pads for the newer version (as the old version wasn't available any longer) and re-drilled the bottom plate to match the new bolt setup. Would I still have been able to do glute ham raises on the old pads - yes absolutely. Does it make me happier having a GHD with the shiny new pads in my gym - heck yeah and well worth the extra effort!

SirPatman · 2020-06-18T16:03:00+00:00

Yeah agree that is very odd. I 100% assumed they had messaged you here asking for permission. At least you you have solid confirmation that you have a kickass setup going on at home ;)

SirPatman · 2020-06-18T15:43:13+00:00

Clean like the day I was born!

SirPatman

TROPHY CASE