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Beyond the Whiteboard Analyze: Light
Next up in my series on Beyond the Whiteboard‘s Fitness Level feature is the LIGHT category. Again, the site has been a huge tool in my CrossFit training since it was created by my little brother Jonathan Kinnick and his crew in 2009. It allows me to log and follow all of my results and numbers so I can really focus and dial in my programming. The Fitness Level is the next step in visualizing fitness and being able to clearly see weaknesses or strengths.
If you missed the first blog in the series, check it out HERE to get a better understanding of the feature and how simple it makes programming and training.
LIGHT
The light category factors in Metcon workouts that use some weighted element and are typically under 20 minutes. A lot of the most iconic and classic CrossFit workouts contribute to this and the category shows how well rounded you are in those benchmarks tests. Light workouts include many of the girl workouts: Fran, Helen, Grace, and Elizabeth along with other popular workouts in BTWB that have similar characteristics. I have always seen it as really important to test and retest the girl WODs because they are such excellent CrossFit programming and because they are simply amazing indicators of fitness. My abilities across all aspects of fitness have improved right alongside my times on benchmark workouts and that is definitely not a coincidence. The WODs are tried and true and because there are so many results for them in BTWB, your score for each inputs a very accurate data point into the Fitness Level. For example, Fran has over 60,000 posts on BTWB. That means that your score (down to the second) gives you a very clear picture of where you stack up in the CrossFit community for that workout. Many of the CrossFit Games Open workouts also factor into this category because they are similarly programmed, lighter weights mixed with bodyweight movements that deliver a serious dose of intensity.
Because the Fitness Level pulls in results from 2009 and on, my history here shows that I have always kept these kinds of workouts as a big part of my training and I have performed well on them. My current times and scores puts me at a 97 in the category based off workouts that I have done in the past 6 months. My numbers have stayed in the high 80s and into the 90s almost constantly in that time period. However, I have been doing CrossFit for close to 7 years so there is a little more to my growth here. Here are some of my oldest scores for a few LIGHT benchmarks along with my all time best performances:
Fran
Dec, 2008- 17:22 Rx’d / Oct, 2013- 2:17 Rx’d
Helen
Dec, 2008- 10:33 Rx’d / Jan 2011- 7:30 Rx’d
Grace
Sep, 2008- 3:41 Rx’d / Oct, 2013- 1:22 Rx’d
Diane
Jan, 2008- 7:51 (185# Deadlift) / May 2012, 3:14 Rx’d
I love looking back at these benchmarks and seeing how far I have come! Having started CrossFit completely out of shape and overweight, the PRs I have accumulated over the years represent a lot to me and I will continue to revisit the classics in my training because they are amazing tests and always challenging.
Do yourself a favor and start using Beyond the Whiteboard right away, it is so crucial to see how far we have come in CrossFit, having a record of those accomplishments and top performances means a lot. For me the LIGHT category definitely reflects that. Being able to see this in the Fitness Level takes it to new heights. Stay tuned for more looks into this feature and my numbers!
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2014 OC Throwdown Recap!
This past weekend I had the opportunity to compete in my 4th OC Throwdown! The competition is local for me but has grown a lot over the years, enough to where it now brings in top athletes from around the world to SoCal for the multi day competition. This year the caliber of athletes was definitely at its highest, on the mens side most all of the competitors were contenders at their respective regional for the 2013 CrossFit Games season and a good number were past games competitors. The womens roster was stacked with some of the most elite competitors out there including last years champion Samantha Briggs, Lindsey Valenzuela, Talayna Fortunato, Rebecca Voigt, Julie Foucher, and a host of other top names in the sport. CrossFit Kinnick’s own Elyse Persico also qualified for the throwdown and got the chance to show that she can hang with the best of the best in her very first individual competition! Elyse has competed twice at the CrossFit Games in the team competition with the gym she trained with out in Ohio and we are lucky to have her now as a big part of Team Kinnick. She has trained with us ever since she moved to SoCal for vet school and competed on our regionals team that placed 4th in 2013. It was great having another CrossFit Kinnick athlete in the competition as we battled through a brutal set of events with some high volume and unconventional tests.
The competition kicked off Friday night with a twist: a pool workout with 25m swims paired with burpees. Swimming is definitely not something I have a lot of experience with but I was happy to finish the event and move into the full competition days. Day 2 started off with the athletes running through the NFL combine, which was a cool experience to test on CrossFit athletes. One of the best surprises of the weekend was when I finished the 40 yard dash in 4.6 second (laser timed), which puts me right in the mix with NFL prospects! I had never tested that before since starting CrossFit so it was awesome to put up such a great performance there. The rest of the day included an event with freestanding handstand push ups, handstand walks and squat cleans. The final event of the day was “Frantastic,” which essentially challenged athletes to complete the classic 21-15-9 reps of thrusters and pull ups three times under 5:00. Day 3 kicked off with a 3 mile run, 1 mile of which was weighted with two 53# kettlebells, the second mile was with a single 53# kettlebell, and the third was unweighted and a separate scored event. The final events of the competition brought some strength tests with a 3 rep touch-and-go snatch, 3 position clean and jerk, and 2 rep back squat and a huge chipper style event to complete the throwdown. I made it through the 3 rep snatch and finished up at 27th place overall in the competition.
All in all, it was a little unfortunate that some of the more unique events didn’t play to my strengths and it held me back from competing in the events I could crush. The high volume was a big challenge for me because of where I am at in my year. The competition came around just as I finished up a big strength period and I have only been slowly building up my metabolic conditioning for a couple weeks now. My training season is completely geared toward peaking and hitting my prime during the 2014 CrossFit Games Open and SoCal Regional. I have a laser focus on crushing the 2014 SoCal Regional which is going to be much tougher this year with the addition of my good buddy and incredible athlete Dan Bailey. Also, this year I have taken my programming into my own hands with the help of my brother Jonathan Kinnick. We have completely reworked my approach and I know I have what it takes. The fire is there and this week kicks off a big ramp up in my training as I prepare to make this a big year for me. I have attacked some weaknesses that I needed to handle and now I am ready to build up to full capacity and get after this CrossFit Games season! Butter will be spread!
*Photos courtesy of Julianne McDorman
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Beyond the Whiteboard Analyze: Speed
Next up in my series on Beyond the Whiteboard‘s Fitness Level feature is the SPEED category. Again, the site has been a huge tool in my CrossFit training since it was created by my little brother Jonathan Kinnick and his crew in 2009. It allows me to log and follow all of my results and numbers so I can really focus and dial in my programming. The Fitness Level is the next step in visualizing fitness and being able to clearly see weaknesses or strengths.
If you missed the last blog, check it out HERE to get a better understanding of the feature and how simple it makes programming and training.
SPEED
The speed category definitely provides a different look into my development as an athlete than my power lifts. I have always had some good capacity when it comes to power lifts but speed was not something that came easily to me as I started out in CrossFit. I have had to work extremely hard and dedicate huge periods in my training to make it a strength. You can see with my numbers some major peaks and drops that correlate to my different times in shorter row and run intervals (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m runs and 100m, 250m, 500m, 1000m rows). The category is an average of my scores across all those distances.
After placing 29th at the 2009 CrossFit Games I went into the next year with a big emphasis on strength training and did not focus much on my speed or endurance. In 2010 I didn’t qualify for the games and I realized that it had become a hole in my fitness that I needed to address. I started incorporating it into my training more and in the following years even worked heavily with CrossFit Endurance founder Brian Mackenzie to build it into a strength. I regularly hit the track and would push myself hard to see gains in my times. Between late 2012 and 2013 there is a big dip in my speed level that were more from a lack of testing the run and row intervals but recently I have definitely picked these up again to systematically work them into my training and improve my speed on the track and the rower. This past weekend I ran a 0:04.6 40 yard dash at the OC Throwdown in an NFL combine style event. This isn’t something I have ever tested since starting CrossFit so it was an awesome surprise. The last time I had run one was in junior college during my baseball days and I ended up with a pulled hamstring.
My current times (some of which are all out efforts, others are part of metcons or at the end of a training session) are:
Run
100m- 0:13.5
200m- 0:28.7
400m- 1:06.5
800m- 2:31
Row
100m- 0:15.7
250m- 0:40.1
500m- 1:34
1000m- 3:23
I am putting an emphasis on building my speed as my training ramps up for the 2014 regionals and I can’t wait to see how that reflects on these numbers and my Fitness Level overall. Exciting times are ahead as I really turn up the heat and build some momentum heading into the 2014 games season!
Do yourself a favor and start using Beyond the Whiteboard right away, it is so crucial to see the progress we work for in CrossFit, especially with things that do not come easy to us. For me the speed category definitely reflects that. Being able to see this in the Fitness Level takes it to new heights. Stay tuned for more looks into this feature and my numbers!
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#flashbackfriday to My First Muscle Up Ever!
Taking it way back for #flashbackfriday to my first muscle up in my garage where CrossFit Kinnick began. This was about 6 months into CrossFit for me. We’ve come a long way! Check out the video and the pic of our set up! My little brother Jonathan built everything by hand: pull ups bars, squat racks, lifting platform, GHD, rings, parallettes…good times!
Jeremy Kinnick 