14.5
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 of:
Thruster 95/65
Bar Facing Burpees
I was very proud of Soheil for finishing 14.5 yesterday. When the Open first began in 2011, we tried very hard to get Soheil to sign up. Even though the fee was only 5 bucks back then, he refused to pay. He said, “Why do I have to pay 5 bucks when I can do the workouts for free?” He was immune to all the peer pressure I could send his way. I am pretty sure he was signed up against his own will by the wolf pack, and I know he hasn’t entered one of his own scores because Ballas keeps asking me every week what his score is to enter it for him. Either way, I have been please all along this year to see him participate with enthusiasm and complete all the challenges knowing that his stature would not allow him to rank highly.
For the most part, Soheil has has a pretty good attitude in here, but it’s a rough go when you only weigh 120# and the men’s versions of the workouts are designed for fitness freak men who weight 185-195 to excel. Even in the Open, the weights are signifigantly heavy for the smaller athletes and beginners. Generally speaking Soheil excels at body weight movements, and scales appropriately on the lifting elements, but in the Open scaling isn’t an option if you want to enter your score.
When this WOD was announced, I figured a lot of people would be mentally put off because of the volume. 84 thrusters 95/65 and 84 burpees over the bar is just brutal whether your a small beginner or a big ass veteran of the sport. There’s no cut off time to save you from a DNF.
It was and still is my hope that those who can even do the weight for a few reps will stick this one out even if it is one rep at a time and takes 45 minutes. For most, the Open is about accepting a measurable challenge and finishing it. No different than running a marathon except way more varied and way more fun. There is something powerful about making yourself finish a goal especially when the task seems insurmountable.
When Soheil came in this morning I was pretty sure he’d shrug this one off and throw in the towel. He did not. He came here to finish this bitch and he did. Form was great despite the weight being 80% of his body weight. He finished in 37 minutes. If I had to do an equivalent weight at my 200# BW, I would have had to do 84 thrusters @ 160#! Crazy! I would have wanted to quit, not saying I would quit just that I would be tempted. It’s an amazing feat what he did yesterday and I am very proud of him for stepping up to the challenge.
I hope you all consider this when facing your own challenge this morning. This isn’t meant to be easy. It is meant to see who has the fortitude to finish. What I want to know is if you have it? Well do you? We shall see. Hit it hard!
