CrossFit Verve and a Hike

I was in Denver earlier this month and made it to CrossFit Verve, co-owned by Games Athlete Matt Chan. Fun fact: the first CrossFit Games I watched was in 2012 and I was rooting for Matt Chan even though I really didn't know much about the sport and had no idea who he is. He came in second, but from then on he's been my guy.

I walked over from my hotel downtown, which is about 2 miles. Ignore your GPS and take Blake or Market Street. A lot more scenic and a lot less populated by drug addicts. You're welcome. I made sure I left with plenty of time because I like to get to boxes early to get the lay of the land.

the WOD before mine

Coaches Eric and Colby had us do a group warm-up and then we got to choose if we wanted to work on box jump technique or muscle-ups and split up. I went with the box jumps and maxed out at 32 inches. We sat on one box to jump on the other and it was cool how it forced me to use my hips to jump up rather than launch my body at an angle and over.

Coach Eric and me

WOD

In front of a clock set for 12 minutes:

1 minute Box jumps, 30″ (24″)

1 minute Sumo deadlift high-pulls, 115# (75#)

2 minutes Box jumps, 30″ (24″)

2 minutes Sumo deadlift high-pulls, 115# (75#)

3 minutes Box jumps, 30″ (24″)

3 minutes Sumo deadlift high-pulls, 115# (75#)

I started off with 65# but Eric had me drop down to 55#. Sumo deadlift anythings are a struggle for me because they feel really unnatural. I could also tell that my right arm was doing almost all of the work. This unbalance needs to be addressed because I think the same thing happens in my snatch as I progress to heavier weights.

Coach Eric and me with the Verve wall

I saw this nifty little packet at the front of the box. Anthony, I think we need something like this.

I took a nice leisurely walk back from RiNo (a nickname for the area called River North - clever huh?) and enjoyed seeing what happens when Cinco de Mayo celebrations and the Kentucky Derby fall upon the same Saturday. SO MANY HATS.

The lovely ladies and I then headed out for a drive outside of the city and went for a hike at Maxwell Falls.