Events

A Look Back at BeachWod 2016

By August 3, 2016 No Comments

This year was special. I got to witness our growing community at CrossFit AIO participate in our first ever UG BeachWod competition. 6 teams from AIO Throwdown, put themselves out there and took on 4 challenging workouts over the course of a day. Over 100 teams from multiple CrossFit affiliates battled over the weekend, it was quiet the spectacle. 

On Saturday our semi pro teams threw down.  Like always, CrossFit loves to explore the unknown unknowable aspects of fitness, but this time Mother Nature had her own plan. It was cold and windy, which threw a wrench into the day at the beach. I had my assistant coach Ellie with me to help coach all our athletes and take themselves outside there comfort zone with these 4 wods. 

Event 1 was an AMRAP of deadlifts, calorie rowing and biking which pushed the athletes to the limits and got the heart rates pumping. I was so impressed with the communication between teammates. Watching our teams cycle the deadlifts and take themselves to that dark place on the row and bike impressed me beyond belief.  Their minds were focused and intensity was dialed in. 

Event 2 displayed overhead squats and synchronized pull-ups, this would test our athletes’ skill, timing and co-ordination.    

Event 3 was heavy and high in skill with atlas stones, sled drags and rope climbs. This event for me was the most exciting to watch. Witnessing Sonia push herself on the rope climbs, she came away with some pretty gnarly rope burns, but a wealth of knowledge and a stronger mindset. 

As the day rounded out our teams had to face the 4th wod, a chipper made up of toes to bar, burpees, log lunges and open water sprint.  I watched on, with Ellie, yelling from the sidelines, and could remember Coach Carlo and his team (Nancy, Kevin & Shelly) as they hit the water, it looked like so much fun and what looked like an amazing feeling to jump in the water after all those prior movements.

As day 1 wrapped up the weather came around and the sun came out for day 2 for our amateur teams.

Day two was a hot one! It challenged our first time athletes and pushed them to new heights.  The wods were the same as day one with adjustments to certain movements and scaled weights.  

It is amazing to me to watch athletes compete for their first time ever and see the fire in their eyes as they take the floor.  One memory that stood out to me was watching Patricia & Danrie hammer out Front Squats together like they were seasoned pros.  Later in the day we watched Carolina and Carl smash the TruForm runner for the interval sprints, never had I seen people smile while running on this beast of a machine.

It fills my heart to watch our community grow and challenge themselves to push further, do more and work hard.  Our first competition was a huge success, and I would like to acknowledge everyone who competed this year and we hope to see you out again for the BeachWod competition next July 2017.

Congratulations to all AIO members & coaches: Sonia, Emily, Ayush, Nancy, Carlo, Shelly, Kevin, Xochil, Stu, Lyne, Tom, Edith, Alex, Carolina, Carl, Patricia, Karen, Danrie, Dan, Marco, Susan, Chris, Lindsay, & Amy

All Love,

Joe & Ellie

#AIOStrong

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