The biggest CrossFit event in the Netherlands starts tomorrow with the Qualifier Weekend.

The top athletes will take part in the finals at Omnisport Apeldoorn, on the weekend of 3-4 October. Last year I watched the Throwdown as a spectator, but this year I am honored to be part of the Judging Team!

Judging is an aspect of CrossFit I started considering seriously this year when given the opportunity to attend a judging workshop offered by the LLTD and Tiglon Series organizers. Considering how fast our sport grows, it is only sensible to start investing in the judging aspect of it too. And believe me, it’s definitely not something anybody can do. I was petrified the first time I judged in an official competition, but thankfully this only lasted 5’. I still remember the angry face of the athlete who got my first ‘No Rep’, but I knew I needed to be fair not only to him but also to all the other athletes who had worked so hard to get at that point and compete. May the best man win – not that who has the worst judge, right?

I used to be one of the persons at the box that would bro-rep my friend when I saw they’d be struggling and were so close to doing a good rep. It was only at the judges’ course that I realized what I’d been doing was so bad. I was not actually doing my friends any good (as I thought then), rather the other way around. They would get the impression that they were correctly performing the exercise and movement standards and this was doing them more bad than good. In my early days as a crossfitter I was more interested about the score on the whiteboard and was comparing it to others – and of course feeling disappointed every single day as I was almost always last one to finish. I was so narrow-minded, but I guess I had to go through this step in order to be able to appreciate the results I am getting now and the things this sport has done for me. It is after all a mind game too!

I’m not saying I don’t peak at the scores of my friends at the box every single day, I am! Thing is, I am no longer comparing them to mine. Of course I want to do more, lift more, be faster and stronger and better, but not in comparison to the rest. I am only competing against myself. And in this game, I always win. Because I am always better than last year. There are of course ups and downs, and periods you feel like giving up cause you see no progress, or question yourself… but overall I must admit that ever since I started CrossFit on January each year, on my birthday, I feel I am better than last year and look forward to the year to come. That was not the case at all in the past. Around my birthday I’d get this depressing feeling of becoming older and weaker and one step closer to all the bad things that I thought ageing brings. Now I see just the opposite. At age 35 I like myself more than the 34-year young version of me and I am sure that at 36 I will be even better, stronger and happier! I could stop here and this article would have already made a point, but this was not my intention when I started writing it!

It’s the Lowlands Throwdown 2015 Qualifier weekend!

Three workouts in one day. Two options: RX and Scaled.

As much as I’d love to go RX, I will defy my ego and scale one of the workouts as I can’t do handstand push-ups, yet. Every year there was a limiting factor to me performing any workout RX. I only actually started doing some workouts RX this year. I couldn’t do pull-ups, double-unders and so many other basic exercises (by basic I mean those that tend to appear in qualifier events), but it is starting to seem that I am getting closer. This year, out of 3 WoDs it will be 2 RX and 1 scaled. Who knows, maybe next year!

Workout #1 is a short (but sweet) 10’ AMRAP of:

10 x Ground to Shoulder to Overhead (m: 50kg / f: 35kg)
30 x Double Unders
10 x Ground to Shoulder to Overhead (60kg / 45kg)
30 x Double Unders
10 x Ground to Shoulder to Overhead (70kg / 55kg)
30 x Double Unders
10 x Ground to Shoulder to Overhead (80kg / 65kg)
30 x Double Unders
10 x Ground to Shoulder to Overhead (90kg / 75kg)
30 x Double Unders
10 x Ground to Shoulder to Overhead (100kg / 85kg)

Knowing my 1 rep max at cleans is 55k at the moment, I will be very happy to finish the round of the 45k ground to shoulder to overhead and 30 DUs. If there is any time left, I will attempt at least one rep at 55k. At least that’s my plan at the moment.

Workout #2 is a plain simple 2k row for time, which on a good day I can finish in around 9’. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow!

Workout #3 is the one I will have to scale down.

The RX version is

45 x Deadlifts (m: 100kg / f: 70 kg)
45 x Handstand Push Ups
45 x Pull Ups
45 x Box Jump Overs (m: 24 inch / f: 20 inch)

for time with a 12 minute time-cap.

BUT this young lady here hasn’t been practicing her handstand push-ups enough so will go for the alternative easier version of

45 x Deadlifts (m: 80kg / f: 50kg)
45 x Push Presses (m: 40kg / f: 25kg)
45 x Jumping Pull Ups
45 x Box Jump Overs (m: 24 inch / f: 20 inch)

for time with a 12 minute time-cap. That’s more like it.

I could start the RX, but then I would end up finishing my deadlifts and doing nothing more than that. However at the end of the day, it’s about getting a good workout out of it and having fun! This last workout I am most excited about as it includes 4 so different exercised and will be the most challenging too after having performed the first two just a couple of hours earlier.

I intended to write more about judging, but realized I got carried away again!! Need to take some rest as it will be a long day tomorrow, but will talk more about it soon.

It will be a fun day at UnScared Crossfit, also hosting our friends from CrossFit Ede and being treated with some pizza and a movie afterwards! Lucky us!

PS You might like to check out the 2014 Lowlands Throwdown aftermovie!

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