Teaganne Takes On the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games Quarterfinals: The Aftermath
The 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games Quarterfinals weekend has come to a close and for many, including me, their season is over. However, any athlete who qualified and participated in these five workouts should be extremely proud of themselves. The workouts, for me at least, were extremely challenging and gave me a very clear look into what my weaknesses are and what I can do for next season. The TL;DR – a lot of crossover practice is in my future. (Editor’s note: See Teaganne’s and Joey Adduci’s initial thoughts on the workouts when they were released last week.)
Test 1 – “A well-laid plan”: I went into test one a bit skeptical of that first barbell for the front squat, but like I had planned, I warmed it up last and went right into the workout. This tactic worked well for me and the barbell wasn’t much of an issue. However, as expected, the muscle ups took me the majority of the time but I somehow got through all of them (by doing singles) and got 20 front squats on the last barbell. I honestly am surprised at how far I got and proud of my performance on this one.
Test 2 – “A failure to plan is a plan to….?”: Some might say this is where it went downhill. I honestly came into this workout and was ill-prepared. I had tried maybe a dozen crossovers prior to the workout and just went into it thinking it would be fine. I was wrong. The dumbbell, as I expected, wasn’t much of an issue, the lunges were slow given my knee injury but doable. It was the crossovers that truly took up the majority of my time. I think the first set of 40 took me 3 minutes and maybe 10 tries. All in all it was a humbling experience and I was surprised I even made it into the fourth round given my lack of preparedness.
Test 3 – “Java and (burpee box) jumps”: This workout really scared me if I’m being honest and it should have. I haven’t lifted a 185-pound barbell in months and jumping is also questionable for me at the moment. After doing tests 1 and 2 I was already quite sore and not sure if I should even attempt it. But after many coffees and some encouragement from a friend I decided to give it a go. My plan of attack was to warm up to 175 and if I felt good I’d start the timer, do my 5 burpee box jump overs and take a swing at the 185 clean & jerk. After about 6 tries I threw in the towel. I was really bummed but also realized that I am not in peak performance and I also haven’t thrown around a barbell that heavy in quite some time. In addition, I have had to switch my split jerk footing given my injury and so that too was giving me pause. I think this is a workout to give another go when I am fully healed. But for now I’ll take my 27 second tie break.
Test 4 – “Midline massacre”: Does it hurt to cough? Yes. Laugh? Yes. Sneeze? I don’t even want to think about it, Can I get out of bed without groaning? No.
But hey, we got it done.
This was a great workout for those midline folks who love a good grind. I knew I was not going to win this workout on the rower, so I may have taken my sweet time, but I knew I could hit the GHD and V-ups hard. I think this workout was one of the only ones that I had a plan and idea of how it would go and it actually turned out that way. I was happy to be able to hop onto the rower for the second round of 500 meters and I really pushed it at the end. All in all I was happy with how it turned out given my rowing split was laughable.
Test 5 – “Last test, best test”: I can honestly say this was my favorite and best workout of the weekend. I came into it knowing the deadlifts wouldn’t be that bad and my grip fatigue was going to be rough, but I could hang on. I was really happy with how I broke up the deadlifts and was able to do the chest-to-bars in two sets. I did the bar muscle-ups in sets of 3 and then chipped away slowly at the rope climbs. I really kept moving throughout the whole thing though and I was really happy with my performance. I used to go to a gym with very tall ceilings and have some experience climbing a rope, so I’m comfortable with being up that high.
The bottom line: This weekend was a really great experience and as with most CrossFit workouts a humbling one. I never fail to learn new things about myself as an athlete and what I’m capable of doing. I know and hope other athletes can feel good about how they performed and come out of the weekend feeling proud (and very very sore.)
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