The Split Snatch

Hi, folks!
 

 
 
Last Tuesday was one of those days.
 
Those really great CrossFit days where you lift heavy and WOD well.
 
I tend to focus a lot on the downer days, and so for me, having a kick-butt evening at the box is hugely encouraging.  It's nice to feel like my months of heavy lifting on the side are starting to pay off!

I really wanted to push myself on our overhead squats.  I've had trouble getting heavy with these in the past, because my left wrist is weaker than my right, and it usually poops out on me.

I worked up to a final round of 5 reps at #75.  They were tough, but I got them with good form and felt super proud!

Next we were on to the WOD:

I'd never done split snatches before, so I looked for some resources before coming to class.  I found this great video from the CrossFit journal with Coach Burgener, and watched it before coming to class.  It was a HUGE help to me in tackling this technical lift.  Burgener breaks everything down and makes it simple and manageable.  I've been trying to make better use of all the free resources out there, and boy am I glad I found this one!

After Coach Jared walked us through proper form, the timer counted down and we started!

I wanted to get the split snatches in 6 at a time.  The first round went alright - Jared's been telling me to really pull myself under the bar, so I was working on that and also on getting my landing solid.

I cranked through the burpees (which I always love) and headed out for the first run.  I really need to devote some time to my running soon.  I'm always really slow for my fitness level and I think I need to just give a little focus to speedwork and getting over discomfort.

Second round went pretty well, about the same as the first.

Third round I broke up the split snatches more than I needed to.  I started out with my bar too close to another athlete and then tried to get distance while doing the lift.  (Bad idea.)  I could tell I was pretty close to my girl Jess, so I really tried to kill it on the burpees in the hopes of catching her.  I went out for the run as she was just turning around from the halfway point.  Getting close!

I went back in for the final split snatches and found the form was getting easier and more natural...but I was getting lazy.  I dropped the bar a couple times, which made me mad cause I really didn't need to.

I raced into the burpees and thought I still might have a chance to catch Jess, but breaking up the split snatches too much had cost me.  I finished about 20 seconds behind her.

All in all, I felt like this was a great WOD for me.  It wasn't too long or too heavy, so I got to RX.  It included a complicated lift, which required me to do a little extra prep work, and it included a strength (burpees) and a weakness (running). 

All in all, even though I wish I'd been a little tougher on the split snatches, I felt really proud of myself, and thankful to work out with people who really push me to do my best work.


You tell me: Do you ever do "homework" to prepare for a WOD?  Would you rather do burpees or run?  Who encourages you to work harder?