Recap of the 4th Annual Invictus Athlete Online Competition

Recap of the 4th Annual Invictus Athlete Online Competition
Written by C.J. Martin

For the last four years we’ve encouraged our community to participate in a fun, but challenging informal competition before we all enjoy some relaxation with friends and family for the holidays. The Invictus Athlete Online Competition rounds out our year of training, and begins the transition into the next phase of training – preparing for the 2016 CrossFit Open.

This year’s event followed the same general design as past years, with Day One events that were challenging, but accessible to athletes of varying levels. While everyone was able to complete the events, each athlete controlled how hard they made the event. Athletes had to determine if they could trust their engine and row all out, or whether they needed to hold back to reserve energy for the following events. Athletes also decided whether their time was better spent trying to move heavy weights, or get on the board and start hammering out burpees. The final scoreboard showed that both ways could be effective, but athletes who failed to make a decision quickly as to which approach they would take were punished.

Day Two put a stronger emphasis on basic bodyweight gymnastics with a strong dose of Strict Handstand Push-Ups, Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups and Muscle-Ups. Strict Handstand Push-Ups are a regular part of our program, and the sport of CrossFit. Those who still struggle with them had a hard time maximizing their score on Event 6. Event 7 was another test of how well athletes understand their personal limits. While most were concerned about what weight they would be able to clean and jerk, many athletes over-estimated their ability to smoothly fly through the chest-to-bar pull-ups and ended up surprised by how labored it became to hit their two lifts within the minute.

Day Three was a pure engine test. The series of three AMRAPs, followed by a sprint to the finish, was essentially a 20+ minute grinder. The 60 seconds of rest between events was enough to mentally re-focus, but not recover. Expect to see some more of these types of workouts in the next training cycle as we prime everyone’s engine for the Open.

For a complete description of the events and the rules and standards for each event, please look here:
Day One Events – Day Two Events – Day Three Events

It appears that the events did a pretty good job of rewarding athletes who were strong, had great engines and solid gymnastics – I think they call that CrossFit. In all seriousness, the athletes at the top of the leaderboard varied in bodyweight and earned their results in different ways. That always tells me that we did a decent job of testing different modalities.

The competitive field was a bit different this year than it has been in years past. Many of our veteran athletes and private coaching clients were unable to participate this year for various reasons – several had just finished competing in the Dubai Fitness Championships, some needed to focus on specific training priorities to protect injuries, and a few got hit by the flu in the middle of competition. Nonetheless, I am extremely impressed with the performances of those new to the competition, as well as the improvements made by several of the athletes who finished in the top 10 this year after finishing much lower last year.

Here are a few statistics that you might find interesting, and helpful as you think about attacking your long-term athletic development plan.

3-RM Front Squat
* Average for the Top 20 in this Event: Males = 397.4 lbs; Females = 236.1 lbs
* Average for the Top 20 Overall Finishers: Males = 376.6; Females = 226.8 lbs
* Average for All Participants: Males = 310.7 lbs; Females = 197.5 lbs
* Men who front squatted 355 lbs for 3 reps earned 51st place
* Women who front squatted 200 lbs for 3 reps earned 39th place

2-RM Bench Press
* Average for the Top 20 in this Event: Males = 347.4 lbs; Females = 174.8 lbs
* Average for the Top 20 Overall Finishers: Males = 320.3; Females = 161.3 lbs
* Average for All Participants: Males = 262.3 lbs; Females = 143.5 lbs
* Men who bench pressed 300 lbs for 2 reps earned 57th place
* Women who bench pressed 150 lbs for 2 reps earned 30th place

6 Minutes of Strict Handstand Push-Ups and Double-Unders
* The Top 20 Overall Finishers for both males and females averaged more than a round and a half more than the average for all participants. If you struggle with these movements, they have to remain a focus.

Without further ado, here are your top finishers in the 2015 Invictus Athlete Online Competition:
Females
* 1st Place – Maddy Myers
* 2nd Place – Regan Huckaby
* 2nd Place – Lydia Novotny
* 4th Place (tie) – Karla Solum
* 4th Place (tie) – Melissa Dixon

Males
* 1st Place – Nik Hecht
* 2nd Place – Mitch Wagner
* 3rd Place – Alex Anderson
* 4th Place – Jacob Anderson
* 5th Place – Dylan Kelly
* 6th Place – Christian Harris
* 7th Place – Joel Munro
* 8th Place – Jeff Evans
* 9th Place – Holden Rethwill
* 10th Place – Andrew Rape

The full scoring details and results of the three-day competition can viewed here.

Thank you to all of the participating athletes! I hope you enjoyed the three days as much as I enjoyed watching your results come in. I honestly read all of your results, and while I don’t always have time to answer every question asked on the blog, it is important to me that you all are participating and posting your results so that I can continue to develop our program to best suit the needs of all athletes who are following consistently.

This year, we will be offering even more training options for those tackling the Open and looking to compete at a high level. Keep your eye on the website over the next couple of weeks for the announcement of our upcoming programs!

Happy holidays!