Archive for June, 2011

“Mateo” Group WOD

I just wanted to say Thank You again to everyone at World Camp and everyone who came out in support of the SMA Workout for a Cause. The community that we have created at World Camp is unbelievable. I cannot tell everyone how much it means to my family and me for their friendship and support. Sorry if Mateo ran over anyone’s toes with his chair, next year he will be a much better driver! See you at 5:30!

-Rio Landa

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It’s always good to hear stories of how World Camp is beneficial in “real world” applications. The above is a picture taken of JJ zooming across a zip line in the mountains of North Carolina. She not only sets a standard that we should all try to achieve, she gives her 7 grandchildren someone to look up to! It’s good to have you back JJ!!!

5:30am after a tough WOD

Dear 5:30am, it was an absolute pleasure to be able to step in for Bill in his absence and spend 3 mornings last week with you! I dare to say that there is no one awake and working as hard as you at that time of day!

6pm Group working HARD!!!

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So, what are your weekend plans? How about joining us this Saturday with a “WOD for a Cause” here at 9am?! Bring a friend, and a donation if you feel led, to the best thing you can be doing on a Saturday morning. All donations will go directly to the Georgia SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) Foundation.

Derrick on the Farmer’s Carry

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Please remember this weekend World Camp will be host a “WOD for a Cause!”  ”Mateo,” a workout programmed by our own Rio Landa in honor of her son Mateo, will start at 9am this Saturday morning at CrossFit affiliates across Georgia! Mateo was born with SMA, an inherited and often fatal disease that destroys the nerves controlling voluntary muscle movement, which affects crawling, walking, head and neck control, and even swallowing. ALL monies donated and collected will go straight to the Families of SMA organization, in an effort to help families with children just like Mateo. Families of SMA is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1984 with the mission to find a treatment and cure for SMA.  FSMA is made up of more than 65,000 members and supporters and has funded more than $50 Million in leading research programs since its inception. It has been an absolute honor to have Israel, Rio and Mateo in my life and here at World Camp CrossFit. Please find time Saturday Morning at 9am to come join in the fight!

Coach Rio and some of the girls talk before Kid’s Camp

I know that this is super late notice but, there will be NO Saturday WOD tomorrow! All of the coaches will be in Columbus at “Rumble by the River” cheering on fellow World Campers as they compete in the 2 day event. I am sorry for the late notification but we will be back on schedule on Monday.

WCCF Affiliate Team

Shortly after the Southeast Regional CrossFit Games concluded Sunday, World Camp teammate Jessica Denney posted the following quote on her Facebook wall: “If better is possible then good is not enough.” Team WCCF would embody what had become their mantra as they shocked the CrossFit community by earning a spot to the CrossFit Games Finals shutting out two of the strongest teams from our state.

On paper, WCCF definitely appeared to be an underdog in the Regional Games. They entered the competition in 18th place out of 30 teams, and after the first WOD (4 x 750m row, 50 handstand push-ups, 4 x 750m row) performed by Walt Foy, Sam Widman, Brandi Bonifay, and Cristy Morill, the team stood at a disappointing 17th place.

“After the first WOD, I could not help but run it back over and over in my head how I could have done better, hoping that I had not let the team down, wondering if it was my transitions that cost us those precious seconds. Basically, I was a wreck. It was very difficult for me to look past what we had just done, but I knew that I had to focus on what lay ahead,” Sam said.

Even knowing that WOD 1 was the team’s weakest event, Brandi said that when the results were posted, “…my heart sank. I knew we were better than 17th place, so I just tried to keep my thoughts positive and not get too worried or upset.”

The team maintained a positive attitude as Jessica Denney and Chris Harris prepared for WOD 2 which was a thruster ladder. Athletes had 30 seconds to complete one attempt at a thruster then move to the next weight until they had a missed rep.  The team’s score was the combination of the female and male’s highest successful lift. “After that [WOD 1], we had to step up our game and show out a little bit because we knew that thrusters, deadlifts and box jumps were our strengths so we were totally ready to dominate,” Jessica said.

Jessica fired up the crowd as she had the highest successful lift out of all of the females (team and individual) at a mind-boggling 175 pounds! Chris followed with an incredible 255 pounds for a combined total of 430 pounds. WCCF not only won first place in the WOD, but as of this writing, it holds the record for the highest total in the world! This WOD helped catapult WCCF to a much more comfortable 7th place.

The dynamic duo of Chris and Jessica started off day 2 of the competition with WOD 3 (21-15-9 Deadlifts 275 lb/ 185 lb and Box Jumps 30″/ 24″). “The deadlift/ box jump was one that we knew going in would be good for us. Deadlifts are a strength for our entire gym and a 24″ box has become the standard for most of our women. I was confident that we would do well in that workout,” Chris said. After completing the WOD in a blistering 8:21, once again WCCF came in 1st and moved up to 4th place overall. The little team that could was gaining momentum!

The last WOD for day 2 was a grueling chipper consisting of 250 chest to bar pull-ups, 250 kettlebell swings (53 lb/ 35 lb), 250 double-unders, and 250 overhead squats (95 lb/ 65 lb). The awesome foursome of Walt, Sam, Brandi, and Cristy had the job of tackling what many said was the hardest WOD of the Games.  ”The 250 Chipper workout was the hardest workout of the weekend for me. I was confident that we would do well because we had a great team put together for this particular workout. Each member was able to pull their weight in the area that they were strongest,” Walt said.

“Bill [a.k.a. Chris] and Jessica’s two 1st place finishes were definitely a great boost, and I knew that if we did not perform well in the chipper that we would have negated all of their hard work… I was so pumped up going into it and with the adrenaline pumping my first couple of pullups were crazy. I was pulling with so much that I was practically doing belly button to bar and had to slow myself down and get into a rhythm… It was inspiring to be able to work with 3 other individuals who had the desire to push themselves to the limit. That is what kept me going.” Sam said.

“The chipper was awful. Well, the kettlebell swings and standards were awful. The standards that were being held made the KBS seem twice as hard as a normal KBS,” Brandi said who estimates the team actually did 300 KBS due to around 50 no reps.  Nevertheless, the team finished in 30:34 which was 5th place, ending day 2 in a solid 4th place overall.

Only the top 3 teams in the regional competition would make it to California for the final Games. After looking at the numbers after day 2, it was clear that the 1st and 2nd place teams were pretty secure where they were standing. It would be a battle for 3rd place as WCCF, CrossFit Atlanta, and CrossFit North Atlanta were within a few points of each other. The stage was set for an unbelievable 3rd day of competition.

Day 3 started out with “Amanda,” a WOD which consisted of 9-7-5 muscle-ups and squat snatches. The men’s weight for the snatch was 135 lbs, and the women’s weight was 95 lbs which is a lot of weight for such a technical movement. Chris and Cristy were up for this WOD even after Cristy suffered an allergic reaction to some food she ate. “I’ll never forget working on snatches in the parking lot of the hotel the night before while throwing up in the bushes because of some green beans I ate,” Cristy said.

“We knew that muscle ups were an advantage for us since Cristy is a ninja on the rings,” Chris said. The team quickly took the lead only to be beat out in the last rep by CrossFit Atlanta.  ”Finishing first would have been awesome, but the way CrossFit Atlanta came back made for an awesome finish that made the weekend even more memorable,” Chris said. In fact, the competition between the two teams in WOD 5 was so intense that many of the spectators named this as one of the greatest performances of the weekend.

WCCF ended up winning 2nd place in the WOD bringing the team to the coveted 3rd place overall (tied with CrossFit North Atlanta). It would all come down to the final WOD. “I have never wanted something so bad nor have been so nervous. I kept telling myself to go out there and just have fun. The result of that WOD determined whether or not we would go to LA so I told myself how could you not give it your all,” Brandi said.

Walt, Sam, Brandi and Jessica were set to compete in the final WOD which was another chipper where each member had to complete a 20 calorie row, 30 Burpees, 30 2-arm dumbbell ground to overheads at 45/35 lb, 30 toes to bar, a 100 foot overhead walking lunge with 45/ 25 lb plate, and a 50 foot sprint. One person started the WOD at the first station, and the next person began once the first person went to the second station. This pattern continued until each of the athletes cycled through all of the stations.

“We were determined to finish out the competition and show everyone what World Camp was about… Strategy is what led us to victory in this workout.” said Jessica.

Although most of teams started with their fastest athletes first, WCCF set the order of their athletes so that there would be built in periods of rest while waiting to go to the next station. At first this strategy seemed questionable as all of the teams passed WCCF.  However, by the time our last athlete, lightning fast Sam, got to the toes to bar, WCCF had caught up, and Sam was able to blow past all of the “slower” athletes from the other teams. “I kept watching other teams move forward and tried not to think about it. When I finally got to move forward, I was determined not to stop,” Sam said.

WCCF finished the WOD in 2nd place at 18:06 which was enough to give them 3rd place overall! WCCF did it- they were California bound!  ”With prayer, sweat and tears, God led the way in this event. He gave us strength to finish what we came here for,” said Jessica.

“We have a great coach and came into Regionals with a great game plan. Each athlete had the same mindset. The mindset that we, ‘World Camp,’ would make it to the top 3, no matter who was doing what workout as long as it was the best team to get the job done. Our strategy to get the job done did just that… We got the job done!” Walt said.

“I still don’t think that it has really sunk in that we made it through and are going to be in California in just 8 short weeks… I don’t know what the future holds for us at the Games, but I know that when we are done, World Camp CrossFit and all of its athletes will no longer be unknown,” Sam said.

“Qualifying for the games is such an awesome experience. Going into the Open, a lot of people had the goal of making it to Cali but only a few spots were available. We are in that small number, and it’s just a testament to the hard work that goes on at World Camp. A lot of people don’t realize the role that they played in this accomplishment. It’s truly a total gym effort that everyone should be proud of!” Chris said.

“This team from Albany that no one knew about, and we are now finally on the map. Our moment had finally arrived. Many props to our team, coaches and most importantly our World

Camp family that supports us every single day of the week as we sweat and cheer together. We could not have done it without you!” Walt said.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the incredible performance of Rio Landa who competed in the individual female competition. Coming into the Regional Games in 48th place, Rio had the task of completing variations of the team workouts solo. She was especially nervous about the 30 handstand push-ups in the first WOD. It was simply amazing watching Rio tackle those HSPUs- only the third women in her heat able to finish them and move on to the final row. Rio finished the games in 21st place in our region. What an incredible accomplishment!

“If better is possible then good is not enough…” Yes, we knew our team was good, but these amazing athletes dug deep to show us all that better was possible.  ”I knew we would have to go to a place we had never gone to before. Good would not get us to California. We were going to have to be on our ‘A’ game and be better than the rest,” Brandi said.

“Better is possible for the little team from Smallbany. We proved that this weekend… None of this would have been possible without the whole World Camp family’s support,” Jessica said.

Congratulations, Walt, Chris, Sam, Brandi, Jessica, Cristy, and Rio. You inspire us everyday with the discipline and hardwork you demonstrate in the gym.  And now you have inspired us to see if we can find the “better” inside of ourselves. Go get ‘em in California!

Saturday WOD Group

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Please join us on June 18th  with a “WOD for a Cause!” Every dime donated will go directly to Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy. For more information on this event please click here!

REMINDER!!! World Camp 101 will be starting a new 4 week beginner program this Monday! Class will start promptly at 9am! See you there!

10am Group working hard!

Its good to see everyone making good use of the short week by getting in here and getting it done! Keep up the good hard work! See you tomorrow morning at 9am for the weekly Saturday WOD!

Be sure to check out the WCCF Team story on WFXL.com!

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It looks as if Oly and Bill are in a love triangle with the monkey. The lazy days of Summer have taken on a new meaning in between group times…