Ep 27: Another CrossFit Open is in the Book, How Can I Improve?

If you follow CrossFit closely, you were probably involved in the Open the past few weeks. Either you were doing the workouts, judging, cheering, browsing the leaderboard, or sharing memes with your gym friends. You may also see some motivational posts about pushing your limits or stepping out of your comfort zone, and "sign up now" (to receive a $25 voucher from an overpriced brand).

In this episode, veteran Angus (@anguscheung_hk) invites another CrossFit coach and Open rookie, John Castillo (@johnbcastillo), to share their takes if Open 2023 as a balanced test in skill, conditioning, strength, and adaptability. CrossFit IQ is also a debate topic and important in the long run.

Scoreboard is one of the key elements of CrossFit, but it sometimes distracts you to focus on things that you need to work on. Angus and John also discuss how you should change your training style, order, and mentality to improve your performance and reach the next level.

LinkedIn:
Angus Cheung
John Castillo

Twitter:
@AngusCheung618

How often have you heard of something so crucial, so fundamental, referred to as the backbone? The backbone of housing policy, of a fall/winter wardrobe, of an institution?

Well, the backbone of our bodies is literally the spine. We all have one, from the high performance athlete to the couch potato, and Spinal Harmony Family Chiropratic Director, Dr Jovana Dumovic will be joining Angus to talk all things spinal. They’ll chat about what you can expect from a typical chiropractic session, the difference between chiropractics and physiotherapy, and who should get their back looked at.

Dr. Dumovic taps her years of experience to share some common runners’ issues, what you can work on to improve how you feel, and how the rest of us can prevent or reduce pain in parts of the body besides the back. If you usually experience pain during or after your run, check give it a listen.

Leveraging on her medical background, Dr. Dumovic is comfortable and competent when liaising with doctors and medical practitioners to interpret, verify and report patient results' findings.
Enjoys a reputation for being a hard-working and industrious individual with an enthusiastic attitude and drive to continue to develop. A dedicated medical professional, Dr. Dumovic continues to develop her business, professional and chiropractic skills.

LinkedIn:
Angus
Dr. Jovana Dumovic

Hector Arrieta, a former Mexican gymnast sits down with Angus to share his gymnastics experience and CrossFit journey. 
Hector has developed great core strength and coordination through his gymnastics years and he mentions that it is easier for him to pick up CrossFit movements such as Olympics lifting and CrossFit style gymnastics which require more efficiency instead of perfection.
Discussing the different between competing in gymnastics vs CrossFit and goal settings are  included in this episode as well. 

Instagram: 

Hector  @hecarrmir
Angus    @akaTedMosby 

Dr. Jovana Dumovic (@healthy_harmony_jd), an experienced chiropractor and Angus share their chiropractic experience as a doctor and patient. Jovana also explains the different between physios, osteopaths and chiropractors and how do they benefit their patients. 
Jovana also describes how is a chiropractic session like and what to do after. 
Who should receive chiropractic treatments is discussed in this episode too.  

Instagram: 
Angus, @akaTedMosby
Dr. Jovana, @healthy_harmony_jd

Angus brings back Chris Reed,  1x CrossFit Games and 3x Regionals athletes  (@chrisreed.dc) to the podcast for the second time.
Chris competed in the highest level competitions in CrossFit while struggling financially. He describes himself as a "bubble athlete", he shares what he got from his sponsors and few incidents. 
The CrossFit HQ changed the qualifying process for the CrossFit Games 2021 season as athletes have to compete in more phases to earn a spot to Madison, not just via Regionals/ Sanctionals like the previous years. 
As prizes are not as attractive as before, Angus and Chris bring up that how much do a CrossFit athlete/ team need to pay for their trip a competition event such as Regionals and Games and discuss if CrossFit athletes can make a living through competing in this new sport. 

Lok Sze Leung (@WanderingPanda115), a NCAA D3 national champion and D1 conference (Big Ten) champion sits down with Angus to share her competitive tennis background. After hanging her rackets, Lok Sze struggled in her identity as a former college athlete and finding new fitness routine. After trying few different sports, she discovered CrossFit and fell in love with it immediately. With her humble attitude and welcoming community, she has been making great progress since 2016. Lok Sze also compares the difference between tennis and competitive CrossFit, which is more about strategizing and being your best. Lastly, Lok Sze shares her goals and training direction after competing in the CrossFit Games Quarterfinals. 

After the trade deadline, most NBA teams look completely different before heading to the playoffs . The Brooklyn Nets are one step closer to win the Finals after signing former All-Stars Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge while other contenders made some moves to stay competitive. Nathan and Angus also analyze few other good trades which may help their teams to make playoffs push/ run and discuss their fav MVP, MIV (Most Improved Player) and ROY (Rookie of the Year) candidates. 

Angus sits down to share his experience of 21.3/4, the last workout(s) of this CrossFit Open season. 
For 21.3, be realistic if being time capped or finish under certain time and how to break the gymnastics movements. Angus mentions people do not win this workout in the first or second window. Bar muscle up efficiency and pace are the keys. 
For 21.4, expecting to have 3 opportunities to find the heavy lift. Angus breaks down how to use these 3 lifts and reminds everyone to have a SHIRT ON during that 21.4!

Angus shares his thoughts about 21.1 and how it shakes off the leaderboard. Moving on to the second week of the Open, 21.2 (17.1)is a retest. Angus talks about how CrossFitters are more efficient with Dumbbell (alternate) snatches since 2017 and suggest how to warm up, break down the set of 30, 40 and 50 and avoid the "No Reps" 
Angus also reminds everyone who will attempt 21.2 to TAPE THEIR THUMBS!

Mat Fraser who won 5 times CrossFit Games titles,  recently announced his retirement. It leads Angus to interview Dr. Chris Reed, a former CrossFit competitor (1x Games-2015, 3x Regionals-2015-2017) and just becomes a chiropractor (@TheHouseofChiropractic), shares his competitive CrossFit journey.
Chris earned his CrossFit Games ticket when he was only 21 year young. With a bright future ahead, Chris shares the reasons why he stepped out of the competition floor: Being super fit, but dealing with injuries, insomnia and poor eating are not healthy. Chris and Angus also share their mental struggles during their primes. With Chris's first hand experience, he gives out some tips to CrossFitters to avoid his mistakes.
Although missing the CrossFit community spirit, Chris finds a new workout routine which allows him to enjoy exercising again. Chris and Angus share their thoughts about the CrossFit Open at the end of this episode.

Instagram:
Angus, @akatedmosby
Chris, @chrisreed.dc @TheHouseofChiropractic