Upper East Side

Congrats to EVF Coach Nick To and Row House Manager Chris Catan for placing 97th in the world and 7th in the region in the CrossFit Team Series! Read about Team “Not Fast, Just Furious,” their favorite workouts and how they pushed each other to hit their goal of breaking the top 100!

Nick
Favorite workout: Event 2

For time:
20 synchronized squat cleans, 135 lb.
20 synchronized squat cleans, 185 lb.
20 synchronized squat cleans, 225 lb.
Time cap: 7 minutes

I liked this workout because it was VERY challenging for me to bang out that many squat cleans at that weight. I know that several times I wanted more than anything to stop. Chris could see it in my eyes and instead of yelling at me to keep going he set the pace. I remember him indicating “1” with his finger right before every rep allowing me to focus on the next rep and only the next rep. He knew I was struggling, but he also knew how to motivate me when I wanted to quit.

In the Crossfit Open you are competing at as an individual. Sure, you may be working beside other athletes and have people cheering for you, but you are still a lone wolf. With the team series, it allows you to compete with the added stimuluse of a teammate whose energy can motivate and keep you accountable in a way that I have never found flying solo. This is the magic of team workouts.

Though we were one rep shy of hitting our goal of 41 squat cleans, I am happy of team Catan/To’s (“Not Fast, Just Furious”) performance in this workout. I felt the camaraderie and had a strenuous good time.

Chris
Favorite workout: Event 5

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps each* of:
Bar muscle-ups
Squat snatches 95#
* Athletes work one at a time, alternating after each round.

This workout required high skill and flashy movements. Nick and I are more than capable of doing the weight and the gymnastics movement so that was no issue, and we knew we could move through it fast. During the set of 9 BMU, Nick’s hands ripped. He knew it but kept going despite it was getting worse every round. During the round of 5, I think my hands started to rip. During the final 4-3-2-1 sets, I was getting pretty tired but I saw Nick was moving well and I knew I didn’t want to be the weak link, so pushed through the last few sets.

One of the coolest things about doing the Team Series was when Nick and I were doing the squat cleans (event 2). About 5 reps into the 185, he looked at me and there was a look of “OH CRAP! What did I get myself into?” He was DEAD, and he knew it was going to be really, really hard. But he kept going when I was counting down for him every rep. He did an incredible job, and I was so proud to see him push through.