Pages

Welcome to Optimum Performance Training!

*Click HERE to access our new website*
www.optimumperformancecalgary.com

We are a fitness community dedicated to ongoing learning, continued improvement, constant support, the achievement of health and fitness goals. Regardless of age or ability, our coaches can help you improve your overall health and well being.

Please use the Contact Us form on the right to book your FREE Fitness Consultation.



Our facility is located in NW Calgary near the NorthWest Automall.


3rd Annual Fitness Competition - #OutsideTheBox2015

The mission of our annual event, #OutsideTheBox, is to provide competitors with an educational and enjoyable competition as well as being a very well rounded test of fitness. You will have to be able to lift powerfully and heavily, run fast and long, jump high, endure discomfort and display sustainability. The shortest event will last around 2 seconds while the longest event will have a 40 minute time cap. This year, different than previous years, there will NOT be any cuts. Everyone will perform every event.


Registration: CLOSED
Prize Money:
1st place Men/Women - $1,500
2nd place Men/Women - $1,000
3rd place Men/Women - $500


Minimum Standards for Entry:
Males - Clean and Jerk of 225lbs, Deadlift of 345lbs and able to perform 15 unbroken Chest to Bar pull-ups
Females - Clean and Jerk of 145lbs, Deadlift of 225lbs and able to perform 5 unbroken Chest to Bar
*Please note all the below events, start times, presentations and event locations may change due to unforeseen circumstances.
*The exact heat times will be announced closer the the date of the event. 


Friday, September 4th 
All events will be hosted at Reebok CrossFit Ramsay
Athlete Check-in - 4 pm - 4:20 pm
Opening Remarks - Michael FitzGerald - 4:20 pm - 4:30 pm

Event 1
Jerk, 1 RM 
Score - 50 points
5:00 pm start time




*Every one must drop the bar to the floor from overhead after their attempt. Re-racking on shoulders will not be allowed. 
*Athletes will move the weights/bar back to the rack on their own.
*Push Pressing, Power Jerking, Push Jerking and/or Split Jerking are permitted. Shoulder pressing is not.
*The movement must start from the front rack position. At no point during the lift is the bar allowed to touch the athletes head or the back of their neck/back rack.
*Press-outs are permitted.
*Control must be shown with bar overhead with feet under hips, entire foot on the floor (i.e. no heel/toe lift) and elbows locked. The judge will tell the athlete when to drop the bar from overhead.
*Up to 6 athletes per heat.
*30 seconds in which to perform a successful lift.
*There will be a new athlete make an attempt every 30 seconds. 
*3 attempts per athlete.
*Score will be total load, in 5 lb increments.
*Athlete may go up or down in load.
*Athletes will flow directly from Event 1, into event 2.

Heat 1 - 5:00 pm 
Lane 1 - Megan Abel
Lane 2 - Meaghan Becker
Lane 3 - Alexa Drummond
Lane 4 - Chalsey Dulle
Lane 5 - Kristy Elliott
Lane 6 - Paula Szaroz

Heat 2 - 5:15 pm 
Lane 1 - Sarah Feaver
Lane 2 - Catherine Fortuna
Lane 3 - Bonni Rogers
Lane 4 - Lauren Pryor
Lane 5 - Samantha Thiessen 
Lane 6 - Amy Speed-Andrew

Heat 3 - 5:30 pm 
Lane 1 - Amy Bergeron
Lane 2 - Janine Shillington 
Lane 3 - Erica Livett
Lane 4 - Alex Parker
Lane 5 - Jennifer Jubb
Lane 6 - n/a

Heat 4 - 5:45 pm
Lane 1 - Michal Bouhmel
Lane 2 - Kent Prete 
Lane 3 - Rommell Mendoza 
Lane 4 - Dave Rempel 
Lane 5 - Kyle Samson
Lane 6 - n/a

Heat 5 - 6:00 pm
Lane 1 - Brian Carter
Lane 2 - Oleksiy Dakhno 
Lane 3 - Patrick Howey 
Lane 4 - Thad Palin
Lane 5 - Jason Pelletier
Lane 6 - n/a

Heat 6 - 6:15 pm 
Lane 1 - Jason Burke
Lane 2 - Josh White 
Lane 3 - Jeff Sutherland
Lane 4 - Greg Gross
Lane 5 - Cam Jarvis
Lane 6 - n/a

Heat 7 - 6:30 pm
Lane 1 - Jonathan Gibson
Lane 2 - Brent Fikowski
Lane 3 - Brett Shillington
Lane 4 - Ben Suranko
Lane 5 - n/a
Lane 6 - n/a

Event 2 
Clean Complex 
Score - 50 points 
5:15 pm start time


*Up to 6 athletes per heat.
*Each athlete will have 3 intervals in which to establish a new max.
*The athlete does not have to squat the clean or hang clean reps.
*The athlete is allowed to lower the bar below the knee on the hang clean reps.
*All 6 reps must be completed within the 30 sec time cap.
*Once the bar is lifted from the floor, the plates cannot touch the floor again until the complex is completed.
*Athletes are not permitted to wear lifting straps.
*Athlete may go up or down in load.
*Score will be total load in 5 lb increments.

Heat 1 - 5:15 pm 
Lane 1 - Megan Abel
Lane 2 - Meaghan Becker
Lane 3 - Alexa Drummond
Lane 4 - Chalsey Dulle
Lane 5 - Kristy Elliott
Lane 6 - Paula Szaroz

Heat 2 - 5:30 pm 
Lane 1 - Sarah Feaver
Lane 2 - Catherine Fortuna
Lane 3 - Bonni Rogers
Lane 4 - Lauren Pryor
Lane 5 - Samantha Thiessen 
Lane 6 - Amy Speed-Andrew

Heat 3 - 5:45 pm 
Lane 1 - Amy Bergeron
Lane 2 - Janine Shillington 
Lane 3 - Erica Livett
Lane 4 - Alex Parker
Lane 5 - Jennifer Jubb
Lane 6 - n/a

Heat 4 - 6:00 pm
Lane 1 - Michal Bouhmel
Lane 2 - Kent Prete 
Lane 3 - Rommell Mendoza 
Lane 4 - Dave Rempel 
Lane 5 - Kyle Samson
Lane 6 - n/a

Heat 5 - 6:15 pm
Lane 1 - Brian Carter
Lane 2 - Oleksiy Dakhno 
Lane 3 - Patrick Howey 
Lane 4 - Thad Palin
Lane 5 - Jason Pelletier
Lane 6 - n/a

Heat 6 - 6:30 pm 
Lane 1 - Jason Burke
Lane 2 - Josh White 
Lane 3 - Jeff Sutherland
Lane 4 - Greg Gross
Lane 5 - Cam Jarvis
Lane 6 - n/a

Heat 7 - 6:45 pm
Lane 1 - Jonathan Gibson
Lane 2 - Brent Fikowski
Lane 3 - Brett Shillington
Lane 4 - Ben Suranko
Lane 5 - n/a
Lane 6 - n/a

Event 3 
Sled Sprint 
Score - 100 points
7:00 pm start time
*2 athletes per heat.
*Exact layout will be released closer to the event. It will be a down and back format. 
*There will be 3 different loads in which the athletes must move with the Sled. 
*The 1st down and back will be with the heaviest load. Once the 1st down and back is completed, the athlete will remove the required amount of load before they begin the 2nd down and back. Once the 2nd down and back is completed, the athlete will once again remove the required amount of load before they begin their final down and back. 
*Score will be total time to completion.
*There will not be a time cap for this event. Everyone will finish.

Heat 1 - 7:00 pm 
Lane 1 - Megan Abel
Lane 2 - Alexa Drummond

Heat 2 - 7:04 pm
Lane 1 - Chalsey Dulle
Lane 2 - Paula Szaroz

Heat 3 - 7:08 pm
Lane 1 - Kristy Elliott
Lane 2 - Catherine Fortuna

Heat 4 - 7:12 pm
Lane 1 - Sarah Feaver
Lane 2 - Samantha Thiessen

Heat 5 - 7:16 pm
Lane 1 - Bonni Rogers
Lane 2 - Lauren Pryor

Heat 6 - 7:20 pm
Lane 1 - Amy Speed-Andrews
Lane 2 - Meaghan Becker

Heat 7 - 7:24 pm
Lane 1 - Amy Bergeron
Lane 2 - Erica Livett

Heat 8 - 7:28 pm
Lane 1 - Alex Parker
Lane 2 - Jennifer Jubb

Heat 9 - 7:32 pm
Lane 1 - Janine Shillington
Lane 2 - Brett Shillington

Heat 10 - 7:36 pm
Lane 1 - Michal Bouhmel
Lane 2 - Kent Prete 

Heat 11 - 7:40 pm
Lane 1 - Rommell Mendoza 
Lane 2 - Dave Rempel 

Heat 12 - 7:44 pm
Lane 1 - Kyle Samson
Lane 2 - Oleksiy Dakhno 

Heat 13 - 7:48 pm
Lane 1 - Brian Carter
Lane 2 - Patrick Howey 

Heat 14 - 7:52 pm
Lane 1 - Thad Palin
Lane 2 - Jason Pelletier

Heat 15 - 7:56 pm 
Lane 1 -Jeff Sutherland
Lane 2 - Josh White 

Heat 16 - 8:00 pm
Lane 1 - Greg Gross
Lane 2 - Cam Jarvis

Heat 17 - 8:04 pm
Lane 1 - Ben Suranko
Lane 2 - Jason Burke

Heat 18 - 8:08 pm
Lane 1 - Jonathan Gibson
Lane 2 - Brent Fikowski

Saturday, September 5th
9:30 am - Doors will open at Optimum Performance Trainingfor athletes, judges, volunteers and spectators

10:00 am - 10:30 am @ Optimum Performance Training - Michael FitzGerald - Fitness Competition Program Design
A discussion of fitness. Also, learn what predictive fitness testing means and why it is the back bone of the design for #OutsideTheBox.

10:30 am - 11:15 am @ Optimum Performance Training - Sharon Prete - Mindset for Performance
Whether you are a competitive athlete or you train to stay fit, your mindset will affect your performance in your workouts and ultimately your results.  Knowing how to build mental resiliency is an often overlooked but key ingredient to both game day performances and long term results in the gym.
Join Sharon Prete as she discusses what it takes to build your mental muscle and learn the ins and outs of creating a mindset built for performance.
Bio:  http://opexfit.com/sharon-prete/

Event 4 and 5 @ Optimum Performance Training 

Back to Back
Score - 50 points each 
*The exact design of this event will be released about 2-3 hours before the event.
*Up to 5 athletes per heat.
*The design of the event is as follows, for maximum repetitions:
2:30 min AMRAP
2:30 min rest
2:30 min AMRAP
*Each AMRAP will be individually scored. Total reps, will be the score for each.

Heat 1 - 12:00 pm
Lane 1 - 19th Male - based on standings after event 3
Lane 2 - 18th Male
Lane 3 - 17th Male
Lane 4 - n/a

Heat 2 - 12:10 pm
Lane 1 - 16th Male
Lane 2 - 15th Male
Lane 3 - 14th Male
Lane 4 - 13th Male

Heat 3 - 12:20 pm
Lane 1 - 12th Male
Lane 2 - 11th Male
Lane 3 - 10th Male
Lane 4 - 9th Male

Heat 4 - 12:30 pm
Lane 1 - 8th Male
Lane 2 - 7th Male
Lane 3 - 6th Male
Lane 4 - 5th Male

Heat 5 - 12:40 pm
Lane 1 - 4th Male
Lane 2 - 3rd Male
Lane 3 - 2nd Male
Lane 4 - 1st Male

Heat 6 - 1 pm
Lane 1 - 17th Female - based on standings after event 3
Lane 2 - 16th Female
Lane 3 - 15th Female
Lane 4 - 14th Female
Lane 5 - 13th Female

Heat 7 - 1:10 pm
Lane 1 - 12th Female
Lane 2 - 11th Female
Lane 3 - 10th Female
Lane 4 - 9th Female

Heat 8 - 1:20 pm
Lane 1 - 8th Female
Lane 2 - 7th Female
Lane 3 - 6th Female
Lane 4 - 5th Female

Heat 9 - 1:30 pm
Lane 1 - 4th Female
Lane 2 - 3rd Female
Lane 3 - 2nd Female
Lane 4 - 1st Female

Event 6 @ Foothills Athletic Park 
Track Run
Score - 100 points 
*For time: 800m Run (2 laps of the 400m track, in a counter clock wise fashion)
*There will be 4 heats total, 2 Men's heats, 2 Women's heats.
*1st heat will begin @ 4 pm. New heat every 10 minutes.
*There will be a staggered start as per a track meet.



Heat 1 - 4:30 pm
Lane 1 - 19th Male - based on standings after event 5
Lane 2 - 18th Male
Lane 3 - 17th Male
Lane 4 - 16th Male
Lane 5 - 15th Male
Lane 6 - 14th Male
Lane 7 - 13th Male
Lane 8 - n/a

Heat 2 - 4:36 pm
Lane 1 - 12th Male
Lane 2 - 11th Male
Lane 3 - 10th Male
Lane 4 - 9th Male
Lane 5 - 8th Male
Lane 6 - 7th Male
Lane 7 - n/a
Lane 8 - n/a

Heat 3 - 4:42 pm
Lane 1 - 6th Male
Lane 2 - 5th Male
Lane 3 - 4th Male
Lane 4 - 3rd Male
Lane 5 - 2nd Male
Lane 6 - 1st Male
Lane 7 - n/a
Lane 8 - n/a

Heat 4 - 4:48 pm
Lane 1 - 17th Female - based on standings after event 5
Lane 2 - 16th Female
Lane 3 - 15th Female
Lane 4 - 14th Female
Lane 5 - 13th Female
Lane 6 - n/a
Lane 7 - n/a
Lane 8 - n/a

Heat 2 - 4:54 pm
Lane 1 - 12th Female
Lane 2 - 11th Female
Lane 3 - 10th Female
Lane 4 - 9th Female
Lane 5 - 8th Female
Lane 6 - 7th Female
Lane 7 - n/a
Lane 8 - n/a

Heat 3 - 5:00 pm
Lane 1 - 6th Female
Lane 2 - 5th Female
Lane 3 - 4th Female
Lane 4 - 3rd Female
Lane 5 - 2nd Female
Lane 6 - 1st Female
Lane 7 - n/a
Lane 8 - n/a

Event 7 Foothills Athletic Park 
Foothills 5.2 
Score - 100 points
5:15 pm start time

*For time:
Run 100m across the "field"
Exit "field", enter "track"
Run 2.4km (6 x 400m laps)
Exit "track", enter "field"
50m Barbell Overhead Walking Lunges - 75lbs for Men, 55lbs for Women
25 Overhead Squats - 75lbs for Men, 55lbs for Women
Exit "field", enter "track"
Run 1.6km (4 x 400m laps)
Exit "track", enter "field"
50m Reverse Bear Crawl
75 Kettlebell Swings - 24kg for Men, 16kg for Women
50m Reverse Bear Crawl
Exit "field", enter "track"
Run 800m (2 x 400m laps)
Exit "track", enter "field"
25 Overhead Squats - 75lbs for Men, 55lbs for Women
50m Barbell Overhead Walking Lunges - 75lbs for Men, 55lbs for Women
*Athletes will not have lane assignments. They will be able to select the most favourable lane when they return back to the "field", following the 2.4km run.
*Each lane will be approximately 12-15ft wide, 50m in length, marked with orange cones.
*Movement standards will be covered on Saturday morning, prior to event 4.
*Up to 10 athletes per heat.
*Time cap - 40 minutes.

Heat 1 - 5:15 pm

19th-10th Place Male - based on standings after event 5

Heat 2 - 6:00 pm
9th-1st Place Male - based on standings after event 5

Heat 3 - 6:45 pm
17th-9th Place Female - based on standings after event 5

Heat 4 - 7:30 pm
8th-1st Place Female - based on standings after event 5

Sunday, September 6th - all events @ Optimum Performance Training:
Event 8 
Deadlift 1+2+3 
Score - 100 points



*Each athlete will have 2 attempts in which to establish a max attempt at the deadlift complex. 
*Each attempt must be performed within a 40 seconds window of time.
*Up to 6 athletes per heat.
*The complex must be performed as per the video. The bar must be dropped after 1st rep, then reps 2 and 3 must be done in a "touch n go" fashion. The bar must be dropped after the 3rd rep. Reps 4, 5 and 6 must be performed in a "touch n go" fashion. The 6th rep must be successfully completed prior to the 40 second time limit.
*A successful lift will end with the athlete displaying control in full extension in standing with knees and hips extended with shoulders behind the bar. The top of the rep must have a short pause to show the proper position.

Heat 1 - 9:30 am
Lane 1 - 17th Female - based on standings after event 7
Lane 2 - 16th Female
Lane 3 - 15th Female
Lane 4 - 14th Female
Lane 5 - 13th Female

Heat 2 - 9:40 am
Lane 1 - 12th Female
Lane 2 - 11th Female
Lane 3 - 10th Female
Lane 4 - 9th Female

Heat 3 - 9:50 am
Lane 1 - 8th Female
Lane 2 - 7th Female
Lane 3 - 6th Female
Lane 4 - 5th Female

Heat 4 - 10:00 am
Lane 1 - 4th Female
Lane 2 - 3rd Female
Lane 3 - 2nd Female
Lane 4 - 1st Female

Heat 5 - 10:10 am
Lane 1 - 19th Male - based on standings after event 7
Lane 2 - 18th Male
Lane 3 - 17th Male
Lane 4 - n/a

Heat 6 - 10:20 am
Lane 1 - 16th Male
Lane 2 - 15th Male
Lane 3 - 14th Male
Lane 4 - 13th Male

Heat 7 - 10:30 am
Lane 1 - 12th Male
Lane 2 - 11th Male
Lane 3 - 10th Male
Lane 4 - 9th Male

Heat 8 - 10:40 am
Lane 1 - 8th Male
Lane 2 - 7th Male
Lane 3 - 6th Male
Lane 4 - 5th Male

Heat 9 - 10:50 am
Lane 1 - 4th Male
Lane 2 - 3rd Male
Lane 3 - 2nd Male
Lane 4 - 1st Male

Event 9 
Seated Hurdle Jump 
Score - 100 points


*Women will go as one heat.
*Men will go as one heat, following the completion of the women.
*Women's hurdle height will begin at 24" and will increase in 1" increments.
*Men's hurdle height will begin at 30" and will increase in 1" increments.
*No contact can be made with the rope during your attempt. If your shirt/shorts contact the rope on the way over the hurdle, your attempt will not count.
*Consecutive miss format. If you fail an attempt, you will be given the opportunity to immediately repeat that same height. If you miss once again, you are done. 
*Your score will be the last height achieved in inches.
*Women's "seat" will be approximately 13" in height. The front of the plate will be approximately 36" from the rope.
*Men's "seat" will be approximately 15" in height. The front of the plate will be approximately 38" from the rope.

Heat 1 - 11:15 pm
All female athletes will go in heat 1

Heat 2 - 11:45 pm 
All male athletes will go in heat 2


Event 10 
Unknown 
100 points
Heat 1 (Females) will begin at 1 pm

Returning Top 3 from 2014
(Brent Fikowski - 2nd place in 2014)


 (Alex Parker - 1st place in 2014)


(Jennifer Jubb - 2nd place in 2014)

Review: 2015 Reebok CrossFit® Games

Part 1 of 2

What follows is a commentary and an opinion based article mainly regarding the 2015 Reebok CrossFit® Games, Individual Competition. What is written and covered in this article is not meant to be offensive to any of the athletes that are mentioned or any of the organizers involved. I truly love attending the event every year and I leave wanting to go back again the following year. If you have never attended the Games in person and are a fan of the sport, you really need to do yourself a favor and go watch them live. What occurs in Carson each year is a spectacle in both the testing the athletes must endure and the grandiose environment in which it is performed. You will have a new appreciation of how outstanding the performances are by these athletes after having seen it firsthand.

Preliminary Analysis:
- when tickets to the games were released there were people complaining about the cost. I can't remember what the exact cost was in 2012, 2013 or 2014, but for the amount I paid for my 2015 ticket I believe I got well more than my money's worth. If you do make the trek to Carson for the entire week, you get six days of nonstop fitness for what works out to about $50 USD per day. People that complain about this clearly have not been to many other sporting events at a professional level.
- regardless of how many top names competed in the team events they are still boring and I'm not interested. Rich is a machine, even in team events. It was really different not having him compete as an individual this year.
- it is much more enjoyable and exciting to watch the Teen Divisions and Masters Divisions compete than it is to watch the Teams.
- there were noticeably less people at the tennis stadium on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday individual events. I am not sure why this was the case, I can only assume that less tickets were sold. I wonder how much of that is due to the fact that Rich Froning is no longer competing as an individual.
- having the Masters and Teams compete in the soccer stadium was a very good idea. It was much more enjoyable as a spectator and I can only imagine was more enjoyable as a competitor as well.
- having the masters and teens finals in the tennis stadium was also nice gesture. For many of them, that may have been one of their best sporting moments.
- there are a lot of master's competitors stronger than me.
- bulletproof coffee is not really that good. I much prefer to make my own coffee and if I am going to ruin it with cream, then I will add organic heavy cream that I can buy at the local store.
- why did Emily Abbott not win the “Most Improved” award? Not taking anything away from Margaux Alvarez who by all accounts is the nicest human on earth, but Emily finished 1 place BEHIND her in 2014 and finished 1 place AHEAD of her in 2015. I am no mathematician, but that doesn’t add up.
- 8 out of the 13 events involved a significant aspect of pressing with the arms whether that be for endurance (i.e. Murph) or intensity (i.e. Clean and Jerk, 1 RM). 
- 10 out of the 13 events involved a significant aspect of pulling the arms whether that be for endurance (i.e. Swim/Paddle) or intensity (i.e. Legless Rope Climb/Peg Board).
- 6 out of the 13 events involved a significant aspect of squatting whether that be for endurance (i.e. Murph) or intensity (i.e. Snatch Speed Ladder). 
- 3 out of the 13 events involved carrying an external load of some kind.
- 8 out of the 13 events did not involve a barbell.
- 8 out of the 13 events involved what I would consider odd or non-common modalities.
- 3 out of the 13 events were at or below 30 seconds for the top athletes.
- 2 of the 13 events were longer than 20 minutes for the most athletes.
- I would guess none of the events hurt (not injury hurt, just this sucks really bad hurt) the athletes as much as the Sled Sprint event did last year. None of the events this year really fit into that disgusting time frame of 30 to 120 seconds with the correct modalities.

A little history:
- the overall volume of the games this year did not seem that much different than previous years, unlike some would have you believe. People are very easy to forget what happened in 2009 back at the ranch. I remember quite vividly because I was part of that. There were five events on the Saturday, which was day 1. I don't think anybody expected there to be that much work. Main reason, look at what the 2007 and 2008 Games presented as the testing. Day 1 of the 2009 Games began with a torturous 7K trail run and concluded with three rounds of wall balls and snatching. I remember getting out of my car at the end of the day when we had got back to the house we are staying at, I I took one step and actually fell down. Nowadays, this amount of work in one day would not be quite as bad but back then that was pretty much as extreme as you get. I remember walking out for the final event on Sunday, which was at the time a long chipper. I don't remember the exact start time of the event, but it had to be around 1 o’clock...it was hot as shit and we were standing on black rubber matting to boot. I survived the weekend unscathed, but my brother James was not quite so lucky. That was the first time I had seen what likely was a minor case of rhabdo.
- 2010 had what maybe considered one of the most dangerous events in the history of the games. The rope climb and Burpee over the wall event to finish the games. That was the infamous Rich Froning rope climb fail, during which I believe he fractured a bone in his foot. I could be wrong. Back then there were no crash mats for athletes to come down on and Rich took what looked like a 20 foot fall/crash. Rope climbing was also not considered a common movement back then as it had not made an appearance at the Games at that time. This was also the year I had first-hand experience of what heat exhaustion does to you. I don't know how I avoided it in 2009, it may have been because I was so damn excited to be there. In 2010 I was not quite as lucky, during the Pyramid Helen event my body basically just began to give up. I remember struggling to do sets of five kettle bell swings with a 24 kg weight. 2010 was also the first year the games moved to a three-day format.
- 2011 brought swimming into the games. That was the first year a version of Murph was done. Except, in 2011 that event took place earlier in the day on the beach. 2011 was also 3 full days of competition. It was also a LARGE increase in total work volume from the 2010 Games.
- 2012 brought the Camp Pendleton event. If you look back, you will easily see that that was the longest event in the history of the Games. Spanning well over two hours for many people. Ending when it was very, very hot outside. That year I had an athlete competing at the Games and saw first hand how devastated many of the athletes were, even after the Thursday rest day. 2012 also had a grueling mid-day event with the rope climb and sled push event that happened at the track. Again, it was very hot outside and just generally a tough environment to be in. 2012 was the first year the Games moved to a four day format, with day one beginning on Wednesday. The finale in 2012 was Power Clean Elizabeth, short rest then Isabel, Short rest then Fran. Needless to say, the 2012 Games has a LARGE increase in work volume compared to 2011.
- 2013 had the 2,000m Row into Half Marathon Row, which some people people consider the most gruelling Games event of all time. I actually shed a tear every time I think about having to do those events, ouch. 2013 also had two other grueling events with the Burden Run and the Naughty Nancy. I still remember watching the heat of Froning, Khalipa and Bridges go head-to-head on the Naughty Nancy event in which I believe each of them went unbroken, completing all four rounds of 25 overhead squats at 145 pounds. Combine the 25 overhead squats with running up the stairs and over the berm for a total of about 600-700m each round you quickly realize the impressiveness of the performance you are witnessing. I remember thinking to myself, I'm really happy I'm sitting in the seats and not actually doing this.
- 2014 had the Triple 3 event on Friday morning which was a very long event ending for most athletes when it was very hot outside. The final event in 2014 was the double grace. Which by that point of the weekend was just plain mean.
- the point I am trying to make with this brief history is that people know what they're getting into. Or, at least they should know. With that said I believe you should always err on the side of caution when it comes to your most valuable asset, the athletes. 

Short Discussion on Validation:
- every year, without fail, the program design of the Games is always placed under a microscope.
- every year, without fail, there are critics that think the design was absolutely horrific.
- every year, without fail, the athletes and HQ defend the program design stating how amazing it was.
- I don't think validation of the programming by the athletes themselves adds any credibility. The main reason for this is that the athletes are competing against one another will do whatever is required to achieve their goal. That's why they're at the elite level of this sport, they don't make excuses like the rest of us. 
- I also don't believe it to be a very good practice when the organizers/supporters spend so much of their time defending their position and stating reasons why others are wrong and they are right. If you are constantly having to defend what you believe in the face of much criticism from various points then it may be wise to reevaluate the process in which the final product of the program layout occurs.
- just because an event itself is damn near impossible does not make it the best test of fitness.
- if the focus of the program design is on rewarding sustainability then the design will not always reward capability. 
- everyone must be aware that making tests that cause the athletes to suffer and endure is very, very easy.  To me, the magic of a great program design is in its ability to select and separate individuals without having to excessively leverage their well-being in order to realize this.


For a complete run down on what the actual event were, go here