1. T wrote...

That was a strong Fran Kevin. Even though there were some slight thruster flaws it is great to see someone step up to a higher standard. With everyone getting stronger and the addition of the butterfly kip, Fran was starting to get watered down. Thanks for the video and the motivation.

2. Jim Galon wrote...

"And, as a special bonus, starting about a minute and a half in, there's a nice contrast offered between different schools of training."

LOL. No kidding...

Nice work Kevin.

3. RC wrote...

Gotta love the ab workout on the stability ball...perfect!!!!!

Good job Kevin....

4. buretto wrote...

I wonder if the judge for Kevin would have counted every rep...

Either way, it was a great effort. Thanks for the inspiration and...

Sick back lever in the photo!

5. pq wrote...

Shallow thrusters. Just saying.

6. James wrote...

Great job Kevin. What's your height & weight?

7. Ryan Brown wrote...

pq, I agree. I'd go so far as to say MOST of the thrusters were shallow. Kevin looks to be tall enough that even when he DID touch the ball, it left him about an inch shy of full depth.

That said, this was an AMAZING effort and a much faster performance than I could do! Clearly a stellar athlete. Great work, Kevin. Keep it up! (but ditch the dynamax ball)

8. Blair Lowe wrote...

Stellar effort. Unfortunately, I don't think one of the thruster reps would have been legit. Hip crease lower than knee as the standard. Maybe it would have bumped it to 3:30-4m. Not sure. I'd put good money he could hit that time if he tried again without a ball.

Maybe Kevin is tall. Looks fairly light in build so I dunno. Very nice back lever. I've known a few friends who were taller ( 6 foot ) that were in good shape but had problems with back lever due to their height ( and were either ex gymnasts or very good crossfitters ).

Again another failure of using a med ball as a depth measurement for squat depth. Box squats are a bit different and are only cool if they are lower than the knees or there is a limited squat mobility.

9. D wrote...

Yeah, that was a sick Fran.

But seriously, I have been to the Garage Gym Store, Rogue, Again Faster, and I can't seem to find one of the bad a$$ big ballon balls. My wife calls it a birthing ball.....

If you know where I can get one of those, my kids want to kick it around in the back yard.

10. Dees wrote...

I have some bad ass balls.

11. Fernando Montoya wrote...

Awsome job Kevin I can't wait for the day i can get a time like that!

I wonder if we're related. shoot me an email!

Great Video.

12. Scott Penwell wrote...

Question to the community -

Anyone know who was the tallest Top 25 or 50th at the games this past year? I am 6'4 201 and have had a tough time finding fellow crossfitters with the same stats to compare results with. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Great Vid! anyone who is willing to turn on the camera and do a workout for any and everyone to see is ok in my book.

13. Jeremy Kinnick Crossfit Kinnick wrote...

Hey Scott... We have an athlete at our gym who is 6'6 220# and just smashed a sub 3 fran. I think it was 2:58 below parallel thrusters and butterfly pull ups. Hes a beast. He wasn't top 25 or 50 but was at the games and was the tallest competitor. He did complete all the WOD rx'd. Much better this year. Hope that helps!

Great Effort on Fran Kevin. We stack pieces of rug (like samples-maybe 2 feet by 1 1/2 feet) under us so that every time we hit the rugs we know we are below parallel on our thrusters. Hope it helps.

14. scott penwell wrote...

Beast! that is inspirational! I would love to know his Helen time. i have a suspicion that the games this year might be a bit more conducive to the taller athlete. But what do i know.

15. ken c wrote...

Scott

austin semms to be about 6'3" and he placed 13th i think. jeff aucoin (gaucoin) is 6'4" and would have been 19th but for the dude counting his reps getting it wrong which means they gave him a dnf.

16. scott p wrote...

thanks ken - appreciate the info - ill look out for those guys. dnf, what? sounds like a jealous judge...haha jk

17. sean wrote...

For everyone in this blog who nit picked this awesome effort, please shut the F@!K UP!!!!! You really think that the MINOR "flaws" in this workout really had that much of an impact on this dudes performance? Until you can get a sub 3 minute chest to bar fran, SHUT UP. And to Keven, holy hell, that was awesome to see. I also live in the great state of Colorado and look forward to competing against you at the Regional Games in May.

Sean

18. sevan wrote...

Hi Sean,

I honor your opinion.

I don't know if you were at the games.

But I can assure you, from what I saw, and I watched very closely, that not a single thruster in Kevin's video would have counted at the 2008 games. Shit was strict.

let me repeat. NOT A SINGLE THRUSTER.

This does not take anything away from Kevin. Not at all. It is just a fact about the CrossFit Games and the HIGH STANDARD that the athletes are performing under.

This is just clarification and CONTEXT, since the video references the games and the TIMEs achieved at the games.

I'll "shut the fuck up now"

love
sevan

19. silverback wrote...

Here we go again. Awesome athlete who left doubts by not getting full ROM. Why why why? You KNOW you need to get a full squat!!!!!!! You are obviously capable and that Fran time is only something I can dream about. Don't leave anything to guess. Great effort and best of luck at the qualifier. Sean, how old are you? Your debating skills are admirable.

20. grambo wrote...

Awesome effort, the thrusters look a bit shallow as others have said, would be interesting to see him try it with a bunch of others cheering him on and helping with range of motion (rather than a random dude doing crunches on a stability ball).

The comments about squatting to the med ball and being tall, wouldn't a taller athlete have a greater chance of breaking parallel when hitting a med ball with their ass than a shorter athlete? Assuming constant lower leg to upper leg ratio.

The best way is just to not use a ball, personally I've found it makes it easier with a ball since you can bounce your ass off it when you get tired versus the effort required to just stand up with nothing underneath you, plusing having to know the depth.

21. pq wrote...

Sean. Dude.

What is the point of adding three inches of ROM to your (bodyweight) pull-ups if you're going to take more than three inches of ROM away from your (weighted) thrusters? Do the math: the guy is doing less work than a normal, chin-over-bar Fran.

22. nick wrote...

I guess what I don't understand is why people use the ball. If you are that fit you just don't need it. I have a 5:30 fran never have used a ball, and always get below parallel on the thrusters. I feel that crossfit doesn't need the med ball to define depth for a high quality athlete. He should know when he is below parallel. rant off

23. Kimball wrote...

Nice fran...who is the tool on the pussy ball?

24. K.I.R. wrote...

Wasnt going to blog on this but just have to. Sevan basically said it all but I just dont understand, ( and I am very appreciative for this sight), but I dont understand why this video would even be posted. Obviously he is a great athlete but I cant believe when it was sent in that nobody said 'hey this would be a terrible example for beginners'. Not even close. And its not being "nit picky". If someone goes to a three point contest and decides to take all the shots from a couple feet inside the line and makes them all people wouldnt say 'hey dont be nit picky. the guy is an amazing three point shooter'. I guess my point is that through the great efforts of the people who run this stuff. This is now a bona fide sport. Or an athletic competition. Lets start treating it like one. Maybe not post stuff like that. For a good examples sake. Thanks

25. Tony B. wrote...

K.I.R.
Why did we post this? Because Kevin is an amazing athlete, and my prediction is that when the Games come around, he's going to be a force to reckon with. If we take your 3-point example, I'd describe it like this: He'd be shooting on the court all alone (or with a single other guy playing Yahtzee on the side), with no official 3-point line. He's making almost every shot, but when you look at the video, you realize he's just inside the line on almost every shot. Now, if the video is posted as an example of 3 point shooting, you wonder why, as you did. But if the video is posted to highlight an athlete who will be competing in an upcoming 3 point contest, you're going to be paying attention to him.

For all you nitpickers out there, you're right. In competition, these reps don't count. And, I strongly recommend that anyone wanting to do well in the Qualifiers and actual Games train the fullest ROM possible. But if you can't also see an impressive display of fitness in this video, you're missing the forest for the trees.

26. Kells wrote...

Tony, you are wise. Both arguments covered. The guy on the Swiss Ball didn't use full of ROM either.