“The Open pushes you to do things you can’t do. You don’t have a choice; you have to do it. … It’s given to you and that’s just what you have to do.”
Photos courtesy of Sheila Nielsen Photography
Raise your hand if you earned your first double-under, got your first chest-to-bar pull-up or PR’d your deadlift so far during this year’s CrossFit Games Open.
Pretty exhilarating, wasn’t it?
That’s exactly how Julia Riley felt when she nailed 93 double-unders during 14.1, 10 chest-to-bar pull-ups in 14.2 and 56 deadlifts in 14.3.
“The Open pushes you to do things you can’t do,” said Riley, 27, who has been training at CrossFit Roseburg in Oregon since 2012. “You don’t have a choice; you have to do it. You can’t scale the weight. You can’t do anything to make it easier. It’s given to you, and that’s just what you have to do.”
For Riley, tenacity and determination culminated with her conquering those challenging movements under pressure.
Those Dreaded Double-Unders
Like just about every other CrossFit athlete, Riley has her goats. One of them—until three weeks ago—was double-unders. No matter how hard she tried, she was unable to string more than a few together at a time.
When Director of the CrossFit Games Dave Castro announced the couplet of double-unders and snatches, Riley said she felt physically ill.
“My heart just sank,” she said. “Before he even announced the workout, I had a sick feeling that that’s what it was going to be because double-unders are something I struggled with so much and couldn’t do.”
Though daunted, Riley refused to surrender.
The next morning, she packed up her jump rope and Nanos, pulled on her Lulus and bright pink “Believe” headband, headed down to her and her husband’s glass tinting shop and skilled the movement.
“All Friday morning and afternoon, I practiced and practiced and practiced and practiced,” Riley recalled.
She played with strategies, using different jump ropes and adjusting the lengths.
“I tried a whole bunch of singles and then doing a double, and I tried jumping right into double-unders,” Riley said. “I was just trying to figure out what worked.”
She arrived at CrossFit Roseburg on Friday night to complete 14.1, her arms and legs covered with whip marks.
“I hit myself so hard that I thought one of them was going to start bleeding,” she said, rubbing the back of her arm. “I even hit my toes a few times.”
As soon as coach David Powell counted down “3-2-1 … go!” Riley grabbed her rope, took a deep breath and jumped. She strung together a dozen in her first attempt.
“I just relaxed, tried to not focus on it so much and just did it,” she said. “All that practice worked!”
In the end, she earned a score of 138.
“Friday morning, I couldn’t do double-unders,” she said. “That night, I did 93. Though I wish I did better, it’s an accomplishment getting them and doing an entire round more than my goal.”
Challenge Continues
During 14.2’s couplet, Riley was forced to revisit the chest-to-bar pull-up.
In the 2012 Open, she got her very first during 12.5. It was a movement she had no prior experience with, but she put in the work and success followed.
“I actually got six of them,” Riley said, smiling as she recalled her achievement. “Those were my first-ever pull-ups, and they happened to be a chest-to-bar. Only two months into CrossFit, and I did them!”
Two years later, faced with chest-to-bars again, Riley experienced déjà vu.
“I felt like I was back in that same position I was in 2012,” Riley said. “I’m just a few months back to CrossFit after a rough pregnancy, and I was put back in that spot where I have no other option but to do it.”
Riley pulled herself up to the bar 10 times and overhead squatted 65 lb. 16 times, earning 26 reps overall.
Open Workout 14.3’s heavy deadlifts proved a challenge, as well, but Riley felt confident going in. The week before, she lifted 200 lb., adding 30 lb. to her one-rep max.
She scored 101 on 14.3, successfully pulling 11 reps at 185 lb.
“The Open was intimidating at first, but Dave (Powell) just talked me into trying, so I did,” Riley said. “After the very first workout, I impressed myself so much. It just gave me that drive and competitiveness and made me that much more addicted to CrossFit.”
