Patrick Vellner

The workout that left me in the worst shape was 'Echo on Fran' at Water Palooza 2021, which included 2159 reps of thrusters, chest-to-bar pull-ups and calories on the Echo Bike. It left me so exhausted that I had to take multiple breaks just to get off the floor afterwards.
 
Transcript: "This is a tough one to answer because every workout is challenging for a different reason. Some of them break you down more physically and some will push you kind of mentally to a bad place. So there's a few that are on the list though and I think the one that maybe left me in the worst shape afterwards was a workout I did at Waterpalooza in 2021. It was called Echo on Fran. It was 2115 9 reps of thrusters at 135, chest to bar pull-ups and calories on the Echo bike. And so that was a really high intensity effort that was you know five to six minutes long and I just remember kind of pushing myself really to the limit and I was a heap afterwards. I ran to the finish line, I hit the bike in the last round and and like blew it out. I had now I wound up under the bleachers and I laid there probably for like two minutes and I remember thinking like you need to get out because someone's gonna be really worried about you. And I couldn't even get myself off the floor. I'd take you know three or four steps and I'd have to stop and I was just you know double vision, legs cramping up, everything bad. So my coach and a few people have said they've never seen me in such bad shape. So that might have to be it. Echo on Fran from the 2021 Guadalupe Luza."

My post-workout snack usually consists of a carb-heavy meal with some lean protein, like eggs or chicken, and sometimes a piece of fruit. If I'm not training again that day, I'll add more protein to the meal and maybe enjoy something sweet, like oatmeal with yogurt and fruit.
 
Transcript: "This depends a bit on if I have to train again or not. If I'm in between two sessions, I'll probably eat something that's pretty carb heavy and not super protein heavy. I might have some liquid protein, but usually like, you know, either a big bunch of rice and a little bit of lean protein like egg or chicken, no veggies, probably a piece of fruit, something that's gonna give me some sugars as well. If I don't have to train again, it probably will still be heavy on the carbs, but I'll have a bit more protein in it. And sometimes just as a treat, I have a bit of a sweet tooth, so I kind of, I'll mix myself up like a big, like oatmeal or granola kind of thing with some yogurt and some fruit and things like that and mix some protein into it. So it just like, it kind of hits that sweet spot that I want. And it's the end of your day. So having a bunch of yogurt or things like that isn't gonna bog you down or make you bloated or anything like that for another session. But that's usually my go-to. It's always lots of carbs. You don't wanna be feeling super heavy with a bunch of protein or fats if you're going into another session. But once it's done for the day, I tend to go nuts and I'll have a nice meal that's gonna make me feel right sitting on the couch for at least an hour."

I got involved with Decca comp because Michele Letendre, who runs it, used to be an individual competitor at the games. We became friends and she took me in during a difficult time in 2016. We have a strong coach-athlete relationship and I trust her for my training and competition.
 
Transcript: "So I got involved with DECA Comp because Michelle LaTondra, who runs it, used to be an individual competitor at the Games. I lived in Montreal, I went to school there, same town as her, and I qualified for my first Games in 2016, which happened to be her last year. My partner was going to school still there, and through a series of events, basically, she switched programs into another city. I was living with her and I ended up homeless in Montreal that summer. Michelle actually took me in to live with her and her partner and train with her in preparation for the 2016 Games. I was super successful that year, I came third in my rookie year, and then she retired shortly thereafter and started DECA Comp. We had a lot of fun training together, and we kind of get along, we view the world very similarly. We just kind of started a coach relationship then, I signed on with her, and we've been working together ever since. We've had many podiums since then, and I have no reason not to trust her. She works incredibly hard, we debrief over every competition, we make new goals every year, and she is extremely well-read and always learning in everything that we need to improve on. I have a lot of love and a lot of trust for Michelle and DECA Comp, so I don't think I would ever leave her. Are there other programs that are great? Yeah, there are. There are some that I would join, maybe, and there are some that I would not. I think it's just about finding good fits for you, and I was really fortunate to find that in 2016. Michelle's a great friend now and a really good partner in this coach-athlete relationship. So I think that I'm going to see that through until I retire, in all likelihood."

My first major competition was the regional back in 2014. I had some friends who encouraged me to compete and I had zero expectations. I ended up doing well and winning two events and I realized that with more work, I could do really well in CrossFit competitions.
 
Transcript: "So my first major competition was the regional back in 2014. I didn't really know much about competing in CrossFit. I had some friends who pushed me to do the Open the year before. I used that to figure out what I needed to be better at. As somebody revealed to me the structure of the season and there's this natural progression, it's easy to set goals, so my next obvious goal was to just make it to the next stage. I did the following year in 2014, had zero expectation, had never watched a CrossFit competition, didn't know anything about it really, so stepped out on the regional floor, very green. I got buried in a couple events that had heavy barbells, but I actually won two events outright and I think had the rest in the top ten, I think. So I performed really well and it was kind of fun. I saw the rest of the guys advance and from there you know a few people, you watch the games and you see how they do. It was very reassuring to me to see, yeah, they're crushing me at some things, but I'm crushing them and I'm holding my own in a lot of areas. I think this is something that with a little more work I can actually be quite good at. I think my timing was good. I hit it at the right time where I was able to step in and fill pretty big shoes on a competition floor. But yeah, that was the first time I was like, yeah, I can probably do this. I can see what this is all about and I'm not half bad."

I found compartmentalizing and chunking tasks into smaller blocks helps me manage time more efficiently by allowing me to focus on one task at a time.
 
Transcript: "This is an ongoing huge struggle, but it's something I've gotten reasonably good at, and I think I got good at when I was in university and I had to balance training with, you know, my schoolwork and having a social life. So what I found helpful for me is kind of compartmentalizing things and, you know, not letting things touch too much. So if I'm going to go to the gym, I'm focused on being there. I don't think about my schoolwork. I don't do whatever. I try to get done that job and then check that box and then move on to the next thing. So then I go home and I don't bring my work home with me. I focus on those relationships at home or with my friends. And then when I'm at school, I'm focused on those things. So I set little time blocks and I find that keeping them short is very effective for me. If I'm doing one thing, let's say I was studying and I start getting past two hours of reading a book, I stop. I start losing focus. I stop really absorbing things. So it's time to move on to another thing and be very effective in that task. So jumping from task to task, not super frequently, but without stretching things too thin, I found helped me work very effectively in each category and then be able to give those things or those people the time and attention they deserve when I'm there. So I found that that worked really well for me, that compartmentalizing and sort of chunking things into smaller blocks. So maybe that'll help with you guys."

I usually wake up early, have breakfast and coffee, and mix some pre-workout if needed. I spend time doing warm-up and activation exercises before starting my workout. I listen to podcasts while working out, and still get nervous before a competition workout.
 
Transcript: "So for me it's less about a pre-workout and usually before a session, because my sessions are sometimes long and I usually train in the morning. So I'll usually wake up early, have breakfast with my toddler, and have a coffee, and maybe I mix up some pre-workout depending on what I have to do. I'll get to the gym and I spend a fair amount of time now doing some warm-up and activation of whatever I might need. Like if let's say I'm going overhead, I'll spend a fair amount of time getting my shoulders prepped and things like that. A younger me would have just jumped right in, but not anymore. And then yeah, you kind of just get to it and chip along through the day. Sometimes I just put podcasts in and I kind of work through my day slow and steady. For specifically a workout, like if it's a competition workout and I'm trying to like, I don't have any superstitions really, but I might tape my hands a certain way. I don't know, like anybody, I think I get the nervous bathroom emergency before we start. And I still get butterflies and jittery like anybody else. I think that's kind of what's cool after so long of doing it, you still feel that way. And it just sort of shows how much I still care. And I think if I stop feeling that way, and it feels like it doesn't matter and I'm just going through the motions, then maybe it's time to hang it up. But for now, I don't think there's a lot that separates me from the rest of you guys. I think we still feel the same way. And I get nervous just like everybody."