Double Trouble Playback!
A look book at Mobilus Double Trouble 2023.
Written by Annie Set
On 4 Nov, 8:30 am on a Saturday, a crowd began to gather at Mobilus Clarke Quay. Not the usual weekenders gathering for classes, but a collection of athletes both from Mobilus as well as other gyms around Singapore. Mobilus’ second annual Double Trouble— a partner competition for teams of two to face off in CrossFit workouts– was about to begin.
This second year, Mobilus hosted 44 teams across 12 gyms in Singapore, making it our biggest competition to date. With 4 events across two days, athletes were tested in their teams of 2 to demonstrate their abilities across a range of skills and strength.
Conceptualised and programmed by head coach Aidan Chemaly, the events challenged athletes to not only prove their abilities as individual athletes, but to demonstrate effective partnership— with workouts hinging on communication– requiring teams to know their own strengths and weaknesses as well as their partner’s.
Athletes could compete in their male or female pairs in either RX or Scaled categories. The RX categories were made up of 8 and 9 teams in male and female RX respectively, while the scaled groups were a little fuller with 12 male and 11 female teams.
RX refers to doing the workout as it is prescribed.
Scaled refers to the prescribed workout being modified to allow more people without the required RX skills to do the workout.
The four workouts were released earlier in September, allowing athletes time to prepare themselves– an advantage that was not taken lightly.
Across the two months leading up to the competition, pairs could be seen putting in the extra time to work on their skills, test the workouts and refine their synchronized movements for the big weekend ahead. Participants from other gyms also visited Mobilus to test out the equipment as part of their preparation.
Day 1 , Event 1
Day 1 kicked off at Mobilus Clarke Quay, with teams facing their first challenge of the weekend- the “Singapore River Run-Carry-Row”.
The first event took the athletes outside, making their rounds around the Singapore river. Though the workout seemed to favor athletes with a strong engine- their ability to pace, as well as to handle the weighted carry determined how much gas they had left in the tank for the final row. The final push on the rower took athletes back inside the gym, neck and neck with other competitors and in the heat of the cheering crowd.
Swapping partners on the row got messy for some, with feet getting stuck in the clips and fumbling of the handles in transition. Most collapsed to the ground upon completing their row, while others took what energy they had left to cheer for their partners, or even for other teams that had not yet finished.
After Event 1, teams Potato Potahto and Team Zoe came out on top for Scaled Women and Men respectively, while Dutch ≠ Danish and 2 Clean Jerks were the top Rx Women and Men’s teams.
Event 2
In the afternoon, athletes returned for their second event– the Barbell Burpee Party. A two part workout, athletes needed to find a balance between pushing the pace on their barbell cycling to accumulate burpees in part A, and conserving their strength for the 2 rep max in part B.
With this second event taking place fully inside, the cheers from the crowd were constant. Friends, family and gym members were spread across the gym, filling the spectator space and lined along the staircase and balcony. Efficiency on barbell cycling was key, as athletes fought to move quickly while maintaining control of the bar through the reps, trying to keep their breath while dropping to the ground for quick transitions to their burpees.
As they completed part A, the one minute of enforced rest was used by some to scramble to change plates on their bars, while others took the time to catch their breath before preparing themselves for part B.
Top rank for 2A was taken by 6 AM J’s and Team Dragonites for Rx Men and Women, and Out of Step and TohEarly for Scaled men and women.
For 2B, the top teams were David and Goliath and Team Dragonites in Rx Men and Women, while for Scaled it was Team Zoe for the men and 小黑黑 for the women.
At the end of Day 1, the following emerged as the leaders for the competition.
RX Men: David and Goliath, Canvas Training
RX Women: Team Dragonites, Mobilus Chinatown & Canvas Training
SC Men: Team Zoe, Mobilus Clarke Quay
SC Women: Potato Potahto, Empower Fitness
Day 2, Event 3
The following day brought the competition to Mobilus Chinatown, with athletes and spectators starting to stream in, awaiting the first briefing of the day. With the leaderboard now established, athletes had clearer goals, plans to execute and hopefully– to advance in the rankings.
With the pairing of strength and gymnastic elements, Event 3 required teams to know their respective abilities and communicate with their partner. For some, this meant leaning on the stronger partner to get through the sled or to push harder on the bike, or perhaps having the better gymnast take the reps slow to accommodate the synchronization of the gymnastic movements.
For both Scaled and RX, the gymnastic elements increased in difficulty as the teams progressed through the workout and the accumulated sled work began to take its toll. The cheers from the crowd swelled as teams were fighting for reps on their chest-to-bars and bar muscle-ups, reaching a climax at the end of each heat as the top teams raced back to the line to mark the end of their workout.
The top teams for Event 3 were Potato Potahto and Team Zoe for the Scaled Women and Men, while Team Dragonites and 2 Clean Jerks took top position for RX Women and Men.
Event 4
By the time the first heat started, Mobilus Chinatown was packed to the doors with spectators. A massive crowd had gathered to witness the final event of the competition, to cheer on their friends and to see which teams would come out on top.
Event 4 was the shortest of the weekend, with the 7 minute time cap making for a dramatic finish to the two days. For many teams, the challenge was speed and efficiency on the rope climbs, and synchronization of the thrusters. In the rush to finish first, some teams lost reps as they moved out of synch or fumbled on the ropes.
The top scores for Event 4 were held by Team Hwachong (Rx Men), Team Dragonite (Rx Women), Monkey Business (Scaled Men), and Energizer Bunnies (Scaled Women).
With the end of the Event 4, the leaderboard was closed, and the final top 3 of team of each category emerged.
RX Men
1st: 2 Clean Jerks, Mobilus Clarke Quay
2nd: Team Hwa Chong, WAO Fitness & Mobilus Chinatown
3rd: 6 AM J’s, Mobilus Chinatown
RX Women
1st: Team Dragonites, Mobilus Chinatown & Canvas Training
2nd: Dutch ≠ Danish, Mobilus Chinatown & Clarke Quay
3rd: 2ROOD Vegetables, MethodX
SC Men
1st: Team Zoe, Mobilus Clarke Quay
2nd: Out of Step, Mobilus Chinatown
3rd: Monkey Business, Mobilus Chinatown
SC Women
1st: Potato Potahto, Empower Fitness
2nd: TohEarly, MVRCK
3rd: Energizer Bunnies, Mobilus Clarke Quay
As the day came to a close, the gym was abuzz with athletes and spectators gathering to congratulate each other and take pictures commemorating the weekend.
We at Crossfit Mobilus would like to extend our thanks to all of the gyms that participated in the weekend– both as athletes and spectators. Special thanks to all staff and coaches who helped to make the weekend possible. Double Trouble 2023 is also proudly sponsored by Mate Mate, Trapeze Rec Club and The Bold.
Congratulations to all winners and participants from the weekend, we look forward to seeing you again next year for Double Trouble 2024!