It’s that time of the year again! Are you excited, nervous or an excited-nervous mix? No matter what you’re feeling, there is still time for some last-minute GAINZ. For the most part “the hay is in the barn”. Not much from a strength and fitness standpoint you can do this late in the game, but there are some tricks of the trade I’ve learned since I began CrossFit in 2007 and my first Open in 2011.
Here are five training hacks that can help you with your game plan each week:
Got Skillz?
Terrible Tens
Your Pace Face
Lift Heavy $h!t
Buck Furpees
GOT SKILLZ?
Do you know your baselines? When it comes to skills in The Open, it is nearly impossible to make a plan for the workout if you don’t know what your capacity is for each bodyweight movement. As a coach, I have come across this a lot. I will be talking to an athlete about strategy for a workout and when I ask how many fill-in-the-blank reps they can do they don’t have an answer. This makes it difficult to plan for unbroken sets or planned breaks in the workout.
Take some time after class or during open gym to do a max unbroken set of pull-ups, handstand push-ups, toes to bar, pistols, handstand walks or double unders. Less than 1-minute of your time can pay huge dividends on your score.
“It’s only pain, it will not hurt you.”
TERRIBLE TENS
Ten reps is a solid marker going into The Open. It is a middle ground between high rep and low rep schemes. See what weight you can do for ten touch n’ go reps on cleans (all variations), snatch (all variations), thrusters or deadlift. There is a time and place in an Open workout to go to quick singles, but I think too many go to this when they should first string some reps together. The more comfortable you get with touch n’ go reps under fatigue the better you will do when the workout calls for it.
YOUR PACE FACE
Rowing comes up quite often in The Open. Do you know your paces and effort levels? 500m, 1k and 2k are good distances to not only know your time, but what Avg. 500m pace you held to hit those times. Knowing these numbers can give you a good idea of what pace to strategize in short, medium and long workouts.
If you don’t know your times for these distances, you can test your 500m time and calculate what the other paces should be. Advanced rowers would add 5 seconds on their 500m pace to calculate their 1k pace and 10 seconds to calculate their 2k pace. Intermediate add 10 and 20 seconds, beginner add 15 and 30 seconds. This data can go a long way in preventing you from either coming out too hot or leaving too much in the tank both of which can have a huge affect on your score.
“You will never lift a heavier weight in a workout if you don’t use a heavier weight in a workout.”
LIFT HEAVY $H!T
Do you want the 50# or 35# dumbbell to feel lighter in The Open? Use a heavier dumbbell leading up to it. This could be in class for part or all of the workout or extra work on your own. That ten-rep mark we discussed with the barbell also applies here. Clean and Jerks or Snatches from the ground or from the hang. Single Dumbbell Overhead Lunges or Double Dumbbell Front Rack Lunges are also good movements to try. Get used to getting really good leg drive, hip pop and drop under a heavy weight. Feeling the heavier weight in these reps and getting used to stabilizing it overhead provide a lot of confidence when you use a lighter dumbbell.
BUCK FURPEES
You know they are going to be in a workout…you know this. Might as well embrace the suck early and hit the deck now. Timed max rep tests, 50-100 rep tests and death by formats are great finishers after a class workout. Mentally accept the discomfort and keep forcing yourself to drop, you will get back up.
Good luck to everyone this year and I’ll see you in the trenches!
—Coach Kiel
P.S.
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