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Hey everyone, TJ here from District Performance & Physio. The 2022 CrossFit Games Open is right around the corner. Whether you are an elite competitor or just here to have a good time with friends, going into the open with a plan will set you up for success. Here are a few tips to start your season off right.
Tips:
1. Be prepared and understand the nature of open workouts
Chipper
Sprint
Ascending ladders
Common movements: thruster, burpee, double under, gymnastics, unilateral dumbbell work, heavy lift under fatigue
Knowing how to generally approach each workout format will save a bit of planning on the back end, it will also give you time to develop a plan that you can stick to and perhaps tweak a bit for retests. There are also movements that almost always show up throughout the open.
Be sure your programming leading up to the open includes movements such as thrusters, burpees, double unders and if recent pandemic fitness history repeats itself, some form of unilateral dumbbell work.
2. Identify your strengths and optimize
If you haven’t mastered the muscle up volume needed for most open workouts at this point, focus on endurance and volume of your highest skill movement
EMOM style gymnastics endurance programming several days a week
Establish max sets and plan to train at 65-70% of max 2-3 x a week
If you are still working towards your first muscle up, know that stringing multiples together in the next few months might be a lofty goal. Instead, optimize the highest skill movements you have. Think about establishing max sets for these movements and then planning to incorporate EMOM style volume and strength sessions 2-3x a week at about 60-70% of your max sets. Thinking about how you can increase capacity over the next several weeks will be of much greater advantage versus attempting to level up on a new skill.
3. Tortoise or the Hare Mindset
This takes evaluating yourself as an athlete. Really knowing your weaknesses and how to best optimize work versus rest throughout the workout.
Is the workout you are facing one in which you can complete virtually unbroken, or will it require a slow and steady approach to avoid rapidly spiking your heart rate. You will approach a high volume chipper much different than a couplet sprint. Take the time to evaluate various movements which might require low volume sets and short rest breaks versus movements you can do at high volume.