The first week of the 2022 CrossFit Games Open is here! Check it out below and get ready to have some fun!
A lot of athletes will look at this and think about going out of the gates aggressively. I cannot emphasize enough how bad of an idea I think that is for most human beings! The first 2-5 rounds may go quite smoothly for most, but it’s the last 4-5 minutes of this workout that will separate most individuals!
Wall Walks: Practice where your hands should go at the start of each rep in order to make these reps as efficient as possible. My main piece of advice here is to ensure your arms are LOCKED before you start to climb up the wall. Also, be sure to get BOTH feet on the wall prior to staring to move your hands. There will be a LOT of “no-reps” called because hands move early. Don’t waste energy on re-doing these reps! On the way down, get your hands back to the line fast and then get down! Make every rep count here.
Dumbbell Snatch: Hips, hips, hips! Hips down, chest up, and arm straight at the start of each rep. Stand fast and PUNCH to the sky every time. The *less* this feels like an upper body movement the better off you’ll be. The biggest efficiency cue for me is for athletes to stand slightly in front of the DB in order to get a bit more momentum to launch the DB up from slightly behind the feet. Arms should feel like ropes on these.
Box Jump-Overs: The change on this movement this year is that athletes MUST step down on the other side of the box. While that eliminates some advantage for athletes with an incredible engine, I acknowledge that this rule will likely reduce the number of injuries sustained from those trying to rebound under fatigue. (Net win, I’d say!) My advice here is simple: “Stay low and GO!” For as long as possible, prioritize landing on the box, not standing up all the way, pivoting on your way down, and then going right into the next rep. In order to make these even more efficient, practice timing so that as soon as the second foot hits, athletes are able to smoothly transition right into the next rep. When fatigue sets in, consider standing all the way up on top of the box to recover instead of resting on the ground. The more space athletes have to recover, the more time they’ll be likely to take before the next rep.
This workout is about HEART RATE MANAGEMENT. Keep it under control and you’ll be more likely to finish STRONG
My strategy video is below and I really hope it helps some of you out there! Please note that it was TOUGH for me to talk AND demonstrate all of the movements in one take. Know that I tried my best to keep the information as concise and effective as possible! Thank you all for tuning in for another year of these videos!
As always: Good Luck, Have Fun, I Believe In You!
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