16.3 Thoughts & Strategy
16.3 brings us yet another curveball for the 2016, a movement we've been anticipating in the Open for several years has finally arrived for the first time - the bar muscle-up! As with the last two weeks (and for the next three) we'll be running heats of the Open workout during all of our Saturday morning classes. Please watch the standards video above and read the workout info here before coming in on Saturday to do the WOD - since our Saturdays during the Open are not our usual coached/structured classes, you'll need to know what you're up against (to some degree) before coming in for the self-directed warm-up and heats of the workout.
Much like 16.1 and 16.2, this workout creates opportunity for success, PRs, and lots of fun with potential "first ever" accomplishments. As with last week, we'll try to spell out the categories of competitors, and hopefully give you some pointers for how to approach the workout and impress yourself.
For athletes at every level, please be conscious of your grip (just as we mention in class every time a kipping movement comes up in a workout). Accidentally letting go of the bar is no laughing matter. First and foremost, hang on to the bar securely (we suggest wrapping your thumb around the bar) and be conscious of whether your hands are slipping off. If they even might be, take a break, shake it out, and get back up there when you've recovered.
Category 1: Power Snatch 75/55 lbs?! Yeah right.
This category will likely be comprised of newer athletes, who have not yet had a lot of time to work on power snatches. If 75/55 lbs is just not going to happen safely, then scale to the 45/35 lbs listed in the scaled version of 16.3, and, if officially entered in the Open, get a set-up for jumping chest-to-bar pull-ups (as well as a coach to show you how to approach the movement without smashing your face into the bar). If you're not officially entered in the Open then we suggest 5 jumping chin-over-bar pull-ups, which elicit nearly the same metabolic response (read: they will get your heart rate dialed up almost as much) without running the risk of smashing your face into the pull-up bar.
Category 2: Bar Muscle-up?! Yeah right.
If you're in this category, and are still working on un-assisted chest-to-bar pull-ups and/or dips, you're probably fairly certain that your torso's not going to make its way above the bar no matter what Jedi mind tricks you employ. If you're in this category, but can power snatch the 75/55 Rx weight then get your official 10-rep Rx score, and immediately thereafter continue the workout by scaling the Bar MUs so you can keep moving for the full 7 minutes - we suggest 3 chest-to-bar pull-ups OR 5 chin-over bar pull-ups as your Bar MU scaling, and prefer it to the 5 jumping chest-to-bar pull-up standard (that's a great way to increase your chances of breaking your teeth, and since you've already banked an Rx score and won't be submitting a scaled score, we think it more productive to work your pull-ups in whatever version you're able to sustain at this point in your CrossFit career).
Category 3: Power snatch? No problem. C2B and dips? No problem. Bar MU? Houston, we have a problem!
If you were at the gym on Thursday night for the initial Open heats you may have witnessed the multiple first-ever bar MUs that occurred (congrats, Lisa G and Sparkle!). You may be next! If you have the pre-requisite strength and shoulder mobility, then it's just a matter of learning the technical pieces involved in putting your body in the correct positions (yes, easier said than done... but entirely possible for many of you). Watch the video we posted in yesterday's blog ("Mastering the Bar Muscle-up"), read the points that I (Rob) posted in the private Arena Ready Facebook group on Friday (under Brianne's thread which lists the 16.3 workout movements), and then come in to the gym early on Saturday so that you can spend some time with a coach and/or experienced athlete in the warm-up area working on nailing that first successful rep. This is what the Open is all about - clawing your way to those first-ever reps which unlock the door to eventual mastery of the movement.
Category 4: Power snatch? No problem. Bar MU? No problem. Bring it, 16.3!
If this is you then it's likely that you don't need too much of our help, other than some reminders about pacing and technical considerations for maximizing efficiency. For the top-level competitors this will be 2 minutes of a brisk, "fast-ish" start pace (not all out, not slow), 3 minutes of maintaining a "race pace" (a steady level of constant movement that rides under the redline), and then 2 final minutes of a suicide pace (go like hell and try to hold on for dear life). Competitors who are proficient with the movements in this workout, but are not necessarily Regional hopefuls, should breakdown a reasonable goal and map-out the pace required to get there (e.g. 6 rounds = 78 reps, roughly one round every 1:11 - 1:12 including transitions). From there one can build-in slightly faster rounds in the first 2 minutes, moving to slightly slower rounds in the middle 3 minutes, and then plan to fight like a dog for negative splits in the last 2 minutes. Write it down, put some thought into it & be realistic, and then sell-out to stick to it. Keep your rest strict and on the clock, not by feel - doing the latter will have you resting more than you need since your mind tells you lies when things get hard. Lastly, remember a few things:
1) Hook grip the snatches from the start - this is a grip-tastic workout for competitors doing 5/6/7+ rounds. Tape your thumbs and the middle & top sections of your pinkies (trust me on that one). Open your hands for a split second at the top of each snatch rep to relax your grip a bit and take a breath (re-hook on the way back down). Let the barbell come straight down as close as possible to your chest when going touch-and-go, since even a minor swing away from your body taxes your grip with every rep. Internal rotation mobility (with a LAX ball or KB) during the warm-up can help with this. Don't rush the snatches - smooth and steady is key, and for most of you a baby power snatch is the way to go (versus a muscle snatch).
2) Tape your hands or use grips for the bar MUs. If you rip then it's game over, both for continuing the workout with any decent pace or for trying it again. Don't be a dummy or a hero - we provide tape for free for goodness sake, so use it. Don't know how to tape your hands? Oh boy. Go to Arena Ready Archives and search "hand care" for the blog posts that cover it - or if you're lazy just watch this video.
3) Know thyself on the bar MUs. Are you a ninja? Well then 3 unbroken is the way to go. If, instead, you know that 2-1 or three singles will be what you need to do then stick to it, and keep your rest strict (remember, on the clock or count it out). Whatever you do, DON'T MISS. Or at the very least minimize misses. This may mean that you have to leave one or two in the bank on a few sets, but doing so saves you time in the end, since missing reps wastes more time and energy than a successful broken set does... no matter which way you slice it.
4) Don't fall off the pull-up bar. Maybe this should be number 1. Seriously. If you're swinging into another rep and thinking to yourself "I think my grip is going a little" then come down to shake it out for a bit and rest - it's not worth it. We've seen everything from people flinging off the bar and slamming on their back, to people landing on their head, to someone actually breaking their back (none of which happened at AR thankfully, but still those things all happened). You know what it feels like "when it's not quite right" going into a rep, so don't ignore that signal - it will eliminate some missed reps, will leave some successful reps in the bank, and will keep you right-side up.
WOD for 03-12-16:
"Open 16.3"
AMRAP 7 Minutes:
10 Power Snatches @ 75/55 lbs
3 Bar Muscle-ups