18.5 Thoughts & Strategy
EVANS AVENUE PARKING REMINDER During Construction on Connecticut Street (click for details).
Open Athletes - if you haven't already, please watch the 18.5 standards video below (which briefly covers only Rx standards), and read the full workout details here on the CrossFit Games website. This will ensure that everyone is on the same page with movement standards and expectations (both Rx and scaled) prior to every athlete and judge starting their workout/heat. In particular, note that men's Rx weight is 100 lbs and not 95 lbs, and make sure to review the jumping pull-up standard if you'll be doing the Scaled workout.
This is about as classic as it gets in CrossFit - a bit of a twist on the most well-known benchmark WOD out there ("Fran"), with an ascending rep scheme on a fixed time domain (or "time-priority" format). The movements are complimentary, meaning that the couplet components don't interfere with each other from a movement pattern standpoint (you squat and upper-body push, then you upper-body pull) - and that combination allows for a ton of intensity AKA power output.
As we've covered previously in this post here, we'll be running the Open Workout ("18.5") during rolling heats in all of our Saturday morning classes. If you haven't already please sign-up for class in advance and plan on doing the workout AND judging another athlete while in the gym (no, you do not have to be a certified judge who has taken the judges course).
For those new to Arena Ready please note that these Saturday morning classes will be very different from our usual protocol. The warm-up will be self-directed and written on the board in AR North for you to follow. Please plan on showing up 10-15 minutes early for class if possible, so that you can sign-up for a heat time when you arrive and get yourself situated for warming-up.
If you're not officially entered in the Open then ask a coach on site to help you decide on a reasonable scaling for the workout if needed -- based on availability & logistics we may assign you to a particular station to give priority to the athletes who are officially registered.
The rest of this post will attempt to break down some strategy on this seemingly simple, but oh so challenging, workout...
Warm-up Well
This is not a shocker to this group. We always warm-up at Arena Ready, you all know that. Like for reals warm-up. None of that "uh, go get warm... you know what to do... and then, um, we'll hit the WOD" crap. Conversely we also don't wear dumb t-shirts that say "Your Workout Is Our Warm-up" (there are actual shirts that say this). No, our warm-up is our warm-up because we are adults and we understand the need to prepare like we care about our bodies.
Anytime we do anything "Fran-like" at Arena Ready we almost always do an increasing intensity, WOD-specific warm-up following a general warm-up. The same will be true on Saturday morning so expect to see a pattern that you've probably already seen before: basic/general warm-up, mobility and movement prep, then WOD specific movements in increasing intensity to get you sweating/breathing/ready to attack what is (for many of us) a very high power-output AMRAP. Don't make the mistake of thinking you can just jump into 18.5 without much moving beforehand, or you may end up feeling like you got hit by a truck.
Do the Math (Ascending Reps Means Your "Feelings" May Betray You)
You're all a bunch of smarties at this gym so do the math and trust what it tells you: THE EARLY ROUNDS ARE A TRAP AND THE LATER ROUNDS CONSTITUTE MOST OF YOUR SCORE. What determines an "early" round and a "later" round? Don't go off of the round number, go off of where the round may occur in time within the 7-minute stretch - i.e. a big part of your score comes between minutes 5 and 7, which means that you cannot blow yourself up between 0:00 - 2:00. You have to do the first few rounds (3/3-6/6-9/9) in such a way that sets you up well for the middle of the WOD and with enough mojo to step on the pedal during the final 1-2 minutes.
Sadly, for most people, we watched three of the fittest women on the planet do 18.5 at the live announcement and it probably gave a lot of folks a false sense of what's possible. HOWEVER, if you go back and watch the Dottirs again you'll notice that even those three super-human CrossFitters did one thing in common: THEY BROKE UP THE MOVEMENTS BEFORE THEY WERE FORCED TO - e.g. they broke the sets before they reached failure... this is otherwise known as, say it with me, doing the workout in SUB-MAXIMAL SETS. It just so happens that their sub-maximal sets occur much farther along in the workout than for the rest of us, but the concept still remains - they're not going to failure until that final sprint in the 7th minute (where they are accumulating a big percentage of their score).
So how do you break the two movements into sub-maximal sets? Read on...
Thrusters
Where you start to break and/or rest depends on how heavy this weight is for you. If it's light then it won't be until the double digit rounds (12s or 15s for most, 18s for the elite folks), but if it's not light then it should be from fairly early on (break in the 9s or even 6s for some). How you should rest is a matter of personal preference and stability/mobility - if you're strong and stable overhead then a quick breath or two with the bar overhead in lock-out can be an efficient way to "gain some short rest"... otherwise dropping the bar and re-setting quickly may be the better way to go (in this case you MUST be disciplined about your rest periods and the manner in which you drop the bar, since chasing a bouncing bar is time and energy consuming).
Moving well will pay dividends here, so: 1) prioritize a vertical torso to save your back and to put most of the squat work in your legs/quads; 2) rack the barbell on the body to save your wrists & grip, and to maximize leg drive into the overhead; and 3) make sure you're driving the bar with your leg/hips rather than strict pressing the overhead.
Should you wear weightlifting shoes? Sure, go for it. Especially if you're used to them and they don't bother you on pull-ups (they shouldn't). Tell the "anti-weightlifting shoe" establishment to pipe down for 7 minutes and go foraging for mushrooms in their barefoot shoes while the rest of us do some fast fitness.
Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups
Here's where the Open really shows its magic. We already had some super celebratory chest-to-bar pull-ups on Thursday evening (props to Jeannie, Angela, Ed, Catherine, and Amy D) and I'm sure we'll see more on Saturday morning. Some of you even noticed the movement transfer of Thursday's Bent-Over Barbell Rows to C2Bs, and noted the intentional programming of said barbell rows to help with the "feeling" of an appropriate pull. Good on ya.
Breaking the C2Bs follows the same basic principal as described above for the thrusters: break them up before you have to, or are forced to by failure. Remember that breaking C2Bs is less disruptive than breaking thrusters, since smaller sets (or even singles) on C2Bs requires less energy between reps/sets than thrusters - i.e. jumping back up to the pull-up bar is generally easier than dropping the barbell/settling the barbell bounce/cleaning the barbell. This means that if C2Bs are a challenge for you then have no fear - even singles the entire way on C2Bs can get you a pretty darn good score if you manage the thrusters well, don't give up, and keep your no-reps to a minimum!
Closing Remarks, One Last Time (since I said I would keep re-posting them every week)
Be smart and move well. You know what that means, I don't have to explain that one to you. The weights will be here tomorrow... will you be?
Cheer for your fellow athletes, and be a good judge. We do things the right way at Arena Ready -- with integrity and to the standards of the competition. Our movement is clean, our technique is admirable, our effort is 100%, and our members know the difference between intent and accomplishment (e.g. giving your fellow athlete a respectful but deserved no-rep when they're working their ass off but simply didn't accomplish a valid rep). The spirit of the Open is amazing - there's nothing like the energy and positive family vibe of these 5 weeks. Many of your buddies will do things they never thought possible, some will fall short of what they wanted and be frustrated for a bit, and others will have experiences on both sides. But in the end this is our community, and our AR family, and we support each other in success and in failure... knowing that we're all just trying to get better every day.
GO TIME!
WOD For 03-24-18:
"Open 18.5" (AKA "Open 11.6" and "Open 12.5")
AMRAP 7 Minutes (following an ascending rep ladder of 3/3-6/6-9/9-12/12-etc...):
Thrusters @ 100/65 lbs
Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups
The scaled version of 18.5 uses 65/45 lbs for thrusters and modifies to jumping chin-over bar pull-ups. Check the Open standards here to make sure you understand all the official requirements.
(Compare to 01-09-15 and 04-06-13)