Open 20.2 Thoughts & Strategy
It's week TWO of the 2020 Open at Arena Ready, and our Saturday Open WOD brings us three movements that most of us saw coming at some point - thrusters, toes-to-bar, and double unders!
Like we say every week - whether you're officially signed-up for the Open and will be competing on Saturday (Or Sunday), or you're just doing the workouts for fun & fitness (and to be a part of the Open energy at AR) please watch the 20.2 standards video (I have re-posted it above) and read the workout details here on the CrossFit Games website. Due to the longer time domain of this workout AND the potential for a high volume of total reps, it's important that everyone completing and judging the workout is familiar with all of the standards in advance. PLEASE KNOW THE STANDARDS BEFORE YOU COME IN TO THE GYM, BOTH AS AN ATHLETE AND A JUDGE. Thank you.
Oh, and if you're entered in the Open and need a judge to validate your performance you may want to bring a small thank you gift for your judge for counting DUs for 20 minutes. Just a thought LOL.
Now, some logistics and then a little strategy...
First, logistics:
if you are NOT officially entered in the Open I would plan on NOT being judged, as I think it's a lot to ask of someone to count your reps for 20 minutes (unless that person actually likes doing that sort of thing). You may also consider using a non-competition weight for the dumbbells (45s, 30s, 25s, etc) if any are appropriate for your level.
Whether you're entered in the Open or not (and whether doing the workout Rx or Scaled), if your performance and movement deteriorates to the point of unsafe levels WE WILL CUT YOU OFF regardless of what the clock says. Sorry I'm not sorry. Letting someone continue on past the point of exhaustion and safe movement, particularly with these three movements, is just plain dumb. I don't think our athletes need that warning but it makes me feel better to write it out and to say it out loud if needed.
The longer time domain means less heats per hour, and the double DB requirement means there will be assigned stations by weights — SO, that means if you have a strong preference for when & where you go then I suggest getting to the gym early to have the best chance at picking a preferred slot. Otherwise you may be at the mercy of what’s left when you arrive.
Per our SOP we'll detail a suggested, self-directed warm-up on the board, and you're welcome to follow that or do your own warm-up to get yourself ready to go.
Second, some thoughts on strategy:
Some sources have over-complicated the strategy element of this workout to the point where I think they're just making up rhetoric in an effort to sound like an authority on the topic. All the "split time" spreadsheets and "how to shorten the range of motion" suggestions are mostly nonsense, because the fact of the matter is you can pick any pace or splits that you like - the key is CAN YOU HOLD THAT PACE FOR 20 MINUTES? I could very easily say "Oh, you want to run a 20-minute 5K? Well that's easy, you just have to pace it correctly. Run each 400m lap in 1:36 and hold that pace the whole time. There you go... easy. Have fun and thank me later."
1) Shocker..... pacing is key.
20 minutes of ANYTHING requires pacing. Smooth and steady is fast. Smooth and steady is fast. Smooth and steady is fast. You need to know yourself, be honest with where your fitness level currently is (and how proficient you are with the skill movements), and set a pace accordingly. Pace it smooth and steady early on, and don't let the feeling of the first few rounds fool you into thinking it will feel that same way in minutes 15-20.
The nice thing about 20 minutes of low-rep rounds is it makes the math and conceptual approach easy - if you use the 80/20 rule (go at 80% effort for 80% of the workout, and then step on the gas for the last 20%) you'll be steady and relaxed through AT LEAST minute 16, and then you'll leave it all out there in the final 2-4 minutes. For example, if your goal is 15 rounds this means one round every 1:20, and if you feel good at the 16:00-18:00 mark then pick up the pace a little to beat your goal. If, by chance, you look at the clock after 4 rounds and you're at 3:00 (which many of you are plenty capable of for 4 rounds) then expect that you'll soon feel like someone punched you in the face and breadbasket simultaneously with brass knuckles - and for a lot of us there's no coming back from that with 16-17 minutes remaining in the workout.
Is your goal 10 rounds? Then the above applies at a "1 round every 2:00" pace. You get the point. The lower your goal is the more you can fudge the early rounds and start just a bit faster (think roughly 10-20% or so faster), with the assumption that fatigue will eventually slow each successive round regardless, and you'll be glad you started just a bit ahead of your goal pace.
So, pick a pace that's reasonable based on the fact that:
A) 4-6-24 unbroken at a decent tempo = approximately 40 to 45 seconds for "very fit non-professional CrossFit athletes who are gainfully employed and cannot work out seven times a day" AKA Rx/Black level "every day" people that are good at all three movements.
B) Most (if not all) of us without high-level competitive aspirations cannot hold that same pace listed above in "A" past a handful of rounds (think "how long could I do 4-6-24 if we were doing it in an “Every 45 Seconds” workout?" … and be HONEST with yourself.
C) Breaking up the T2B and/or DU into sets will add significant time to each round but are likely necessary for many of us to keep a disciplined and reasonable pace, so if you're not planning on going "unbroken" through most of the early rounds then start building your pace/splits/goal on the basis that you'll have to break up the movements beyond the first few minutes of the workout anyway.
D) It's much easier to speed up in the second half of the workout if you feel good and realize that you're capable of something faster than your original plan than it is to try and hold on for dear life because you started out way too fast and only learned about it when previously mentioned brass knuckles smack you in the gut & windpipe.
Breaking up the thrusters is a matter of specific athlete ability. While Rx athletes shouldn't put the DBs down at all unless totally at the point of muscular fatigue, many of you who find the weight heavy will benefit from 2 sets, and some will need to split it up into singles at some point in order to safely navigate the movement. You need to know yourself as an athlete and do what it takes to keep the engine under the redline and the movement quality high. A good rule of thumb is "no strained reps for as long as possible" - meaning if you feel like you'll need to really gather yourself to stand up the squat or press out the top of the rep, or the speed of the reps is noticeably slowing, then put it down before the next one. Whatever the case we will enforce a NO DROPPING THE DUMBBELLS policy, both for everyone’s safety and to avoid having a pile of broken dumbbells at the end of the weekend. If you have to drop the DBs then it’s simply too heavy for you to be using them in the first place.
The topic of breaking up the double unders is a simple one for most of us. If you're good at them either unbroken OR one intentional break is the way to go - 24 is a small enough number that breaking them may be unnecessary for ninjas, but 20 minutes is a long time and some folks may choose to use a break to keep their pacing strategy disciplined. If you're not good at DUs then you're going to be missing anyway so just try your best to relax, stay calm, and get as many "runs" of consistent reps as you can. There's a lot of time here and keeping your cool is a big part of fighting through the frustration of DU misses.
2) Warm-up all the movements but don't go crazy.
You want to get some aerobic work in so the workout is not a shock to the body, but no need to "do the workout before doing the workout." Get the heart rate up, get a little sweat going if that works for you, do a little "wake-up burst" or two near the end of your warm-up, and then let it all come down a bit before you start (all of this is already detailed in the warm-up we wrote on the board). Beyond that, and some focused mobility and movement prep, you don't need much else. This is not the time to make up for lost technique or skill work (particularly for T2B and double unders), lest you end up doing half of the workout before you even start the workout. Your calves, feet, shins, Achilles, hands, and abs can only take so much in one day, friends!
Speaking of mobility and dynamic movement prep...
3) Hips, Shoulders, Ankles, Calves/Feet/Achilles, Lats and Upper Pecs.
Get these bad boys ready. You know what your body needs to get blood the pumping and your tissues unglued. We've written some suggested mobility and movement prep items on the warm-up board, but feel free to do the ones you like to make sure you're good to go. Your hips (and ankles too) need to be ready for the bottom position of the thruster, and your shoulders need to be ready for the overhead piece of the thruster and for the T2B. And, obviously, 20 minutes of T2B and double unders is a lot - particularly if you're not great at the movements - so prepare for the impact as best you can (and for those prone to lower extremity “stuff” you may want to set your own personal time cap as a responsible way to keep yourself out of the zone of "Oh crap, I should've been smarter and stopped before I aggravated my connective tissue issues").
4) Weightlifting shoes are not worth it.
I know they make thrusters easier, duh. But this is a lot of jumping and those suckers have no padding and very little give, so for most of us putting them on to jump this many times is a no go. Be smart and take care of your feet/ankles/shins/etc. - maybe just do some extra ankle mobility instead?
20.2 GIDDY UP!
WOD For 10-19-19:
“Open 20.2”
AMRAP 20 Minutes:
4 Dumbbell Thrusters @ 50/35 lbs (each side)
6 Toes-to-Bar
24 Double Unders