Open 19.2 Thoughts & Strategy
OK, here we go with week two! This is essentially a repeat of Open 16.2 (shout out to Coach Lisa for guessing it exactly!) with the exception of a modification to the first time cut-off point — I actually think this revised version is slightly better and allows more people to get further into the workout. I (Rob) personally LOVE this workout despite the fact that I’ll likely be done at the 8-minute mark LOL (along with most of the rest of the world).
We’ll give you two different perspectives for approaching 19.2 — first, here’s my (Rob) CliffsNotes version which is mostly geared toward those who will be attempting the Rx version:
1) Break-up the Toes-to-Bar from the start. Kara Webb (now Saunders) won this workout worldwide in 2016 with a dominant performance and she never once did a round of unbroken T2B. If you think you know something that she doesn’t I’m here to tell you to think again.
2) Do the cleans in singles. Kara also did singles from the start on the barbell. See point #1 above for why you should also.
3) If you’re gaming/pacing your workout to finish a certain segment or possibly even get past the 12-minute mark then you MUST TAKE YOUR REST ON THE CLOCK. Another way of saying this is you basically can’t go by “feel” for your rest periods. Calculate exactly what you need to do, when you need to do it, and then count yourself into the next rep or set based on the clock and not your feelings. Your feelings lie to you when you’re tired. They tell you “I’m just going to rest for 3 seconds” but that becomes 10, 12, 15 seconds — and if your plan is realistic (and you’re honest with yourself about your abilities) then you’re probably capable of only needing that 3 seconds (or whatever you deem the rest period to be in your plan)… but you need the clock to tell you when to go again and not your feelings. Feelings are liars when shit starts getting real in competitive exercise.
4) Only wear weightlifting shoes if they don’t affect your Double Unders. I’d say that’s probably the minority of people and not the majority, but they usually know who they are anyway. And while we’re on the topic of gear — yes, sure, wear a belt for the cleans when that bar gets heavy (even if that means it’s the first bar)… but only if you’re used to using one.
Here is Sarah’s advice re-posted from 2016 when this workout was originally released as Open 16.2 (and edited slightly for 19.2 purposes). She posted the 5th highest score in the Region that year, and was just 3 reps shy of running the table on the workout at 20 minutes, so she’s probably a good person to take advice from LOL.
This is another awesome workout - please watch the standards video above and read the workout info here before coming in on Saturday to do the WOD during our Open Saturday Heats. Much like last week it creates a wide variety of opportunities for success, PRs, and fun. 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, be conscious of your grip - as we mention in class every time this movement (toes-to-bar) comes up. Accidentally letting go of the bar is no laughing matter. First and foremost, hang on to 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: Toes go Where?!?
If you're in this category, you're certain that your toes are not going to make their way to the bar no matter what you do to coerce them. If you're in this category, get yourself a scaled setup, and go for it! Find yourself in the categories below as your abilities relate on the scaled level, and strategize accordingly.
Category 2: Ok, I have t2b but 25 (or 50) in eight minutes?!?
If you're in this category, you're anticipating getting something less than 25 toes to bar in this workout, including perhaps getting your first ever (shout out to those who did just that in 16.2). For this group, get a trusted coach or experienced athlete to hang out with you and offer useful tips for this toes-to-bar AMRAP... and get those toes to touch the bar!
Category 3: Whoa, 50 (or 100) Double Unders?
If you're in this group, be conscious of your pace on the toes-to-bar to ensure that you don't go out so hot that you're unnecessarily taxed for the double unders. Leave yourself as much time to get as many as you can, but within reason to keep your breathing relaxed. Once you get there, stay calm and relaxed, and plan to break the double unders up into manageable sets. If you can consistently do five or ten without missing, that's your number. If you can only do them alternating with singles, that's ok for today. Try not to focus on the accumulated number, or how far you have to go, just get your number, shake it out, and get it again.
Category 4: I made it to the cleans! But crap, they're so heavy!
If you're in this group, welcome to the meat of this workout. The cleans will feel heavy when you get there, so warm up to the bar you expect to hit in the workout, and possibly to the one after. If this is at or around your 1RM, you may need to take a quick break before you pick up the bar to make sure you can hold strong positions and make each attempt count. Pretty much everyone should do singles, unless the weight is light for you and you get to the bar with not enough time to spare. In that case, sprint, do touch-and-go reps if possible, and have faith that if you finish the cleans the toes to bar will feel better than you expect when you get back to them.
Category 5: How many rounds will I get?
In this category - think through the accumulated toes-to-bar reps associated with the round you intend to complete, and break the sets up as though you were doing that total number of reps for time to stave off failure. Heart rate management will become increasingly important as the reps and rounds increase, and strategizing will be necessary to maintain stamina for the toes-to-bar. The cleans will feel heavy, and will spike your heart rate, so singles will likely be a good call unless you're sprinting against the clock to finish the round.
If you're in categories 2-4, you may find yourself wishing for more of a "workout" when your safe, reasonable attempts at getting T2B are behind you. We want you to get a good workout too, so we've created the following suggestion. It may seem confusing, but we assure you, we think it's going to be great. The cap for all modified workouts will also be 8 minutes…
Category 2: When your T2B attempts are no longer reasonable and/or safe and accumulating more reps just isn’t going to happen, bank your official score, and move on to double unders and proceed through the workout as Rx'ed - make it as far as you can within the allotted eight minutes, and if you complete the first set of cleans, scale the t2b when you get back to them, and also follow the scaling instructions for Categories 3 or 4 if needed.
Category 3: When reasonable/safe attempts at double unders are exhausted, bank your official score, move on to cleans and proceed through the workout as Rx'ed. When you complete the cleans go back through the toes to bar, and if/when you complete the second round of t2b choose between 25 attempts or 50 singles with the jumprope. Go to the next bar weight if you can, otherwise, follow instructions for Category 4.
Category 4: In this category, if you're making progress on the cleans but attempts start getting sketchy and coaches deem your technique to be something less than desirable then bank your official score and possibly lower the weight to something reasonable to attempt for the remainder of the 8 minutes.
As with all of our Open Saturdays, please make sure to sign-up for class as you normally would, and then see a coach when you arrive at the gym to get yourself a heat time. The self-guided warm-up will be written out and we'll see you for 19.2!
WOD For 03-02-19:
"Open 19.2"
Beginning on an 8-minute clock, complete as many reps as possible of:
25 Toes-to-Bars
50 Double Unders
15 Squat Cleans @ 135/85 lbs
25 Toes-to-Bars
50 Double Unders
13 Squat Cleans @ 185/115 lbs
If completed before 8 minutes, add 4 minutes to the clock and proceed to:
25 Toes-to-Bars
50 Double Unders
11 Squat Cleans @ 225/145 lbs
If completed before 12 minutes, add 4 minutes to the clock and proceed to:
25 Toes-to-Bars
50 Double Unders
9 Squat Cleans @ 275/175 lbs
If completed before 16 minutes, add 4 minutes to the clock and proceed to:
25 Toes-to-Bars
50 Double Unders
7 Squat Cleans @ 315/205 lbs
Stop at 20 minutes.