Week 2 of the CrossFit Open: Barbells and Burpees
22.2 is here and so are the burpees and the barbell! This week’s workout is a couplet of deadlifts and bar-facing burpees with reps that go up and then back down. The time cap is aggressive, so just about everyone will be cut off before finishing. Focus on moving steadily through the workout, accumulating as many reps as you can in the 10 minutes – it will be over before you know it!
Open Workout 22.2
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps for time of:
Deadlifts (225/155 lbs)
Bar-facing burpees
Time cap: 10 minutes
Logistics
Sign-up and come to class as normal. We’ll be running several heats per class, so you’ll do the workout during one and judge/cheer during the other. The coach will start with a quick briefing and make sure everyone is in a heat and then we’ll get after it.
Don’t forget that scores will need to be submitted by 5pm Monday to show up on our Fog City and CrossFit games leaderboards.
Strategy for 22.2
Pacing
Start at a steady pace and settle in around rounds 4-5, aiming to control your breathing. When you hit the 7 minute mark, start to push the pace a bit for the last 3 minutes
Transitions: keep them short! There are a lot of transitions in the workout. Move quickly into the next movement and if needed, try to keep your longer breaks to every few rounds.
Make sure you get your heart rate up before the workout starts so your system is ready to go
Movement Tips
Deadlift
Set your back and brace on EVERY rep – no rounded backs! High rep deadlift workouts are no joke, so coaches will be keeping a close eye on your form and ask you to stop/take weight off if things start to look sketchy
Break up your rounds early with only a short break in between sets (depending on the athlete, this may be in rounds 6 to 8)
Burpee
Aim for a smooth consistent pace. Try not to spike your heart rate too much at the beginning.
Just keep moving! Even if you are stepping back, flopping, and stepping up, you are making progress.
The standard is slightly different this year: you do not need a two foot takeoff or landing. Here’s some examples of different types of burpees: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cap6JEivhfF/
Scaling
Think about your recent deadlift workouts and what weights/reps you have done. Use the warm-up to test how the weight feels. You should be able to do a set of 6-8 unbroken when fresh.
Remember, you can always do 1 deadlift at the RX weight to register an RX score and then complete the rest of the workout at an appropriate scaling level for you.
If you want to read more about strategy, here are a couple of resources:
Official workout description and standards: are at https://games.crossfit.com/workouts/open/2022/2
Beyond the Whiteboard’s 22.2 Blog with results and video links: https://btwb.blog/2022/03/04/crossfit-open-22-2-preliminary-analysis/