Tips and Strategies CrossFit Open WOD 15.2
OPEN WOD 15.2
Every 3 min, you must complete TWO ROUNDS of the couplet, OHS and CTB Pull-ups. The workout starts with 2 rounds of 10 reps each. The subsequent 3-minute period, the reps increase to 12 reps each. Then to 14 reps each, and 16 reps each, 18 reps each, etc... If you finish the work prior to the 3 min period, you must rest until the next 3 min period commences.
Alright, we’ve made it to week 2 in the Open. Today I am going to break down all the strategy and necessary considerations for Open WOD 15.2. This workout happens to be a repeat of last years’ 14.2, so we already have a pretty solid grasp on how we might attack this one. So what is the workout?
Preliminary Thoughts:
Each athlete will need to break up the reps differently, depending on their own strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, each athlete will need to break up the reps differently, depending on which round they intend to get to. I will cover all of this later on. You may also want to start thinking about whether you will power snatch the weight up, or whether you are comfortable performing a squat snatch. And keep in mind that you can use any combination of grip on the pull-up bar. Supinated (underhand), pronated (overhand), and/or mixed grip. Finally, on the OHS, you may want to consider resting the bar on your back, as opposed to dropping the bar, if you feel the need to break the set of OHS into manageable chunks.
Warm-ups:
It will be vital to raise the heart rate prior to the workout. We will want to perform a combination of general warm-up, movement specific warm-up, and finally a couple interval pieces to elevate the heart rate. Given the “start and stop” nature of the workout, it would be foolish to ignore performing some intervals in your warm-up process. So, for warm-up guidelines, let’s talk about an ideal approach:
1. General steady state cyclical work, until a light sweat forms. This will generally be about a mile of jogging or rowing at a moderate pace.
2. Movement-specific prep, such as mobility work and light movement through the desired range of motion, using PVC pipe. This cycle can consist of OHS, OH Lunges, Band pull-aparts, Face pulls, Ring Rows, Kip swings on the pull-up bar, maybe a few strict pull-ups etc…
3. Finally, you will want to perform a few reps of the workout itself, and this can double as an opportunity for you to incorporate the “interval” portion I spoke about previously. The following would be a good approach:
2 Rounds AFAP – 5 OHS and 3-5 CTB Pull-ups
Then rest 1 min, and repeat 2 rounds AFAP. If you still don’t have an elevated heart rate, you may be able to perform this one more time through, however, you also have to be cautious of not creating fatigue in the movements for the workout. This is why reps and volume need to be low.
The Workout:
Ok, so I am going to make my recommendations based on which round you intend to achieve within the sequence. As a general rule of thumb, you will always want to take a more aggressive approach to the CTB Pull-ups in the first round of each 3 minute period, and then take a more cautious approach in the second round.
If your goal is to get into the 12’s – You should break the CTB into very small manageable sets. For many of you, this may mean triples, although, if you can make sets of 5 without breaking down in the first round of the 10’s, that would be a more ideal approach. Then you can take smaller chunks, doing doubles and triples in the second round of the 10’s. Regardless, the OHS should be completed unbroken.
If your goal is to get into the 14’s – You should take a similar approach to the prior group. However, you will definitely need to do larger chunks of the CTB PU in the first round. A good approach would be to do them as 5/5 for BOTH sets of 10 reps, then do 6/6 for the first round of the 12’s, and potentially break the 12’s into 3 sets (or more) for the second set. The OHS should continue to be performed unbroken.
If your goal is to get into the 16’s – You must be able to knock out larger chunks of CTB Pull-ups during the first rounds of each sequence. For this athlete, a good approach might be to do the first round of 10’s unbroken, and breaking the second round into 2 sets. The same approach would apply for the 12’s. Once you get to the 14’s, you will need to be a bit more strategic on the pull-ups, because you need to ensure that you are recovered to perform the OHS unbroken.
If your goal is to get into the 18’s (or beyond) – You will need to be a CTB savant. Only the top athletes will make it this far. These athletes will need to complete the entire 10 round unbroken. They will more than likely also do the first set of 12’s unbroken, and maybe break the second set of 12 into 2 sets. As they enter the 14’s, the OHS must continue to stay unbroken the entire time, while the CTB PU must be controlled, but fast. No more than 2 sets, unless you can keep rest periods minimal, and then you may be able to get away with doing 3 sets. It may be desirable to break the second set of OHS in the 18 round. You will have to assess how you are feeling – but holding that bar overhead for 18 straight reps, and then trying to complete 18 CTB PU will be a difficult task at this point of the workout.
Final Thoughts and Considerations:
Breathing during movements – you must maintain composure through the OHS. Make sure to take a split second to open your hips and breathe at the top of each rep. This will keep you from becoming frazzled and losing your head. Also focus on quick shallow breaths during the breaks between CTB sets.
Rest time each round – You must ensure you get a decent amount of rest in the earlier intervals. Ideally, you would like 60-90 sec of recovery time after the set of 10’s, 60-75 sec for the round of 12’s, and as much as possible for the round of 14’s (much of this depends on what your goal-round is). Once you reach a point where you finish a round, and then must immediately begin the next round, it will be very difficult to complete that sequence within the 3 minutes. At this point, you will be best off just trying to accumulate as many reps as possible. In most cases, you should just pick up the OHS immediately, and start knocking off small chunks of reps. Do not rest excessively to try and go unbroken, or you will redline and it will be substantially more difficult to complete the CTB reps.
Nutrition – This is a workout where you want to weigh as little as possible. This means you do not want to be bogged down by eating a meal too close to the workout. Fasted is a good option if you are doing it in the AM, but if not, you will want a small dose of liquid nutrition (protein/carbs) about 60-90 min before the workout. And then make sure to eat a hearty meal afterwards to aid in the recovery process.
