The 2018 CrossFit Open will be here before we know it – just a few months away – February to be exact! The excitement of the Open will hit us for 5 weeks in a row as we anxiously await the workout announcements each week.

Our training won’t change dramatically until the Open arrives, but one thing you can be sure to see is past Open workouts resurfacing. These workouts are always a friendly reminder of what we can expect to see programmed during the Open. An important goal of CrossFit programming is to be measurable, observable and repeatable. Logging our workouts is important and allows us to see just how much we improve when repeating. We all love progress right?!

Now let’s take a look at what we have for this week!

Our week starts off with a bang! We closed last week off with a 1RM Clean and Jerk, so why not kick this week off with a 1RM Snatch! Rest up and be ready to challenge yourself with this highly technical lift. Here are some basic pointers on how to warm up to get the most out of it.

• As anxious as you will be to start lifting heavy weights you need to take your warm up seriously. Don’t just go through the motions, move with purpose. If you have time, try to come in early to work out any extra kinks that are specific to you before class starts. In addition, our class warm up is designed to promote:
  • Motor mechanics
  • Central nervous system activation
  • Increase blood flow 
  • Increase body temperature
  • Enhance muscle firing
  • Increase mobility

• Going into a 1RM test not properly warmed up can lead to injury and frustration. Once you’re ready to grab some weights make sure to be patient with your increases. Below is a general guide of how to approach your warm up sets based off of your old 1RM.
  • 1×5 @ 50% of 1RM Snatch
  • 1×3 @ 60%
  • 1×2 @ 70%
  • 1×1 @ 80%
  • 1×1 @ 90%
  • 1×1 @ 95%
  • 1×1 @ 100% or at a new 1RM weight
• You can rest shorter between lighter loads but as you get closer to attempting heavy singles, take 2-5 minutes between attempts.

If done properly a 1RM snatch day can be very demanding on the body but after Monday if you are itching to get your WOD on don’t fret, Tuesday will scratch that itch. Tuesday will be our first repeat of a CrossFit Open workout. Last year’s Open was kicked off with a high volume workout that included dumbbell snatches and burpee box jump overs so what better way to start off our Open repeats than with 17.1.

Here is the workout if you’ve blocked it out at this point:

Workout 17.1
For time:
10 dumbbell snatches
15 burpee box jump-overs
20 dumbbell snatches
15 burpee box jump-overs
30 dumbbell snatches
15 burpee box jump-overs
40 dumbbell snatches
15 burpee box jump-overs
50 dumbbell snatches
15 burpee box jump-overs

50/35# dumbbell and 24/20″ box
Time cap: 20 minutes

We will have some pointers/reminders on how to tackle this one on Tuesday, for now try not to remember too much about how you felt during it and just show up and be ready to push yourself physically and mentally!

For the rest of the week, Wednesday will have a challenging combo of chest to bar pull-ups and heavy front squats from the floor. Thursday focuses on a short bench press session followed by a Crossfit.com workout. Friday is a classic 3 rounder to really challenge shoulder strength and endurance, and finally Saturday we will finish up with a fun partner workout as always!

This week is filled with some fun workouts, plan your schedule accordingly and MAKE time to get here – and most importantly –  hit it hard while you are here.  

See you at the box!