Tuesday, December 4th
A.
GYMNASTICS: In a 4:00 time cap, climb as high as possible: 1 CTB Pull-Up 2 Unbroken CTB Pull-Ups 3 Unbroken CTB Pull-Ups 4 Unbroken CTB Pull-Ups 5 Unbroken CTB Pull-Ups ... and so on, adding a single rep until the time cap is reached. All sets must be completed unbroken, and athletes must come off the bar after each completed set. Scoring is "rounds + reps". That is, if we completed the round of 7 unbroken CTB Pull-Ups, and we completed 3 additional pull-ups before time is called, our score is 7+3.
B.
METCON:
15 Minute AMRAP: 30 Double Unders (60 singles) 15 Power Cleans (115/80) 30 Double Unders 15 Toes to Bar
Last repeated on 28 August, 2018.
This will become a grip-intensive workout, taxing the forearms and shoulders. When we see such combinations arrive (which is very common in the Open), we need to strategize to conserve our grip strength. Once our grip strength “goes”, by pushing too far too soon, our workout slows dramatically. Preserving our pull in this workout is essential to finding our best score.
On the Double-Unders – Staying composed in the double-under, or remaining “relaxed” is a must. Think back to last year’s final Open workout, where we saw the combination of thrusters and double-unders. If we are straining and holding breaths during the double-unders, we are sacrificing valuable energy, which we could be using towards that following round of thrusters. When this movement becomes a “breather” for us, we can focus our efforts on the other movements, and use these repetitions as a pseudo break from cleans and toes to bar. This comes only with consistent training and practice. In today’s workout, focus more on staying relaxed, and focus less on how large the sets are. If we start to loose our composure after 10 repetitions, our rep scheme for the day could be 3×10. If it’s after 15, let’s attempt 2×15. As a micro-goal for the workout, let’s focus on each repetition being our best so that it translates to next session.
On the Power Cleans – we are looking for a weight that we can “touch-and-go” for 21+ repetitions unbroken when fresh. Even for the strong athletes, this is meant to be a lighter load. Let’s make this workout about engine, and not strength. A loading that we can move for 5 repetitions on call… no matter how fatigued we are. With that, sets of 5 repetitions can be a great talking point to start with, or an approach of 6-5-4. Envision ourselves on our 3rd round, where the grip strength is feeling the fatigue. How we plan on breaking up those power cleans in the third round is how we should in the first. We know that if we rip off too large of a set in that first round, it likely will come back to bite us just movements later as all three require that capacity.
On the Toes to Bar – Preserve your kip swing through manageable sets. When the body fatigues excessively, we loose our TTB kip swing. Here is where these repetitions can double, if not triple in time in comparison to your first round. Even though we may be able to execute 15+ unbroken TTB, we want to break these up into manageable chunks early to ensure we can string multiples together for sets in our third round – not just our first. Our largest focus here, much like our double-unders, should be technique. Those who move their best on this movement from the start will reap the benefits two rounds in. Focus on the long body beneath the bar, and maximize the back swing. With the toes to bar, we tend to focus on mainly what is “in front of us”, or in our view… the front half of the toes to bar. However, the most important part of the toes to bar is the back half, where it is our goal to reach with our legs to maximize the amount of power coming forward. It’s a reach with a locked out knee (not bent), as we actively pull our chest through at the bottom. If we take care of the kip swing generation, the remainder of the movement tends to take care of itself.
This workout gets significantly more difficult after the first round. Breaking up the power cleans and toes to bar early to preserve ourselves is the aim.
