3 Tips to Help Your Members Crush Each Open Workout

It feels like it was just a few weeks ago we were in the midst of the 2018 CrossFit Open and now the 2019 Open is upon us! With this quick post, I am looking to help you set your athletes up with the best opportunity to crush each Open Workout.

Tip #1

Get the blood pumping! All too often athletes create this fear that if they do anything prior to the workout starting that somehow they will wear themselves out and be “too tired” to perform their best. In order for our bodies to perform, tissues need to be warm. Providing your athletes with something to warm up their tissues accomplishes a few key things. First, it improves the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to muscles. Second, it improves the elasticity of muscles, tendons, and ligaments. This improved elasticity allows us to move safely through ranges of motion and reduces the risk of injury. Finally, a general warm-up reinvigorates the body’s central nervous system and prepares it for the impending task (exercising quickly).

Here are a few Examples of a General Warm-Up:
Row 2,000m
Bike 100 Calories
Jump Rope for 7-10 Minutes
Jog for 7-10 Minutes
50-75 Burpees

These movements are low skill and are all about getting the body moving and breaking a sweat!

Tip #2

Targeted Mobility! Everyone has parts of their bodies that aren’t as supple as others and need a little extra attention. Following the general warm up the next step is for athletes to address their specific mobility issues. Have sticky shoulders overhead? Mobilize. Tight Ankles? Mobilize. Stiff hips? Mobilize. You should provide your athletes with a few mobilizations that make sense in the context of the workout and then make yourself available for individual issues. Athletes should aim to spend a minimum of 2 minutes per location to create change in tissues.

Tip #3

Primer! Once athletes get their tissues warm and they’ve mobilized, you should plan on providing a quick (4 minutes or less) couplet or triplet of either the movements that are in the workout OR similar movements that require a similar range of motion. The purpose behind the primer is NOT to wear athletes out before the workout, but instead prime them (central nervous system, cardiovascular system, and muscular system) for the workout ahead. To properly perform a primer it needs to be short and intense. Following the primer, allow athletes to let their heart rates settle and then get after the workout.

Check out the example below.

19.X is:

For Time
60 Calorie Row
50 Toes to Bar
40 Wall Balls
30 Power Cleans
20 Muscle Ups

 

Example Primer:

3 FAST Rounds
10 Calorie Row
5 Toes to Bar
10 Wall Balls
2 Muscle Ups

This entire preparation can be completed in under 30 minutes prior to starting athletes attempting the workout. Here is an example of a timeline you can try out.

T-Minus-30-20: 100 Calorie Bike
T-Minus-20-12: 8 Minutes of Target Mobility
T-Minus-10-6: Primer

Give this a try before your next Open Workout attempt and let us know how it goes!

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