Overview: For those of you that are new to this workout it’s a sneaky one. The sets are just a bit bigger than most people can do comfortably and the weights are just between being heavy enough to justify a Clean & Jerk and light enough to snatch. Pacing is really important – in 2011 there were many example of people who had their first round done inside 1 minute and ended up with a total score of only 3 or 4 rounds in 10 minutes. I suggest that holding back a little at the start can make a big difference and if you’ve got anything left in the last few minutes – go for it.
I feel like I’m in a good position to give advice on this workout considering that both Marie and I have done this workout more times than we care to remember. This was the first workout of the first year of the Open (2011) and in that year there was a glitch with the games website which caused CrossFit HQ to push the whole competition back 1 week, which meant (unfortunately for us) that we had an extra week to keep coming back (which we did almost every day) to try and beat our score. We literally tried every strategy conceivable which is good for 2 reasons – 1. I don’t have to do this workout more than once this year, and 2. I am in a good place to give advice to you right away.
Ground to OH: Firstly, be clear that the barbell lift is a ground to OH anyhow. This means that you can use any method you choose to get the bar overhead.
The snatch is definitely the quickest movement per rep but is quite taxing and the clean and jerk is quite a bit slower but more repeatable. I would suggest that more powerful athletes use a narrow grip power snatch and revert to a clean & jerk if necessary. For less powerful athletes, I recommend that you use the clean & jerk right from the start.
Forget the muscle snatch unless you have an engine similar to a regional/games athlete – these are definitely quick but a very taxing on the shoulders and lungs and will induce large rest breaks for us mortals.
Finally don’t be afraid to take strategic breaks on the barbell. 15 reps is that number where its beyond what most people can do comfortably but no so far beyond it that you want to put the bar down. This is what makes this workout hard because it tricks you into doing more work than you probably should in any one set.
Double-unders: Make sure you have a rope that is the right length and a spare rope in case of malfunction. If you’re not good at double-unders, my best advice is to stay composed and take your time getting the rope into the right position before you start and don’t rush back into your reps after a mistake. Avoid getting flustered no matter how bad they are going as this will only make matter worse. For people who are good at double-unders – stay relaxed and do them at a cruising pace. The difference between a fast and slow set of 30 unbroken DU is only a couple seconds but dramatically different in energy expenditure. As crazy as it might sound, don’t be afraid to break these sets strategically – it takes very little effort to stop and start a set of double-unders and pulling short of absolute exhaustion will allow you to move on to the G2OH in a more composed state.
