Thoughts on Reebok CrossFit Open WOD #12.3

Workout 12.1 allowed the light and fast to show off. 12.2 demanded either brute strength or refined technique. 12.3 is a classic triplet featuring three common movements found in the CrossFit world and a time domain that will be a game changer for sure. Let's take a look.

Workout 12.3

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 18 minutes of:

15 Box jumps (M 24" box / F 20" box)
12 Push press (M 115 lb / F 75 lb)
9 Toes-to-bar

STRATEGY

 With longer workouts, efficient movement is key. You don't want to waste energy because it will add up over time. The first thing that will help you is mobility. Warm up the Achilles for box jumps, shoulders AND thoracic spine for push press, and midline for toes to bar. Foam roller is your friend, but so are lacrosse balls or tennis balls taped together. Here are some links to help you out, all from the mobility guru, Kelly Starrett:

-Perfecting the box jump with K-Star and Carl Paoli (aka much more information than you needed to know about the box jump) - UPDATE: instead of this long video, you might want to check out the one embedded below

-Push press mobility

-Hip mobility for toes to bar

If you can do this mobility work the night before or earlier in the day before the actual wod, it's going to help your body get organized even more. (Another reason to keep on your mobility everyday for any WOD, eh?) 

UPDATE: Here's a great video that covers prep work by Carl Paoli specifically for 12.3 and is not as long as the 23 min video on JUST box jumps above

Once your in the workout, moving efficiently will allow you to come out on top. Here are the components of the workout and best practices:

1. Box jumps - you must jump up to the box, you cannot step up. Once on top, you must stand straight up with hips and knees locked out, demonstrating control. You MAY NOT spring off immediately like a normal box jump. This will reduce cycle time, but it will do so for everyone. Once control is established, you may step down or jump down. There is no rule on whether your full foot should be on the box or not. To stay efficient, use the elasticity and fast twitch muscles to drop from the top of the box and spring back up. In other words, don't think of each box jump as starting on the ground and jumping up, but rather, starting on top of the box, dropping down, and immediately jumping back up. If you rest, rest on top of the box. I understand this might be hard for slower twitch people, but this is going to be the best way to cycle fast. Carl Paoli in the video above describes the top of the box as being "cold" and the floor being "hot." You don't want to be in the hot zone for long.

2. Push press - this must start on the ground, so you'll have to clean it to your shoulders. Although the workout calls it a push press, you MAY shoulder press, push press, push jerk, or split jerk the weight above your head. A full lockout and arms over ears with feet together (esp. if you are push jerking or split jerking) is a good rep.  You MAY NOT do the movement with the bar behind the neck. You MAY treat this like Fight Gone Bad style and cycle through push presses quickly. This is similar to the box jumps where you want to think about the top of the push press being "cold" and the bottom being "hot." Don't spend too much time resting with the bar on your shoulders. Rather, if you need to pause for a second, do it in a locked out position up top. This is a moderately heavy weight and smaller/weaker people will need to drop mid-set. Do your best to string all 12 if you can, this will make up significant time since we all know you won't want to pick that bar up if you drop it. Also, if this is a heavy weight for you, make sure to get that bar on the rack position aka the anterior deltoids aka your shoulders and chest, so that your BODY can move the bar, not your arms.

3. Toes to bar - this is a movement where you hang from a pull up bar and bring your shoes to touch the bar. I say shoes and not toes because any part of the shoe may touch the bar: the toes, the sole, or the top of the shoes. Once they touch, you have to bring your feet down and behind your body to establish full range of motion. This movement was in last year's sectionals and two things happen: hand ripping and midline failure. Make sure to tape up or use grips (grips are actually not allowed, see the ruling here). Here's a link to CrossFit Oahu's "Ultimate Hand Taping Round Up." Also, to be efficient, learn how to kip t2b. Here's a fantastic video from Jon Gilson and Again Faster on kipping t2b. Remember to close that shoulder like a kipping pull up.

Overall, play to your strengths, but consider your weaknesses. If you're a small and agile person, you might be fond of box jumps, but you're loathing the push presses. Make up time on the box so that you have more available on the bar if you need to drop and rest. If you like the idea of push presses, but you don't have the lungs to go 18 minutes, bang those out and stay smooth and steady on the box jumps. You get the point. For everyone, lungs will be burning and yes, it's going to hurt. Mentally it's going to be toughest in the middle, probably starting around minute 7 (I know some of you are saying minute 3), but hopefully you have good energy and the supportive environment to hammer the last round or two. 

Remember, every rep counts, (each round is 36 total reps) so  keep that in your mind when you're hurting but there's 30 seconds on the clock. Get as much work done as possible and you shouldn't be disappointed with yourself.

if this is how you feel at the end, then good!

REACTION

This workout reminds me of the hero workout "Jack": 

AMRAP in 20 minutes of:

10 push press, 115/75

10 kettlebell swings, 55/35

10 box jumps, 24/20"

Having just done this a few months ago with Steve's Club kids, I found the push press to be the more challenging aspect. Ironically at the time, I had to break up the first few sets of them, but then strung the last few rounds. 

This workout is a different rep scheme, but around the same time domain. I think it's a more classic CrossFit workout and hopefully didn't surprise too many people, especially after two mono-modal workouts of burpees and snatches. I think the push presses will be the deciding factor; those who can handle the weight and string all 12 will prevail, even over those who can box jump or do t2b excellently.

PREDICTION

Iceland Annie did the demo for mainsite and I think she's going to stay on top with 491 reps (13+ rounds). When she first came on the scene, there was a video of her doing t2b and she was just SO efficient at them. Add on top of that her strength, and you've got the #1 score for women. 

I'm giving Dan Bailey the nod this week. With the fastest deadlift/high box jump workout at Regionals last year and edging out Froning in last year's sectional workout involving t2b, I think he takes first with 450+ reps. Why less than Annie? Because women have a shorter way up on the box which will add up over time. And Annie is just a beast.

What are your thoughts on 12.3? Any predictions?

CrossFit Delaware Valley's take on 12.3 by Sheldon Danley - "Stay Calm, Keep Moving"

Thoughts on Reebok CrossFit Games Open WOD 12.2

Sorry for the late post, I meant to write something right away Wednesday night, but when 12.2 came out, I wasn't quite sure what to write besides, "You better have been working on your snatch!" Much like cramming for a test, there is not going to be an incredible amount of things you can change between now and Sunday. But there's gotta be something I can do, right!? Sure there is. Read below.

Workout 12.2

Proceed through the sequence below completing as many reps as possible in 10 minutes of:

30 Snatch (M 75 / F 45 lbs)
30 Snatch (M 135 / F 75 lbs)
30 Snatch (M 165 / F 100 lbs)
Max Rep Snatch (M 210 / F 120 lbs)

CrossFit Open 11.1 workout

STRATEGY

Right after reading the workout, I tweeted, "This is when everybody wishes they worked on their snatch more!" As I said in my post "What Malcolm Gladwell Has to do with Olympic Lifting," literally thousands of repetitions are required to become proficient at technical lifts such as the snatch. However, not all is lost. Here is what I would do for 12.2. 

First, warm up sufficiently and make sure you are limber and mobile. Who else to look to for tips on this than the great K-Star, CrossFit's mobility expert. I'm not even going to try and give you advice on this, so here's a video from the man himself (you can find more mobility tips on his site, MobilityWOD.com)

In terms of form, you do NOT have to squat snatch, and you MAY press out, however, the bar cannot stop at the shoulders since this can be interpreted as a clean and jerk or clean and press. If squatting low, even in a power position, is trouble for you, then I suggest SPLIT snatching it. If you're not sure what that is, Google it. Although squat snatching is most efficient, it also will be taxing on your legs with a longer range of motion. If you can power/split snatch, then do so. The heavier the lift, the lower you may have to drop in that power position. Rich Froning Jr. does an excellent job showing this in the mainsite demo video. 

This is not a time to look at 75# snatches and think you can fly through them, especially if your form isn't perfect. (Don't you remember 11.1? Have you ever met "Randy"?) Pace yourself and find a way to save your back for the heavier lifts. You WILL be gassed at some point. 99% of people will be muscle or power snatching the first 30. Make sure to stay balanced in your feet and push those knees out at the bottom of the lift so your back doesn't take the brunt of the work. For the light weights, don't move your feet much, there's not need to jump out wide for these and reset your feet narrow. Try to keep a landing position with your feet, even in the jump. The 30 snatches, even with breaks, should take you only a few minutes. You then have the rest of time to basically do "Isabel" (30 snatches at 135#/95#). At this point, some of you are saying "But my 1RM is 125!" Well, then this is your time to saddle up and PR! Amp yourself up, have someone scream at you, do whatever you can to get that bar up. Just one rep will put you ahead of literally thousands of people. 

The bar must also come from the ground every time, so if 135 is going to do-able but heavy for you, it might be worthwhile to drop from the top, again to save that back for an attempt at 165. If you know you can do 135 and 165, well, then you should move quickly and efficiently through 135 in sets of 3 or 5 and try to get as many as you can with 165 because this is where the top dogs will live. If you are someone who can get through 135, 165, and move on to 210, well, then you should be writing this blog, not me.

Just snatching 192 kilos. Aka 422#. No big deal.

REACTION

This sequence of events reminds me of the CrossFit Games at Aromas in 2009. The first event was a 7k run up a SUPER steep terrain. Chris Spealler came in first, Mikko Salo in second (the sprint finish at the end with Speal was amazing), and Russell Berger in 3rd for the men, while Sarah Dunsmore, Lauren Erwin, and Carey Kepler were the top 3 women. The very next event was a deadlift ladder. Athletes had to move from one bar to the next, as weights increased, and perform a deadlift. Sixteen men tied on the last and heaviest bar at 505#. Although this might seem light for the CF Games now, back then it was heavy and unpredictable that after a 7k run, that many men would tie. 

Clearly HQ learned their lesson to set a very high bar and organize workouts to separate out competitors. 

The 2012 CrossFit Open has reflected the 2009 Games in the first event being a cardiovascular event, while the second is a strength based one. Those who can do both well will rise to the top. Large people were up in arms about 12.1 and the burpees, but the tides have turned with this snatch workout. It allows everyone to get a score on the board (the spirit of the Open) but will absolutely separate the elite. There is one big difference from 2009 though. Choosing this snatch movement caters to those who are technically proficient, not just "gorilla" strong. At the same time, it takes away any advantage a specialist would have (i.e. a pure olympic lifter) because they are not used to high rep snatches. They may be able to snatch 300#+, but I guarantee if they haven't been training high reps and/or CrossFit, they won't even make it to the 210#.

Indeed, this workout is made for experienced and strong CrossFitters. High rep olympic movements are simply not found elsewhere in fitness. 

Unfortunately, it also means that there will be UGLY performances around the world. By my guesstimation, only a small percent of people have their snatch form dialed in. The majority of people (including myself) will be pressing out. Pure oly lifters will cringe when they see video of these performances and don't be surprised when there are blog posts flying around complaining about the ugly form of CrossFitters. (there are already plenty of those) There is also the danger of shoulder injuries due to the external rotation of the shoulders coupled with multiple attempts at PR weights. So make sure you are smart about your limits, even if you're pushing for a PR.

PREDICTION

The cream will certainly rise to the top after this one, just like it did in 2009. Back then, the top 3 men overall (Mikko, Tommy Hackenbruck, and Moe Kelsey) were all in the top 10 after the first two events (7k run and deadlift). The top 3 women overall (Tanya Wagner, Charity Vale, and Carey Kepler) were more spread out after two events (top 13) but check this out: Tanya and Charity were 1st and 2nd after two events, and guess who was 3rd and 4th? Kristan Clever and Annie Thorisdottir (2010 and 2011 champions, respectively). 

I predict that like in 2009, the combination of burpees and snatches will put top CrossFitters in a ranking order that will not change drastically over the last three workouts. Those who are proficient at high rep, heavy snatches are already fire breathing CrossFitters. Rich Froning Jr. demonstrated the 12.2 workout in a video and looked like he was casually having fun with 210#. He did 98 reps then, but I predict he'll redo it and get 110+. Kristan Clever will once again destroy this workout with supremely efficient form and a huge engine. She'll get just under 110. 

For those looking on some power snatch tips, check out this video from Coach Rippetoe.

The Power Snatch: Teaching Method from stef bradford on Vimeo.