There isn’t a single person surprised by the movements that are in the VERY LAST workout in the 2015 Open Season……except maybe…..why aren’t there burpess! HAHA!!! Well I think we will have enough SUCK with this one so burpees will not be required!

We end the Season with a classic CrossFit couplet between a “mono-structural” movement in the rowing, and a “barbell” movement in the thrusters. This particular workout and it rep scheme will rev the motor to a VERY high level…and if you aren’t careful…….you could crash and burn!

15.5 OPEN WORKOUT

For Time: (so everyone will get to enjoy the 144 reps)

27 cal row

27 reps Thrusters (95#/65#)

21 cal Row

21 reps Thrusters

15 cal Row

15 rep Thrusters

9 cal Row

9 rep Thrusters

DONE!!!

WARM UP

This particular workout NEEDS you to get the heart rate up to a similar level that you will hit in this workout. I’d suggest either doing a Tabata series on the Airdyne or the Rower of 20 secs hard, 10 secs easy. You can even do 5-10 rounds of 10 cal row and 5 reps thrusters just to get your body ready for what is about to hit. But REV that engine!!

MOBILITY

Obviously this is a controlled sprint. And with that you will want to move RIGHT so that you don’t waste energy that you will need later. So, we want to get you in the proper positions. First, hit the shoulders for the Thrusters. Use a dumbbell or KB as a weight to drive the head of the Humerus back into the shoulder socket. Lie on your back, keep your shoulder blade flat and externally rotate your arm and let it sit there for 1:30 to 2:00 minutes each arm.

Then, take a double LaCrosse ball, or a peanut, and work the Thoracic Vertebrae. We want to be as upright as possible and getting better positioning there will be HUGE!!

The lats could limit your range so you want to mash them out. Take a Foam Roller and work from the very bottom of the lats all the way up to the armpit/triceps. Remember, roll the muscle fibers perpendicular to the foam roller.

For the legs and hips, we want to open them up so that we can drive our knees wide and keep our torso as vertical as possible. Do the “happy baby” stretch on the wall with a band and contract and relax and you open those hips. Also, put your foot up on a box, anchor your foot down and drive your knee out. You can move your knee around in a circle to hit all the corners and really open it up.

MOVEMENTS:

Row: What’s important in the row is to keep your proper positioning and row technique on point so you don’t crush your legs and you get EVERY OUNCE of power from each stroke. This should be a hip driven movement so when you are all balled up in the Catch, your heels are flat or just light on the foot pads.

From here, the “11 o’clock” position of your torso should stay there as you drive back with your legs. Right as your legs go extended, then your back will lean back to a “1 o’clock” position, and finally your arm will then pull. The arms are the very last thing to move and you pull so that the handle touches your sternum.

The second the handle touches your sternum, let your arms go straight, and then bend forward until the handle passes your knees. It’s at this point that you can bend your knees to get ready for the next pull. The object here is to be as efficient as possible with the stroke. Load the hamstrings so you are explosive through the drive, and try to save a little on your quads.

I would put the damper up high. This obviously is relative but the higher it is, the more calories you will get out of each stroke. You want to have AT LEAST one calorie per stroke.

Pacing here will be REALLY important. The Row is the longest segment of each round so you want to be as consistent as possible. Not a 90-95% in round 1 then 60% in round three. Keep your breathing with your pacing. Make it as rhythmic as possible.

Finally, practice getting in and out of the foot straps so there isn’t any wasted time here. Strap down on the first two rounds, then keep them loose in the last two so you can just keep moving!!

THRUSTERS

We are all used to 21 reps at this weight, but 27 isn’t out of the question for the elite folks. They need this unbroken, but they still need to pace it. The BEST way to pace these is to copy the champ, Rich Froning Jr.

What Rich does is hesitate on each rep at the top. This allows him to take a breath, so he is getting plenty of oxygen. Guess what you will lose in this workout? That’s right… so correct breathing will be HUGE! He also will bring the bar to his shoulders first, then go into the squat rather than just dropping from the top. Keep the weight at 95# rather than 103# with a free falling bar .

I’d use Oly shoes in this. It will keep you in a better body position especially as you get tired. You want your torso as vertical as possible so you can breathe better and it keeps the bar in the front rack position better.

For you taller athletes, try to shrink your range of motion by spreading your feet a little wider than normal and spreading your hands a little wider than normal. This will allow the bar distance and the squat distance to be less that if you were in a prime position. Don’t go too crazy, but if you can save 2 inches down and up, that 4 inches per rep. That’s a total of 24 saved feet that you don’t need to cover. I’d say it’s worth it!

If you are not able to do Fran unbroken, then you will need to be smart about how you break it up. For most try to keep it to one break in the sets, BUT DO NOT GET INTO THE RED!!! If you push too far then you gas out and have to sit there and stare at the bar. If you need to break it up into three sets of 9, that will work as long as the rests are VERY short. Be smart.

Finally, now this is a little “chicken shit” but it’s legal in the rules. For the guys, you can use the women’s bar and make it 95# and you will only really be doing 93#. The women’s bar is 15kg which is 33#, not 35#, but its counted as a 35#. This is the Open and you need to get as many points as possible within the rules, so there is nothing wrong with this.

Well that’s it everyone!!! This one is going to hurt. Don’t be afraid of that. This is why we do Crossfit….to see just what we can take and how far we can push ourselves. This is ALL about your heart and what you can take!! So let’s get CRAZY!!!!!

I hope these have helped you over the last five weeks! I know that I have used my tips and they have helped me out also. It’s been my pleasure to ride the Open with you guys! Thank you to WODSTAR, and everyone that subscribed!!! Good Luck and KICK SOME ASS!!!!