For as long as possible:
From 0:00-3:00
2 rounds of:
10 overhead squats, 95 / 65 lb.
10 chest-to-bar pull-ups
From 3:00-6:00
2 rounds of:
12 overhead squats, 95 / 65 lb.
12 chest-to-bar pull-ups
From 6:00-9:00
2 rounds of:
14 overhead squats, 95 / 65 lb.
14 chest-to-bar pull-ups
Etc., following same pattern
Gearing up for 14.2. So the workout is upon us. 14.1 may have gotten you more double unders (DU) than you have ever gotten in your life. To others, it left you feeling like Lindsey Lohan after a long night of partying in NY city. There are two groups of people that will be discussed in how to prepare for the workout ahead. Those of you who were between 0-199, those from 200+.
0-199 likely you had issues with DU. Yeah sorry about that, I feel your pain, and will write about how the crossfit community is moving to an exclusive group over inclusive group at a later date. Those having trouble with DU will now, likely, have serious trouble with chest to bar (CB). What you have to think if you still plan on doing this workout is that you need to do all in your power to get 5-10 of these done. If you currently can do chin ups, then you can do a chest to bar. Do your normal chin up and add a kip at the top of your motion, while attempting to move your chest horizontal. The kip will get your chest to the bar. If you cannot do chin ups, in all honesty, I would not try to do your first one this workout. The chin up is a much more complex motion than the DU and is utilizing the shoulder joint. You may get your first chin up, or your first chest to bar even. Then you hurt your shoulder due to the stress placed on it for 2 minutes of trying, and can’t workout for 2 weeks due to pain. Again social commentary on this workout will be at a later date. Those of you in this group will likely be attempting to only get through one or two rounds of the workout. Due to this, that should be your goal. Get through to two rounds any way possible (over under grip, one at a time, double/triple kip). If you know you have the overhead squat, burn through it, and move on to CB. Get there any way possible, as the workout is only going to be 3-6 minutes long. Do not kill yourself on the CB tho, if you know for a fact that you cannot do the motion, it is not worth the potential injury on the shoulder to just do two minutes of shoulder grinding, ligament stress, and rotator cuff muscle stress.
To those in the 200+ group this WoD will be approached as a slow but steady run moving to a sprint at the end. The overhead squat (OS) should be a relatively light weight for anyone in this group. Likely OS are not something that are practiced on a weekly basis. Due to this, shoulder fatigue is going to set in. External rotation of the shoulder, with internal stability will wear you down, when combined with the DB motion. Pacing is what will allow for better scores. People will have looked at this and know instantly which half of the workout will tax their system more. (CB or OS) Breaking up the CB is the more effective way to do it, as the OS requires a snatch motion to get the bar up every time you break. That motion is a waste of more energy than breaking up the CB. As the CB break will only require you dropping to the ground, and then getting back on the bar. If all things are equal break the CB.
Pacing is key here. First two rounds should afford 1 minute of rest at least. This is because the 40-44 rep range should be easily done in two minutes or less. Pace it out so that your heart rate stays low through these first two rounds, you should not feel winded at all. If you do your moving too fast. If you have more than one minute rest, either you are beast mode, or you went too fast. The first two rounds should be an engine prime, nothing else. Moving on to the 3-4 rounds is where a majority will end up dropping out, as this is where rep count will catch up to people. Attempting to set the bar on the OS as far back as possible, to create the “bar break” effect will help with shoulder fatigue. Place bar back in overhead position, and externally rotate to seat the shoulder into its area, then activate the front chest and shoulder muscles. This will create a seat for the shoulder joint, and put more activity into the anterior chain of the shoulder, which will not be used in the CB exercise. This should allow for more reps in CB. If you have no idea what I am talking about in the last sentence, do not attempt to do this without being taught, as you could do some damage to the bicep tendon, or rotator cuff muscles. Breaking up the CB is what this group will do, as this is the most effective energy saving way to move. Even breaking them up in the first round would be beneficial. As slinging off 10 CB in a row will elevate heart rate higher than doing a 5/5 split with a 5-6 second rest between. The issue with CB is that there is no way to effectively do them slowly, or rest, unless you jump off the bar. Due to this, take a rest here and there on the first couple of rounds to keep that heart rate as low as possible. When you realize that you are moving to sprint mode, you need to commit completely to getting to the next round. The sprint end phase of this WoD should get you to a next round, then as many reps as you can into the next round. By the time you hit sprint mode, you will likely only last 2-3 more minutes, so be wary of when you turn it on and move past the red line.
Prep work for anyone should focus on posterior shoulder area, upper/lower back, and leg muscles. Foam rolling on lower back, and upper back area will do. Band resisted rotator cuff work, and pulling motions of the lats/rhomboids will be the place to start. The primary prep you will want on the legs to making sure that hip can open up the knees on the squat motion. Sit squat for 2-3 minutes while opening up the hips/pressing knees out. Psoas (hip flexor) warm up should prep the hips more, do some light bar work to prep the snatch motion, and overhead squat position. Do a casual warm up of 15 minutes. As the first two rounds of this workout is something of a warm up due to the 3 minute rounds. Save that heart rate, as you will need it for the later rounds. Heavy mobility warm up on this one, no real aerobic prep required, if you feel the need no more than 5 minutes of light jogging. Tape or wear gloves on the hands, if you tear in later rounds, you will be very mad at yourself for not prepping your hands, and having to stop due to the pain. It just is not worth it, if you make it through the 4th round you have done over 100 CB, three rounds nets over 70 CB, that’s allot of stress on the old callous.
