The Workout
CrossFit® Open Workout 21.1
For time:
-1 wall walk
-10 double-unders
-3 wall walks
-30 double-unders
-6 wall walks
-60 double-unders
-9 wall walks
-90 double-unders
-15 wall walks
-150 double-unders
-21 wall walks
-210 double-unders
Time cap: 15 min.
Note: There is no round of 12 or 15.
ZOAR Competition Guide
What does it cover?
- Movement standards
- Rep Breakdowns
- Splits Predictions
- Score / Time Predictions
- Nutrition & Visualization
- Gear & Equipment
- Filming & Judging
- Warm-Up & Cool-Down Protocol
- Post-Workout Notes & Analysis
- How to Improve a ReTest
- And More…
Movement Standards
Don’t overlook the workout’s movements standards.
Even if you have been doing this fitness thing for a long time, sometimes tweaks in the rules can make your attempt invalid, which can be devastating to your place on the leaderboard…and your season.
Noteworthy Standard #1: Lying prone -feet flat against the wall- the closest edge of the tape needs to go at the top of the shoulder. The other line is 10 inches from the wall, measuring to the far edge of the tape. Any part of your palm or fingers touching the line is accepted.
Noteworthy Standard #2: Athletes must start facing the wall behind the far line.
Noteworthy Standard #3: The most common way people are failing to meet the standard is by starting to walk their hands back prior to BOTH feet leaving the floor. They reach up with one foot, then start to walk. Make sure you have both feet on the wall before moving your hands.
Filming & Judging
You need to take time prior to when you walk into the gym to figure out the logistics of filming and judging.
First, reach out to someone at your gym or a friend and ask them to judge you, and to meet you at a specific time. Don’t just show up at the gym and hope someone is there. Pick a friend who is reliable, knows the standards and will project their voice so you can hear them.
Second, make sure you have the scorecard printed to give to your judge when you meet them. Also, be sure to let them know how your preferences… • Do you want every rep counted out loud?
• Maybe every fifth or tenth rep?
• Maybe each time you break?
• Maybe only certain movements?
Third, talk with your judge and give them permission to hold you to the standards. “Don’t be afraid to no rep me. Better you than HQ.” This may seem obvious, but if this person is your friend, they are often a little shy at first on the no reps.
Fourth, prior to starting your warm-up, setup your equipment and a clock where you plan on using it. Set up your camera making sure all stations are in frame with some extra space on the sides.
Put it on airplane mode; don’t let a spam phone call ruin your attempt. Make a mental note of where the edges are the frame are and make sure to avoid walking past that during transitions and rest during the workout.
Also, film your rehearsal. Then during your rest prior to starting your test, review it to double check all movements are in frame and that you can clearly see movement standards are being met.
Lastly, before submitting a video watch it through to make sure reps were counted correctly, and that the video is quality enough to be judged online.
Even if you don’t plan on qualifying for the next stage in the competition, videos serve as an important resource as to how to improve on a ReTest.
Equipment Setup
Being a couplet, the setup is quite simple. Put your rope close to the wall, but no so close that it will ever been in your way of your hands on the wall walk.
The beginning of this workout is much more important for transitions (and therefore equipment setup) than the latter parts, due to the ascending rep scheme.
Keep things close and transitions quickly in the beginning and as the workout builds, the transitions will become a built in rest.
Live Announcement Lessons
The first thing to keep in mind is that you (probably) aren’t an elite athlete. The high pace that these athletes were able to hold (especially Kari Pearce) is completely unrealistic for the everyday CrossFit athlete. Chances are your cycle speed and muscular endurance aren’t at that level.
You could see Kristi Eramo O’Connell’s cycle speed slow dramatically towards the end of this workout on the wall walks. And Kristi is known for her endurance abilities, which just shows the level that Pearce executed the test. Frankly, Pearce -in form and function- was built perfectly for this workout.
So while there are things we can learn from these athletes attempting this workout, keep in mind that the carryover to you specifically might not be that much.
Be realistic with your current level of fitness, and base your pace on that. If you aren’t super conformable or relaxed inverted, respect the amount of time you will be upside-down in this workout.
The same thing can be said for the double unders. Both ladies did the rope virtually unbroken. And Kari was the only one to finish under the time cap.
Almost everyone who completed this workout will have a score…not a time.
Pacing & Strategy
(1) Know Thyself
It’s important to form a pacing strategy and/or break plan that’s firmly rooted in the knowledge of your current capabilities.
Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind is that with an ascending rep scheme, you can always decide to go unbroken in latter rounds -which realistically- seems unlikely for most athletes.
For almost everyone, minus the elites, this is essentially a 15 minute AMRAP.
Fifteen minutes is a long time for a couplet.
Plus, most of the time in this workout will be spent on the wall, so you need to manage your density starting early.
Even moving at full speed, the wall walk reps will take 5-6 seconds.
(2) Wall Walks: Focus on Efficiency
First is the wall walk. You need to be methodical and form-focused, but you can’t afford to move slowly. That time under tension will prove costly.
“Slow is Smooth and Smooth is Fast.”
You can’t afford slobby no-reps on the wall walk.
Focus on the rhythm of the wall walk: Feet, Hands, Hands, Feet.
(1) Feet leave the floor
(2) Hands move off the line
(3) Hands move back to the line
(4) Feet return to the floor
Efficiency shouldn’t stop their however.
Consider doing a push-up in the wall walk into a Tripod Plank, saving your core and triceps. Then reach your foot as high as you can to minimize the amount you actually have to “walk.” As soon as your hands retouch the line get off the wall as quickly as you can without being sloppy.
(3) Wall Walk: Keep Your Mat Dry
Do everything you can to keep your mat dry. The diagonal pressure of the wall walk can easily have sweaty palms slide.
Consider tucking in a cotton shirt.
Use sweat bands on your wrists and chalk up before the start.
Even using a towel for your forearms or forehead would be smart.
(4) Wall Walk: Deload Your Shoulders
Deload your shoulders and triceps while resting.
This could be laying prone for a brief moment (or) moving to a seiza sit for a few seconds, much like resting between push-up sets in Murph.
Exit and return to your resting position quickly, minimizing the time the tissues are under load.
(5) Wall Walks: Break Before You Are Broken
If you go to failure or near failure (a grindy rep), the entire rest of the workout’s output will be blunted.
Flirt with the line in the second half of the workout, but don’t cross it until the last minute
(6) Double Unders: Stay Composed
For the double under focus on a moderate turnover speed that doesn’t make you jump too high and elevate your heart rate (or) make you carry too much tension in your shoulders and triceps and further contribute to local fatigue.
It’s perfectly fine to break the double unders in the latter rounds to prevent a performance implosion.
You will trip. When you do, take 2-3 deep breaths, relaxed your shoulders and begin again. Getting frustrated will not help your score.
Check out the Double Under Movement Breakdown for more tips.
Full Warm-Up & Cooldown
A. Thermo – 2 Rounds @ Smooth Pace
-2:00 AirBike
-1:00 SkiErg (Sub: Row)
-1:00 Single Unders
B1. Up-Dog to Down-Dog (3 x 3 / position)
B2. Dip Stretch (3 x 20s) maintaining 25% tension
B3. Neck Circles (3 x 3 / way) slow motion
B4. Inchworm Plank (3 x 2)
C1. Wall Walk + 10s Nose-to-Wall Hold (x3)
C2. Double Unders (3 x 10-20) based on proficiency
D. Rehearsal – Complete @ Workout Pace
-3:00 AirBike @ 10:00 Test Avg. Wattage
2-3 Rounds of…
-3 Wall Walk
-30 Double Unders
E. Test
Make the first attempt a good one!
(Remember, go all way the to the end in any initial test -even if things don’t go to plan- because you never know what might prevent you from improving on a retest.)
F. Flush – 5:00 AirBike @ Recovery Pace
G1. Calf Stair Stretch (3 x 0:45 / side)
G2. 2-Way Neck Stretch (3 x 0:30 / side)
G3. Seal Stretch (3 x 0:45)
H. Foam Roll: Triceps, Calves
Balancing Training During the Open
Don’t know how to optimally balance training during the Open?
If you don’t know how to structure your week and manage stress and recovery during the Open, it’s easy to find yourself underperforming.
Typically athletes -like you- err on either being fully recovered where their fitness starts to fade by the last week of the Open, or they train to much through the Open and aren’t recovered enough by the weekend to throwdown at 100%.
Let us take care of that for you.
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