WOD 1 -- Jackie:
Individual:
On the individual side, Jackie is a good opener that fortunately will not cause any lingering damage for the rest of the weekend. Any competitor at the Regionals level has probably tackled this WOD before, and rowing, thrusters, and pull-ups are nothing new. I will address each movement and then general strategy for the WOD after.
1) The Row -- Don't kill yourself here. This workout is not won on the rower, and it is almost never worth going much faster than the opposition during the opening 1k. For guys, I suggest a pace of 1:40-1:50 depending on rowing strength/confidence, with most people falling in the 1:45-1:50 range. For the ladies, a pace of 1:55-2:05 will be more than fast enough. The goal is to get through the row and IMMEDIATELY begin your thrusters; if you need to catch your breath in the transition you have already lost this workout. At the top level of competition, a more confident rower may be able to push the pace a little bit assuming their thrusters/pull-ups are solid and conditioning is not an issue.
2) The Thrusters -- The workout is made or broken here. The thrusters need to be done unbroken and they need to be done fast. If rest is needed, rest in the back rack position for a breath or two and then go right back into thrusters. The key is to make all working sets here as fast as possible. Perfectly vertical torso is essential, and usage of the stretch-shortening cycle will separate the field amongst the top athletes -- the bounce out of the bottom is key for speed and to save your shoulders.
3) The Pull-ups -- At this level of competition, the pull-ups need to be done in a maximum of two sets but ideally need to be done unbroken. Confidence with butterfly pull-ups is absolutely essential here, as you will end up roughly 10 pull-ups faster compared to a standard kip. Take a second to chalk up before starting; it's better to take a few seconds here than to slip up during the working set and waste time re-adjusting or chalking up mid-set.
General notes:
- Oly shoes are a requirement, not an option
- Steady on the row, never feel pressured/tense
- Fast thrusters win the WOD
- Chalk up quickly BEFORE pull-ups, don't waste time after
- Unbroken pull-ups are doable and will be a separator
Team:
The team version of Jackie is essentially the same, with teams picking their best guy/girl to tackle the WOD. For teams, a couple of general things must be considered. For one, you want to open big on Day 1. Having strong finishes on Friday will get you better heats and more time to watch the opposition; team competition relies much more on strategy and efficient transitions than anything else. For this reason, your best guy and girl should do Jackie UNLESS you need one of them later on for WOD 6's HSPU. This will matter more for the women than for the men. Getting a top finish on Day 1 will allow for better planning and strategizing for some of the harder WODs, and this will provide a slight advantage over the opposition. Ideally, you have a smaller guy better suited to Jackie and a girl with good pull-ups who may be your second best; this saves a stronger guy for the HSPU and axle work of WOD 6 and your strongest female competitor to tackle WOD 6 with them.
WOD 2 -- 3RM OH Squat:
Individual:
For the individual WOD, there is the obvious benefit of warming up and going right into the OH Squats, whereas teams need to do WODs 2/3 simultaneously. The rule for 10# increments and choosing a starting weight will really hurt those who are unprepared for this event, and thus it is crucial to practice the OH squat in one form or another as much as possible leading up to the Regional. There is plenty of time to warm-up leading up to the event, so athletes need to know what they can step up to the platform and hit. This event should be treated like a weightlifting meet -- you will only get 3 solid attempts and will be able to squeeze out probably another 2 attempts before you will see diminishing returns. Therefore, you must choose an opening weight that you can hit and that will boost your confidence. Also know that you will only have four additional lifts at the most to build up to your true 3RM. The ideal way to get the bar overhead will NOT be a snatch for most athletes at the Regional level. I recommend doing a clean into a wide split jerk, re-positioning the feet, and squatting with this slightly wider clean grip. This will lock the shoulders in place and will be one of the most confident squatting positions for most, with the caveat that flexibility has to be nearly perfect. Practice this transition into the OH squat prior to the Regional and feel it out. The alternative is a clean and jerk, lowering the bar behind the neck in a "bear complex" style, and re-adjusting the hands as if the bar had been taken off the rack. At heavy weights I think this could get dicey and will over-fatigue your shoulders for the remaining squats.
General notes:
WOD 2 -- 3RM OH Squat:
Individual:
For the individual WOD, there is the obvious benefit of warming up and going right into the OH Squats, whereas teams need to do WODs 2/3 simultaneously. The rule for 10# increments and choosing a starting weight will really hurt those who are unprepared for this event, and thus it is crucial to practice the OH squat in one form or another as much as possible leading up to the Regional. There is plenty of time to warm-up leading up to the event, so athletes need to know what they can step up to the platform and hit. This event should be treated like a weightlifting meet -- you will only get 3 solid attempts and will be able to squeeze out probably another 2 attempts before you will see diminishing returns. Therefore, you must choose an opening weight that you can hit and that will boost your confidence. Also know that you will only have four additional lifts at the most to build up to your true 3RM. The ideal way to get the bar overhead will NOT be a snatch for most athletes at the Regional level. I recommend doing a clean into a wide split jerk, re-positioning the feet, and squatting with this slightly wider clean grip. This will lock the shoulders in place and will be one of the most confident squatting positions for most, with the caveat that flexibility has to be nearly perfect. Practice this transition into the OH squat prior to the Regional and feel it out. The alternative is a clean and jerk, lowering the bar behind the neck in a "bear complex" style, and re-adjusting the hands as if the bar had been taken off the rack. At heavy weights I think this could get dicey and will over-fatigue your shoulders for the remaining squats.
General notes:
- Weightlifting shoes, wrist wraps, and possibly a belt are all necessary -- use any gear that makes you more confident in finishing a lift
- Treat this event like a lifting meet: 3 solid attempts with an additional 2 for pushing to that true max
- Go in warm and knowing what you can hit to open with 100 percent confidence
- Load the bar immediately after finishing your last good rep and sit down/chalk up/rest before attempting the next
Teams:
For teams, the squat event involves a little bit more strategy as there is no starting weight requirement and no minimum jumps required. Athletes can start at whatever weight they choose and jumps can be made to whatever weight the team chooses. For this reason, get your weakest lifter out of the way first. Have them hit something maybe 10-15 pounds shy of their projected max quickly, and give them one additional attempt at the most to put up a bigger number. After this, immediately move on to your next strongest lifter. The time should be divided up so that your strongest lifter(s) have the most time to build. On teams where all lifters are roughly equal, this will not matter as much and each lifter will be able to get more attempts in.
General notes:
General notes:
- Girls go first so their strategy is very similar to the individuals, they will be warm and prepared for what they will hit
- Guys go after the burpee muscle-ups and WILL be tired
- Do NOT underestimate the effect of the muscle-ups on your OH Squat max
- Guys will need to check the ego and hit lifts they are confident with, if you go big great if not move on
WOD 3 -- Burpee Muscle-ups:
Individual:
The 7-minute time cap will be fairly aggressive for a lot of the women, but expect a lot of the men to be coming in under the cap. The fastest times will be around 4 minutes or just under, but expect to be near the top for anything in the sub-5:30 range. For the women, top scores will be sub-6 minutes while finishing under the time cap will be enough to put you near the top in each region (at least early on). The burpee muscle-ups absolutely CANNOT be rushed. It is more important to steady the rings on the way down so you can go right into the next rep than it is to do each individual rep quickly. Focus and a steady-but-fast rhythm will be the key to winning this WOD. For those who are strong at muscle-ups, breaking these up into sets of 5 or 6 and keeping all splits roughly equal will yield the best times. For those who are not as strong at muscle-ups, or those who do not think they will finish, just keeping one slow, steady rhythm will probably be the way to go. This way you at least open big and have more time to work on the later reps. On the burpee, hip drive must be utilized to bring the athlete back to their feet. If you turn these burpees into push-ups your chest will start to cramp and make later muscle-ups very difficult. Over-exaggerate the kip on each dip to save the triceps and the chest as well. If you even think you will fail a muscle-up rep, take an extra second of rest -- failed muscle-ups waste more time and energy than almost any other movement in the sport. The most useful thing an athlete can practice here will be minimizing the transition between the top of the muscle-up and the next burpee while keeping the rings stable overhead. Lastly, jumping muscle-ups should only be an option for those athletes who are tall enough to hold onto the rings with fairly bent arms. Rings are set at 6'10" which will be well within the reach of taller athletes. This may allow bigger athletes to squeeze out more reps than standard kipping muscle-ups, and the dip portion will become the limiting factor here. For those not doing jumping muscle-ups, a neutral grip with a moderate and tight gymnastics kip is recommended. Keep the hands light and save the shoulders/triceps -- attempting a bent-arm style of muscle-up is not recommended for individuals as they will not have the included rest time that the team competitors have.
General notes:
- Do not rush the reps, steady the rings on the way down every single time
- The burpee MUST be mostly hips, do not do a push-up here
- Over-exaggerate the kip for each dip
- Fast sets of 5 or 6 for those proficient in muscle-ups
- Open steady but big for those who are unsure of finishing, leave yourself more time later when it's needed
- NEVER risk failing a muscle-up, it is the biggest waster of time and energy in the sport
- Practice the transition between each rep, steadying the rings must be done fast and effortlessly
Team:
The team version of this WOD is very similar, but the forced rotation every 3 reps will favor teams who have more well-rounded athletes. Since the minimum contribution is 6 reps per gender, it makes sense to put your athlete with the strongest muscle-ups first in the rotation. For teams who may be on the verge of not getting their 6 reps, have the strongest muscle-up athlete go first and get their 3 as fast as possible. This will leave more than 6 minutes for the next athlete to try for their 3 reps. Even for those with questionable muscle-ups, this is plenty of time to get 3 reps if enough rest is taken and the athlete stays calm. This workout will be won in the transitions for teams whose members are all skilled at muscle-ups. Make sure you steady the rings on every rep, but especially for the next teammate coming in. If allowed, the first teammate coming in for the transition should run onto the mat and do their first muscle-up facing the previous athlete, then rotate to that athlete's previous position for the second and third reps. Full extension at the bottom of each rep is not required, so athletes who can do false-gripped muscle-ups from a bent-arm position should use this variation if it is more comfortable and will allow them to cycle through the teammates faster. Typically this would waste energy, however, team members will have built-in rest during this workout and should be able to recover.
General notes:
- Strongest team athlete goes first, second and third athletes ranked by decreasing muscle-up proficiency with least proficient athlete going last
- Steady the rings on every rep
- If rules allow, athlete coming in from transition should do their first rep facing previous athlete and then do the second and third from this athlete's previous position
- For athletes who have not yet gotten their first muscle-up, attempting a jumping muscle-up will be easier than learning a proper kip and transition -- practice this variation
- Full extension at the bottom not required -- bent-arm false-gripped version may be preferable for some athletes
Day 2 strategies will be posted tomorrow, feel free to email any questions or comments to justin@trainedwright.com.
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