Crossfit Games 16.1: The History and Prediction

HISTORY tells us the 2016 Crossfit Games' first WOD will probably be snatches with burpees or double unders but the real answer wont be revealed until February 25.

What do you think it will be?

Let's look at the previous years:

2011 - Anyone's Games

10 min AMRAP (as many reps as possible)
30 Double-Unders
15 Power Snatches (Men 75lb/35kg : Women 55lb/25kg)

2012 - Get stuffed

7 min AMRAP
burpees

2013 - The Combo

17 min AMRAP
40 burpees
30 snatches (Men 75lb/35kg : Women 45lb/21kgs)
30 burpees
30 snatches (Men 135lb/61kg : Women 75lb/35kg)
20 burpees
30 snatches (Men 165lb/75kg : Women 100lb/45kg)
10 burpees
Keep snatching (Men 210lb/95kg : Women 120lb/55kg)

2014 - Back to Basics

10 min AMRAP (as many reps as possible)
30 Double-Unders
15 Power Snatches (Men 75lb/35kg : Women 55lbs/25kg)

2015 - Mix it up

9 min AMRAP
15 toes-to-bars
10 deadlifts (Men 115lb/52kg : Women 75lb/34kg)
5 snatches (Men 115lb/52kg : Women 75/34kg)
Then 6 minutes to find
1-rep-max clean and jerk

The Prediction

10 min AMRAP
15 Snatches (Men 75lb/35kg : Women 45lb/21kgs)
30 Burpees or double unders

What do you think it will be?

Remember this video?

13.4 WOD, strategy, my turn, prediction

WELL we're in the tail end of the competition! They've given us a combination of a 7 minutes max toes to bar and moderately heavy clean and jerks.

Here we're going to look at the WOD, possible strategies, I'll give it a go and I'll predict the final WOD... It's gotta be the Fran style one we've seen in previous years.

13.4 The WOD

7 minute AMRAP
3-6-9-12-15-18....
Clean and Jerk 61.25/43kg (135/95lbs)
Toes to Bar



Strategies
Okay so it isn't a long one so find a fast pace and stick with it.
Clean the weight up but before locking out on the clean go straight into a jerk. Drop under utilise your legs, stand up and go again.
Remember to kip and for me I roll up and kick to get both feet on the bar while saving as much energy as possible.
Through transitions go as fast as you can.
There's not a lot of strategy for this one just go as fast as you can.

My turn
Okay so I felt okay about the weight 43kg, is under my max, I had a look at some other results and just wanted to get into the 12rep rounds.
Through the clean and jerks I focused on my technique big shoulders and leg drive for the clean, quick under. Now because I'm not as strong I did this movement in two.
The jerks I just focused on dropping under and saving my arms.
It worked a treat, I was just really pleased to get it up nicely. Felt amazing!
Then the toes to bar, I can't link them together yet so I just got up and kipped, completed and repeated.
I was surprised, although looking back on it I shouldn't have been, I managed to get up to the 9rep rounds in almost four minutes.
The first few rounds go really quickly.
I got through 5 c+js on the last round (12reps) giving me a grand total of 41 reps. Felt solid, I do actually wish to do it again but with Easter I don't know if that's possible.

12.5 WOD prediction
So far we're missing, chest to bar pull-ups, overhead squats and thrusters if you look back at previous years.
The only real WOD that fits this description is the FRANish one, so that's my prediction for next week. It's also been repeated twice in previous years
Fran rep ladder 7 min AMRAP
3-6-9-12...
Thruster 45/30kg (100/65lbs)
Chest to bar pull-up

Good luck everyone. Check in next time for my go at 12.5 and a recap of this year.

13.4 It's either 'Fran'ish, leftovers or a big fat combo - my predictions

WHAT are they doing to us? It seems The Crossfit Games Open WODs have almost been complete repeats from previous years. Let’s look at the pattern so far, find out what we’re missing and I’ll predict 13.4.

That's me during WOD 1

So far in 2013
All AMRAPS and all combination or repeat
WOD 1 - burpees and snatch ladder - a combination of 12.1 burpees and 12.2 snatch ladder
WOD 2 - chest to overhead, deadlifts and box jumps - a combination of 12.3 and 11.2
WOD 3 - Karen, double unders, muscle ups - a repeat of 12.4

What’s missing
Well we haven’t seen toes to bar, cleans and overhead squats or 12.5 which is basically a variation of Fran (chest to bar pullups and thrusters).
Therefore the only thing left for the Crossfit gods to do is to combine these leftovers with Fran for 13.4. Alternately we could do Fran one week and a killer of a chipper for the next.
Now remember the WOD has to be done in a relatively small area that can be filmed and judged easily.

Here’s my predictions it’s either a little bit Fran, leftovers or a combo
Fran rep ladder 7 min AMRAP
3-6-9-12...
Thruster 45/30kg (100/65lbs)
Chest to bar pull-up

Leftovers
12 cleans 60/35kg (135/75lbs)
10 overhead squats 60/35kg (135/75lbs)
9 toes to bar

Combo
3-6-9-12....
cleans 60/35kg (135/75lbs)
overhead squats 60/35kg (135/75lbs)
chest to bar pull-up


Check in to see what it is, I’ll give it a go and we’ll predict the final WOD.

13.3 Ball Rash get used to it

BALL rash is something the entire crossfit community will have to get used to after 13.3 and that’s exactly what I’ve got right now.
    Let’s have a look at 13.3, we’ll talk strategy and I’ll give it a go.

13.3 the WOD - also known as Karen plus
150 wall balls men: 9kg to 10ft, women: 6kg to 9ft
90 double unders
30 muscle ups

The breakdown and strategy 
Well this is basically a revisit of 12.4 start with 150 wall balls, make sure you're nice and warm before you start this so you can get to the right depth in the squat before throwing the ball up the wall. Next up find a way to break it down many people do it in 10s. For me I go 50(2x25), 40(2x20), 30(2x15), 20(2x10), then 10 which you just smash out of the way or if you're really exhausted (2x5). Try not to drop the ball ever and catch it in a position where you don't have to adjust it before squatting and throwing again. Now if you're lucky enough to get through your 150 wall balls it's onto the double unders, find your rhythm and breath through it break it down if you have to but just get them out of the way. Then muscle ups you champ, if you've done these before (ever) just find your focus, 3, 2, 1. Now the top competitors are likely to get past those muscle ups and into the next set of wall balls as we've seen in previous years. Also there's a good chance you wont give this WOD another go in a couple of days, you'll see what I mean. However I do think if I ever do Karen in a normal class I'll just chuck on 90 double unders, why not!

My turn
Alright, due to some interesting weekend scheduling (parties and visitors) I gave this a go on Friday. The wall balls I broke it down as I said above and this year, they felt pretty good. I probably shouldn't have used chalk to cross it off. But it did give me focus. I had a few no reps, mostly for not hitting the wall, but that's always been my problem. I also dropped the ball after no repping, wasting precious time. The height however was not a issue so much usually at Crossfit Northside we aim for 10ft so 9ft was a bit of a walk in the park. Next up the double unders last year I didn't even finish these, I was so out of breath. This year I got through them doing on average 9 at a time simply because I was pretty tired from Karen. I finished them with 21 seconds to spare. So just for shits and giggles I attempted a muscle up. As I reached my arms up to the rings I was surprised at how sore they were. I simply did not have the power to get up. Also it would have been a crossfit miracle if I completed one because I never have before.

That's me getting ready for wall balls!

One day later
My legs are soooo sore and I have ball rash on my forearms and neck. Classy I know.

Come back soon and I'll give a prediction for next week's WOD we're over the halfway mark. Do you think they'll give us 12.5's Fran style WOD?

13.3 last years recap and my prediction

I’ve used all my psychic powers of guestimation to come up with this week’s WOD. First off lets look at previous WOD 3s, recap the movements so far and have a look at what to expect tomorrow.

Previous WODs
WOD 3 2011 was a
5 min AMRAP (men - 165lbs/75kg women - 110/50kg)
squat clean
jerk

Well it's not going to have running in it!

Meanwhile 12.3 gave us
15 box jumps
12 push press
9 toes to bar

Patterns...
Where does that leave us?
    • These two are completely different  however we haven’t had any squat cleans or toes to bar.
    • Other movements we haven’t seen yet include - pull-ups, muscle-ups, double-unders, overhead squats and wall balls.
    • We also know last week the weight was relatively light so we can expect something heavier this week.
    • If we look at the crossfit main website they had clean and jerk on Monday, but none of the others I have written in this blog.
    • The WOD has to be done in a small space and all on camera so no running.
    • There will be simple standards so no push-ups and I don't think we'll get kettlebell swings. There may have been some alleged no-rep issues with some of the scores in 12.2 (but we wont look at that here, I merely suggest the top 200 competitors video submit or they have an extra level comp (say districts) to make sure the every rep ‘actually’ counts and we don’t see any duds go through to the next level)

My prediction...
7min AMRAP
double unders and squat cleans...
50 double unders
15 squat cleans 75/45kg
10 toes to bar

Good luck! Check back and I’ll let you know how I go in my own attempt in 13.3

13.2 the breakdown the trial

A QUICKY is our WOD for round 2 of the Crossfit Games 2013 open. No doubt you've already seen it but today we'll break it down, we'll check different strategies, I'll give it a go and see how my prediction was.

First up
WOD 13.2

10 min AMRAP
5 chest to overhead Men 52.5kg (115lbs) Women 35kg (75lbs)
10 deadlifts Men 52.5kg (115lbs) Women 35kg (75lbs)
15 box jumps Men 61cm (24") Women 51cm (20")



The strategy
So the idea with this one is to go as quick as you can (well duh). Try not to break, keep a steady but fast pace and because it's only 10 minutes push yourself.

Start by cleaning the weight to your shoulders then push press or push jerk it overhead. Alternately if you're really strong press away! Just pick something you'll be able to maintain and do fast. Go for five, don't drop the bar this will waste heaps of time.

On the last rep don't drop the bar it'll go flying off, rather lower the bar and head straight into deadlifts. Just keep pushing out the reps.

Then box jumps here's another spot where you can certainly pick up time. Jump, step or use a combination, just do it fast. For some it may be quicker to jump or less time wasting to step. Pick your poison.

Transition time is another point of difference, to make up time go faster.

My turn...
I got into the box this morning, a little earlier than usual so I could roll out a bit. I've been fighting a virus for the past couple of weeks. Hanging out the washing was exhausting, to give you an idea of how bad it was. Although I'm on the mend and I was feeling good. I warmed up using a 20kg bar for the C2O and DL then tried different box jump methods.

Before it was my turn to go I counted a couple of different people and noticed the box jumps seemed harder to maintain so steps seemed the goer.

I warmed up again, stepped to my bar as the timer counted down, feeling less Jenneke than last time (see blog). I hit it, the hardest thing I thought would be the push press, but it all seemed like a 'fair' weight, not crazy heavy but in no way a pushover. I just kept going and going. Never putting the bar down until my last round. Rookie error. I got 199 reps thats 6 rounds and 5 C2O and 4 box jumps. Looking back on it I should have pushed harder and completed my deadlifts quicker. My transition time should have been speedier and if I had to do it again I would know it's not 'that' difficult. I say this now, I was sooo spent at the time. Will I have another go though? Maybe if tonight isn't too crazy and if I'm feeling better tomorrow.

My prediction
Didn't fare as well as other predictions though I did get the combination aspect right. Just the wrong combination. I said 12min AMRAP 21 double unders, 15 wall balls, 9 toes to bar.
Well that would certainly fit in for 13.3.

Check back later for my actual prediction and how it goes next week.

13.2 the prediction

recap of previous WOD 2s, the pattern, my prediction, how I went in 13.1

WHAT a start to the 2013 Crossfit Games open season! We were smashed with a 17 minute high intensity WOD (workout) testing our strength and endurance.
    This only means one thing... The crossfit gods are trying to kill us. No not really, but it does mean this is tougher then we’ve seen before which leads us into predictions for this week’s WOD.
    Lets start off by recapping previous years, looking for a pattern, my predictions and I’ll let you know how I went in 13.1 (spoiler alert! I’m pretty chuffed with 137).
   

The recap: number 2... The WOD that is...
    In previous years we found ourselves battling it out with very different WODs.

    2011
    15 minute AMRAP (as many reps as possible)
    9 Deadlifts (155lbs/75kg 100lbs/45kg),
    12 Push-ups
    15 Box Jumps (24/20 inch)

    2012
    10 minute AMRAP
    snatches
    30 reps Men: 35kg (135) Women: 20kg (45)
    30 reps Men: 60kg (165) Women: 35kg (100)
    30 reps Men: 75kg (165) Women: 45kg (100)
    Then max reps Men: 95kg (210)Women: 55kg (120)

The pattern... At first glance it doesn’t look like there’s one but I think there is.
    • One thing is certain 12.2 was very similar to 13.1 so will we see more WODs similar to 2012, I think so.
    • Then there should be the usual constraints seen in Crossfit opens - AMRAP, standard movements performed on camera, no repeat in movements from the previous WODs, minimal equipment.
    • Two to three movements per WOD.

My prediction...
    12 minute AMRAP
    21 double unders
    15 Wall balls
    9 Toes to Bar
    This notion if further confirmed by the pattern - if 13.1 was almost the same as 12.2, then 13.2 will be similar to 12.3 (18 minutes AMRAP 15 boxjumps, 12 push press, 9 toes to bar).
    Though I wouldn’t be surprised if we got a ‘quick’ 7 minute WOD


How I went in 13.1... A WOD to separate the field...
    Coming into the first round I was a little apprehensive, 17 minutes is a long time to be pushing yourself to the limit. I was scheduled to give it a crack in heat 2 at Crossfit Northside.
    I watched on as the other competitors moved through the WOD and was surprised to see most women got through the first 70 (40 burpees and 30 snatches at 20kg) in under 10 minutes and the following 30 burpees soon after.
    This gave me a spark of hope, I should be able to get more than 100 reps. This time last year I think 35kg was my 1RM but between then and now I had completed 3 reps at 42.5kg, so I really hoped to get to the third set of snatches.
    I set my mind to embrace the challenge, think Jenneke (the Australian hurdler who dances before each race, youtube it) with a bit of a shake and big smile the clock counted down 3...2...1!
    Don’t stop, don’t ever stop the words went through my mind, I slowed but never paused as I cracked through the first 40 burpees, much much quicker than I did 12.1 (7min AMRAP burpees).
    I picked up the 20kg bar knowing I only had to go below the knee as it had no plates, a fantastic prospect for tall people, it made it so much easier I almost thought of loading the next round of snatches with small weights.
    I didn’t put it down, completing 30 in a row exactly my plan to get a good split time.
    The 30 burpees seemed so much easier than the 40. After 15 I was halfway through (my mathematical brain breaking it down to three sets of 5).
    Then came the 35kg. Knowing that one of the girls at the gym got 150 (Shannon you champ) I wanted to reach her. I needed pace but after the first snatch I dropped the bar unevenly and only one side dropped so that really stuffed me.
    I kept my ‘dance your way’ attitude through the WOD and with a shake of the wrists did one rep at a time, and a couple of twos.
    My counter Dim (and the best female athlete at CFNS) kept telling me to pick it up and with 35 seconds remaining I completed the 30 snatches.
    I spun around and got down and up as quick as I could giving me 7 burpees for my grand total 137.
    I was over the moon, so happy, pumped and ready to go I thought yeah I’m gonna do this again, I’ve got this one in the bag.
    After a couple of drinks that night I stood up and my hamstrings were unbelievably sore and three days later (today) I’m still feeling it despite stretching and rolling.
    Needless to say I didn’t give it another crack.
    Instead I’ll focus on next week.

    Tune in to find out how I do, I’ll try to post it after I complete it on Saturday morning.