CrossFit Games Open: 16.3 Strategy & Tips
The Crossfit Games Open series rolls on to week three and Mr Castro has finally brought bar muscle ups to the party. Combined with some feather light snatches, this is a seven minute workout that is going to test your engine and grip in equal measure.
Once again, we've got Kitbox athlete and movement expert Barry back in to give you the lowdown on the best things you can do to prepare for 16.3.
Barry Mair's 16.3 Warm Up Advice
So another new movement for this year's open in the form of bar muscle ups. Long time Open athletes have been waiting for a few years now for these to come up. This movement will make a lot of people happy and cheese a lot more people off!
I hit 16.3 early Friday morning and it's just like I expected...GRIPPY!
Here's my top 5 tips for 16.3 prep:
1. Just like 16.1, our first movement sees the bar going over head. To ensure your over head position is open and stable be sure to hit the thoracic spine, lats and shoulders.
Here's a video for a great overhead pre workout mobility drill:
2. Couple your mobilisation with some medium capacity rowing, 40-60% for about 60 secs at a time.
Alternate between points 1 and 2 every 5-7 minutes for a total of 20-30 minutes.
3. Start moving the barbell between taping your hands!! I repeat: TAPE YOUR HANDS!!
4. For the bar muscle ups, hit some singles to focus on hitting the initial first rep. For the guys and girls with good bar muscle ups, hit between 5-8 single reps and for those who aren't so good keep it to 3-5 reps.
5. Hit one complete round at race pace about 10 minutes before you do it for real.
As always good luck and have fun.
