CrossFit Games Open - 17.2

 So, week one of the CrossFit Games Open was full of challenges. We've heard many tales of destroyed lower backs and struggles to upload scores to the Games website. But it's time to move on, and focus on this week's challenge - 17.2.

Dumbbells are back for the second week in a row. Did you see it coming? Will we see dumbbells every week , for the rest of the Open? Who knows! 

For those who missed last night's announcement, 17.2 is...

12 Minute AMRAP:

Two rounds:

• 50ft walking lunges,
• 16 toes-to-bar,
• 8 dumbbell power cleans.

Two rounds:

• 50ft walking lunges,
• 16 bar muscle-ups,
• 8 dumbbell power cleans.

Men Rx: 50lb/22.5kg dumbbells.

Women Rx: 35lb/15kg dumbbells.

This workout is going to be a test of grip strength, stamina and intelligence. How will you break up the workout? Here are our recommendations for taking on 17.2.

Getting Ready

This week, your upper body is going to have to cope with a lot of stress; handing around on the bar, and pulling through your shoulders and lats - so a solid warm up is necessary.

Your lower half shouldn't take the same beating it did last week, with the lunges and cleans, but that doesn't mean you can slack off!

In your warm up, fire up those hamstrings and glutes with a combination of hip bridges and leg raises. You need to be strong on those lunges but, perhaps more importantly, flexible for the toes-to-bar. Make sure your hips are working as they should, to get those toes-to-bar will be as fluid and effortless as possible.

To get your shoulders and lats working, take a look at this warm up from WOD nation.

The Workout

Use Your Brain

You know your own limits better than anyone else, so think about how you're going to break this workout up before you get started. In particular, plan how you're going to attack the toes-to-bar and the bar muscle-ups. Pushing to failure will have you resting for too long, trying to shake your arms back to life, and wasting precious time. Think about how hard you can push, and manage it effectively for your level of ability.

The lunges are your friend.

The weight isn't super heavy. If you can rack up the dumbbells intelligently, you can use this section of the workout to cruise for a while - and catch your breath. Take a steady pace, which you know you can maintain for the full 50 feet. Don't get caught out and rest the dumbbells - you'll eat up time and energy. In this workout, efficiency is key.

Learn from last week!

We've read the Instagram posts and Facebook comments from 17.1. Many learn the hard way that inefficient movement can cause a lot of discomfort. Avoid the bad habits exhibited in 17.1, and keep your cleans...clean! If you're not careful, the cleans will quickly turn into bicep curls and that won't help with your transition to toes-to-bar and muscle-ups.

Keep your head.

Some of you might be thinking, "after the third lunge walk, I'm done". Rubbish! Magic happens in the heat of the moment. If the bar muscle up has eluded you, now could be the time to make it happen.

Don't put yourself in harm's way, but believe in your ability. You can achieve awesome things. We expect to see plenty of "first muscle up" videos over the next few days.

As always, good luck & enjoy!