You are thinking ” The Open is ages away, there is no need to be thinking about that now ” right..? – Wrong. It shouldn’t really matter if you are trying to qualify for Regionals or just want to participate. You all need to do the same reps in the Wods so you need to make sure you are getting it right now so less surprises can come up. I am specifically talking about two things. Yes, it is just as much up to the coaches to get this right but it is also about yourself and here is why.
- When you are doing Wods you should have a bit of a plan going in. This is to make sure you don’t “Blow out” halfway through and can’t finish the Wod but it is also to make sure you know when to go hard so you don’t miss out on extra reps or finish slower than you should have. It works both ways. If you practice tactics now it will become a lot easier when The Open comes around. Find out how to attack the Wod, break the set before you hit failure so you can continue the set or try to go unbroken it its an exercise you are good at. If you practice all these things you know more about yourself when The Open starts.
- Full Range of Motion (ROM) is of course always important we can all agree on that but when competition becomes part of it, it can be easy for some to think more about getting the reps done rather than how they get them done. Exercises which are fairly easy but where there are a lot of aspects to get right to gain a rep are specifically exposed for scrutiny. Im talking Wall Balls, Burpees, Thrusters, Box Jumps and so on. With Wall Balls its easy enough to squat down and throw the ball against the wall but.. did you squat below parallel and did you throw the ball past the line? those things you can somewhat get away with during daily Wods, unless the coach catches you, but during The Open you can’t get away with it and suddenly 50 reps turns into 60 or 70 reps because of all the no reps you are given and you can’t blame the judge but you could possibly blame yourself for letting yourself off the hook too often. The same can be said for burpees, thrusters, box jumps and other exercises. Make sure you get the full rep done before you move on.
No matter what your goal is for the Open next year, if you start training for it now you will be much better prepared to really give it a good go. If you are in doubt about doing it, practicing now will give you more confidence before it starts and that might help you decide to do it.
It is just as much up to us coaches to prepare you for it and making sure you do the right things regardless of you wanting to do the open or not. We are the ones who are here to help you improve but make sure you take responsibility for your own fitness journey too and make sure you get the most out of it. In the end its all about being better than you were yesterday
Christian
Thursday 17/11/16
WOD: 8 Rounds for Time
1:1 with a partner (4 rounds each)
200m Run
8 Front Squats 60/40kg
6 Push jerks
Accessory Work:
3 Rounds AHAP
12 Step ups each leg
10 BB Bent over Rows
8 Single Arm DB Strict Press
6 Strict TTB
