It’s the dawn of a new age for the CrossFit Open. No longer will it take place in the spring months of February and March. Instead, the 2019 Open (gateway for qualifying for the 2020 CrossFit Games) will take place in the ever-approaching month of October. Even though the timing of the Open has changed, it hasn’t lost its ability to bring the CrossFit community together to test their fitness worldwide. With this in mind, many athletes will do their best to predict what movements will be seen in the Open in order to begin some sort of “open prep” work.
The 2019 CrossFit Games revealed several new movements that have the potential to make their appearance in the October Open. On Saturday of the CrossFit Games, individual athletes took on a workout called “Split Triplet” which involved peg board ascents, double-unders, dumbbell hang split snatches, and dumbbell hang clean and split jerks. Not only did this workout challenge athletes’ strength and muscle endurance, but it also tested their coordination and mental awareness.
For the dumbbell hang split snatches and jerks, athletes were required to alternate which foot landed in the front depending on which arm they carried the dumbbell in (if the dumbbell was in their left arm then their right foot came forward). Most often, split jerks are practiced in relation to the olympic lift of the clean and jerk. In this instance, most athletes have a dominant stance (right or left foot forward) and they only practice this one stance. It is very rare that athletes constantly alternate their split stance.
Another set of movements formally introduced to the CrossFit community appeared in the pair of workouts titled “Ringer 1” and “Ringer 2”. Individuals were exposed to toes-to-rings (similar to the common gymnastic movement of toes-to-bar) and burpees to rings. From the outside looking in, these two movements do not seem all that difficult, but it quickly became evident that they are quite taxing.
The toes-to-ring are a slower movement – meaning that there is little athletes can do to make the reps go faster. They simply have to hang on to the rings and then swing their legs up to touch them for the rep to count. Not only does this movement tax an individual’s core, but it also takes a negative toll on their grip.
In past Open workouts, competitors have seen burpees to a target (usually a bar or a mark 6 inches above their head). In this case, an athlete’s height does not bring them any advantage. However, for burpees to rings, all of the rings are set to the same height so shorter athletes are at a disadvantage because they have to jump higher to touch the rings.
There is no guarantee that these movements will appear in the Open, but if you’re unfamiliar with any of them, it might be in your best interest to practice them a few times in the next month. Before you know it, the Open will only be a day away and you want to be as prepared as possible. For more clues on other possible Open movements, head over to CrossFit.com and check out their daily workouts.