CrossFit Open Workout 22.3 | Pacing & Strategy Guide

ZOAR Competition Guide

What does it cover?

Movement Standards

Don’t overlook the workout’s movements standards.

Even if you have been doing this fitness thing for a long time, sometimes tweaks in the rules can make your attempt invalid, which can be devastating to your place on the leaderboard…and your season.

22.3 Standards & Line Setup PDF

Noteworthy Standard #1: Floor Layout

There are two lines to be place in this workout. The first is directly under the pull-up bar. The second is 8ft from the pull-up bar. During the workout your barbell must stay beyond that 8ft line marker.

Noteworthy Standard #2: Workout Start

Athletes start the workout standing behind the barbell line, facing the pull-up bar. After the clock begins, you may move the the pull-up bar.

Noteworthy Standard #3: Tie Break Time

The tie break time is after each set of thrusters is completed.

So if you are an athlete who knows it is unlikely you will complete a Bar Muscle-Up, race to finish the second thruster bar as fast as possible.

Then take your time and rest before making any muscle-up attempts.

Filming & Judging

Prior to walking into the gym to test your workout, you need to figure out who is judging you.

Reach out to someone at your gym and ask them to judge you, meeting you at a specific time.

Don’t just show up at the gym and hope someone is there.

Make sure you have the scorecard printed to give to your judge when you meet them.

Let them know how your preferences…
• Do you want every pull-up and thruster rep counted out loud?
• Maybe every fifth or tenth rep double under rep?
• Maybe only let you know after each time you break?

Next, set up your camera making sure all stations are in frame with some extra space on the sides.

Put your phone on airplane mode; don’t let a spam phone call ruin your attempt.

Make a mental note of where the edges are the frame are and make sure to avoid walking past that during transitions and rest during the workout.

Also, film your rehearsal. Then during your rest prior to starting your test, review it to double check all movements are in frame and that you can clearly see movement standards are being met.

Lastly, before submitting a video watch it through to make sure reps were counted correctly, and that the video is quality enough to be judged online.

Even if you don’t plan on qualifying for the next stage in the competition, videos serve as an important resource as to How to Improve on a ReTest.

Live Announcement Lessons

This live announcement was great because it showcased the separation between a good athlete at your local gym versus an elite, games-level athlete.

The athletes in Tennessee were given a 4:30 head start and nearly all of the men in the first heat finished within a few seconds of each other.

It took the “Rx” level male athletes 9-10 minutes and the Games level athletes less than 7 minutes.

The Rx men broke the sets of Bar Muscle-Ups several times, where the elite males did all 15 reps in 2-3 sets each.

When the women took over, Annie Thorisdottir moved through the three rounds of the workout and only broke the BMUs once.

This resulted in a sub 6 minute time.
Certainly, this is a world-class effort.

One thing was clear from the live announcement, especially on the male side. Unless you are an elite athlete, break early.

Don’t push big, unbroken sets when you feel good because you will dig yourself into a hole you can’t climb out of.

Pacing & Strategy

Tip #1: Break Before You Are Broken.

The quote from Pat Sherwood has always stuck with me.

If you are an athlete trying to get a top 10% finish in the Open, you can break multiple times in this workout. This is true for male and female athletes.

Remember, you can always take bigger sets at the end if you still have some gas in the tank.

This is a much better option than starting off in a sprint and being reduced to a crawl because you are failing bar muscle-ups or heavy thrusters.

Small sets. Small rest.

This is not a workout about doing it unbroken.
It’s about resting less than your competition.

Tip #2: Don’t Forget About the Dubs.

Let’s be honest, with only 108 reps it would be easy to do.

Athletes with consistent technique can do that under a minute without trying to speed up the reps.

However, not all of us are athletes with consistent technique. When your upper back, triceps and quads are fatigued and pumped full of blood, it is easy to trip multiple times and get yourself out of rhythm.

The bottom line is you know if you are an athlete who needs to worry about the double unders or not.

Tip #3: Mind the Cap.

For many athletes, even competitive athletes, the time cap may become a factor.

Fail a bar muscle-up or two, forcing yourself to rest longer between attempts, and you could put yourself in jeopardy of being capped.

The same can be said for the final thrusters bar.

My recommendation: Don’t worry about the time cap. It will take care of itself.

Stay focused managing fatigue in the first two rounds of the workout by taking on manageable sets, then chip away with small sets on a fixed turnaround (e.g. Every 15, 20 or 30s) and be prepared to dig when the time comes.

Tip #4: Movement Efficiency is King.

Between now and the time you complete this workout there is nothing you can do meaningfully improve your capacity.

You’ve already put in the work (or not).

The only thing you can do now is improve the way you use your capacity.

Move with greater economy and you’ll go further while using less gas.

Here are some resources to help you “clean up” your movements:

Full Warm-Up & Cooldown

A. 7:00 AirBike @ Easy Pace
-On the Minute: 8s Sprint

B1. Scap Pull-Ups (3 x 12)
B2. Single Unders (3 x 50)
B3. Boot Strappers (3 x 8)

C1. Beat Kips (2 x 6-8)
C2. Double Unders (2 x 10-20)
C3. Thrusters (2 x 6-8) empty bar

D1. Pull-Ups (2 x 3-6)
*set 1: chin-over-bar
*set 2: chest-to-bar
D2. Double Unders (2 x 10-20)
D2. Thrusters (2 x 4-6)
*set 1: 95/65lb
*set 2: 115/85lb

E. Rehearsal – Complete @ Workout Pace
-2:00 AirBike @ Ramping Pace
-8 CTB
-36 Double Unders
-2-4 Thrusters 135/85lb

[Rest 4-6:00]
Start Your Camera – Following All Guidelines

F. Test
Make the first attempt a good one!

G. Flush – 5:00 AirBike @ Recovery Pace

H. [10:00 Clock] Mobility; Self-Directed

I. Foam Roller Routine

Ben’s Observations

While the movement selection wasn’t surprising, there are definitely some surprising aspects of this workout.

First, there was no repeat. This is the first time ever this hasn’t happened.

Was this a Dave Castro workout?
Not sure. But either way it broke a ten year tradition.

Second, with no max lift or truly heavy barbell, this showcases a new role of the 3-week Open over the past two year.

The Open isn’t about testing for the best CrossFit athletes the way it has done historically and the way to continues to do so at other stages of the competitive season.

The bottom line is it’s a community building event that has become truly accessible to the every day box-goer.

This takes pressure off high-level athletes to perform at their best through the Open, and it places unique demand on a Quarterfinals bubble athlete.

We are in the only sport that changes the rules as you play the game.

You can allow yourself to grow frustrated by that, or you can accept it and choose adaptability as a strategic advantage.