Open Workout 15.2 Strategy Tips

Open 15.2 Strategy

So you’re ready to take on Open Workout 15.2? Well I hope the following pointers will help to give you some tips and advice on how to warm up for it, how to pace yourself through it and what gear might be able to help you out. Best of luck and smash it!

 

Open 15.2 Warm Up Strategy

This workout has two movements that both put a lot of focus on overhead work, so spend some more time warming and stretching out your shoulders and thoracic spine and then move onto some work to warm your hips and ankles up for the squat element. The following video from Kelly Starrett over at Mobility Wod shows you a couple of great movements to get you ready for the Overhead Squat.

 

Open 15.2 Pacing Strategy

Overall you’re going to need to pace yourself well on 15.1, don’t think of this as the faster you can complete each 3 minute round the more time you have to rest, instead think of it as trying to complete each round in a pace suitable for 3 minutes with a little time for rest left at the end and in between each movement. Every 3 minutes you’re going to have to do a little bit more than you did the last 3 minutes, so try and shorten your rest periods each time, keeping at the same pace.

 

Overhead Squat Pacing

With the overhead squat try to go unbroken for as many rounds as possible, having to keep picking the bar up is going to waste unnecessary energy and time, save the rest for the pull-ups where you will be able to start and stop at a much quicker pace.  Try to complete the overhead squats at a controlled but quick pace, the longer you keep that bar above your head the more you are going to kill your shoulders, however having said that, never go to failure unless you need to, if you’re bringing yourself to failure on the overhead squats and then have to stop and pick the bar up again, completing the last few reps is going to kill you.

 

Pull Up Pacing

Take some rest before moving onto the chest to bar pull ups, then pace yourself with these by splitting them into chunks, in the early rounds look to split them in half and then as it goes on, into thirds and then by the end maybe even singles. Looking at CrossFit athletes that have already completed this workout such as Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, who came top of the leaderboard in 14.2 (which is the same workout), Camille repeated this workout twice and did much better the second time round when she broke the pull-ups down.

 

Open 15.2 Gear to Help you Out

If you can, use some lifting shoes to help you out in the overhead squat, the raised heel is going to do wonders for your positioning at the bottom of the squat and your movement out of the bottom. This may add a little bit extra weight in the pull-ups but the benefit you are going to get in the OH will far outweigh this.

The sheer volume of pull-ups (if you make it past round 1 that is) is going put some serious friction on your hands and you don’t want to have to stop because of ripped hands, so if your hands are quite sensitive or tear easily use some gloves, gymnastic grips or tape to help get you through this.

Lastly, Good Luck and Enjoy!  See you on the other side.

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