15.1 STRATEGY

So finally 15.1 (and 15.1a!) have been released and despite all the drama and build-up from Castro and co. nothing too surprising has shown up given what we know about the changes this year. The workout’s themselves are a brilliant test of different capacities and given the fact that two of the sport’s best Weightlifter’s kicked this years Open off, the inclusion of one of the Weightlifting movements wasn’t too much of a surprise. An Aerobic Power piece is always, or at least has always, been a mainstay of Open workout’s and many peoples’ guess was that either some form of high repetition Snatch or Clean would make it’s way into the announcement. Although a 1RM hasn’t been tested previously it’s not too much of a surprise given the inclusion this year of a scaled division. As we’ve spoke about before going forward athletes better get used to moving heavier loads as absolute strength testing is becoming more and more prevalent in the sport of fitness. Although a ‘1RM’ is called for this is probably going to be more of a CP battery test for some athletes than a true 1RM effort, as elevated heart rates during both the 9min aerobic piece and warm up during the 6min to establish that 1RM, make true maximal effort attempts a tall ask for efficient athletes. Looking at Froning and Fraser as examples here both athletes hit around 85-90% of their true max, which is probably going to be a realistic number to aim for, for any athletes who aren’t neuromuscularly in-efficient.The limiters in this workout for a lot of people are probably going to be local fatigue as opposed to energy system fatigue as both grip and mid-section endurance (through flexion with the Toes 2 Bar mainly) are hammered in this workout. Toes to bar followed by a barbell couplet is absolutely going to fatigue grip here so choose your reps on Toes to Bar wisely. Lot’s of athletes are well used to ascending rep ranges in these scenario’s as opposed to descending so don’t make the mistake of thinking you will bang the fifteen T2B straight through and get them out of the way. Have a game plan in mind of how to break the sets up and stick to it. Your warm up should consist of elbow flexion/extension movement patterns (bicep curls anyone?!) included alongside your obvious shoulder/lat/thoracic mobility routines and some direct abwork to increase blood flow and activation (Plank/GHD Situp etc). For the Deadlifts the weight is going to be light enough to go unbroken on most sets if not all, and this is really where you can pace and breath and get back in the zone if you’ve strayed from the plan slightly on the pull-up bar. Switching underhand grips for each set of Deadlifts is another nice way of saving some grip endurance also. Specific warmups here should consist of flexion/extension of the knees and hips (glute-bridge/good-morning/RDL etc) as well as activation drills for all the above muscle groups. The snatching component, with it’s dynamic nature and greater range of motion, can increase heart rate rapidly, so absolutely take your time and be steady and smooth here. Some athletes will go unbroken on a lot of these sets as well but whether doing so, or hitting singles instead, remember to pace yourself and stay consistent. If your not used to touch n go Snatches then I would recommend singles, this obviously saves grip here, but also drastically reduces time under tension eccentrically too. With regards the Clean & Jerk then, opening weight should already have been decided and 6mins is more than enough time for 3-5 good repetitions. How many and how well you do with CP Battery type work will determine whether your on the lower or higher end of that scale.For example warm-ups I would recommend a couple of pieces:
1) A slow and steady aerobic piece on the C2 or AD (think LSD 130-150bpm) for 10-12mins to get blood flowing, heart rate elevated and muscles and connective tissues ready to work
2) Some specific dynamic range of motion movements based on each exercise for activation i.e shoulder, posterior chain and ‘core’ activation with some overhead holds, bridges, planks, some knee and hip flexion and extension movements etc.
3) I would also advise working up to near enough your ‘opener’ on the C&J before hand to get a feel for the movement. This is going to be key neuromuscularly as you don’t want to get to the bar with a high heart rate and not have greased the groove for that movement. If figuring around a 90% 1RM score then 60/70/80% on the build up might be a good place to start.
4) Finally a couple of rounds at 90% of your PACING effort, that is what pace or HR you plan on moving at in the workout. DO NOT perform the same amount of repetitions as the actual WOD here, a couple of reps of each movement to find that neuromuscular pattern is sufficient.