Much to my dismay we are almost through our first full month of 2016, which means we are getting dangerously close to the CrossFit Open. This first full training cycle of the new year is designed to prepare us for the upcoming CrossFit Open, and I’ve included several past Open workouts in our initial test week. We’d also like to encourage all of our athletes new and old to sign up for and participate in the Open. The Open is a great “benchmark” for athletes, it provides accountability, a goal and a schedule to work towards through the following year. It also forces athlete’s out of their comfort zone that allows them to push through self imposed limitations. Most importantly Open Saturday’s at CFA are a ton of fun and it’s a great way to enjoy the community and the great people that it’s comprised of.
To register for the open:
- Login or Create an account here: https://games.crossfit.com/cf/login
- Follow the instructions to register as an athlete.
- Choose “CrossFit Austin” as your affiliate and “Team CrossFit Austin 1” as your team
That said here are a few specifics on how this cycle will shake out. It will be a bit different from our normal format since we have the open in the middle of it!
Here is how we will run our training cycle through the open :
Week 1: Test Week (1/18-1/23)
Week 2-6: Base Training Block (1/25 – 2/19)
Week 7-11: CrossFit Open In Season Training (2/21-3/26)
*I’ll include some specific of how our training schedule will look as we get closer to this
Weeks 12 & 13: Transition weeks
My overarching goals for this training cycle are:
- Improve barbell cycling ability at moderate to heavy loads
- Improve absolute strength in the Front Squat
- Improve skill, rhythm, and strength endurance ability in CTB Pull-ups, & TTB
- Get lots of touches on traditional CrossFit couplets, triplets and chipper to improve workout management strategies, and mental fortitude
Some specifics you can expect in the base phase:
The days and times you see things will be a bit less predictable this cycle but you can count on the following
- CTB / TTB work 3-4 times / week
- Barbell Cycling work 3-4 times / week
- Absolute strength work 1-2 times / week
- CrossFit Daily
A Note on Muscle-ups
We know that muscle-ups will show up in the open and I haven’t left them out of the program totally. In my experience to have a legitimate chance to
achieve a muscle-up you need somewhere in the range of 5 low strict ring dips, 5-7 kip chest to bar pull-ups, and 2-3 strict chest to bar pull-ups. So the plan is to include daily extra credit work that will help folks get to the pre requisites for for muscle-up or help you move towards a muscle-up if you have the listed prerequisite abilities.
Looking forward to seeing all of our athletes surpass expectations this Open season. Lets get to work!
-Coach Wes
