2014 Crossfit Open 14.3 Predictions

Let’s start off by saying “well that was fun!” As this blog pontificated early on, the OHS returned in 2014 and oh man did it catch some people by surprise. So let’s not get caught by surprise again, instead let’s list a few things we haven’t seen which have been in the Crossfit Open arsenal…

The obvious:

Cleans, Burpees, Box Jumps, Muscle ups, Wallballs and Toes to Bar.

The not so obvious:

Kettle bell swings, push ups and sit ups.

You will notice that I did not include Thrusters or Shoulder to Overhead but that is because I do not think either of those show up in 14.3. I will also go out on a limb and say no pushups or sit ups are going to be showing up in any of the open wods.

My prediction:

I believe the next WOD will be a triplet and also be around 20 minutes in length. Now before you get all “no way man! The next WOD will be heavy!” On me, I have to ask….really?

Did you see the shit storm that occurred when HQ threw down 14.2 making people OHS and Chest to Bar.

Two technical movements, one that was at a weight that obviously appeared difficult for the majority. People love getting points, simple as that. Points are reps and reps need to be easily attainable in order to maintain inclusiveness. My whole thought on this, is that points do nothing to separate you from your competition (I mean your immediate competition, not Froning or Khalipa). In other words, just because points are more easily attained for the majority by doing box jumps rather than a 135# snatch does not mean you are any better or worse of an athlete. They are easier for everyone which means the workout is already scaled. Chances that your personal vandetta against Sally getting settled by and epic boxjump showdown is probably not going to happen (unless she has a horrible judge, which is a topic for a whole other blog post as I have been f’in amazed by the shitty judging I have seen lately that have inflated the scores of people who simply did not deserve them, oh and the judges have taken the cert program! It does a disservice to that athlete and the athletes around them). The long and short of it…if reps are easier for you to get, they are probably easier for the majority to get. If getting a longer workout in is your goal, awesome! You will probably get a good sweat on. But if jumping up in the rankings is high on the priority list, think again.

Added note: After looking at the past Crossfit.com daily WODs leading up to the announcements of this years Open WODs, in each of the 7 days prior to the Open WOD, none of the exercises in the Open WOD have been programmed into the daily WOD. If this remains consistent, look for burpees, boxjumps,
T2B, Deadlifts and/or MU to come up. Keeping in line with this theory, 5 days ago there was a Squat Clean + Burpee ladder so I do not expect cleans until 14.4.

Sorry, back to the prediction that will enevitably be wrong…

20 Minute AMRAP

Boxjumps

Deadlifts

T2b

I really wanted to throw in cleans and/or burpees but my week 4 prediction is a burpee & clean ladder similar to what we saw with 13.1. If I was confident in any part of my 14.3 prediction the following.. a triplet, 20ish minutes in length and include T2B.

I leave you with a thought. I have seen a ton of redos happening on the Open WODs. I totally get it, its within the rules, if others are doing it and you redo it keeps the playing field level. This is a completely acceptable practice. Please keep in mind that Crossfit is designed for many things and one of those things was to prepare you for the unexpected. So think to yourself, if you do really bad on your first attempt at a WOD is that not the true measure of your training? How well were you prepared on that day, at that time, to face the unexpected, the untested? Is that not the true nature of the sport and why athletes at the Crossfit Games in California do not get to know the WOD until minutes before? So when you enevitably redo that Open WOD, post your new and improved score and beat some of your box peers, think about whether you competed with the true spirit of Crossfit. The games website had an awesome quote that I will finish this post with….

“part of Crossfit is admitting where we are, not just where we would like to be”

I forgot to mention, leave your thoughts and opinions! Would love to hear different perspectives.

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