Today is (4/16/13 update), and my plan is to update this page as we move through The Games Season. I just wanted to lay out some dates and our plans based on them. I think that it is a good idea to read the rule-book that is available through The Games Site. It will give you a good idea of what CF inc. expects from competitors. First, I want to list these important dates, some of them are hidden in the rulebook:
- March 6th - April 7th
- The Open. The WODs will be released on Wednesday each week and must be completed by Sunday of that week.
- April 16th
- The Decision. This is the deadline to declare as a team member or as an individual competitor.
- May 8th
- Release of Regional Workouts.
- May 17th - June 9th
- Regionals. The will be held Friday-Sunday each of these weeks
- May 31 - June 2
- North Central Regional
- July 22 - July 28
- Crossfit Games Week
Open Prep
February 4th - March 4th
This is the time to prime your Engine and get ready for the type of WODs you will be presented with. I have posted this chart before, but I think it is important to be able to have as a quick reference:
We will be doing Couplets, Triplets, AMRAPs, Intervals, and EMOMs of these movement at least 4 times a week. We won't be doing them fresh, we will be doing them taxed. We need to be proficient in ALL of them. CF HQ has chosen them for a lot of reasons, they are easy to judge, most of them are movements that are hard to "cheat the movement", most of them are movements that any Crosfitter will know and be proficient in, etc. New movements may show up this year, but we will be ready for them. During this time period we will back off slightly from the higher skill movements, but this will pick back up the minute that The Open begins.
The Open
March 6th- April 7th
This will be a "Series of Five" workouts and should be treated as such. It is inevitable that you will be "Leaderboarding" all week and that you will obsess about your score. You will scrutinize other peoples scores and stress about your own. My rough estimate from last year is I checked the Leaderboard around 90 or so times a week. Hopefully you won't check it that much.A "Series of Five" is a term I picked up from my good friend Stephen Tidwell. The reason I say these workouts "should be treated as such" is because you must remind yourself that you final score is an average of your 5 finishes. One workout does not your Open score make. Some workouts will be right up your alley, others might be a struggle. We will pick up points where we can and not stress out when we can't. BHT will be brainstorming all week to find the best Open workout strategies for each/all of you. However, we are going to "Train Through The Open".
"Training through the Open" is a method that is not always appropriate for everyone. I have revised the next few points after reading a recent post by Ben Burgeron. He broke his athletes into two groups. This sort of division was always part of my plan, but I had never categorized them in this way. This is a modification of his groups:
- GROUP 1 "The Games Athlete
- You are a top 15 athlete in your Region. You are confident that you are going to qualify for the Regionals and you have your sights on going to the Games. In this case there is no need to do the Open WODs more than once. Instead focus on improving your GPP over this five week period.
- Group 2 The Regional Athlete (and Masters)
- Your goal is to compete in Regionals and you need to do everything in your power during the Open to secure a spot. Your objective is to maximize your Open Score. Because of this its OK to take some extra rest and to practice movements instead of training for GPP. There is a good possibility that you will do the Open WODs twice each week. Your first attempt should be treated as your only attempt. If you need to do it again, you will have enough time to do so. I will either program for you to do these Thursday/Saturday or Friday/Sunday to maximize recovery. We usually see big improvements with a second attempt, but see equal or diminished results with a third.
- GROUP 3 The Regional Long Shot
- Some of you may fit in this category. This is your first Open. You have never competed. You have goals that pertain to the Open but no pans to compete at Regionals. You feel that you are a year or two away from Regionals. If you are competing in the Open you should set some goals for yourself. It could be a place finish, it could be to place better than your best friend. This is a test for you. "Where am I in 2013?" Have fun with this. Don't do the WODs more than twice. Do them while you are rested. "Train through the Open" and continue to increase your GPP.
My plan is to have an Open Strategy Page where I will post a video or a typed rant explaining the results of what we have tested or observed in preparing for each week's workout.
Those of you who can "Train Through The Open" and not let this 5 week period dominate your training will be better equipped to handle what Regionals has to offer.
Regional Prep
Below is a chart of the movements that were tested in the 2011 and 2012 Regionals. We will attack these.
If we have Athletes going Team and Individual, my plan is to have work programmed for the Team and also work programmed for the Individuals. There may be programmed work for specific people, depending on the Regional workouts.
We will try to find at least one or two times a week that we can have our athletes get together. The Team workouts will be similar to the Individual workouts and we will find a way for ALL of the athletes to be able to push each other. We will definitely be needing the help of other OKC firebreathers in order to push our team and individuals. In our Regioanl prep we will leave NO stone unturned.
These WODs will be known and knowable. The competitors/teams that do not prepare for every aspect of this stage of the competition will be watching 3 other competitors/teams step onto the podium. We will make sure that we have done all that we can to put our athletes on the podium.
Regionals
Games Prep
Regional Prep
Below is a chart of the movements that were tested in the 2011 and 2012 Regionals. We will attack these.
April 7th - May 8
This will start the week after the Open, and it will be the beginning of the Regional prep mesocycle. This will be a "fun" gycle of WOD testing, skill prepping and Engine building. For those of you still in the running, this is the time to patch all of the holes in your arsenal. We will seek and destroy your weaknesses. This will be an important time in your preparation. Once the workouts are announced, the cycle will quickly chang. Because ...the REAL prep will begin:
May 8th - May 31
May 8th is the day that Regional Workouts will be released. The moment the workouts are posted on the Games site, I will be planning the next 22 days before Regionals.If we have Athletes going Team and Individual, my plan is to have work programmed for the Team and also work programmed for the Individuals. There may be programmed work for specific people, depending on the Regional workouts.
We will try to find at least one or two times a week that we can have our athletes get together. The Team workouts will be similar to the Individual workouts and we will find a way for ALL of the athletes to be able to push each other. We will definitely be needing the help of other OKC firebreathers in order to push our team and individuals. In our Regioanl prep we will leave NO stone unturned.
These WODs will be known and knowable. The competitors/teams that do not prepare for every aspect of this stage of the competition will be watching 3 other competitors/teams step onto the podium. We will make sure that we have done all that we can to put our athletes on the podium.
Regionals
May 31 - June 2
We WILL Kill It (Crush It). The tempo of the weekend will be important. Rest and Nutrition will become VERY important. Adequate warm up and mental prep will be mandatory. All of this will be addressed as the time nears.Games Prep
June 3 - July 21
When our athletes become Games-bound, we will rest and regroup. Then...a new cycle begins.
Games
July 26 - July 28
Get there.
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