Open Workout 14.4 - Tips & Tricks

Open Workout 14.4 – Tips & Tricks

March 22, 2014

Written by admin in Events,

18 min read

Yesterday’s Workout 14.4 announcement was incredibly exciting, with all eyes on Scott Panchik and Josh Bridges as they battled out the 14-minute long AMRAP. It’s clear from this workout that the Open designers are hoping to challenge competitors with an intense combination of movements. Consistency is key in this workout!

Here’s the chipper that the Games announced last night:

The WOD Life wants you to be successful on this AMRAP, so we’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks for you. Good luck!

Before the workout…

Spend plenty of time on shoulder, ankle, and hip mobility. This workout is very similar to last year’s 13.3 and 2012’s 12.4. There are great mobility resources out there for these workouts, including Kelly Starrett’s MobilityWOD for 13.3.
Determine how you’re going to break up the sets of exercises. Very few people can muscle through this many wall balls and toes to bar at once. If you do, you risk blowing out your calves or Achilles on the wall balls, and tearing up your hands.
Take care of your hands! Just like on 14.2 the condition of your hands will be very important as you move through this workout. Breaking up the toes to bar will give you an advantage in your grip strength, which will be essential as you move to cleans and muscle ups.
Practice your breathing. Some athletes focus on exhaling every time they release the ball and inhaling every time the ball is in the air. Try some breathing techniques out in your warm-up and determine what method works for you. It’s key in this workout to make sure that you stabilize your heart rate.

During the workout…

Don’t go all out on the rower. Here is a movement where you can sacrifice a few seconds in time because if you don’t, you’ll be smoked before you even start the toes to bar and wall balls. Keep a good pace, but don’t try to go as fast as possible. Throughout this whole workout you should be performing with the idea of keeping a little gas in the tank.
Adopt a wider stance for the wall balls, and stay on your heels as much as you can. Taller athletes will be able to accomplish this much better than those who are shorter – but short people, remember you had an advantage last week on the dead lifts! No matter how tall you are, put a conscious effort into keeping your heels on the ground and avoiding going up on your toes. This will protect both your calves and your Achilles.
Stay consistent in your starting position of the clean. This is the moment when you will be afforded an opportunity to rest – don’t let your form go out the window because you are fatigued. You want to be able to recover and hit 14.5 hard, right? Keep your hips loaded behind the bar, keep your torso angle consistent, and make sure your shoulders are forward of the bar during the lift-off phase. If you eliminate inconsistency in this movement you will set yourself up for a much cleaner and efficient lift. You want to be as smooth as possible – we’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again… keep some in the tank! You will need it for the muscles ups.
Resist the urge to rest in the standing position of the clean. Get the bar in the front rack position, stand up, and repeat. You will waste energy and fatigue your muscles much more quickly when you rest with the bar in the front rank position. You will compromise your shoulder strength if you rest too long in the “up” position. You need all of the shoulder stability you can get when you transition to muscle ups!
Grind it out in the last few minutes. If and when you get finished the muscle ups, head back to the wall balls and do as many as you can possibly do. These reps will only help your score – now is the time to push yourself and give it everything you’ve got!

After the workout…

Hand maintenance… again! Make sure you are taking care of your hands. They’re essential to your workouts, and to your everyday life. You won’t be prepping for 14.5 if you’re hands are torn up.
Recover. This workout is, without a doubt, a grinder. Apart from the physical fatigued you experienced during the workout you will no doubt be experiencing some mental fatigue. No matter how hard the reps became, you kept pushing through the workout and no doubt exceeded your expectations. Mentally recovering from a difficult workout is just as important as physical recovery. As we said last week, there’s no better time to look back on your progress –because no matter if it was a rep or a thousand reps, we’re sure you’ve made great strides.

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