19.1 – Warm-Up and Strategy to get to the TOP 5% in CrossFit Open 2019

22 Feb 2019

Open 19.1

15 Min AMRAP of
19 Wall Balls 20/14 lbs
19 cal Row

What happened in the CrossFit World in the past 6 months?

CrossFit Games Open is back! A lot has changed since last year.

No more Regionals
New qualifications spots for winners from independent CrossFit events (throwdowns)
New ticket to the Games for winners from each country with CrossFit affiliate
No more Dave Castro 😧
Only about 1% of media coverage we had in past

I am still looking forward to watching the CrossFit Games but I am scared that media coverage quality will be poor.

We have already saw that decline in quality during Open 19.1 announcement and I am scared this trend is going to continue.

But lets stop ranting about all changes and focus on what’s important. Find out how to get to top 5% in the workout 19.1.

WOD 19.1

Do you also have that friend that was telling you that CrossFit is easy? To prove him wrong you probably came up with WOD that is very similar to 19.1.

Workout 19.1 is a pure 15-minute grind with heart rate in super high numbers for the full duration of the workout.

Good Score For WOD 19.1

According to our app score of 9 rounds or more should give move you to the top 5%.

Good score to beat from WOD Time Calculator:

5 rounds and 23 reps – Fitness Level 0 – Beginner athlete
6 rounds and 3 reps –– Fitness Level 25 – Beginner athlete
6 rounds and 24 reps– Fitness Level 50 – Average athlete
7 rounds and 28 reps– Fitness Level 75 – Average athlete
8 rounds and 23 reps– Fitness Level 90 – Advanced athlete
9 rounds and 9 reps– Fitness Level 95 – Advanced athlete
10 rounds and 1 reps– Fitness Level 98 – Elite athlete
10 rounds and 37 reps– Fitness Level 100 – Regional athlete

Warm-Up for 19.1

I always love to warm-up with the movements that you are going to do in the WOD.

I would start with 10 minutes on the rower. Alternating between easy and hard pace. Something like:

5 Rounds of
90-sec easy pace
30-sec hard (workout) pace

Then follow with 10 min practice of wall balls and transition between movements. You can save about 5 seconds each round if you learn perfect transition between movements.

Pacing

19.1 is long and the best strategy will be to keep a steady pace.

All your rounds should take about the same time (1:40-1:50) and you should sprint during the last row.

Most of us should fight with the clock, knowing that our slowest rounds should take a maximum of 2 minutes while faster rounds should be done in about 1:40-1:50.

Average of 1:50 per round should give you top 10% results while being little faster with 1:40 per rounds should move you to the top 5% results.

Wall Balls

I hate large sets and I have huge problem picking up the ball for large set especially when I am tired from the previous movement.

I would do wall balls in 3 small sets of 7+6+6. Knowing I have to do only 7 reps instead of 19 reps, I would be able to pick up the ball immediately as soon as I get to the wall. Instead of preparing myself for a large set of 19 reps.

The goal of 3 sets instead of 1 unbroken set is to minimize transition times between movements.

Also, don’t rest during wall balls, it is better to row slowly than do 7 wall balls and reset for 10 seconds.

Row

You have to know your pacing for the 19.1. Select the pace that you will be able to hold for +7 rounds.

I will probably go at about 1350-1400 cal/hr but don’t forget that I love to row and I have done over hundred of long interval rowing sessions.

I think the minimum pace for men should be about 1100 cal/hr and for women about 850 cal/hr. Most guys should be able to do about 1200-1250 cal/hr while women should aim for 950 cal/hr.

No matter what pace you choose, make sure your pace is steady for full 15 minutes.

It is not worth going all out in first 2-3 rounds and then slowing to 70% of that initial pace.

Summary

Aim for rounds faster than 120 seconds.

110 seconds for top 10%, 100 seconds for top 5%.

Small sets on wall balls 7+6+6.

Have quick transition between movements.

Better to rest with a slower pace on the rower than between sets on wall balls.

Same pace on the row since the first round. Don’t slow down.