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

The CrossFit Games Open WOD 19.3

19.3 is very different. I didn’t expect anything like that.

First, it is chipper (I love chippers!) with a pretty low time cap. In my opinion, not many athletes will finish the 19.3.

It starts with dumbbell overhead lunges.

Many will have a problem here as usually lunges are performed with weight in both arms. Some of you may be used on a kettlebell, but overhead lunges are slightly harder with dumbbell than kettlebell.

I bet that we will have a single-digit percentage of people not finishing overhead lunges (doing RX even though they should do scaled).

Then we have dumbbell box step ups. Another unusual exercise as again we use only one dumbbell, and we can hold it any way we like.

After that, we continue with classic strict HSPU and handstand walk. Both movements are very difficult and only a few will reach handstand walks as 50 HSPU is a HUGE set.

The bad side of 19.3

I love this WOD, but as the movements are technically tricky, we are going to see a lot of scores with suboptimal reps. This applies primarily to strict HSPU.

So don’t be mad if someone with multiple bro reps has a better score than you. They won’t get to the Games anyway!

Good time/score to beat for Open 19.3

The WOD 19.3 has high skill requirements, and there will be a massive gap between beginner and elite athletes.

It is hard to guess a good score in this WOD, but in my opinion, the top 1% will finish the WOD and almost finished HSPU will be enough for the top 5%.

Good time to beat for 19.3
Beginner athlete: 48 step ups
Average athlete: 13 strict hspu
Advanced athlete: 33 strict hspu
Elite athlete: 100-feet of handstand walk
Regional athlete: 9:00

Warm up for Open 19.3

I don’t like doing much mobility exercises before workouts, but this time it should be required for 19.3 as it will help you perform movements faster.

I will probably focus on opening shoulders and hips for about 10-15 minutes doing hangs, handstands, lunges with rotations, resistance bands exercises and more.

Then I would do a simple practice of all four movements:

12 Min EMOM
1.Min: 10 Overhead lunges, lighter weight than RX
2.Min: 6 Step ups, lighter + get used on a position of the dumbbell
3.Min: 3 Strict HSPU
4.Min: 10-feet handstand walk or 30-sec handstand hold

Strategy for the Open 19.3

Most of us will get stuck on at least one movement unless you are an elite athlete who can do everything.

The goal is to do small sets on everything, have short quick rests and be smart about how you perform movements.

Dumbbell Overhead Lunges

Make sure your arm is extended all the time and use arm without dumbbell to help you with balance.

All marks on the ground have to be a max of 25-feet.

You don’t have to change hands or drop a dumbbell after 25-feet, but you have to change the direction.

There are two ways how to approach this WOD. If you are here to compete for extra 5-10 reps, you should use your stronger arm majority of the time.

For example, use the right hand for the first 75-feet then switch to left hand for 25-feet and then repeat with a 75-feet right hand and 25-feet left hand.

The workout will look like this 25-ft > rotate > 25-ft > drop > 25-ft > switch + rotate > 25-ft > drop + switch > …

If you want to have a good workout, I would suggest switching hands every 25-feet.

I would also drop dumbbell down for a maximum of 5 seconds after every 50-feet to save a little energy.

In this case, the workout would look like 25-ft > switch > 25-ft > drop + switch > …

Dumbbell Box Step-Ups

Bad news, you won’t be able to rest there even though it looks like the easiest exercise of all four movements.

Weighted steps ups are hard and will crank up your heart rate. Be prepared for at least 3 minutes with box and dumbbell.

You will also have to push hard on dumbbell step ups and approach it as your last exercise because you will rest a lot on strict HSPU.

One more thing needs to be answered, how to hold the dumbbell? After watching the announcement, athletes held the dumbbell in several ways.

In my opinion, getting dumbbell on a shoulder is not worth because after reading through guidelines I didn’t find any info about leaving barbell on the box when you are resting.

Placing a dumbbell on the box instead of on the ground when you are resting will save you a lot of energy, and it will allow you to switch hands more often.

With this strategy, I would probably go for only 4 or 6 quick alternating step ups. Put the dumbbell on the box, take 2-3 breaths and continue.

Strict HSPU

Many will get to the wall, but only a few will get through it.

If you still follow the strategy, your heart rate is high, and you will be tired. The worst thing you can do right now is to get straight to the wall and do one large set of 10-15 quick HSPU.

Take your time and rest. I would recommend at least 15-20 seconds between exercises and then start with small sets.

I am thinking about doing sets of only 3 HSPU (16×3 + 2) since the very first set. Why?

It is not worth trying large sets if you have to do 50 reps because you can burn out on large set and then you will have to take much longer rest between reps.

By the way, because you are doing a lot of small sets, you don’t need to stand up after each set. Just stay on your knees and get back when you feel ready for another short set.

You need to adjust the rest between small sets to your ability to do HSPU.

For example, 5 seconds rest + 5 seconds for HSPU will take you about 170 seconds which is a very great time for 50 HSPU in the workout.

Handstand Walks

You did a great job if you get there!

Your shoulders are probably smoked, and even elite athletes will have a hard time with handstand walk after all the work they have done.

I am used to 5m (16-ft -> 15-ft) sets, so I will probably stick to 15-ft + 10-ft.

But if you have an issue with handstand walks, consider doing small sets of just 5-ft with almost no rest in between.