CrossFit Open 20.2 Strategy & Tips
Videos by the Invictus Athlete Team
It’s already the second week of the Open season and we have different strategy videos for 20.2 depending on your level of experience with competitive CrossFit and your fitness goals. Check out all the different options below and remember, unless you are a Games hopeful, only do this workout once and give it your all the first time. Full effort is full victory!
Competitive CrossFitters
If you’ve been following the Invictus Competition program for some time or any of the other Invictus Athlete Programs, or if you have aspirations to make it to the CrossFit Games, check out the Tips for competitive athletes video from Invictus Athlete Coaches CJ Martin, Tino Marini, and Hunter Britt.
Beginner to Intermediate CrossFitters
If you’re pretty new to competitive CrossFit, or you just do it for “fun”, and are looking for an approach for Open workouts, here are a couple of options for you, especially if you’re not as comfortable with a barbell and if you don’t have aspirations to qualify for the CrossFit Games. In the video below, Justin and Bern of CrossFit Invictus provide tips and strategy for tackling 20.2.
Fresh-Perspective CrossFitters
Coaches Kirsten and Nick give you options if you have some other life factors – like injury history and lifestyle goals – to consider. Make sure to check that out if you want to participate in the Open but not cause damage to your body or derail your plan to reach your health and fitness goals. These programming alternatives are intended to inspire and serve anyone that wants to participate in the Open but may need a fresh-perspective and customized workout options that better align with their injury history or personal fitness goals. Maybe double-unders aren’t a skill you have or want to develop? Or toes-to-bar aggravate an old back injury? Let’s explore other options available for your Open fitness participation!
20.2 Tips for Competitive Athletes
Coaches Hunter Britt and Tino Marini discuss their coaching tips for CrossFit Open 20.2. Whether you’re throwing down at your local Friday Night Lights or just getting started in your home gym, they break down how you can get the best score possible out of 20.2.
https://youtu.be/cPJX-Zv4AGI
20.2 Tips for Beginner & Intermediate Athletes
What’s your approach for 20.2? Sit down with the Bern Prince and Justin Wright as they talk beginner and intermediate strategy for 20.2.
https://youtu.be/IxgInhHpUnE
20.2 Tips for Fresh-Perspective CrossFit Athletes
This video is on our IGTV @invictus_sandiego. Check there for a fresh perspective on making these movements work for your body’s needs and fitness goals.
20.2 Tips for Adapting THE CROSSFIT OPEN
Written by Alec Zirkenbach
Here are some suggestions and tips for adapting 20.2. My adaptation recommendations will be grouped by how the athlete is going to complete the workout: Standing or Seated. Then by where the major impairment is located on the body for “Standing” athletes: Upper Extremity or Lower Extremity. As always, make smart choices for yourself or your athletes based on their specific conditions and fitness levels.
General Guidance For 20.2 All Adaptive Athletes
Long Time Domain
20mins is a relatively long time domain that will enable athletes to acquire a significantly high number of repetitions. For example, the two demo athletes in the announcement video, Khan Porter and Matt Mcleod, both completed over 800 repetitions (96+ dumbbell thrusters, 144+ toes-to-bars, and 575+ double-unders). For adaptive athletes, this number of repetitions may be too high, especially for those with neurological conditions, single-arm athletes, and seated athletes who predominantly use their shoulders for work production. To retain a longer time duration test but keep your athletes moving safely, consider truncating the time domain.
Transition Time
There are three movements with low repetitions in this workout which means there will be numerous transitions. In the demo workout, the athletes completed 24 rounds and made 72 transitions! Because of the high number of transitions, make sure your movement adaptations can be completed without much lost time or extra physical effort.
Standing Upper Extremity Adaptations for 20.2
This will be a challenging grip workout especially for athletes with upper extremity impairments. The primary programming challenge for most athletes will be the hanging toes-to-bar or knee raise movements. Consider changing this to a sit-up to avoid the hanging component. Athletes might also find an easier grip and less shoulder demand by completing toes-to-ring on wood rings.
Standing Upper Extremity Example Adaptations
Standing Lower Extremity Adaptations for 20.2
The high total volume of jump rope repetitions and potential reduced force from the athlete’s legs/hips should be considered when adapting for athletes with a lower-body impairment. The scaling option of single-unders may make sense, but adding more repetitions may not. Also, consider lowering the dumbbell load to something that is manageable for 20 minutes.
With any squatting movement, allow the athlete to squat to a third point of contact like a box or bench set to their squat depth. This will make sure the athlete has extra balance support and can safely execute the lifts.
Standing Lower Extremity Example Adaptations
Seated Adaptations for 20.2
The seated adaptations for 20.2 will take some significant thought to make sure athletes are tested appropriately. Transition time and effort should drive your choices for this workout.
The thruster is commonly adapted to a hang clean and press. That leaves the toes-to-bar and double-unders, both of which are challenging to find a similar stimulus. In this case, I recommend thinking out of the box and changing the actual structure of the workout. To keep the athlete moving through the rounds without wasting time and energy transferring in and out of their chair, consider substituting the toes-to-bar for sit-up repetitions every 3-4 minutes. Check out the example workouts below.
Seated Example Adaptations
Adapting Assistance for Workouts
If you have any questions about adapting workouts during the Open, please contact me and I will be happy to guide you through the process [alec@crossfitinvictus.com].
More tips for CrossFit Open Workout 20.2…
Tips for Stringing Together More Toes-to-Bar
Advanced Drills to Up Your Double-Unders
Invictus Athlete Programs
If you want an in-depth strategy and a great training program join Invictus Athlete. If you’re over 35, we’re also giving age group strategy for our Invictus Masters. Don’t forget that many of our online programs are now on SugarWOD!
