Coaches Corner

Be Sure You Are Eating Enough

Even though it’s the final week of the Open, make sure you are eating enough food to recover from this workout! If one of your goals is weight loss and you also want to do well in this Open Workout, direct your focus to eating enough calories to sustain optimal performance. These workouts are very demanding and attempting them on a calorie deficit isn’t the best recipe for success.

After a gnarly workout, you’re going to eventually feel hungry and your body is going to want food to begin the recovery process. This, however, isn’t an excuse to fuel up on burgers and shakes. Eating the right food is key to your recovery and performance!

The optimal method is to choose food that is high in volume, meaning you can eat a lot of it without racking up calories fast. This will help you stay full longer as well as provide extra nutritional benefits.

Examples of high-volume foods include: berries, melons, leafy greens, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini noodles, cucumber, spaghetti squash and protein sources such as egg whites, chicken, seafood, ground turkey, and other lean meats.

Let’s have some fun with this classic combo of thrusters and pull-ups! Finish strong everyone!!

—Coach Kayla

Kayla Jones
CFL2Tr., USAW-L1, Cert. Sports Nutritionist
Paramount Strength & Conditioning

Paramount is starting a new Friday Tradition: Paramount Weekly Wins (PWW), to help celebrate everyone’s weekly victories as a community. We encourage everyone to share any weekly wins you’ve had in our Paramount Facebook Community.

Here’s How It Works

• Make a post on Friday with the heading PWW:
• Share one weekly win, highlight, or PR you had that’s related to the hard work and effort you put in at the gym—whether it’s an accomplishment inside or outside the gym.
  
• Wins should be from Sat-Fri.
  

Examples

• PR’d a lift or movement
  
• RX’d a workout (first time or a challenging one)
  
• Crushed a job interview from improved confidence
  
• Completed a challenging hike
  
• Competed in some kind of competition or race
  
• Reached a goal you set for yourself

CrossFit Open 19.4: Ultimate Workout Strategy for Rx, Masters, Scaled

CrossFit Open 19.4 is here, and it’s a great week for a first bar muscle up…. or maybe a pull-up, if you’re going after 19.4 scaled. In week 4 we have three movements, and some programmed rest. Let’s take a look at the workout, and then talk strategy, courtesy of WodPrep.

CrossFit Open Workout 19.4:

For Time (12 minute time cap, this includes 3 min rest!)

3 rounds:

• 10 snatches 95/65 lbs
• 12 bar facing burpees

Rest 3 minutes then…

3 rounds :

• 10 bar muscle ups
• 12 bar facing burpees

Looking for a complete breakdown of 19.4 workout standards? Head to the official 2019 CrossFit Games Open website.

19.4: Snatches

• If the snatch is light for you (~50% or less), go touch & go, try to stay unbroken.
• If the snatch is heavy (~ 60% or more), it’s OK to do quick singles – but make sure to move quickly on burpees!
• Don’t rest unless absolutely necessary. Remember, you have a huge 3 minute rest after part 1 that you can take advantage of.
• Especially if you’re going unbroken, keep a hook grip the whole time your hands are on the bar. Start with wide feet and try not to move them at all. Power snatch for most people is going to be ideal here.

19.4: Burpees Over The Bar

• Go fast – no excuses here since you’ll have time to recover. The key is not “as fast as possible”, which would make you redline, but instead it should be “what pace will make it so that I have absolutely no resting?“. Go at that speed, and try to push your tempo.
• I personally plan to do my burpees by jumping down and stepping up. Last year step-down/step-up burpees were not allowed, but apparently they are now okay in 2019 – check out the full CrossFit 19.4 Open standards on the Games website.

19.4: Bar Muscle Ups

• Bar Muscle Ups are going to depend on your abilities. Personally, I will try this unbroken, then move to 6/4, but this is because I can do 20+ unbroken when fresh.
• Most people should HIGHLY consider breaking up into singles. If you can’t do 5+ BMU’s unbroken, DO NOT try multiples, as it will only hurt you and cause you to rest too much.
• Using the “box drop-in” will be a HUGE win for anyone trying to learn their first reps. At the very least, make sure you are jumping into the first rep of each set (or each single) to ensure that you utilize the precious momentum.
• “Find the floor” and make your transition AGGRESSIVE. (watch this for more details)

19.4: Burpees Over The Bar (Round 2)

• I wouldn’t push the pace too much – at least not as fast as part 1… the goal is to be slightly recovered for the BMU so you can crush them! If you go max effort on these burpees, you’ll more way too slow on the BMUs and might start failing reps.

CrossFit Open 19.4: Scaled

Scaled needs to do pull-ups in the 19.4 scaled workout! Oh snap!

• Guess what… you need to be working on these ALWAYS and it should be a priority for your fitness, and is a fundamental part of being a fit person.
• Check out the above advice on snatches and burpees – similar coaching pointers apply!
• If you are trying for your first pull-up, I WOULD NOT suggest kipping wildly just to try to get a rep, but since that will inevitably happen… here’s what I suggest – use the “box drop in” method to develop momentum to get your chin above the bar.

55+ Scaled (CrossFit Open 19.4)

• On the jumping pull-ups – USE YOUR LEGS and don’t let go of the bar. Embrace the burn because your rep cycle time will be fast!

CrossFit 19.4: Masters

Like past 2019 Open workouts, the standards are going to stay the same here until we hit Masters 55+, where the BMU’s change to Chest to Bar pull-ups.

• The same rules apply for C2B’s as they do for BMUs… trust your abilities, but don’t go unbroken if your max set is only 15 reps.
• Instead, take short, quick breaks and get back on the bar ASAP. Singles are totally OK as long as you keep moving. Don’t waste time!
• As previously mentioned, push the burpee tempo, but not so much that it burns you on the pull-ups.
• Check out this WodPrep video on the ‘hip pop’ if you plan to do either bar muscle ups – or chest to bar pull-ups.

Post Workout Nutrition Tips — we’ve talked a little bit about what to eat…now let’s talk about when to eat it!

0-2 HOURS AFTER

This meal enhances your recovery for the next day and the earlier you can refuel, the better! The Open Workouts can be more challenging than your average day at the gym and your body won’t be recovering as quickly as usual. The sooner you’re refueled and kicking into ‘recovery mode,’ the more prepared you’ll be for the next workout. If your stomach isn’t up for a meal of real food, this is the ideal time for a post-workout shake to get those essential proteins and carbs, even if your appetite is low.

2+ HOURS AFTER

This meal is especially important during Open season because of the challenging nature of the workouts. It allows you to continue recovering from your earlier workout, and if it is one of your last meals of the day, it also prepares you for a good night’s sleep. This is important because certain recovery is specific to sleep! Recovery also ensures proper preparation for tomorrow’s workout. Now is the best time to fit in those essential macronutrients, micronutrients, vitamins and minerals that you didn’t eat around workout times, such as fats and more fibrous vegetables.

19.4 should be fun and fast! Get a game plan for your post workout foods and we look forward to seeing you at the gym!

Well, we knew it was coming…

Week 3 is officially that “separator” workout that we see each year.

Many of the athletes who were grinning after 19.1’s announcement are now contemplating their existence and/or sobbing.

There were a lot of predictions leading up to this that “strict gymnastics” would be making their appearance in 2019, and this has turned out to be correct…

CrossFit Open WOD 19.3

For Time (10 minute time cap):

• 200 ft. Dumbbell overhead lunge
• 50 DB box step-ups
• 50 Strict HSPU
• 200 ft. handstand walk

Men: 50 lb dumbbell / 24 inch box
Females: 35 lb dumbbell / 20-in box

With four movements, and two of them being upside down – there’s definitely plenty to dissect with this workout. So let’s hop right into it.

RESOURCES

WodPrep Complete Strategy Guide w/Mindset

Video: 19.3 Strategy & Tips

Onto Week 3…Let’s talk a little bit about FIBER!

Keeping your fiber intake on point throughout the Open will provide optimal energy and joint function during the workouts, along with faster recovery afterwards, getting you ready for the next one.

Fiber is essential because:

• It is usually found in foods that are high in micronutrients which help to lower cholesterol and manage blood sugar levels.
• It leaves you feeling fuller for longer, as they are slower to digest.
• It keeps your digestion running smoothly.

I would recommend about 10-15 grams of fiber for every 1000 calories you consume. High fiber foods include vegetables, fruits, and many legumes. You’ll also find fiber in some grains and many other packaged food products (such as bread, tortillas, energy bars, or even dairy products). Read your food labels!

Remember to stay hydrated, keep your protein intake up, and let’s have some fun lunging around and getting upside-down!