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Are You Sure You're Ready for This?
Regardless of how you have been training and what you have been eating and what workout program you are following the first workout of 2023 Open Games that will be announced in days is going to hit you like a snowball in the face.
Historically, this is the first time Adrian Bozman is doing the programming for the Open, and based on his programming for the 2022 Games, the workouts are not going to get any easier.
We Have Good News and Bad News
The good news is that there are years of Open Games workouts that we can review, so we most likely know what the movements are going to be. Historically, the four most common movements that are programmed are Double Unders, Thrusters, Toes to Bar and Chest to Bar. Thruster and Double Unders have been programmed in every year of the Open. With toes to bar and chest to bar 91% of the time.
Here is the bad news is that even though we might have an idea of what the movements might be the 2023 Open Games workouts will still be the hardest workouts yet. Why is that you say? Because they must be. With more individuals doing the Open with hopes of qualifying need to raise the standards for evaluating who is the Most Fit Human on Earth. In addition, they are only having 3 workouts to evaluate and weed out the athletes that are not ready for the next level.
When you look at the 2023 Open Games' Season equipment list, we again see that use of a Jump rope made the list. Efficiency in jumping rope is unlike hitting a 20-pound PR on your Clean and we would argue that paying special attention to jump rope efficiency is something that almost everyone can do and will give you an advantage over your competition.
Fun Fact “The Open Games has had 55 workouts over the last 12 years with 38 different movements.”
Here are the top RX Smart Hacks for 2023.
Getting Your First Set of Unbroken Double Unders.
If you are someone who struggles with double unders and the thought of the double under showing up in the Open make you want to not participate, we would encourage you to participate in the scaled option with single unders. But talk with your coach and see what they say. Like anything else in life worth achieving, applying disciplined practice makes improvement. With time and effort, you can definitely master the double under. We Strongly recommend checking out the Free RX Method Training.
*Your first rope – The Rapid fit is an award winning adjustable jump rope that will help you get started on your journey.
Thick is the new Thin.
If you are new to jumping rope and you have not taken the time to learn the RX Method we find that starting with a thin diameter cable is not optimal. Individuals who use a thin wire cable for jumping rope may find that they are not able to achieve consistent double unders. The thinner cable is more likely to not give the athlete tactile feedback on where the rope is in relation to the jump. When this happens, we will likely see an athlete experience inconsistent blocks of unbroken double unders. For example, an athlete will do a set of 40 double unders but when they attempt to duplicate that performance, they find that they can only do a set of 10 or 20 double unders unbroken. [Does this describe you? Have you ever said I think that I lost my double unders?] This typically happens when an athlete has not taken the time to learn the optimal body position and cues. So, for this reason it is recommended to use a thicker cable.
*The prefect jump rope for double unders – Classic RX Jump Rope.
Lower your transition time.
Regardless of the rope that you are using going from double unders into your next movement needs to be done correctly to gain efficiency. Practice the “Toe Catch” and place the rope down in the same spot every time. When starting get to your set up position and start with a double under off the deck. This RX Smart Hack will have you crush your PR.
Consistent is Efficient.
In the past, Open workouts, the range of sets of Double Unders are between 10 and 210 repetitions with the largest volume showing up in the Open Workout 21.1 at 460 total double unders performed. So, what is the most efficient way to do 460 double unders? Do all your sets unbroken. Okay. Well, most athletes cannot do that so what is the next best option? Here is a drill to find out what number of unbroken double unders you should shoot for.
Find out where you are at.
Start with warm up 3 rounds of 30 singles and 5 up downs.
For time as a warmup.
Rest 3 minutes.
Then move onto the following 3 rounds of 10 double unders 5 burpees for time. Rest for 1 minute.
3 rounds of 20 double unders 5 burpees for time. Rest for 1 minute.
3 rounds of 30 double unders 5 burpees for time. Rest for 1 minute.
3 rounds of 40 double unders 5 burpees for time. Rest for 1 minute.
3 rounds of 50 double unders 5 burpees for time.
If you did all your rounds unbroken then congratulations you are most likely someone that is pretty good at jumping rope and will do good, no matter what jump rope movement they put in the Open. But for the rest of us we need to look at when we broke and how many double unders we did unbroken. That is our magic number. So, if you hit 10 unbroken every set and the requirement is 100 double unders then your goal would be 10 sets of 10 unbroken double unders.
Train Double Unders while you are under load.
Most people make the mistake of only practicing their double under when they are fresh. This is great if you are first learning how to connect your double unders, but when you are preparing for the Open, the workouts are going to be measuring your agility when your heart rate is elevated. You will compete the way that you have trained so practice your double unders while you are under load. Watch Open Workout 19.2. [Personally, I still have nightmares]
Beginner mistakes – pushing the redline.
It is not necessary to perform huge sets of unbroken double unders and spike your heart rate only to break down on the next movement or get tripped up and must rest. Calm consistent controlled performance of your double unders will almost always be more efficient. Find your happy place and do the work.
A shorter rope is a Faster Rope.
Shortening the length of a jump rope can make your double under jumps significantly faster. A shorter rope requires less time for the rope to make the required two revolutions per jump so you can complete each double under jump in a shorter amount of time. Additionally, the shorter length of the rope allows you to make smaller, more precise jumps, which further reduces the time needed for each jump. With practice, you will be able to perform double unders at a faster and more consistent pace. (Practice with different length ropes – Get a CABLEONUS.
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