Open workout 15.3 opened a can of worms for many athletes within the CrossFit community—you either had muscle-ups or you did not, in order to ‘get through’ the RX version of the workout.
Seven muscle-ups stood between many athletes and a set of 50 wall-balls, and greatly impacted the names on the Leaderboard—particularly for those not necessarily guaranteed a spot at Regionals, or simply competing in the Open to see where they measure up against thousands of other athletes worldwide.
“(This workout) will let us know who in the community who has muscle-ups (and who does not),” Dave Castro said at the 15.3 live announcement at CrossFit Chicago last week.
The question, then posed to you, coaches, is: Do your clients have muscle-ups?
Most commonly, the resounding answer is, for the majority, “Nope.”
The muscle-up in most training programs is seen as an elite skill, that you either have or you do not. And for those who do not, unfortunately, it is a movement that is rarely addressed in most general training programs—outside of seminars or goal-driven specific skill work.
For programmers and coaches, even if you are incorporating 5-10 minutes of skill work during class time, or occasionally plugging muscle-ups into the workout on a somewhat regular basis, are your athletes ‘getting it’?
Or, are they spending countless workouts and sessions completing seated, banded muscle-up transitions, or completing copious amounts of kipping pull-ups and banded dips (or other modifications) in effort to ‘get through the workout’, time and time again?
Open workout 15.3 may have further exposed a common weakness amongst most ‘every day’ athletes worldwide, but does this always have to be the case? Can your clients (even yourself) actually attain a muscle-up?
Absolutely—if, first and foremost, you understand the reasons behind why your clients don’t have muscle ups.
Here are several:
What if the above listed components are not so much the issue? The client has strict strength for pull-ups and dips; or fair mobility and scapular strength? They aren’t too heavy?
Then, where do you begin?
It is only if these basic components are first addressed, that you can then begin to focus—and coach up—your clients’ technique—for both kipping and strict muscle-ups.
Here are a few ‘trouble areas’ or mistakes many clients often make when trying to ‘get’ the muscle-up that should be addressed:
Knowing these necessary elements, as well as potential mistakes and holes in technique, you, as a coach, can be better equipped to help your clients gain victory in a skill that is truly a separator in competition and continued skill progression. Over the years, we have worked with countless athletes to individually address ‘problem areas’ in their own muscle-up attainment and strict strength, and help them attain the daunting muscle-up.
Tracy is one example. After working under the programming of Mike Lee, Tracy got her first muscle -up! Check her out here
Coach Mike Lee shared a sneak peak at her program this past year, targeted at enhancing her scapular and pull strength:
Thursday
AM
AD 5 min @ Z1
+
AD 30 sec @90%
AD 30 sec @50%
x 16
PM
A. BS @30X1; 8@40%,7@50%, 6@60%, 5@70%; rest only the time it takes to change weights
B. Emom 6 min – BS x 1 (85% first 3 min, 90% second 3 min)
B1. Pendlay row @2112; 5-7 x 3; rest 90 sec (heavy)
B2. SA KB push press; 8-10/arm x 3; rest 90 sec
C. Emom 10 min – odd – Strict pull up x 3; even – Wtd. dip x 2 (tough)
+
2 rounds for time:
20 DB push press (35#)
3 TGU/arm
20 barbell press (70%)
3 TGU/arm
20 DB snatch
Friday
AM
A. Snatch Deadlift @21X1; 8,6,4,2; rest 2-3 min (light wt., attn on lats/shoulders back, sustain position)
B. Snatch balance; 4,4,3,3; rest 2 min
C. Emom 8 min – HS high hang (blocks) x 2 (mod load/ speed under bar)
D. 4 sets – FW x 50m AHAP; rest 2 min
PM
for time:
5 DL (175#)
12 ring push ups
12 ring rows
5 DL (175#)
9 ring push ups
9 ring rows
5 DL (175#)
7 ring push ups
7 ring rows
Saturday
A. 5 Sets – Every 90 sec – BS @ 20X1; 6,6,6,6,6
B. KB arm bar x 30 sec; rest as needed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHVBrsysBUY)
C. 4 sets – 50m SA OH carry/arm; rest 1 min b/t arms
+
3 rounds @85%:
Row 500 Meters
20 Wall Balls (14#)
– SAME times per round, 10 sec or terminate
+
Rest 5 min
+
8 min amrap @85%:
10 Kettlebell Swings (1.5 pd)
8 bjsd (20″)
20m SA DB lunge – alt arms per set
– SAME times per round, 10 sec or terminate
+
Rest 5 min
+
3 rounds @85%:
AD 15 cals
10 GH sit ups
– SAME times per round, 10 sec or terminate
Sunday
Off
Function 3/21/15
3000m Row
Rest 5-8 minutes btwn sets
x3
Notes
-Break each row set into three, 1000m pieces where you progressively build from 70, 80, to 90% per 1000m
Being 3/21/15
Row 5k easy pace every 500m get off and do 30 single unders and 7 KBS you pick weight
[tabby title=”Will”]Will 3/21/15
AM
RTW 30-40 min
+
GDS prep – WATCH open prep guide
PM
A. BS – build to a toughish single in 5 sets
B. 6 sets – every 45 sec – Tng HPS x 2 – 65%
+
AD 20 sec HARD; rest walk 1:50 x 3
+
General, dynamic and specific prep
+
Open 15.4
+
AD 15 min cool down
[tabby title=”She”]
She 3/21/15
RTW
1 min bike
1 min FLR
1 min AD
1 min jog
1 min crawl
1 min row
1 min ski
x 6-8
– easy pace