Word on the street from the 5/6am’ers is PACE YOURSELF! It’s a 20 minute AMRAP kids, that’s long. Do well in your first round, see how long that takes you. Add a couple of seconds and try and maintain that pace throughout. But then… go crazy, with a few minutes left, all out.
Other Top Tips coming out of the gate:
- Pacing is huge
- Break up the toes to bar early
- Don’t death grip the rower handle!
Example on how to Pace: Your’s truly did Rd 1 in about 2:20 waited until 2:30 to start Rd 2. I kept the 2:30 pace up for 5 Rds, then Rd 6 smoked me (3:00). So I spent the next two rounds (and last five minutes), leaving it all out there. Final: 8 Rds + 3 Reps. That’s a consistent 2:30 pace + 3 Reps.
Where do you excel and where can you cut yourself some slack?
– High rep, medium weight, STOs? Those are my JAM. Goal: All Unbroken.
– Short row (repeated over a long time frame)? Manageable. Goal: 50-55 seconds / Row.
– Toes to bar? Forgiveness. Goal: Do them all RX and without taking massive breaks.
I know all this stuff about myself. Knew I could do RX. Had minimal, but some ideas in mind. Really at the end of round 1, those became my goal and I stuck with it for the rest.
What do you need to do? Where do you excel? Where are you going to come up with a solid plan that may include some forgiveness (without excessive breaks!)? A thorough warmup will help you identify strengths and weaknesses. And give you an idea of how a round may play out.
This is more strategy talk then we normally throw out there. Don’t overanalyze the workout. At the end of the day, it’s just another workout and you should be giving it your all.
Coach Notes:
– Scale the entire workout if RX is too heavy / hard
– Class may run in one heat depending on size / needs of athletes
One heat with no judges allows for more warmup time and review of the movement standards. If we run this route, KEEP THE INTEGRITY OF THE OPEN by hitting solid reps! If you miss, you no rep yourself (I missed 2 T2B in Rd 2 – so I redid them!).
This is your workout, and you’re awesome, so get out there and get after it!