Observations and Changes from 14.1

Well the first week of the Open is in the books. If you’re like me, not only where you fascinated by the results but some suspicions were confirmed as well as some surprises. Here’s a couple observations that I took away from week one. Also there are some specific actions we are going to take as a result of these observations.
1- Throwing some of the technical proficiency and mastery we worked on for so long out the window actually turned out to be beneficial for the sake of fast, light reps. That being said the strength gained and the ability to utilize hip extension was massively important for 14.1.
2- The level of competition this year as opposed to last year is massively different. I was talking to one of my buddies about this possibility a couple weeks back and he advised that the level of competition would be much higher in the teams simply because the level competition as an individual had increased so much in the year prior. He was dead on.
3 – The amount of relative “no names” that put up massive scores drives two thoughts in my head. First, I hope they are legit and that they filmed their work because if they continue to put up those kinds of numbers there will be video required of them. My second thought is likely half of them are not legit. But that’s just the Open.
4 – Lastly, it fascinates me to think about how prepared some of the competitors are for the Open and it makes me wonder how well prepared they will be for Regionals. Most elite athletes have been preparing for Regionals or the Games since August. They look at the Open as a trial that they have to survive in order to get to the Regional level. I’m interested to see if some of these new faces who are popping up on the Open leaderboard are capable of sustaining the volume and intensity required at the Regional level. My guess is they are well-prepared to excel at one workout once a week. The question remains are they prepared to handle six or seven workouts over the course of a weekend?
All those observations noted are however going to force some programming changes for the next four weeks of the Open. As I have always said the goal of this blog’s programming is to get potential athletes to the Regional and through the Open. Basically the point of Deep Performance is to best prepare you for the Open. I want everyone of you to test the movements and the combination of the movements at about a 70% intensity prior to completing it. What has become deathly apparent to me is that repeating the workout is no longer a consideration but more so a requirement. Especially, if you’re trying to make it to the Regional.
Therefore the week will look a little different now. Tuesday and Wednesday will be heavy workloads especially in the Olympic lifts. Thursday will be an active rest day. Friday will be light, fast lifting, some skill work, and an Open workout test. I want you to perform the Open workout on Friday but not at 100% intensity. Basically I want you to perform the work out at a high-enough intensity level for you to feel exactly how this workout is going to tax you but not enough to debilitate you. Saturday will be a light weight lifting load again, some skill practice, and a conditioning piece with high rest intervals. This is designed as more active rest than anything else. Then for the first time in my programming history I’m going to programmed an Open workout for you on Sunday. I will also program the Open workout again on Monday. The reason I’m going to do this is twofold. Many of you getting nervous at completing the workout at full intensity on Monday with no extra day to complete the workout again should you need it. Therefore, Sunday is a good day for that. That will be the only work prescribed then. However, if you feel comfortable with the workout and feel that you can complete a good score only completing it once at high intensity, then Monday is your day. If you complete the workout on Sunday giving you the option to do it on Monday but you are content with your score on Sunday that I want you to complete the Monday work and forgot the conditioning piece which will be the Open work out again. What that means for all of you is that the Open workout will show up three times over the course of a week. That makes me feel funny in my stomach and almost makes me hang my head in disgust but that is the reality of the sport this year. Repeats are a necessity and your competitors are repeating the workout two or three times in order to bump the score up each time. We need the same advantage.
Welcome to the Open…
Oh and this happened: Spencer 14.1: 263 Reps..then death