Well we have finally arrived. Last week. Pretty simple couplet, looks fairly easy to accomplish on paper which naturally means it’s going to hurt really really really bad. I think that was the design and seems to be the running trend for the Open week 5 year in and year out.
I’m going to give two sets of directions for this one. The first set is for those of you in the top 10% of the world looking to make it to regionals or get onto the bubble. Especially if thrusters are your thing.
1- No matter what don’t put the bar down. If you are the type of athlete and you’re looking to make a statement here and finish in Regionals position or at least challenge a Regionals position you have no option but to go unbroken on all of the thrusters. That is the standard for a high-level, elite competitor in this workout. Every single Regionals athlete (obviously there will be exceptions to the rule) will have that capability and will perform the thrusters within milliseconds of each other. The thrusters, for this level of athlete, will not be the deciding factor for who walks away with the least amount of points. It will simply be the movement that can end your opportunity for a top spot. Unbroken is a requirement.
2- As was noted on the announcement tonight, when you are in calorie mode on a Compex rower you’re not able to judge a 500m split. For many of you that’s going to mess up your ability to pace the row. What that means is you have to get on a rower and figure out how many calories per hour translates over to the pace equivalent you’re looking for in a 500m split. I’m not a rowing expert but I’m sure there is a website out there that will help you translate calories per hour over to 500 meter split. At the bare minimum you could take your 500m time trial record and row that amount of time on calories (really really fast) and be able to base your calories per hour off of that. I’m sure there are 1000 ways to figure this out, bottom line you have to get on a rower and figure out how many calories per hour is the exact split you want to be rowing at in order to succeed here.
3- The rower has to hurt. Once you have determined what your splits will look like on the rower, you need to make sure and push your threshold on each set. Obviously don’t push so hard that you are unable to go unbroken on the thrusters but you do need to ride that very fine line between debilitating redline and your body’s overall capacity. The best score on this workout will be be able to ride that fine line for all of the sets. Never pushing into anaerobic failure but also pushing just hard enough to get every second from the workout will be the person who is able to ride that fine line for all of the sets. Never pushing into anaerobic failure but also pushing just hard enough to get every last second out of the rower. That’s going to be a personal decision and one that will be largely determined by how often you’re going to that place in training.
For those of you in this grouping of athletes, this one’s going to feel a lot like “Helen”. How hard can you push the rower without causing breakdown and failure on the thrusters.
The second group of athletes are those of you who are very strong, well trained athletes but not going in thinking you will be pushing the thrusters unbroken every round. Unbroken thrusters for this athlete will reap more havoc than good. Below are some tips for that athlete (I will definitely be putting myself in this category).
1- Break the first three sets of thrusters up. Do it in such a way that you have enough gas in your tank to be able to go unbroken on the final sets. Break them into two sets. If you need to break in them in three make sure you break that first set of 27 not the 21’s or 15’s. Personally I like to break these types of sets into rep scheme where I’m always doing less reps the second time I pick the bar up. That would mean going 14/13 on the 27 and 11/10 on the 21. Continue as needed with this pattern. However many of you already have a rep scheme in mind that best suits your training and your mental game. Just make sure you pick sets that allow you to push the gas pedal hard when it hurts the most at the end. Take it easier early so that you can burn everything you got at the end without hitting failure too early.
2- Take the same advice I gave Regional level athletes on determining your split. Figure out what your desired pace in your 500 m sprint translates over to in calories per hour. Take some time on the rower tomorrow to figure that out.
3- Lastly, be very careful on the rower. For an athlete who is already going to be pushing to the edge of their capacity on the thruster, the worst thing that can happen is pushing too hard on the rower. For 90% of the world a rower can’t win a workout. Pushing too hard and being too aggressive on such a simple movement will cause an incredible amount of lactic acid buildup and turn a manageable workout into an anaerobic mess quickly. Be smart on the rower. Push it, but your thought should be to go faster in your calorie split each round as you progress. That means you’re going to have to be very conservative and careful on that first and second set of calories. You want to pick up the pace as you go and not be forced to slow down as you go. Remember back to regionals in 2013. The first people off the rower for Jackie were not the first people on the finish line. Don’t let the rower won’t ruin your workout.
Last week guys! We’re here. Good luck!