The last two Crossfit Games Opens that I have participated in have had muscle-ups, and as a non-official marker of elite athleticism in Crossfit, it was inevitable that would be in the Open this year.
And in typical Castro fashion, the curve-ball was going to be thrown at us – placing them smack in the beginning of a workout, thus immediately eliminating a massive chunk of the registered population who are strong or fast, yet have not mastered the gymnastic skill.
Have I ever done a muscle-up?
Nope.
Was I disappointed?
Nope.
Just as last year when they programmed double-unders early on, and 14.2/15.2 when chest-to-bars made an early appearance, the Open is a test of skill, a test of your level relative to everyone else, ultimately to find the best of the best. The Open exposes weaknesses, but it also puts people into a different mindset than any other time of the year.
The bar has been raised, everyone has been talking about it, and no reason to think this year is going to be any different from the past as far as increasing expectations and difficulty.
Will I get a muscle up?
Maybe. Maybe not.
The alternative to 1 rep RX is to get a whole heck of a lot of reps scaled. But I will admit when the scaled option was suggested, I was a bit disappointed.
Sure I can’t do a muscle-up, but that doesn’t mean I can’t scale it to chest-to-bar pull-ups, or even kipping pull-ups. I’d rather take 7 ring dips and 7 pull-ups as a scale, still challenging yet not so scaled down. Castro could have reversed the order for scaled, or put in some substitute movement for the muscle-up but kept all the same.
I want the 14# wall ball, no matter what my skill level is. It is still the Open. Heck, I used a 14# wall ball after only doing Crossfit 3 months (despite a million no reps, I tried so hard!)
I want double-unders. Because I saw so many people get their first last year, that sometimes it is the Open that pushes them to do so.
In my mind, I saw the elimination completely of one movement and two heavily scaled movements as discouraging. I almost felt insulted that they bridged the gap between the elite and the rest of us with such a differential.
But the more I thought about it, I realized I was quite in the wrong; the scaled division is testing something else.
The RX division will test you physically. If you can’t do a muscle-up? You’re out. If you can’t do a double-under? Out. It is a test of skill. This is a test for the elite. A test for those that want to go to the Games or help their team get to Regionals.
But the scaled?
Is it a physical test? Not so much. Most are more than comfortable with a lighter wall ball and most can skip a rope.
The scaled division will test you mentally.
The scaled division is not so much about who can do the movements – we all can. There is no try and try and try until you make a rep or run out of time.
We all can jump rope (though my single under skill is laughable..), and we call can toss a 10# wall ball. But can we all last 14 straight minutes of metcon? Can we do such simple, yet exhausting movements without stopping? Will the light ball get heavy after trying to go unbroken? Will you be able to feel your legs? Or catch your breath? Or walk the next day?
The scaled workout allows those who aren’t elite to now be on a level playing field with those who have mastered all of the skills except a muscle-up. There is no division here outside of one movement. It doesn’t matter what you can lift. It doesn’t matter that you can do a pull-up or that you can stand on your hands. Everyone who can’t do a muscle-up plays the same game.
I sought some feedback from people who have done the workout, seasoned veterans and newbies, and not one person has indicated that the workout was easy.
Not one person said they wished they were using a heavier wall ball.
No one said wow, that workout wasn’t long enough.
Though the movements themselves may be scaled down from the movements in the Open, the workout is not scaled down in difficulty. I can guarantee that someone who has completed 800 reps of the scaled division feels just a bad, if not worse, than someone completing the RX division with half a many reps.
The scaled division will likely get most people more overall reps, which means the scaled division is doing plenty more squats to do wall balls than the RX.
The scaled division is tiring their legs twice as often to jump rope.
The scaled division is no joke, guys.
Tomorrow, I am going to attempt to do 15.3 RX. I’m going to stare at those rings, perhaps flail a bit. I am going to try to mentally piece together all of the progression work that I have been doing and put on a false grip and throw my hips up into the air hoping for a miracle. But if that doesn’t happen, I am going to humbly take my scaled score and know that it is going to push me into a deep dark place with that many wall balls, regardless of the weight.
Though you all know, I’d rather take one whole rep RX than a million scaled.. 😉
PS.. where were the pistols Castro was alluding to??
No pistols, boooo!
I personally would have liked it if the movements were reversed with MU’s at the end, but it is what it is and frankly this was expected. The Open is technically for the elite and for those of us that aren’t trying to make it to the Games, the Open is about measuring progress and mental toughness. I’m okay with 15.3 because it’s only going to motivate me to be ready for MU’s next year!
Shelly recently posted..15.2 Recap & The Infamous Muscle-Up Returns in 15.3
I was very excited by both 15.1 and 15.3. 15.2, I couldn’t do either of the movements, and should have stayed in bed – granted, I suck at OHS really really badly, but I wish they’d done ring rows for the pullups.
Because I believe that scaled should really be SCALED.
I personally wonder whether Castro looked at how many people “tried to do scaled” and go through the OHS and then no pullups (because they didn’t have them) and MAYBE then changed 15.3. I was wondering that today.
I do believe, however, that it is indeed basically a mental test, just like 15.1 was a grip test. And I think that rocks.
I like the idea of the muscle ups at the beginning of 15.3, and a bunch of our elites and “almost” elites did too – because if you get a “1” then that is a great notch in your belt as usually your first muscle up. I bet you that there will be a LOT of 1s. And because it is first, that people WILL go for it – not after they are tired out by the wall balls and double unders. On that front, I think this was genius.
Wish I’d worn my lifters in the wall balls. I forgot. But that’s okay, I’m just glad that I could get some reps.
I was initially bummed about the way 15.3 was scaled. My coach even double checked for me because I was like “what? there’s no way!” They had to go buy a 10b wall ball too haha. I wanted to at least do a modified version of the muscle up and at least work on my double unders. But what you said is right. The Rx definitely is for the elite. In the scaled I got 744 reps, but it definitely wasn’t easy. Those 150 wall balls have left my quads on fire. I will be super, super sore tomorrow. I’m glad I read your take on this because it made me think of things differently! Good luck on your attempt tomorrow. Knock out those muscle ups!
Sky @ Blonde Freedom recently posted..The In-Between Stage
Our reaction was similar at our gym – there was such a differential between doing 15.3 RX and doing it scaled. But as I thought about it, since I’m doing this Open all scaled (because of recovering from a back injury), I wanted to embrace it. I’m a weird lover of wall balls, and have been doing singles for so long that I knew I could keep it going. And really? It was a WOD that was all about the engine. Yes, you need to be able to reach full + depth and the target. Yes, you need to not trip up and keep a good pace on the singles. But regardless, you had to make sure your engine could push you through 14min. There was never a point of rest, because you wanted to keep going – the movements were simple enough to really keep you moving. And all I can say after doing it last night – OUCH. That was painful. And a lot of our RX athletes and coaches commented on how hard it looked, how hard it must have felt. And praised us until no end. No matter what, this WOD brought CrossFit communities closer for both divisions. Because watching athletes get their first MU or being able to bust a new record of how many they have done in a WOD? That was amazing too.
Kelsey // Ramblings of Change recently posted..2015 Budget — 2 Months Late.
Did you get a muscle up? I enjoyed reading your perspective on 15.3. Mine wasn’t as optomistic, but the format did motivate me to get my 1st and only mu rep!
Thanks for reading, Eric, and feel free to share with someone who needs to hear it!
As far as mine…. It’s still early…
I’m going to give HQ a pass this year on the scaled division, because it has not been done well. I agree with Sandy that the amount of scaling on 15.3 is a result of complaints of not enough scaling in 15.2. And I agree. Maybe they need a scaled scaled? Bc if you’re gonna scale something, with the marketed intent of having an Open accessible to everyone, then ring rows should’ve been a scale. With MUs, there should be a scale for that. Not just removing the movement.
This is the first year of running a scaled division. They will get this ironed out for the future I’m sure.
I’ll be spending my 14 minutes working on that first muscle up. Good luck to us!
Chris recently posted..On My Averageness
Amen to it all! I was bummed about the amount of scaling, but had honestly been hoping for a wall ball and DU/singles metcon, because I can just power through that. I can’t do a single ring dip, so this wasn’t even a decision for me. I need to start working on my progressions in hopes of my first MU next year. I hope you get yours!
If you do scaled, though…yes, you’ll go to a deep, deep dark place. It’s all gas. For 14 minutes. Like you said–it’s no joke. And no, you can’t walk for a couple days afterward.
Yes and yes! Couldn’t have said it better myself!
As someone who is scaled, it kind of hurt when all these RX (but can’t do MU’s) athletes were putting down and making fun of what we had to do – but then they were rolling around in the floor after 14 mins of an intense met con. No one was laughing then.
It was nice, for once for a lot of us to be at the same level – a stark reminder to some to leave your ego at the door.
And I think Castro simply wanted to make sure that the athletes who were going to regionals could do MU’s for sure – last year at the European regionals it was crazy with how many couldn’t.
Jen @ Chase the Red Grape recently posted..Thinking Out Loud!
Thanks for the perspective! I was feeling pretty cranky about the huge difference between scaled and Rx. After coming to terms with muscle ups not happening for me right now, I went all out on scaled. I’m happy with my score and have the sore muscles to prove 15.3 scaled is still no joke!
Rebekah recently posted..Too Much Stuff
love the outlook you took on 15.3 scaled. i was and still am kinda bitter cause i nail DU and wish that the scaled wasn’t SO scaled. but my legs sure felt like it was an rx wod.. couldn’t even touch them without wincing.
hope you nailed that first MU! 🙂
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