15.3 has been announced and it is special! For the first time ever in the CrossFit Open we are starting with…drum roll please…muscle ups!

BAM!

Here is the workout:

As many rounds/reps as possible in 14 minutes, a triplet of:

7 muscle ups
50 wall ball shots
100 double unders

This workout, reminiscent of 13.2, starts with the muscle ups. Muscle ups will instantly separate the men and women from the boys and girls.  The rationale for this, according to Dave Castro, was the flexibility the organizers have with the new scaled division.

In the announcement competition, Julie Foucher and Lauren Brooks faced-off in a battle as two of the top women in the sport of fitness. Julie Foucher took the lead in the second round and never looked back. Her strength on the muscle ups was a big advantage for her as she breezed through round two and three.

Foucher, in her last year as an individual competitor, won the head-to-head competition with a score of 501 to Brooks’ score of 420.

So how will the the rest of us mere mortals tackle this workout? Good question.

Here are a few tips.

A score of 1 will beat a lot of people in this workout. If you are close to getting your first muscle up (like me), get one in 15.3! Just decide you are going to do it and make it happen. I’ll let you know how this works out for me!

Going to failure on the muscle ups is not a good idea. There is no shame in doing singles. Just get your seven done as efficiently as possible.

The wall ball shots and double unders are both very rhythmic.  Get in your groove and knock them out as soon as you can. You will get gassed quickly in this part of the workout as the cardiovascular demand of the wall balls and double unders is significant! Take quick breaks, take two or three deep breaths, and get back in the rhythm!

Wherever you are at in your fitness journey, best of luck in 15.3!  And remember…if you haven’t gotten your first muscle up, now is the time to GET ONE!