We finally embark on CrossFit’s latest rendition of the largest fitness competition worldwide to kick off the 2024 season. The 14th edition of the CrossFit Open led with workout 24.1 on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024!
Approximately 250,000 entrants from worldwide are primed for 24.1. It started with Dave Castro with one of his obscure Instagram workout clues. A live Open announcement was made at CrossFit Pleasanton in California, bringing the local community, gym members, and some of the best athletes in the world together.
Reigning Fittest Man on Earth®, Jeffrey Adler, Games mainstay Brent Fikowski, multi-appearance Games athlete Alexis Raptis, and young star Alex Gazan performed Castro’s cryptic chalkboard scratch and scribble first. The ingredients were blended just right to hype up everybody for a classic CrossFit Open workout. Let’s get into the tips you can you to achieve your best 24.1 score!
[Related: The 2024 Rogue Invitational Will Be Hosted in Aberdeen, Scotland]
Cross Fit Open Workout 24.1
For time:
- 21 dumbbell snatches, arm one
- 21 lateral burpees over dumbbell
- 21 dumbbell snatches, arm two
- 21 lateral burpees over dumbbell
- 15 dumbbell snatches, arm one
- 15 lateral burpees over dumbbell
- 15 dumbbell snatches, arm two
- 15 lateral burpees over dumbbell
- 9 dumbbell snatches, arm one
- 9 lateral burpees over dumbbell
- 9 dumbbell snatches, arm two
- 9 lateral burpees over dumbbell
*Time cap: 15 minutes. | Women: 35-pound dumbbell | Men: 50-pound dumbbell
Workout 24.1 Live Announcement Results
- Jeff Adler — 6:13
- Alexis Raptis — 6:39
- Brent Fikowski — 6:43
- Alex Gazan — 6:54.
What do you need to know at your fitness level to tackle 24.1? What are the best ways to get your best score? Find out below:
Elite Athletes
Below are hints and tips for the upper tier of CrossFit athletes:
Pacing
These are not hard movements or heavy weights. The tendency will be to go out fast because you feel good. However, just because you can do 21 burpees and 21 snatches blazing fast doesn’t mean you should empty the tank in the set of 21s.
The goal is to find a pace just under the red line (i.e., almost max effort but able to hold a sustainable pace) for under 10 minutes. You need to find comfort in that dark place of sustainable intensity. It will be uncomfortable, but you will be ok.
Range of Motion
Since the dumbbell goes from the ground to a locked-out position overhead, reducing that distance will benefit you. Widen your feet just enough to still have power in your hips, but shorten the distance from the ground to overhead by five or six inches. This will save massive distance throughout 90 reps.
Burpees
The only standards are:
- Both feet need to go over the dumbbell.
- Both feet are in the air at the same time.
You don’t have to reach full extension with your hips or stand all the way up. Standing might be good to catch your breath but for most athletes looking to go faster, stay low to save lessen distance that you have to travel.
[Related: The Open Report: Week 6 — It’s Here!]
General CrossFitter
Below are hints and tips for a CrossFit athlete who trains regularly at their box:
Pacing
Pick a pace slow enough in the beginning that you can keep moving without any stops. Don’t push the pedal to the metal on the burpees. Ensure you breathe at the top of the dumbbell snatch.
Heart Rate and Breathing Control
Regulate the speed of your movements. It will help control heart rate and breathing. Moving slower requires less oxygen and maintains a lower heart rate. However, that segues to the main goal of this workout:
No Stopping
Monitor how you feel throughout the workout so that you can slow down your burpees so that there are no pauses between burpees and snatches. Go slow enough to support zero breaks through the movements or transitions but fast enough to control heart rate and breathing to the end!
New CrossFitters
Below are hints and tips for those new to CrossFit:
Pacing
The goal is to find smaller rep sets that you can do unbroken (i.e., no breaks between reps) comfortably. Take short rests in between sets.
Stay as consistent as possible throughout the workout. Just because you’re fit enough to do 21 snatches unbroken out of the gate doesn’t mean you should.
Break the sets of 21 into smaller sets. For example, perform three seven-rep sets with a couple of seconds rest in between. Do the same for burpees to keep your heart rate at a level that you can stay consistent all the way through.
Have Fun
These workouts are meant to be uncomfortable — heavy and hard breathing. As the old CrossFit adage goes: embrace the suck!
Know that at the end of this workout, your body will flood with dopamine, and you’ll feel physically and mentally great because of what you accomplished — take it as a huge win!
CrossFit HQ, Adrienne Bozman, Dave Castro, and the rest of the Programming team did a spectacular job of giving the CrossFit community an old-school, classic CrossFit workout that is accessible and inclusive. The 2024 CrossFit Games season has begun, and with the first workout in the books, CrossFit HQ gets a gigantic thumbs-up! So take a deep breath, turn the music up loud, and have fun with this one! GOOD LUCK!
Featured image: @billgrundler on Instagram
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