Warm-Up Tips for CrossFit Open Workout 26.3 (From A Physical Therapist)

This week's warm-up will probably feel pretty familiar. Many of the movement demands for this week's workout are similar to the ones for 26.1 and 26.2. You'll still need good overhead positioning for thrusters and strong posterior chain engagement to protect your back during the burpees and cleans. I suppose the only new thing is lat mobility for the front rack position, but that also requires good thoracic extension, which I've already covered the last two week.

So this weed, I want to focus more on movement quality and fatigue management, particularly for the low back, which will likely start to feel it by the end of this workout.

Let’s break down the key areas to prepare.

Prepare the Overhead and Front Rack Positions

Thrusters require a stable overhead position, and both thrusters and cleans require a solid front rack position.

If you have trouble with locking out overhead, you might end up excessively arching your lower back, causing some back discomfort or pain. Similarly, if you have trouble with the front rack position, not being able to keep your elbows up might cause some wrist pain.

To help open these positions, I’d continue doing the active thread-the-needle exercise from the past two weeks as well as the lat eccentrics. Review my blog posts for 26.1 and 26.2 if you want to see the exercise demos again.

Warm Up the Posterior Chain

While both burpees and cleans use a lot of posterior chain muscles, the constant hinging forward and standing back up from the burpees is likely what will cause the most fatigue.

Banded good mornings from the last two weeks continue to be a good addition to your warm-up to reinforce the hinge position and prime your glutes.

Coaching Cues to Protect Your Back

As your legs fatigue, your glutes and low back will probably start to pick up the slack during the burpees and cleans. The key here isn't to try forcing your tired legs to take most of the work, but to be prepared to switch movement strategies from leg dominant, to glute/low back dominant, and back.

Here are a few cues that can help keep from flaring up your back.

Burpees

During the burpees, it'll become tempting to just collapse to the floor and "worm" back up. Try to maintain the hip hinge as much as possible on the way down, and try not to "worm" too excessively on the way up.

Cleans

Although there aren’t as many reps of these compared to the burpees, it'll still add up, especially as the weight increases. Similar to the dumbbell snatches last week, a common movement fault is setting up with the hips too high once the legs get fatigued.

Again, the goal here isn't to continue hammering your legs. Using more of the posterior chain to give your legs a break can be a good strategy; just remember to return to using your legs more to also give your glutes/low back a break as well.

Thrusters

Just like with wallballs from 26.1, your legs are what generates momentum to get the barbell overhead, and your arms are mostly there to guide the barbell into the locked out position.

When in the overhead position, remember to keep your ribs tucked in to avoid overarching your back and causing back pain.

Quick Warm-Up Summary for 26.3

Add these exercises to your warm-up:

• Active Thread-the-Needle

• Lat Eccentrics

• Banded Good Mornings

If the Open revealed some limitations…

Over the past three weeks, you may have had some trouble with certain positions, such as your front rack or overhead lockout positions. Or you may have dealt with some lingering back pain.

This is your sign to finally address the things that have been holding you back.

If you’d like help identifying what might be limiting you and building a plan to improve it, you can schedule an assessment with me below.

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