A 18.4 full of novelties

As always, Castro's enigmatic tracks do not help us to reveal the mystery of the Workout of the Open CrossFit Games 2018. The one of this week, the photo of the snout of a dog along with an egg, made us think and, although we already know what the 18.4, we still don't understand that hidden message. What is clear is that the Open Fourth WOD is full of novelties.

What is 18.4?

The director of the CrossFit Games, Dave Castro, has heard people for this exercise and included two novelties. You will have to do in the 18.4:

21-15-9 Deadlift (102kg/70kg) Hand Stand Push Up 21-15-9 Deadlift (143kg/93kg) Hand Stand Walk over 15m with Time Cap of 9 minutes

Indeed, in the first part of the wod touches Diane, one of the reference WOD girls that Greg Glassman, founder of CrossFit. It is the first time that a Benchmark in the Open, for joy - or misfortune - of many. The second novelty of 18.4 is the new movement that reaches Open Games: Hand Stand Walk. After Diane's pine flexions, you will have to walk on your hands to complete this exercise.

Eye! The norms have changed in terms of the execution of this movement. Hand stand walk start with their hands behind the line And not with the feet on the exit, as happened before. Try to look at the WOD standards and follow the instructions of the judges to avoid No reps unnecessary.

How to face 18.4?

If you have ever done diane, you already know the difficulty of exercise. For both the first and the second part, these are our recommendations:

Find a rhythm in repetitions of dead pesos, like 5 series rep Unbroken and 2 second rest.
Don't forget about breathe: The pines will test your aerobic capacity and your body tension. In the dead weight, remember expel the air at the time of the effort to gain strength and avoid doing the entire set in Apnea (and dizzy).
Try to keep you core Very active along the WOD, to avoid injuring the lumbar in the dead weights and losing balance in the hand stand walk.
For hand Stand push ups, don't hurry. Look for the perfection of the movement to flee from the No reps, waste time and tire more.
And if you get to the Hand Stand Walk, the same. Step by step. Keep your balance by tightening the abdominals and buttocks, in addition to keeping your shoulders activated.

Castro himself says that the 18.4 is a WOD designed for professional athletes, which have the opportunity to reach regional. If gymnastics are going, you can wear your skills in addition to your strength. If it is not the case, do not eat your head and try to do your best. Whatever your level, it is very important that you establish a strategy:

Short reps and breaks series
Maintain a constant rhythm and good breathing
Avoid the No reps and add the maximum number of repetitions in Al Time Cap
Go to Diane Fuego to win time at Hand Stand Walk

And endless different objectives that will be motivating and guiding you throughout this Wod.

What material do I need to use in 18.4?

First of all, protection.

Some will not need any material for this WOD, while others need subjection somewhere in your body. Therefore, the recommended material would be:

Wristbands to avoid injuring joints into the inverted ones.
Lumbar belt If you need an extra fastening in dead weights.
Knee If you suffer from the knees in dead weights and want to protect them.

And the Azor Gudmundsson grips?

You may have noticed the Grips Greens that the Icelandic looked in his presentation during the live announcement of 18.4. Yes, they are ours Azor Grips. Yes, they are in the Open again CrossFit Games And no, we still be behind it. Although finally BKG did not use it at the WOD, Yes you can use them to protect your hands in dead weights. We know that some athletes use Grips To have a better grip in the bar. If this is your case, you know. ?

Iceland vs. United States: Gudmundsson's confrontation against Panchik

What happened this morning at the Live Announpply live in Arizona? By 18.4, CrossFit gathered a Two promises of the 2018 Games. On the one hand, the Icelandic Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson (nicknamed BKG) and promise of CrossFit European. With 25 years, he has reached the Games several times and may be the next European to take first place from Mikko Salo in 2009. On the other hand, the American Scott Panchik, also known as Mister consistent or Lord perseverance. At 30, he has participated six times in the CrossFit Games and has always stayed at Top 6. Is this its year?

What can we learn from Panchik and Gudmundsson's performance

Constancy, rhythm and breathing. This is the strategy used by Panchik to beat his Icelandic opponent in 18.4. The American marked 5 REPS series in the dead weights while BKG was going at full speed, without pause.

The rush passed Gudmundsson who wasting time in several No reps in the HSPU and the HSW. Seeing this delay, Panchik accelerated in the last repetitions to finish the WOD in 7.11 minutes, a minute before the Icelandic. As for Diane, Panchik took 2.56 minutes; and Gudmundsson, 2.46 minutes. As you can see, each one applied a very different strategy. But the conclusion we can get is that It is better to go slowly but sure at 18.4.

General classification after 18.3

We take an eye on the Open classification CrossFit 2018. Worldwide, Mat Fraser continues to lead the board; while we see Kara Webb (Now Saunders) take the first post of the girls. In Spain, leaders are still in their positions: Rita García, for women; and Sam Lubben, for men. We are already in the final stretch of the Open CrossFit Games 2018. Whatever your level, if there is something you can do in 18.4 is to enjoy it. To by Diane and Los Pinos!