The announcement of the first workout for the 2015 CrossFit Open is only days away, and we are about as excited as it gets to kick off this year.

Last week, CrossFit HQ announced the venues and athletes who would be throwing down following the live announcements each week, and they’re kicking the season off with a bang pairing Froning and Fraser together for 15.1.

In the world of Crossfit, it seems all anyone can talk about in the days leading up to the Open is what the workouts for 2015 might look like.  There’s tons of speculation, and everyone is making a prediction or two, including our team here at FitnessHQ.

We analyzed the stats, tried to take into account Games Director Dave Castro’s sadistic side, and even asked some of the top Games athletes for their two cents.  After crunching the numbers, and using a little creative flare of our own, here’s our best guess on what we might see for the Open workouts this year.

 

Looking at the programming from the Crossfit Open in years past, the first workout has a few things in common.

First off, the movements and weights are always extremely accessible.  It’s traditionally been a gymnastic movement (either double under or burpees) and with the exception of one year, has always included snatches.  The snatches have always been at a very light, touch and go weight, though in 2013 the workout did incorporate a longer ascending ladder where weight was added during each round.

Armed with all that info, and knowing that burpees certainly start the WODs off with a bang, our prediction for 15.1 is:

10 minute AMRAP

30 Burpees to 6” target

10 Snatches 75/45 pounds

Crossfit Games competitor and athlete Marcus Hendren agrees with us.  We can almost hear the dread in his prediction.

Looking historically at second Open workout from years past, we see a lot of variety in movements, but a commonality in going overhead for this workout.  In every year except 2011, competitors were either snatching, overhead squatting, or bringing the weight from shoulder to overhead.  A gymnastic element is usually included in this workout as well, whether it’s push ups, pull ups or box jumps.

So while it’s impossible to predict exactly what toys Dave Castro will pull out of his hat, we like the idea that this workout is going to be a triplet, and we agree with Michele Letendre that we might see a new gymnastic movement this year.

It would be just like Dave to include an overhead movement and a handstand in the same grueling AMRAP, so our 15.2 prediction is:

12 Minute AMRAP

3 Shoulder to OH 115/95 pounds

3 Box Jumps

3 Handstand Push Ups

6 Shoulder to OH

6 Box Jumps

6 Handstand Push Ups

9 Shoulder to OH…

When analyzing past workouts from the Crossfit Open, the third in the series is the one with the least amount of commonality.  Here we find anything from a 5 minute to an 18 minute sufferfest, and the movements includes are everything from heavy deadlifts to double unders.

While we’re not saying it’s impossible to predict what WOD might be thrown at us, this is one of the more challenging weeks to guess at.

So we’re going outside the box, and predicting a combination totally different then anything we’ve seen before for 15.3:

8 Minute AMRAP

30 Double Unders

10 Deadlifts 135/95 pounds

10 Push Ups

30 Double Unders

15 Deadlifts 185/135 pounds

10 Push Ups

30 Double Unders

Deadifts 225/155 pounds

10 Push Ups

30 Double Unders

Deadifts 275/185 pounds

10 Push Ups 30 Double Unders

Deadifts 315/205 pounds

10 Push Ups

30 Double Unders

Dealdifts 365/225 pounds

10 Push Ups

By week 4 of the Open the leaderboard is starting to solidify, and this is usually when we see an introduction of one of the more complex gymnastics movements in Crossfit, the Muscle Up.

You could say it’s what separates the men from the boys, but let’s face it, the women are amazing beasts in this five-week competition too, and the muscle up is really what helps whittle down the top competitors to those who are the most well-rounded in the sport.

Lucas Parker, Games competitor, part lumberjack, and a personal favorite predicts (among other things included in his awesome podcast) a repeat of the 14 minute chipper from 2014, and we couldn’t agree more.

The workout last year challenged every athlete with the fast paced gymnastic movements, and light weight barbell work, but really separated the pack with the muscle ups.  Anyone who was able to get even one calorie on a second round of rowing had a shocking advantage above other competitors in their region.

14 Minute AMRAP

50 toes-to-bar

40 wall ball shots, (20 lb. to 10-foot target/14 pounds to 9-foot target)

30 cleans, 135 pounds

20 muscle-ups

The last workout of the Open is always a doozy. Dave Castro outdid himself last year with a deathly combination of burpees and thrusters that left even the strongest athletes facing Pukey the clown, but that was nothing new in the programming.

Traditionally, the last workout is some jacked up, fully-caffeinated demonic version of Fran, and always includes thrusters.  We think this year will be no exception, and predict that we might even get a chance to work through a version of Frantasy Land that we saw at last year’s CrossFit Games.

One of the most dominant competitors in the Games, standout Scott Panchik agrees with us.

7 Minute AMRAP

21-15-9

Thrusters 95/65 pounds

Pull Ups

15-12-9

Thrusters 115/95 pounds

Chest to Bar Pull Ups

12-9-6

Thrusters 135/115 pounds

Bar Muscle Ups

How do you think we did readers?  What do you think we might see for workouts in 2015? Be sure to check back with us here at FitnessHQ throughout the Open for contests, updates and tips on how to dominate every one of the WODs.