It’s here — the CrossFit Open! The first workout of the CrossFit Open 15.1 has finally been announced. Are you ready?

9 minute AMRAP (as many reps as possible)

15 Toes to Bar
10 Deadlift (115/65 pounds)
5 Snatches (115/65 pounds)

Then — as if that wasn’t enough:

15.1.a

Take 6 minutes to establish a 1-rep max clean and jerk

Whaaaaaaaaat??

I never thought it would happen, but one of the Open predictions we got before the announcement was a 1-rep max clean and jerk! See this tweet by Lindsey Valenzuela! We can’t wait to see what she gets!

The live announcement competition between Rich Froning and Mat Fraser was equal to all of the hype. While Mat held a slight lead throughout most of the nine-minute AMRAP, 4-time CrossFit Games champion Froning eeked out a narrow victory by 5 reps, ending up with 224 reps to Fraser’s 219.*

Then, after the grueling 9-minute workout, the two athletes started loading up the bar for workout 15.1a!

Each athlete started around the 275 mark, light weight for two of CrossFit’s heavyweights. They both got in a few attempts, but it was Froning again that took the victory with his 343-pound clean and jerk. Fraser, in his last attempt had loaded on more weight, but just wasn’t able to finish the lift within the six minutes.

So, now that we know how the elite athletes performed, how about you? Here are a five tips to maximize your 15.1 score.

Grip will be one of the biggest challenges in 15.1. Break up your 15 reps into sets as soon as you need too. Rich did it on the third round. Lesser athletes, also known as the rest of us, will probably need to do it earlier.

Use a hook grip on your dead lifts and and snatches! A hook grip will not strain your forearms quite as much. Trust us when we say you’ll need to retain all the strength you can.

Before each new round, chalk up your hands. This will give you a quick rest and really help you with holding onto the bar for your toes to bar.

We promise that you CAN get those ten reps unbroken each time. Muscle through them!

On the snatches, do some touch-and-go reps for a couple rounds, but don’t be afraid to drop the bar each rep. Of course, elite athletes like Mat and Rich (hey guys!) didn’t need to do this, but for many of us it will allow us to keep getting reps by extending out our time till failure.

15.1a is going to be tough. You won’t be fresh, so getting a PR on your max clean and jerk is very likely out of the question.

I will probably plan on making three attempts. If you are in great shape or just feeling really confident in your performance that day, you may shoot for four.

Beginning around 60 percent of your current 1-rep max is probably a good start. This will give you some confidence and allow you to shift your focus to this movement.

For the second attempt, we recommend shooting for something respectable — something that you won’t exactly be excited about, but you won’t be disappointed in if you miss your last attempt. Establish a solid number in this rep so that you have more room to take chances in your third attempt.

On your final attempt, give it your best shot! Something around 90 percent of your 1-rep max would be great for this lift. Rich hit 92.7% of his listed one rep max (343/370).  Mat hit 87.2% of his listed 1RM (327/375).  But of course, these guys are also nothing short of ridiculous!

For most of us, CrossFit, and especially the CrossFit Open, is about feeling good and having fun. So however you do in 15.1, keep that in mind! Have fun, give the workout every ounce of effort you have and enjoy it!

You may also be interested in previous years open workouts and top scores.

* Frazer’s official score was 219 despite the 221 that is displayed in the picture above.