2023 TYR Wodapalooza Team Event Preview: “Holds & Climbs”

January 10, 2023 by Brian Friend

From Jan. 13-15, 2023, the 2023 TYR Wodapalooza (WZA) will take place in Miami, FL. In addition to Individual events, the weekend will play host to a number of team workouts to find the best three-athlete squad at the competition. The Team event “Holds & Climbs” will majorly challenge athletes’ upper body strength, stamina, and speed.

2023 TYR Wodapalooza Team Event — “Holds & Climbs”

It might not look like the workout RX features a whole lot of holding at first glance, but the team configuration makes sure that every athlete’s grip strength is put to the test. And that’s mainly because there’s no resting while their teammates are climbing the rope — instead, there’s a whole lot of holding. Here’s how it breaks down.

Complete for Time:

12 Rope Climbs* (4/4/4)
48 Synchro Hang Cleans** Kettlebells: 53 pounds for men | Kettlebells: 35 pounds for women | Dumbbells: 50 pounds for men | Dumbbells: 35 pounds for women | Barbell: 115 pounds for men | Barbell: 75 pounds for women
12 Rope Climbs (4/4/4)
48 Synchro Shoulder-to-Overhead** Kettlebells: 53 pounds for men | Kettlebells: 35 pounds for women | Dumbbells: 50 pounds for men | Dumbbells: 35 pounds for women | Barbell: 115 pounds for men | Barbell: 75 pounds for women
12 Rope Climbs (4/4/4)
48 Synchro Thrusters** Kettlebells: 53 pounds for men | Kettlebells: 35 pounds for women | Dumbbells: 50 pounds for men | Dumbbells: 35 pounds for women | Barbell: 115 pounds for men | Barbell: 75 pounds for women

*Two athletes will hold two of the three available implements — a pair of kettlebells, a pair of dumbbells, and a barbell — while the third athlete is completing their rope climbs in each round.

**All three athletes will do these three weightlifting movements in sync, each one using one of the three available implements.

Time Cap: 20 minutes

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Editor’s Note: This article is an op-ed. The views expressed herein and in the video are the author’s and don’t necessarily reflect the views of BarBend. Claims, assertions, opinions, and quotes have been sourced exclusively by the author.

Picks to Win | Men’s Team — King B.K. & Friends: Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson, Tola Morakinyo, Khan Porter

This team is too good not to get a mention. But to be clear, it will be very difficult to beat either the Mayhem Team or The Boys on this workout. However, if any other team can win this, it’s King B.K. and Friends.

A key element to this workout is teamwork and communication. Although Guðmundsson did not compete on the team with Morakinyou and Porter last season, he trained with them almost every day. These three have good relationships off the competition floor and will almost certainly have good chemistry on it. They are also all exceptional at rope climbs and cycling weight. Look for this to be one of their best finishes of the competition.

Picks to Win | Women’s Team — Dottirs Featuring MOB: Annie Thorisdottir, Katrín Davíðsdóttir, Mallory O’Brien

A popular pick to win the competition as a whole, Dottirs Featuring MOB is very likely to win a couple of these workouts. This may not look like the obvious choice for this event since getting three women of varying sizes in sync may prove challenging. But fitness may ultimately carry the day here — and there isn’t a fitter team in the field.

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They might give a little away to some of the teams on the rope climbs, which is not necessarily a slam-dunk movement for either Davíðsdóttir or O’Brien, but the weightlifting cycling component of this will be massive. It seems like they have the best chance to take the fewest breaks there and pass by a majority of the field by doing so.

Dark Horses | Men’s Team — The Three Wizards: Denis Samsonov, Phillip Muscarella, CJ Gerald

Samsonov and Muscarella were on the fourth-place team at WZA last year, finishing first, second, third, and fourth on four different workouts. They’ve replaced Tyler Eggiman with CJ Gerald this time around, but Gerald can certainly hold his own. This team will show up and surprise at some point during the conversion, and it could definitely be here.

In short, this team is not great at monostructural events, but they can handle gymnastics, weightlifting, and teamwork, all of which this workout demands. The event they won last year (the Bayside Chipper) included kettlebell work and rope climbs. And the workout they took third on (Celebrate Ten) involved one athlete hanging while others did synchro work, barbell cycling, and some gymnastics.

Dark Horses | Women’s Team — CrossFit Omnia: Kelly Stone, MaryKay Dreisilker, Elisa Schauer

They are getting lost in the shuffle a bit with all the super teams full of elite Individual Games athletes, but Schauer and Dreisilker were on the seventh-place team from Omnia at the Games this past summer, and Stone took eighth in an absurdly talented field of women at the Granite Games. Stone is a phenomenal addition to an already impressive pair of women, and she has experience being on Omnia’s team in the past (2017 and 2018). The fitness is solid here, but the teamwork is what could propel them to a strong finish on this workout.

Damage Control | Men’s Team — Canadian PB&J: Pat Vellner, Brent Fikowski, Jeff Adler

Here, we have teams that are podium contenders that will likely find themselves doing damage control during this workout. It’s likely that neither the men’s nor the women’s team discussed here will do too badly on this workout. Still, they might not do too well on it relative to the other teams they’ll be battling with to win the overall competition.

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In the case of the three Canadian men, this is one of the times over the course of this competition when they will have to show their ability to get three of the fittest men in the world on the same page in terms of moving in sync.

Fikowski has a long way to go from top to bottom on these weightlifting movements, whereas Adler is quick and more compact. Vellner is somewhere in between. Looking at teams like The Boys or Mayhem, where all three athletes are of a much more similar build, draws into question whether the Canadians can match the paces of the other top teams.

Damage Control | Women’s Team — Team BPN: Laura Horvath, Gabriela Migala, Jamie Simmonds

The women on BPN will have similar questions to answer, but they’ll also have to be intentional about managing the rope climbs. It’s only four at a time, but they are consecutive whenever it’s your turn to go. Grip fatigue will be a major part of this workout.

[Read More: The Best Upper Body Exercises and Workouts]

Migala, in particular, will be worth watching here, as legless rope climbs might be her biggest challenge. Regular rope climbs should not be, but with the caliber of this field as a whole, she needs to be more than just “okay” at those. Instead, she’ll need to excel enough for her team to stay within touch of a top-five or 10 finish here.

Featured Image: @katrintanja / Instagram