2023 TYR Wodapalooza Team Event Preview: “Sync-Up & Squat”

On Jan. 7, 2023, another Team event for 2023 TYR Wodapalooza (WZA), taking place Jan. 12-15 in Miami, FL., was announced on the event’s Instagram page.

These three-person squads will compete in several workouts over the weekend, with the second confirmed event — “Sync-Up & Squat” — concentrating on weightlifting and gymnastic movements. Check out all the details below:

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.

Wodapalooza Team Workout: Sync-Up & Squat

For time: 

• 30-20-10 reps of…
• Synchro Ring & Bar Muscle-Ups
• Synchro Squat Cleans & Squat Snatches

Cleans: 205 pounds for men/145 pounds for women

Snatches: 165 pounds for men/115 pounds for women

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnGNAq0hvLV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

On its own, this workout is as much a test of communication, strategy, and grit as it is fitness. Throughout the workout, two athletes are working at a time. For the muscle-ups, one athlete is on the rings while the other is on the bar. For the barbell lifts, one is doing squat cleans while the other is doing squat snatches. 

Nailing the ordering and transitions and synching the reps will all be critical. And between figuring out those crucial details, those athletes must contend with 120 muscle-ups, and 120 barbell cycling reps split up three ways. 

Picks to Win

Below are the teams in both divisions who stand the best chance to win the opening 2023 WZA event:

*Note: The rosters for Wodapalooza are not finalized; these picks are based on what’s been published on the Wodapalooza Instagram and the online qualifiers. BarBend will update this article if there are any changes.

The Boys: Noah Ohlsen, Chandler Smith, Travis Mayer

The defending champs from last year will have their work cut out for them this year, should they want to defend; this workout. However, it is right up their alley.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYzk6ezvlc3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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

All three men have great capacity for this workout style, a lot of experience working together, and the cycle speed to stay in the mix on this one. It will be close but expect them to place within the top three.

A.K.A. Humble Killers: Kari Pearce, Arielle Loewen, Alex Gazan

The volume of the muscle-ups muscle up volume will factor in more for our top men’s pick than women’s pick, as all three of these athletes have elite upper-body pulling capacity and don’t give much away on a moderate-weighted barbell. 

If the weights were set a little bit heavier, they would struggle more. However, their gymnastics ability should carry the day for the women at this weight, and this is about as good as it gets on that front. 

Dark Horses

Mayhem Avengers: Agustin Richelme, Santiago Comba, Piero Gorichon

A South American powerhouse team will lurk in the leaderboard’s middle throughout the weekend. Richelme is the four-time reigning fittest in Argentina; Comba has been fittest in Uruguay three of the past four years (in 2020, he did not finish the Open); Gorichon was second in Chile last year after being the fittest in his country from 2019-2021. If there’s one workout this year, they could sneak a top-10 finish; this might be it. 

Best Budz ‘N Scudds Underdogs: Alison Scudds, Elena Budz, Kristine Best

A very talented under the, radar team who will excel in the gymnastics and have more than enough strength to manage the barbell en route to what could be their best workout of the weekend.

Damage Control

Zeus & The Dogs: Ricky Garard, Tim Paulson, Matt Dlugos

This team’s fitness isn’t as much of a question as is their range of motion and synchronization are given the range of size on the team.

Dlugos was very adaptable last year and made it work with shorter teammates, but muscle-ups and barbell squatting pose a new challenge. This team shouldn’t perform too badly since they’re all exceptionally fit (relatively), but if some of the more compact qualifying teams excel on this, they could see valuable points pass them by. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmZunFIqQjv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Spacers Angels: Sara Sigmundsdottir, Emily Rolfe, Katelin Van Zyl

More of the same with this team. The weights aren’t quite heavy enough for them to offset the gymnastics. Most likely can still squeeze about a 10th-place finish, but if you want to podium in the women’s teams of three division you likely can’t afford anything that low, the field isn’t deep enough. 

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Featured Image: @nohlsen on Instagram