2024 CrossFit Open Workout 24.3 Released — Get Tips and Strategies From Top Coaches
The 2024 CrossFit Open concludes this week with workout 24.3. We are headed to PRVN Fitness HQ in Nashville, TN, where six-time Games champ Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr was scheduled to throw down against the current third Fittest Woman on Earth®, Arielle Loewen. However, Toomey-Orr withdrew due to injury (from the announcement, not from the Open).
- Instead, fan-favorite Loewen will be featured in a four-way match-up against PRVN athletes Sydney Wells and Jay Crouch, and Mayhem athlete and fellow third Fittest on Earth®, Roman Khrennikov.
We’ve assembled a dream team of elite coaches — Caroline Lambray, Justin Cotler, Michele Letendre, John Singleton, and Cole Sager — to bring you tips and strategies for each workout. They’ve coached CrossFit Games podium athletes like Jeffrey Adler, Patrick Vellner, Kari Pearce, Ricky Garard, and other Games competitors.
2024 CrossFit Open Workout 24.3
For the full workout description and scorecards, head here. Find the workout below:
For time, using a running clock:
Five rounds of:
Rest for one minute, followed by five rounds of:
- 7 thrusters
- 7 bar muscle-ups
Time cap: 15 minutes
Men: 95, 135 pounds
Women: 65, 95 pounds
Scorecards and Descriptions
24.3 Tips and Strategies From Elite Coaches
For the third week in row, coaches Caroline Lambray, Michele Letendre, John Singleton, Cole Sager, and Justin Cotler shared their tips for tackling the final Open workout of the season, both for elite and everyday athletes.
Bottom line: This workout looks and smells like Fran, but it shouldn’t be approached like Fran. Here’s what the coaches told the Morning Chalk Up after the announcement.
Justin Cotler
Regardless of whether you’re looking to qualify for Quarterfinals or the CrossFit Games, Cotler, who currently coaches two-time Games athlete Alex Gazan, suggests “controlled aggression.”
- “Anyone who thinks this, in totality, is a sprint is in for a rude awakening. Even the elites. This is not Fran. Let me repeat again, this is not Fran. If you go as hot on this part as you do on Fran, you will 100 percent blow up on Part 2. So adjust accordingly,” he said.
- He added: “If you have the capacity to go unbroken on Part 1, I suggest finding a steady pace, not a sprinty pace. If you do need a break, especially to handle Part 2, don’t hesitate to do so. This workout isn’t about who wins Part 1. It’s about setting yourself up for success on the heavy thrusters and bar muscle-ups.”
Michele Letendre
For the everyday athlete who knows how doing Fran feels, Letendre, Pat Vellner’s long-time coach, also reiterated the importance of recognizing that this workout is not only a harder version of Fran, but the second half also features heavier thrusters and higher-skill gymnastics. Managing your pace will be key.
- “It’ll be important to find moments to relax your grip and save the arms for those bar muscle-ups,” Letendre said.
For those looking to get their first bar muscle-up, Letendre offered this advice:
- “If your goal is to get a bar muscle-up, you can budget about 90 seconds a round, which will get you done [with] the first couplet [at] about the halfway mark, which means a good chunk of time [left] to chip away at getting that first bar muscle-up.”
For those looking to score a competitive time, Letendre suggested:
- “Don’t rush the first couplet. The most important and expensive reps are the bar muscle-ups. If those are done with no misses and good confident transitions, the results will speak for themselves.”
Cole Sager
The 10-time Games athlete and CompTrain’s head coach called the first five rounds “a trap,” so be careful not to fall in.
- “You are going to want to be diligent, well-paced, and calculated through those rounds,” he said. “The second five rounds are the start of a completely new, harder workout. Set yourself up wisely to perform well here by approaching the first half intelligently.”
- He added: “Ultimately, this workout hinges upon your capacity to do bar muscle-ups, especially under fatigue. Set yourself up the best you can to get as many bar muscle-ups as possible.”
John Singleton
For the fittest athletes in the world, there “really is nowhere to hide,” Singleton reiterated. For them, the expectation will be “going quick and pushing [to go] unbroken.”
- That being said, Singleton, the founder of The Progrm, said it’s still “important to manage your effort within the workout” to avoid redlining.
- “Even though you will be going unbroken at the start, you need to save energy and focus for the last few rounds. Therefore, the start is not a sprint, but it’s testing your ability to ride below the red line.”
Caroline Lambray
For the everyday athlete looking to get a bar muscle-up, the first question they need to ask themselves is, “Do I have the volume to do 50 chest-to-bar pull-ups?” Lambray said. After that, the next step is to give yourself enough rest and enough time to get that bar muscle-up.
For those who can’t get a bar muscle-up, on the other hand, then the workout is all about the first five rounds, so a good goal would be to try to get close to your Fran time, Lambray suggests.
- “There are more transitions [than in Fran], so make sure you account for that as you establish your estimated goal time,” she said. “It’s five even rounds, not decreasing reps [like Fran]. Smooth and steady.”
She added: For all athletes, this workout is about recovery. “How fast can you recover to do the work that is being asked? So you have to match your speed to your recovery rate,” she said.
More CrossFit Content
Read the latest CrossFit stories from the Morning Chalk Up below:
- Interview: CrossFit Athlete Kelly Baker Talks About Raising Awareness for Fertility Issues in Women
- Annie Thorisdottir, Katrin Davidsdottir Launch Program for Women in Menopause
- Breaking Down the Most Common CrossFit Open Movement Combinations
Featured image: @crossfitgames / Instagram