2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games 23.3 Affiliate Class Plan

The final test of the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games Open has been released and it is a race against the clock. For the majority of us everyday CrossFitters, our workout will be a 6-minute AMRAP, with the fitter athletes buying themselves more time to do extra work. Today we’re providing you a class plan to run 23.3 at your gym. 

Class timeline: This workout has a shorter time domain, which means you will have plenty of time to prep your athletes and run multiple heats if needed. You can steal time from the power snatch build-up or post workout recovery if you’re planning on running multiple heats.  

• Whiteboard brief (0:00-5:00)
• Mobility (5:00-10:00)
• General prep (10:00-20:00)
• Snatch prep (20:00-25:00)
• Build-up (25:00-35:00) 
• Mini-round (35:00-40:00)
• Test 23.3 (40:00-52:00) 
• Recovery (52:00-60:00)

Whiteboard brief: Review the scoring, standards and different test variations detailed in the Workout Description and Scorecard. 

• Overview: This workout will be at a high intensity, but be careful to not make it an all out sprint on the first round and risk redlining. You will need to save enough juice for the second, heavier barbell. Controlled aggression should be the mindset, playing the clock to your advantage and running your own race. 
• Wall walks: Smooth is fast on the wall walks. Try to stay relaxed and don’t stop moving, remembering to breathe throughout each rep. 
• Jump rope: This is where you have to push it and try to go unbroken if you can. If you know 50 reps is close to a max set for you, have a break up strategy going into the workout to prevent tripping up and messing up your workout flow. 
• Snatch: Have a break-up strategy! The wall walks are going to make these snatches feel much more difficult then you might expect. Really focus on using the legs and hips to save the shoulders for the inverted movements. Quick singles are a great strategy for the heavier barbells to keep the time under tension at a minimum. 
• Strict Handstand Push-ups: If you’re able to get this far, congratulations! The biggest piece of advice for the strict pressing is to NOT go to failure. Once you hit muscle failure in gymnastics it will be too late with only a three minute window. Listen to your body and break things up as needed. 

What they’ll need: A PVC pipe, jump rope, wall space and empty barbell. Try and organize your space efficiently so barbells and jump ropes are aligned with the wall station to prevent chaos when the warm-up and workout starts. 

Mobility: This workout is going to be very demanding on the feet, ankles/calves, shoulders, hips and hamstrings. Hitting these six dynamic stretches will help ease the body into the session and get the joints ready to move. 

• 10 PVC passthroughs
• 10 PVC alternating around-the-world
• 10 PVC cuban press  
• 20 Alternating downdog calf pedals 
• 10 Alternating samson lunges 
• 5 Squat-to-stand with twists 

General prep: After the mobility, keep the PVC’s for the snatch warm-up later and lead the athletes through the following general prep. 

2 rounds 

• 20 alternating plank shoulder taps
• 50 single under for people doing doubles, or 25 singles for people scaling 

2 rounds

• 1 wall walk option with a 10-second hold at the top
• 25 double under or single under

PVC power snatch warm-up: Run your athletes through this quick skill warm-up with a PVC. I would demonstrate one or two reps, then call the entire group through a rep or two before having them finish with three to four reps on their own. Repeat this, completing a total of five reps of each movement. 

• Hang jump and shrug 
• Hang muscle snatch
• Power snatch drops 
• Elbows high power snatch 
• Hang power snatch 
• Power snatch 

This will give you a chance to teach and see which athletes will need hands-on coaching when you break for the build-up. 

Build-up: Set a running clock for 10-minutes and have athletes build up to the third round weight for their division. If your members don’t care about the Open standards, have them practice power snatching and add weight as form allows. I recommend practicing sets of three touch-and-go reps, then shifting to quick singles once the weight gets heavier. Have athletes practice and prep their strict handstand push-up option between sets of snatches. This will be a great time for you to work individually with athletes to answer questions, help people strategize and make sure everyone is scaled correctly and moving well. 

Dry-run: Before taking a break for water or the bathroom, have athletes hit one to two rounds of the following to make sure they’re ready before starting the workout. 

• 1 wall walk option 
• 25 double under or single under
• 5 power snatch at first weight
• 2 strict handstand push-ups or 5 hand release push-up 

Recovery: After the workout, take athletes through the following movements to help them cool-down and recover. Hit each movement for one minute per side. 

• Foam roll calves 
• Banded lat/shoulder stretch
• Banded hamstring stretch 

Recommended movement patterns for Saturday’s class: This workout was very heavy on the shoulders, posterior chain and feet, ankles and calves. We’ll want to choose movements that don’t interfere with the recovery from 23.3, while still allowing for a productive session. Since this workout was relatively short, it may make sense to have a longer, more aerobic workout programmed. Depending on what you’ve already done this week, you can mix in any of the following movement patterns. 

• Machines: Row, bike and/or ski 
• Midline: GHD and/or AbMat sit-ups, or any direct midline flexion work. 
• Lower push: Light squatting variations, such as wall balls, front squats, etc. 
• Upper pull: I’d recommend some horizontal pulling for the shoulders if you’re going to program pulling, such as barbell or dumbbell rows to help offset all the pressing and overhead work from 23.3. 

The bottom line: The final workout is finally here! This will likely feel like a light at the end of the tunnel for coaches and gym owners around the world. The Open is exciting, rewarding and exhausting all at the same time. Enjoy throwing down with your community and best of luck to everyone. Thanks for making us a part of your 2023 Open!