4 Morning Chalk Up Writers Take on the 2024 CrossFit Games Quarterfinals — Here Are Their Thoughts
Four Morning Chalk writers — Teaganne Finn, Scotty Freymond, Nicky Freymond, and Julia Papworth — crushed the 2024 CrossFit Open and have moved on to Quarterfinals!
As we have in years past, we will use their experiences to highlight the workouts, strategies, and maybe even what happens when it all goes sideways.
Today, each writer/athlete will provide a brief background of their current fitness and then describe their initial thoughts and strategies for one of the CrossFit Games Quarterfinals workouts they will take on this weekend.
Workout 1, Scotty Freymond
4 Rounds for max reps of:
- 1 minute of snatches
- 1 minute of rowing for calories
- 1 minute of dumbbell box step-ups
- 1 minute of rest
For reference, I am 43 years old, and here are my scores from the 2024 Open:
- Open Workout 24.1 – 9:59
- Open Workout 24.2 – 813
- Open Workout 24.3 – 148
My relative strengths are typically machines and certain gymnastics like handstand walking and ring muscle-ups. (But not handstand push-ups. Get it, Julia!). And like Kevin Hart in Jumanji, my relative weaknesses are strength … and cake.
At first glance, Workout 1 looks like a more enjoyable yet grippier version of Fight Gone Bad or Ghost. With no transition time built in, it’s important to determine which movement(s) will get the full minute and which will be eaten up by transition time.
[Related: 2024 CrossFit Individual and Age Group Quarterfinals Workout Descriptions]
For me, the row is where I will get the most reps. So I plan on doing singles on the snatches every six seconds until the 54-second mark each round, row the full minute, and try to hang on for the step-ups.
Here are four things I plan on doing that could help tremendously:
- Keeping the foot straps on the rower loose enough to slip in and out of quickly.
- Leaving the dumbbells on the box to save precious seconds and energy.
- Swinging the dumbbells forward to propel me to the top of the box.
- Sitting on the box during each minute of rest.
I’m shooting for eight snatches, 20 calories, and 12 box step-ups each round. That would give me a score of 160. We…shall…see.
Workout 2, Nicky Freymond
3 Rounds for time:
- 50 wall balls
- 50 lateral burpee box jump-overs
- Time Cap: 20 minutes
This is my second year competing in Quarterfinals as a masters athlete (40-44 age group). I was pumped to make the top 10 percent on the worldwide leaderboard this year, which I credit to the lack of a heavy barbell. (Last year, I squeaked in thanks to 23.3)
I wouldn’t say that I “specialize” in any one thing, but I’m better at bodyweight movements, gymnastics, HSPUs, and box jumps than I am at machines and heavy lifting.
[Related: 2024 CrossFit Games Team Quarterfinals Leaderboard Wrap-Up]
Like any well-programmed CrossFit workout, Quarterfinals Workout 2 combines a movement I hate (wall balls) and a movement I love (burpee box jump-overs…or really any sort of jump or jump-overs).
Upon first reading through this workout, I couldn’t help but do the math, realizing that in 20 minutes, we would be tackling up to 150 burpee box jump-overs. (I’m realistically assuming I’ll be capped.) This is going to take the bulk of the time, as I’m hoping to move through a set of 50 wall balls moderately quickly.
As I mentioned, I don’t like them. They tease at my chronic shoulder injury, so it will help me to break a set of 50 into 20-15-15.
I’m going to try to maintain a steady pace for the burpee box jump-overs, but I like breaking them up into intervals in my head. For instance, I think of them as five sets of 10. When I do this, sometimes I quickly change directions, facing one direction for the first 10, facing the other direction for the next set of 10, etc.
It will be very important for me to find a pace early that I can keep comfortably so that, hopefully, I can speed up a bit towards the end.
This workout could be a complete mess if I come out too fast. Then, I’ll be stuck just trying to hold on. Most likely, I won’t be able to hold on, and I’ll have to take long breaks in between reps.
Workout 3, Julia Papworth
3 rounds for time:
- 10 handstand push-ups
- 20 toes-to-bars
2 rounds for time:
- 10 strict handstand push-ups
- 5 rope climbs,15-feet
1 round for time:
- 10 chest-to-wall handstand push-ups
- 20 muscle-ups
Time cap: 15 minutes
Qualifying for the age group and individual Quarterfinals this season has been a pleasant surprise for this 43-year-old athlete, especially with my schedule over the last few months. I have just come off a season wrap of the television show where I head the hair department, which means I am currently recovering from four months of 55-plus-hour work weeks.
Even with all those caveats, my fitness has felt solid lately, and there were movements I was hoping to see when these workouts were released.
[Related: A Look Back: The Epic, the Surprising, and the WTF Events From CrossFit Games Past]
My prayers were answered. “You see, I’m a pusher, Cady,” so picture my delight when I saw Workout 3.
If you consider yourself a Semifinals-level athlete, none of these movements should be an issue. Any way you slice it, this one is a shoulder burner, but even so, the 10 handstand push-ups — even for multiple rounds in the first part — shouldn’t pose a major problem.
The 20 toes-to-bars seem to be the trap. A lot of athletes will try to attack these unbroken when a set of 12/8 or 10/10 (or even more for those less proficient) with a little shake out in the middle could be more advantageous.
The breakup and speed of the muscle-up reps at the end of the workout will be the big separator here.
If you were calculated enough with your small rest periods early on in this workout, you should be able to hang on for bigger sets to close out. If you know you can put up a competitive time, I would take note of the most efficient setup for this workout.
But what if you are not shooting for Semifinals or are at a different point in your fitness game and this workout is a lot to chew on?
With CrossFit widening the Semifinal pool to 25 percent, this covers more people than in years past. If you are concerned with your overhead pressing ability, break up the handstand push-ups early and often. If you go to failure, you will not be able to recover in this workout with all of the muscular interference.
Continue to break up the toes-to-bar and rope climbs.
Me? I have faith in my overhead pressing ability, so I might even break up my toes-to-bars in three sets each round and make sure not to get anywhere close to failure on the rope climbs.
Hopefully, I get to those ring muscle-ups! Good luck going upside down!
Workout 4, Teaganne Finn
With a continually running clock, complete as many reps as possible in 10 minutes of:
- 10 clean and jerks, weight 1
- Rest 1 minute
- 10 clean and jerks, weight 2
- Rest 1 minute
- 10 clean and jerks, weight 3
- Rest 1 minute
- Max-reps clean and jerks in time remaining, weight 4
Men: 135, 185, 225, 245 pounds (61, 83, 102, 111kg)
Women: 85, 125, 155, 165 pounds (38, 56, 70, 75kg)
This is my second year doing Quarterfinals, and I think my fittest year in CrossFit thus far.
I have been at this sport for quite some time, but this is the first season in which I have focused on my strength and my conditioning (and I’ve managed to stay injury-free).
Last year, I had a fractured knee cap and was on the mend just in time for the Open and Quarterfinals. This year, I’ve taken the time to focus on weaknesses, and I feel quite strong in my lifting, unlike in many years past. Perhaps I’m getting older, but approaching my training with thought and (some) planning has been crucial to my improvement.
My first thought on seeing Quarterfinals Workout 4 is: “Thank God this isn’t a snatch ladder.”
[Related: 4 Potential CrossFit Games Rookies Who Could Have a Big 2024 Season]
My strength is definitely in my clean and jerk. Just a few weeks ago, my coach programmed a very similar ladder, and I honestly feel quite prepared for the weights.
A weightlifting ladder can always be a fun test for folks on both ends of the spectrum.
If the second or third bar is your max clean and jerk, why not give it a try and see what you can do? And if that last barbell is only 75 percent of your clean and jerk, then why not go out hot and see if you can hang on?
The final barbell weight is not too heavy for me, but it is just difficult enough to perhaps force me to split jerk the barbell. This takes more time, but I don’t want to fail any reps. Plus, doing a split jerk from the start might be the move.
My strategy is likely going to be an unbroken set of 10 reps on the first barbell and singles for the rest of the workout.
I am not a super analytical athlete, but I think it might be smart to put on a (separate) Tabata clock that goes off every 20-30 seconds for that final barbell.
I can also be a lazy athlete and having that clock may hold me accountable for reps as I get fatigued. I think the goal for me will be 15 reps on that final barbell, and that means playing it smart from the beginning.
Featured image: @jprensena, @ginacafiero, @wodfestcr, and @eric_castanos / Instagram