We’ve been seeing and hearing about tons of ‘firsts’ during Open 19.4 workout – both bar muscle ups and pull-ups – which is awesome. If you were one of the athletes who got to taste some Open magic during 19.4, congrats, that’s fantastic!

I also have had several athletes reach out to me about Open 19.4 updates, asking about the strategy for repeating and giving the workout another shot. Here are a few of my thoughts on that…
Open 19.4 Updates: Change It Up
What was your strategy during your first go at Open 19.4 workout? Think about it, then resolve to trying something different. Rather than simply re-doing the workout with the same strategy as before, (which might only get you a couple extra reps) try experimenting with something totally different. There is a chance that this could potentially hurt your score, but it could also help you blow your previous score out of the water!
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Here are a few Open 19.4 suggestions:
- Did you go slow and methodical on part one of the workout, but wished you had more time on part 2? In your 19.4 repeat, try sprinting part 1 in order to leave as much time in part 2 as possible!
- Were you too tired during part 2 because you CRUSHED part 1? At the end of the 3 minutes rest, were you still begging to lie on the floor? If so, try backing off the gas pedal during part 1 of Open 19.4, so that you can hit part 2 with slightly less time, but completely fresh. (Personally, if I were to redo this workout, this is the strategy I would take. I went too fast in the beginning and it made me slow way down in part 2).
- Did you fail a TON of reps in part 2? Try taking it much slower in part 1, and then focus on getting ONE bar muscle up. Don’t fail 20 bar muscle ups, as that doesn’t help anyone. Instead, take plenty of rest, even more than 3 minutes if you need to…. and MAKE IT COUNT! Way too often, athletes will attempt too many failed reps, which only makes them more tired. Take extra rest and then use the last 1-2 minutes to make a couple calculated, fresh attempts at that first BMU. You’ve got this.
For our full Open 19.4 strategy guide, head to this page.
Read this if you need to be brought up-to-speed on the 2019 CrossFit Games season.