Christopher Douglas

First and foremost, let me start with a thank you.

Our Paramount family is amazing! What a thrill to participate in the Open each week, cheering each other on, pushing ourselves to our limits. Whether you were ‘officially’ signed up or not, or doing the Open Rx, Masters, or Scaled – I hope our weekly strategy posts brought you value.

That being said…

The Open may be over, but… due to changes in the 2020 CrossFit Games season format, we are actually going to get two shots at the Open this year.

With that in mind, you have roughly six months to work on any weaknesses that held you back in the 2019 Open.

After all, one of the most valuable parts of participating in the Open is that it reveals weaknesses. And no matter who you are – with the exception of Mat Fraser – you have holes in your CrossFit game.

As we head into April, it’s time to update the goal board with new 3-month goals. Be sure to add your name and set a goal or update your new 3-month goal!

Our awesome 19.5 crew capped off the last edition of Friday Night Lights with a pizza party celebrating another Open under our belts. Whether this was your first or fifth CrossFit Open, congratulations on your hard work and community spirit.

The Open teaches us as much about our character as it does our physical abilities. And that’s awesome! We’re exercising for fun, learning new things, and spending time with good friends. How incredible is that? If the Open Workouts identified areas where you could use more work, we’re here to help. As we head into April, it’s time to update the goal board with new 3-month goals. Be sure to add your name and set a goal or update your new 3-month goal!

CrossFit 19.5 workout has officially been announced, and we continue to follow the long-standing tradition of thrusters popping up in the final workout of the Open.

Ready? Let’s dig in.

VARIATIONS

Rx’d: (Ages 16-54)
Men use 95 lb.
Women use 65 lb.

Scaled: (Ages 16-54)
Men use 65 lb. and perform jumping pull-ups
Women use 45 lb. and perform jumping pull-ups

Teenagers 14-15:
Boys use 65 lb. Girls use 45 lb.

Scaled Teenagers 14-15:
Boys use 45 lb. and perform jumping pull-ups
Girls use 35 lb. and perform jumping pull-ups

Masters 55+:
Men use 65 lb. and perform chin-over-bar pull-ups
Women use 45 lb. and perform chin-over-bar pull-ups

Scaled Masters 55+:
Men use 45 lb. and perform jumping pull-ups
Women use 35 lb. and perform jumping pull-ups

MOVEMENT STANDARDS

For your full 19.5 workout standards and description, head over to games.crossfit.org.

NOTES

This workout begins with the barbell on the floor and the athlete standing tall. After the call of “3, 2, 1 … go,” the athlete may perform 33 thrusters, then 33 chest-to-bar pull-ups. The athlete will repeat this couplet, performing 27 thrusters and 27 chest-to-bar pull-ups, 21 and 21, 15 and 15, and finally 9 and 9.

The athlete’s score will be the total time it takes to complete the entire workout or the total number of repetitions completed before the 20-minute time cap.

There is no tiebreak for this workout.

For additional help, visit WodPrep 19.5 Tips & Strategy Guide.

EQUIPMENT

• Barbell
• Plates to load to the appropriate weight for your division*
• Collars
• Pull-upbar

*The official weight is in pounds. For your convenience, the minimum acceptable weights in kilograms are 43 kg (95 lb.), 29 kg (65 lb.), 20 kg (45 lb.) and 15 kg (35 lb.).

For each workout, be sure the athlete has adequate space to safely complete all the movements. Clear the area of all extra equipment, people or other obstructions.

Any athlete who in any way alters the equipment or movements described in this document or shown in the workout standards video may be disqualified from the competition.

Be Sure You Are Eating Enough

Even though it’s the final week of the Open, make sure you are eating enough food to recover from this workout! If one of your goals is weight loss and you also want to do well in this Open Workout, direct your focus to eating enough calories to sustain optimal performance. These workouts are very demanding and attempting them on a calorie deficit isn’t the best recipe for success.

After a gnarly workout, you’re going to eventually feel hungry and your body is going to want food to begin the recovery process. This, however, isn’t an excuse to fuel up on burgers and shakes. Eating the right food is key to your recovery and performance!

The optimal method is to choose food that is high in volume, meaning you can eat a lot of it without racking up calories fast. This will help you stay full longer as well as provide extra nutritional benefits.

Examples of high-volume foods include: berries, melons, leafy greens, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini noodles, cucumber, spaghetti squash and protein sources such as egg whites, chicken, seafood, ground turkey, and other lean meats.

Let’s have some fun with this classic combo of thrusters and pull-ups! Finish strong everyone!!

—Coach Kayla

Kayla Jones
CFL2Tr., USAW-L1, Cert. Sports Nutritionist
Paramount Strength & Conditioning

Paramount is starting a new Friday Tradition: Paramount Weekly Wins (PWW), to help celebrate everyone’s weekly victories as a community. We encourage everyone to share any weekly wins you’ve had in our Paramount Facebook Community.

Here’s How It Works

• Make a post on Friday with the heading PWW:
• Share one weekly win, highlight, or PR you had that’s related to the hard work and effort you put in at the gym—whether it’s an accomplishment inside or outside the gym.
  
• Wins should be from Sat-Fri.
  

Examples

• PR’d a lift or movement
  
• RX’d a workout (first time or a challenging one)
  
• Crushed a job interview from improved confidence
  
• Completed a challenging hike
  
• Competed in some kind of competition or race
  
• Reached a goal you set for yourself