The 2023 CrossFit Open is here and in full swing. We are kicking off the season with a throwback to CrossFit's history. 14.4 has been announced as the 23.1 CrossFit Open wrokout for week 1. We are super excited to see so many movemnts used in this first WOD and cannot wait to attack it at our gym's Friday Night Lights.

But if you're hesistant about the workout and didn't cheer with joy at the thought of a 14:00 chipper, we've got some tips for you before you test out this WOD.

Here is the 23.1 WOD followed by our breakdown.

CrossFit Open 2023: 23.1

Complete as many reps as possible in 14 minutes of:

60-calorie row

50 toes-to-bars

40 wall-ball shots

30 cleans

20 muscle-ups

Rx:♀ 14-lb ball to 9-ft target, 95-lb cleans ♂ 20-lb ball to 10-ft target, 135-lb cleans

Here are some tips to help you crush your first week of the Open.

A good warm-up = a good workout. You'll want to make sure your ready and primed for this 5 movement chipper. Since there is such a variety of movements you'll want to cover all your basis in your warm-up.

Warm-Up:

5 minutes of easy rowing

Then 2 rounds of:

0:30 couch stretch ea. side (round 1) 0:30 pigeon ea. side (round 2)

10 easy, smooth air squats

5 Push-up to down dog

5 Cat/Cow

10 lunges with a reach overhead

10 Ring Rows

10 Empty barbell rows

0:15 Dead hang

Movement Practice:

3-5 toe-to-bar reps

3-5 Wall balls

Build up to the clean weight.

Make sure to hydrate, eat, and if you're doing the workout the day after reading this, SLEEP. We all know our lives are hectic, and you may get jitters before you attempt this workout. But try to get enough sleep, drink some water, and carb up. You will need the energy to be at your best for the Open. If you are participating in your gym's Friday Night Lights event you will need to properly fuel yourself throughout the day. Try not to skip out on your pre-workout carbs or your post-workout protein.

This isn't as fun or glamorous as what you do in the gym, but is sometimes overlooked, yet has a huge impact on your overall physical and mental performance.

Think of your approach. How is this workout for you? Are you proficient at MU? Are you looking to hit your first-ever MU? What are your goals?

Once you've established your goals you can begin to game-plan.

Proficient in MU(RX)/Kipping pull-ups(Scaled): You'll want to take this workout as a steady push. You will not want to go out the gate sprinting, a 14:00 sprint is most likely not sustainable. Find a comfortable rowing pace that gets you through the row and pushes you. But you do not want to get to the toes to bar/hanging knee raises and find yourself chalking your hands so that you can give yourself extra rest because you're gassed.

First-time MU(RX)/kipping pull-ups(scaled): Maybe you've been doing your drills but have not been able to get everything put together. The open is a great time to get your gym behind you to help you hit that MU/kipping pull-up goal. Focus on getting through your workout but don't full send. You'll want time to get yourself settled and relaxed to attempt the MU/kipping pull-up.

No Muscle Ups(RX): If you know you will not get any muscle ups push the pace. The tie-breaker for this workout is who gets done with the cleans first. Try to sprint to those cleans and get done as quickly as possible. If you are worried about not getting muscle ups and that being your barrier to scale, think of this as a baseline test for your fitness. If muscle ups are not a possibility now, but a goal, this workout is good way to test your improvement in future years. So don't shy away from the RX because of one movement.  

The Chipper: This workout has a lot of reps. Don't just assume you will just get to the MU. Have a plan for your reps and how you will break up things like the toes-to-bar and cleans. Having a game plan will be the most important thing for a chipper-style workout.

Remeber, the CrossFit open is a chance to test yourself and see your fitness progress over the years. Maybe it's your first Open, maybe it is you'r 10th. Either way have fun and have a great 2023 Open!

We can't wait to see what is in store for the next two weeks. Maybe we'll see a heavy barbell this year. ;)

Check out the weekly workouts and 2023 Open Leaderboard