And 18.1 is...

What a surprise we had at PicSil this morning when we saw Sam Briggs using the Azor Grips at the presentation of 18.1 of the Open CrossFit Game 2018 . We couldn't be more proud of his performance and the final result of the first WOD of the world qualifiers to be the fittest person in the world.

What does 18.1 consist of?

If you are a CrossFit fan, you probably haven't slept tonight to see live the announcement of the exercise that you will have to do in the next 4 days. Live from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Dave Castro finally revealed the WOD that had us on tenterhooks and very intrigued since the publication on his Instagram of the mysterious photo of a statue of a saint.

And 18.1 is... 20 min AMRAP 8 toes-to-bar 10 Hang Clean & Jerk with Dumbbell (H: 22.5kg - M: 15kg) 14 - 12 rowing calories

A complete resistance WOD, very similar to 17.1, which requires, according to experts:

Control breathing and rhythm.
Make small pauses in the reps and quick transitions between exercises.
Take advantage of rowing to relax your upper body and stretch your legs more, even if you go a little slower, still adding calories.
Maintain a good grip on the toes-to-bar and try not to lose your rhythm, even if you do them one at a time.

As you have seen in the live confrontation between "the biceps" of Sam Briggs and the Norwegian Kristin Holte, maintaining the rhythm is the key to adding more reps . Is it a question of age? Of experience? Of knowing your body and your abilities? Each one has their own strategy. However, the British woman's this morning proved to be the most accurate :

Maintain a constant rhythm.
Adapt to the opponent's pace (although Holte led the WOD at the beginning, Briggs caught up with her in the fifth round).
Take advantage of the changes and the rowing to rest
Be careful with non-reps , especially with the dumbbell. The new standard this year is that you have to shift the handheld dumbbell at face level and not above your head.
Listen to the judge and stay calm if he calls a no rep (the judge is your friend, he is there to help you do the WOD well)
And be careful with the Hang Clean & Jerk: Briggs had to repeat the movement several times to do a complete Clean when picking up the dumbbell from the floor. Do a deadlift first, and then perform the Hang Clean from the hip.

SPOILER ALERT This is how the British woman achieved victory in 18.1, adding a total of 409 repetitions and almost completing 14 rounds. For his part, Holte has managed to add 379 reps and a total of 13 non-complete rounds.

Do like Sam Briggs and use Azor Grips

Have you noticed the green grips that Briggs used in the first WOD of the Open CrossFit Games 2018?

Indeed, they are our unmistakable Azor Grips . And as we said at the beginning, we couldn't be more proud to see them in action, in the hands of a great athlete and in a Live Announcement. And we assure you that we are not behind it at all. According to CrossFit Games rules, you can use grips or tape to protect your hands . But you can't use both. Whether these, or any other handlebars that we have at PicSil , will be very useful to face the toes-to-bar. They will help you maintain your grip on the rack, link reps without your hands slipping due to sweat, and protect your hands from chafing and injuries. Also, the grips are a good ally for the dumbbell and the rower so as not to lose grip and, above all, not to waste time putting magnesium on your hands due to sweat.

Crossfit curiosity

Did you know that Sam Briggs and Kristin Holte already faced each other in a WOD at the Open CrossFit Games? It was last year, in 17.1. In parallel with the official announcement, the two athletes performed the fearsome WOD of dumbbells and burpees with box jumps on a Facebook Live from Paris. And who was the winner? Here you can discover the answer.