18.3 - Pink Sunflowers, Mugs and Muscle-ups

As I’m sipping on my coffee early this morning, the only thought I have to myself is about the mug and two flowers. How does this relate to the shit show that is 18.3? What do the flowers represent? What does the mug represent? What kind of flowers are those even?? (pink sunflowers?)

The real challenge is not in the actual workout itself but trying to figure out how in God’s green Earth that clue of flowers relates to this workout.

Our Thoughts

Our initial thought was that Castro was full of shit. I mean at this point he could post anything and it would be taken as serious as the announcement itself. So why wouldn’t he have a little fun with it and post something totally unrelated and see what happens?

But then remember last week? His picture of wood burning was pretty spot-on, so maybe he isn’t so full of shit after all.

So then what do the two flowers represent? Maybe two different types of muscle-ups? For the first time since 2015 we are getting back on the rings, which is super exciting because we know a ton of people will be getting their first and first few ring muscle-ups this weekend. And then we still have bar muscle-ups, which have been present for now the 3^rd consecutive year which is intriguing as well.

Maybe the flowers don’t relate to the Muscle-ups at all, but possibly the double unders. This workout features 800 dubs, which is a crazy huge amount for a single workout and is clearly the key of this workout (assuming your muscle-ups are on point). If you look back at Castro’s mug o’ flowers, you’ll notice that there are two identical flowers (double) and they are stacked one on top of the other (under). Was it not the flowers that were significant but the count and positioning of them?

That seems like the most likely scenario, so in the interest of time we are going to go with it. Now let’s look at the workout.

18.3

18.3 is: 2 RFT of 100 DU, 20 OHS, 100 DU, 12 RMU, 100 DU, 20 DB SN, 100 DU, 12 BMU

Let’s break it down. Assuming you can do all of these movements good enough there are really only two things you need to be concerned with, both directly affecting the double unders.

Double Under Capactiy

First is your double under capacity. I’ve never seen a workout with near this many DU’s, so your calves will get tired and your heart rate will spike. I recommend breaking the double unders up in 25’s or 50’s. Not a long break, just something to give your calves some relief and to keep your heart rate lower. If you go out of the gate with a few big sets, I can almost promise you’ll be tripping up on your rope after 8-10 minutes into the workout. And once your heart rate is jacked up, the only way to fix it is to stand around looking at your rope. Don’t let that happen.

Shoulder Maintenance

The second thing you need to be aware of is that all 4 of the other movements are designed to wear your shoulders down to make the double unders more difficult. I also recommend breaking these movements into manageable sets as well. These are all in the lower rep ranges, so again you don’t need big breaks, but doing these in two or three sets will save your shoulders and also help keep your heart rate down. Again, both things that are crucial for being able to knock out those double unders in the later stage of the workout.

Other Thoughts

Other thoughts to consider:

If any of the non-DU movements are a weakness of yours, then I'd recommend trying to get bigger sets of DUs to save time for the problem movement. Assuming you are going to take bigger breaks during say the ring muscle-ups, you can go faster on the DUs and still recover during your Muscle-up rest. 

If you are close to getting a muscle-up (IE, can get your shoulders above the rings), but just haven’t gotten it yet, then I recommend RXing this workout. Try your best and who knows, maybe the excitement and adrenaline will be enough to get you that first muscle-up! If you aren’t close to a muscle-up, I wouldn’t try to RX this one. Leave your ego at the door, scale it, and get a great workout. I promise you you’ll still get your butt whooped by this one ;)

Have fun guys, and in true Boxstar spirit, accept this one with a smirk and a can-do attitude. This one will be tough for MOST PEOPLE due to the double unders and muscle-ups. If either of those are issues for you, don't get down, use it as an opportunity to get better at them.