A two-move workout doesn’t sound too bad. A two-move CrossFit workout is a different beast entirely (naming no names, Fran).
It’s no surprise, then, that when we asked the UK’s fittest woman Jen Muir for her favorite workout, she answered with a spicy couplet sure to test the mettle of even seasoned athletes.
Muir plumped for CrossFit Open workout 22.2, which challenges you to complete alternating sets of deadlifts and barbell-facing burpees.
As a bonus, all you need is a barbell and weight plates, so you can give it a go in most gyms.
“I’m much better in a workout I can settle into and use my endurance background,” Muir tells Coach.
“The deadlift weight [225lb/102.5kg for men and 155lb/70kg for women] is comfortable enough for me to go unbroken without feeling too taxed, so I can hold a good pace on the burpees.”
Comfortable isn’t the word I’d choose, but I’m not my country’s fittest person.
How To Do CrossFit Open Workout 22.2
Start by performing one deadlift and one bar-facing burpee, followed by two reps of each, then three reps, and so on until you hit 10 reps. From there, work your way back to one—you have 10 minutes to make it through as many reps as possible.
The deadlift weight may be comfortable for Muir, but for the rest of us, it’s far from easy.
The standards for this workout dictate that RX (top-level) competitors should complete it with the barbell loaded to 225lb (102.5kg) for men and 155lb (70kg) for women. If you want to try a scaled version of the workout, knock those weights down to 135lb (60kg) and 95lb (42.5kg).
My Experiences With CrossFit Open Workout 22.2
Like thousands of people around the world, I first tackled this workout during the 2022 Open, hitting 114 total reps in 10 minutes (good for 77,041st in the world) before collapsing in a heap on the floor.
As luck would have it, my coach programmed the exact same workout the morning before I wrote this.
Open workouts are designed to be a test of fitness. Tests, by definition, are hard, and this workout was no different, but the most dastardly thing about it is that it lulls you into a false sense of security.
I cruised through the first five rounds in two minutes and fooled myself into thinking that was a quarter of the workout done, but that’s the evil genius of an ascending ladder format.
I had done a quarter of the rounds, but only 30 of a total of 200 possible reps.
The burpees felt fine: flop down, get up, jump, repeat. They weren’t done at a blistering pace, by any means, but I was able to keep moving at a consistent pace.
It was the deadlifts that were my downfall. My legs, core and back all began to blow up, despite breaking them into two short sets after the fifth round.
By round eight, 100kg felt like 140kg and a steady stream of sweat was trickling off the end of my nose. But I pressed on, trying to maintain good form and move efficiently.
I finished the round of 10 with a little over a minute to go, but the breaks between my sets of deadlifts had gradually grown longer. One final push took me to the end of my second round of nine, or 118 reps, as the timer sounded.
