This week = war of attrition! I've broken this workout down as throughly as possible in this week's strategy guide. Even though the movements are simple and the weights are light... there is still a LOT you can do to maximize your performance here. If you take one thing away from this guide, READ THE BURPEE / WEIGHT CHANGE STRATEGY SECTION!

Here is this week's strategy guide - this is basically just a test of RMU as you clearly saw in the demo. I've tried to give some strategy and points of performance around preserving the RMU by the end. GOOD LUCK AND LET US KNOW HOW IT GOES!

Hey everyone - just wanted to share the 26.1 Strategy Guide I created, feel free to use this with your athletes or share with your gym communities. Coaches - if you have feedback or sections you disagree with I'd LOVE to have some dialogue here. I've been creating these now since the 2017 Open, but never really got a chance to get critical feedback on what goes into them.

The 2026 Preseason Call replay is now live. This session walks through how to approach the Open as a rehearsal for quarterfinals, how to build real strategy instead of guessing, and how to manage recovery so performance doesn’t fall off across attempts. It’s a practical framework for competing with intention rather than emotion. Quick preview of topics: - How the Open fits into your season - Defining success and building a real game-day plan - Engineering your environment (judges, setup, equipment) - Separation value: how workouts are actually won - Pacing strategies for high vs low separator movements - Recovery, fueling, and nervous system management If you’re competing this season, take the time to watch it. The goal is to raise your athlete IQ and give you tools you can apply immediately. 1-on-1 Clients can access here: https://www.skool.com/ruth-performance-lab-1681/classroom/e28b5e16?md=6cb2ae2b1fb64d068d4fa405b11e88e0

Over the last few weeks I've had a couple of questions about "what the scaps should be doing" during overhead pressing / jerks / snatches. Thankfully, Catalyst athletics has done an incredible job explaining this (far better than I could)... but wanted to share it for everyone since it's been a common question recently