With Dave Castro teasing 18.0 yesterday, everyone was questioning what it could mean. Well, we now know. While Castro and many of the Reebok athletes down in the Bahamas for the Reebok Athlete Summit, Castro shared two new movement standards for the 2018 CrossFit Open.
The two new movement standards are for the dumbbell snatch and the burpee. For the dumbbell snatch, athletes are still allowed to switch hands in mid-air, but in 2018 the athlete must switch hands when the dumbbell is below the face. The athlete can no longer hold the dumbbell overhead and switch. Doing so would result in a no-rep.
For the burpee, athletes will no longer be allowed to step down or step up. Instead, athletes must leave the floor with both feet and “kick out” to get into the bottom position. From there, both feet must be kicked back up at the same time. The change is in response to the community moving to the step back, step up pattern on burpees. Athletes who choose to step back or up, will be considered “scaled”.
The change to the dumbbell snatch will likely not have much of an impact as athletes are still not required to change hands with the dumbbell on the ground. However, the change to burpees does make the movement more challenging and demanding on the hip flexors.
Check out the full video from CrossFit’s (not CrossFit Games’) Facebook page:
Castro, of course, did not specifically say we would see these movements, or even the standards implemented, during the CrossFit Open. However, he did at one point say, “this year, or today (laughter) for 18.0, we’re going to” follow the new movement standards.
Here’s our guess, we will see a repeat of 17.1, but with the new movement standards.
What do you think of the new standards and how (or if) we will see them in 2018?
