CrossFit Open workout 24.3 is upon us, and thrusters are making a dreaded, if expected, comeback for the competition’s final week.
The workout was revealed by Jocko Willink, a retired Navy SEAL turned author, podcaster and entrepreneur, during a live announcement show on the CrossFit Games YouTube channel.
After the unveiling, CrossFit Games athletes Arielle Loewen, Roman Khrennikov, Jay Crouch and Sydney Wells became among the first to tackle the third CrossFit Open test.
Aside from Loewen, all of the contenders were drafted in at the last minute after Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr’s withdrawal from the live announcement due to a wrist injury. The six-time champ still plans to complete the workout over the weekend and compete in the 2024 CrossFit season.
Read on to find out how to do CrossFit Open workout 24.3, and how to get a great score with top tips and tricks from PZL Programming head CrossFit coach Alex Conroy.
What is CrossFit Open workout 24.3?
Five rounds for time of:
- Thruster x 10 (95lb/43kg for men, 65lb/29kg for women)
- Chest-to-bar pull-up x 10
One minute of rest, then five rounds for time of:
- Thruster x 7 (135lb/61kg for men, 95lb/43kg for women)
- Bar muscle-up x 7
Compared with the rest of the 2024 CrossFit Open, this workout is far from accessible.
You will tackle five rounds of 10 thrusters and 10 chest-to-bar pull-ups, take a mandatory minute of rest, then move on to five rounds of seven thrusters at a heavier weight and seven bar muscle-ups.
There is a 15-minute time cap. The time it takes you to complete the first section will be used as your tie-break score if you don’t finish the workout and reach the same number of reps as another athlete.
How to do CrossFit Open workout 24.3 scaled
Five rounds for time of:
- Thruster x10 (65lb/29kg for men, 45lb/20kg for women)
- Jumping chest-to-bar pull-up x10
One minute of rest, then five rounds for time of:
- Thruster x7 (95lb/43kg for men, 65lb/29kg for women)
- Chin-over-bar pull-up x7
The scaled version of CrossFit Open workout 24.3 uses the same format as the RX version. The only differences are that you will use lighter barbell weights for the thrusters, swap chest-to-bar pull-ups for jumping chest-to-bar pull-ups, and substitute bar muscle-ups for chin-over-bar pull-ups.
For the foundations version of the workout, both men and women will perform the first round of thrusters with a stick. Men will then use a 45lb/20kg barbell for the second round, and women will use a 35lb/15kg barbell.
The chest-to-bar pull-ups are substituted for a bent-over row using a barbell weighing 45lb/20kg for men and 35lb/15kg for women. Then the bar muscle-ups are exchanged for push-ups.
For all weights in the foundations division, CrossFit states that: “The load is a suggested starting point. If you are completing all the tests in the foundations division, you are free to decrease or increase the load as your skill level allows.”
How to get a great score according to a CrossFit coach
To help you get the best possible score in CrossFit Open workout 24.3, we asked PZL Programming head coach Alex Conroy for his top tips on tackling this test.
He says there are two types of people who will RX this workout—those comfortable with the gymnastic elements and those not so comfortable with the gymnastics elements— and each one should take a different approach.
Type one: Comfortable with gymnastics
- Try to keep the thrusters unbroken. Either go for speed and pull that bar down if you know you can, or pause at the top, take a breath, then go again.
- Once you get to the rig, go for unbroken chest-to-bar pull-ups if these are a strength for you. But remember, there are a lot of bar muscle-ups to come later on, so break these up if that means your muscle-ups will hold together better.
- There is nothing wrong with pacing the first section—it’s definitely a trap and you can easily get sucked into racing it before falling apart in the second section!
- Once you get to the minute of rest, chalk-up, stand tall and get your lungs open to try and settle your breathing.
- Approach the second round of thrusters with a bit of respect, breaking them into smaller sets if needed.
- The jump up to the rig for the bar muscle-ups isn’t going to feel great—your quads will be pumped and your grip is going to be toast. Focus on being efficient and using your hips. Don’t go to failure here.
Type two: Not so comfortable with gymnastics
- This is definitely a detour away from the accessibility of weeks one and two. Focus on the workout as a whole to maximize what you can achieve. If this means breaking the thrusters into two or three smaller sets (of a six and a four, or a four and two sets of three), do it.
- Approach the gymnastics in a way that suits you too. You can chip away at the chest-to-bar pull-ups in singles, just keep focusing on your next rep as each one will move you up the leaderboard.
- If you get through part one of this workout, you’ve excelled. The you can just chip through the heavier thrusters and, who knows, maybe the magic of the Open will get you that first bar muscle-up!
When is the CrossFit Open workout 24.3 score submission deadline?
You have until 5pm PDT on Monday, March 18 (12am GMT on Tuesday, March 19) to submit your score for CrossFit Open workout 24.3.
How do you submit your CrossFit Open score?
To register a score for the 2024 CrossFit Open you will need to set up an account on the CrossFit Games app or website then register for the competition, which costs $20.
Once you’ve done this, you can submit your score for 24.3 via your personal dashboard, which can again be found on the CrossFit Games app or website, any time before the submission deadline at 5pm PDT on Monday, March 18 (12am GMT on Tuesday, March 19).
If you complete the workout at a CrossFit-affiliated gym, you can simply submit your score along with the name of the person who acted as your judge.
If you do the workout anywhere other than a CrossFit-affiliate gym, you will need to video yourself completing the test and submit this alongside your score.
To do this, upload the video to a common hosting site like YouTube or Vimeo, then you will be asked to share the link to the video while entering your score on the CrossFit Games app or website.
