2010.02.18

Today's WoD was a tabata workout, with 6 exercises instead of the usual 4. So the actual work out is over in 24 minutes, guaranteed. Those 24 minutes aren't very fun, though. Let's just say that I cursed out loud when I realized we were doing a tabata workout with 6 exercises (everyone laughed at me).

For each exercise, you do as many reps as you can for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds. That's considered 1 round. You get to do 8 rounds for every exercise. That means you do that particular exercise for a grand total of 4 minutes, but with very little rest. You want to try to maintain the same number of reps for as many of the 8 rounds as possible.

For the warm up, only do the jumping jacks if you don't have a rope. Also, try to finish the V-ups in less than 60 seconds so you get some rest. If you don't finish all 30 in a minute, start into the next round. That also means you get no rest, so it becomes harder at that point.

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Warm Up
3 rounds of:

• 60 seconds of jumping rope OR jumping jacks


• 30 V-ups in 60 seconds or less (any left over time is rest)

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WoD

• 8 rounds of: 20 seconds of push ups, 10 seconds of rest


• 8 rounds of: 20 seconds of air squats, 10 seconds of rest


• 8 rounds of: 20 seconds of sit ups, 10 seconds of rest


• 8 rounds of: 20 seconds of thrusters, 10 seconds of rest


• 8 rounds of: 20 seconds of good mornings, 10 seconds of rest


• 8 rounds of: 20 seconds of lunges, 10 seconds of rest

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Exercises

• V-ups
  This is everyone’s favorite ab exercise: lie on your back, putting our hands parallel to the ground “above” your head (if you were standing, they’d be directly over your head). Lift your legs off the ground and bring your torso up at the same time to touch your toes. In essence, your body makes a “V” shape. Go back to lying on your back to finish the rep. Be careful about slamming your legs into the ground when you finish the rep, that can hurt your lower back.
  
  Scale down: Bend your knees as your bring your lower body up. You only have to touch your knees this way


• Push ups
  Bring your chest to the ground.
  
  Scale down: Do them on your knees
  Scale down more: Use a wall or a ballet bar to push off against. Since you’re doing them at an angle, you’re not pushing your entire body weight that way.


• Air squats
  Your typical air squat. Make sure that your thighs are at least parallel to the ground (you can squat farther down than parallel, but it's not required). You want to keep your weight on your heels the whole time, that will help ensure you keep a good lumbar curve & will help with any potential balance issues. For some people, it helps to look up at about 45 degrees to ensure you're not leaning forward & straining your lower back. To ensure this happens, you can throw your hands up to 45 degrees and focus your eyes on your hands on each rep.


• Sit ups
  Keep your feet in butterfly position (heels touching each other) if you can, since that isolates your abs. Also, don’t go past 90 degrees as you sit up. In fact, try to stay at about 45 degrees – it forces your abs to stay contracted, so it works them harder.


• Thrusters
  Grab two dumbbells - most guys used 15-25lbs, and most women used 8-10 lbs. Hold the weights up near your shoulders so your knuckles face away from you (this position is often called "racking" the weights). Do an air squat. As you come up, press the two dumbbells over your head, until your arms are fully extended. Push the weights straight up & down, since any horizontal motion will put undue stress on your shoulders. Bring the dumbbell back to the “racked” position to finish the rep. For this, you can actually make it a smooth motion, and go straight into the next squat instead of stopping at starting position. This is fine so long as you fully extend the dumbbells, bring the weights back down before you start your next squat, and keep a good curve on your lower back the whole time.


• Good mornings
  Grab either a weighted bar (most people used 12-15lbs) or two weights of comparable weight (5lb or 7.5lb weights). Stand up, resting the bar on your shoulders, behind your neck. If you're using the weights, you can rest them on either side of your neck, on top of your shoulders. Keep your feet about shoulder-width apart, and bend your knees slightly. Bend at the waist (as if you’re bowing), keeping your eyes forward. Keep your back flat as you do that, and finish so that your back is parallel to the ground.


• Lunges
  Everyone should know how to do these. Make sure you go all the way down on your lunges, and alternate legs. If you need extra support as you get tired, you can use your hands to push up off of your lead leg.

As always, have fun with it.