2010.11.18

Before today's usual post, a small administrative detail. I'm going to be working in a different office starting Monday, so I won't be able to attend these classes in person. I've asked Al to send me the WoD's so we can keep posting them, but I don't know if I'll be the one posting them.

Okay, so with that out of the way, today's WoD didn't have a special name, and it wasn't particularly easy or particularly hard. Finish times reflected that - finish times ranged from about 10 minutes to 20 minutes. Another day, another WoD.

The warm up was actually fairly quick, so don't just blow through it. Make sure to take your time with the mountain climbers in particular, as that'll give you a good stretch. Of course, you'll want to stretch your legs after you're done with the warm up anyway.

For the WoD, you have to do the most difficult exercise that's within your means. If you can do double-unders, you have to do those. If you can't do double-unders but you have a rope handy, you have to do the single-unders. Stepping up and down is a last resort unless you have an injury that makes it hard for you to jump rope.

Also, you have to do 21 of each exercise before you move on to the set of 18. You should do the exercises in order, don't mix and match. I wrote them as a single item/bullet, but you still have to do the squats before the dips, the dips before the jump box, etc.

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Warm Up
2 rounds of:

• 5 push ups
• 10 sit ups
• 15 mountain climbers (right/left = 1)

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WoD

• 100 double-unders OR 500 single-unders OR 300 platform steps
• 21 air squats, 21 dips, 21 jump box (5 levels), 21 scissor kicks
• 18 air squats, 18 dips, 18 jump box (5 levels), 18 scissor kicks
• 15 air squats, 15 dips, 15 jump box (5 levels), 15 scissor kicks
• 12 air squats, 12 dips, 12 jump box (5 levels), 12 scissor kicks
• 9 air squats, 9 dips, 9 jump box (5 levels), 9 scissor kicks
• 100 double-unders OR 500 single-unders OR 300 platform steps

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Exercises

• Push Ups
  Bring your chest to the ground for every single rep, and when you come up, make sure your arms are fully extended.
  
  Scale down: Do the push ups on your knees. You lift less weight this way, so it's easier.
• Sit Ups
  Keep your feet in butterfly position (heels touching each other), since that isolates your abs. For these, come up so your torso is perpendicular to the ground.
• Mountain Climbers
  Get down on all fours, almost as if you were about to start a race. It's also a bit like being in a push up position with a bend at the waist, with only one leg back. From the starting position, simultaneously bring your lead leg back & your rear leg forward. Make sure that your lead leg also slides sideways, so that it is outside of your arm on that side. Do it again to switch the positioning of your legs, again making sure your lead leg ends up outside of your arm.
  
  Both of your legs have to come forward one time to complete a single rep. For simplicity's sake, we describe that as "right/left = 1."
• Double Unders
  Jumping rope, you want the rope to make two full revolutions each time you jump. The important part is actually the flick of your wrists, not so much how high you jump. If you worry too much about jumping higher, you’ll throw your rhythm off.
• Single Unders
  This basically means jumping rope. The “single” refers to how many times the rope revolves around you each time you jump. Try to keep a steady rhythm, so that you can do all of your reps without stopping.
• Platform Steps
  Set up a platform with 1 riser on each side. Step up onto the platform, one leg at a time, and then come back down one leg at a time. Stepping up with both legs & stepping down with both legs counts as a single rep.
  
  Even though it's only 1 riser, make sure you look down as you're doing this. After a while, your legs can feel tired enough where you'll slip if you're not careful.
• Air Squats
  Make sure that when you go down, your bottom ends up closer to the ground than your knees (this is called "breaking parallel"). If you have to do your squats slower to accomplish this, that's fine.
  
  Regardless of how far you squat, 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.
  
  Scale down: If you can't squat that far, you should aim to end up with your thighs parallel to the ground at the bottom of your squat.
• Dips
  Set up a platform with 5 risers on each side. Position yourself so your arms are holding you up/off the edge of your platform, with your legs straight out in front of you. You should just be barely forward of the platform; your butt should practically touch the platform as you do your reps. If you come forward too far, you'll put unnecessary strain on your shoulders.
  
  Lower yourself so that your butt touches the ground, and then raise yourself back to the starting position. That's 1 rep. If you do the exercise properly, you'll feel the exercise the most in your triceps.
  
  Scale down: Bend your legs, and put your feet flat on the ground before doing your dips. Since you're lifting less weight this way, this makes the dips easier.
• Jump Box
  Before you even start the WoD, stomp on it really hard. You want to make sure it'll support your weight & won't move around when you jump on it. Just in case, look down at the platform when you jump. If it does move around at all, keeping your eyes on it should help prevent injury.
  
  Scale down: Step up & step down instead of jumping on the platform. If you do step, make sure you alternate which leg is stepping up. Otherwise, you're only working one leg the whole time.
• Scissor Kicks
  Lie down on the ground on your back, and lift your feet a few inches in the air. Lift one leg several inches higher while keeping the other leg static. Bring your leg back down to the starting position. Now switch legs, and lift the opposite leg several inches higher. Bring your leg back down to the starting position to finish the rep (it's "right/left = 1").
  
  In practice, most people do this quickly and make it a very smooth, continuous motion. There's nothing wrong with that, so long as you're still completing the full range of the motion. If you're barely moving your legs, you're not really getting the full effect of the exercise.

As always, have fun with it.