2011.2.10

Allan wasn't able to make it, and I am still recovering from some bug I got, but we have you a WoD!

---

Warm Up
2 rounds of:

• 25 Jumping Jacks
• 5 Pushups
• 10 Sit ups
• 15 Squats

WoD
10 rounds for time of:

• 10 Thrusters
• 10 Sit ups
• 10 Weighted Lunges (rt/lft = 1)
• 10 Single-Arm Dumbbell Swing (Weak Side)
• 10 Single-Arm Dumbbell Swing (Strong Side)

---

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. Come up all the way so that your torso is perpendicular to the ground.
• 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.
• Thrusters
  Grab two dumbbells. Hold the weights up near your shoulders so your knuckles face away from you and the weights are resting against the upper part of your chest (this position is often called "racking" the weights).
  
  Do an air squat so that your thighs "break parallel." That means that at the bottom of your squat, your bottom should be closer to the ground than your knees. 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.
• Weighted Lunges
  There was a bit of difficulty added using a bar or a pair of dumbbells and hold those as you do your lunges (highest anyone went was a pair of 15lbs). Regardless of whether you use the weights or not, make sure you go all the way down on your lunges. Since we had to do so many reps, you don't have to do both side for a single rep. Instead, each side/leg is one rep.
  
  Your knees don't quite have to touch the ground (you might get burns/scrapes that way), but come as close as you can to that. If you need extra support as you get tired, you can use your hands to push up off of your lead leg.
• Single-Arm Dumbbell Swing
  Just like a kettle bell throw, but with a dumbbell (guys used 15-25lbs, women used 10-15lbs). Do a squat, keeping a good lumbar curve, and hold the dumbbell between your legs at about knee/thigh level. Stand up from the squat, and as you do that, swing your arm upward until your arm is almost directly over your head. If you do the motion correctly, your legs will drive most of the momentum, and you're essentially just standing & squatting. At no point should you bend over, that can hurt your lower back. If you get tired, it's preferable to stop for a bit than to do these reps with bad form.

As always, have fun with it.