2013.06.27

Today's WOD was one in the "every minute on the minute" (EMOTM) style with a twist, so if you're doing it on your own, you'll need to track time really well. The basic idea is that you have a minute to try to complete a set of exercises. If you finish before the minute is up, you rest until the minute is up. If you don't finish, you just go right in to the next set when the minute starts. This means that the faster you finish, the more you get to rest.

The twist, however, was that you increase the number of reps if you finish before the minute is up. This means that the WOD intentionally gets harder as you progress. The one saving grace is that if you don't finish before the minute is up, you decrease the number of reps for the next minute. I know that sounds complicated, so an example is probably best:

• Start with 10 reps first minute, complete all 10 before 60 seconds are up
• Do 11 reps second minute, complete all 11 before 60 seconds are up
• Do 12 reps third minute, but don't finish all 12 reps in 60 seconds
• Do 11 reps fourth minute, complete all 11 before 60 seconds are up
• Do 12 reps fifth minute ...

There are two other things to keep in mind for the WOD. First, you don't ever change the number of burpees you do. That stays constant at 5. It's only the mountain climbers and the box jump that increase or decrease. Secondly, the mountain climbers and box jump can never go below 10. You have to do at least 10 of each no matter what.

The cash out is pretty much the same concept, only it's with sit ups. We did it in groups (guys vs. girls), and we would only increase to the next number if everyone in the group finished in time. I think Al said it best when he said the women, "showed the guys what strong is."

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Warm Up
2 rounds of:

• 30 seconds of jogging in place
• 20 seconds of jumping jacks
• 10 seconds of air squats

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WoD
Every minute on the minute (for 15 minutes):

• 5 burpeees
• 10+ mountain climbers (left/right = 1)
• 10+ box jumps

Every time you finish before the minute is up, do 1 more rep of mountain climbers and jump box for the next round.

Every time you don't finish in the minute, do 1 less rep of mountain climbers and jump box for the next round.

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Cash Out
Every minute on the minute (for 10 minutes):

• 10+ situps

Every time you finish before the minute is up, do 1 more sit up for the next round.

Every time you don't finish in the minute, do 1 less sit up for the next round.

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Exercises

• Air Squats

  Make sure that when you go down, your thighs are at least parallel to the ground. If you can, squat farther down than parallel, so that your bottom ends up closer to the ground than your knees. 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.

• Burpees

  It's a 5 step motion: 1) squat down & touch the ground, 2) kick your legs out into a push-up position, 3) do a push up, 4) jump back to the squatting position, 5) come up from squatting and jump 2 inches off the ground.

  Scale down: Step back into the push up instead of jumping. Same goes for when you go back to the squatting position (step 4); step forward instead of jumping.

• 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."

• Box Jumps

  Set up a platform with stackable risers. Shoot for at least 4 risers; the most anyone uses is usually 6 risers. 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.

  When you do jump on it, you want to make sure that you stand tall once you're on the platform. If you stay hunched over the whole time, you're not getting the full effect of the exercise. One way to think about this is that you want your hips to "open up" on both the jump up and the jump down; all that really means is that your hips should be pushed forward once you're standing on top of the box.

  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.

• Sit Ups

  Keep your feet in butterfly position (heels touching each other), since that isolates your abs. Come up all the way, but don't pull your neck forward or bend over as you do so. That releases the contraction of your ab muscles, so gives you less of a work out.

Happy Crossfit-ing, y'all.