One of the really cool things that the CrossFit community does is called the "Hero WOD." These are WODs that are done in honor of someone who has served their country or community somehow. They are meant to be hard work outs, in tribute to the hard work and sacrifice these people put in themselves. This WOD was in honor of the 19 Arizona hotshot firefighters that passed away. Incidentally, if you're curious, the full RX version of the WOD is here.
For this version, you're going to need a pair of dumbbells and a platform for this one. As I said, this one is going to be a long, tough one, so be very mindful of your form in the later rounds. In particular, be sure to pay attention to your lower back when you're doing the dumbbell cleans in the later rounds.
WoD
6 rounds of:
- 30 air squats
- 19 dumbbell cleans
- 14 renegade rows (right/left = 2)
- 400 step ups to a platform (1 level)
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.
- Dumbbell Cleans
A single rep of a squat clean is essentially a weighted squat with some hand motions thrown in. This particular version is with a pair of dumbbells, so grab a weight that's comfortable (you'll end up doing a whole bunch of them for the WoD).
To begin with, hold one dumbbell in each hand, with your hands down near your thighs (this position is considered a "high hang" so that's where the name comes from). From that position, shrug your shoulders. I know it sounds silly, but it should be an *aggressive* shrug. You really want to build some momentum in that motion. Remember, though, keep your arms locked as you're doing this, or you'll end up doing more of a curl. If you need to make sure you've got it down, practice just that part of it a few times.
The next step, starting from the shrugged shoulder position, is to quickly bring the dumbbells up to about chest level and squat down at the same time. If you were to watch the path the weights travel, it should be completely vertical. If the weights travel in an arc away from your body, you're doing it wrong. Your hands don't lift the weight as much as they adjust themselves to hold the weight differently. At the end of this motion, you should have your palms facing away from your body, as if you were "racking" the dumbbells near your chest/clavicle.
You can almost think of it as letting go of the weight in midair, and positioning your body underneath the weight so that you end up in a squat with the dumbbells at your chest. Don't actually let go of the dumbbells, that can be all sorts of bad. However, you'll find that because it's a quick squat down, you're pretty much jumping into it. At the same time, your hands will suddenly shoot up to hold the weight at your chest.
As always, keep a good lumbar curve. You don't want to bend over as you do this. If you do it wrong repeatedly or with a heavy enough weight, your lower back will pay for it. Again, practice just the squat motion a few times so it feels natural.
Lastly, just stand up while holding the weight at your chest. Once you've stood all the way up, you can drop the weights back down to thigh-level to start over. That's the end of a single rep. Now all that's left is to put it all together in a smooth motion.
- Renegade Rows
Holding a dumbbell in each hand, get down in to a push up position. The dumbbells will be on the ground, and you will essentially be holding yourself up on top of them. Keeping one dumbbell on the ground, pull the other weight up off the ground in a straight line (it's a single-arm row, if you're used to doing those). Try not to rotate your body as you do this, since that makes it easier to lift the weight without working the muscles in your arm. Your chest should be facing towards the ground the whole time. For these, each time you bring up a dumbbell off the ground, that counts as a single rep (e.g., "left/right = 2" for short)
- Step Ups
Set up a platform with one 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. The faster you do this, the more it feels like a "quick feet" exercise. 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.
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