2014.02.10

Al couldn't make this one, but a bunch of us headed down to the gym to do this one on our own. For the most part, it's pretty straight forward: two exercises, do as many as you can in 12 minutes. It's a little different in that each successive round adds on more reps, no matter how many rounds you do. You start with 3 reps of both exercises, then do 6 reps the next round, 9 reps the one after that, and you just keep adding 3 more reps every round. Still, it's not the sort of thing that should scare you; someone finished the round of 27 reps and started in on the next round before time ran out. On the other hand, the cash out is going to suck just a little bit. I don't think any of us got through all of it without taking a break, though some people got fairly close.

The only real threat of injury this time around is from the box jump. Just make sure any platform you set up is stable before you jump on it, and keep your eyes on your box/platform. On the off chance that you misstep or otherwise attempt to face plant, watching where you're jumping can help minimize the risk of injury.

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Warm Up
2 rounds of:

• 25 jumping jacks
• 10 bottom downs
• 10 jump squats
• 10 air squats
• 10 arm circles

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WoD

• 3 Dumbbell Thrusters
• 3 Box Jump
• Every round thereafter, add 3 more reps (so you will do 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 ...)

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Cash Out

• 3 minutes of toe touchers

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Exercises

• Bottom Downs

  From a standing position, reach down and touch your toes. Without letting go of your toes, squat down in to a full squat. Hold the bottom of this position for three seconds, and then stand up without letting go of your toes. Your feet should be as close to locked out as possible, so that you're essentially bending down to reach your toes. Hold that position for three seconds in order to finish the rep. The idea behind the hold is to ensure that you don't cheat by only coming up or squatting down part of the way.

• Jump Squats

  Do a normal air squat, but as you come up to finish the squat, jump straight up in to the air. You finish the rep when you land and reset yourself. It's not uncommon for people to go right in to the next squat, though. This is okay so long as you're not bending over and losing the lumbar curve in the process. Basically, you don't get to cheat on your form because you're jumping.

• 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.

• Arm Circles

  From a standing position, rotate your arm without extending your arm away from you. You're essentially making a windmill of your arm. Do this in both a clockwise and counter-clockwise motion for each arm, so that you fully warm up & stretch the muscles. Most people just do 10 rotations forward with one arm, 10 rotations backward with the same arm, and then they repeat this with the other arm.

• Dumbbell Thrusters

  Grab a pair of dumbbells; everyone used at least 10lbs but there were also quite a few people who grabbed 15lb dumbbells. Start with the dumbbells at your shoulders with your palms facing outward away from your body (if you were looking in a mirror, you'd see your palms).

  Do an air squat so that your thighs end up parallel to the ground; if you can "break parallel," that's even better. As you come up, press the weights over your head, until your arms are fully extended. Push the dumbbells straight up & down, since any horizontal motion will put undue stress on your shoulders.

  Bring the dumbbells 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 weight back down before you start your next squat, and keep a good curve on your lower back the whole time.

• Box Jump

  You'll need a platform with risers; the most I saw anyone use was 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 to the box, and then step down instead of jumping on the platform. If you do step, make sure you alternate which leg comes down off of the platform first.

• Toe Touchers

  Lie down on your back, and lift your feet straight off the ground. You want your legs to be perpendicular to the ground. Leaving your feet up in the air, reach up with your hands and touch your toes (if you can't quite reach your toes, touch your shins). Again, leave your feet up in the air, but drop your upper body to the ground. Try to keep your shoulders and head off the ground, since that forces your abs to contract the whole time. Repeat that motion for as many reps as you can for the minute.

As always, have fun with it.