Saturday, April 19, 2014

2014.04.07 - Chipper

This one had a name. It's never good when they have a name. This one was a variation on something called "Chipper." You're going to end up doing 60 reps of 5 different exercises, as fast as possible, and those exercises include burpees and box jumps. Your legs are going to be pretty beat by the time you're done with this.

In terms of risk of injury, the box jumps and push press are the two exercises to which you should pay the most attention. It's pretty easy to slip up or bash your shin when you're starting to get tired of the box jumps, so watch where you're jumping. Also, keep strict form on the press, especially at the very end when you're tired. It's preferable to get a slower time than to end up with a tweaked back.


WoD
  • 50 box jumps
  • 40 single arm dumbbell swings (20 left/20 right)
  • 30 burpees
  • 20 sit ups
  • 10 push presses
  • 10 box jumps
  • 20 single arm dumbbell swings (10 left/10 right)
  • 30 burpees
  • 40 sit ups
  • 50 push presses

Exercises
  • Box Jump

    You'll need a platform with risers; the most I've seen anyone use is 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.

  • Single Arm Dumbbell Swings

    You only need a single dumbbell; the heaviest I've seen anyone use was 25lbs. 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 in an arc until your arm is 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.

    Your arm should stay locked the whole time, so that you're actually swinging the dumbbell. If you start bending your arm at the elbow, you're doing more of a bicep curl. That's not what you're after in this case, so that's wasted effort.

    At no point should you bend over, that can hurt your lower back. You always want to be facing forward, with a good lumbar curve. If you get tired, it's preferable to stop for a bit than to do these reps with bad form.

  • 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. Once it starts to feel normal to do this motion, you can start to make it a smoother motion by essentially dropping down into a push up position, rather than squatting and then kicking out your feet. It requires a little bit less energy, but it also requires more coordination and muscle memory.

    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.

  • Sit Ups

    Keep your feet in butterfly position (heels touching each other), since that isolates your abs. Come all the way up, but don't pull on your neck or lean forward. Doing either of those things reduces the work that your abs have to do.

  • Push Press

    You'll need a barbell weighted as heavily as you can. The most I've ever seen is 80lbs, but 60lbs is also pretty common. To start, hold the barbell slightly below shoulder level with both your palms facing away from your body so that you can see both palms in a mirror. If you've got enough strength and flexibility in your wrists, bring your elbows straight up so that they point away from your body. This will force more of the weight against your upper torso and put more of a strain on your wrists, so only do this if you can sustain this position through a lot of reps. Regardless of how high you bring your elbows, the weights are "racked" against your chest.

    Do a quarter squat, and come up as explosively as you can. In reality, you'll end up end up hopping up a tiny bit because you're generating so much momentum/power from your legs. That's okay, but be absolutely sure that you're in control as you do this. You really don't want to trip or fall while holding a barbell. As you come up, press the barbell directly over your head. Remember, your legs should be driving the power in this motion, not your shoulders or arms. At the top of your motion, you want your arms to be fully extended and your legs completely straightened out. Also, bring your head forward a bit so that your arms, spine, and head are all aligned along the same vertical plane.

    One last cue is to make sure you move the weights directly up & down; if you start moving the horizontally, you'll put extra stress on your shoulders. If your elbows flare out horizontally, that's also going to make it difficult to press straight up & down. Your rep is finished when you bring the weight back to beginning/racked position.

As always, have fun.

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