I wasn't around for this WOD, either, but I saw an email (courtesy of Al). It's one where you just keep increasing the number of reps that you do every round, so it gets a bit harder as you go. In simpler terms, you'll do 5 reps of each exercise, then 6 reps of each exercise, then 7, then 8, and so on, until you hit 20 minutes. That said, the goal is the same: do as many reps as possible in the 20 minutes allotted. Al mentioned that your goal should be to hit the round of 20 (or higher) in 20 minutes.
I say this anytime you lift weight over your head, but be careful about your form for the dumbbell thrusters. There's a bit less risk because it's a pair of dumbbells, but that doesn't mean you're allowed to cheat on your form. Keep a good curve in your back, or you can eventually tweak your back. No one's going to be happy if that happens.
Warm Up
2 rounds of:
- 25 jumping jacks
- 10 bottom downs
- 5 lunges to elbow
- 10 upward to downward
- 10 jump squats
WoD
In 20 minutes:
- 5 dumbbell thrusters
- 5 sit ups
- For the next round, add 1 more rep to both the thrusters and situps
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 a beat, 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 a beat 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.
- Lunges to Elbow
This starts like any other lunge: from a standing position. Bring one leg forward in a straight line, and then bend your knees so that both your knees are bent at 90 degrees. The back knee should be close to the ground, and your front knee should be directly over your front foot (otherwise you're putting undue stress on your knees). One cue that can help some folks is to treat your lunge like you're going straight up and down with your front leg. 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.
Once your lead leg is forward and your knees are bent, reach down with your arms and touch the elbow on the side that's lunging forward to the inside of your calf. If your right leg is forward, touch your right elbow to the inside of your calf. If you can actually reach your elbow to your instep (the side of your foot), do that since that'll make it harder. Try to balance without reaching down your off hand, but if you need to, put your off-hand down on the ground to stabilize yourself.
If you need extra support, you can use your hands to push up off of the ground. Repeat the motion with the other leg coming forward to complete the rep. In other words, you have to lunge with both the right and the left leg coming forward for a single rep (or, "left & right = 1" for short). One way to simplify this is to simply rotate your upper body to go from having the left leg forward to the right leg forward (keep your legs planted where they are). This can feel awkward at first, though, so it's up to you how you make sure you've done your reps.
- Upward to Downward
This is a lot like a "judo pushup" in reverse, if you've ever heard of that. If you're familiar with yoga at all, the starting position should look like the "upward dog." Regardless, lay face down on the ground and then lift your entire body off the ground by extending your arms, as if you were doing a push up. However, bring your upper body all the way up, so that your chest up faces forward while your lower body is still parallel to the ground. This is the starting position. From there, lower your head and bring it down and in, as if you were trying to bring it to meet your waist. This will naturally force your hips to come up, and you'll end up holding yourself off the ground with a noticeable bend at the waist (your butt will be a bit higher in the air than your chest or lower body). To go back to the starting position, lower your head towards the ground, then lower your chest and bring it forward in the same motion. It's not a straight up and down motion like a regular push up, it's more of an arc. You should also keep your lower body off the ground at all times. Continue the arc by straightening your arms and elevating your torso. When you finish the arc, your torso/chest should be facing forward with your lower body parallel to the ground. All of that is a single rep.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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