This one was a variation on something called the "Bear Complex." Normally this is done until you finish your reps (you do 5 rounds of 7 reps), and you get to rest between rounds. However, the timing of class and the fact that people walk in after us makes it a bit hard to stick to that format. So instead, it became a 20 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible).
You're technically not supposed to let the bar touch the ground until you finish all five exercises in a row, but you can rest however and whenever you like. This is a little bit different than the original format, but the rules are bound to change because now you're trying to finish as many reps as you can in a prescribed time. However, other rules remain intact: you have to do the clean and the squat separately. You can't just do a squat clean to combine the two. You can combine the squat and the push press into more of a thruster motion, but you have to lock out your arms at the top of the press no matter what.
No matter what you do, though, pay very close attention to your form. You are going to be doing movements that can hurt you if you're not careful, and that's the last thing any of us want. Every last one of those exercises means you should keep a good lumbar curve and try not to bend over. You're also going to be lifting weight overhead, so be mindful about that, as well. Basically, protect your back and your head while you're doing this WOD, even if it means you have to slow down to do so.
WoD
As Many Rounds As Possible (in 20 minutes) of:
- 1 power clean
- 1 front squat
- 1 push press (can be combined with previous front squat into a thruster)
- 1 back squat
- 1 push press (can be combined with previous back squat into a thruster)
Exercises
- Power Clean
You'll need a barbell for this, but remember that you're going to be using this barbell for everything and you're going to be doing a lot of reps.
To begin with, put the weight on the ground in front of you (this is different than the "high hang" where you start with the weight near your thighs). Squat down to grab the weights, but remember to face forward and keep your chest facing forward. Stand up, but as you do so, shrug your shoulders aggressively. I know it sounds silly, but it should be an *aggressive* shrug. You really want to build some momentum in that motion. However, 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 weight up to about chest level and do a quick hop at the same time. If you were to watch the path the weight travels, it should be as close to your body as possible, and as close to completely vertical as possible. If the weight travels 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 weight 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 with your knees slightly bent and the weight at your chest. Don't actually let go of the weight, that can be all sorts of bad. However, you'll find that because it's a quick hop, 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 that it feels natural.
Lastly, just stand up completely while holding the weight at your chest. You basically just need to straighten your legs out, but you don't want to do this step until you've got full control of the weight. Normally, you would then put the bar back down on the ground to finish the rep, but in this case, you are considered done when you stand tall with the weight racked at your chest/clavicle. All that's really left is to put it all together in a smooth motion.
- Front Squat
Hold the barbell at about shoulder level, with your palms facing away from your body so that you could see both palms in a mirror. In a sense, the weights are "racked" against your chest. 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 lots and lots of reps. Regardless of how high you bring your elbows, the weights are "racked" against your chest.
Keeping the barbell in this position, do a squat. The same rules apply as always: keep a good lumbar curve while you do this, keep your weight on your heels, keep your head up & look forward, and keep your chest facing forward (don't bend over). With weight in your hands, these cues become more important. If you do enough reps poorly, you can tweak your back. Incidentally, this is also why we try to learn good from with air squats; so that it's habit by the time you put weight in your hands.
- Push Press
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. Normally, you'd finish your rep by bringing the weight back to beginning/racked position, but in this case, you'll want to bring the weight to allow you to do your next motion. If your next motion is a back squat, then bring the weight back down behind your head. If your next motion is to start over with the clean, then you're going to need the bar in front of you. So bring the bar down in front of you to a racked position there.
- Thruster
If you've been doing CrossFit long enough, you'll realize that a front squat followed by a press is basically a thruster with a pause thrown in. Knowing that, it's okay for you to substitute a single thruster for the front squat followed by the push press. You're doing the same amount of work either way, it's just a matter of how smoothly you complete the motions.
Start with the barbell in a racked position. If you're combining the front squat and press, then start with the barbell in a front rack. If you're combining the back squat and press, then start with the barbell on your shoulders, behind your head. Either way, 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 barbell straight up & down, since any horizontal motion will put undue stress on your shoulders.
To finish the rep, you have to bring the weight back to a rack position. Note, however, that you don't have to go back to the rack position that you started in. If you started from a front rack, your next motion will involve a back squat. So it makes more sense to bring the weight down to be resting on your shoulders. On the flip side, if you just started with the weight on your shoulders, your next motion is a clean, so bring the weight to a racked position in front of you.
- Back Squat
Start with the bar resting on your shoulders. From this position, do an air squat. Make sure you keep a good lumbar curve the whole time (you can tweak your lower back otherwise), and you bend at least far enough so that your thighs are parallel to the ground. Come back up to the standing "racked" position to finish the rep.
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