This one was interesting because the focus on the WOD was not number of reps or how fast you completed. Today, the focus was on form. We did not track times (we explicitly turned off the clock), but we did demand absolute perfect form on each and every rep for the Dirty 30. We were explicitly told to do the exercises slowly. Trust me, it hurts more that way.
We did the floor press exercise with partners, so if you're doing this yourself, give yourself a couple of minutes rest between sets. The idea was to track how many total reps you could after 3 sets. We didn't announce our scores, but I know that one guy did 60+ reps after the first 2 rounds. I'm guessing the high score was somewhere in the 80 or 90 rep range.
In terms of safety, there isn't as much to worry about this time around. If you're doing the floor press with partners, they can help make sure you don't drop the weights. Other than that, if you start to cramp up badly during the Dirty 30, turn over and stretch out in an upward dog position. That will help you get back to normal a bit (and then continue with your work out).
Warm Up
2 rounds of:
- 25 jumping jacks
- 5 T push ups
- 10 upward to downward
- 10 shoulder rolls
Strength
3 rounds of max reps of:
- Floor press (with partners)
WoD - Dirty 30
3 rounds of:
- 30 sit ups
- 30 elbows to knees (right/left = 1)
- 30 V-Ups
Exercises
- T Push Ups
Drop down in to a push up position, and lower your body until your chest hits the ground. Push your body up off the ground, but as your arms start to get fully extended, lift one of them off of the ground. Rotate your torso towards the side where you lifted the arm, so that you are now facing sideways rather than towards the ground. At the same time, extend the arm you lifted straight up in the air. This is actually where the name comes from: at full extension, your body will make something of a T-shape. Lower your arm and rotate your torso back in to a regular push up position. Repeat this motion by lifting your other arm in to the air to complete a single rep.
- 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.
- Shoulder Rolls
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.
- Partner Floor Press
This is very much like a simulated bench press, only you're going to do it on the ground. You'll need a barbell (the most we managed to get on the barbell was 4 plates, or a little less than 90 lbs). Lie down on the ground so that you're facing the ceiling, and have your partner stand near your head. Your partner will lift the barbell off the ground and place it over your chest (your partner is essentially going to spot you). Reach up to grab it, and let your partner know once you've got full control of the weight.
Pull your shoulder blades together, so that you're contracting your back muscles. From there, keep your elbows in tight to the side of your body, and lower the weight in a smooth, controlled arc. This is not a straight up and down motion. If the weight starts over your chest, it will be closer to your belly at the bottom of the arc. Push the weight back up so that it reverses the arc (starts closer to your belly at the bottom, and finishes above your chest). You have to bring the weight down and up for a single rep.
If you're curious, the point of this exercise was to help give us that final kick when doing a bench press. Normally you push your feet into the ground and drive your hips into the bench, using that force to help drive the weight up. Still, there's going to be a point when you get stuck and can't quite finish a rep. The motions in this exercise help teach you how to do that final push so that you can finish the rep in that situation.
- Sit Ups
Keep your feet in butterfly position (heels touching each other), since that isolates your abs. Also, be sure to keep your feet planted on the ground (lifting them off the ground generates momentum that doesn't really come from 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.
Don't bounce your hips or your legs against the ground to generate momentum. That actually generates power from your legs, rather than your core. In essence, that's cheating since you're not working your core as much that way.
This time around, your palms have to touch your toes to get credit for the rep. Remember, the focus is form and technique for today, so do these SLOWLY.
- Elbows to Knees
Lie on your back, and touch your right elbow to your left knee. You want to move both your elbow and your knee during this motion, rather than keeping one static and touching the other one to it. Also, while you're doing this, your right leg will be straight out in the air about six inches off the ground. Then alternate, touching your left elbow to your right knee. You want to keep your shoulders off of the ground the whole time if you can.
This time around, you only get credit for a rep after both of your elbows have touched both of your knees. We tend to call that "left/right = 1" for short. Since we were focusing on doing these very, very strictly, you want to pause for a second when your elbow touches your knee. This forces you to have the full extension of the other leg, and makes sure that you're working your oblique to hold the position.
- V-Ups
Lie on your back, putting our hands parallel to the ground "above" your head (if you were standing, they’d be directly over your head). Lift your legs off the ground and bring your torso up at the same time to touch your toes. In essence, your body makes a "V" shape. Go back to lying on your back to finish the rep. Be careful about slamming your legs into the ground when you finish the rep, that can hurt your lower back. Some people call these "jack knives," if that helps at all.
The focus this time around is to do absolutely proper form, so make sure your shoulders come off of the ground when you touch your toes. That forces your core muscles to move your upper body, rather than doing most of the work with your legs.
Scale down: Bend your knees as your bring your lower body up. You only have to touch your knees this way
For floor press, used ~88lbs, hit 42 total reps
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