I was off-site for this one, but as always, Al passed along the WOD so that I could post it. You'll need some space and a very good timer if you're doing this by yourself, since you have to hold a movement every 20 seconds. Whatever it is that you're working on when the 20 second mark hits, stop doing reps and do the static hold. I wrote the hold next to each exercise to make things easier. As you can imagine, this gives you a very strong incentive to finish faster. The longer it takes you to finish, the more times you'll have to do static holds.
In terms of safety, the dumbbell snatches are probably your biggest concern. It doesn't look like much weight, but you can hurt yourself if you get sloppy. So don't get sloppy. It's that simple, really. Don't compromise your form, no matter what you do.
Strength
10 minutes of:
- 10 floor press (with partner)
WoD
- 50 decline push ups (static hold: decline push up plank at the top of the push up)
- 40 V-ups (static hold: V-up hold)
- 30 single arm dumbbell snatches, left/right = 1 (static hold: hold the dumbbell above)
- 20 goblet squats (static hold: squat hold at the bottom)
- 10 lunges (left/right = 1) (static hold: lunge hold at "the bottom")
Exercises
- 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.
- Decline Push Up
Despite the name, it's more like an incline bench press. Set up a platform with as many risers as you can handle (the most I ever see anyone use is 6). Put your feet on the platform and your hands on the ground; your feet should be higher than your face. Do your push ups that way, with your chest touching the ground for each rep.
Scale down: Put your knees on the platform instead of your toes. That reduces some of the weight that you have to push off the ground, so it makes it a bit easier.
- Decline Push Up Plank
Using the same platform as the decline push up, extend your arms fully. Your elbows should be locked out, and your upper body should be at the highest point in the push up. Hold yourself there (in a plank, basically) until the 5 seconds are up.
- V-Up
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.
Scale down: Bend your knees as your bring your lower body up. You only have to touch your knees this way
- V-Up Hold
It's the same starting position as the V-Up: lying down on your back. Lift both your legs and torso off the ground at the same time. Both your upper body and your lower body should make a 45 degree angle with the ground, so that your body makes a "V" shape. Rather than coming down, however, stay in this position for 5 seconds. This will force your abs to contract and stabilize your body in order to hold the position.
- Single Arm Dumbbell Snatch
You'll only need one dumbbell for this; I usually see 10-15 pound dumbbells. Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart, with the weight on the ground in front of you. Squat down and reach down to grab the weight; don't bend over to grab it. Bring the dumbbell straight up, and aggressively shrug your shoulders (this helps generate momentum). You want to pull it straight up and jerk your hips forward. The momentum from your lower body will actually help drive the weight up, so that you're not actually lifting the weight with nothing but your arms.
Your elbow will actually flare out with your forearm parallel to the ground as it gets close to your chest. Once the weight comes to about chest level, do a quarter squat and raise the weight so that your arm is above your head. Again, you want the weight to travel in a straight, vertical line. A couple of cues that can help are to keep your ear close to your arm, so that you are bringing the weight straight up and down. Secondly, think of the squat as an aggressive stomp/jump, just enough so that your knees are bent and you keep your weight back on your heels. You can also hold your off hand out in front of you to maintain your balance.
Also remember that you want a good lumbar curve. Just because you have weight in your hands, you don't get to cheat on your form (arguably, it's far more important then). Once you're in a stable position with the weight directly over your head and your arm fully extended, stand up. Remember to keep your arm locked the whole time. so that the weight is above your head. It's safe to bring the weight back down to finish the rep AFTER you have completely stopped moving your feet and you are in a standing position.
This time around, you have to bring the weight overhead with both arms to get credit (we call that "left/right = 1" for short).
- Dumbbell Snatch Overhead Hold
If you are at a standstill, do a dumbbell snatch to get the dumbbell directly over head (directions for the dumbbell snatch are directly above this). If you are already in the midst of doing dumbbell snatches, just get the dumbbell overhead. However, don't let dumbbell come down. Lock out your arm and hold the dumbbell above your head for 5 seconds. Remember that you still want a good lumbar curve and a slight quarter squat. Even though you're not moving, you still need to adhere to good form.
- Goblet Squat
Use the same dumbbell that you had for the dumbbell snatches. Hold it underneath your chin with both hands. Your elbows should be down, so that your forearms are perpendicular to the ground. From this position, do a regular squat. You have to go low enough that your elbows go between your knees. And like always, remember to keep a good lumbar curve and keep your chest facing forward as you do your squats.
- Goblet Squat Hold
Use the same dumbbell that you had for the goblet squat and dumbbell snatches. Hold it underneath your chin with both hand, and drop down in a squat. You still need a good lumbar curve, no matter what. However, instead of coming up from the bottom of the squat, just stay in the squatting position for 5 seconds.
- 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 back 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. If you need extra support, you can use your hands to push up off of your lead leg. You'll have to repeat the motion with the other leg coming forward for the next rep.
This time around, you only get credit for a rep once both of your legs have come forward (or, "right/left = 1" for short)
- Lunge Hold
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 back 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.
Hold yourself there for 5 seconds. You'll want to make sure you alternate which leg comes forward, but don't come back up to the standing position until it's time to do lunges again.
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