Important thing here to remember is picking out a weight for the push press that won't let you accidentally drop it on your head because after the burpees, you'll feel your arms not want to do anything. We ranged from 2 to 2.5 plates on each side.
Warm up
2 rounds
- 25 jumping jacks
- 10 upward to downward
- 10 bottom downs
- 10 arm circles (10 forward/10 backward)
- 10 push press with empty bar
Skill
5 minutes
WoD
Rep sequence for each set: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (meaning first round is 10 v-ups, 10 burpees over barbell, 10 push presses, then 9 v-ups, 9 burpees over barbell, 9 push presses, etc and so forth)
- V-ups
- Burpees over barbell (aka Lateral burpees)
- Push press
Cash Out
Exercises
- Split Jerk
Grab a bar and fill it with plates heavy enough that you can clean and also press up. You're going to do a deadlift initially with the bar so watch your back. From here you want to do a slight squat and with a fluid movement like you're about to do a clean, you're going to push that bar directly above your head as you jump slightly to place your feet into a "split" position.
Because this is a "split" jerk, you want your legs to land with one leg forward and one leg back. If your left leg is the one in front, you want it at 11 o'clock, and your right leg at 5 o'clock. If your right leg is in front, you want that leg at 1 o'clock, and your left leg at 7 o'clock. Either way, you want to make sure that your legs aren't locked when your arms are fully extended and your feet hit the ground.
Still holding the weights over your head, move your feet so that you're now directly under the weights. Usually this takes a step with each leg, so we'll refer to it as the "step step" portion of the movement (usually people move the front leg back into position first). Remember, you don't want to lower the weights as you're adjusting your feet. Once you're done moving your feet, THEN you can bring them back down to the starting position. That's one rep. - Push Jerk
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.
From here, do a quarter squat to load up your legs to act as springs, and then you want to violently shove the barbell directly over your head. In fact, your momentum will cause you to do a slight hop while your hands go upwards. At the same time, you want to squat down (about a quarter squat). It might help to think about it as your lower body is racing to reach a quarter squat at the same time that the barbell reaches the top of the lift. At the top of the rep, your arms should be completely locked out, and you should be in a quarter squat position. Once you've got full control of the weight, stand tall. Then, and only then, should you re-position your feet. Because this lets you use your legs to drive the momentum and the power, this should feel easier than a strict shoulder press.
To finish the rep, you have to lower the weight to the hang position safely (we're not allowed to just drop weights). From the locked out position at the very top, bring the weight straight back down to the racked position (resting on your shoulders/clavicle, palms facing away from you, elbows as high up as you can). You'll need to keep your chest facing forward the whole time; don't bend forward at any point. All of that is one rep. If you need to, practice the motion until it starts to feel natural; form is really important here. - 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). Your legs should also be parallel to the floor. 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 - Burpees over barbell aka Lateral burpees
It sounds complicated, but this is only a slight variation on a traditional burpee. Before you start, put the bar down so that it runs parallel to the way your body is oriented for the push up portion of the burpee. You're going to jump sideways over it eventually. You can rest the actual plate part of the barbell on a riser to keep it from rolling.
With that little bit of pre-work out of the way, it's still 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 sideways over the bar. You're going to end up jumping back and forth over the bar (if the first jump is to your left, you'll jump to the right for your next rep). With a weight lifting bar, this forces you to jump at least a few 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 sideways over the bar instead of jumping. This takes less energy, but still makes you do the work. - 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. You want the weights "racked" against your chest, with your elbows farther forward than the bar. You don't need to bring them all the way up like you do with a front squat, but you do want your forearms vertical and supporting the bar from underneath.
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. Finish your rep by bringing the weight back to beginning/racked position. - Stability ball sit ups
In some ways, this is like a poor man's version of a GHD sit up. Grab a stability ball, and roll it over near a wall. You'll want to sit on top of it so that your toes are touching the wall. In essence, you want to "anchor" yourself with the wall by not giving your feet any place to move forward. You can also do this by placing a pair of dumbbells up against the wall, and putting your feet underneath the dumbbells.
Once you're in the starting position, lean back and touch the ground behind you/over your head. You will need the muscles in your abs/core to stabilize yourself as you do this. This part can be challenging if you don't have good mobility in your core, so only go so far as you can safely control.
From there, sit up (using your abs, not your hips) and touch the wall with your hands. That's a single rep.
Scale down: If you can't reach behind you to touch the floor, you only have to lean back enough so that your body is parallel to the ground. That eases some of the strain on your abs, and doesn't require as much mobility.
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