Although the first choice was to do the deck of cards workout, they unfortunately didn't have one readily available. So the alternative was a Bulgarian squat workout *scared*. This one was one we did twice already but more recently on 2016.04.04. Hope folks were able to walk around after this one!
Make sure you warm up those legs and core!
Warm Up
2 rounds of:
- 25 jumping jacks
- 10 upward to downward
- 10 bottom downs
- 10 arm circles
WoD
10 rounds of:
- 10 single arm dumbbell snatches (left/right = 2)
- 10 goblet squats
- 10 Bulgarian squats
3 rounds of:
- 30 sit ups
- 30 elbows to knees (right/left = 1)
- 30 V-ups
Exercises
- 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. - 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 three seconds, 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 three seconds 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. - Arm Circles
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 and 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. - Single Arm Dumbbell Snatches
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 get credit for one rep every time you bring the weight overhead (we call that "left/right = 2" for short). Remember that you have to do 5 with each arm, though. - 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. - Bulgarian Squat
You'll need a platform or a bench. Take one big step forward, and then lift one foot and place it behind you on to the platform. You can either place the top of your foot on the platform or point your foot so that your toe is on the bench (as if you were kicking the bench with your toe). You're mostly just going to use your back foot for balance, so make sure you have a stable position.
From this position, do a deep lunge so that your front quad and hamstring are parallel to the ground. Because of your back leg, you're not going to break parallel, so just focus on making sure you get to parallel every time. It's important that your front knee doesn't go farther forward than your front foot/toe. That kind of an angle would put undue stress on your knee, and it does more harm than good.
Once you've hit parallel, come back up to the starting position by pushing off with your front foot. You can think of it as driving your weight through your front foot. It's up to you where your arms go, since they're mostly just for balance. You can place them on your hips if you want, or you can hold them out in front of you.
This time around, you get credit for a rep every time that you go down for a lunge (or, "right/left = 2" for short). - Sit Up
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. You have to touch your toes to get credit for the rep.
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. - Elbows to KneesLie 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.
This time around, you only get credit for a rep once you've touched both elbows to both knees. We tend to call that "left/right = 1" for short. - 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.
Scale down: Bend your knees as your bring your lower body up. You only have to touch your knees this way
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