Author: cfdavis

Workout of the Day
1 minute of sandbag cleans
1 minute of strict pull ups
1 minute of burpee box jumps
2 minutes of sandbag cleans
2 minutes of strict pull ups
2 minutes of burpee box jumps
3 minutes of sandbag cleans
3 minutes of strict pull ups
3 minutes of burpee box jumps

The one and two minute intervals will be relatively short, but think ahead to the final round of each movement when you’re working out your pace. Three minutes on any of these is a long time, and you don’t want to grind to a halt halfway through the last round because you went out of the gates too hot. This workout is 18 minutes total. Add up all of your reps at the end.

standard: 70/45 pound sandbag, 20/12 inch box
rx: 100/70 pound sandbag, 24/20 inch box
sport: 150/100 pound sandbag, 24/20 inch box
metcon: 3×5:00 on, 1:00 off

Skill
EMOM for 10 minutes
Hang clean pull
Power clean
Split jerk

This sequence hits the same transition work for the clean that we practiced on Wednseday with the power snatch. Take your time between each lift; the focus is on positioning and power deveopment within each lift, rather than linking them all fluidly like we did on Monday.

Workout of the Day
For time:
21-18-15-12-9-6-3
Deadlift
Push up

15 minute time cap

Use a relatively light barbell weight; 84 total reps is fairly high volume on the deadlift, and we want to make sure that you aren’t blowing out your back with too much load. Scale the push ups so that you never have to drop below sets of three. Both movements can easily have their ranges of motion accidentally shortened if your focus is on speed rather than positioning. Get a clear and solid lockout at the top of every rep before descending into the next.

standard: 95/65
rx: 155/105
sport: 185/135
metcon: 4×2:00 on, 1:00 off

Skill
EMOM for 10 minutes:
4 dumbbell power snatches (not alternating)
8 single arm overhead lunges
12 crossovers

Switch arms every round

Try to scale the weight and reps of the movements so that you never take more than 40 seconds at a relatively relaxed pace. The focus here is efficiency with the dumbbell and consistency under light fatigue on the crossovers.

Workout of the Day
4 rounds:
90 seconds of medicine ball step ups
30 seconds of rest
90 seconds of calories
30 seconds of rest

We’re taking a lower-impact day after yesterday’s workout; if you didn’t come yesterday and want to push hard, then try to sustain a steady pace on the step ups and find your intensity in the calories. You can get a lot of work done in 90 seconds if you’re willing to put up with a little pain.

standard: 20/12 inch box, 12/8 pound ball
rx: 24/20 inch box, 20/14 pound ball
sport: 24/20 inch box, 30/20 pound ball
metcon: 8×90 seconds on, 30 seconds off

Skill
EMOM for 10 minutes:
Hang snatch pull
Power snatch, with a 3 second freeze in the catch

We’ll be getting some dedicated snatch and clean work in on Wednesdays and Fridays over the next few week before getting into some gymnastics progressions in the new year.

Use the hang snatch pull to prime your positioning for the second lift. Be very dilligent about the freeze in the catch on the power snatch. If you aren’t able to maintain position for a solid 3 seconds, then decrease the weight, don’t squat as low, or both.

The majority of the benefit we get from snatching has nothing to do with going heavy on the lift. The movement develops speed, power, coordination, and balance, and all of those gains can be had well below 75% of your max. Don’t let your ego push you towards an uncoordinated and off-balance lift with a sluggish lockout. Even (especially) if your goal is competetive performance, you’ll be limiting your potential by training sloppy technique in favor of a couple of short-term PRs. Lift pretty!

Workout of the Day
3 rounds for time:
9 push jerks
150 drag rope single unders
21 front squats

15 minute time cap

Select a barbell weight that you’re confident squatting for sets of at least 7 at the end of the workout. The push jerks should take no more than two sets in any given round. You’ll move through this workout very quickly if you’re comfortable with the barbell. Plan on it, but don’t let your technique get sketchy in pursuit of speed. Be sure to stand all the way up on the front squats; not only is it part of the lift’s full range of motion, but it will give your quads a fraction of a second to release tension and delay fatigue.

standard: 75/55
rx: 115/85
sport: 135/95
metcon: 5×2:00 on, 0:30 off

Skill
10×3 strict or weighted pull up

Take a minute or so between each set. Scale to banded pull ups or ring rows if needed, but be sure that the difficulty you choose is tough enough that 3 reps withough a break is very challenging by the end of your ten sets.

Workout of the Day
4 rounds:
1 minute of box jump overs
1 minute of toes to bar
1 minute of kettlebell swings
1 minute of rest

Scale the toes to bar by adjusting the target height or switching to V-ups or med ball sit ups. Lower the weight on the kettlebell swing if need be; you should be able to hit sets of at least 10 to 15 without too much trouble. Push the pace on the box jump overs after the minute rest, but don’t compromise your focus on safe and precise footwork.

standard: 16/12 kg KB, 20/12 inch box
rx: 24/16 kg KB, 24/20 inch box
sport: 32/24 kg KB, 24/20 inch box
metcon: 4×3:00 on, 1:00 off

Skill
EMOM for 8 minutes:
Power clean
Hang squat clean
Hang power clean
Jerk

Newer lifters: take your time working through this complex, making sure that you’re hitting each lift correctly. Try to catch at intentionally different depths in your squat on the hang squat clean versus the hang power clean, and be sure to fully stand up and take a moment between each lift before starting the next.

Experienced lifters: keep the bar moving the whole way through this complex, never coming to a complete stop. Cycle the bar straight off the shoulders and into the next lift as you stand up from the previous one. Pay particular attention to the hang power clean to jerk transition; your partial squat in the hang power clean should serve as the wind-up for your jerk. It’s ok to go heavy, don’t go so heavy that you miss that tempo. Prioritize smooth cadence, excellent balance, and very consistent technique.

Workout of the Day
AMRAP in 6 minutes:
12 hang power cleans
12 lateral burpees

4 minute rest

AMRAP in 6 minutes:
20/15 calories
12 lateral burpees

You should be well-prepared to smoothly cycle a lighter hang power clean in the workout today; pick a weight that never takes more than 2 easy sets. Six minutes is very short, and 4 minutes is a very long rest. Push the pace today! We rarely do a full-on sprint in the workout, but this time domain is flirting with it.

standard: 75/55
rx: 95/65
sport: 115/85
metcon: 6:00 on, 4:00 off, 6:00 on

Workout of the Day
3 rounds for time:
1,000 meter run
50 wall balls

30 minute time cap

Use a medicine ball weight that lets you hit sets of 5-10 without too much rest throughout the whole workout. Scale the run so that it doesn’t take much longer than 5 minutes. If you can finish the run is sub-5 and hit 10 wall balls a minute across the whole workout, you’ll finish in under the cap. That can be a tall order though, so no worries at all if you don’t manage it. Good luck!

standard: 12/8 lb ball
rx and sport: 20/14 lb ball
metcon: 4×5:00 on, 1:00 off

Workout of the Day
3 rounds:
3 minutes to run 400 meters, then max push ups in the remaining time
1 minute rest
3 minutes to complete a 200 meter farmer’s carry (KB+DB), then max single arm overhead dumbbell lunges in the remaining time
1 minute rest

Pick a run/carry distance that won’t take much more than 2 minutes to complete; you want to have at least a minute or so to work on your push ups and lunges in each round. Scale the push ups by dropping to your knees or going to a box. The lunges can be done in a goblet or rack position if the overhead is too much on your shoulder mobility. Add up all of your push ups and lunges at the end of the workout.

standard: 35/20 lb DB, 16/12 kg KB
rx: 50/35 lb DB, 24/16 kg KB
sport: sandbag carry instead of farmer’s carry, barbell overhead lunge at 115/85 instead of DB
metcon: 6×3:00 on, 1:00 off

Skill
Deadlift
5 reps at 65%
3 reps at 75%
1 or more reps at 85%

We’re in our last week of the full Winter Strength cycle! Use any updated maxes you’ve established earlier in the progression to calculate today’s percentages, and push the reps on the last set.

Workout of the Day
For time:
40 box jumps
20 toes to bar
40 power snatches
20 toes to bar
40 box jumps

Time cap: 18 minutes

Go very light on the barbell; you should be able to hit sets of ten without much rest. Scale the toes to bar by reducing the range of motion, with the goal of hitting about 5 reps every 20 seconds or so. Try to move smoothly but without a rush on the box jumps, and reduce the height if needed to accomplish this. Be wary of your grip heading back to the second round of toes to bar!

standard: 45/35 pound bar, 20/12 inch box
rx: 75/55 pound bar, 24/20 inch box
sport: 75/55 pound bar, 24/20 inch box, 60-30-60-30-60 reps instead of 40-20-40-20-40
metcon:

Skill
7 rounds:
45 seconds of calories
15 seconds of rest
45 seconds of rest (or plank)
15 second of rest

Push hard on the 45 second effort, and consider taking the full 45 seconds to rest in the opposite interval. If you do take that full rest, this will function as all-out sprint training, and you should be pacing it accordingly. If you decide to plank, you’ll have to back off the power output on the machine a little bit to accomodate the active hold in place of a true rest interval.

Machines are an excellent way to safely experiment with very aggressive sprint pacing; if that’s something you haven’t done before then we encourage you to try out the full rest/sprint variant!

Workout of the Day
AMRAP in 12 minutes:
12 single arm dumbbell push presses
12 dumbbell goblet lunges
40 double unders

Pick a dumbbell weight that makes it so that you can finish the push presses in either a set of 6 on each arm, or a single set on one arm (switching to the other arm the next round). The goal of this workout is to move smoothly and quickly from one thing to the next, with no major sticking points. Scale the jump rope so that it doesn’t take more than about 30-45 seconds each round, even later on in the workout.

standard: 35/20
rx: 50/35
sport: 50/35, drag rope
metcon: 3×3:00 on, 1:00 off