January 30, 2013
February 2, 2013
UP IN ARMS

As we close in on our final days at our temporary home, it seemed only appropriate that we revisit a workout from our first days in the empty room barely two months ago.

Warm-Up: 
2min Single Skip; 
2 x 5 Pass Thrus w/ Jump Rope, 10 OHS w/ Jump Rope, & 10 Spider Lunges; 
2min Single Skip 
Skill Review: 
Hollow Position and Wall Wall Walks 

1) Inch Worm to Prone Hollow Hold 

We began the review session with 4 rounds of our newest amalgamation which coupled the inch worm exercise with the prone hollow hold. Starting from the standing position, the idea is to walk your hands out as far as possible, extending the body over the ground while maintaining the hollow position in a face-down fashion (similar to the prone hollow holds from last Sunday). At the extreme of the position, hold for 5-10 seconds, and then drop the knees to come out. We coupled this with a short cobra stretch to help stretch out the abs.

2) Wall-Walk with Hold 

The goal behind the inchworm to prone hollow hold is understanding how to maintain tension in the hollow position while in motion, similar to the wall walks. To drive home this point, we followed up with a few rounds of wall walks, working on keeping the elbows and knees extended with the the hips tucked forward into the hollow position as we walked back up the wall.

Met-Con: 
10 x 2min Rounds of HSPU Ladder and AMRAP DUs

As mentioned above, Thursday’s met-con was a retread of a workout we hit back in early December (“HEAD AND SHOULDERS ABOVE“). The difference in Thursday’s version was the inclusion of 20 seconds of rest each round. However, the remainder was the same, including the two different options: 

Option #1: 2+ HSPU ladder with max DUs remainder of 2 minutes; or,  

Option #2: 2 Wall Walks with max DUs remainder of 2 minutes 

The met-con was run in two minute blocks, with 1:40 spent working and :20 dedicated to rest. Each block began with everyone tackling their prescribed number of HSPU or wall walks, and then completing as many DUs as possible in the time remaining. HSPU were done ladder-style, adding 2 more HSPU each round, so long as the previous round was successful. Failing to finish the RX’d number of HSPU meant starting back at the bottom of the ladder in the next round. Those not fully comfortable with HSPU simply did 2 Wall Walks each round.

As for DUs, while Thursday’s class included a sub, it also included some encouragement. Those without sufficient DUs did 20 mountain climbers immediately after coming off the wall (20/leg, so 40 total). However, after picking up the rope, they could single skips, or they could give double unders a shot. Instead of trying one at a time however, the suggested approach was to string two or three single skips together followed by a double under.

Again, it’s nice to have the opportunity to work on DUs during a met-con in order to experience not just the effect of an elevated heart rate, but also on the amount of effort it takes to maintain the proper body positioning at all times. See you all this weekend, where we will doubtless be breaking out the barbells once again.

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0 Comments

  1. Katie says:

    I found a version of inchworms I like! The inchworm to prone position was cool. I need to remember to round my back a little more on these so it’s more level with my hips.

    Rough night for me. My body was tired and not responding like I wanted it to…frustrating when there’s no apparent reason for it. My quads were exhausted by about round 3, and I really struggled to get through the mountain climbers. This is one of the few workouts I’ve ever done where I thought I might have to take a DNF. Thank goodness that wasn’t the case.

    All was not lost, though. At approximately round 7 Tom told me to work on DUs, and I got a great tip from Sara to tilt the pelvis up before starting, tighten my quads and glutes, and squeeze my legs together. This felt very different from what I’ve been doing and feels promising. My new approach will be to try this position with single skips to get comfortable with it, and then implement for DU attempts.

    Thank you to Sara for the great tip and also for the DELICIOUS brownies! Yummmm.

    Happy Friday everyone! Stay well!

  2. Sara says:

    Katie – You are very welcome.

    HSPUs and DUs are 2 movements I need extra work on. As a result I the workout with both the 6 & 7 PM. I went a little lighter on the DUs in 7 but found that they seemed to be a bit better. I had some wonky wrists when doing the DUs which resulted in lots of welts on my forarms, top of my hands and my shins.

    I was doing mostly kipping HSPUs which feel much better and definitely use a lot less of the shoulders. I got up to 4 reps once or twice and was consistantly getting 2-3 reps in a row. I think they were better in the 7PM than the 6. I do still have to work on strict HSPUs because I can only get 1 or on occasion 2 at a time.

    The Brownies were a Happy Belated Birthday to our Fearless Leader Tom. I am glad you enjoyed them.