Training Tips for March 18

Body-weight Workout

Part 1:

The push up variations are a good challenge for upper body strength as well as shoulder stability. Keep your shoulders neutral, don’t work at a level beyond good shoulder stabilization. Push ups from the knees are a good way to reduce intensity, also using a raised object like a couch arm or another heavy object not likely to slide. The superman’s shouldn’t be aggressively arched, think to push your hands and feet away from each other while lifting them off the floor.

Part 2:

Amraps for rounds are always tough, often we start the first one at a pace too fast to be able to match in the second. Your goal should be to get the same number of rounds and maybe a few more reps on the second. If you don’t succeed that’s fine, just make a mental note to start slower next time. Skipping rope is about a consistent rhythm, trying to go to fast and even too slow usually results in more misses, and rope throwing frustration, so it’s about finding the right speed for you that day. Flutter kicks often look more like Lui Kang bicycle kicking a foe than the grace the word flutter evokes but, we get it. Keep your feet as low as you can without burning your abs to death, lightly seared is best. For the jumping lunges, the jump is more about switching your feet than it is about height for our purposes. Extend the legs but think more about moving smooth from one rep to the next.

Dumbbell Workout

Part 1:

The press, your goal should be to start at a moderate weight you know you can complete for 12-15 reps, and by the end of the sets should be heavy enough that 8 is becoming difficult. Not a struggle, uncomfortable.

Part 2:

High hold means you will be placing the dumbbells on your shoulders. Your goal is to find a placement that can be held easily without blowing up your shoulders, and still lightly touch your back knee to the floor without without them falling forward. Flutter kicks should look like a graceful ballerina, not a Lui Kang attack. Keep your feet low, move them about 6″. Skipping rope should be faster than just jumping rope, the less your feet move than faster the rope can move.

Barbell workout:

Part 1:

Engage a strong brace at the start of the press and squeeze it tight throughout the lift. The bar should be in the middle of your palm, not back on your knuckles so some wrist flexibility work may be in order. Start light and build heavier and even the last set should be touch and go off your chest.

Part 2:

The hang split clean should be caught high in a power position with your front foot flat and your back foot on your forefoot with the heel off the ground. For those comfortable with split jerks these will still often challenge your non-dominant leg so balance and stand up quickly. Long catches get worse. Big sets at that weight should be doable but unbroken is unlikely. Flutter kicks should look like a graceful ballerina, not a Lui Kang attack. Keep your feet low, move them about 6″. Skipping rope should be faster than jumping rope, the less your feet move than faster the rope can move.

Jeff Edwards

- National Coach USA Weightlifting - Crossfit Coach of individual and team competitors - Outdoorsy nerd - Owner and Head Coach at BR Fit Club