Back Squats and Power Cleans; It’s a Barbell Friday!
Hey y’all, it’s Friday again! Today we will be working for the weekend using barbells, so get ready for a heaping helping of awesome!
First, today’s strength focus is the Back Squats, and like the other lifts this week, these are now getting into the heavy side of things. Get warmed up and make 3-4 jumps of small sets (3-5 reps) to get to your working weight. Today that will be 85-90% of your (OLD) 1RM, emphasis on the “OLD”. You have put in a lot of work and done many reps over the last 8 weeks. Whatever you got on your original 1RMs at the beginning of the cycle has evolved. In two weeks you will have a NEW 1RM, so don’t focus on the number here. Yes, it’s heavy. No, it’s not as close to your limit as you think.
With that said, REALLY focus on the points of performance here: 1) Keep. Your. Core. TIGHT! Brace and keep that “Bullet proof belly” through the entire movement. This will protect your back! 2) Neutral lumbar spine. Don’t arch your back trying to keep your shoulders high. Don’t let the weight bend you over, causing extension of the spine. (See #1). 3) Hips back and down, keeping in your heels so you can use those big, strong muscles in the back of the legs. 4) Breathe. It’s a biological necessity.
When you get that AWESOME work done, strip your bars down to a weight that you can do 5 power cleans relatively easily (since you’re fresh). The RX today is 95/65 as a point of reference. When that is set where it needs to be, get an ab-mat and do a few practice sit ups. When you have your station set up, it’s time to get to the WOD; as fast as you can, complete 30-35-20-15 reps of Power Cleans and Sit-Ups. This one is simple and straightforward, but it is not easy. Sets of 5 power cleans is a great way to go. Do 5, mark your white board, do 5 more, rinse, repeat. Marking the whiteboard forces you to take 5 seconds to recover before the next set. At first, this will feel unnecessary, but trust me, this one gets really grippy, really fast.
Go fast, finish strong, get it done. Then tell someone in class they’re amazing.
As you go through your day, weekend, life in general; never forget: You can do anything you want in life. You can be anything. So, always be kind.
See you on Monday for week 9. It’s about to get real.
STR: Back Squats 3-3-3-3-3 @ 85-90% (old) 1RM
WOD: FOR TIME
30-25-20-15
Power Cleans (95/65)
Ab-mat Sit-ups
Str: 180#
WoD: 8:39 Rx
Str: 135#
WoD: 7:35 @ 55#
Still going light while coming back from an injury, but this went well!