performed non-stop, staying with the same weight or trying to ramp up to a heavy triple with rest?

Hey, just got back from a trip, it's good to be back, looking forward for tomorrow's workout. I enjoy low rep Snatch + Overhead Squat combination a lot. Dan John's article rocks!!!

I think also that we need to perform lots of rotational work in WODs to be strong in all planes of motion.

Try overhead squats next to guys doing half depth back squats. They think we're crazy!!!

how about windshield wipers? they are rotational and I don't think they have come up in the six months since I started crossfit.

Hey thats a good read! Good find.

Can anyone explain what knees to elbows are? The link under "exercises" is not working for me.

Nevermind, I found it on an old crossfit message board from April...

Used 45kg on all rounds. My grip was shot from grip training yesterday, very hard to hold on to the bar for KTE's.

First time to do overhead squats.
Used the 45lb bar x10 reps. Quads were cramping by the end.

Beth I thought you were such a nice person until now, what are you trying to do kill me. Coach don't listen to her, I do wipers everyday they are too easy. No need to put them in a WOD!

10:53 with 40 Kilos all the weight I have.

95 on the OHsqts, I worked up from 55#... olny 60 more# to reach BWT.. it could be a while.

Beth

Yes, Windshield wipers are excelent -- try a combo of a Knees to Elbows + Winshield Wipers. Landmine work is really good too.

What is landmine work?

18mins
45lb bar for OHS, my K2Es were terrible, more jump then pull.

Ramped up for the OH squats
1-135
2-155
3-175
4-185 shoulders started feeling a bit weak, haven't felt great since the Lynne
Round 5,6, and 7 - 165

Last three rounds of KTE were broken.

Finished with 10 extra OH squats with 95# and 200 external rotations for the rotator cuffs.

95 lb. OHS for all sets.
Two sets of KTE broken due to grip failing.

I never realized how far apart the feet should be (and also angled rather sharply outward) on an OH-squat until looking at the pics in the Dan John article.

45-55 pounds on all sets of overhead squats. I ended up doing several additional sets working on form. I think I am finally getting the hang of them.

No broken sets of knees to elbows.

13:39

OH squats
Round 1-4 - 55#
Round 5-6 - 65#
Round 7 - 75#

Should have jumped to 75 earlier.

KTEs broken after 1st round.

1 - 95
2 - 105
3 - 115
4 - 125
5 - 135
6 - 145 Stumblin & bumblin
7 - 145

Poor flexibility. Can't stay on my heels. Balance was a problem.
KTE broken after round 2

So we are supposed to rotate one round of OHS and then one round of KTE and do that 7 times correct? How many KTE are we supposed to do in that set?

Warmed up with a 3 mi run and the CF warm-up including handstand practice :) All OH squats with 40 lb bar. I could not even come close to a KTE so I did N-ups lying on the floor. I also threw in a few sets of lying leg thrusts and ball crunches at the end. Any advice on how to work up to KTEs?

9:11 - 75# OH squats

All squats hams on calves for a one second count. Could go up 5-10# the next time.

KTE were the best they have ever been - all 7 sets of 10 with no breaks and arms virtually straight! I'm usually lucky to make one set of 10 with lots of broken sets following...don't know what changed today but I am very pleased!

Inspired by TJ Cooper's amazing box jumps and Brad Hirakawa's beautiful no kip MUs in Colorado, I worked on the following taking just over 5 minutes:

10 box jumps/1 no kip MU starting with my legs in half an L-sit for seven rounds. My box jumps stink (I always land with a 400# thud) so I practiced on a 13" box. During the last sets I was actually doing light, quick jumps and landings. As I get better I'll start increasing the height. MUs went well except that once I'm on top of the rings I forget about my body from the waist down and still do that ugly "fish out of water" leg flopping.

35# clubbell (seven minutes):

3x5/5 swing to order, no choke
3x3/3 muscleouts, full choke
2x10/10 side semis

1x20/20 two hand 15# clubbell hams on calves "thrusters", no choke - need a heavier cb (but not as heavy as the 35!) to make this effective.

Eric, you got it. One round consists of 3 OHS and 10 KTE. Do seven of them.

To determine a snatch grip wouldn't it be better to grip the bar with your whole hand, not just the finger tips?

Yes, of course you would want a full grip. Matt is just rolling the dowel around to establish the limits of his shoulder flexibility. This gives him an idea as to where his hand position should be.

My point is that if you try to snatch/overhead squat with too narrow a hand position you will have trouble.

Hi Lauren,

Looks like I didn't phrase that properly. Why is Matt not rolling the dowel with a full grip?

When he finds the narrowest grip, does this become his snatch grip or is there a further adjustment at that point?

did CF warm up minus situps. broken pullup sets.
OHS 45# for first set and 65 for the rest
KTE were more like knees to armpits or knees to mid humeral shaft. broken sets 5/5 for the last 3 rounds. didn't really realize how much back is involved with KTEs

Paul,
The photo is demonstrating a stretch, therefore grip is not crucial. At the point that we want to establish the grip for his lifts, he would fully grip the dowel.

Once the narrowest grip is found, it is good to then try the overhead squat with that hand position - to see if further adjustments are needed. But I find that it is usually a very good starting point for the snatch grip.

1 45 lbs
2 45 lbs
3 75 lbs
4 75 lbs
5 85 lbs
6 95 lbs
7 95 lbs

I didn't do to well on the KTE. The first round I was able to do an honest 4 KTE. The rest were about half way. The rest of my rounds I was only able to perform 1 or 2 correct KTE's.

My question is this. Is it better to do the remaining KTE's halfway or to stop..rest 10 seconds, do a complete KTE and then repeat until you get to 10 reps?

I'm pretty out of breath and my lats, legs and abs are already pretty sore from this workout. Its my second WOD and I can see how this workout will get you into shape.

Started with 50 situps and a 10k run.

Then did a modified crossfit warmup, 3 rounds: sampson stretch, broomstick stretch (as pictured), diamond dog pushups, gh raises from floor, dips (on my new dip bar), handstand drills.

Then did 7 rounds of 3x 95lb OHS and 10 x K2E, all unbroken until sets 6 and 7 on K2E, which went 5,5 and 4,3,3.
Time = 12:10

Cooled down with some tornado ball swinging, some kettlebell work, and some 10lb dumbbell palms.

Reintegrating the O-lift warm-up. C&Js singles @ 135# w/45 second rest.

Started w/135# for the OHS on this one, adding 10# every round. Got to 175# and failed on the bottom of the last rep for two rounds before pulling back to 165# on the final round. Broken KTEs on the last two rounds. Rested one minute between rounds.

started with a brisk 4 mile walk

ohs 20 lbs db each hand for 5 reps -7 rds

kte 5 reps- 7rds

both first timers on ohs and kte

kinda a practice with both definately breathing hard...

a good practice wieght for ohs

Michael P.

Landmine is simply sticking a bar (7 footer) into the corner (wrap a towel around the corner end), sliding a plate or a couple according to your abilities at the other end and facing the unit with your legs shoulder width apart rotating the bar from one hip to another on extended (little bend) arms. I'm a striker (thaiboxer) so I rotate the hips too and pivote on the balls of the feet, although I've seen football players not doing that and still getting a great torso workout.

Windmills with either a KB or a DB work great too. Also I like throwing a KB on the beach and doing a variety of other rotational drills with KBs, DBs and medicine balls. At the seminar in Colorado the DynoMax guys had an excellent presentation -- they said that rotation occurs almost in everything we do and they are so right. That is why we need to adress that plane of motion with proper training.

Hunting around for a max. on these...

OH Squats:
(3 x 125) x 2
(3 x 140) x 2
(3 x 145) x 2
3 x 150
-All KTEs were controlled and unbroken-
1 min. rest between rounds.

And this (150lbs.) wasn't it. Limiting factor was shoulders (not legs or balance/core). Which makes perfect sense given what I'd already done this morning (WOD was workout #2). Wasn't going to go any higher today, but I'd say there's another 20-30lbs. on tap with "fresh" shoulders.

Well, the OHS today were a futile effort. Ican't help but lean my chest forward to counter balance my body weight. My lower back ends up aching a lot, and my legs not at all. If I keep my torso straight as I drop down, I fall backward onto my rear. It's like there is no muscle there to help me balance (which of course is not true) I even tried to do them with just my fingers interlocked behind my head. No dice. Any more suggestions?

165

Worked up to 95 lbs. Surprised myself by doing the first 4 sets of KTEs unbroken.

OH squats all at 135lbs. K2E were broken sets!

1 95
2 105
3 115
4 125
5 135
6 145
7 145

all knees to elbows done w/o breaks

used 95#, nice and steady pace

from 55 to 80# in steps of 5, knees-to-elbows unbroken on first 3 and 6th set

Seven rounds of:
Overhead squats, 3 reps (65#, 1RM was 95# from 11/24/04)
10 Knees to elbows (1-3 no breaks, 4-7 broken 7,3)
Did an 8th rd with 75# and felt good, will try a focus day next week for a new 1RM

I did not know my 1rm so kinda winged it here we go.

1-135
2-155
3-255
4-165
5-165
6-175
7-155

All kte done unbroken until last set 9,1. Lost my grip i was so mad.

finished with recon ron pull-routine level 16

Maybe I'm dense, but I'm not getting the "grip" thing. I recognize that what Matt is doing is a stretch, but I don't fully understand what we're looking for in snatch or OS grip.
Do I want the point at which my arms can no longer rotate?
Or the point just before that, the widest point at which my arms *can* rotate?
Thanks,
JK

all ohs @135lbs
kte all broken sets

I have been gone for a couple of weeks, moving into a new house and dealing with all that comes with that.Anyway no clock today but OHS were 95# and KTE were unbroken.

Jonathan,
You are not dense, I am probably not being clear.
The stretch is great prep for overhead work.
If you have a grip that allows you to rotate through the full range of motion, your grip is probably not too narrow and you will be able to do an overhead squat.

I was very impressed with the article...what ever became of the author? I heard he sold out...

I really enjoyed seeing the Q and A Section...I had forgotten all about those...

Man...325 pd back squats have little transfer to OH squats!
BUT after not being able to do ONE...with a body bar 3 months ago due to shoilder inflexibility... I am now in the triple figures.yeah!
65-75-80-85-95-100-100.. full range!
but I feel out of control with them!
KTE unbroken...no problem.

I heard that Dan John retired and gained 200lbs but still wears that same blue lifting suit whenever he's in public. The article and Q&A are still real solid despite the author's later demise.

100# (2/3 bodyweight) on the bar. Knees to elbows done from rings with bar suspended between. Often a toe touch at bottom to stop the swing. I wasn't sure if there was a time element so I glanced at the clock at the start and end.

About 12:00.

-D.

as rx'd
7 rounds
205lb oh squat
10 kte(all but 1st set were broken)
i timed myself out of interest=18:00 even

155 w/ 5 sec pause. KTE all done on rings.
21:03

6:00 flat no breaks with 145

started with 175 but decided against it while going with no breaks, so i reset the clock and the wieght. wish i had read the comments first, this would have been fun with an actual max poundage.

Worked up to 90# on OHS, just over 50% BW.
KTE's were broken, usually due to grip.

Question: I was not able to touch my elbows until I started to bend my arms slightly. The Journal says touching the elbows is a must. Is bending the arms cheating?

I'll had a hard time at first. For some reason it looked and felt as if I'd never done an overhead squat before, so I started from scratch with just the bar and began working my way up finishing with 145. KTE were unbroken. Finished with 2 sets deadlifts and static pull up holds at the top.
Since Pull ups are the bane of my existence, I'm trying to improve on them.

45 lbs
12:50
kte sloppy at end

Today was really rough on me for some reason.

First, I read the rounds wrong so I did 7 OH squats with 35lbs in the first round. Then my pullup bar decided to rotate no matter what I did during the knees to chest turning it into a wonderful grip workout. When I read the wod again before the second round I correct my OH squats to 3 at 65lbs but I seem to have hurt my shoulder and it got worse during each round so I stopped after 4 rounds and iced it instead. I had a full BJJ workout beforehand which isn't my usual pattern and may have made a difference. I usually do BJJ in the night.

Will,
It is OK to bend your arms slightly - you were not cheating!

OHS 65 lbs (still learning form)
KTE super sloppy

OHS

75
95
95
95
105
105
115

KTE: all unbroken sets

I'm still working on form for OHS, but I think I have it now.

I worked up to 115lbs on the overhead squats. I'm still learning and have to place a 1/2'' plate under my heels due to inflexibility during this excercise.

Knees to elbows went along fine.

Sean P.

OK, not to beat a dead horse, but here is a photo sequence showing one approach to establishing a snatch grip. http://www.crossfit.com/cf-photos/snatch_grip.pdf

Even with this approach, I would make sure you could roll your shoulders through the full range of motion. If you cannot, back the grip out slightly until you can. This should be a good starting point for your snatch grip.

So I am sharing my humiliation with the rest of you. Warmed up as usual with 3 sets of overhead squats X 15 reps followed by 1 set of overhead squats with 65 X 15. All squats hamstrings to calfs, this is my usual warmup. Put 95 on the bar. FAILED. I think this lift is going to increase very slowly for me.

Connor did all sets with 45 pounds.

Lauren-

Thanks for the info.

Mr. John, if you've sold out, can we bid on your blue lifting suit? Just kidding, your web page ROCKS!

Worked up to 95# on OHS. That is, by far, the most weight I have used on those yet. It felt good to be able to a little over half of my BW.

KTE went well. First set was unbroken. The rest were broken.

115X3X3X3
120X3X3
125X3
130X3
All K to E unbroken - a big improvement!
Glad to be back after being sick!

60lbs x 2
65lbs x 3
75lbs x 2

KTE were fairly solid but needed to touch toes between reps which provided a bit of rest. Would've been much tougher to go non-stop. These hurt my injured rotator cuff but I'm not sure if they are hurting it worse or helping get the flexibility back in some way.

after reading dan john's site, i was pumped to really get into the OH squat in order to become "one piece" (actually i just want to be an "animal")...then i got a call from my recruiter informing me of a change in my pst date (bumped back to the 15th). so im stuck working up to that. cant wait to get it over w/ so i can get on w/ my (crossfit) life.

ran for 20min (~2.5mi) then swam 1000m and am doing pushups, situps, and pullups throughout the day....boring but necessary for specificity reasons.

As Rx'd:

OHS ... 95 lbs
KTE ... all unbroken sets

Had to go light on OHS today because my shoulders were still sore from the sets of fifteen reps that we did at the beginning of the last 3 day cycle.

Errr!!

Somehow I missread the WOD and did singles instead of the triples. So there it goes:

Light bar OL Snatch warm-up
45 lbs bar OL warm-up

Power Snatch + Overhead Squat/
Leg Raise (shins to the bar) + Winshield Wipers:

3x95 lbs + 3LRWW combo
2x115 lbs + 2LRWW
1x125 lbs + 1LRWW
1x130 lbs + 1 LRWW
1x135 lbs + 1 LRWW
1x140 lbs + 1 LRWW (new PR!)
1x145 lbs (fail)
1x135 lbs + 1 LRWW

Finished with:
2 three minute rounds of H2H drillswith a 36 lbs KB
5 Evil Wheels

Ran 6 miles
Work out as described
65, 85, 95, 115, 115, 115, 115

sets of Overhead squats 3 reps per:
1 95#
2 115#
3 135#
4 135#
5 135#
6 135#
7 145#

Knees-to-elbows done as prescribed.
Stayed at 135# for most sets. Just trying to get used to doing Overhead squats and Snatches.

Did a 2-mile warm-up on treadmill.

Over-head squats: 130-lbs x 3-reps (deep squats).
10-Knees to chest.

Did all 7 sets with 130-lbs (deep squats)...

Good WOD! Took NO rest periods! Just went to and from the squat rack and pull-up bar (for K 2 C).

All sets with 75#, full depth. First set of kte unbroken, sets of 5 after that.
~12:00 Forgot the stopwatch.
Ordered a G shock nuclear solar watch for me for Xmas.
Paid $45 on Ebay. Can't wait for it to get here!!!

65-70-75(1 rep)-70-70-70-75(heel came up on last rep). Knees to elbows as rx'd.

weight x sets of OHS, 3 reps:
45x1, 55x1, 65x3, 75x1, 65x1
10 Knees-to-elbows each round, all sets broken

Did these with heels raised on plates. 75lb was too much. Man, that 15 reps of bodyweight OHS is a L O N G way away :) .

Trying to get the intensity back up after being sick for two weeks with a bad cold. Lost 5 lbs in 12 days!

75 lbs for the first 6 sets then I upped it to 95 for the last set because I was able to get more comfortable with the OHS. Bar cleaned from floor each set.

KTE were broken after the 3rd set. I kept my elbows straight with overhand grip only for the entire workout.

10:35

ohs:
3x45
3x65
3x85
3x85
3x85
3x85
3x85

kte:
sets of 5. uh....these were harder than they looked; a lot harder.

I'm discovering a love for the overhead squat. Great exercise!

Load by round: 95-125-135-145-155-160-170

I suspect that 175 or 180 is my practical maximum on the OHS. I took the bar off a power rack rather than trying to snatch those poundages. It's interesting in that the limiting factor isn't leg strength so much as upper body strength: how much you can hold overhead.

KTEs were TOUGH! I did sets of 3-4.

25kg x 3
25kg x 3
30kg x 3
30kg x 3
40kg x 3
45kg x 3
50kg x 3

I power snatched the weight to OHS start position.

Form and balance is getting better

Knees to Elbows tough as always - did first 5 sets to elbows and the last two to almost elbows

Jim

was pumped up for the over head squats today!
185x3
195x3
205x3
205x3
205x3
205x3
205x3

About 15 min. (forgot watch)

first set at 65#, then 75# for the rest.
KTE sets broken 7/3.

Late entry.

135#
135
145
145
145
135
135

Wife:
OHS - 45# (Form is getting much better!)
Each set consisted of 5 KTE attempts -- not quite touching elbows -- and 5 knees to chest w/ arms supported. KTEs were MUCH better than last time.

Thank you for these great WODs. It's interesting to note how much we have improved.

11:39 with 95 lbs

CF warmup w/ 10-rep-sets,
70,90,100,105,110,110,110
KTE all unbroken, discovered how to do these fast on last set using a sort of kipping motion

Tougher WOD than I thought. Started with 65# OHS form laden. Got up to 80# could have gone heavier but back gets to me. Form real and strong, down to full squat.
Eric-SLC

First WOD ever!
OH squats 95 lbs. Did sets of 5 because I felt like using a lighter weight with more reps. Also did sets of 5 on KTE. I went easy on this WOD because I want to ease into the program by going lighter on the weights, and cutting reps when I can't reduce the weight.
Matt
Time to go surf.

OH squats; all at 135lbs.
Knees to Elbows; broken sets

BW-175

OHSquat
3x65
3x85
3x95
3x105 (FAIL)
3X95
3X85
3X85

My failure at 105 was due mostly to fear, I think. The KTE were pretty good; the first 3 sets were unbroken; the last four were broken into two sets of 7 and 3.

OHS's/KTE's (All KTE's on a set of Power Rings)

3x110/10
3x110/10 - just about lost the bar @ 110lbs
3x90/10
3x90/6-4
3x100/7-3 with false grip
3x100/5-4-1 with false grip
3x100/4-3-3 with false grip

I didn't think to practice or use a false grip on the KTE's until the 5th round.

OH squats are tough, but felt a bit more solid today. Will keep increasing weight over time.
3x65
3x65
3x70
3x70
3x75
3x80
3x85

KTE's were actually no problem tonight.

3 month anniversary of posting to CF today!

That was actually posted by Steve

Ran 3 miles
used #115 for OHS. Time was 12:09.
Finished up with 40 1.5 pood KB snatches.

a day behind again.
looks like there's another JC on the board now. i had it first! ;-)
BW = 170#
OH squats
3x135
3x155
1x185+2x165 (too much too soon)
3x155
3x155
3x165
3x175
added a few more at the end:
1x185,5x135,1x195
all knees to elbows as prescribed, last 3 sets broken. whole thing took about 20 min.
then rowed 1000m in 3:41.
looking forward to the "4 rounds of death" tomorrow.

75/75/80/80/85/90/95. No breaks on KTEs.

Warmed up with some clubs and did Sotts presses between rounds; 25# ok, 30 tough. It'll be a while before I'm challenging Mike Mahler at these...

late post - but done on time
3@45 10@bw
3@55 6-4@bw
3@65 6-3-1
3@75 6-2-2
2/1@85 6-4
2/1@85 6-4
3@85 5-3-2

as can be seen, I really need to work on form with the overhead squats - they are in my warmup, but I've got a long ways to go.

finished up with pigs-on-ice complex 25 lb dbs * 2 them 30 lb dbs * 1

47kg for 4 sets
52kg for 3 sets

Seven rounds of:
Overhead squats, 105lbs, 3 reps
10 Knees to Chest for 3 rounds, 5 knees to elbows for 4 rounds

I did the knees to elbows with bent arms and was surprised at how easy they were. Next time I'll do the full sets of 10.

Overhead squats feeling a lot better with a wider grip!

40
50
55x2.5 dropped!
55x3x3x3
60x 2.5 dropped
then 1 single

fun fun!!

Nancy
began with the goal of doing rounds of 75# for the OH squat. Had to lighten the load to 30#. 2 rounds of 400M on the treadmill and on the 3rd I puled my hamstring. I switched to the C2 rower and did 3 rounds on it. Need to improve my pacing. I had way too much to give in the end.
24:13

loads:
1: 45
2: 50
3: 55
4: 55
5: 60
6: 60
7: 65

Did this workout in recovery style
15# DB OH squat
Started out doing KNE's without breaks but by the seventh round was doing them in sets of two. need to improve my endurance obviously.