Workout 400 - Clean and Jerk

FOR TIME

1 - 10 Power Cleans

10 - 1 Shoulder to Overhead

General Warm Up

3-5min of Cardio of Choice, then…

3 Rounds

50 Single Unders or Single Tap Penguin Jumps

10 Good Mornings

6 Spiderman Lunges (3 per leg)

5 Bootstrap Squats

5-10 Push Ups

5-10 Bodyweight Rows

Specific Warm Up

There are two movements on the docket today, but if we put them together, they add up to a standard Clean and Jerk. That means we need to prepare for potentially 3 phases of motion: taking a weight from the ground to the thigh, then from the thigh to the shoulder, then from the shoulder to overhead.

With a very light weight (empty bar or PVC Pipe or Broom stick) start by doing 5 reps of a standard Deadlift (ground to thigh.) If that feels ok, try 5 Hang Power Cleans (thigh to shoulder.) If that goes well, perform the following sequence of Shoulder to Overhead motions: 3 Strict Presses, 3 Push Presses, then 3 Push Jerks.

If some of that didn’t work for you, that’s ok! We will have modifications below. If it did go well, let’s now switch over to our particular variations of the day. Still with your light weight, perform 5 Power Cleans (Ground to Shoulder in one motion.) Then, do 5 Shoulder to Overheads with whichever variation you like best. Continue this sequence of 5+5, gradually adding weight, until you get to a weight at which you think you can do 10 challenging Shoulder to Overheads in a row.

Workout of the Day

FOR TIME

1 → 10 Power Cleans

10 → 1 Shoulder to Overhead

Workout Notes

Ok we’ve got a workout today that is really simple, but as its description is going to sound overly complicated. I promise, it’s not as confusing as it will sound! Let’s break it down…

First, this workout is FOR TIME, which means that we are going to get the heart rate up and get sweaty by trying to finish this whole workout in as little time as possible while being SAFE and maintaining great form.

Secondly, this workout has a “1 to 10” and a “10 to 1” element. For the former (written as 1-10) you will do 1 Power Clean in the 1st round and then 2 in the 2nd round and 3 in the 3rd round, etc, until you reach 10 reps in the 10th round. Easy! Using that same idea, the other movement will go in reverse. 10 Shoulder to Overheads in the 1st round, 9 in the 2nd round, 8 in the 3rd, etc, until you get to 1 rep in the 10th round. This seems like a lot of math, but just remember that your reps should always add up to 11! You may want a little whiteboard to keep track, but here’s how the first few rounds will look in long form:

1 Power Clean (PC) + 10 Shoulder to Overhead (S2O)

2 PC + 9 S2O

3 PC + 8 S2O

4 PC + 7 S2O

Etc. until…

10 PC + 1 S2O

Make sense? Entiendes?

This is quite a few reps of each exercise (55 of each) and your choice of weight and variation will be dictated by the S2O. Most people will have the ability to lift WAY more for Power Cleans than they can for S2O, so note that your Power Cleans may feel light. That’s ok!

Power Clean Modifications

As mentioned in the specific warm up, a Power Clean is simply taking a weight from the ground level to your shoulder level in one smooth motion. If you have issues with getting the weight to and from the ground, you can make this a Hang Power Clean instead. If you have the opposite issue and can only get the weight from ground to thigh level safely, use Deadlifts instead. If the movement is safe for you, but it just feels overly complicated, use a Russian Kettlebell Swings.

Shoulder to Overhead Modifications

There are many ways to get the weight from shoulder level to overhead and they’re all found in the S2O video. However, if you cannot press overhead today, you can choose an option from the pressing menu and use that instead: Push Ups, Dips, Bench Press, Dumbbell Bench Press, Strict Press, or Floor Press.