DB burpees (50/35# DBs)

*400m run

Post time and load

42 burpees with some weight (yes, overhead) and one mile. Suppose you go hard on all your runs and can manage to keep a 2 minute pace per 400 meters. In total, that’s 8 minutes of running. Combined with 42 heavy DB burpees, I’d imagine you could shoot for a time around 18 minutes. Notice that means you get around 14 seconds per DB burpee (if you keep your run fast). And that is for a reason. The weight should feel heavy and force you to be under CONTROL on the burpees. All that to say— find a solid pace on the burpees and PUSH the run. And if your DBs aren’t heavy enough, I’m afraid you’ve missed the intention for today.

Start with an easy 400 m run and some leg swings. Spend time opening up the hips in dynamic lizard lunge and dynamic side lunge. Find downward dog and peddle your feet out for a minute before rolling up to standing for some good mornings. Now time for big arm circles and hugs to warm up the shoulders, followed by a few push ups. Practice jumping from plank into the bottom of your squat and then back into plank. Keep your stomach tight and land with stability.

With two moderately heavy dumbbells, go for 10 deadlifts (RIGID spine!), 5 hang power cleans, 5 front squats and 5 push presses. Now, a few burpees without weight. And now back to the weight. With your DBs on the ground just outside your shoulders, lay flat with your stomach on the ground. Jump to the bottom of a squat, deadlift your DBs, go for a hang power clean, and now a push press. Lower your weight to the shoulder, then your waist, and then back to the floor with TOTAL CONTROL. This time, skip the deadlift if you’re feeling good and take the DBs straight to your shoulders with a power clean. Push press up and lower the same as the last rep. Now, if you’re feeling great, go straight from the ground to overhead, like a double DB snatch. Strong lockout over head and a controlled lower back to the ground. Get in 6 DB burpees, watching the clock. If 6 takes you over a minute and a half, you might want to consider altering the volume. Head out on a fast run to your 400 m turn around point. If this takes you over a minute and a half, you might want to consider altering your distance.

For today, if your run (or row, bike, ski) has to be shorter, that is fine. Find a distance that will allow you to push hard for roughly 2 minutes. Similarly, alter the number of DB burpees if you need to because your weight is too heavy for the prescribed 15,12,9,6. Perhaps 12-9-6-3 would be a better volume for you. If you have a heavier KB than your two DBs combined, use your KB today. Do a burpee and a KB swing over head for one rep. Again, these DB burpees should be heavy! With that being said, stay under TOTAL control every time you are touching the DBs. We did a workout like this 2 weeks ago, on April 15. The volume was a bit different and the runs increased in distance progressively. Today, find a pace and stick to it from the get go. Every time you switch from one movement to the other, it is time to push hard.

We’ve been doing couch stretch a lot lately. Today is no exception. Find the couch and spend at least a minute on each side.