23.2

23.2A
AMRAPx15:00
5 Burpee Pull Ups
10 Shuttle Runs (25ft down + 25ft back)
*Add 5 Burpee Pull Ups after each round
+
23.2B
5:00 to establish:
1RM Thruster
*Off the floor

WARM UP

5:00 Air Bike@Z1 or Conversational Pace
*Increase intensity for the last minute

Activation:

Hip 90/90 Stretch: 3×0:15 Hold/side
Hip 90/90 Rotation + Extension: x5/side
Banded, Straight Arm Lat Pulldown: x15
Foam Roller, Serratus Wall Slide + Hold: 5×1+0:10 Hold
Bent Over I/Y/T’s: x5/each*
Banded, Quadruped Lateral Walks: x25ft/side
*Use light plates

Wall Leaning Tibia Raises: x30 Reps
Bent Knee Calf Raises: x30 Reps

1-2 sets
McGill Curl Up: x5/side
Dead Bug: x8/side
Bird Dog: x8/side

General Warmup:

2 Sets
Cobra Push Up: x8
Tall Plank + Shoulder Taps: x0:15 + 10
Push Up: x5

Specific Warm Up:

Pull Ups:
2-3 sets
Passive Hang: x0:10
Active Hang: x0:10
Scap Pull Up: x5
Beat Swing: x5
Strict Pull Up: x1-2

Thruster:
2-3 sets @ empty bar
3 RDL
3 Muscle Clean
3 Front Squat
3 Strict Press
3 Thruster
+
Work up to 2×1@70% of 1RM Clean & Jerk
+
Rest 3-5:00
+
2 sets@75% Effort
3 Burpee Pull Ups
5 Shuttle Runs
+
1 set@85-90% Effort
3 Burpee Pull Ups
5 Shuttle Runs
+
1 set@Workout Pace
3 Burpee Pull Ups
5 Shuttle Runs

Pacing / Strategy

SHUTTLE RUNS IN THE OPEN. For those who have been following us for years… JUST SAYIN!!!

23.2a has a very interesting presentation. The combination of a couplet and a 15:00 AMRAP is not the most conventional pairing we often see. Your average 15:00 workout tends to have some more moving parts and the average couplet is oftentimes on the shorter and higher intensity side. While this workout also touches high intensities, there needs to be a delicate balance between pacing and pushing hard. It’s very easy to start slow and get locked into a boring and slow pace. We’ve seen this in several previous shuttle run workouts, most notably in last year’s Quarterfinals. It’s our overall guidance that you start this workout at a smooth 70-80% intensity, stay locked in at that aerobic base and pay close attention to your footwork in your turn around. Plan for each round of Shuttle Runs to take you about 1:00 or so. These Shuttle Runs are something that Team Soul Athletes are well versed in by this point. Even prior to the first time they were used in our Season, we have been doing them for years.

Another aspect of 23.2a that is quite significant, is it has the potential to be boring. We aren’t criticizing this piece at all, actually on the contrary, we love it, but fifteen minutes of two exercises can most definitely get boring and lead to distractions. Workouts like that can also invite a distracted rhythm that leads to lots of mistakes. Just as always… Set up your floor, know where your chalk is, know where your towel is, know what you expect out of your transitions and rest periods. The key behind transitions between the Burpee Pull Ups and Shuttle Runs is discipline and something repeatable. Similar to last week, this piece will make it easy for you to pace and waste time in between exercises.

The Burpee Pull Ups will more than likely be the limiter in this piece. Similar to the runs, it’s important that you aren’t over pacing these. From a movement standpoint, doing slow Burpee Pull Ups will disrupt your breathing pattern and load your biceps. It’s important that you find a repeatable and cyclical pattern from the very beginning of the workout. Something we really love is the standard for these. Especially for those local athletes or those with gymnastics mats, you can really use those to strategize how far you set up from the pull up bar. This is significant in limiting your time hanging on the bar and shortening the distance to it. Even though your quads may be fatigued, it’s important that you use your legs to jump up to the bar, reach your standard and let go. Overly loading the bicep on the concentric portion of this exercise is likely what will be most people’s limiter from a movement perspective. Right when your chin breaks the horizontal plane of the bar, let go. This doesn’t mean to drop straight down into the burpee, as stepping back will allow you to slow down your movement pattern to breathe. Just be mindful of the bicep fatigue after the chin reaches the full range of motion as per the standard. The second consideration from a fatigue standpoint is the Push Up portion of each Burpee. While this is mostly unavoidable, it can be managed by switching from falling down to stepping down as needed. We recommend being flexible between the two styles to manage whatever fatigue you are struggling with at the movement.

Heavy Thrusters are also something that have been pushing weekly in our current cycle. In the past 6 weeks, we have pushed close to maximal Thrusters every other week. This doesn’t even begin to consider the heavy Clean and Jerks, Front Squats, etc in the middle of fatigued battery pieces. Even as recently as Monday, we programmed a Clean + Thruster + Jerk complex. We recommend you warm up the thruster prior to 23.2a up to about 70% of your Clean and Jerk for 2 singles. After that you should have some idea of what you can take during your workout. Five minutes is considerable, we’re very lucky to not have a limited time cap after such a hard workout and that we can start with the bar loaded. Plan on having about 4-5 attempts. Plan on your opener being something relatively easy and repeatable for you.

Good luck!