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Back Squat Head Neutral During back squats, craning the neck is not uncommon when 'coming out of the hole'. This can destabilize & extend the entire spine. With air squats this is a negligible issue ー but it's dangerous to a loaded spine. Treat the back as a single unit, starting at the top of the head and ending at the tailbone. BLUE-BROWN+ should be building on each set, but only if technique allows. Don’t add weight if the previous set was just okay. WHITE-ORANGE will focus on becoming more familiar with the movement -- only adding weight if sets remain consistent. Strategy & Briefing Relatively small sets & short rounds can make you want to go fast… stay smart. Don't start the first round at full speed -- take it back a bit -- smooth & steady with consistent breathing from the start. Movements should remain unbroken, but with a few deep breaths in between to control the pace. However, if you feel fatigue building quickly on the TtB, break them up. Pushing through will lead to singles and wasted time. Burpees and Thrusters will get uncomfortable, but you can push through these with little consequence. When you get to the last few minutes then you can put the pedal down and finish strong.     Strategy & Briefing Achieving consistency across these 4 rounds can be tough. You must focus on technique right from the start. With Hang Power Cleans and Power Snatches in the workout, any lapse in technique will slow you down and cause major fatigue. Keep sets unbroken & smooth, with consistent breathing throughout. Between sets, take deep breaths to control pace & maintain quality on all movements. Move at a brisk pace from the start, but not a sprint. You should be almost fully recovered after the 2 minute rest, before starting the next round.     Strategy & Briefing Nancy can be one of the more difficult “Named” workouts, due to the Overhead Squat requirement. A high-skill movement coupled with aerobic demands can make things tricky. Move slow & steady on the OH Squats to focus on technique. Keep all sets unbroken. Run at a smooth pace with consistent breathing throughout. Don’t push too hard. If you over do it on the run, you will feel it on the OH Squats. Take a few deep breaths before each set of OH Squats, to regroup and remain consistent with the reps. On the final run, move with some urgency, to finish fast and uncomfortable.     Deadlift Phases The deadlift can be broken up into two phases ー initial drive, and finish. The drive begins & ends with the knees. It is here that we set ourselves up for a strong finish. The drive starts by driving up the torso & hips simultaneously. The knees move back & create space for the bar to move up in a straight line. When the bar has passed up over the knees, aggressively engage the glutes, to finish. This will differ slightly from your normal Deadlift work in that each rep should be a single. The tempo is set up with a 1 sec pause between each rep, to build more absolute strength. Reset into a tight position before each rep, and pull as if it is a one rep max. Build weight only if technique remains tight. Strategy & Briefing Descending-Rep workouts are a treat. More reps to tackle when you're fresh -- and the reps drop as you fatigue. This doesn’t mean to sprint right out of the gate, especially with these movements. Quick singles on the Power Cleans is smart from the start. It might be tempting to do big sets, but fatigue from unbroken sets early on will crush you at the end, so use crisp & consistent reps. Similarly, do Strict Ring Dips in manageable sets with a quick rest if needed. Again, going unbroken may may cause failure in the later sets. Take a few breaths & shake the arms out between each set to control this pace. As you get into the later rounds, with smaller sets, you can push it & finish strong.     Strategy & Briefing The Tabata workout structure is great for training consistency, among other benefits. Although we are straying away from the standard scoring of a Tabata, our goal should remain the same. Picking a reasonable pace on the Rower or Bike will be your most difficult task today -- settle into a pace on round 1 that is neither crushing nor cruising. A strong 500m pace (for you) is a good starting point -- the bike will be more difficult since we don’t have a standard like the row… so adjust in the second & third round as needed to maintain consistency. The Air Squats & Abmat Situps will be much easier to pace, because they alternate. Move quickly/smooth, for the entire 20 sec of each round. You should be hitting the same reps on every round throughout. As you go through each Tabata a second time, work to match your reps from the first round.     Strategy & Briefing Single arm movements tend to require more stability & coordination than their two-arm counterpart. This fact, plus fatigue, gives us a fun, but difficult, workout. Take your time on the Db Thrusters & Bodybuilders. Smooth & controlled reps will go a long way in fatigue management. Keep sets unbroken, but no need to go right from Thrusters into Bodybuilders. Take a quick reset if you need it. Keep Doubleunders unbroken & fast throughout. No reason to take your time here. Take deep breaths between sets, to control pace and keep movement consistent. Deeper into the workout, remain conscious of technique, particularly leaning to one side or the other on the Db movements -- if you don’t pay attention you may wake up with some nasty oblique soreness.     Strategy & Briefing Smaller sets and many rounds means lots of transitions -- so pace accordingly. If you go too fast in the first half, you’ll be dramatically slower in the back half. Avoid this, be more conservative with the pace early on, and conscious of your round times. Keep all sets unbroken if possible without digging too far into fatigue, but take a few deep breaths between each set to remain steady. Be especially aware of HSPU -- these tend to fatigue quickly & with little warning. If HSPU get “grindy”, take more rest before starting your sets. All Box Jump reps are step down: the stretch-shortening reflex mechanism used in a rebound should NOT be “used” 144 times in a session -- RECIPE FOR DISASTER! Stepping down will also help you control the pace. Keep Russian KbS snappy & tight. Into the final rounds, pick up the pace & finish fast.  
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