Monday 12.16
Name game: Goals for today? (Or share a fun fact about yourself)

Warmup: coach-led barbell

Strength: Oly total (compare to 10/9/23)
30 minutes to find a 1 RM snatch followed by a 1 RM clean & jerk

How to scale: Newer athletes should work on sets of 3-5 at lighter weight, going from the hang if needed.

WOD: tabata C&J or snatch at 50% of your daily max; lift is athlete’s choice

Objective: Today is pretty simple: you’re getting most of the class to find a max for both Olympic lifts. Use whatever version of each lift works best for you — squat or power, push jerk or split jerk. When that’s done, pick your preferred of the two lifts and drop the weight by half. That’s your load for the workout, a light tabata of one lift. Note that you can do power clean & jerks/power snatches for the workout even if you squat for your max.

Score: max lifts & total reps (note lift & load)

Tuesday 12.17
Name game: What’s your favorite fast food meal?

Warmup: 2 minute bike/row then rounds of 10 banded strict press, 10 kip swings, 10 narrow stance squats

WOD: For time *25 minute cap
100 push presses 75/55
100 pull-ups
100 alternating pistol squats
*Partition as desired

How to scale: Be realistic about your capacity to ensure you finish under the cap. Given the volume and the timeframe, many athletes should scale significantly even if they can perform the prescribed skills. Beginners can reduce the reps to 50-75 of each skill.

Push press: These should be extremely light. You should be capable of 20+ unbroken reps.

Pull-ups: Scale these to ring rows or do a mix of pull-ups and ring rows if you cannot do a minimum of 10 unbroken kipping pull-ups for multiple sets. Do jumping pull-ups only in combination with ring rows to limit total volume. No bands.

Pistols: Intermediate athletes should go to or from a box, use a band or ring for balance, or do single-leg squats with the inactive leg tucked behind the other ankle. Beginners can sub skater squats.

Objective: It’s choose-your-own-adventure with a Mary-esque mix of vertical pressing, pulling, and single leg work. For the push press and pistols you should be able to knock out easy sets of 10; the pull-ups should be broken up strategically to avoid tearing your hands. 10 rounds of 10 is the obvious choice for partitioning, but use whatever rep scheme best allows you to minimize rest breaks. Everyone should finish if they scale properly, but sub-20, even sub-15 is attainable.

Score: time to complete

Wednesday 12.18
Name game: What holiday movie have you seen the most times?

Warm up: 3 rounds of 150m row (slow, medium, fast), 3 inchworms, 3 burpees (regular, with a tuck jump, over the erg/parallette)

WOD: For time, 2000m row, working 2 minutes on, 2 minutes off *20 minute cap (10 working intervals)
10 lateral burpees over rower (or parallette)
Max distance row
*Be sure to record your meters after each round. Rowers will turn off or be reset during rest intervals.

How to scale: Modify the burpees so you’re getting at least 1 minute to row. Do straight-arm burpees and/or step over; or reduce the reps to 6-8 per interval.

Coach’s note: Not all athletes are expected to complete the full 2K, and no one should skip the burpees or do greatly reduced reps in later rounds just for the sake of finishing. Athletes should follow the scaling recommendations to ensure they have at least 10 minutes to row in total but should not scale further just to buy more rowing time.

Accessory (optional/if you finish early): 3-5 sets of 10 single leg KB or DB RDLs per side

Objective: A 2k time trial is one of the toughest workouts out there, so adding some burpees and some rest can only make it better, right? To finish this WOD you need to make the most of your 2-minute work intervals, so be quick on the burpees then row hard! You’ve got equal rest – a full 2 minutes – before you have to do it again. A minimum of 200m in each interval beats the cap.

Score: time to complete (or total distance at cap)

Thursday 12.19
Name game: How do you feel about snow?

Warm up: 2-3 minutes of jump rope practice then rounds of 10 pass throughs, 10 plank shoulder taps, 5 rope knee raises

WOD: 20 minute AMREPs
1 minute double unders
4 wall walks
2 rope climbs

How to scale: Aim to keep rounds under 3 minutes each. Or, use the workout as an opportunity for practice without concern for your final score.

Double unders: Do single-single-doubles or attempts.

Wall walk: Go as high as you’re able and hold 2-3 seconds.

Rope climbs: Do partial climbs or 10 hanging knee raises.

Objective: It’s a great day for some double under practice. The jump rope portion of this workout is time-constrained, so use those minutes to challenge yourself on single-single-doubles or double under attempts. The remainder of the workout is all gymnastics in a low reps, AMRAP format that also invites you to slow down a little and get some good work on harder versions of these skills than your typical scaling. If these are strong movements for you, or you’re looking for a higher intensity effort, push yourself to keep your rounds in the 2-3 minute range.

Score: total reps

Friday 12.20
Name game: What’s one thing you have not done that you really want to do?

Warm up: for 4 minutes, rounds of 10 box step-ups, 5 squats to hip hinge, 5 jumping squats, 5 monster walks

Strength: pause back squat 5-4-3-2-1 (3 seconds at bottom)
*Start heavier than last Thursday; build in weight each set

WOD: 7 minute AMRAP
7 box jumps 24/20
7 dumbbell snatches (right arm) 50/35
7 box jumps 24/20
7 dumbbell snatches (left arm) 50/35

How to scale: Modify so that you can move quickly and unbroken for 7 minutes.

Box jumps: Reduce the height to maintain the jump.

Dumbbell snatches: Use a lighter dumbbell so that you can consistently do unbroken sets.

Objective: The 1 rep max test is coming up in exactly one week; for today we’re following the same rep scheme as last week but going from tempo to pause squats with a goal of using slightly heavier loads than last week. The workout is a quick AMRAP. Stay unbroken on the DB snatches and limit time spent staring at your box.

Score: max squat load and rounds & reps

CarlosWOD: 12 Days of Christmas. Note that this is a different version of the workout from the one that will be done in classes on Christmas Eve.

Saturday 12.21
Name game: Happy Winter Solstice! Would you rather it be summer forever or winter forever?

Warm up: coach-led funzies

WOD: With a partner, 4 rounds, 2 minutes per station, for max reps
Echo bike calories
toes to bar
Echo bike calories
dumbbell bench press 50/35
*One partner works at a time; switch as desired as long as both partners do some work in every 2 minute interval. Solo: rest 1:1 on bike; as needed on other skills.

How to scale: Pick options you’ll be able to do for sets of 5-10 reps throughout the WOD.

Toes to bar: Reduce the range of motion to knees to elbow/chest/hips.

Bench press: Use a weight you can do for sets of 10+ when fresh.

Objective: It’s a long one today with a lot of time spent on the bike, but you get to share the work with a partner in whatever way best suits your respective strengths. With all of these skills, stop short of failure and before your pace slows significantly.

Score: total reps

Sunday 12.22
Strength: deadlift 8×4