Monday 11.27
Name game: If you had to be a famous person’s personal assistant, who would you choose?

Warm up: for 4 minutes complete rounds of 20 jump rope skips, 10 scap pull-ups, 5 divebomber push-ups

Skill: 4 rounds for quality, alternating between
1 minute: max double unders (or DU practice)
2 minutes: max distance handstand walk (or shoulder taps against wall/walks around box/static hold or wall walk practice)
Note: this is your time to work on weaknesses. If you prefer to focus on just DUs or just handstands, go for it.

WOD: death march by pull-up (cap: 18 minutes/216 reps)
Minutes 0-10:
10 pull-ups EMOM
Starting with minute 11, add 1 rep per minute (11 reps in minute 11, 12 in minute 12, etc.), until you fail to complete the required reps within the minute.

How to scale: Modify so that you can finish at least 11 minutes, and stop or switch to ring rows before you rip your hands. Do option 1 unless you can do at least 5 consecutive strict pull-ups; start with 5 or fewer pull-ups per minute unless your max set of strict pull-ups is 10+.

Option 1: Do ring rows or banded pull-ups and reduce the starting rep count. If you start with a band, go to ring rows if you stop being able to get your chin over the bar.

Option 2: Start with 3-8 reps per minute instead of 10; then add 1 from that number (for example, if you do 5 reps on the minute for the first 10 minutes, do 6 in minute 11).

Objective: We’re starting off with some skill work but the main theme of the day is pulling endurance with a twist on the traditional “death by pull-ups” workout. Be realistic about your pull-up capacity and approach this smartly: err on the side of too low on starting rep count, and stop if your hands start to tear. Appropriate scaling means getting through at least 11 minutes. Note that you can break up the reps as much as you want as long as they get done within the minute. Do small sets from the beginning to save your grip!

Score: total pull-ups (see notes for cheat sheet)

Rx math: 11 minutes – 111; 12 – 123; 13 – 136; 14 – 150; 15 – 165; 16 – 181; 17 – 198; 18 – 216
Base 8 math: 11 minutes – 89; 12 – 99; 13 – 110; 14 – 122; 15 – 135; 16 – 149; 17 – 164; 18 – 180
Base 5 math: 11 minutes – 56; 12 – 63; 13 – 71; 14 – 80; 15 – 90; 16 – 101; 17 – 113; 18 – 126
Base 3 math: 11 minutes – 34; 12 – 39; 13 – 45; 14 – 52; 15 – 60; 16 – 69; 17 – 79; 18 – 90

Tuesday 11.28
Name game: Would you rather stay at a hotel or an Airbnb?

Warm up: 2 minute bike/row then coach-led barbell

WOD: AMREPs in 20 minutes
30 power cleans 185/125
30 shoulder-to-overhead 185/125
30 front squats 185/125
Max reps bar-facing burpees
*Rx = no racks, take all lifts from the ground

How to scale: Reduce the weight so that you get to the burpees under the cap. If needed, adjust your weight between lifts. Use a rack only if the clean limits how much weight you can use for the shoulder-to-overheads and squats. If you want to take a risk with a heavy weight, also consider scaling by partitioning the work — for example, 6 rounds of 5 reps each.

Power clean: This should be a moderately heavy single. If you’ve scaled and are doing any touch-and-go reps, your weight is too light. Go from the hang if needed.

Shoulder to overhead & front squat: Breaks on these movements are costly since you need to do an extra clean before starting again. Pick a load you can do for sets of at least 5-6 push presses/jerks and squats in a row, keeping in mind that a squat clean counts as your first rep in a set of squats.

Bar-facing burpees: Do straight-arm burpees and step over the bar.

Objective: We’ve finished our most recent heavy squat cycle, and for the next few weeks you’ll see heavier squats in metabolic conditioning pieces while dedicated strength work focuses more on deadlifts. For this workout, aim for quick singles on the cleans and sets of at least 4-6 on the squats and shoulder-to-overheads. Try for a pace of at least 5 reps per minute, which gets you to the burpees with 2 minutes to go.

Score: total burpees

Wednesday 11.29
Name game: What’s the grossest food you ever had to eat to be polite?

Warm up: for 4 minutes complete rounds of 20 jumping jacks, 10 sit-ups to straddle, 10 box step-overs

WOD: For time *28 minute cap
1 round of:
30 toes to bar
30 box jump overs 24/20
30 dumbbell snatches 50/35
Rest 2 minutes, then
2 rounds of:
15 toes to bar
15 box jump overs 24/20
15 dumbbell snatches 50/35
Rest 2 minutes, then
3 rounds of:
10 toes to bar
10 box jump overs 24/20
10 dumbbell snatches 50/35

How to scale: Modify the movements and/or reduce the reps to 24, 12, and 8 so you’re able to finish each section in under 8 minutes.

Toes to bar: Do knees to elbow/chest or hanging knee raises. If your hands are beat up from Monday, sub v-ups, tuck-ups, or candlesticks.

Box jump overs: Barring an injury, jump over a lower box or plate, but switch to step overs if jumping is keeping your heart rate too high to avoid needing lengthy breaks.

DB snatches: Use a lighter dumbbell. You should be able to do sets of at least 10 reps at a time.

Objective: This is a longer workout in 3 parts, each with the same amount of work divided into progressively smaller sets. Remember that the goal is three 5-8 minute efforts, not two-plus 8-12 minute efforts. Make sure you’re making the adjustments you need to achieve that stimulus.

Score: time to complete (including rest)

Thursday 11.30
Name game: What’s the longest time that you’ve lived in the same house/apartment?

Warm up: 2 minute bike/row then rounds of 10 pass throughs with a lunge, 5 jumping squats, 5 open-palm PVC overhead squats

Strength:
snatch balance 7×1, building in weight each set
overhead lunge 4×6, across or building (athlete’s choice)

WOD: 1 minute on, :10 transition, for 5 rounds (10 minutes)
Odds: 250/200m row
Evens: AMRAP
4 thrusters 75/55
4 front rack lunges 75/55
*Sub 14/10 bike if no rowers are available
**pick up where you leave off on the AMRAP

How to scale: Make sure you’re able to keep moving for the full 10 minutes.

Row: Reduce the distance so that you can complete it in under 55 seconds each round.

Thrusters & Lunges: Reduce the weight to something you can do for multiple unbroken sets.

Objective: The strength work today features a couple of accessory movements that will help you with your snatch and overhead squat. Aim for a heavy single on the snatch balance and a moderate-to-heavy load on all 4 sets of the overhead lunge. The workout is a lot of quads — both on the row and on the thrusters and lunges. Try to hang onto the barbell for multiple rounds at a time.

Score: max snatch balance, lunge weights, and rounds & reps

Friday 12.1
Name game: What’s the next book you’re planning to read?

Warm up: 3 minute bike/row then rounds of 10 good mornings, 5 inchworms, 5/5 active lizard stretch

Strength: deadlift 5-5-5-5-5
*start your working sets at around 60% of your 1 rep max and build in weight each set

WOD: For time *10 minute cap
40-30-20-10
Russian kettlebell swings 24/16
Sit-ups

How to scale: Use a lighter kettlebell such that you can complete each set mostly if not entirely unbroken.

Objective: Focus on the deadlifts. The goal is not necessarily to work up to the heaviest set of 5 possible, but to get in 5 challenging sets with perfect form. If your back starts to round, for example, the weight is too heavy for today. The workout is quick. Hang onto the kettlebell and try to make it through the sit-ups without stopping.

Score: deadlift weights & time to complete

CarlosWOD: “Donny”

Saturday 12.2
Name game: Do sandwiches taste better cut into triangles or rectangles?

Warm up: coach-led funzies

WOD: With a partner, 30 minute AMRAP
40/35/30 calorie bike
30 handstand push-ups
20/18/16 calorie bike
10 ring muscle-ups
*one partner works at a time; switch as desired. Solo: half reps.

How to scale: Challenge yourself on the higher skill gymnastics but have a plan B in case you start to hit failure later in the workout.

Handstand push-ups: Use 1-2 ab mats or do z-presses or pike push-ups. You should be able to consistently do sets of at least 5-8 reps at a time.

Ring muscle-ups: Do bar muscle-ups or 2x reps of ring muscle-ups transitions on low rings, or sub 2x reps of the hardest version of a pull-up you can do.

Objective: Today’s partner WOD is about high-skill gymnastics with a high heart rate. Try to get through the bike quickly to allow your team time to work through the hardest variations you can consistently manage on the handstand push-ups and muscle-ups.

Score: rounds & reps

Sunday 12.3
Strength: Back Squat:
3×8 @ 65%
1×5 @ 70%
2×2 @ 75%
1×1 @ 85%

Accessories:
Close Grip Bench Press 3×5
1 Arm DB Row 3×8/8
Pull Ups 3×5-10