13.2 tips
Here we go everyone, week 2 is here. After watching a bunch of people do this workout over the past few days and testing it myself I’ve got the following tips for you on how to approach it.
Shoulder to Overhead 115/75
For those of you that this weight is an issue I recommend you take a couple of seconds break BEFORE you pick the bar up on each round. Doing one or two reps then dropping it, having to re-clean it and start again will cost you a lot of time and energy. Take the extra couple of seconds here to compose yourself and make the decision before you pick it up that you are going to do the 5 unbroken.
For those of you that this weight is not an issue this needs to be fast with no mistakes, and no pauses in the rack. Touch n Go off the shoulders on every rep. A good time saver will be trying to use the receiving position on the clean as the bottom of the dip for your first rep.
Deadlifts 115/75
I highly recommend you adopt the same grip and stance width on the S2OH as the Deadlift. For all participants this weight should be relatively light for 10 reps. This is a good chance to get your breathing under control and maintain rhythm. Hook grip is a good option here for those of you with weaker grips and reverse grip is another option.
Box Jumps 24/20
This workout will be won or lost here. This year HQ are allowing step-ups for the first time in competition which is a new thing to consider. For anyone with ankle/knee issues I recommend you do step-ups the whole way or incorporate some kind of jump up/step down pattern. I’ve watched men and women from individual to masters all do step ups and have a lot of success, myself included. I think that for those of you with your sights on 9+ you will need to mix step ups and box jumps as much as possible but it will depend on your level of proficiency with them. Those of you who are proficient at bounding box jumps I recommend you try and do them the whole way. This will give you the best score.
Transitions
This is probably the second most important after the Box Jumps. There is literally no time to waste on this workout. No time for a sip of water, or to chalk your hands etc. You just have to keep moving for 10mins.
-After the shoulder to overhead try to bring the bar down as close to your body as possible as if returning a power clean to the floor and go straight into the Deads. If you are going to use hook grip on the Deads doing the S2OH with it as well might be a good option, depending on flexibility.
-Try think of the Barbell movements as one set of 15 instead of 5+10, that way you are doing 15 reps on the bar, 15 on the box.
-If you need to drop the bar from overhead follow it straight down and get to work immediately. Don’t let it bounce around allowing you to walk after it and waste time.
-Set up your box as close to the bar as possible so you can literally turn and get your first box jump done quickly. Don’t take a break here, if you are gassed simply step up and take a second if you really need to.
I hope this was somewhat helpful for all of you coming in to hit. Try your best and leave it all in here!
