For this WOD, you'll require 2 chairs with sturdy backs, a metronome, and about 10 feet of space. Your form will influence the kind of results you can expect.
Metronome dips with leg raises (4 sets of 6 repetitions): Set your metronome to 60 bps. Perform a dip with leg raise (3 seconds/clicks down, 2 seconds/clicks up, leg raise). Go as deep as your shoulders will allow. Never hunch your shoulders forward and never bring your elbows away from your body. Actively use your back muscles to pull you down and use the chest to push up. Try to pull your elbows back behind you and together while you dip down and maintain that form pushing back up. This will build flexibility and engage the entire upper body.
Side kick Static Hold (20 seconds per leg x 4): Chamber your knee high in front of you and extend a side kick out to your side. Hold your leg straight out as high as you can. Keep your back in line with your extended leg. If you lose balance, place your hand against a wall to finish your set. Your eventual goal is to perform 20 seconds per leg with the leg at head height without using the wall for assistance. Advanced: attach 5 pound ankle weight to each ankle.
Bear crawl/Squat Rest (30 steps forward, 30 steps backward, 30 second squat rest x 4): Keep your back parallel to the ground, keep a slight bend in the arms, look up and forward to engage the neck. When finished, immediately rest in a low squat for 30 seconds. Stand up out of the squat by extending your arms above your head with biceps touching your ears and stand up straight. This will build flexibility and strength in the back. Advanced: after the 30 second rest, perform 10 full squats with arms overhead, biceps touching ears, while looking up.
Spinning Back Kick (x5 per leg for 4 sets): Step forward, turn, and back kick. Face your target again and switch feet to regain the starting stance. Keep your back straight and turn your head to look at your target. Point your base leg heel at the target like a sight and chamber the kicking leg close to your body until the back kick.
After completing this workout go for a fast run/walk with hills for 3 miles. Every part of the body is stimulated when these exercises are performed back to back with minimal rest. The upper back and arms in particular benefit greatly from the pairing of dips and bear crawls. However, the blood pressure is also raised by the slow repetitions and static holds, which can be alleviated by eating ample amounts of cooked mushrooms with kale until symptoms subside. To build muscle healthily, eat two big bowls of beans, brown rice, and corn with salsa before bed (the recipe will follow in a future post). No meat, cheese, or oil allowed, unless you want to thicken your arteries along with your muscles.
This is an optimal workout for Mondays as a first workout of the week, because the fatigued muscle following this workout will be prefatigued for workouts on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. This also makes an excellent warmup for martial arts training. This workout was developed and expanded upon with intuitive additions over a period of 6 years.
