Squat-centric Workout

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In the spirit of Crossfit, I’d like to name this workout.  I can’t think of a good one, yet.

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In brief, here’s the routine.  It is not timed.

One round consists of the following movements:

  • pullups
  • alternating one-hand clean and press with 20 kg kettlebell (abbreviated KB C&P)
  • rippetoe squat off sawhorses with approximately 1/3 1-rep-max weight
  • alternating hand turkish get up with light kettlebell

Last time, I did this series of rounds:

  • 3 pullups, 2/2 KB C&P, 4 squats, 1/1 getup
  • 4 pullups, 3/3 KB C&P, 8 squats, 1/1 getup
  • 5 pullups, 4/4 KB C&P, 12 squats, 1/1 getup

The focus is really increasing the reps for squats.  The inspiration is Dan John.  Even though the focus of the article I’m drawing on was gaining mass, and that’s not my goal, it’s generally true that high-rep squats are a powerful stimulus.  One of my goals is to have a safe workout that has a high impact-to-time-spent ratio, and I think this workout hits that mark.

My rep count is lower than those in the article, but I plan to go a bit higher as long as it doesn’t get tedious.  Here’s a link to the Dan John article:

http://www.borntobulk.com/interview-dan-john-keys-building-mass/

Some notes:

The pullup is a great exercise, but often when describing my workouts to friends, they say they cannot really do a pullup.  For that I think the best option is probably to use bands for assisted pullups.  Here’s a video to give you the idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5f9DVGjYhQ

The one-arm kettlebell clean and press looks like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se6MmJkx2h0

The squat I’m talking about is the one that strength expert Mark Rippetoe recommends.  It’s at least as low as the video shows, and it’s somewhere between a powerlifting squat and an olympic-style squat.  When using saw horses as a poor-man’s squat rack, there is an extra initial movement to get the bar to the standing position.  The towel protects my clothes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVKEl4Wxoqc

The getup is kind of an active rest that keeps the workout pleasant, helps coordination and balance, and is also a Dan John favorite.  Here is a video showing the movement.  I am not nearly so particular about how I do this movement, so long as I start out lying on my back, wind up standing up straight, and go back down to lying, with the weight fully extended the whole time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-ymPDhyPxg

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