"D.T."
Wednesday’s Benchmark WOD is “DT, page ” a Hero WOD dedicated to USAF SSG Timothy P. Davis. It is an excellent, this challenging WOD that can be easily scaled. DT consists of all barbell movements – deadlifts, hang cleans and shoulder to overhead – with a 155/100# barbell. A few years ago, DT would be considered a “heavy” WOD for CrossFit. Now, with 225# clean coming up semi regularly, the weight may seem less imposing.
DT is the definition of a “phone booth” WOD; you literally don’t have to take a step away from the bar, all your work will take place on 1 barbell.
DT will reward efficient athletes that go in with, and stick to a plan. DT probably has too many reps for you to just blast through, so I highly recommend taking planned breaks and attacking the work in the biggest chunks possible. I’ll talk more about it, but for scaling, the limiting factor will be your ability to jerk the bar overhead for reps.
The toughest park of DT (for me, anyway) is the Shoulder to Overhead (STO). 6 STO when you are fatigued and your grip is going is tough, so you will want to take some time to think about your strategy.
The Deadlift
This is the “easy” part. It’s a light deadlift, but you can dig a big metabolic hole for yourself here. Keep your hips low and your chest up. Resist the urge to lift with high hips and your chest down. “Hinging” is the enemy. Each round, I will try 11 unbroken deadlifts with an alternating grip. After my 11th rep, I drop the bar.
The Hang Clean
For my 12th deadlift rep, I pick the bar up using a clean grip and stand in the hang. Now, I’m ready to clean. For the early sets, I will attempt big sets of hang cleans, mainly because I don’t want to pick the bar up. Try resting in the front rack and use the hook grip. Focus on fast elbows. If you can “bounce” out of the bottom of the hang back into a clean, you will cycle faster. This bounce is known as the Strength Shortening Cycle (SSC) . The SSC allows your muscles to contract and stretch like rubber bands. I will probably yell fast elbows 11,000 times during DT. I drop the bar after my 8th rep. Before my 9th rep, I take a break and get ready for the STO.
Shoulder to Overhead
I say shoulder to overhead, but I really mean Push Jerk. Push jerking is the fastest, most efficient way to get the bar up and back down. Splitting is slow (but do it if it’s necessary) and push pressing may require too much power. At 6 reps, this should be a doable set in early reps, and tough in later sets. If you feel like 6 jerks at 155/100 is too much, you will need to scale. The last thing I want to do here is break a set, because that just means I need to pick up that damn barbell again. If you have to break, 3-3 or 4-2 are smart breaks. Anything smaller, and you should be scaling.
For best times, try to be a mental warrior and begin your deadlift set as soon as the bar hits the ground after your jerk. You will want to break here, try not to. You are all strong enough to hammer deadlifts, you just may not want to…
This should go without saying, but wear weightlifting shoes if you have them.
Scaling
As I explained in the strategy section, the challenging lift should be the STO. Pick a weight that will be challenging, but doable for at least 2 sets (remember you will do a bunch of deadlifts and cleans first). Also remember that if you drop the bar, you will have the clean it up again. If your STO degrades to singles, you could end up doing a bunch of clean and jerks on top of all the deadlifts and hang cleans. Scale appropriately – ask a coach.
All that being said, sometimes you need a straight up barbell butt whooping. If you’re feeling froggy, go for it. There will be 22 minute cap.
Final piece of advice – this goes to ladies and shirtless guys. With 45 cleans and 30 jerks and a semi-heavy barbell, you will bang the dog snot out of your collar bone. I recommend wearing a shirt that protects your neck a bit. A full t-shirt is fine. One that says CrossFit Oakdale is even better.
Mobility
Hamstrings, FRONT RACK, FRONT RACK, FRONT RACK, and Overhead are the priority. Did I mention FRONT RACK??? Use bands, the bar to smash out your triceps, partner front rack assists, anything to get more room and be comfortable in that rack position.
Workout of the Day
“DT”
5 RFT @ 155#/100#
12 Deadlift
9 Hang Clean
6 Shoulder to Overhead