The Depths of Hell and Crazy 8s

Workout 55

The Depths of Hell

There may be no exercise better suited for improving vertical leap than the depth jump. There also may be no exercise more demanding on your ankle and knee joints. Be sure to have mastered box jumps and bounding drills before taking on the depth jump. And when you do tackle this movement, start off on a low box (12 inches [30 cm] or lower), and limit the number of contacts until you gain experience with the exercise.

Warm-Up

5 reps of inchworm, 6 reps per side of quadruped T-spine rotation, 10 reps of cat - cow

Featured Exercise: Depth Jump

1. Stand with both feet at the edge of a 12-inch (30 cm) box (or lower).
2. Step off the box with one foot to start your descent (a), and land on both feet simultaneously (balls of your forefoot followed by your heels) (b). Keep your knees flexed in order to absorb impact and generate force.
3. As soon as you make contact with the ground, jump vertically as high as you can (as you would in a vertical jump) (c).
4. Land with both feet making contact with the ground at once, knees flexed to absorb impact.

Complete Workout

• A. Depth jump
  • 4 sets x 3 reps
  • 90 seconds of rest
• B. Snatch (#84)
  • 3 sets x 3 reps
  • 90 seconds of rest
• C1. Plyo push-up (#165)
  • 2 sets x 12 reps
  • 60 seconds of rest
• C2. Double-arm kettlebell swing (#13)
  • 2 sets x 20 reps
  • 60 seconds of rest

Easy Option

Substitute the push-up (#XX) for the plyo push-up.

Step It Up

Perform an additional set of the snatch, plyo push-up, and double-arm kettlebell swing.

Cool-Down

Double lat stretch, cross-body stretch, hamstring stretch.

Workout 68

Crazy 8s: Push Press

Your shoulder joint is one of the most mobile in your body. And although this is very useful for accomplishing many tasks, it also makes it one of the body’s most vulnerable joints. For the vast majority of movements that you perform in the gym, externally rotating at the shoulder joint will keep it in a safer position. You can do this in many ways, including rotating your armpits out during any variation of overhead pressing. This can be accomplished by thinking about bending the bar in the bench press and screwing your hands into the floor on the push-up.

Warm-Up

4 reps per side of the world’s greatest stretch, 5 reps of inchworm, 8 reps per side of shoulder sweeps

Featured Exercise: Shoulder Sweep

1. Lie on your back on the floor, bend your left knee to 90 degrees, and cross it over your right leg, keeping your entire upper body in contact with the floor (if you cannot reach the floor with your left knee, place a medicine ball or yoga block underneath it to limit the range of motion).
2. Place your left hand on your right knee to keep it in contact with the floor. Extend your right arm directly overhead (a).
3. Sweep your right arm along the floor, attempting to internally rotate at the shoulder to bring your hand toward your middle back (b).
4. When you’ve reached the end of the range of motion (c), sweep your arm (trying to keep as much of it in contact with the floor as possible) toward your right ear.
5. Continue to sweep back and forth to these end positions until you complete all reps for one side before repeating the process for the other side.

Complete Workout

• A1. Push press (#16)
  • 8 sets x 2 reps
  • 60 seconds of rest
• A2. Shoulder sweep
  • 8 sets x 4 reps/side
  • 60 seconds of rest

Easy Option

Perform 6 sets of the exercises.

Step It Up

Perform 10 sets of the exercises.

Cool-Down

Pec stretch, double lat stretch, 90-degree stretch.

Learn more about High-Intensity 300.