As some of you might have heard today we are completing “Karen” which is 150 wall balls for time! This benchmark has been around since the beginning and will test your muscle endurance and your shear will to keep moving! We are completing this workout as a test to see how well Xendurance works and to set a time in which we will come back and retest in 14 days.
Karen in itself seems to be simple, it only has one movement and the weight isn’t very much. But for those who have truly pushed themselves in this workout you know that this can rate right up there with one of the toughest workouts around.
If you are one who hasn’t completed Karen before don’t fear! Below you will find 5 tips to help you get the most of each rep and complete Karen with a smile on your face!
- Elbows in
- This might be the most important factor when doing a high volume of wall balls! Keeping your elbow in helps you to drive the ball from your hips into your shoulders without wasting any excessive energy. By having elbows that are flared out you will find that your shoulders will fatigue quickly and your wall ball will be spending more time on the ground then in the air!
- Hip drive
- As we all should know by now your hips are your most powerful mover and can be the reason why you crush Karen or Karen crushes you! If you only focus on your shoulder during Karen you will find that your shoulder will fatigue and your time will keep stacking up. Focus on driving hard and fast out of the hole in each rep exaggerating hip extension to help assist the shoulders and keep you moving!
- Target touch
- As stated above with hip drive your shoulders shouldn’t be doing most of the work, but instead should be controlling the ball with each rep. There is nothing worse than getting into a good rhythm during wall balls only to lose focus and send your ball bouncing off the target and into your face or out in front of you. With each rep you need to focus on hitting the same spot each time so that the ball returns in the same manner keeping you in line and efficient as possible!
- The hold
- The wall ball should be treated just like the front squat, we should keep an up right torso with the ball as close to our neck as possible. Nothing will suck your energy faster in a wall ball then allowing the ball to pull you over into a rounded position! Keep the ball as close as you can to your chest with your chin resting on top of the wall ball in each rep!
- Know when to break
- Last piece of advice, know when it is time to take a break! You may be feeling good during the first 20 wall balls but if you try and go for the entire workout unbroken you will find yourself gasping for air while you stare at a ball that seems much heavier than 20lbs! Come in with a game plan on how you will break up the 150 reps whether it is breaking it up 3 times for 50 each or doing 10 at a time, know what your number is and stick with it!
We hope that these tips will help you get the most out of Karen and remember above all, nobody likes wall balls especially T-Rex!!
GROUP CLASS WORKOUT
Warm Up:
6 Min AMRAP
30 sec plank, 10 lunges, 10 KB Swigs
Finish with 20 PVC PT
Strength:
14 Minutes
Find 1RM Squat Clean Thruster
Lean: 7 Sets 3 Power Cleans+2 Push Press
Welded & Welded Lean
“Karen”
150 Wall Balls 20/14
For Time. 🙂
Mobility:
Pre – Banded overhead and hip capsule mobilization
Post – 5 to 10 mins on bike/row/run
COMPETITORS CLASS WORKOUT