When someone starts functional fitness, the barbell is often the most intimidating part. If you begin the sport with a globo-gym background and are used to treadmills, ellipticals, and dumbbells, the barbell may seem like a foreign (and scary!) object. But what often happens when people start training is they find their strengths in one thing or another. Some love bodyweight gymnastics movements while others thrive with a loaded barbell. If you’re the latter, read on. We’ve compiled seven WODs for people who love barbells.
Psst! If you need help with your barbell cycling, check out this blog.
7 Barbell WODs You’ll Love
1. Grace
A classic benchmark workout, Grace is all barbell and there is nowhere to hide. The workout — 30 reps of clean and jerks for time at 135 lb. for men and 95 lb. for women — has been around since the beginning of the sport and has been known to bring even the best athletes to their knees.
Its popularity has sparked other versions of the workout to pop up such as Heavy Grace — 30 reps for time at 225 lb. for men and 155 lb. for women — and Double Grace — 60 reps for time at the traditional weight — which was first introduced at the 2014 Reebok CrossFit Games.
2. DT
One of the most well-known Hero WODs, DT combines three movements with one barbell. The workout was introduced on CrossFit.com on April 14, 2009, and it honors U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Timothy P. Davis, who was killed in action on February 20, 2009.
DT is 5 rounds for time of 12 deadlifts, 9 hang power cleans, and 6 push jerks. The weight is 155 lb. for men and 105 lb. for women.
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At the 2015 Reebok CrossFit Games, Director of the Games Dave Castro gave fans the choice to vote for Heavy DT or Double DT. Whichever choice won would face the athletes on Day 2 of the CrossFit Games. In the end, Heavy DT was chosen but Double DT would show up in competition the following year.
If you love barbells, try your hand at any version of DT for a great time.
3. Randy
Another CrossFit Hero WOD, Randy calls for 75 power snatches for time at a light load of 75 lb. for men and 55 lb. for women. Randy was first posted on CrossFit.com on February 13, 2008. The workout honors fallen LAPD veteran and SWAT team member Randy Simmons, who died in the line of duty on February 7, 2008.
Though the weight is light, the reps are high, and you should not underestimate this one. Hold on for dear life as you rip through the snatches and your heart rate skyrockets.
4. Linda
Nicknamed “The 3 Bars of Death,” the benchmark workout Linda will leave you on your back, gasping for air. The workout is 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps for time of deadlifts at 1.5 times your body weight, bodyweight bench presses, and cleans at ¾ of your body weight.
You may think you’ve got an advantage if you’re a lighter athlete because you’ll be lifting lighter bars. But the beauty of this workout is it levels the playing field because it’s all relative when we’re prescribing numbers based on body weight.
At this year’s CrossFit Games Regionals, we saw this workout programmed into the competition with set weights for the men and women of 295/220 lb. for the deadlifts, 195/135 lb. for the bench presses, and 145/105 lb. for the cleans. And don’t forget — these are squat cleans. Enjoy!
5. Gwen
Do you love the barbell so much you never want to put it down? Then Gwen is the workout for you. Calling for 15, 12, and 9 reps of clean and jerks, the workout description states, “Touch and go at floor only. Even a re-grip off the floor is a foul. No dumping. Use same load for each set. Rest as needed between sets.” Gwen is scored by load. How heavy can you go and still maintain the standards?
Gwen will test not only your physical stamina but your mental stamina, too. “All singles” is a strategy utilized by many seasoned athletes as a way to get through reps fast but still only doing one rep at a time. Gwen allows no such strategy. Hang on!
6. The CrossFit Total
You’ll see some workouts pop up year after year in your gym’s programming. The CrossFit Total is probably one of them. The workout tests your max load on the back squat, strict press, and deadlift. The workout is a test of strength and gives you a gauge as to how far you’ve come with your fitness.
We saw the workout in competition at the 2007 CrossFit Games at the Ranch in Aromas, California, where athletes laid it all on the floor and gave it all they had.
Give the total a try and be sure to record your scores so you can observe, measure, and repeat in the future.
7. 1775
Are you such a fan of the barbell you’d carry it any distance to keep working out with it? 1775 is a workout written to celebrate the founding of the United States Army on June 14, 1775, and to honor its soldiers and their unwavering dedication to national defense.
The workout is a 60-minute AMRAP of 17 power cleans and 75 air squats. The caveat, though, is after your squats, you unload the barbell and carry it 200 meters, return to the plates, and then carry one forward to the barbell, and then retrieve the second plate, carry it forward, and reload the barbell for the next round. You’ll get to spend a ton of time with the beloved barbell during this workout.
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