DT will test your max strength, conditioning, and ability to be efficient with a barbell in your hand.
Unlike hero workouts such as Murph or Holleyman, DT is completed relatively quickly and only requires one piece of equipment- a single loaded barbell.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the DT workout. You’ll learn how strategy tips, how to scale, and see some ridiculous performances on the DT workout from CrossFit games athletes.
What Is The DT Workout?
5 Rounds For Time:
- 12 Deadlifts (155/105 lb)
- 9 Hang Power Cleans (155/105 lb)
- 6 Push Jerks (155/105 lb)
“DT” is a classic CrossFit hero workout that first appeared on CrossFit.com’s main page workout program on April 14, 2009.
“DT” is a challenging workout incorporating 3 barbell movements: the deadlift, hang power clean, and push jerks.
Here is CrossFit Games sweetheart Annie Thorisdottir completing “DT”, ridiculously enough, using the men’s RX weight of 155 lbs:
DT WOD Strategy
Here are 3 key strategies for the CrossFit workout “DT”:
Strategy #1
In general, put the bar down as few times as possible.
Unless you are on deadlifts, any resting between reps means doing an extra deadlift that won’t count toward your score.
Recover during the deadlifts. Don’t be afraid to drop the bar from the top of each to save energy.
However you approach the workout, do everything you can to not break up the hang power cleans and push jerks.
In the case of the latter, you’ll also have to do an additional hang power clean to get the bar in position.
Strategy #2
Specifically, don’t put the bar down between your last deadlift and first hang power clean.
Like I said, the biggest mistake people make with DT is doing extra deadlifts.
The last deadlift is the perfect segway into your first hang power clean. Use reps 8, 9, 10 to catch your breath, then go right into your cleans.
Strategy #3
Save your shoulders.
Push jerks are the most efficient way to lock the bar out, but if your shoulders aren’t that strong, you may have to split jerk a few of them. That’s okay.
Just make sure you get a strong dip and drive on each rep.
Push presses or muscled through jerks will blow your shoulders up in the early rounds. By the end, you’ll pay for it.
DT WOD Scaled
Start to finish, “DT” as prescribed is 135 reps.
To get the correct stimulus from this workout, you’re better off scaling the weight on the bar than taking away reps from the deadlifts, hang power cleans, or push jerks.
A normal time for this workout could be anywhere from 4-10 minutes.
For a newbie CrossFitter, you could use 65lbs and still get a great workout.
You could do fewer total rounds, but it’s such a short workout already (or is supposed to be), that scaling weight is probably the way to go.
DT in the CrossFit Games 2015/2016
In 2015, Dave Castro let the world vote on Saturday night’s main event workout. He gave 2 options, which were challenging spins on the original “DT” hero workout: “Heavy DT” or “Double DT”.
Heavy DT
The world voted on “Heavy DT”, which is the original “DT” workout, except the weight is scaled up to 205 lbs for men and 145 lbs for women.
Here is Heavy DT from the 2015 CrossFit Games:
Ben Smith, the eventual champion of the 2015 CrossFit games, won the event in 7:55. Sara Sigmundsdottir finished 1st with a time of 8:25.
Double DT
Not the spoil the fun, Castro brought back the loser of the poll in the 2016 games.
Double DT is 10 rounds of the original workout using 155/105 lbs. Here is the 2016 CrossFit games event:
Samuel Kwant finished first for the men in 11:37, while eventual champion Katrin Davidsdottir captured the 100 points with a blistering time of 9:25.
Who Was DT (Timothy P. Davis)?
Taken from CrossFit.com:
“In honor of USAF SSgt Timothy P. Davis, 28, who was killed on February, 20 2009 supporting operations in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) when his vehicle was struck by an IED. Timothy is survived by his wife Megan and eight year old son T.J.”
You can read a tribute made to Timothy P. Davis in the MilitaryTimes here.
Conclusion
DT is a CrossFit hero workout designed to test your strength, conditioning, and efficiency with a barbell.
To get a good score, limit the amount of transitions and extra deadlifts you must do.
Time your breaks appropriately so you don’t have to pick the bar up more than you need to, which will waste energy.
To scale, simply remove weight off the bar. This workout can be completed pretty quickly, so scaling reps is not ideal.
You may not score like Annie Thorisdottir on this one, but it will challenge you all the same. Load up your bar and get to work. Good luck!
