I’ve received a lot of emails and PMs lately, asking about the terms “buy-in” and “cash-out”. I’m certainly not the first to use them in the context of a workout, but below is my explanation of what they mean, and how I use them.

The “buy-in” and “cash-out” are terms I use to note skills, mini met-cons or other drills performed before and after the primary WOD. They’re separate from my warm-up, although I’m not always good about separating them out when I write up my workouts for the blog. I’ll try to be better about that in the future. My warm-ups are pretty standard every day – I jump rope, work through Coach Boz’s OHS warm-up (stay tuned for an explanation of that next week), and then maybe do some stretching, or a few repetitions of pull/push/squat/press movements. My warm-ups aren’t long or involved, but the buy-in covers anything that my warm-up leaves out.

The buy-in is comprised of skill work that goes along in some fashion with the WOD. Consider it the price of admission for the workout. I include movements that either better prepare my body for the WOD, or help me work skills that will compliment the movements. I don’t work them to the degree that they tax my muscles too much – I just want to get them firing. A few examples:

• Buy-in for deadlifts: TGUs, windmills, good mornings
• Buy-in for squat cleans: front squats, tall cleans, stripper stretch
• Buy-in for push-jerks: handstand holds, OHS with narrow grip, shoulder opening stretches
• Buy-in for Fight Gone Bad: stall, chalk my hands for no God-given reason, pray

The cash-out is usually something short but tough – a quick challenge I need to complete before I can “call it a day”. I tend to include core-smoking drills here, things you wouldn’t want to do pre-workout. Unlike the buy-in, these don’t have to be related to the movements performed during the workout. A few examples:

• 50 KB swings or snatches
• Max plank holds
• Circus tricks on rings
• Renegade rows (one of my favorites)

So there you have it – the “buy-in” and “cash out” explained. If you start using these skill drills as a buy-in or cash-in during your workouts, let me know. I’m always looking for new moves or new ways to combine movements.

Renegade rows on double 16s, at LRF