7 Tips to Improve Your Time on CrossFit’s DT Workout

I may not be the strongest or fastest person at my gym, but few people can rival me when it comes to digging into a workout to understand its nuances. My best game is strategic.

This week, we had the infamous DT workout on the schedule again, after doing it twice over 6 weeks in the fall. I took everything I learned from the first two times and implemented it to again improve my time.

In the process, I learned some additional insights that I’m sharing here.

What Is CrossFit’s DT Workout?

DT is a hero workout named for US Sgt. Timothy P. Davis, who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan in February 2009.

The workout is a barbell workout, consisting of 5 rounds for time of:

• 12 deadlifts
• 9 hang power cleans
• 6 push jerks

The prescribed weight is 155 pounds for men and 105 for women, but of course you can scale as necessary. You use the same barbell for all movements.

My 3 DT Performances and Times

So far, I’ve done this workout 3 times, all with a 55-pound bar.

Here’s how long it took me each time:

• September 2023: 15:25
• November 2023: 9:39
• May 2024: 8:22

After my dramatic improvement the second time I did this workout, I did what I do best: I investigated the workout and my performance to identify the distinctions that made a difference and the lessons I could apply beyond the gym.

You can read about it here: How I Cut My Time on CrossFit’s DT Workout By 6 Minutes in 7 Weeks

It’s one thing to understand and identify, another to implement. When I saw DT on the schedule this week, I knew it would be a test of whether I’d be able to apply the distinctions I’d noted.

Obviously, there wasn’t as much room to improve this time; I knew another 6 minute time cut wasn’t realistic.

I was hoping to finish in under 9:00, so to come in at 8:22 was a huge improvement.

As my yoga teacher Nevine Michaan says, repetition creates revelation. With each repetition of a workout like DT is the opportunity to learn more distinctions.

7 Tips to Improve Your Time on CrossFit’s DT Workout

Here are 7 tips that will help you perform better the next time you attempt the DT workout.

(1) Choose the Right Weight

Like many of the hardest CrossFit workouts, DT doesn’t look too bad on paper.

Don’t underestimate it. This is a deceptively complex workout that gets hard very fast.

The biggest limiter for many people is the push jerk, an overhead press. 6 reps may not look like much, but remember you’re doing 5 rounds of this rep scheme, which means it’s 30 reps of push jerks. Each round you’re more tired and more winded.

It’s important to know the game you’re playing. From everything I’ve read, this is a workout that’s meant to be completed quickly and efficiently. Ideally, you want a weight where you don’t need to break up the movements within each round.

For me, 55 pounds is still pretty close to my max overhead press for 6 reps. Having done it at this weight twice, I knew I would do it again at 55 with a goal to improve my time. Unless my strength improves dramatically, I’ll likely do it again at 55 pounds until I get a sub–8-minute time.

(2) Be Smart About When You Drop the Bar

This is a workout about efficiency. Unless you’re an elite athlete who can hang onto the bar for all 27 reps of each round, you’re going to have to put down the bar within each round.

As I wrote previously, the core strategy in DT is to be smart about when you drop the bar.

You want to drop the bar after 11 deadlifts and after 8 hang power cleans.

Your 12th deadlift takes you into your first hang power clean, and your 9th hang power clean takes you into your first push jerk.

Ideally, you would go unbroken for 11 deadlifts, 8 hang power cleans, and 6 push jerks. If you have to break up the deadlifts or hang power cleans within each round, make sure you still drop the bar after 11 and 8, respectively.

Don’t do extra reps!

(3) Within Each Round, Keep the Rest Brief

In my latest performance of DT, the big difference came in the time between movements within each round. My bar drop after 11 deadlifts and 8 hang power cleans was brief — simply a chance to open my hands and shake them out.

This wasn’t a “rest” break — it was a grip break.

Drop the bar, shake it out, and pick up the bar again.

In part, I was able to minimize the transition time here because I was better at managing my breath within each set.

(4) Take Measured Rest After Each Round

The other big change I made in my third performance of DT was being controlled and measured in my rest between rounds.

In part, I was able to do this because I was better able to keep my nervous system regulated throughout the workout.

In my first two performances, I could hardly notice the time. I saw the clock, but I was in too much of a blur to register the clock or manage my time.

The third time, I could actually see and register the clock. I was able to hold myself to 20–30 seconds of rest after the push jerks, before starting the next round.

The timed rest helped me stay focused going into each round and led to more consistency across rounds. I didn’t waste minutes between rounds to regain my breath.

(5) Use a Hook Grip

I head a lot of people complaining about forearm fatigue and grip strength. I noticed that many of those people tend to deadlift with a mixed grip, even at lighter weights.

One of my coaches is really big on using a hook grip, and I practice that grip on all my deadlifts, even when I go heavy. I think the hook grip really helps in a workout like DT. It will save you forearm fatigue.

(6) Cycle the Bar

The skill of cycling the bar is also a huge component in DT. Admittedly this is not my best skill, but it’s something I am working on.

The better you can be at cycling the bar — especially in the cleans — the more time you can shave off.

(7) Practice Your Movements

Don’t underestimate the role of confidence in shaving time off any task. Confidence comes from practice.

Since the last time I did the DT workout, I’ve consistently done workouts with cleans with a 55 pound bar. I’ve even gone heavier with cleans in some recent workouts.

This practice gave me more confidence going into the workout this time.