12 deadlifts, 9 hang power cleans, 6 push jerks — five rounds for time, one weight across all three movements. Named for U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Timothy P. Davis. A complete guide to doing this workout right.
One barbell. One weight. 135 total reps across 5 rounds. The bar never changes.
U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Timothy P. Davis was 28 years old when he was killed on February 20, 2009, in Afghanistan. His vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device while supporting operations in Operation Enduring Freedom. A native of Aberdeen, Washington, he had enlisted in 1999 and served as a special operations command airman.
He was known to those who served with him by his call sign: “DT.” He is survived by his wife, Megan, and his son, T.J., who was one year old when his father was killed.
This workout carries his initials. Do it with that in mind.
Hero WODs exist to make the weight of loss tangible — to give athletes a physical reference point for sacrifice that words alone can’t convey. DT is intentionally demanding. The five rounds aren’t arbitrary. The barbell doesn’t change weight because service doesn’t get easier as it goes. You finish because he didn’t get to.
What separates DT from most CrossFit workouts is that you never change equipment and never change weight — the same barbell does all three jobs. This means the transitions between movements are a skill in themselves. Done efficiently, you flow from deadlift to hang power clean to push jerk without wasted motion. Done poorly, you’re resetting your grip and repositioning for 10 seconds between each movement, which adds up fast over five rounds.
DT is 135 reps on one barbell. Your hands will fatigue before your legs or shoulders. Use a hook grip (thumb wrapped under the fingers) on deadlifts and hang power cleans — it’s uncomfortable at first but significantly stronger than a standard overhand grip under fatigue. If you feel the bar slipping into your fingertips on the deadlifts, your next hang power clean will be compromised before you even start. Reset your grip between sets if needed — the seconds you spend are cheaper than the reps you lose.
The most important scaling principle for DT: keep all three movements at the same weight. The design of the workout — descending reps across increasing skill requirements — only works if the load is consistent. A weight that’s appropriate for push jerks is the right weight for DT. If your push jerks are failing by round 2, the weight is too heavy regardless of how the deadlifts feel.
Target: you should be able to complete the first round unbroken, or close to it. The workout should take 8–15 minutes for most athletes. If you’re approaching 20 minutes, scale down.
The beginner’s weight selector: set up the bar and do 6 push jerks fresh. If any rep looks shaky or you’re pressing out rather than locking out cleanly, the weight is too heavy for DT. Your push jerk capacity is the ceiling — everything else scales to that.
DT is fundamentally a barbell workout — the three movements are designed around a barbell and the transitions only work with one. That said, if you’re training at home without a bar, here’s how to get the closest approximation of the stimulus with dumbbells.
| Movement | Barbell sub | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Deadlift | DB deadlift / KB deadlift / sandbag deadlift | Two DBs, two KBs, or a heavy sandbag. Same mechanics — hinge, brace, pull. |
| Hang power clean | DB hang power clean / KB swing to clean | Both DBs simultaneously or alternating. KB version: swing to shoulder each rep. |
| Push jerk | DB push jerk / DB push press | Both DBs from shoulder to overhead. Substitute push press if jerk timing is inconsistent under fatigue. |
One important note on dumbbell DT: the transitions that make barbell DT efficient — flowing straight from deadlift into hang clean into jerk — still apply. Lower the DBs to the hang position after your last deadlift, clean from there, and jerk from the shoulder. Keep the same flow.
DT should feel uncomfortable from round 1. The weight is intentionally moderate — heavy enough to accumulate fatigue across five rounds, light enough that the movements should be mostly unbroken. “Mostly unbroken” is the key phrase. This isn’t a workout where you grind through singles — it’s a workout where you manage fatigue to stay in large sets throughout.
The rest-between-rounds question. DT is for time, so minimising rest between rounds improves your score. But unbroken sets within rounds are worth more than short rests between rounds. Take 5–10 seconds between rounds if it means you can go unbroken on the deadlifts and hang cleans. Take 30+ seconds and you’re giving away time you don’t need to.
DT is a relatively short workout by hero WOD standards — elite athletes finish under 5 minutes, most experienced athletes under 10. The descending rep scheme (12–9–6) means each round gets shorter as the movements get more technically demanding. Rounds 1–2 are the longest. Round 5 should feel like a sprint to the finish.
| Level | Men (Rx: 155 lb) | Women (Rx: 105 lb) | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elite | < 5:00 | < 5:00 | Touch-and-go throughout. Unbroken every movement. Sub-50s rounds. |
| Advanced | 5:00–7:00 | 5:00–7:00 | Mostly unbroken. Short resets on deadlifts in later rounds. |
| Experienced | 7:00–10:00 | 7:00–10:00 | 1–2 breaks per movement in rounds 3–5. Consistent pace overall. |
| Intermediate | 10:00–14:00 | 10:00–14:00 | Multiple breaks. Still moving with intent. Sub-10 is the next milestone. |
| Beginner (scaled) | 12:00–18:00 | 12:00–18:00 | Light load, push press sub. Finishing under 15 minutes with solid technique is a strong goal. |
DT retests well every 8–12 weeks. Because it’s all barbell, your score is directly tied to strength, barbell cycling efficiency, and grip endurance — all of which improve steadily with consistent training. A 30-second improvement is meaningful progress. Track your weight, rep scheme, and any breaks taken, not just the time.
No 155 lb barbell? FITL builds your version — same three movements, same five rounds, weight scaled to your experience level and available equipment. Your daily workout, built for your setup.