Hi all,

Happy third week of September!

Let’s get into it.

Day 1 

Week 6 of 6 of the Shoulder-to-Overhead strength cycle!

The 12 minute strength portion today is the same as Week 1, just slightly more reps. Try to do the same weight or more than Week 1!

• Mobility

  • Deep Squat with Arm Rotation

  • World’s Greatest Stretch

• Warm-up - complete 4 rounds of…

  • 10 Light Single DB Strict Press (5 per arm)

  • 10 Split Squats (5 per leg)

  • 10 Sit-ups

  • 10 Mountain Climbers (Left + Right = 1)

• Strength:

  • For 12 minutes, work up to a heavy complex of:

    • 3 Dbl DB Strict Press + 6 Dbl DB Push Press

  • Intended Stimulus - shoot for at least four rounds at the same working weight. No Off-time superset today. Use the break to rest and recharge before the next set! Compare your weight from today to the weight from Week 1. In Week 1 we worked up in weight and had one less Push Press per round, so doing the same weight this week will be slightly more challenging!

  • Log your heaviest, unbroken complex.

• MetCon

  • 15 rounds for time, capped at 15 minutes:

    • 4 Single DB Goblet Squats (<25 / 35 / 50+)

    • 2 Dbl DB Renegade Rows + Push-up (<25s / 35s / 50s+)

  • Intended Stimulus - Goblet Squats should be heavier but still manageable for the 60 reps. Renegade Rows + Push-up get the heart rate up for sure, but because each round has only two reps, push the weight a little bit!

  • Log time taken to complete the 15 rounds, noting weights used in the notes.

• Recovery

  • Foam Roll Upper Back - 2 min.

  • Pec Smash on Orb - 2 min. per side

Day 2

• Mobility

  • Hamstring Stretch

  • Hip Circles

• Warm-up - 5 minutes, continue to cycle through…

  • 8 Forward Lunge into Runner’s Lunge (4 per side)

  • 8 Reverse Jackknives 

  • 8 Sit-ups

  • 8 Air Squats

• Strength:

  • EMOM16 (Every Minute on the Minute for 16 minutes)

    • Minute One: 6 Dbl DB Suitcase Deadlifts (5-second descent)

    • Minute Two: Rest

    • Minute Three: :40 Forearm Plank Hold

    • Minute Four: Rest

  • Intended Stimulus - The Dbl DB Suitcase Deadlifts should take 35-40 seconds to complete, so a little weight will go a long way. Respect the tempo on the descent and count (out loud if you have to) one-onethousand, two-onethousand, three-onethousand, etc. Ascend in weight every round if you feel that the previous set was too easy. Back should remain flat, shoulder blades packed (lats engaged), and DBs outside of your knees. For the Plank, sub out for Hand Plank if the Forearm Plank becomes too intense.

  • Log weights used on the heaviest set of 6 Dbl DB Suitcase Deadlifts.

• MetCon

  • AMRAP9

    • 12 V-ups (Tuck-ups are OK too)

    • 9 Dbl DB Bent Over Rows (<15s / 25s / 35s+)

    • 6 Lateral Burpees over DBs (half burpees / full burpees / strict burpees)

  • Intended Stimulus - The V-ups and burpees are designed to spike that heart rate! Use the time during the Dbl DB Bent Over Rows to calm the heart rate, breathe intentionally, and challenge the weight. Also on the Dbl DB Bent Over Rows, try not to “urge the weight up” with your torso by “jumping” as you row. Isolate the row to come only from your back muscles by driving the DBs straight up into a locked in torso.

  • Log total rounds and reps completed in the 9 minutes.

• Recovery

  • Foam Roll Glutes - 2 min. per side

  • T-spine smash with lax ball - 2 min per side

Day 3

Rest Day

• Try and fit in two to three walks of 1.0-1.5 miles apiece.

• Another good option is a light jog / Stand-up paddle board / hike / slow bike / etc.

• Mobility and/or restorative yoga are other great options on rest days.

• Some is better than none.

• Getting outside in any capacity is encouraged!

Day 4

• Mobility

  • Wall Snow Angels

  • Walk on Toes

  • Walk on Heels

• Warm-up - complete 3 rounds of…

  • 10 Cossack Squats (assisted or unassisted) (5 per leg)

  • 10 Light Dbl DB Straight Leg Deadlifts

  • 12 Reverse Lunges (6 per leg)

  • 12 Light Single DB Strict Press (6 per arm)

• Strength:

  • In 21 Minutes, complete 7 rounds of:

    • 8 Dbl DB Suitcase Forward Lunges (4 per leg)

  • Off-time - :20 Dbl DB Overhead Static Hold

  • Intended Stimulus - The Dbl DB Suitcase Forward Lunges are designed to light up the glutes AND quads, especially of the forward leg. Build up in weight each round. Keep the core and glutes braced on the Dbl DB Overhead Static Hold. You will likely need to use separate weights for the overhead static hold and the lunges.

  • Log heaviest pair of DBs used on the Dbl DB Suitcase Forward Lunges.

• Stability:

  • For quality, in remaining time (shoot for 3+ rounds)

    • 10 Lateral Raises with Light Fractional Plates (2 seconds each direction)

    • 10 Bent Over Reverse Flies with Light Fractional Plates (2 seconds each direction)

    • 10 Split Squats with 5-second hold at bottom (5 per leg)

  • Intended Stimulus - Slow! This is the stability portion of the day, so we are working on controlling movements in BOTH directions. A little weight goes a long way on the fractional plates.

• Recovery

  • Pigeon Stretch (unassisted or assisted) - 3 min. per side

  • Prayer Stretch - 2 min.

Day 5

• Mobility

  • Thread the Needles 

  • Up Dog

  • Down Dog

• Warm-up - 5 minutes, continue to cycle through…

  • 10 Unweighted Windmills (5 per side)

  • 20 Plank-ups (Left + Right= 2)

  • 10 Light Single DB Strict Press (5 per arm)

  • 20 Lateral Hops over DBs (Left + Right= 2)

• Strength

  • In 12 minutes, complete 6 rounds of

    • 8 Dbl DB Seated Press (Z-Press)

  • Intended Stimulus - we do the Seated Press to minimize assistance from other parts of the body and isolate the press to the upper body. Still keep the core braced, squeeze the glutes and quads as well! 8 Reps adds up, so start light and only ascend in weight if you completed the last set completely unbroken.

  • Log heaviest set of DB weights used for a completely unbroken set of 8 Dbl DB Seated Press.

• MetCon

  • For time, 18 minute cap

    • 100 Dbl DB Thrusters (<25s / 35s / 50s)

    • 100 Dbl DB Push Press (<25s / 35s / 50s)

  • Intended Stimulus - 11 reps per minute will bring you in right about at the cap. This is a marathon, NOT a sprint. If you finish under 12 minutes, you went too light! If you are only getting a few reps per minute, go down in weight!

  • Log time it took to complete the 200 reps, adding weights used in the notes.

• Recovery

  • Couch Stretch - 3 min.

  • Trap Smash with lax ball - 2 min. per side

Day 6

• Mobility

  • Scorpions

  • Leg Swings

  • Adductor Rock Backs

• Warm-up - complete 3 rounds of…

  • 8 Plank Shoulder Taps (Left + Right = 1)

  • 8 Sit-ups

  • 12 Leg Lifts

  • 12 Forward Lunges (6 per leg)

• Long Workout Day!

  • Six rounds of 4:00 AMRAP / 1:00 Rest

    • 8 Scissor Kicks (Left + Right = 1) (hands under tailbone / no hands / weight overhead)

    • 10 Push-ups (from knees / from toes / hand release)

    • 12 Dbl DB Front Rack Forward Lunges (6 per leg) (<20s / 30s / 40s+)

  • IMPORTANT: Pick-up where you left off after reach round.

  • Intended Stimulus - Use the Scissor Kicks to settle the heart rate, brace the abs, and work to reach full 90 degrees on the range of motion. For the Push-ups, do as many as you can from a “more challenging” variation before moving to a less challenging variation. If the Dbl DB Front Rack Forward Lunges get too intense with two DBs, switch to using only one and holding it in the goblet position. The workout is structured as follows: 4 minutes of work, 1 minute of rest, 4 minutes of work, 1 minute of rest, etc, etc. The total elapsed time is 30 minutes (29 minutes plus the last 1 minute rest).

  • Log total rounds and reps completed in the allotted time, add weights and variations in the notes.

• Recovery

  • Massage Gun Traps - 2 min. per side

  • Massage Gun Glutes - 2 min. per side

Day 7

Rest Day

• Try and fit in two to three walks of 1.0-1.5 miles apiece.

• Another good option is a light jog / Stand-up paddle board / hike / slow bike / etc.

• Mobility and/or restorative yoga are other great options on rest days.

• Some is better than none.

• Getting outside in any capacity is encouraged!