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 November 27th, 2023 - just one more rep per complex. Try to do the same weight or more than then!

• 0-10 - Dynamic Mobility and Intros / QOTD

  • Deep Squat with Arm Rotation

  • World’s Greatest Stretch

• 11-17 - Warm-up - complete 4 rounds of…

  • 5 Empty Barbell Strict Press

  • 5 Empty Barbell Front Rack Split Squats (5 per leg)

  • 10 Sit-ups

  • 10 Mountain Climbers (Left + Right = 1)

• 18-20 - Debrief / transition / explain workouts

• 21-33 - Strength:

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

    • 3 Barbell Strict Press + 6 Barbell Push Press

  • Intended Stimulus - get two warm-up sets in, then shoot for four sets 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 November 27th, 2023. In 2023, we had one less Push Press per round, so doing the same weight this week will be slightly more challenging and would be a win!

  • Log your heaviest, unbroken complex.

• 34-35 - transition and set-up for MetCon

• 36-51 - MetCon

  • 15 rounds for time, capped at 15 minutes:

    • 4 Barbell Front Squats (<35 / 65 / 95+) (from the ground)

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

  • Intended Stimulus - Front Squats should be medium weight, so they are 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.

• 52-53 - clean up

• 54-60 - Recovery

  • Foam Roll Upper Back - 2 min.

  • Pec Smash on Orb - 2 min. per side

Day 2

• 0-10 - Dynamic Mobility and Intros / QOTD

  • Hamstring Stretch

  • Hip Circles

• 11-16 - Warm-up - 5 minutes, continue to cycle through…

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

  • 8 Reverse Jackknives (4 per direction)

  • 8 Sit-ups

  • 8 Air Squats

• 17-19 - Debrief / transition / explain workouts

• 20-36 - Strength:

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

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

    • Minute Two: Rest

    • Minute Three: Pull-up Bar Active Hang (<:20 / :30 / :40)

    • Minute Four: Rest

  • Intended Stimulus - The Dbl KB 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. Go up in weight every round if you feel that the previous set was too easy. Back should remain flat, shoulder blades packed (lats engaged), and KBs outside of your knees. For the Active Hang, sub out for Ring Row Hold if the Pull-up Bar becomes too intense.

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

• 37-39 - transition and set-up for MetCon (leave out DBs from previous section)

• 40-49 - MetCon

  • AMRAP9

    • 12 V-ups (Tuck-ups are OK too)

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

    • 6 Strict Pull-ups (banded / strict / weighted)

  • Intended Stimulus - The V-ups and burpees are designed to spike that heart rate! Use the time during the Pull-ups to calm the heart rate, breathe intentionally, and challenge the variation.

  • Log total rounds and reps completed in the 9 minutes. Note pull-up variation in notes.

• 50-51 - clean up

• 52-60 - 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

• 0-8 - Dynamic Mobility and Intros / QOTD

  • Wall Snow Angels

  • Walk on Toes

  • Walk on Heels

• 9-14 - 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)

• 15-17 - Debrief / transition / explain workouts

• 18-39 - Strength:

  • In 21 Minutes, complete 7 rounds of:

    • 8 Sandbag/D-ball Forward Lunges (4 per leg)

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

  • Intended Stimulus - The Forward Lunges are designed to light up the glutes AND quads, especially of the forward leg. Build up in weight each round, and make these CHALLENGING. Keep the core, glutes, and quads braced on the Dbl DB Overhead Static Hold. You do not need to necessarily ascend in weight each round on the Overhead Static Holds, but definitely try to do so on the lunges.

  • Log the heaviest weight used on the Forward Lunges for an unbroken set of 8.

• 40-41 - transition and set-up for Stability

• 42-54 - 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. If you move continuously and keep transitions short you’ll get through 4 full rounds and still fully meet the tempos.

• 55-60 - Recovery

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

  • EXTRA CREDIT - Prayer Stretch - 2 min.

Day 5

• 0-10 - Dynamic Mobility and Intros / QOTD

  • Thread the Needles 

  • Up Dog

  • Down Dog

• 11-16 - Warm-up - 5 minutes, continue to cycle through…

  • 10 Unweighted Windmills (5 per side)

  • 10 Plank-ups (Left + Right= 2)

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

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

• 17-19 - Debrief / transition / explain workouts

• 20-32 - 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 add up, so start light and only ascend in weight if you completed the last set completely unbroken (and with minimal issue).

  • Log heaviest set of DB weights used for a completely unbroken set of 8 Dbl DB Seated Press, noting any imbalances between Side A and Side B in the notes.

• 33-35 - transition and set-up for MetCon

• 36-54 - MetCon

  • For time, 18 minute cap

    • 100 Barbell Thrusters (<45 / 65 / 95+)

    • 100 Barbell Push Press (<45 / 65 / 95+)

  • 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.

• 55-56 - clean up

• 57-60 - Recovery

  • Couch Stretch - 1.5 min. per side

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

Day 6

• 0-12 - Dynamic Mobility and Intros / QOTD

  • Scorpions

  • Leg Swings

  • Adductor Rock Backs

  • Scapular Push-ups

• 13-17 - Warm-up - complete 3 rounds of…

  • 4 Up Dog / Down Dog + Push-up

  • 8 Sit-ups

  • 12 Light Single DB Goblet Forward Lunges (6 per leg)

• 18-20 - Debrief / transition / explain workout

• 21-23 - load up bars and get practice sets in

• 24-53 - Long Workout Day!

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

    • 8 Toes-to-Bar Variation (Hanging knee raises / knees to elbows / toes to bar)

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

    • 12 Barbell Front Rack Forward Lunges (6 per leg) (<45 / 75 / 105)

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

  • Intended Stimulus - Break up the reps early and often, don’t try and do the whole first round completely unbroken! For the Push-ups, do as many as you can from a “more challenging” variation before moving to a less challenging variation. 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.

• 54-55 - clean up

• 56-60 - Recovery

  • Massage Gun Traps - 2 min. per side

  • EXTA CREDIT - 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!