Shoulder Press

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When you drink alcohol you are just borrowing happiness from tomorrow.

Went over to Survival Fitness Bay City for beering, grilling, and fireworks last night. Didn’t drink much but stomach was rolling a bit through the morning and I had to take a couple of naps. Trained with Kevin and Brandi at 5pm. Started off with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

Shoulder Presses

10×45#
5×95#
5×115#
7x5x130#

Phew! Went up 7.5# over week 2’s day 2. Hardest struggle I’ve had yet. Glad tomorrow is a rest day.

To warm up snatches I did 2 muscle snatches with 95#, 2 power snatches with 115#, and 2 power snatches with 135#.

Conditioning

3 Rounds
- 3 Snatches (use 70% of 1RM, same bar for all 3 couplets)
- 6 Burpee Box Jumps (30/24″)
4 Rounds
- 6 Front Squats
- 12 T2B
5 Rounds
- 9 Deadlifts
- 27 DU

This is an original I came up with yesterday. No rest between couplets. I used 145# and finished in 15:37. My T2B held me back a lot. I could definitely feel the fatigue in my hips from all of the MU yesterday. This would be nice at 75%, especially if you hadn’t been out drinking.

Did Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap when I got home.

Double Morning

Out to the garage for an early lifting session. Warmed up with Crossover Symmetry Activation. Lighter than usual so I didn’t fatigue myself before presses.

10×45#
5×95#
3×115#
6x6x125#

The final week of Smolov Jr. has begun! Bumping up the weights extra this week.

Back Squat

20×45#
5×135#
5×185#
3x10x225#

Giving up on 315# yesterday pissed me off. Haven’t been squatting enough. Nothing crazy today. A little greasing the groove. I did the last set of 10 unbroken and should have done that for all 3 sets. Was resting and breathing too much in between reps on the first 2 sets.

In to CFi for the 10am class.

Warm-up

Cobra Stretch 2x30s
Arm Circles
T-spine Twists
Neck Rotations

Midline

10:00 EMOM

1/1 Turkish Get-ups

Did 3 rounds with 25#, 2 rounds with 35#, 2 rounds with 44#, and 3 rounds with 53#.

Skill

10:00 EMOM

2 Muscles-ups

No misses! I thought for sure I’d be switching to singles by the 5th minute. I only hit 3 in a row for the first time 2 weeks ago and failed on a 3rd try at a double that day. Today I really focused on the hollow/arch/hollow swing, a big hip pop, and then a fast turnover. Never once got my wrists stuck in a bad spot on the turnover like I usually do. I’m excited! The XWODs are paying off in a big way.

Conditioning

Strapped on the 20# weight vest. Did about a 250m jog to warm up the legs.

5:00 EMOM

20s Sprint @ 80% w/ vest

Took a couple of rounds to get a feel for running with that thing. Took it off for the next part.

E90S – 5 Rounds

10s Sprint at 100%

My acceleration felt really good on these.

After a little break we jogged a little more than 1 mile. I finished out by doing Crossover Symmetry Plyo with the red and purple bands.

Grinding Smolov Jr.

Headed in early before the 9am so I could finish up week 2 of Smolov Jr. shoulder presses.

Shoulder Press

10×45#
5×95#
3×115#
10x3x137.5#

Felt rough from the get-go, but I made it through every set. Rushed in and started right away too without any other type of warm-up. Was only taking about 90 seconds of rest between sets so I could finish before class started. The final week should be interesting. I think I’ll bump up the weights a bit over the recommended. My shoulders are feeling strong!

Warm-up

3 Rounds NFT

300m Row
15 Reverse Hypers on GHD

I worked up quite the sweat!

Warmed up deadlifts with 4×155#, 4×245#, and 4×315#.

XWOD

4-4-4-4-4-4 Deadlifts (365#)
2-1-2-1-2-1 Explosive movement
- 2s: Split Jumps (2 each leg, sandbag on back)
- 1s: Kneeling Jump (10.25″ – 45-45-25 HG bumpers stacked)

Haven’t done any heavy deadlifts for volume in quite some time. Felt really good!

Conditioning

5 Rounds (Tabata style)

20s Wall Balls (20# MB, 10′ target)
10s Rest
20s Sit-ups
10s Rest

I did 10 wall balls and 11 sit-ups each round.

Midline

3 Round NFT

20 Russian Twists (53# KB)
45s Plank

After class I stayed to do some extra work. Did Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap with the blue bands for heavy and yellow for light. Burn baby!

4 Rounds NFT

15 GHD Sit-ups
15 Back Extensions

Focused on being as explosive as possible for both movements, which got me breathing pretty damn heavy. Took solid rest between rounds to recover.

In the evening I went for a walk. 3.22 miles in 48:29. During the summers my conditioning is always the best, which I attribute in large part to walking so much on the golf course. Felt like some fresh air tonight and the walk was perfect.

Rope Climbs

Feeling a little sore in new places from climbing the trees Sunday night at The Adventure Park. Walked 18 holes of golf yesterday. In for the 9am class at CFi.

Warm-up

CS Activation
Arm Circles
30 Jumping Jacks

Strength

Shoulder Press

10×45#
5×95#
5×115#
8x4x130#

Paired up with XWOD of:

2s – 30″ Box Jumps
1s – Broad Jump

The shoulder presses were a lot more of a struggle today. The final day of week 2 should be very interesting!

Skill

Put on the shin skins and finally tried some rope climbs while the newbs worked on kipping with Kevin. We’ve been talking about me getting on that rope for the last couple of weeks, so it was time. I was using the faster method which starts about halfway through this video…

I did 3 or 4 of them and then did one legless too. Not nearly as hard as I was expecting. Felt a lot different strain on my shoulders doing them, so points to a weakness I need to work on.

Conditioning

7:00 AMRAP

10 Deadlifts (115#)
10 Push Presses (115#)
5 Burpees

Finished 4 rounds plus the deadlifts and push presses. Did all 10 push presses in round 1 but then had to go 5-5 every other round. Rough after the shoulder presses.

About 2-3 minutes after we finished, we went for a 1 mile jog.

93 Kilos

Didn’t get a ton of sleep last night after going to a 10pm showing of Transformers, but feeling surprisingly good today. Went over to CFi at noon to lift.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
45# Snatch Positions
10 Snatch Presses @ 45#

3 Position Snatches

40kg
40kg
50kg
60kg
60kg (missed high hang)

Snatches

2x65kg
2x70kg
1x75kg
1x80kg
1x83kg
1x85kg
1x87kg
1x89kg
1x91kg
1x93kg (PR)

Felt great! Had no intention of going for that, but was lifting with Alex, who said he was going to get up around 90 for the day. When I got close, it was feeling good, and I was making everything, figured might as well go for it. That’s 205# for a 5# PR. I haven’t attempted anything over 185 since the end of January. Took the PR and 100% day from the floor, then shut it down. All of the CS work is paying off in a big way. I’ve never felt so good receiving the bar with heavy weights.

Shoulder Presses

10×45#
5×95#
3×115#
7x5x122.5#

Day 2 of week 2 for Smolov. Not any struggle, but I think the next 2 days in the program are going to get hard. I paired the working sets up with kneeling jumps for an XWOD:

2s – 5.75″
1s – 8″

Will have to go higher next time for more of a challenge.

I did some skin the cats and then Crossover Symmetry Recovery.

Get ScapJacked!

Walked 18 holes of golf yesterday and feeling good. First time since coming back from Spain that my legs aren’t sore. Headed out to the garage before the 9am Survival Fitness class to get in the Smolov Shoulder Press along with an XWOD.

Warm-up

27″ Seated Box Jump
5×45# Shoulder Press
33″ Seated Box Jump
5×75# Shoulder Press
39″ Seated Box Jump
5×95# Shoulder Press
Couple attempts at 45″ Seated Box Jump
41.5″ Seated Box Jump

XWOD

6x6x115# Shoulder Press
2-1-2-1-2-1 Seated Box Jump

I did 2×39″ and 1×41.5″ for the jumps. Tried to get 45″ in warm-up but I couldn’t make myself get up there being alone at home in the garage and so early in the morning. Good challenge. This was the first day of week 2 for my shoulder press Smolov Jr. cycle.

Got to SF and warmed up with leg swings, bottom squat holds, and some other stretching.

Strength

Deadlifts w/ bigger red band

5×95#
3×135#
3×185#
3×225#
8x3x255# w/ 30s rest

Accessory

Bulgarian Split Squats (3x 45# bumpers stacked as the box)

10/10 53# KB
10/10 60# DB
10/10 71# KB

Really weird with such a low box and having to touch the knee to the ground. I’m used to doing these on a bench.

Conditioning

100 DU
80 Air Squats
30s Dead Hang + 12 Pull-ups
40 Box Jumps (24″)
30s Dead Hang + 12 Pull-ups
20 Burpees
30s Dead Hang + 12 Pull-ups

I got the 100 double unders unbroken! Wasn’t even a struggle and my shoulders felt fine the whole way. I guess that month of dubs really paid off, plus all of the Crossover Symmetry work I’ve been doing. My air squats wore slow and controlled, but I never stopped. Didn’t rebound on my box jumps, so all step downs, but again, no stopping. Burpees were pretty slow. I did the first two rounds of pull-ups unbroken without dropping, then dropped after 5 in the last round so I wouldn’t rip. Took a short break and got back up to finish out the last 7. Still doing all kipping pull-ups to build up muscle more than butterfly. Finished in 10:39.

Got home and did Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap. Time to step it up! Rest day tomorrow to golf 27 holes and then we have a team competition Saturday against all of the gyms in the area.

Shoulder Smolov Jr. Week 1

I was exhausted yesterday. 9 hours in the gym over the weekend will do that I guess. Went to CrossFit Intuition for the 9am.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
Arm Circles
Rapid Toe Touches
20 Air Squats

Strength

Shoulder Press – Smolov Jr. Week 1 Day 4

5×45#
5×95#
10x3x127.5#

Yep, actually used fractional plates. Wasn’t too hard. Going up 10# for week 2 should be interesting.

Conditioning

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Box Jumps (30″)
Burpees
Russian KBS (53#)

I lost track in the middle and ended up doing round 6 twice. Whoops! Finished in 9:49.

Midline

3 Rounds

30s Side Plank (L)
15s Rest
30s Side Plank (R)
15s Rest
30s Plank
15s Rest

Finished up with Crossover Symmetry Recovery. Definitely time to start doing the Plyo and Iron Scap on some days. I’ve been able to get the 90/90 move up to a band matching the other movements, so not having any issues with my shoulder there anymore.

Double Sunday

Feeling good after yesterday. Went to the 11am class at Survival Fitness.

2 Rounds

1:00 Plank
1:00/1:00 Side Planks
1:00 Rest
1:00 Dead Hang
1:00 Bottom Squat Hold
1:00 Jumping Jacks

I did a quick drop after 35 seconds of dead hang and jumped right back up to regrip. No need to rip my hands open with pull-ups and deadlifts planned for tonight.

20:00 Partner AMRAP

12 Sit-ups
12 SDLHP (53# KB)
12 Squat Jumps
6 Burpees
250m Run

Partner 1 does all of the sit-ups, partner 2 does all of the SDLHP, and keep alternating each movement. Since partner 1 will be doing the run in the first round, the 2nd time through the movements will be switched for each person.

I paired up with Joe and we kept up a solid sprint pace. We were about 130m from finishing 8 rounds.

Over to CrossFit Intuition around 5:30 for another workout. Did Crossover Symmetry Activation and then figured it was a good time to try doing a “ninja get-up” since it’s been a long time and maybe the Explosive Seminar taught me a few things. Nailed it on the first try!

Clean & Jerks

2x40kg
2x60kg
2x70kg
1x75kg
1x80kg
1x90kg
1x95kg
1x100kg
1x105kg
1x115kg
1x118kg (Clean PR, missed jerk)

Used all kilo plates in the Mid Michigan Barbell Club part of the gym, which is a first for me. It’s weird not knowing exactly how much is on the bar. I’ll call that a 260# clean I guess, for a 5# PR. I had the jerk locked out, but was probably a bit forward on me. I really need to work on getting under the bar after I extend, instead of extending some more.

XWOD

Warmed up shoulder press with 5×75# and 5×95#.

8x4x120# Shoulder Press
2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1 Explosive Push-ups

For the 2s, we did clapping push-ups and for the 1s we did a plyo push-up from the ground on to four 45# bumper plates.

Conditioning

3 Rounds
- 5 C2B Pull-ups
- 10 Deadlifts (185#)
2:00 Rest
2 Rounds (same movements and reps)
1:00 Rest
1 Round (same movements and reps)

I wanted to make something short and fast, but still really intense. This worked out really well. I start losing my kip on C2B after 3 or 4 and was swinging all over the place a few times. I finished 3 rounds in 1:50, 2 rounds in 1:12, and 1 in 0:27, with a total time of 6:29 on the clock.

Did 4 sets of 10 reverse hypers with a green band on the GHD. Then I did Crossover Symmetry Recovery.

Press Before Golf

My legs are still sore as hell, but the front squat volume last night sure didn’t help. Rest day today, but wanted to get in day 2 of Smolov pressing before golf.

I did Crossover Symmetry Activation first.

Shoulder Press

10×45#
5×95#
E2M for 7 sets
- 5×115#

Used the clock to push it along since I had to shower, eat, and get to the golf course. Harder than yesterday, even with the much shorter rest, but still not terrible.

Going to an Explosive Training Seminar with Ryan Moody tomorrow. Should be fun!

Muscle-up Triple

No classes this morning at SF, so over to CFi for some lifting. My legs are still really sore, especially my IT bands.

Warm-up

CS Activation
Bottom Squat Hold
Various Stretching
Snatch Positions w/ 15-45-75#

Snatch

2×95#
2×115#
1-F-1×125#
2×135#
1×145#
1×155#
1×165#
1-1-F-1-1-1×175#

In the early weights I was trying to start slow off the floor. Throughout I attempted to keep my arms loose and not pull early. The miss at 125# was mental with my mind thinking about too many things. I had the miss at 175# no problem, but sat in the bottom too long and didn’t stay tight enough while there.

Shoulder Press

10×45#
5×75#
5×95#
6x6x105#

Trying out some Smolov Jr. for shoulder presses. Kevin jumped in and did these with me. Our friend Jason did a cycle and said it skyrocketed his press. Hope it does the same for us. Based it off a 150# max to be on the conservative side and turned out pretty easy for day 1.

5:00 EMOM

Muscle-ups

Originally I was going to go for 2 each minute, but felt good in the first minute and went for 3. Got it! I’d never done 3 unbroken before. Couldn’t quite get the 3rd one in the 2nd minute and then couldn’t get the 2nd in the 3rd minute, so did singles for the last two minutes. Ended up being 3-2-1-1-1 for a total of 8 reps. I was really struggling with the wrist turnover when I got over the rings. Need to find some drills to work that because it always causes me trouble.

Figured I should get in some squats since it’s been a few days and tomorrow is a golf day. Out to the garage around 7pm. Seems like it’s been forever since I did front squats.

Front Squats

10×45#
5×135#
3×205#
3×215#
3×225#
3×235#
3×245#
3×255#
3×265#
3×275#
3×285#
3×295#

It was a fight for the last two reps, definitely with some back rounding, but I got it. Shit, my max is still 310 the last time I tried it.