Tag: Shoulder Press

A 2 Minute Challenge

No golf again yesterday because we got so much rain on Thursday night. Courses are still closed today. So I took a complete rest day. Bryan came over at 1 today. I did an easy 5:00 Airdyne (1.43 miles) to get the blood flowing. I’m swapping the order of the pull-up workout this week since I wanted to have a spotter for this.

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 10×95
  • 6×135
  • 3×165
  • 3×195
  • 3×225
  • 3×245
  • 3x3x255

That’s my 3RM, which was set about 3 months ago.

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 6×95
  • 3×115
  • 3×135
  • 3×150
  • 3×157.5
  • 3×162.5

Maybe I should do more warm-up sets on these because 150 felt rough but the 2 heavier sets were fine. Next time I’ll have to try an extra set and then do multiple sets at a higher weight. Wanted to get a feel for things today though. 2.5 7.5# under my 3RM.

Accessory

  • 3 Sets
    • 15/15 Pallof Press (CS Blue)
    • 20 alt Incline DB Bench Press (50#)
  • 3 Sets
    • 3×10/10 Tricep Extensions (30#, single arm)
    • 3×10 Landmine Twists (45# bar + 40#)

The lifts too a long time today because we were talking so much. Did the accessory as supersets to speed it up.

2 Minute Challenge

  • 2:00 AMRAP – DU

I got 191 and Bryan got 198. According to BTWB that was a 4 rep PR for me. Started with 81 in a row and hit 100 right at the minute mark, but then started missing over 20-30 reps.

Getting Scary

Busy day. Out in the garage in the evening.

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 10×95
  • 6×135
  • 3×165
  • 3×195
  • 3×220
  • 2x3x240
  • 3×245

Not a lot of time left so I figured it was time to start doing some bigger increases. Need to start getting closer to failure in these last few weeks. I’ve been benching inside the rack with support straps whenever I’m alone, but it’s starting to get a little scary as I approach PR weights. I think this is the most I’ve had on the bar since hitting 3×255# during the Open.

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 6×95
  • 3×115
  • 3×135
  • 3×150
  • 3×152.5
  • 3×155

Accessory

  • 3×20 alt Incline DB Bench Press (50#)
  • 3×10 Half Kneeling Single Arm Bottoms Up KB Press (30#)
  • 3×10 Tricep Extensions (single arm, 30#)
  • 3×10 Landmine Twists (45# bar + 35#)

Ugh – KB presses. I haven’t done them in a few weeks. Swapping for the wider 10# plate on my adjustable bell (to go from 25->30) shifted the balance a lot! I really don’t like the single arm Tricep extensions; feels like a lot of pressure on the elbow.

Conditioning

  • 30 cal Ski Erg
  • 20 Goblet Squats (70#)
  • 10 Target Burpees (ceiling – 14″)

Calories are much different from on the rower! I felt like I was getting 2 for every 3 pulls with an average around 1,250 cal/hr most of the time. Went unbroken on the goblet squats but was breathing really heavy by the end. That jump to the ceiling is big! I missed once being lazy and had to jump again. Finished in 3:13.

Felt it Coming

Made it in for the 10am.

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Shoulder Stretching
  • 1-2-3-4-5
    • Burpee
    • Squat Jump
    • American KBS (35#)

Lifting

Power Snatch + OHS

  • 3×45#
  • 3×75
  • 3×95
  • 3×115
  • E90S – 5 Sets
    • 3×135

It’s been at least 2.5 weeks since I picked up a barbell for any olympic lifts. Felt pretty good. I taped some gauze on my hand and wore one of my Bear Complex grips to help protect it.

It was going to be the same E90S but with a squat clean + thruster next. I was warming up with 3 reps using 135# and my back was feeling like it might go, so I stripped the bar and bowed out before it turned into a full-on tweak. The overhead squats seem to aggravate it. 😦

Gymnastics

E90S – 5 Sets

  • 30s Handstand Hold

I did these while everyone was doing the cleans. Should have done at least 45 second holds.

Conditioning

Team with Jason and Gavin:

  • 9 Prowler Sprints (1 set 135# & 2 sets 180#)
  • 72 Burpee KB Thrusters (2×26#)
  • 800m Run

We didn’t time it. Rotated through the prowlers and then did sets of 8 burpee thrusters for 3 sets each. Felt pretty good on the run, but couldn’t stick with Gavin.

Out in the garage in the evening after mowing the lawn and watching some of the other Regionals.

Bench Press

donut-recovery

  • 10×45#
  • 10×95
  • 6×135
  • 3×165
  • 3×195
  • 3×215
  • 3x3x230
  • 3×20 alt Incline DB Bench Press (50#)

My bench press has been feeling really really good!

Shoulder Press

  • 8×95#
  • 4×115
  • 4×130
  • 3x4x140

Meh. Did the work, but was careful to squeeze with the minor back tweak this morning.

Tomorrow we are doing “J.T.” so I decided to skip the half kneeling kettlebell presses and tricep kickbacks. I also skipped one arm farmers carries due to my back.

 

Hold It

Went to the 4:30 class.

Warm-up – 3 Sets

  • 20 PVC Passes
  • 20 Plyo Lunges
  • 10 Good Mornings (PVC)
  • 10 Jumping Jacks

Strength – Shoulder Press + Push Press

  • 6+6 @ 45#
  • 6+6 @ 95
  • 3+3 @ 115
  • 3+3 @ 135
  • 3+3 @ 145
  • 3+3 @ 150
  • 3+3 @ 155
  • 3+3 @ 160

Felt pretty good.

Conditioning

8:00 AMRAP

  • 8 Deadlifts (135#)
  • 8 Bar-facing Burpees

Haven’t done any type of deadlift in several weeks so I stayed light. Got through 8+12.

Midline

  • MAX Plank

Class was doing Tabata, so I did my usual long hold. Set a 28 second PR by holding for 6 minutes.

8am

Can definitely feel my shoulders and neck this morning! I’m guessing it’s already from the 100 handstand push-ups last night. Out in the garage early before hitting the road.

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 10×95
  • 6×135
  • 3×165
  • 3×185
  • 3×205
  • 3x3x225

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 8×95
  • 4×115
  • 3x4x135

Accessory

  • 3×15 Half Kneeling Single Arm Bottoms Up KB Press (25#)
  • 2×10 Tricep Extensions (single-arm, 30#)
  • 3×10 Landmine Twists (45# bar + 25#)

Good session. Now we’re off to Nashville to watch the Central Regional.

Work With What You Got

Was awake for over 30 hours with the trip to Bulgaria! We did do a lot of walking around the city to make sure we could stay awake. Got a solid night of sleep though and was in the hotel’s fitness center by 8am.

Push Only

  • 3×20 DB Bench Press (10kg DBs)
  • Press machine
    • 10x45kg
    • 2x8x60
  • Overhead Press Machine
    • 10x25kg
    • 10×40
    • 2x8x45
  • 3×15/15 Half Kneeling 1-Arm DB Press (10kg)
  • 3×15 Landmine Twists (10kg DBs)

Tried to get in the movements that at least matched up with the program. I was holding two dumbbells trying to simulate the landmine twists. Weird but I felt it in my obliques.

Conditioning

4 Rounds

  • 200m Run
  • 20 push-ups (treadmill)

On the treadmill, which took time to get up to speed and kept turning off while doing push-ups. Finished in 6:26 and did all sets of push-ups unbroken, though the last set got hard.

Perfect Pacing

Forgot to hit publish on this yesterday, so it’s going live the morning after, but the post date is correct.

Monday night I started having issues with my sinuses and it hit me full on yesterday. Took the day off work since I couldn’t sit or stand for more than a few minutes without my nose and eyes watering like Niagara Falls. Was supposed to golf, but had to bail again. 🤒  I got out in the garage around 5:30.

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 10×95
  • 5×135
  • 5×175
  • 5×195
  • 5×210
  • 5x5x220

Used 215 last time. Not sure how long these 5# jumps are sustainable.

Shoulder Press

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95
  • 5×115
  • 5×130
  • 3x5x140

Last time I did 2 sets at 135 and one at 140, plus adding in the extra warm-up set. These increases really aren’t sustainable on the shoulder press so I jumped up a bit in volume and increased the weight on 2 of the working sets.

Accessory

  • 3×16 Alternating Incline DB Bench Press (50#)
  • 3×15 Pallof Press (CS Red)
  • 3×15 Tricep Extensions (40-45-50#)
  • 3×15/15 Landmine Press (80#)

Performance Plus

4 Sets

  • Bench HS Walk (3s hold at end of turn – video)
  • 10 Straight arm pull-downs on low rig (feet on box – video)

Interesting.

Conditioning

10x

  • 1:00 Ski Erg (90% of 500m PR pace)
  • 1:00 Rest

Pace goal came out to about 1:45, which I was holding after the start, but that’s not enough to bring the average down low enough. I got progressively better and longer sprint starts. Splits in meters and average pace were…

  • 282-1:46.3
  • 283-1:46.0
  • 284-1:45.6
  • 284-1:45.6
  • 285-1:45.2
  • 285-1:45.2
  • 286-1:44.8
  • 287-1:44.5
  • 289-1:43.8
  • 293-1:42.3

Came out to a total of 2,858 meters and … 1:44.9! Made it. 😉

Bottoms Up!

Yesterday my abs were a little sore from the 100 sit-ups on Wednesday. I walked 18 holes on the course. Got a bunch of yard work done today and finally got out to the garage around 6pm.

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 10×95
  • 5×135
  • 5×175
  • 5×195
  • 5x5x215#

Why does this day always seem so heavy? Maybe not warmed up as much as the higher reps on that first day of the “week” in the program or possibly fatigued from it? Seriously… sets of 12 with 200 feel easier than this. This was a 5# increase over the last time.

Shoulder Press

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95
  • 5×115
  • 2x5x135
  • 5×140

My plan was to do 1 set at 135 and 2 at 140 but evidently I didn’t pay close enough attention to my notes. Last time I did 2 sets at 130 and 1 at 135, so I guess I ended up lining up with that.

Accessory

  • 3×30 alt DB Bench Press (50#)
  • 3×12/12 Half Kneeling Single Arm Bottoms Up KB Press (25#)
  • 3×15/15 Tricep Kickbacks (15-20-20#)
  • 3×15 Landmine Twists with 45# bar + 15# plate (video)

Fucked up here too and did these kickbacks instead of extensions. I get too used to remembering previous workouts on the program.

That was a lot of lifting. Took just over an hour. First time doing those twists and shit, they are deceiving. Counted left, center, right, center as 1 rep.

Performance Plus

3 Rounds

  • 30s Left – Bottoms Up KB Marching (25#)
  • 30s Rest
  • 30s Right – Bottoms Up KB Marching
  • 30s Rest

This bottoms up KB marching is similar to the presses on a difficulty level. My left arm starts to lose it but my right side is pretty solid. Program also calls for:

  • Foam Roll Lats – 30s/side
  • Thoracic Spine Extension Mobility

I’ll get these in tonight after dinner.

Conditioning

  • 15-10-5 Squat Clean (135#)
  • 150-100-50 DU

Was going to do some running around the block, which is about 700m, but I got rained out again. Thought about doing burpees again but figured the double unders would fatigue the legs more for the squats. I did the cleans 6-5-4, 6-4, and 5 unbroken. Finished in 9:22.

A Visitor

Bryan came over for a garage session. He did his deadlift program while I did the Push Only, which are both Hybrid programs.

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 10×95
  • 5×135
  • 5×175
  • 5×195
  • 5x5x210#
  • 3×30 alt DB Bench Press (50#)

Add 5-10# over last week on the 5 working sets. I added 5# since I started higher than 70% due to doing a couple of weeks of pre-program.

Shoulder Press

  • 5×95#
  • 5×115
  • 2x5x130
  • 5×135

Supposed to increase 5-10# here too. Last week I did 115-120-125 to ease in, which was actually low on the 65-70% starting range.

Accessory

  • 15/15 Half Kneeling Single Arm DB Press
    • 1 set @ 30#
    • 2 sets @ 35
  • 3×15/15 Tricep Kickbacks (15#)
  • Performance Plus – 3 Sets
    • 10 Scap Pull-ups
    • 10 Overhead Shrugs (45#)

Conditioning

  • 200 DB Snatch (50#)
  • 100 T2B

Had an idea to do something high rep before moving on to another movement. We did this as a partner workout, going 4 alternating snatches at a time. Then we did sets of 5 toes-to-bars. Finished the snatches at 9:39 and overall at 12:58 I think. There is a small chance it may have been 12:28. I thought the T2B would get much harder than they did. Snatches weren’t very hard either with that set breakdown.

I skipped out on a stretch from the PP programming that I’ll get in later.

  • 2×15/15 Bretzel (video)

Wonder What My Push Jerk Is

Walked my first 18 holes of the year yesterday. Wasn’t really tired, though did feel some pulling in my left hamstring over the last 4 holes. Still really wet and soggy out there. Went in for the 10am class today.

Warm-up

  • 3×15 Reverse Hyper (90#)
  • 2x
    • Couch Stretch
    • Wrist Stretch
  • 3 Sets
    • 10 Weighted Lunge (45#)
    • 10 Shoulder Press (45#)
    • 10 Front Squat (45#)

Weightlifting

1 Squat Clean + 2 Front Squats + 1 Push Jerk

  • 135#
  • 185#
  • 205#
  • 225#
  • 240#
  • 250#

Alex lifted with me. Wasn’t planning on going too heavy, but it was feeling ok. The squats did feel a little heavy. I haven’t maxed out push jerk in years, but the most I’ve done is 255# back in September of 2014. I think it’s a lot higher now.

Conditioning

30:00 EMOM (alt)

  • Row calories
  • H2H KBS (44#)
  • Bicycle Crunches
  • Jump Rope (singles)
  • Side Plank

Worked for 40 seconds of each minute. This was a nice little sweat. Alternated sides for the plank every round so that they were longer holds.

Out in the garage in the evening to kick of week 2 of the Push Only program.

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 10×95
  • 8×135
  • 4x8x175
  • 3x12x190

Increased 5# on both the sets of 8 and the sets of 12.

Close Grip Bench Press

  • 3x12x155#

Not knowing what I could do, I tried 135-150-165 last week, which was an average of 150, so a 5# increase over that seemed right for today and it sure was! High rep day is much harder with “strict” rests. I was doing about two minutes.

Accessory

  • 3×12 Clapping Push-ups
  • 3×12 DB Side Raises (15#)
  • 3×12 DB Bent-over Side Raises (15#)

Performance Plus

  • 3×15 PVC Lift Offs (video)
  • 3×10 Banded Arm Circles – 10 in all 3 positions and also in both directions (video)
  • Rolling Teres Muscles – 30 seconds / side (video)

Also did some psoas release and the entire second session only took 70 minutes.