WORKOUT OF THE WEEK # 006
Strength Cycle Continued…
Monday 1st November 2021
Part 1
Strict Press- 4 X 3r + Strict Pull Up (Weighted)- 8r
Intent: This section of the workout is where we will still hit our main compound movement involving a heavy press accompanied with some bent arm pulling strength. For the last 4 weeks of this strength cycle we will continue to alternate between Strict Press + Bench Press in which we now see a lot less volume in lower rep ranges, soon to finish with a 1RM. In terms of our pulling strength, we will now switch to to a pull up (Overhand grip) for the last 4 weeks, our rep range is now back to 8r.
Approach: Use the first 5 mins or so building to a heavy weight for 3r, be sure to accumulate 4 heavy sets. If your wanting to see what your 3rm is, I would suggest hitting this in set 2 then dropping the weight down slightly for your last sets ie. 50,55,50,50kg. For this, still ensure at least 2 mins rest between working sets.
Beginners, again don’t worry too much about going super heavy. It may be a good idea to stick to higher volume & lighter weight as done previously, if you are struggling with the movement or making any of the following errors. Such as an excessive arch in the back or not locking out. In terms of Pulling strength, most people will find the overhand grip slightly more challenging so you may have to take a step back from the current option you are working on and pick a different option from the scaling section below.
Intermediate and advanced athletes, use this time to accumulate some heavy pressing over the 4 working sets, not all sets have to be the same weight and as previously stated it may be an option to go for a 3rm as it is a good marker to note down. This should still be completely safe and with no major technical errors. In terms of pulling strength, advanced can attempt weighted by using a belt, wall ball or even DB between the legs. Intermediate can stick to body weight as that is often enough for most people!
Scaling: Again, due to the relatively low skill of the Barbell Strict Press everyone will most likely be capable of this, however if needs be this can easily be substituted to a DB strict press, if we want to work around injury or just get some unilateral work in. For the Pull Ups plenty of scaling options are available, this may be as simple as just reducing the rep scheme. Other options would be to work on slow negatives (3-5r) or a Fixed Low Bar option (5-8r). The coach will be on hand for individuals who would benefit from a customised option.
Demo Video: Assisted Pull Up
Part 2
15 Min EMOM
Legless Rope Climb- 1-2r
Ring/ Parallette Push Up- 8-12r
Rest/ Recovery Jog- 150m
Intent: The intent of this section is to work on some higher skill pulling strength combined with some accessory pressing that is going to compliment Part 1 of the session. The movements will always stay the same, i.e each session will be done twice which was the same in the first 4 weeks. The movements have now been refreshed and are higher skill based and will alternate between Legless Rope Climb + Pegboard. This EMOM format is easy to follow and is a good way to control your rest periods and keep it really consistent across the board.
Approach:
Beginners, For this, we want you to get an appreciation for the higher skill movement and we want you to have fun maybe trying some kit that you have never used before. So there will be scaling options suitable so that everyone gets to use the ropes/pegboards. We still want to see the control and trying to get an understanding of the technical aspects of the movement.
Intermediate & Advanced, use this time to practice and put some good work in with the higher skill gymnastics, these movements rarely come up in a WOD so its a good test in a controlled format to see how you deal with the movements.
Scaling: For scaling the higher skill moves (Legless RC + Pegboard) we will give you a progression that is tough for you but still using the desired kit, i.e an assisted rope climb which can be seen in the video demo below. When it comes to working on the rings which requires a lot of control and stability, we can scale this by using a fixed object, ie. fixed bar, parallettes. This allows the same movement pattern and we can gradually work up from there to use rings etc. We can also just slightly adjust the rep scheme, as previously stated we want something challenging but repeatable.
Demo Video: Assisted Rope Climb
Part 3
Push Press- In addition to the weekly sessions explained above, each week we will continue to hit a big interval session that involves a heavy Barbell Push Press integrated into a Met-Con. We have followed the format of 2 Mins On/ 2 Mins Off for a total of 8 rounds in the last 4 weeks. We are now going to slightly switch this up and go off of 2:30 On/ 2:30 OFF X 6 Rounds.
Intent: The Intent of this style session is to push you out of your comfort zone and choose a load that is challenging enough to just be able to complete unbroken. Over the next 4 weeks we are going to up the rep scheme back to 8 and then gradually decrease the reps over the weeks. Again, use this as an opportunity to go heavier than you usually would as there will continue to be no designated RX standard to go by, therefore it is custom to your strength.
