Workout of the Day:
Weighted Hip Bridge
8-8-8
and then,
Five rounds for time of:
20 Push-Ups
20-Yard Bear Crawl with Dumbbells (25/15 lbs.)
40 Anchored Sit-Ups
(Carry your dumbbells in your hands while you crawl, then place them on your feet to perform your anchored sit-ups.)

Prehab: Stabilizing The Shoulder – “W”
Written by Calvin Sun

If you haven’t had a chance to read my previous posts yet, take a moment to review parts one and two of this series on shoulder prehab. These exercises are designed to strengthen the supporting musculature of the upper back that isn’t sufficiently developed by conventional exercises like pull-ups and overhead movements. You’ll soon notice better posture as your shoulder blades will be pulled back and down to counteract the endless hours of desk jockeying you do everyday. This improved posture will allow for efficient and improved function of the shoulder which will not only allow you to perform better in the gym but also keep you injury free. Today, we will go over the third and final movement of our Y/T/W shoulder prehab circuit.

“W”
- To perform W’s, start by lying face down in a prone position.
- Keep your elbows bent at a 90 degree angle and bring your elbows in towards your torso, forming a “W” shape.
- With your palms facing downward, lift your arms off the ground by initiating the movement from your scapulae.
- Focus on sliding the shoulder blades back and down towards your spine.
- Turn palms out away from your body as you complete the movement.

(*Note – This movement might be even more effective with palms turned out away from the body as the scapulae is depressed and retracted.)

Common faults:
- Lifting the chest off the ground
- Initiating movement from the elbows

Now that we know how to perform each of these exercises correctly, we need to put these together in order to effectively and efficiently utilize them as part of a fitness program. Depending on how much time you have, perform 10 to 15 repetitions each of the Y, T, and W. Don’t rest between exercises as this should be a continuous circuit. You should perform this circuit 1 to 3 times depending on your ability level.

Still confused on how to perform these exercises or how to incorporate them into a personalized program? Set up an appointment with an Invictus coach today by emailing info@crossfitinvictus.com.

Workout of the Day:
Bench Press
3-3-3-3-3
* Loading prescription – (1) 85% of 3-RM, (2) 90%, (3) 95-100%, (4) 85%, (5) 95%)
* Rest exactly 3 minutes between sets – look at the timer when you complete your set
* Be productive while you rest – if you’re not spotting a partner, stretch your tightest muscle group (hamstring, quad/hip flexor, etc.).
and then,
As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:
6 Weighted Pull-Ups (35/15 lb. DB)
12 DB Hang Power Cleans (45/25 lbs.)
100 Meter Zercher Carry with Sandbag (90/60 lbs.)

Workout of the Day:
Back Squat
3-3-3-3
and then,
Tabata Mash-Up: Anti-Rotation
Lateral Jumps (24″ bench)
One-Arm KB Swings
Burpees
One-Arm DB Thrusters

Prehab: Stabilizing the Shoulder
Written by Calvin Sun

Good shoulder health is essential to any athlete. Presses, jerks, snatches, handstand push-ups, and overhead squats all require healthy shoulders to be performed correctly. We can avoid many of the common issues and injuries by properly warming up the shoulder as well as doing a few prehab exercises. In this series, we’ll cover a few exercises that help to prevent injury by improving the function of the musculature of the upper back, such as the rhomboids and the middle and lower fibers of the trapezius.

“Y”

• To perform Y’s, start by lying face down in a prone position.
• Reach out with your arms forming a “Y” with your body.
• Make fists with your hands and keep your thumbs pointed upward.
• Keeping your head neutral, lift your arms off the ground by initiating the movement from your scapulae.
• Focus on sliding the shoulder blades back and down.

Common faults:

• Lifting the chest and overextension of the C-spine
• Lifting the arms and legs off the ground (this is not a back extension)

Try to perform 10-15 repetitions for 1-2 or sets before or after your next workout as part of a mobility program. This exercise can also be performed from a bent position or on a box with some light dumbbells. If you still aren’t sure as to how you should incorporate this into your pre- or post-workout regime, feel free to schedule an appointment with a coach today to help design a program specifically tailored to your needs.

Workout of the Day:
Strict Pull-Ups - three sets for max reps, or
Kipping Pull-Up Clinic
and then,
Complete as many rounds as possible of:
One minute of 5 Box Jumps (24″/18″) and 5 Push-Ups, then rest for one minute;
Two minutes of 5 Box Jumps and 5 Push-Ups, then rest for one minute;
Three minutes of 5 Box Jumps and 5 Push-Ups, then rest for one minute;
Three minutes of 5 Box Jumps and 5 Push-Ups, then rest for one minute;
Two minutes of 5 Box Jumps and 5 Push-Ups, then rest for one minute; and
One minute of 5 Box Jumps and 5 Push-Ups.

Prehab: Strengthening Your Serratus Anteriors
Written by Mark Riebel

Often in our warm-ups at Invictus we perform exercises such as scapular push-ups, which help to prepare the shoulder joint for more activity but more importantly, help to strengthen the serratus anterior and stabilize those loose shoulders of yours.

The serratus anterior (one on each side of your body) originates on several of your ribs and inserts on the medial anterior aspect of your scapula, the side of the shoulder blade closest to the spine and facing your ribs. This often neglected muscle functions to protract the shoulder blade (shrug it forward), upwardly rotate the scap, and also just offers an overall element of stabilization to the joint. As you can see, this muscle is a very important part of establishing a strong rack position as well as helping with a solid overhead lift. If you’ve got a weak serratus, which can be exacerbated by the typical kyphotic office-worker position that so many of us take behind the desk, not only can you have difficulty in establishing an overhead position at all, but it could lead to more serious injury as your try to compensate for this weakness by, for example, arching your back to get overhead. A weak serratus can be seen in a condition called scapular winging, where the scaps protrude away from the back rather than laying flat. This will be even more pronounced when the individual presses horizontally against resistance.

The best way to avoid (or help correct) this situation is obviously to strengthen your serratus, and to do that is fairly simple. The easiest method with the least resistance is to stand with your arms straight in front of you with a light band wrapped around your back and the ends in your hands.  Keeping your arms straight, squeeze your shoulder blades together, then move your hands forward by sliding your shoulder blades forward.

This exercise should be done for a few sets in the high rep range, three sets of 20 for example. It’s easy to add more resistance if a light band doesn’t provide enough, just use a thicker band or perform the exercise in a push-up position (as pictured above), with or without the band.

Start working those serratus muscles before or after your workouts for a more stable and less injury-prone shoulder.

Workout of the Day:
Box Jump for Max Height
and then,
Teams of two perform as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
5 Pull-Ups
10 Broad Jumps (6′/5′)
20 Kettlebell Swings
While one partner works for a max number of rounds, the other must complete a 400 meter run. Upon returning from the 400 meter run, they will pick up where their partner left off to knock out as many rounds as possible, while their partners run.

Rhonda and Jackie know how to prehab!

Prehab – What It Is, and Why You Need It
Written by Mark Riebel

You need to do some Prehab!

Most everybody is familiar with rehab, a program that’s prescribed for you by a doctor or trainer to come back from an injury and continue your old activities. But what if those old activities just injure you all over again? It could be some type of form issue, but that’s what we coaches are there to correct so you’re not moving in a way that would injure you. Many times the culprit is some sort of strength imbalance or mobility deficiency, and that’s where prehab comes into play. If rehab builds you up from a previous injury, then prehab is the set of exercises and mobility/stability work you do to give you some extra insurance against getting injured in the first place or hurting yourself again.

Prehab (sometimes called ‘corrective exercise,’ though not nearly as sexy-sounding) usually consists of working some of the specific muscles around a joint to help stabilize it if it has too much mobility, lengthening and mobilizing tissues around a joint that has restricted mobility, or correcting muscle imbalances that may lead to injury or reduced performance. For example, let’s say an athlete has extremely limited dorsiflexion of her feet (ability for her feet to move or stretch upward towards her head) and reduced flexion ability in her knees. When she squats, the only way for her to keep balance, especially if there’s a weight on her back, is to lean very far forward at the bottom. This can put a ton of stress on the low back, and just make it harder in general to complete the squat due to reduced muscular recruitment and odd mechanics. If this is a decent description of you and your squat, some work on ankle and knee mobility may help to correct it.

So how should you know if you’re a good candidate for prehab? If you’re a member of our gym, you’re a good candidate; i.e. everybody is a good candidate for it. I do prehab of some sort before or after every one of my workouts, and chances are you do as well. All of those scapular pull-ups, wall slides and foam rolling that we do before and after the WOD and during our warm-ups fall under the general umbrella of prehab. That’s our coaches’ dirty little secret—you think we’re just warming you up or cooling you down, but really we’re making you better, stronger athletes and helping to keep you out of the doctor’s office.

If you’d like some more advice on what kinds of prehab could benefit you, talk to one of our coaches about scheduling a 30 or 60 minute session and we can show you more than you probably want to know about how to keep yourself strong and healthy.

I’ll follow this post with a few others that will show you some specific exercises that everyone should incorporate to some degree in their training. But it’s up to you to spend the time putting this to good use.