Training Notes:
A1: Perform these lying prone on the floor. Keep your arms outstretched and lift your hands off the floor as far as you can. The movement should be a controlled glide over the floor that resembles a "jumping jack' arm pattern. Adhere to the tempo and focus on scapular movement. Try to keep your arms up for the duration of the time. If bw is easy, hold light weight in each hand. Rest for 20 sec before A2.
A2: Alternate these on each rep. Try your best to maintain a stable trunk and avoid excessive hip rotation. Keep these moving and controlled for time and try not to stop. Rest for 20 sec before A3.
A3: Set these up like a wall sit with your low back pressed and head making contact with the wall. Perform an overhead press with your elbows and the backs of your hands sliding along the wall. This will require deliberate external rotation in the shoulders and will most likely really challenge your mobility. Keep the tempo locked in and try not to force the ROM if it means removing wall contact. Keep these moving and controlled for time and try not to stop. Full rest before returning to A1.
B: Elevate your hands by ~6 inches and use adjustable handles if possible for the most comfortable grip. Also elevate your feet by ~12 inches. Keep your torso vertical throughout the range of motion and try to resemble an overhead press pattern. Get as much ROM as you can and reach through the top of the rep in order to allow your shoulder blades to freely move. Fully rest between sets.
C: Elevate your hands by ~2 inches and use adjustable handles if possible for the most comfortable grip. Start the concentric like a regular pushup but drive your hips up as you press and end in a pike position. You should be transitioning from pecs to delts through the rep. Reach through the top of the rep and allow your shoulder blades to move freely. Fully rest between sets.
D: Perform this ladder set as a mechanical drop set. Start with a set of regular pushups on the floor to failure. Then move up to a barbell set at knee height and continue with pushups against it to failure. Lastly, move the bar up one more time to mid thigh height and take that to failure. You should be able to get 5-10 more reps after each mechanical drop. This is easiest to setup in the Smith machine if you're able to. Keep rest between drops to a minimum.
E1: Set up a barbell at about belly button height. This can easily be adjusted up (to make it easier) or down (to make it harder) depending on your strength level. But the goal should be to fall between 10-15 reps on each set. Keep your body rigid throughout the set. Reach behind your head through the eccentric for a full stretch and make sure to really control the tempo!
E2: The idea here is to maximally contract against an immovable object. Each set should see the isometric in a different position. Set one should be with your arm abducted to ~90º. Set two should be ~45º. Set three should be ~15º. You may have to get clever with how you set this up so that you can truly push as hard as you can. A partner can also provide the resistance. Just make sure to truly exert as much effort as you can for the time.
