Bench Press and Iso Holds

Bench Press and Iso Holds We continue on this week in our Strength WOD with the 5/3/1.  Today we are utilizing the polarizing bench press. Many trainees do not think about the lats when they Bench, because the lats are part of the back and are prime movers in rows and pull-ups, but the lats actually play a very important role. Unfortunately, they do not realize that the lats are there to provide stability to the shoulder during the Bench Press. When the lats are activated properly, they provide a much better foundation for the shoulder, and this can be HUGE for your confidence under the barbell, when you are benching. The more tension we can create for a specific movement, the more stability we will have throughout the range of motion. Will will also have a more coordinated effort between the global musculature, i.e., more co-contraction and intermuscular coordination.  Co-contraction basically means the sum is greater than the individual parts. In our example, it refers to more forcibly engaging the back, traps, shoulders, triceps and chest to better impart speed, strength and power into the system, where the system equals the total mass of the barbell and weight on the bar. Strength Workout (SWOD) 3 x 5 Bench Press (65,70,75% 1rm) Today’s workout revolved around developing muscle endurance for the same movements patterns that we worked for the Bench Press. We are doing this in the Tabata protocol (20 on/10 off). For this to work you must give 100% during the work portion. Of course if you can not do a ring push up regress it to your stage in the push up progression. Workout of the Day (WOD) Tabata 3 Rounds Each Ring Push Ups Chin Up Iso Hold Burpees ]]>