Tag: Shoulder Workout

Strategic Deload: Shoulder Focus & Active Recovery for Hyrox

Today, July 4th, marked a balanced training day, combining a light run with a focused shoulder workout as part of a strategic deload week. This approach is crucial for anyone transitioning into a new training block, like hypertrophy, ensuring your body gets the necessary recovery without losing momentum. You’ll learn how to effectively incorporate lighter sessions to aid recovery and prepare for increased intensity, and how even “easy” workouts can present unexpected challenges that build mental toughness for your Hyrox journey.

A Quick Note on Volume & Intensity

As always, the training I describe is tailored to my current goals and experience. It’s shared to provide insight and ideas, not as a direct prescription for everyone. Please listen to your body, scale appropriately, and prioritize good form and recovery. Consistent, smart training is the key to long-term success!

The Workout Blueprint

Part 1: Light Aerobic Run

Planned Duration: 30 minutes
Focus: Light aerobic base building

Part 2: Deload Shoulder Workout (Hypertrophy Transition)

This session focused on controlled volume and lighter weights for the shoulders, preparing for the upcoming hypertrophy phase.

Single Arm Seated Arnold Press:
- 30lbs x 10 reps per arm
- 30lbs x 7 reps per arm
- 30lbs x 7 reps per arm
Rest 1:30 per arm
Superset:
- Strict Press:
  - 75lbs x 10 reps
  - 75lbs x 8 reps
  - 75lbs x 8 reps
- Push Press:
  - 75lbs x 10 reps
  - 75lbs x 8 reps
  - 75lbs x 8 reps
Rest 1:30 per superset
Superset:
- Farmers Carry: 3 sets of 200m @ 56lbs (each hand)
- Lateral Raises: 3 sets of 10 reps @ 20lbs
Rest 1:30 per superset
Bradford Press:
- 45lbs x 10 reps
- 45lbs x 10 reps
- 45lbs x 10 reps
Rest 1:30 per set

Movement Breakdown & Rationale

Here’s a deeper look at why these movements and workout types benefit your Hyrox performance:

Light Aerobic Run: Essential for active recovery and maintaining cardiovascular fitness during a deload. It promotes blood flow, aids muscle repair, and keeps your aerobic engine primed without adding significant stress.
Single Arm Seated Arnold Press: Targets all three heads of the deltoid, promoting balanced shoulder development and stability. Performing it unilaterally challenges core stability, beneficial for Hyrox movements like sled pushes and farmers carries.
Strict Press: Builds foundational overhead strength, crucial for movements like wall balls and generally improving upper body pushing power for the sled push.
Push Press: Incorporates leg drive into the overhead press, developing explosive power from the lower body to the upper body. This translates to more efficient and powerful movements in Hyrox, especially when fatigued.
Farmers Carry: A direct Hyrox station, this movement builds immense grip strength, core stability, and shoulder endurance. It’s excellent for improving your ability to hold heavy loads under fatigue.
Lateral Raises: Isolates the lateral deltoids, contributing to overall shoulder health, stability, and endurance, which are vital for sustained overhead work in Hyrox.
Bradford Press: A unique shoulder exercise that improves shoulder mobility, stability, and endurance through a wide range of motion. It’s great for building resilient shoulders capable of handling varied demands.

My Experience & Key Takeaways for Your Training

Yesterday was a prime example of a successful deload day, offering valuable lessons for your own training. The initial 30-minute run served its purpose perfectly as light aerobic recovery, helping to flush out fatigue from the intense week prior. This underscores the importance of active recovery for you – it’s not just about resting, but about promoting blood flow and mobility to aid muscle repair.

The shoulder workout, designed with lower volume and lighter weights for my hypertrophy transition, felt good overall. The Arnold Presses and the Strict/Push Press superset allowed for controlled movement and muscle activation without excessive strain. However, the Farmers Carries did get surprisingly tough, highlighting that even during a deload, specific movements can expose areas that need continued work – for you, this means persistent focus on grip and core endurance for Hyrox. The Bradford Press was a nice finisher, emphasizing mobility and stability. This deload week, moved up due to feeling a bit beat down, has already proven beneficial. For your training, remember that listening to your body and adjusting your programming is a sign of intelligence, not weakness. A timely deload can be the catalyst for greater gains and preventing burnout as you prepare for your next Hyrox race.

Scaled Options

If you are looking to incorporate similar workouts into your deload or regular training, here are a few ways to scale them to your fitness level:

Light Aerobic Run: Adjust duration (e.g., 20-45 minutes) and pace to a conversational, easy effort. Focus on controlled breathing and maintaining a low heart rate zone.
Single Arm Seated Arnold Press: Use lighter dumbbells or perform seated dumbbell shoulder press.
Strict Press / Push Press Superset:
- Reduce barbell weight.
- Perform strict press with dumbbells.
- Substitute push press with dumbbell push press or even a thruster with lighter weight.
Farmers Carry:
- Reduce dumbbell/kettlebell weight.
- Reduce distance (e.g., 100m or shorter intervals).
- Use a single heavy dumbbell for a unilateral carry to challenge core stability.
Lateral Raises: Use lighter dumbbells or resistance bands. Focus on controlled movement and muscle contraction.
Bradford Press: Use an empty barbell or a PVC pipe to focus purely on mobility and range of motion.

Ready for Your Best Hyrox Yet?

Understanding how to structure a training week with varied intensity, volume, and recovery is key to long-term progress and peak performance. As a certified Hyrox Performance Coach, I can help you build your own effective plan for the October Hyrox in Toronto. Let’s strategize your success!

Get in Touch

Workout Data Block (July 4th)

Part 1: Light Aerobic Run

Time: 10:10 AM

Duration: 34:20 minutes

Distance: 6.03 km

Pace: 05:41/km

Calories Burned: 463

Average Heart Rate: 146 bpm

Max Heart Rate: 167 bpm

Min Temp: 25°C

Max Temp: 29°C

Part 2: Deload Shoulder Workout (Hypertrophy Transition)

Time: 01:32 PM

Duration: 32:13 minutes

Moving Duration: 18.64 minutes

Calories Burned: 214

Average Heart Rate: 108 bpm

Max Heart Rate: 162 bpm

Min Temp: 29°C

Max Temp: 31°C

Workout Details:

      Exercise
      Sets x Reps / Distance
      Weight
    
      Single Arm Seated Arnold Press
      3 x (10, 7, 7)/per arm
      30 lbs
    
      Strict Press
      3 x (10, 8, 8)
      75 lbs
    
      Push Press
      3 x (10, 8, 8)
      75 lbs
    
      Farmers Carry
      3 x 200m
      56 lbs (each hand)
    
      Lateral Raises
      3 x 10
      20 lbs
    
      Bradford Press
      3 x 10
      45 lbs

Exercise	Sets x Reps / Distance	Weight
Single Arm Seated Arnold Press	3 x (10, 7, 7)/per arm	30 lbs
Strict Press	3 x (10, 8, 8)	75 lbs
Push Press	3 x (10, 8, 8)	75 lbs
Farmers Carry	3 x 200m	56 lbs (each hand)
Lateral Raises	3 x 10	20 lbs
Bradford Press	3 x 10	45 lbs

July 4, 2025

May 25 – Shoulder & Chest Supersets + BikeERG Endurance

Today, Sunday, May 25th, 2025, the focus was on a more traditional resistance training session, but with a twist: strictly timed rest periods between groupings of supersets. The goal was to keep the intensity somewhat elevated by performing each set quickly with minimal rest between the paired exercises, all while still working towards that endurance period I’ve been focusing on since the beginning of May. It was another day I’d classify as a bit of a recovery session from the higher weights and volumes I’ve been hitting recently.

Part 1: Superset Session for Endurance

This session was broken down into four superset groupings, targeting shoulders and chest muscles, with a strong emphasis on maintaining tempo and adhering to the rest periods to build muscular endurance.

This Hyrox Workout Blueprint: Superset Endurance Focus

The Workout:

Superset 1 (3 sets):
- A: Seated Strict Press x 20 reps (Sets 1-2: 65 lbs; Set 3: 45 lbs)
- B: Dumbbell Bench Press (40 lbs dumbbells) x 20 reps
- Rest 60 seconds after completing B before starting next superset
Superset 2 (3 sets):
- A: Dumbbell Lateral Raises (15 lbs dumbbells) x 20 reps
- B: Push-ups (Bodyweight) x 20 reps
- Rest 60 seconds after completing B before starting next superset
Superset 3 (3 sets):
- A: Single Arm Bent Over Reverse Flies (15 lbs) x 20 reps per arm
- B: Kneeling Crossover Flies (15 lbs) x 20 reps
- Rest 60 seconds after completing B before starting next superset
Superset 4 (3 sets):
- A: Kettlebell Farmer’s Hold (105.6 lbs total) x Max Effort (aimed for ~30s)
- B: Plank (Bodyweight) x Max Effort
- Rest 60 seconds after completing B before starting next superset (final rest noted as 3.5s in data)

Movement Breakdown & Rationale:

Let’s break down these superset pairings for building endurance:

Seated Strict Press & Dumbbell Bench Press: This first superset targets the shoulders and chest. The Seated Strict Press builds overhead pressing endurance, while the Dumbbell Bench Press works the chest, shoulders, and triceps, with dumbbells adding a stability challenge for higher reps.
Why I chose them: To pre-fatigue the shoulders with the strict press and then hit the chest with another high-rep movement, maintaining intensity with minimal rest between A and B to push muscular endurance.

Dumbbell Lateral Raises & Push-ups: This pairing focuses on shoulder isolation (lateral deltoids) with the raises for endurance, followed immediately by a bodyweight compound movement hitting the chest, shoulders, and triceps to failure or near failure.
Why I chose them: To build shoulder endurance and then further fatigue the pushing muscles with high-rep bodyweight work.

Single Arm Bent Over Reverse Flies & Kneeling Crossover Flies: These movements target the rear deltoids and chest (pectoral muscles) from different angles, using cables or dumbbells for constant tension and focusing on higher repetitions for endurance.
Why I chose them: To work the rear shoulders and chest through different lines of pull and focus on controlled movements for muscular endurance and a good pump.

Kettlebell Farmer’s Hold & Plank: This final superset is a grind, targeting grip endurance, traps, core, and overall stability under sustained tension.
Why I chose them: To finish with a test of static endurance, crucial for Hyrox events involving carries and maintaining core integrity under fatigue.

My Experience & Key Takeaways (Strength Session):

The first superset of Strict Press into Dumbbell Bench Press was tough right out of the gate, even with what I considered lighter weights for myself. The minimal rest between exercises and the high rep volume really amplified the endurance challenge. I actually had to drop the weight down from 65 lbs to 45 lbs on the last set of the Seated Strict Press to be able to complete the 20 reps in a reasonably quick timeframe while maintaining form. The push-ups in the second superset also became a significant endurance test by the final round.

Part 2: BikeERG Endurance Ride

After the resistance training, I got on the BikeERG for a long ride, aiming for 1.5 hours. My goal for this ride was to maintain a higher average speed than I’d previously achieved for this duration.

My Experience & Key Takeaways (BikeERG):

I was really pleased with this ride! I’d previously averaged around 27kph for similar long efforts, and this time I was able to hold a significantly higher average speed throughout the 90 minutes. I focused on maintaining a steady Zone 2 heart rate for the majority of the ride, which is key for building that aerobic base. Towards the end, I was feeling quite good and decided to push the pace a bit.

This ride was a good confidence booster. For my next long ride, the focus will switch to power, where I’ll be working towards holding a 200-watt average. I know triathletes train at averages around 300 watts, which is absolutely blistering, so I’ve definitely got my work cut out for me to keep improving my cycling endurance and power output as part of my overall fitness development!

BikeERG Endurance Ride Details (1.5 Hours)

Metric Lap 1 Lap 2 Lap 3 Lap 4 Lap 5 Summary

Time 22:42 22:06 21:24 20:29 03:53.5 1:30:35

Distance (km) 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 2.01 42.01

Avg Speed (kph) 26.4 27.1 28.0 29.3 31.0 27.8

Avg HR (bpm) 127 131 133 143 154 134

Max HR (bpm) 138 142 143 155 167 167

Avg Cadence (rpm) 66 68 69 72 76 69

Max Cadence (rpm) 73 73 74 78 90 90

Avg Power (W) 145 159 170 189 224 168

Max Power (W) 303 726 201 230 347 726

Calories 232 244 250 263 58 1048

Max Speed (kph) 29.4 30.1 29.9 31.3 35.8 35.8

Metric	Lap 1	Lap 2	Lap 3	Lap 4	Lap 5	Summary
Time	22:42	22:06	21:24	20:29	03:53.5	1:30:35
Distance (km)	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	2.01	42.01
Avg Speed (kph)	26.4	27.1	28.0	29.3	31.0	27.8
Avg HR (bpm)	127	131	133	143	154	134
Max HR (bpm)	138	142	143	155	167	167
Avg Cadence (rpm)	66	68	69	72	76	69
Max Cadence (rpm)	73	73	74	78	90	90
Avg Power (W)	145	159	170	189	224	168
Max Power (W)	303	726	201	230	347	726
Calories	232	244	250	263	58	1048
Max Speed (kph)	29.4	30.1	29.9	31.3	35.8	35.8

Overall Reflections:

Today’s session was a good example of how to incorporate a “recovery-ish” resistance day while still pushing intensity through supersets and timed rests. The long BikeERG ride was a great way to cap it off and continue building that all-important aerobic engine. Listening to my body by adjusting weight on the strict press was key to getting through the session effectively without derailing my recovery.

Building Your Hyrox Engine, Smartly

As a certified Hyrox Performance Coach, I believe in workouts that are both challenging and intelligent, tailored to your current state and long-term goals. Whether it’s structuring supersets for strength endurance or planning progressive endurance pieces for your October Hyrox in Toronto, every detail matters. If you’re looking for guidance, let’s connect!

Get in Touch

How do you structure your resistance training for endurance? Share your favorite supersets or workout splits in the comments!

Workout Summary (Resistance Training)

Workout Name: SUPERSET ENDURANCE

Date: Sun, May 25, 2025

Focus: Shoulder & Chest Endurance via Supersets

Notes: Strictly timed rests; focused on quick execution within sets.

Detailed Workout Log (Resistance Training)

Set Exercise Name Weight Reps Set Duration (s) Rest After (s)

1 Seated Strict Press 65 lbs 20 46.7 0.0

1 Dumbbell Bench Press 40 lbs/hand 20 45.5 60.0

2 Seated Strict Press 65 lbs 20 131.7 0.0

2 Dumbbell Bench Press 40 lbs/hand 20 84.3 60.0

3 Seated Strict Press 45 lbs 20 81.6 0.0

3 Dumbbell Bench Press 40 lbs/hand 20 72.9 60.0

1 Dumbbell Lateral Raises 15 lbs/hand 20 33.9 0.0

1 Push-ups 20 50.2 60.0

2 Dumbbell Lateral Raises 15 lbs/hand 20 31.8 0.0

2 Push-ups 20 68.7 60.0

3 Dumbbell Lateral Raises 15 lbs/hand 20 29.1 0.0

3 Push-ups 20 85.7 60.0

1 Single Arm Bent Over Reverse Flies 15 lbs 20 50.1 0.0

1 Kneeling Crossover Flies 15 lbs 20 35.2 60.0

2 Single Arm Bent Over Reverse Flies 15 lbs 20 71.1 0.0

2 Kneeling Crossover Flies 15 lbs 20 51.5 60.0

3 Single Arm Bent Over Reverse Flies 15 lbs 20 75.9 0.0

3 Kneeling Crossover Flies 15 lbs 20 49.5 60.0

1 Kettlebell Farmer’s Hold 105.6 lbs ME 30.0 0.0

1 Plank ME 75.4 60.0

2 Kettlebell Farmer’s Hold 105.6 lbs ME 30.0 0.0

2 Plank ME 76.3 60.0

3 Kettlebell Farmer’s Hold 105.6 lbs ME 30.0 0.0

3 Plank ME 65.2 3.5

Set	Exercise Name	Weight	Reps	Set Duration (s)	Rest After (s)
1	Seated Strict Press	65 lbs	20	46.7	0.0
1	Dumbbell Bench Press	40 lbs/hand	20	45.5	60.0
2	Seated Strict Press	65 lbs	20	131.7	0.0
2	Dumbbell Bench Press	40 lbs/hand	20	84.3	60.0
3	Seated Strict Press	45 lbs	20	81.6	0.0
3	Dumbbell Bench Press	40 lbs/hand	20	72.9	60.0
1	Dumbbell Lateral Raises	15 lbs/hand	20	33.9	0.0
1	Push-ups		20	50.2	60.0
2	Dumbbell Lateral Raises	15 lbs/hand	20	31.8	0.0
2	Push-ups		20	68.7	60.0
3	Dumbbell Lateral Raises	15 lbs/hand	20	29.1	0.0
3	Push-ups		20	85.7	60.0
1	Single Arm Bent Over Reverse Flies	15 lbs	20	50.1	0.0
1	Kneeling Crossover Flies	15 lbs	20	35.2	60.0
2	Single Arm Bent Over Reverse Flies	15 lbs	20	71.1	0.0
2	Kneeling Crossover Flies	15 lbs	20	51.5	60.0
3	Single Arm Bent Over Reverse Flies	15 lbs	20	75.9	0.0
3	Kneeling Crossover Flies	15 lbs	20	49.5	60.0
1	Kettlebell Farmer’s Hold	105.6 lbs	ME	30.0	0.0
1	Plank		ME	75.4	60.0
2	Kettlebell Farmer’s Hold	105.6 lbs	ME	30.0	0.0
2	Plank		ME	76.3	60.0
3	Kettlebell Farmer’s Hold	105.6 lbs	ME	30.0	0.0
3	Plank		ME	65.2	3.5

May 25, 2025