037 : 024 Strength + Mobility

Mobility Strength or Strength Mobility??

Doesn’t it seem like most ideas—especially in the fitness space—are always contested? Well, here’s another: everything you know about strength is a fucking lie!! Kidding, kind of, sort of, maybe. 

Strength the way most of us come to know it, isn’t inherently wrong, however, it’s extremely limited. The idea of perfect, undisturbed linear bar paths is all well and good, but what in nature has perfect straight lines? Sure I can get into the perfect bench press position and go for an Instagram worthy PR, but what happens when that bar deviates ever so slightly on its path, or my grip is slightly off than I normally have it? Where’d my strength go? 

The way we’ve been looking at it recently at the space is the idea that Range of Motion + Control = Strength. In order to get stronger we need to increase our range of motion whilst also increasing our control in said ranges of motion. That doesn’t mean we completely ditch standard patterned movements, it just means we start to look at them in a new way. Hence this session. 

After the banded warm-up, we move instantly into the meat of the session. Meaning, don’t just lollygag through some FRC movements, these are how we get stronger. Think of the session like this, after the banded warmup, we go through some assessment work of the shoulders and then utilize the assessment to build strength intentionally with the PAILs/RAILs, then we express our newfound strength with some DB/KB movements, and then finally we add some whipped cream with the finisher piece. Safe journeys, travelers! 

PreFatigue: 

Banded Work, 3x10 of each: 

10 Pull Aparts 

10 Dislocates

10 Hi-Pulls 

10 Scap CARs 

Work: 

3x5 on each arm:

Shoulder CARs

    *add tension in the form of weight or increased time of each rep after the first set. 

PAIL/RAIL: 

Internal/External Rotation of the shoulders 

3 Rounds: 

Dynamic Overload with either bungees or bands

10 of either: Viper Press with a fat bar or DB Cubans 

3 total reps on each side for each movement: 

DB bench press oscillation till failure (see flow for details)

KB bottoms up eccentric till failure 

Finisher:

DB Cascade, 100 of each: 

Front Raise

Lateral 

Rear Delt Fly

Flow: 

Grab a light enough band for the PreFatigue so that you can do a set of the circuit without letting go of the band, it should get quasi difficult but remain doable for the whole PreFatigue portion. 

The meat of the session starts right away with the shoulder CARs. Use the first set to do the “coffee CARs,” nothing too strenuous just feeling out the joint. Then for next set either add weight, increased time for each rep (think 60-90 second for one rep), and/or a compromised position to isolate the shoulder even further. Pay attention here, I want the player to feel out where the start to lack control in both internal and external rotation because when they go to the PAIL/RAIL portion, the player should find the sticking points within the CARs and specifically PAIL/RAIL the shoulders and those locations. 

Then the player will move into some more dynamic tests of the joint, so utilizing bungee bands or regular bands, get used to the dynamic overload movement, pulling the band forward then gently letting it take the arm back to the start position. Each rep, start letting the band take more control of the return back until the shoulder is being “snapped” back. The player will know the “snappy” feeling I refer to as they start to surrender control to the band each rep. This takes for me about 5-7 reps to get to the point I’m looking for. Then chase this with either 10 viper presses or 10 DB Cuban presses. Weight is not important here, just enough to make 10 unbroken a mindful task. 

For the final portion of the meat, the player will perform a DB oscillating bench press rep until failure on each side and then a KB bottoms up eccentric till failure on each side, three total times. What I’m looking for here, is for the player to find a weight that they can express a wide range of motion during the oscillation but also heavy enough so that they can only complete one rep at a time. If you can bang out more than 2 reps on each side at a time, it’s too light for the feeling I’m trying to elicit here. Same goes for the KB bottoms up eccentric. This is a limiting movement so if you feel you can add some oscillation to the eccentric great, if not, just do the eccentric, and again pick a weight heavy enough you fail on one rep. The eccentric should give out in 30 seconds or less. 

Finally, a DB cascade we’ve seen a few times here on the Space Program. By cascade, the intent is the player does the first movement for as many reps as they can unbroken and once they can’t go any further they’ll immediately move to the next movement for as long as they can unbroken, and then the same for the final movement. The weight should be light enough that the player can hold it through all three movements and then maybe have to break after a set of all three movements. This should take about 4-7 sets to complete. Any less, weight was too light, any more weight was too heavy.