For Bullet Proof Shoulder Workout Part 1 click here.
Bullet Proof Shoulder Workout Part 2:
This is the second installment in developing bulletproof shoulders. Hopefully you have already taken the time to do the first bulletproof shoulders, which was ten rounds of alternating turkish getups. This second lesson will utilize the range of motion and strength you developed in the first. Feel free to perform the first lesson directly before the second if you really want a challenge and are ready for some real work!
We are going to start with a couple of quick exercises to loosen your shoulders and get your body warmed up. You are welcome to add these two warm up exercises into any warm up that you are performing for a kettlebell workout, they are some basic go to exercises in the world of kettlebell training.
Halo: 60 - 90 seconds
Use a light kettlebell, and grab it with both hands by the “horns”, bottoms-up. Keep your shoulders back and down, use a small circle around your head to create mobility and loosen your shoulders. Keep your elbows up and go slowly so that you can feel the range of motion occurring. Switch directions halfway and try to note any differences in the sensations that arise from side to side. Often, we have strength or tightness on one side and not the other, especially in shoulders, back and hips. Work into the tightness to create range of motion as you go.
Around the world: 60 - 90 seconds
This will assist with shoulder mobility. Make sure you don’t swing your body around with the bell, switch directions halfway through. Keep your body upright and resist rounding your shoulders forward as you switch hands.
Sots Press: Four reps per hand, four rounds each.
Using a light kettlebell, clean the bell to the rack position, then squat (rack squat). The squat will be made to feel easy if you are able to keep your body vertical and move in an up and down direction. This is not to be confused with a bend/extend motion of a deadlift that is hips back, instead think hips down. You will find that with a rack or goblet squat if you move hips back in a deadlift pattern. The forward lean of the upper body that is necessary to keep your balance will make the kettlebell feel way too heavy. By moving your body up and down, you will keep the weight of the bell much closer to your neutral line of gravity where it feels considerably lighter.
The five steps to the sots press are:
1) Clean the bell to the rack position
2) Squat down.
3) Press and rotate with a flat back.
4) Lockout the bell over the neutral plumb line of your body.
5) Stand out of the squat to the overhead loaded lat position.
6) Lower the bell to the rack position
Repeat steps 2-6 until you have performed four total presses then reverse the clean to the ground and switch hands. One round is complete when you have performed four consecutive sots presses per hand for a total of eight presses. This practice is four total rounds for bulletproof shoulders workout part two.
You will probably notice how even very light weight feels extremely heavy in this move. That is due primarily to tightness in your shoulders which will be worked out with every repetition. You aren’t just fighting the resistance of the weight of the bell, but also the resistance from the tightness in the opposing muscles. Keep practicing and you will notice major changes in your overhead lifting ability that will no doubt carry over to your clean&press and snatch. I can’t tell you how frequently I see people struggle to maintain even a medium weighted kettlebell in the overhead loaded lat position due to shoulder tightness. This, along with inflexibility in the hips, is the biggest reason people don’t reach their potential with overhead lifts. You will feel the strength and flexibility developed in this practice immediately and you can come back to this lesson as often as you wish.
Thank you for working out with me today and developing those bulletproof shoulders that we will be using as our workouts get more and more challenging.
Peter Hirsh
