October 27, 2016 | Black Tusk Athletics

SHOULDER (STRICT) PRESS

5x3
80% - 85%

OR

Establish 1 Rep Max (if no existing max)

ACCESSORIES

Single Arm Bent Over DB Row (Alternating)
 Weighted Glute Bridges

WHY DO ACCESSORIES?

How does accessory work benefit us and help improve our numbers with the "big lifts" (squats, presses, deadlifts, oly)?

1) We all have imbalances from one side of our body to the other, no one is perfectly balanced, yet the load we work with when we are performing the big lifts are balanced (think barbell - you would never have different weights are each side).  Accessory work helps to aide us in correcting and strengthening the weaker of these imbalances so that we are able to more adequately maneuver the load on the big lifts.

2) CrossFit trains us for life using functional movements, but when you think about it, if you were moving houses, how often are the packed boxes perfectly shaped so that you would be able to textbook deadlift it? Never! This is not to say that our standard training isn't adequate, BUT accessories help us build the strength by providing us different stimulus from different angles so that we can maintain favorable positioning, even with unfavorable loads.

As coaches and as athletes, we need to remember that important accessory work isn't overlooked and undervalued.  These are all opportunities for us to get stronger!