WOD - 100813

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Perform:

1x10 Cast Wall Walks

1x5 Pike Box Press HS

1x10 Straddle Box Press HS

10 minutes of HS Wall Runs

Finish with 2x10 Wrist Pushups

notes:

1) Rest 1-2 minutes between Press HS sets.

2) If Cast Wall Walks are insufficiently challenging, you may perform PL Wall Walks instead. The key difference between these two variations is that the hands will remain behind the shoulders at all times during the descent and ascent of the PL Walks; whereas in the Cast Wall Walks the hands are directly under the shoulders.

3) Remember to adjust the height as necessary during the Box Press HS variations to ensure that the presses are sufficiently challenging.

4) If you cannot press to HS, then press to HeS.

5) If you are strong enough, replace the Box Press HS variations with Press HS from an L-sit on parallets or PBs.

6) If you exceptionally strong, perform the Press HS variations on the XR.

7) Rest 3-5 minutes

8 ) Spend 10 minutes performing HS Wall runs. Time spent resting does not count toward the 10 minute total. Strive to perform the 10 minutes of HS Wall Runs in as few sets as possible.

9) Rest as necessary, but strive to keep rest periods to an absolute minimum. Unless you are already extremely well conditioned gymnastically, this should be a very challenging workout.

:shock: Devastating. I'll be sure to bring superglue for when my arms fall off.

Coach if I can perform straddle-l press HS for 1 rep would you recommend lets say 10 sets of 1 rep or should I still follow the box press protocol?

Razz said:

Coach if I can perform straddle-l press HS for 1 rep would you recommend lets say 10 sets of 1 rep or should I still follow the box press protocol?

Excellent question.

Given your higher level of strength, my recommendation would be to focus on the straddle-L press HS. Perform as many one rep sets of the Press HS from a straddle-L as you are able and then, if necessary, finish the remainder of the 10 repetitions with standing straddle Press HS.

Be conscientious in also attempting to lower back to the straddle-L at the conclusion of each repetition. This is extremely important for your long term press handstand strength gains.

Congratulations on your progress! Being able to performing your press handstands from a straddle-L is a serious accomplishment and a major stepping stone in your development. Well done. 8)

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

This was my second WOD. I did a very scaled down version since I have not done much HS work until now.

1. First I did the cast wall walks in three sets. I had about 30-60 sec rest between sets. Hands below shoulders and a bit behind at the bottom on as many reps as possible. I lost my straight body form a few seconds on some of the last ones These were damn tough btw, I hadn't expected this.

2. Then I did HeS pike press all 5 in one set. I will be doing a wall HS box press next time.

3. I did the straddle HeS press all 5 in one set. These were easier than the pike version for me, so I did two consecutive reps of wall straddle presses.

Note: I really should be working the free standing HS.

4. At this point in the workout my shoulders failed. I did a shabby 1 minute before needing rest. I was totally exhausted, so I felt it would be best to end the WOD here considering I have not been working on the HS for a long time. I have mainly done HSPUs, which is definately different than these.

My arms feel like they are about to fall off. Especially the shoulders have taken a hit. I look forward to the DOMS tomorrow

Coach Sommer said:

Razz said:

Coach if I can perform straddle-l press HS for 1 rep would you recommend lets say 10 sets of 1 rep or should I still follow the box press protocol?

Excellent question.

Given your higher level of strength, my recommendation would be to focus on the straddle-L press HS. Perform as many one rep sets of the Press HS from a straddle-L as you are able and then, if necessary, finish the remainder of the 10 repetitions with standing straddle Press HS.

Be conscientious in also attempting to lower back to the straddle-L at the conclusion of each repetition. This is extremely important for your long term press handstand strength gains.

Congratulations on your progress! Being able to performing your press handstands from a straddle-L is a serious accomplishment and a major stepping stone in your development. Well done. 8)

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Thanks for the reply Coach! Good to know I've been doing everything right, didn't think of finishing off with a few standing straddle presses though, good idea

I am not gonna lie, I feel intimidated by this workout. This will be interesting tomorrow morning. To be honest its the HS runs that scare me the most. :oops: But its all about getting over your fears and progressing onward.

This was a tough one...

1x10 cast wall walks - hands under shoulders, but had to start my feet on the wall about 36" up the wall.

HeS pike press 4x5

head elevated (3" block) HeS pike press 2x3

HeS straddle press 1x10

and then...... HS wall runs. Ugh.

I did 10 sets of 30 seconds with 20-45 sec rest between sets. By set 10 my shoulders, traps, and triceps were shot.

2x10 wrist pushups on knees

Brutal, but great workout

These ones are always so brutal.

8 cast wall walks (I never would have imagined my shoulders were so weak)

5 pike presses (in a shoulder stand on my parallets)

10 straddle press (HeS)

5 min wall runs (scaled down immensly from the prescribed amount, but considering that I did five 1 minute sets (more than double what I managed last time), I'd say I did alright. It's all about building up, right?)

2x10 wrist pushups from knees, slowly as possible.

A quick question about the cast wall walks; are those something that can be done every few days? I screw around with HeSPU's (freestanding) all the time, trying to build up the balance and TUT (though I can do 3x4 at a depth of about one full hand, but I release completely at the bottom. Very bad practice, I know >.<) I'm just wondering if I can treat those the same way.

killroy70 said:

head elevated (3" block) HeS pike press 2x3

Excellent idea for a transition between HeS Presses and Wall HS Presses. Good thinking.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

I liked the cast wall walks, haven't ever tried them seriously before, so i could only manage ten singles. I need to do much more of this exercise.

5 Pike press with wall

5 + 5 Straddle press with wall

I strained my elbow a few months back trying the wall walks. Today was my first attempt since then as the cracking sounds have diminished. I Limited the steps and simply lifted my hands off the floor without worrying about touching the shoulders yet.

10 x 10 Wall walk steps + minute HS with wall

After this workout the purpose of the wrist push ups was abundantly clear!

This was a challenging workout today, as my misses can testify from all the grunting coming from my practice room.

Wow! This was ridiculously hard.

2x5 cast wall walks. 1 set of 10 was simply beyond me.

1 6" head elevation HeS pike press, 1 3" elevation, 3 floor HeS pike press. I have to lower in a straddle, my back simply isn't mobile enough to go back down in a pike.

2x5 straddle HeS presses. This was tough too!

HS Wall Runs: I didn't have a timer, so I did a ladder of touches. Numbers are for each shoulder, so 10 = 10 touches to both the left and right.

20, 18, 16, 14, 9, 30s wall handstand.

2x10 wrist push ups on knees

This workout is BRUTAL!!!

2x5 Cast Wall walks with 2 min rest between sets

1x5 Pike Press to freestanding HeS

1x10 Staddle press to HeS

rest 5 min

Wall Runs I aimed at doing 50 touches. This is an improvement since last time I couldn't even get my hands to my shoulders. However to be fair though my body was not in line against the wall. Whenever I do wall walks where my chest faces the wall I seem to come up short. Nonetheless this was an improvement from previous attempts. I might attempt another few touches where my back faces the wall, to see if its possible. Another thing I noticed is my breathing sounds and feels different when I am inverted and exerting myself. It almost feels like a wheezing, not sure what that is all about. Overall great workout.

Will finish with wrist pushups against the wall going very slowly. I know it should be the ground but last time I felt a nasty pop so am cautious about doing these.

Coach I have been loving these workouts. Progress is coming slowly but I see it and thats all that matters. So thank you for all the ideas.

I'm looking forward to this WOD again so I can try out the elevated HeS. Previously, I haven't felt I was getting much from this WOD because wall HS are completely beyond me and HeS are too easy. I can do 10lbs. HeS pike press for 5+ reps but not a single straddle wall HS press. Weighting the HeS more didn't seem like it would help because I don't think the weakness is in my low back or glutes/hams.

Thanks coach, was looking for another intermediate step between wall press handstands and press headstands. Its funny how just a slight elevation makes a huge difference. I first tried on an 8" block, which was too difficult, ended up settling on the 3" which was tough but doable.

HS press with back against wall AND feet on a box is also a possibility for people struggling with the Hes-->HS transition

I doubled up on WOD's today as I had time at the hospital(wife in light labor for a long time), so several hours after the Leg workout(GHR,Killers,Body Levers, Hip extensions) I did this.

1x6 Cat walks...wanted to save something for the wall runs (2x5 sounds more like it saber2)

1x5 Pike Press HeS

1x10 Straddle Press HeS

1x7 Straddle Press HeS(my neck is always the first thing to give. I think it is because it takes up the slack my arms fail to carry, pushing more weight over my head and less on my arms/triceps.

Don't know how many wall runs I did or how much rest, but these felt WAY better than any other time I've done them. I forgot about the wrist push ups as I did have other things in the hospital to focus on...

p.s. I now have a daughter. It's completely surreal, but at the same time, I concretely grasp the fact I now have something to weight my exercises(when I get there) that will constantly be getting heavier .

TANSTAAFL said:

I concretely grasp the fact I now have something to weight my exercises(when I get there) that will constantly be getting heavier .

Children are nature's dumbells.

Razz said:

HS press with back against wall AND feet on a box is also a possibility for people struggling with the Hes-->HS transition

Razz, that doesn't work either, it's still too hard!

Use a higher box

TANSTAAFL said:

p.s. I now have a daughter. It's completely surreal, but at the same time, I concretely grasp the fact I now have something to weight my exercises(when I get there) that will constantly be getting heavier .

Congratulations!!!! Hahaha now get one of those baby vests and you have a weight vest. Only problem is this weight vest you have to feed and change its poopy diapers. Totally worth it!!! Congrats again.

@Razz I used a stool for my feet when attempting the Press to HS and I still struggle. I am not sure if its the leverage or lack of shoulder strength that holds me back.

Razz said:

Use a higher box

I have a three foot box with a bumber plate and a heavy bag stacked on top. It's pretty high and I have to still bounce my feet off the heavy bag.

and you can't put your hands further away from the wall either?

I left my ego out the door before making this post.

HeSPU back against the wall, feet on elevated surface, I was not able to lift my head of the ground. I can do HeSPU normally, but it was aligning my shoulders directly under my hips that made the movement impossible.

I'll keep working it.

I'm still unsure which gives a better bang for the Buck; slightly bent arm freestanding presses to handstand or wall presses to handstand. If someone knows please respond.