Pushpress to a heavy single
5-3-3-2-1-1-1-1-1 
then, as a class, decide to session out one of the following skills:
– kipping pull-ups
– butterfly pull-ups
– ring muscle-ups
– bar muscle-ups
– handstands 
then, short mini AMRAP designed around chosen skill.

On Warming Up for That Max Effort

What do you envision when you see a heavy day on the site?  I would venture to say that visions of a well-executed and fought for new one rep max dance through your head.  You see yourself on the platform smiling after completing the lift and relish dumping the weight down in victory.  Fist pump!

I will go a step further and bet that the site of a heavy day does not conjure up visions of warm-up.  Slowly and meticulously squatting an empty bar, rolling your IT bands between warm-up sets, and perfect triple extension with a PVC pipe.  No fist pump here, but setting the course to obtain a new PR is created with well thought out and executed WARM-UP sets.

Warm-up sets serve many purposes.  In regard to a one rep max, warm-up sets prepare the body for the physiological and neurological stress of performing a max effort lift.  Lifts attempted after a rushed through warm-up or one with large jumps will cause the brain to say “no, no!” to a load that the body is physically capable of lifting.

Your warm-up should be planned out and centered around existing information, such as a previous 1 rep max.  Those early sets with an empty bar or a few bumpers are to dial in your set-up, your breath, and your form.  The goal for each consecutive warm-up set should be for it to feel cleaner and less rusty than the last set.

Take the time to figure out a good plan of action for your warm-up sets based around your 1 rep max.  We’ll review this process tomorrow during class.  It’s worth the effort of putting the exact warm-up weight on the bar each time – even if it means switching bumpers a few extra times.

Take the time during your warm-ups and you will be high-fiving your Roots crew after a new 1 rep max.