06/14/2026
Tuesday begins with some upper-body accessory work.
The kettlebell seesaw Z-press challenges hip mobility, core strength, shoulder stability, and overhead pressing strength. This movement requires patience, as a set of 6-8 reps performed at a controlled tempo will take some time to complete and can feel surprisingly demanding. Athletes who struggle to sit comfortably in a straddle position greater than 90 degrees are encouraged to sit on a small plyo box to improve positioning.
Face pulls are included for shoulder and rotator cuff health. The double dumbbell bent-over rows will challenge low back endurance, but their primary purpose is building the lats, traps, and rhomboids. And of course, we finish the accessory work with hammer curls.
While curls are often thought of as “beach muscles,” years of coaching have shown us that consistently training the biceps can significantly improve elbow health, something many athletes begin to appreciate as they get older.
For conditioning, we’re pairing a hypertrophy-focused bench press with moderate-length sprint intervals. A proper 65% bench press should begin somewhere in the 20-30 rep range during the first round, but by round five, most athletes will be closer to 10-15 reps. Five rounds is more than enough volume to leave the chest and triceps feeling the effects.
As soon as the bench press is complete, hustle over to the battle rope for 100 smiles. The goal is maximum frequency, which should take roughly 30-40 seconds. From there, move immediately to the sledgehammer and maintain a high-intensity effort for 20 strikes.
At the end of each round, you should feel completely gassed and in need of a significant recovery period before beginning the next effort.
While the bench press is a classic upper-body strength movement, the smiles and sledgehammer work introduce full-body conditioning that challenges coordination, power output, core stability, and work capacity under fatigue.
