5 CrossFit Workouts to Build Bigger, More Powerful Shoulders
Close gallery popup button
1 OF 6
1 of 6
Westend61 / Getty
Whether you’re helping your buddies move or trying to win the office pushup contest, you need strong shoulders.But instead of doing the same exercises you’ve been doing for the past decade, why not try something different? The following exercises, recommended by some of the top minds in CrossFit, are guaranteed to leave you unable to raise your arms for at least a few minutes—until you tackle the next WOD.As with any workout, make sure you thoroughly warm up your shoulders before attempting this one.And if your hands get all blistered during one of these WODs, try these five CrossFit workouts you can do when your hands are torn up.
2 of 6
Hero Images / Getty
Karen
As fast as you can, do 150 wallball throws with a 20-lb medicine ball (14-lb ball for women), shot to a 10-foot-high target (9-foot target for women).There’s nothing complicated about Karen, which was suggested by Dan Bailey, a former sprinter for Ohio University and a five-time CrossFit Games competitor. This WOD is a slugfest that’s going to light your shoulders on fire, so don’t be surprised if the wallball flies progressively lower and lower as the workout progresses. Plus, Those wallball throws will hit your quads and posterior chain pretty hard, so don’t be surprised if your legs are sore the next day.
3 of 6
Chris Cardoza
Lynne
Conor Murphy is wearing Reebok. All apparel available at Reebok.com. Do as many reps as possible (go to failure) of: – Bodyweight Bench Press – Pullups That’s one round. Do 5 rounds total. No time limit.Another recommendation from Bailey, this workout is going to push and pull you into the pain cave. Feel free to take a deep breath between the movements, but this is meant to be done quickly, so limit the rest as much as possible. If you can’t bench press your bodyweight, feel free to scale down.And as always when benching anywhere near your maximum, make sure you get a spotter.
4 of 6
Chris Cardoza
J.T.
Denise Thomas, Pete O’Donnell, and Conor Murphy are wearing Reebok. All apparel available at Reebok.com.As fast as possible, complete:21 reps each of: – Handstand Pushups – Ring Dips – Pushups15 reps each of: – Handstand Pushups – Ring Dips – Pushups9 reps each of: – Handstand Pushups – Ring Dips – PushupsTodd Brandon Morris, a Level Two CrossFit Coach and workout programmer for CrossFit NYC, suggests this 21-15-9, a common breakdown for CrossFit workouts. His advice: “Break the workout into smaller sets with less rest in-between, rather than trying to do larger sets with longer rest in-between. If you go to failure, it will take you a lot longer to recover to the point that you can do just one more rep. You’ll do it faster if you do smaller sets.” If handstand pushups aren’t in your repertoire, replace them with seated dumbbell press.
5 of 6
James Michelfelder / M+F Magazine
Manmakers
Do 30 “manmakers” with 50-lb dumbbells (35-lb for women)Sam Orme, who owns CrossFit Virtuosity in Brooklyn and competed in the team division at the Northeast Regional in 2011, recommends this wicked compound exercise. The movement requires two dumbbells.Each manmaker is the following:Pushup + Renegade Row (left arm)Pushup + Renegade Row (right arm)Pushup + Dumbbell CleanThrusterAll those reps add up, so feel free to scale down the weight as necessary.
6 of 6
mihailomilovanovic / Getty
Gymnastics Gone Bad
As many reps as possible (within 20 minutes) of: – 2 Strict Chest-to-Bar Chinups – 2 Strict Straight Bar Dips (parallel bar dips shown here)In Orme’s words, “Strict gymnastics movements will strengthen and bulletproof your shoulders. Plus, getting your chest to the bar on chinups will set you up for getting a muscle-up.”You can always scale down the chest-to-bars to a pullup (or a ring row), and scale down the bar dips to a pushup or a parallel bar (or “matador”) dips.
Whether you’re helping your buddies move or trying to win the office pushup contest, you need strong shoulders.
But instead of doing the same exercises you’ve been doing for the past decade, why not try something different? The following exercises, recommended by some of the top minds in CrossFit, are guaranteed to leave you unable to raise your arms for at least a few minutes—until you tackle the next WOD.
As with any workout, make sure you thoroughly warm up your shoulders before attempting this one.
As fast as you can, do 150 wallball throws with a 20-lb medicine ball (14-lb ball for women), shot to a 10-foot-high target (9-foot target for women).
There’s nothing complicated about Karen, which was suggested by Dan Bailey, a former sprinter for Ohio University and a five-time CrossFit Games competitor. This WOD is a slugfest that’s going to light your shoulders on fire, so don’t be surprised if the wallball flies progressively lower and lower as the workout progresses. Plus, Those wallball throws will hit your quads and posterior chain pretty hard, so don’t be surprised if your legs are sore the next day.
Do as many reps as possible (go to failure) of: – Bodyweight Bench Press – Pullups That’s one round. Do 5 rounds total. No time limit.
Another recommendation from Bailey, this workout is going to push and pull you into the pain cave. Feel free to take a deep breath between the movements, but this is meant to be done quickly, so limit the rest as much as possible. If you can’t bench press your bodyweight, feel free to scale down.
And as always when benching anywhere near your maximum, make sure you get a spotter.
21 reps each of: – Handstand Pushups – Ring Dips – Pushups
15 reps each of: – Handstand Pushups – Ring Dips – Pushups
9 reps each of: – Handstand Pushups – Ring Dips – Pushups
Todd Brandon Morris, a Level Two CrossFit Coach and workout programmer for CrossFit NYC, suggests this 21-15-9, a common breakdown for CrossFit workouts. His advice: “Break the workout into smaller sets with less rest in-between, rather than trying to do larger sets with longer rest in-between. If you go to failure, it will take you a lot longer to recover to the point that you can do just one more rep. You’ll do it faster if you do smaller sets.” If handstand pushups aren’t in your repertoire, replace them with seated dumbbell press.
Manmakers
Do 30 “manmakers” with 50-lb dumbbells (35-lb for women)
Sam Orme, who owns CrossFit Virtuosity in Brooklyn and competed in the team division at the Northeast Regional in 2011, recommends this wicked compound exercise. The movement requires two dumbbells.
All those reps add up, so feel free to scale down the weight as necessary.
Gymnastics Gone Bad
As many reps as possible (within 20 minutes) of: – 2 Strict Chest-to-Bar Chinups – 2 Strict Straight Bar Dips (parallel bar dips shown here)
In Orme’s words, “Strict gymnastics movements will strengthen and bulletproof your shoulders. Plus, getting your chest to the bar on chinups will set you up for getting a muscle-up.”
You can always scale down the chest-to-bars to a pullup (or a ring row), and scale down the bar dips to a pushup or a parallel bar (or “matador”) dips.
Open search bar button
×
