LIFT WITH SOHEE

MONTHLY GROUP
TRAINING PROGRAM
Welcome to the February 2019 Lift with Sohee program!

I’m so happy with the feedback about last month’s workouts. I hope you’re all
enjoying the return back to the staple lifts.

We any didn’t do any deadlifts from the floor for the previous program, so
we’re kicking off Day 1 with these bad boys. Remember that you have a choice
between conventional, sumo, or trap bar deadlifts – but whichever one you
choose, be sure to stick with that same variation for the duration of the entire
month. It’s completely up to you which one you’d like to do. And while I do
want you to push for strength gains, don’t do so while compromising form.
Your spine should stay in neutral in particular, so make sure you keep the back
rounding to a minimum. Be sure to check out my posts on avoiding a squatty
deadlift and taking the slack out of the bar so your technique is solid.

For Day 2 upper body, I’ve incorporated a fun dropset on the underhand-grip
lat pulldown or band-assisted chin-up. This will allow you to push past
technical muscular failure and squeeze out more reps as your muscles fatigue.
The research indicates that this can be an effective way to build muscle –
though it shouldn’t be done all the time as it’s pretty brutal!

Day 3 is a full body session. We start with military presses, but if you have
shoulder pain, try swapping them out for push-ups instead – torso-elevated,
regular, feet-elevated or even weighted depending on your strength. Then you
have a choice between the back squat or front squat. As always, you can elevate
your heels on yoga wedges or 5lb or 10lb plates if you’d like, as it’s a simple
way to easily clean up your technique.

For this month, Day 4 (which is always optional) is an all bodyweight workout,
so you can do it from home – or anywhere, really! If you’d prefer to replace
that day with a different type of sweat session, such as a yoga class, spin class,
or hike, it’s more than fine to do so. What’s important to me is that you’re
prioritizing the first 3 training days above all.
As always, we have our members-only closed Facebook group that you are
more than welcome to be a part of as an active Lift with Sohee participant.

Additionally, be sure to tag @ELTmethod on Instagram if you want to post

your lifts. We’d love to see how your workouts are coming along!

WALKTHROUGH VIDEOS

Walkthrough Demo – Day 1

Walkthrough Demo – Day 2
Walkthrough Demo – Day 3
Walkthrough Demo – Day 4

I understand that we all have different schedules and we obviously won’t all be
able to adhere to the specific days and workouts below. The schedule is simply
a sample weekly schedule. Note that you are to take a full day of rest once per
week – Sunday tends to be the best day for this for most people.

If you miss a session for any reason, simply shift everything a day forward and
carry on. There’s no reason to overthink it.

The password for each individual exercise demo is: shelifts

Day 1: Training
Day 2: OFF
Day 3: Training
Day 4: OFF
Day 5: Training
Day 6: Training (Optional)
Day 7: OFF
 MOBILITY WORK

It would benefit you greatly to foam roll for about 5-10 minutes at the start of
your training session. We all have knots in our bodies everywhere, whether we
realize it or not – especially if our jobs are sedentary. However, I understand
that many of us are craaazy busy and oftentimes simply need to get in and get
out of the gym. If that’s the case, leave the foam rolling for your off days and
perform the dynamic warm-up below.

Mobility work is probably one of the most overlooked and underrated

components of any training program. A proper dynamic warm-up will help
decrease your risk of injury and takes very little time. I recommend that you
spend 5-10 minutes before every training session performing the below:

Cobra wing x10

Quadruped adductor hinge x10ea
Squat to stand with reach x5ea
Bowler squat x10ea
Walking quad stretch x10a
Walking toe touch x10ea

I understand that it can be tempting to skip the warm-up entirely and dive
headfirst into your training. And to be honest, if you did skip it, you’d probably
be okay 99/100 times. But on that one occasion you get seriously injured
because you didn’t warm up properly, you’ll realize what I meant. Why have an
okay workout when you can make it great?
 TRAINING

Warm up sets

For the big compound movements, never go straight into your working set. I
recommend 2-4 warm up sets with progressively heavier weight and lower reps.
For example, if I were to have a working set of full squats at 100lbs, I would
warm up like so:

6 x 45lbs
4 x 65lbs
3 x 85lbs

And then do my first working set. Pay close attention to how you feel and
adjust weight/reps accordingly.

After that, especially for accessory/isolation work, you can head straight toward
the working sets.

Remember: the sets and reps I have prescribed for you refer to working sets
only. If you have 3x5 full squats, for example, then the five sets you perform to
warm up do not count toward the working sets.

Load and Effort

You want to be lifting as heavy as you can in the rep range prescribed. This is
going to be different for everyone as strength is relative, so I can’t recommend
specific weights for you. Over time, you should get really good at gauging when
“heavy” is heavy enough for you.

I know it’s tempting, but please do not go to failure unless otherwise noted. By
failure, I mean you’re struggling with that last rep and your form is clearly
falling apart.

Instead, I want you to stop each set 1-2 reps shy of failure. You should feel that
you maybe could have gotten one more quality rep out before calling it good.

If you’re trying out an exercise for the first time, err on the side of too light as
opposed to too heavy. Use the first week to feel out the exercises and become
familiar with them.
Exercise Selection

I have left the exercises intentionally flexible so as to account for individual

preferences, differences in body anatomy, and equipment availability. For
example, if I give you a choice between front or back squats, you are free to
utilize whichever is more comfortable for you – just be sure to stick with that
same variation for the whole month.

And if I prescribe military presses but don’t specify barbell or dumbbell, either
is fine.

Training Log

I strongly recommend that you track every workout session. Be sure to record
the weight and reps performed for every working set, as well as any additional
comments you want to make a note of (e.g. “Go up 5lbs next week”). This will
be a game-changer with your training, as it’ll give an extra level of focus and
attention with each workout. You can either track your sessions in your own
notebook or pick up a SoheeFit training journal.

Progressions

The goal is to make progress from one week to the next by: performing a given
exercise with more weight, performing more reps (within the prescribed rep
range) with the same weight, or perhaps even improving form. This is why
keeping a training log is so important.

Extras

I don’t want to kill you with volume, so the workouts below should take
anywhere between 40-60 minutes each. If you feel like this is not enough
volume for you, you have the option of 10-15 minutes of playtime. You can take
advantage of this time to work on movements you enjoy or want to get better
at, or you can target specific body parts. Here are some examples:

If you want to get better at pullups/chin-ups, perform multiple sets of jump

negatives – as many as you can in 10 minutes.
For biceps, you can do a drop set of bicep curls.
For abs, you can perform a mix of RKC planks, side bends, and reverse
crunches.
The possibilities are endless here. The point is, have fun with it.

Rest Periods

In general, the lower the prescribed reps for a given exercise, the heavier weight
that should be used, and the more rest required. Rest periods are not as
important as we once thought, but it’s good to have rough guidelines. Unless
otherwise noted, adhere to the following rest recommendations:

For sets of 1-5 reps, rest 3-5 minutes.

For sets of 5-12 reps, rest 2 minutes.
For sets of 12+ reps, rest 1 minute.
 Training Day 1: Lower Body

EXERCISE SETS x REPS REST

Deadlift (conventional, sumo, or trap

A. 3x5 3min
bar)
Pause goblet squat
B. 3x8 2min
(3 second pause)
C. Glute bridge 1x10, 1x20, 1x30 3min

D1. KB or DB swing 3x10 30s

D2. KB or DB racked reverse lunge 3x10ea 1min

Double-banded feet-elevated BW glute
E. 2x30 1min
bridge
 Training Day 2: Upper Body

EXERCISE SETS x REPS REST

A. Inverted row or BW pull-up 3xAMRAP 3min

B. Bench press 2x3, 1x8 3min

Underhand-grip lat pulldown dropset or
C. 3x5+5+5 2min
band assisted chin-up dropset*
D1. Seated DB shoulder press 3x10 0s

D2. Seated bentover DB rear delt raise 3x10 2min

E1. DB or EZ preacher curl 2x15 30s

Close-grip push-up or close-grip push-
E2. 2xAMRAP 1min
up from knees
*Drop the load by 10-15lbs every 5 reps, or use a thicker band every 5 reps.
For the chin-up dropset, you can start with BW chin-ups and then use bands.
 Training Day 3: Full Body

EXERCISE SETS x REPS REST

A. Military press 3x8 3min

B. Back squat or front squat 3x3 3min

C1. Bentover DB row 3x10 1min

C2. Hip thrust 3x8 2min

D1. Close-grip DB bench press 2-3x15 1min

D2. DB back extension 2-3x15 1min

E. Horizontal woodchop 2x10ea 1min

 Training Day 4: Full Body (Optional)

EXERCISE SETS x REPS REST

A1. Extra range side-lying hip abduction 3x20ea 0s

A2. Frog reverse hyperextension 3x20 2min

B1. BW hip thrust 2x20 0s

B2. BW glute bridge 2x20 0s

B3. Feet-elevated BW glute bridge 2x20 2min

C1. Pike push-up 2xAMRAP 30s

C2. Row push-up 2xAMRAP 2min

D. Plank extension 2x10ea 1min

 EXERCISE CUES

Day 1: Lower Body

A. Deadlift
 To prevent your shins from getting scraped and bloodied from the
barbell, wear long pants or knee-high socks.
 If you find that grip is an issue, you can try using a mixed grip (one hand
overhand, one hand underhand) and/or utilize gym chalk or lifting
straps.
 If you’re having trouble generating tension in your lats, think of
squeezing pencils in between your armpits.
 Many beginner trainees make the mistake of trying to get their chest up
by cranking their necks all the way back, but they end up still staying
rounded over. Keep the chest up by thinking of showing the logo on
your shirt to a person standing in front of you.
 Don’t let the hips shoot up as you start pulling the bar off the ground.
B. Pause goblet squat
 Some people like to use a wide stance with the goblet squat, which is
fine, but I prefer a medium stance with knees flared out.
 Keep your chest up throughout the entire range of motion.
 Actively push your knees out, especially as you come up out of the
bottom of the squat.
 Point your elbows down, not out.
 Pause at the bottom with a slow 3-second count.
C. Glute bridge
 Some people feel their glutes activating better with a wide stance with
their feet, while others prefer a normal stance. Experiment with both
methods and find what works for you best.
 Make sure to activate your core to keep your ribs down and not arch
your back.
 If you find that your range of motion is limited by the plates on the
barbell touching the ground (with bumper plates and/or 45lb plates),
you may see better results with using 25lbs plates and having a training
partner deadlift the barbell onto your lap.
D1. KB or DB swing
 A common mistake is to achieve the swing by using your shoulders and
arms. Instead, keep the elbows softly bent and allow your lower body to
 achieve the swing as you hinge (flex the hips) and then extend the hips
quickly.
 Keep your chin tucked.
 Since this is a quick, explosive movement, be sure to engage your core
the entire time and avoid going too far into lumbar extension.
D2. KB or DB racked reverse lunge
 Don’t let your hips shoot up or depth diminish as you get tired with this
exercise.
 Don’t worry if you lose your balance on a few of the reps. This is
common, and you should get better with this over time.
 You can perform all prescribed repetitions on one leg before switching
sides in order to induce greater tension, or you can perform these
alternating styles, where you switch legs with every repetition.
E. Double-banded feet-elevated BW glute bridge
 Secure a long resistance band around the base of the bench.
 Use a mini-band placed above the knees.
 Focus on keeping your knees pushed out again the bands, and the
posterior pelvic tilt at the top of the glute bridge, pressing through your
heels.

Day 2: Upper Body

A. Inverted row or
 The more vertical your torso is to the ground, the easier the movement
will be. Adjust your torso angle accordingly.
 Don’t let the hips drop during the movement or as you perform more
repetitions. Squeeze the glutes to maintain tension throughout the entire
body.
 You may alternatively perform this movement with an underhand
(supinated) grip on the bar. Use the grip variation that feels the best for
you.
BW pull-up
 Don’t use excessive body language when performing this movement.
There should be no kipping motion and the legs should not be flailing
about.
 Instead of reaching with your neck, think of trying to touch your chest
to the bar.
  The legs can stay extended or you can cross the legs at the ankles while
performing this movement.
 Tinker with grip width to find what feels best for you. Some people like
to utilize a narrow grip with the hands approximately six inches apart,
while others prefer to have the hands just outside shoulder width.
B. Bench press
 Don’t let your elbows flare out as you press the barbell up. It should stay
at an approximately 45-degree angle to the body. Think of making an
arrow with the arms and the body, not a T.
 Don’t let the barbell drift away from you as you press the barbell up.
This makes for an inefficient bar path and will make the movement
more difficult.
 The butt should not lift off the bench at any point during the movement.
 Think of pulling your chest up to the bar rather than simply bringing the
barbell down towards you. This will help create tension throughout the
upper body.
 In order to lift more weight, create an arch in the back, bring the feet in
close to the body, and turn the heels out. This will help create better leg
drive and also decrease the range of motion that the bar has to travel.
C. Underhand-grip lat pulldown dropset or
 Grip the bar at about shoulder width with a pronated (underhand grip)
and pull down. This is a movement that can be used in place of a chin-
up as well if you can't do them, in order to build strength.
 You will drop the load by 10lbs per set.
band-assisted chin-up dropset
 Use a long band, thicker if you need more resistance.
 You can put your knee or whole foot in the band.
 Same motion as a chin-up. Make sure to get a good lat stretch and full
range of motion.
D1. Seated DB shoulder press
 Perform the seated dumbbell shoulder press with a dumbbell in either
hand. The elbows should be at an approximately 45-degree angle to the
body and the dumbbells in line with the upper arms.
 Make sure that you get a full range of motion and bring the dumbbells
down to your shoulders.
 Make sure your low back keeps in contact with the back of your bench.
D2. Seated bentover DB rear delt raise
 Avoid excessive body English when performing this exercise. You
should be using the delts to raise the dumbbells up rather than the
momentum.
 You don’t need much load to feel this movement working. Rather than
focusing on lifting heavier weight with this exercise, focus on activating
the rear delts.
E1. DB preacher curl or
 Offset the dumbbell by holding the handle on the lateral side to increase
activation.
 Be careful not to swing the weights by using excessive momentum of the
body. The torso should remain relatively still.
EZ bar preacher curl
 Grip the EZ bar in a normal width - not to wide, not too narrow.
 Don’t use momentum to swing the bar up. Your torso should remain
relatively still.
E2. Close-grip push-up or close-grip push-up from knees
 Your hands will be placed closer together than in the traditional push-
up, less than shoulder width apart.
 At no point during the movement should the hips sag. Keep the glutes
squeezed and posteriorly tilt the pelvis.
 Most people want to have the elbows pointing straight out to the sides
with the body in a “T” shape. Your elbows will be more tucked when in
the close-grip position.
 Maintain good neutral spinal posture. Don’t flex the upper back or
anteriorly tilt the pelvis.
 Don’t reach with the head during the movement.

Day 3: Full Body

A. Military press
 Lockout at the top of the movement. Make sure you stand tall and push
the head through.
 Be careful not to use momentum to press the barbell overhead. This is
the military press, not the push press.
 If you perform the military press with dumbbells the elbows should be at
an approximately 45-degree angle to the body and the dumbbells in line
with the upper arms.
B. Back squat or
 If you have longer femurs relative to your total height or stronger hips
relative to your quadriceps, you’ll likely have more forward lean than the
average lifter. Still, you should strive maintain a relatively consistent
torso angle through the duration of the movement.
 Most women prefer high bar squats. However, if they take the time to
learn low bar squats, many learn to like this variation and can typically
lift approximately 10 percent more weight. If you’re prone to
experiencing wrist pain with low bar squats due to wrist hyperextension,
you may find wrist wraps to be helpful.
 You may find that wearing squat shoes or sliding plates under your heels
to be helpful in achieving proper depth and maintaining quality form.
front squat
 Rather than sitting back, you want to sit straight down and try to keep
the torso as vertical as possible.
 A common mistake lifters make is to let their elbows drop on the
descent of the lift, which causes them to fall forward. Make an effort to
shove the elbows up.
 You can use a clean grip, in which you’re holding onto the barbell with
the ends of your index and middle fingers, or a cross grip, in which you
cross your arms in front of you. Many of you will find the latter variation
more comfortable.
 You may find that wearing squat shoes or sliding plates under your heels
to be helpful in achieving proper depth and maintaining quality form.
C1. Bentover DB row
 Don’t let the torso become more and more upright as you perform each
successive repetition.
 Keep the body movement to a minimum. The body should stay still
throughout the movement with just the arms working.
C2. Hip thrust
 The bench height that is ideal for you will depend upon the length of
your torso. The taller you are, the more height you'll need.
 Ensure that you have roughly vertical shins at the top of the movement.
If your feet are too far out in front of you, you may feel your hamstrings
working and not enough glutes; if they’re too close to you, you may feel
your quads working.
 Keep the chin tucked, ribs down, and eyes forward throughout the
duration of the movement.
  Use a weight that’s heavy enough such that you can feel your glutes
activating. If you go too heavy, you may find that your chest flares up,
your necks crank back, you can’t reach full lockout, and you feel the
movement in your low back rather than your glutes. Don’t be afraid to
scale back the weight if needed.
 Achieve a posterior pelvic tilt at the top of the thrust for an optimal
glute contraction.
D1. Close-grip DB bench press
 Keep the elbows tucked
 Bring the dumbbells down low on the chest
D2. DB back extension
 You can perform the back extension on a glute ham developer or on a
45-degree hyperextension machine.
 In order to target more of the gluteals and less of the low back, round
the upper back throughout the entire range of motion and flare your feet
out (toes out). It may help to keep your chin tucked as well.
 If you’re emphasizing the gluteals and keeping the upper back rounded,
it may look as though you’re not achieving full range of motion, but this
is just what it looks like with a posterior pelvic tilt.
 If you feel your hamstrings working a lot in this exercise, try pointing
your toes out. This may help target your gluteals more.
 Do not extend the spine as you rise up (meaning hyperextend so that
your going past neutral into a backbend). Keep the spine in the same
position throughout the range of motion. This should really be called the
hip extension, not the back extension.
 Get a full stretch at the bottom of the movement.
E. Horizontal woodchop
 Your feet are pointed away from the load.
 Keep your arms straight and chop the cable in front of you, and then
back under control.

Day 4: Full Body (optional)

A1. Extra range side-lying hip abduction

 Engage your core to keep your torso lifted in a straight line the entire
time. This will ensure you're only use the hip and not the obliques to
perform this motion.
  Allow the top leg to drop in front of the bench as much as you can so
you can strengthen within a larger range of motion.
A2. Frog reverse hyperextension
 Touch the heels together, but don't press them together too hard
(otherwise you'll bring the hamstrings into the equation too much).
 Fully extend the hips and squeeze the glutes at the top of each rep.
B1. BW hip thrust
 The bench height that is ideal for you will depend upon the length of
your torso. The taller you are, the more height you'll need.
 Ensure that you have roughly vertical shins at the top of the movement.
If your feet are too far out in front of you, you may feel your hamstrings
working and not enough glutes; if they’re too close to you, you may feel
your quads working.
 Keep the chin tucked, ribs down, and eyes forward throughout the
duration of the movement.
 Achieve a posterior pelvic tilt at the top of the thrust for an optimal
glute contraction.
B2. BW glute bridge
 Some people feel their glutes activating better with a wide stance with
their feet, while others prefer a normal stance. Experiment with both
methods and find what works for you best.
 Make sure to activate your core to keep your ribs down and not arch
your back.
B3. Feet-elevated BW glute bridge
 Having the feet-elevated allows you to strengthen through a larger range
of motion, so be sure to take advantage of that and bridge the hips up
high.
 Make sure to activate your core to keep your ribs down and not arch
your back.
C1. Pike push-up
 This is similar to a regular pushup, except you are bent at the hips.
 This will work a lot of delts.
 Make sure you keep your hips nice and high.
C2. Row push-up
 This is a combination of a regular push-up and a bodyweight renegade
row.
 Make sure you are not turning your hips - your body should remain in a
straight line and your hips should not rotate from side to side.
  Squeezing your glutes can help to keep your hips stable.
D. Plank extension
 Start out in a regular plank position, squeezing your glutes.
 Take your toes and walk backwards, and then walk forwards again.
 Make sure your hips do not sag.
 Do not go faster as you get more tired, keep in control.
 Training Notes

 The training program is to be executed in ABC order. So for example, if

you have an exercise A, you are to complete all sets and reps of that
movement before moving onto B. If you have something like B1 B2,
that is called a superset. In this case, you do one set of B1 for the
prescribed number of reps, rest, and then do B2. Rest, then go back to
B1, etc. To learn more about supersets, read here.
 If pullups/chin-ups are assigned and you are unable to complete the
prescribed reps with at least bodyweight, then use a resistance band. If
you do not have access to bands but you have an assisted pullup
machine, use that.
 A rest period of “---” means that you are to rest for as long as you need.
 If you are given a choice between two exercises, the preference is for the
first one unless you have equipment restrictions.
 Here are some abbreviations and acronyms you should be familiar with:
o Alt.: alternating
o BB: barbell
o BW: bodyweight
o DB: dumbbell
o DL: deadlift
o KB: kettlebell
o OH: overhead
o SB: stability ball
o SL: single leg
o UH: underhand
o WG: wide grip
 And other training terminology:
o AMRAP: As Many Reps As Possible
o MOTM: Minute On The Minute - Every minute, you are to
complete the prescribed number of reps before resting for the
remainder of the minute. Continue in this manner until you have
performed all sets.
o RPT: Rest Pause Training - Perform as many sets as it takes to hit
the prescribed total number of reps. Use a resistance band or
weight that would normally allow you to get 10 solid reps. For
each set, you will rock out as many reps as you can and stop just
1-2 reps shy of failure. Then take a 10-15 second break before
going again. Repeat in this manner until you hit the target number.
 CONDITIONING

Brisk walking

I would like you to get in some kind of activity on your days off from training
just to ensure you’re getting in some movement. You are to go for a brisk walk
for 30-40 minutes. Stationary biking or another gentle cardio modality is also
fine. It shouldn’t be anything intense; the point is that you’re just getting in
some movement. The rate of perceived exertion (RPE) should only be a 6 on a
scale of 1 to 10.

With that said, yoga is an excellent off-day exercise and I strongly encourage it
if that’s something you enjoy.