LIFT WITH SOHEE

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

It’s the beginning of a new year, and many of you are no doubt eager to start
off on a strong note with your fitness. If you’ve been around for a while, you’ll
be familiar with the drill – 3 recommended workouts and 1 optional workout
every week.

This time, I want to bring us back to the basics and put the focus back on the
main lifts. You’ve got the squat and bench coming up first this month, and next
month, we’ll incorporate the conventional/sumo deadlift back into the mix as
well.

Day 1 starts with the back squat or the front squat. I give you the option so you
can choose whichever one you’d prefer to do. Remember to stick with that
variation for the whole month rather than switching back and forth. The reps
are 8, 5, and 3, which means you are to perform ascending sets, going
progressively heavier in load as you decrease reps from one set to the next.

The bench press on day 2 will be performed as straight sets (same load every
set) or ascending sets – it’s up to you. Remember the barbell should touch
down to the chest at the bottom of every rep to ensure consistent range of
motion.

I understand that many of you are feeling super eager to kick things into high
gear. Rather than being too gung-ho in the beginning and quickly burning
yourselves out, however, I strongly urge you to practice being consistent with
moderation. This means sticking to a routine that you know you can keep up
month after month. Ask yourself: Can I see myself keeping this up by
December 2019? For some of you, this may mean scaling back on your planned
training frequency or cutting your cardio in half. I promise you’ll see much
better results over the long haul by lifting weights 3 days a week for a year
rather than working out 6 days a week for two months and then quitting
altogether.
I very much encourage all of you to take advantage of our members-only
closed Facebook group – brag about your personal records (PRs), moan over
how killer day 4 was, or ask for clarification for anything you don’t fully
understand. We’re here to support one another!

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:

Bentover T-spine rotation x10ea

Windmill x10ea
Inchworm x5
Walking hurdle x5ea
Walking glute stretch x5ea

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

A. Back squat or front squat 1x8, 1x5, 1x3 3min

B. Pause hip thrust + hip thrust 3x5+10 3min

Constant-tension Romanian deadlift or
C1. 2x20 0s
DB Romanian deadlift
C2. Single-leg BW hip thrust 1.5 reps 2x12ea 2min
Eccentric-accentuated cable pull-through
D. 2x8 2min
(4-second lowering phase)
E1. Band hip hinge abduction 3x30 0s

E2. Banded cha-cha 3x30ea 2min

 Training Day 2: Upper Body

EXERCISE SETS x REPS REST

A. Bench press 3x5 3min

Wide-grip eccentric-accentuated lat
B. 3x6 2min
pulldown (4-second ascending phase)
C1. Alt. DB floor press 2-3x10ea 30s

C2. Cable crossover or DB floor flye 2-3x10 2min

D1. Landmine row 2-3x10 30s

D2. Deadstop 1-arm DB row 2-3x10ea 2min

V-bar bicep curl or DB bicep curl
E. 2x10/10 2min
dropset
F. V-bar tricep or band tricep pushdown 2x10/10 2min
 Training Day 3: Full Body

EXERCISE SETS x REPS REST

A. Bentover BB row 3x10 2min

B. Knee-banded hip thrust w/ abduction 3x10 2min

C1. Standing 1-arm cable or band row 3x12ea 0s

C2. Standing 1-arm cable or band chest press 3x12ea 2min

D. DB walking lunge to Romanian deadlift 2-3x15ea 2min

E1. Plank-to-plank 2x8ea 0s

E2. Side plank w/ leg lift 2x8ea 1min

 Training Day 4: Full Body (Optional)

EXERCISE SETS x REPS REST

A1. Goblet squat to reverse lunge 3x5ea 30s

A2. KB or DB high pull 3x10 2min

B1. DB shoulder circle 2-3x20ea 0s

Military press or standing DB shoulder
B2. 2-3x10 2min
press
C. High step-up 2x10ea 2min
2x50 steps ea or 30s
D. 1-arm DB farmer’s walk or suitcase hold 2 min
ea
E. Cable crunch or reverse crunch 2x10 1min
 EXERCISE CUES

Day 1: Lower Body

A. Back squat
 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.
or 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.
B. Pause hip thrust + hip thrust
 Squeeze your glutes as hard as you can and hold for a count of 3 at the
top of each rep
 Start with a weight that you would normally use for your 15-20RM
C1. Constant-tension Romanian deadlift or DB Romanian deadlift
 These are faster reps where you don’t want to lock out your glutes at the
top.
 There should be constant tension on the hamstrings with this
movement.
C2. Single-leg BW hip thrust 1.5 reps
 Perform the reps with your weaker side first.
 Come all the way up, halfway down, and then back up again.
 Push through the heel with each rep.
D. Eccentric-accentuated cable pull-through (4-second lowering phase)
 At the bottom of the movement, the weight you’re lifting of the cable
pulley machine should not clank down against the weight stack. If this
happens, this means that you’re too close in distance to the machine, and
this will interfere with performing the movement with a full range of
motion.
 In order to target more of the glutes and less of the low back, round the
upper back and bend the knees more throughout the entire range of
motion. It may help to keep your chin tucked as well.
 Maintain a forward lean for all repetitions to prevent the weight of the
cable pulley machine from pulling you backwards.
 Don’t go too light or else you’re not challenging your muscles; don’t go
too heavy to where you don’t feel it in your glutes that you’re so off-
balanced and you’re focused on not falling over.
 On the eccentric (lowering) phase of the movement, you’ll go slowly and
count out 4 seconds.
E1. Band hip hinge abduction
 Bend over in a hip hinge position (as if you're doing a Romanian
deadlift).
 Roll onto the outer edges of the feet and pause for a 3-second count for
each rep.
E2. Banded cha-cha
 With a mini-band placed above the knees, get into a quarter squat stance
and move your foot back at a 45-degree angle, tap, and then come back
in.
Day 2: Upper Body

A. 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 in 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.
B. Wide-grip eccentric-accentuated lat pulldown (4-second ascending phase)
 Stretch your lats and make sure you keep your chest up.
 The bar should hit the chest at the bottom of the movement.
 On the ascending phase, count to 4 seconds.
 It’s okay if you use less load than normal.
C1. Alt. DB floor press
 This is a more shoulder friendly movement.
 Keep your elbows tucked so that they are not flared out.
 Press up and down under control.
C2. Cable crossover
 Use a staggered stance.
 The cables should be at chest height.
 Go light on this exercise.
or DB floor flye
 Lie down on the floor with your DBs.
 Have a soft bend at the elbows and lower down, touching them to the
floor, and then bring them in towards each other.
D1. Landmine row
 It is preferable to use smaller weights with this, as larger plates are
prohibitive to full range of motion.
 Get into a hinge position, straddled over the barbell.
 Grip the barbell (or use a handle contraption) and bring it in close to
your chest, rowing in and down.
D2. Deadstop 1-arm DB row
 Similar to a 1-arm DB row, you’ll want to get into a staggered position,
however, this movement will start and stop at the bottom at a dead stop.
 You can explode upward, but don’t bounce up and down off of the
floor.
E. V-bar bicep curl
 Using the v-bar handle, pivot only at the elbows, getting a nice squeeze
at the top of the movement.
or DB bicep curl dropset
 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.
F. V-bar tricep
 Using the v-bar handle, pivot only at the elbows, squeezing the triceps at
the bottom of the movement.
or band tricep pushdown
 Using light bands, grip them and pivot only at the elbow, squeezing the
triceps at the bottom of the movement.

Day 3: Full body

A. Bentover BB row
 Don’t let the torso become more and more upright as you perform each
successive repetition.
 Keep the body English to a minimum. The body should stay still
throughout the movement with just the arms working.
B. Knee-banded hip thrust w/ abduction
  Place the mini-band above the knees.
 Perform the traditional hip thrust, but at the top of the movement you’ll
forcefully push out at the knees at the top of the movement, squeezing
the glutes.
C1. Standing 1-arm cable or band row
 Cable or band should be roughly at chest height.
 Keeping your chest up, get into a roughly quarter squat stance.
 Pull your elbow towards your hip.
 Don’t let your shoulder round forward.
C2. Standing 1-arm cable or band chest press
 Get into a split stance, with the cable or band at roughly chest height.
 If you’re working your left side, your right foot will be forward in a
staggered stance and vice-versa.
 Press straight forward.
D. DB walking lunge to Romanian deadlift
 This is two exercises combined into one.
 Take one step forward, and as you come up instead of putting your back
foot down, go directly into a single-leg Romanian deadlift.
 Don’t melt the exercises together - make sure you keep them distinct.
E1. Plank-to-plank
 You are transitioning from a low plank to a high plank, up and down.
 Your elbows should be directly below your shoulders. Press up with one
hand and then the other, and then back down onto the elbows again.
E2. Side plank w/ leg lift
 Get on your side with your feet stacked, and pop up onto one forearm.
 Your leg will come up and down in a slow and controlled manner.

Day 4: Full Body (optional)

A1. Goblet squat to reverse lunge

 Perform one full goblet squat and go directly into a reverse lunge. Then
perform another goblet squat.
A2. KB or DB high pull
 The high pull is similar to the KB swing, but instead of throwing the KB
or DB in front of you, your arms will explode up vertically.
  It is an explosive hip hinge pattern.
B1. DB shoulder circle
 Grab a light pair of DB’s and your arms will be straight out like in a
lateral raise, but you’ll move them in tiny circles for reps.
B2. Military press or standing DB shoulder 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.
C. High step-up
 Ensure that your entire foot is on the platform; otherwise you won’t be
able to push through the heel.
 Don’t rely too much on momentum to step up.
 The bottom position of the high step up mimics that of the back squat.
With that said, don’t choose a platform height that is too high such that
your low back is rounded.
D. 1-arm DB farmer’s walk
 Hold a heavy DB and take steps.
or suitcase hold
 Hold a heavy DB and stand and brace your core
E. Cable crunch
 You have the rope on either side of your head and crunch all the way
down.
or reverse crunch
 Think of curling your body, your legs toward your face.
 Don’t let them drop down.
 You can use a DB to keep yourself stabilized.
 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.