Day 173 of 365: 12.5 TIPS

With the recent increase of "coaches" giving advice on the OPEN wods, Michael Winchester and I thought that we would throw in our two cents on how to best approach WOD 12.5!

Hope it helps!

Day 59 of 365: Pressing The Pressing Issue

This week at CrossFit Central, our athletes are crankin' on the CrossFit Total. 

If you don't already know, the CrossFit Total is comprised of 3 lifts:  The Back Squat, the Shoulder Press, and the Deadlift. 

  

In each of the lifts, the athlete is attempting to set new 1RM maxes that will be summed and Totaled (Get it?) for a resulting score equal to the pounds lifted.  The Total is the way we test an individual's overall strength, which I'm sure you probably guessed by the selection of the exercises, right?

It's funny, though.  As I watched my athletes take on each lift, I realized that the lift that  they were having the most trouble with was the the shoulder press - by far the most simplistic lift...on the surface, but we are about to dive a bit deeper to uncover why the press is the hardest movement to improve on.  You ready?

Alright. So to start us off on the right foot here, I am going to show you a video.  This is pretty much the way I teach the press, minus a couple points that we will hit a bit later.  Watch this and you'll be up to speed.

 Seems pretty straight forward, right?  Well, let's quickly make a checklist of the basics:

1. Grip right outside of shoulders(make sure it's symmetrical)

2. Unrack the bar by creating a platform with your anterior delts(front of your shoulders)

3. Set your feet at hip-width, squeeze your butt, quads, and abs as tight as possible.  This creates a rock-solid foundation to press from.  VERY IMPORTANT!!!

4. Lift your elbows so that your forearm is completely vertical.  Basic rule here is that your forearms need to point in the direction you want the bar to go; straight up and slightly back.

5. Take a quick, deep breath just before initiating the press.

6. Drive the bar straight up keeping it close to your face and forehead.

7. Once the bar has cleared your forehead, press slightly backwards while also driving your upper-body under the bar.

8. Lock the B#tch out!!!

So now that we have a basic understanding of what needs to happen to succesfully perform a quality press, here's the one major idea that I want you to grasp:   

BARBELL SPEED!!!

We have discussed this before, but when performing any lift, the athlete has a specificed timeframe in which he or she can make the lift.  Any slower and the bar will stop dead in it's tracks and leave you in no-man's-land, wondering what the hell just happened.

Here's the deal.  Once you have set up and you are rock-solid in that position, you must maintain it as you punch that bar towards the ceiling...making it a point to keep the bar path as close to your face as possible!  This deliberate effort to move quickly will ensure that that nasty little thing called GRAVITY doesn't catch hold of that bar - closing that window of possible PRs.

So, next time you hit some presses, focus on the details of your setup, the bar path, and especially your speed!!!  You will find that the press, when done with these things in mind, is not as simplistic as you originally thought....BUT, you will also realize that there is a ton of POWER and STRENGTH hidden in those details!!!

GO GET IT!!!

Day 38 of 365: Help Your Body Help YOU!

It's sad to say, but most likely you are dehydrated at this very instant.  

You may not think that that's a big deal, but you are very, very wrong!!!

HERE'S A TEST!!! 

As you learned in the 3rd grade, the earth is made up of 71% water.  It's the same for you....or at least it should be.  Some of us(including myself) do a shitty job of staying hydrated.  As a consequence, we are severely punishing our body and making it work overtime.  This is especially true when we require so much from our bodies and it's systems.

  Just think about it this way...If you were to go out and buy a brand new Ferrari, bring it home, drain all the oil out of it, then fire it up and FLOOR it - do you think it would run well and/or last very long?  

Hell No!!!

(If you did, I would hunt you down.)

 

You know better than that, right?!  

That idiotic move would result in a completely broken down, busted up, useless vehicle.

So why is it that we allow ourselves to do essentially the very same thing to our most valuable vehicle: 

OUR BODY?

It doesn't make any damn sense!!!

Here's the deal, people!  

I have committed myself to drinking, as a bare minimum, half my body weight in ounces each and every day!  Do you know why?  I'll tell you. 

I want to be a STRONG MOTHERF*CKER!!!  

If I restrict the amount of fluids I have, my body is forced to pull it from somewhere and/or take over and take control of my dumb ass, shutting me down whenever I try to run this "hot rod". 

You see, our body is a fantastic thing!  They do certain things to prevent us from redlining or "blowing the engine".  For example, if you take naps every single day, consider that your body is taking control and shutting you down so that IT can go to work to repair all the stupid shit you just did to it.  Whether that's eating 4 Big Mac's or if you simply haven't had enough water.

So here's my challenge to you:

HELP YOUR BODY HELP YOU!!!!  

Stop being an idiot and drink water; 71% of YOU is H2O...

Here are some great resources to get you started!!!

WATER! - Crystal Nelson

Dehydration Check - Kelly Starrett

Day 19 of 365: For the Traveling SWOD'er

PEOPLE!!!  

Check it out!

  You WILL use this sometime down the road.  Be sure to leave a comment after watching.  

Just nothing about my girlfriend!!!  

I'll find you!  Hahaha. :  )

Day 9 of 365: You Wanna Get Strong?

 

Here's the deal...We all know, or at least we should, that strength training is hard work.  If you are under any other impressions, you're not doing it right.  But, good news!  There is a way to make it just a little less hard!  Would you like to know what that is?

 YOU MUST DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!!

 By this I mean you must find out what is out there in regards to training methods, specific exercise benefits, nutrition information, etc.  There are literally thousands of sources out there that you and I can easily browse, take what we find compelling, and implement it into our training protocol. 

I'll be honest.  This is how I created my strength training program, Strictly Strength.  I gathered tons of information from the world of strength, took what I liked, and put it in to action in the form of Strictly Strength. Now, this is NOT to say that I am done with my homework.  Not anywhere close.  The fact is that you are never done with your homework...not if you are good at your job, and actually give a $h!t about the product you provide.

My point, by now, should be pretty obvious; If you are serious about your training, you have to do the work outside of the gym, too!

Here is one of the sources that use to read up on new information.

http://www.t-nation.com/  

Let it be known, a lot of the stuff on this site is complete bull$h!t.  On the other hand, you can find some valuable tips, tricks, and info.  Let this article(it should sound similar to another strength program you may know about ; )) mark the beginning of your new mental mass gain program!

Enjoy! 

Day 2 of 365: FERAL FITNESS!!!

Benjamin, in all his glory!

YO!!!

Yesterday, a small group of us,(Me, Crystal Nelson, Aaron Arehart, and Jeff Vanlandingham) went outside the box to train....LITERALLY!  Friend and fellow Strictly Strength'er, Benjamin Palmer, invited us to join him for a Log SWOD as we were calling it.  After seeing a video of his first LogWOD, I was stoked to take him up on his offer....I had no idea what he had in store for us, or how fun it was going to be!

Before I let y'all get to the video...I want to make a point in saying that strength training does not, and should not, always take place in the gym.  If you are not changing your scene every once in a while, I garuntee that you will burn out and learn to hate strength training....and nobody wants that!  Get outside and do some crazy sh!t like this every couple of weeks.  Create new and entertaining ways to train, and I promise you will find yourself getting strong as hell and having fun doing it!  Sounds pretty awesome, right?

Alright.  Here it is....Enjoy! 

Here It Goes....Day 1 of 365

My newest project, "365 Days of Strength", is a blog dedicated to bringing you the world of STRENGTH one blogpost at a time.  My goal with this is simple; learn as much as I can about strength training and the lifestyle that accompanies it...and while do so, I want to bring you along with me!  

Get ready to become stronger than you have ever been, both physically and mentally!  

We are going to do it together, one day at a time.  

Here we go!!!

PUMP -- SWOD IN REVIEW

This post was meant for last Friday, but due to this and that, I am just now getting to posting it.  

Anyway, this video is all about the SWOD(StrengthWOD) that David Deleon and I did Friday morning.  It was a throw-back to the days of our "bodybuilding" routine, and it was AWESOME!  

Take a look and let me know what y'all think.  

The Active Lat?

I know y'all have heard one of your coaches describe the "active shoulder" that is so vital to a properly performed overhead squat.  And I know that *everyone* has read my blog post on the active hip when squatting.  Now, I am going to blow your mind again with the "Active Lat"!
Before we figure out what is so "active" about the Lat and the benefits of that activation, we may want to dive into what the lat actually is, right?
So, Lat. is short for Latissimus Dorsi, which in Latin means, "broadest muscle of the back".  It is an easy muscle to see - it's the muscle that gives the illusion of having wings or having a turtle shell.

The Latissimus Dorsi has two main actions on the arm. It functions in adduction (pulling the arms to the sides of the body from an out-to-the-side position) and extension (pulling the arms down from a horizontal position straight out in front of the body.

Extension

Adduction

 

 

 

 

So, right off the bat...looking at the actions, you should be able to see the importance of the Lat in many of the movements that CrossFitters do.  Pullups are probably the first exercise that comes to mind, but the Lat is involved in so many more...either as a primary mover, or many times as a stabilizing muscle.  Pushups, overhead presses, back squat, and deadlift are just a few.



Now that we know where it is and what it does, we can start to discuss what it means to activate it, and the benefits of that activation in regards to performing a solid deadlift.
 
If you guys remember, I have posted several times about the mechanics involved in a proper deadlift.  One point I emphasized was that the bar must stay tight to the body as it travels through it's range of motion, otherwise, you are doing more work for the same end...hopefully.  This is where the "Active Lat" comes into play!

As you can see from the pictures above, when we activate the Lat we force the arm into extension.  To apply this action to the deadlift, think about your start position.  When you are in the correct start position, typically you are concentrating on simply keeping your back tight as you stand up, right?  Well, now picture yourself in that same start position, but now your goal is to squeeze the bar back in to your body with your active Lat.  Not only does this improve the path of bar as it travels, but it will actually improve your ability to fully lock in your back to ensure spinal support and energy translation...resulting in big gains in your deadlift!!!

Obviously, deadlifting more will improve your deadlift, but what are some other ways to improve your Lat strength, and therefore, your pulling strength?  Some supplemental exercises that I recommend are:
1.  Dual KB Deadlifts - Controlling two separate weights and keeping them tight to the body and pulled back slightly is a great way to train the "Active Lat".(picture two KBs rather than the hex bar handles.)

2.  DB/KB BentOver Rows - Using a box or bench to bend over and support yourself, pull a DB or KB from the floor to your armpit.

3.  Strict Pullups - These are a time-proven, effective exercise for developing amazing Lat strength.  Try to eliminate your kip to further isolate the Lat recruitment.


4. Band Pullbacks - This exercise is a great way to isolate that specific muscle action.

Start.  Use proper DL position.

Finish. Maintain proper DL position.

 So there y'all go!  One more thing to activate...One more way to get STRONGER!  Go get it!

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, AND MORE PRACTICE

Jeremy bustin' out a solid tempo DL

Diana lookin' strong from the GO!

The 15 individuals in the STRICTLY STRENGTH program have already made huge strides towards improved form and technique, understanding of why we do things a specific way, and more confidence under large loads...and it's only been 2 weeks!  It's been awesome watching people improve so quickly...and I am pumped to see the final results of the group!!!

This rapid progression is due to several important factors, but the #1 has to be the smaller group setting in which each person receives more attention while performing the movements.  In smaller groups the individuals are also able to see and hear what ques and pointers I give to the others in that group, which allows them to "take in" this info in yet another way.  It is powerful stuff when you combine a little more time, smaller numbers, and the details!!!

 Although the progress has already been substantial, it brings me to the point of this blog:

You have to apply the things you are taught, even when the coach is not watching!!!

This goes for everyone looking to improve in anything!!!

If you spend the time to learn a skill - CrossFit or otherwise - It is to your benefit that you take the new-found knowledge, and APPLY IT TO ALL APPLICABLE INSTANCES.

Mary drivin' the knees open for a great LB Squat!

I'm sure this is pretty straight-forward for y'all, but a simple example would be the back squat.  If I teach you all the fine details of a "perfect" back squat, as your coach, I want you to practice that skill every chance you get!  This will only accelerate your adoption of quality, efficient movement, and erase the faulted form you practiced prior to being enlightened.

Practice makes Perfect.