THEN:

3 ROUNDS FOR TIME:

400m RUN

10 BARBELL LUNGES (135#,95#)

12 RING DIPS

10 POWER CLEANS

•    Registration will go via the retail section of CFSD’s MindBody online page. The meet is open to anyone who wants to enter–membership at CFSD or another affiliate is not a requirement to compete.  If you do not already have an account with CFSD, please create a username and password in order to register.  The meet will be under the “Specialty Seminars” tab.  Registration is $15 and is non-refundable.

•    The meet will be capped at 40 lifters. Lifters will be divided into 2-3 flights of 15-20 lifters each based on number of registered lifters.

•    Weigh-ins will go from 8:30am-9:30am on the day of the meet, followed by a rules review at 9:30am.  The first squat attempt will be at 10am sharp, beginning with Flight 1.  After Flight 1 has completed its three squat attempts per lifter, Flight 2 will begin its squat attempts.  Flight 3 (if applicable) will follow the completion of Flight 2′s three squat attempts per lifter.  The meet will then follow the same sequence for bench press, then for deadlift.

•    Standard powerlifting rules of USAPL apply—however, for simplicity purposes some rules will be modified or will not be enforced.  Those modifications are listed in this outline.

•    All events are raw—the only authorized gear is belt, wrist wraps, and neoprene knee sleeves.  No knee wraps, squat suits, or bench shirts.  T-shirts must be worn for all events and must be cotton—no UnderArmour/SKINS/DriFit/etc.  Shorts must be cotton or mesh.  Singlets are optional but not required.  Elbows must be visible and knees must not be covered by loose clothing.  Long socks (to just below the knee cap) are required for deadlifts.  SKINS/BSc/etc. compression pants, shorts, or tights are not authorized.

•    No gloves, grip aids, or straps—athletic tape and chalk are the only materials permitted on hands or fingers.  Wrist wraps may not be looped over the thumb during lifts.

•    Authorized warm-up areas are everywhere except for the main platform, and lifters may warm up at their own convenience.

•    Upon weigh-in, each lifter must submit opening attempts for each lift in kilograms.  Opening attempts may only be changed 5 minutes or more before the start of each flight.  No other requests for changes will be granted.

•    Lifters will have three attempts at each lift—weight may not decrease from one rep to the next.  Lifters may choose to increase the weight for subsequent attempts even if they miss an attempt or have a no-lift due to a rules violation.

•    Squat and bench press attempts will use standard 20kg (“men’s size”) bars to simplify things for the loaders.  A lifter may request to deadlift with a 15kg (“women’s size”) bar if small hand size prevents a strong grip on the bar.  Any lifter wanting to deadlift with a 15kg bar must tell meet staff during weigh-ins.

•    Weight for the next attempt must be submitted within one minute of an attempt.  If a new weight is not submitted, the weight will be increased by 2kg after a made attempt and kept the same after a missed attempt.

•    If a lifter must follow himself/herself, he/she will have three minutes to begin the lift after the bar is announced as loaded.

•    Error on the part of the judge or spotters (misloaded bar, incorrect commands, improper assistance, etc.) will not result in a no-lift.  The lifter will have the opportunity to repeat the lift without penalty at the end of the round.

•    Weight classes, flights, and prizes TBD, based on number of lifters who register.  Flight lists will be distributed no later than July 21, but actual lifting order will depend upon opening weights declared by each lifter at weigh-in.

SQUAT

•    High bar, low bar, or wide stance powerlifter-style squats are all authorized.

•    Once the bar is announced as loaded and the lifter’s name is called, the lifter will have 60 seconds to unrack the bar.  Upon unracking and stepping back from the rack, he/she must demonstrate control and be motionless in the starting position with knees and hips locked.  Once that position is attained, the head judge will command “SQUAT” and give a downward arm signal.  The lifter will then execute the squat and return to the locked out position.  Once the lifter has the weight controlled in a locked-out position, the head judge will command “RACK” and gesture toward himself.  Spotters will assist the lifter in reracking the bar.

•    Good lift/bad lift will be determined by a majority vote from the three judges.  Reasons for a bad lift include:
o    Failure to unrack the bar within 60 seconds of the lifter’s name being called.
o    Failure to squat to full depth—hip joint must go below top of kneecap.
o    Failure to assume a position with hips and knees fully locked out at the completion of the movement.
o    Failure to follow head judge commands—lifter may not squat before the “SQUAT” command and may not begin to rack the bar until receiving the “RACK” command.  Dumping the bar is not permitted, but a lifter is allowed to receive assistance from spotters when racking the bar.
o    Double-bouncing out of the hole of the squat.
o    Any foot movement during the conduct of the squat.
o    Any reversal in the bar’s upward motion after squatting out of the hole—spotters will be instructed to assist any lifter who begins going back down.
o    Double-clutching the start of the squat—any bend of the hips or knees is considered an attempt.

BENCH PRESS

•    Index fingers must be on or within the 81cm marks–the rest of the hand may be outside them as long as the entire index finger is in contact with those rings.

•    Lumbar arch is authorized, but the lifter’s hips and shoulders must remain in contact with the bench at all times.  Both feet must be flat on the floor.  For lifters with short legs, plates may be placed on the floor.

•    Once the bar is announced as loaded and the lifter’s name is called, the lifter will have 60 seconds to set up on the bench and unrack the bar.  After the lifter demonstrates control of the bar in the locked-out position, the head judge will give the command “START” at which point the lifter must lower the bar to his/her chest.  Once the bar is motionless, the head judge will command “PRESS” after which the lifter will press the bar up to the locked-out position.  After the lifter has demonstrated control of the bar in the locked-out position, the head judge will command “RACK” and the spotters will assist the lifter in returning the bar to the rack.

•    Good lift/bad lift will be determined by a majority vote from the three judges.  Reasons for a bad lift include:
o    Failure to unrack the bar within 60 seconds of the lifter’s name being called.
o    Failure to follow head judge’s commands; specifically, beginning to lower the bar before the “START” command, beginning to press the bar before the “PRESS” command, or beginning to rack the bar before the “RACK” command.
o    Excessively wide grip.
o    Excessive uneven extension of the arms.
o    Adjustment of grip position after the bar is unracked.
o    Failure to bring the bar in contact with the chest.
o    Bouncing the bar off the chest following the “PRESS” command.
o    Any adjustment of grip position after the bar is unracked.
o    Any reversal in the bar’s upward motion after it leaves the chest.
o    Failure of hips or shoulders to maintain contact with the bench, or failure of the feet to stay in contact with the floor/plates.

DEADLIFT

•    Lifters may use either a conventional or sumo stance.  Overhand, hook, or alternating grips are all authorized.

•    Once the bar is announced as loaded and the lifter’s name is called, the lifter will have 60 seconds to begin pulling the bar.

•    Upon reaching a locked-out position, the head judge will give the command “DOWN” along with a downward arm motion, after which the lifter will maintain control of the bar while returning it to the ground.

•    Good lift/bad lift will be determined by a majority vote from the three judges.  Reasons for a bad lift include:
o    Failure to begin pulling the bar within 60 seconds of the lifter’s name being called.
o    Use of any grip aids aside from chalk or athletic tape.
o    Hitching or any other downward motion that interrupts the upward movement of the bar once it leaves the floor.
o    Supporting the bar on the thighs during the lift.
o    Forward or backward movement of one or both feet after the pull has begun.
o    Failure to reach a fully locked-out position with hips and knees extended and shoulders behind the bar.
o    Beginning to lower the bar before receiving the “DOWN” command from the head judge.
o    Failure to lower to bar to the ground under control.

http://crossfitoneworld.typepad.com/crossfit_one_world/2011/01/how-crossfit-is-ruining-your-knees.html
http://www.70sbig.com/blog/2011/02/the-final-stroke/

In case you’re not familiar with CF One World, it’s run by Freddy Camacho, a pretty smart guy with lots of good experience and ideas who also used to be a CFHQ trainer. I’d recommend adding CF One World to the list of sites you check regularly. And if you read the CFSD website on any sort of regular basis, you’re already familiar with the 70′s Big crew.

The big thing I’d recommend you take away from these posts is their emphasis upon your long-term health. It’s fairly common to see Olympic or professional athletes take certain risks by training and playing hurt, which is understandable when there’s a gold medal, Lombardi Trophy, or multi-million dollar contract on the line. Last I checked, none of those cases apply to any of us at CFSD. Therefore, it’s safe to assume we’re all training to be stronger and fitter well into the future as opposed to being willing to take some long-term risks for a short-term fix like winning a Super Bowl or NBA title.

If you really want to get strong and fit, your gains are going to be measured in terms of years, not weeks or months. The way you continue to make gains over the course of years is by being consistent in coming to the gym and staying injury-free. Think about it, if you could add 2lbs to your squat every week, in two years you’d be squatting 200lbs more than you are right now. Obviously those gains aren’t doable for everyone, but you’ll get a lot closer to that kind of progress if you are able to come to the gym every week rather than having to take regular month-long sabbaticals due to injuries caused by overuse or sloppy form. If you’re the guy/girl who always shows up at 4:29 for a 4:30pm class and leaves right afterwards rather than doing the lacrosse ball rolling and mobility work that you know you need, you’re going to pay the price in terms of your long-term progress. Eventually your inability to force your knees out on a squat or get into a deadlift setup position without fighting through hip immobility is going to pay off in the form of an injury that sidelines you for a while. If you continue to kip the hell out of your pullups because you don’t have the discipline or drive to learn deadhang pullups or to work on shoulder strength and stability, you’re going to pay the price with rotator cuff problems or a SLAP tear…if you don’t believe me, take a look at the injury threads on the CrossFit message board.

Trust me, no one is so impressed by your blazing fast Fran or Helen time to make it worth you sacrificing your long-term health and mobility because you want to blast through sloppy thrusters or let your lower back take a beating on your kettlebell swings. Done correctly, squatting and deadlifting and the like will have positive effects on your strength and mobility for the rest of your life. You’ll be able to live independently and do simple things like get up off the toilet unassisted and pick up a heavy suitcase without throwing out your back. But if you make a habit of inflicting minor traumas to your joints, muscles, and discs every time you lift, you’re negating the supposedly good effects of training and making yourself more susceptible to the very ailments you’re trying to avoid.

As the 70′s Big post points out, you’re probably not going to feel any negative effects from those first 999 nasty squats. But if you spend enough time coming forward on your toes or letting your elbows drop on your front squats, eventually you’re going to pay the price on rep #1000. And then you instantly lose about 100lbs off that less-than-good 1RM that you were previously so proud of, and will have to start back at square one when you’re finally ready to start training again.

So, moral of the story–set your ego aside (heard that one before?) and focus on correct, efficient, safe movement as opposed to speed and weight. And the funny thing is, once your movement is correct and efficient, you’ll probably end up lifting a lot more weight faster because efficient movement is, by definition, the fastest and safest way to manipulate a barbell, kettlebell, or your body.

Questions about how not to mess things up? Talk to me or another coach.

-Eric

I had no idea that a 20-yard stretch of beach and a lead ball could render me useless… all in less than 45 seconds.

Crossfit was put on my radar by my client at work. Paul is a retired USMC Colonel and avid (mild understatement) Crossfitter. He raved about his workouts every morning after his 6AM class, talking about how good it felt to kill Fran, and how he was positive he would be seeing another Filthy 50 sometime soon. My own workout experience was almost non-existent, so I wondered what the heck he was talking about, and began asking questions. Paul enthusiastically answered them all, and then suggested I come out to a free Saturday class to check it out – in fact, the next one was going to be a beach workout, which promised to be “really cool”. I had other adjectives for it by the time I got up off the sand.

First, some background. At the time these conversations took place, I was a 5’11”, 46-year-old male, and way out of shape… WAAY out of shape. I had played most every sport I encountered when I was young; catcher in baseball, a center/linebacker in football, and a downhill skier who avoided moguls at all costs. I had settled into a very sedentary lifestyle, where golf and fly fishing were my only avenues of activity (I won’t bother referring to them as exercise). My wife had gone so far as to bribe me with my dream car (a 1972 Corvette) if I would get my weight below 200 lbs. I knew my weight had been steadily creeping upward, but when I decided to hop on the scales last September and the needle spun past the 300 mark and settled in at 304, I knew I had to get off my butt and do something – so I took Paul up on his Saturday offer.

I showed up at the beach workout, and was introduced to Aush, Mallorie, and Glory. We proceeded to lug kettlebells and medicine balls about 3 miles (okay, maybe 300 yards) down the beach. We set everything down, and I was already beat – not a good sign. Then Aush starts talking about Burpee Thrusters and Kettlebell Lunges. Hmm. Okay then.. 3-2-1-Go. I did okay for the first 20 yards of the Burpee/Thruster thing, and started to make my way back by doing the Kettlebell Lunges – and that’s when it all fell apart. Even with the encouragement of Aush, Mallorie, Glory, and Paul, I collapsed within 15 yards. Not another freaking lunge in me. I sat in the sand and watched the others complete the workout and wondered how in the hell I had allowed myself to get into this kind of shape. I didn’t want others to know, but I was both embarrassed and pissed off. I went home and told my wife 3 things:
1. I met some insanely fit people that morning
2. That there were people there who had never met me before who appeared to be genuinely interested in my well-being, and
3. Everybody seemed to enjoy this torture.

The next Monday, Paul asked how I was feeling, and I bombarded him with still more questions – was this type of workout normal, and how the hell did these people get into this kind of shape? Paul referred me back to Aush, who I think believed he would never see me again after the beach episode. Aush led me through my introductory workout and, after getting equally gassed by that, I realized what I had to do; I signed up for the next chapter – Crossfit Foundations (a.k.a, my 12-Step Program).

Now I’m sorry if I sound like a shill here, but the Foundation sessions with Aush were brilliant. He worked with me on form and technique, and each session concluded with a heavily modified workout. As he explained what he wanted me to do, my insides were telling me that I’d be lucky to get through half, maybe two-thirds of what he was listing. As I began the workout, I became surer that my insides were right. Fortunately, Aush wasn’t listening to my insides – he’d allow me a short pause to catch my breath when needed, but made it perfectly clear that I would finish the WOD. Sometimes saying nothing is more powerful than saying anything, and Aush was the master of silence. Paul showed up for a couple sessions to monitor and encourage. Each session left me absolutely exhausted. But with the exhaustion I gained something more important, which was my Turning Point #1 – with each successive workout, I gained the confidence that I was capable of pushing myself farther than I ever thought was possible. There were days when I’d be so wiped out that I wouldn’t remember driving home after the workout, but when I got home, I’d remember thinking “holy crap.. I finished it! My daily conversations with Paul about each workout reinforced both my confidence and my focus to succeed. As a lung cancer survivor who had made immense gains himself, Paul’s “failure is not an option” attitude was a huge help.

The confidence I developed was one of the core reasons Crossfit has worked for me. The lack of that same confidence is, I believe, a major factor in why most inactive people remain inactive – it’s just too easy to believe that you cannot do something. Most people who join Crossfit won’t relate to this part – they are already in reasonably good condition, when compared to the general population. Crossfit offers challenges that you simply cannot find in a conventional gym, and most Crossfitters have a competitive element that thrives on these challenges. For those who are out of shape, overcoming the challenges of completing a sit-up, pushup, or muscle-up are a “drop in the bucket” compared to the psychological warfare your brain deploys, convincing you that a piece of chocolate cake is more comforting than the hell that is Burpees.

These negative thoughts are easy for overweight people to develop, because most overweight people have probably been facilitating and even perpetuating their own insecurities for a long time. They are very adept at it, and the more they profess to the contrary, the more expert they are. That’s a blunt statement, but it’s true – you can’t bullshit a bullshitter, and I’ve slung more than my share. Excuses are excuses, and if you don’t get off the couch, you’re making excuses. Here’s a list of my own Negative Thoughts before I started:

1. I can’t possibly do the same workout these people are doing – what the hell am I doing here?
2. I’m not going in there because I don’t want everybody else in the gym “staring at the fat guy”
3. If it takes me longer to complete everything we do (from the warmup to the WOD), am I going to be resented by everyone else for holding up the class?
4. Wouldn’t the trainers rather be working with someone fit enough to really get something out of their workout?
5. Wouldn’t a Belgian Waffle with ice cream be GREAT right about now?

The purpose of bringing these things up is not to perpetuate or endorse a pity party. I’ve raised them because it’s vitally important for overweight people to understand without question that perceived barriers are exactly that – perceptions, not reality. You are in charge of whether your next step is forward or backward. It’s a gut check (pun intended) for anyone who wants to pick up CrossFit, but especially for those who are out of shape – the only barrier to your success is your failure to believe you can take even a single step in the right direction.

So back to the training. I continued to work with Aush 1-2 times per week. Each session brought me satisfaction from my accomplishments, and again Aush struck the perfect balance between helping me acknowledge my progress while letting me know that there was always more to do. He had also introduced me to the Paleo diet, and weight was slowly but steadily starting to come off. The bad news was that I knew I needed to be in the gym more to achieve my goals, but I continued to let work and personal life get in the way. By the time I turned 47 in December, I was almost done with my Foundations sessions; I knew that I needed to fully engage; January 3 was my target date.

0600 on Monday, January 3rd marked my second milestone – participating in a regular class for the first time. I had met a couple people in the class while I was going through the Foundations course, so the environment wasn’t totally foreign, but I was still nervous. Lauren (whom I’d also met) was teaching the class, and as we went through warm-up inchworms and crab walks, she worked with me to scale my distances so I kept in tempo with the rest of the class. Negative Thought #3 had been alleviated within 10 minutes – this could work! Lauren also scaled and substituted exercises in the WOD (solving Negative Thought #1) to make it survivable. I left Day 1 exhausted, but satisfied that I could do this.

Over the next couple weeks, I gradually began to feel like less and less of an outsider. Lauren was seemingly a mind reader – giving me encouragement one day, and kicking me in the butt if I wasn’t pushing myself hard enough. By mid-January, my weight was down to 280. More importantly to me, I had started to earn the respect of the other people in the class, and Negative Thought #2 began to dissolve. Lauren, Paul, Lucie, Rob, Kevin, Petra, Greg, Patti, Sabrina, and Rene were noticing that, even though my totals were well behind everyone else’s, I was putting everything I had into the effort, and they would stick around to encourage me through my last reps.

January 20th still sticks out in my mind. We had an AMRAP of Front Squats, Burpee Box Jumps, and Pull-ups. At the end of the workout I collapsed onto the floor, trying to catch my breath and hoping to avoid a meeting with a certain clown. When I came to a minute or so later, I sat up to find that my weights and equipment had been put away for me. It was a small gesture by the others in the class, but one that (to me, anyway) signified my acceptance as part of this group.

I can’t overemphasize the importance of acceptance within the community. My personal belief is that the feeling of isolation is what makes most people overeat, and they seek consolation from something that will never reject them – whether it’s cake, ice cream, or pancakes. Acceptance can be a huge motivator, and the fact that acceptance in Crossfit has to be earned rather than just given is equally important, because it ties in a psychological benefit to working hard, in addition to the physical benefits.

There have been challenges along the way. I’ve dealt with tweaked calves, strained muscles in my rib cage, and some sore knees. But working with trainers to adjust/substitute workout elements and stretching/rolling out muscles go a long way toward making these little hurdles go away, and I’m not willing to risk slipping back into old habits by stopping my workouts.

Since January 3rd, I have continued to show up for the 0600 class every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I’ve lost 52 pounds since starting Crossfit Foundations, including 9” from my waistline. The Dirty Thirty I struggled to finish on January 24th has been superseded by the Filthy Fifty I completed April 1st. I still scale several elements, but that doesn’t matter, because my only competition (at this point) is myself. I also finally realized that Negative Thought #4 was also a fallacy, because I was getting as much out of my training sessions with Lauren, Jason, Mallorie, Ron, and Aush as anyone possibly could, and I feel indebted to each of them. The Crossfit workouts themselves have made me fitter, but the community of Crossfit San Diego has empowered me to change the way I live. I still have 40 or so pounds to go, but now I know I’m going to get there.

Which brings me to Negative Thought #5.. Frankly, the thought of a Belgian Waffle with ice cream really doesn’t sound all that appealing anymore. All those carbs and dairy make me queasy just thinking about it, and I’d probably have to do an extra 200 Burpees to burn them off. I’d rather do them to get closer to that ‘Vette.

FORMS OF IMBALANCE
Structural
Structural imbalances are genetic imbalances we’ve had since birth. These we don’t need to worry about, our bodies have had years of practice to adapt to and compensate for these. If you look at me closely you’ll notice one of my ears sits lower on my head than the other. Some people have one leg longer than the other, etc. BUT! Although we don’t need to pay attention to these specifically unless they are egregious, we CANNOT overlook the fact that our bodies will adapt to whatever “truth” it finds itself in. Meaning as we look at other causes and treatments, keep in mind that your body, if left in a new state long enough, will simply compensate for the new state by pulling even more things out of balance to find a new (yet less optimal) balance. Your body wants to live beyond everything else and it will sacrifice form and/ or function to maintain life.

Antagonist Muscle Strength
Now this is a problem that can come from training. Ever hear of “Quad dominant”. Which is a way of saying your quadriceps are disparately stronger than your hamstrings. This often leads to joint issues in the knee and hip. Then our first form of Muscle Imbalance would be a too strong muscle group antagonized with a too weak muscle groups. e.g. Quads vs Hammies, Chest vs Back, Tri’s vs Bi’s…etc.

Tight/Loose Muscles
The next form of balance problem could be tight or loose muscles. For instance, tight hamstrings are very common, you may naturally have short hamstrings in which case you started at a genetic disadvantage. Or maybe you just don’t stretch or foam roll EVER. Whatever the reason a tight or loose muscle means you are not in balance. In our example tight hamstrings tend to pull the pelvis out of natural alignment. And as we said your body will change other things down the line to adapt to the new state or truth. And like we said in Part I, when balance is out of whack that means injury could be looming.

CAUSES OF IMBALANCE

Okay so now that we see the forms lets briefly look at causes or the No-No’s

NO-NO #1: Bad Posture
I wasn’t going to call anyone out but these two ladies are strong and can handle it. Lauren O (who is expecting!) and Marlene K (who’s baby girl is the CUTEST ever!), anyway these two ladies I have gotten on repeatedly for their anterior rotated shoulders (slouching in layman). I don’t get on them to be mean or critical, but because for shoulder and back health it is IMPERATIVE to have good posture. You can foam roll and stretch and try to balance your muscles all you want, but think about how much time you are in the gym…as opposed to how long you are out of the gym. In essence if you keep bad posture through most of the day AND have to sit a desk you are “training” your body poorly for 12-14 hours/day, do you really think 1 hour of foam rolling and stretching/day is enough to combat that? It doesn’t work! You must (DO IT NOW!) pull your shoulders back and down and sit or stand up straight. As often as you can, don’t be scared to remind people in the gym when you see them sitting or standing to straighten up, it can be fun, but really we are trying to save folks from chronic injury that will derail their development.

NO-NO #2: Lack of Flexibility/Tight Muscles
As we said tight muscles tend to pull the surrounding joints out of position. Tight erector spinae muscles the muscles that run along either side of your spine are a common culprit for putting pressure on vertebrae (not good). Especially in your lumbar spine where there are no ribs to help hold things in place.

NO-NO #3: Loose Muscles/Hyper-flexibility
On the other side of the coin is the loose muscle, this is the muscle that doesn’t fire when needed because it is weak and atrophied and leads of course to abnormal joint movement patterns, which will eventually lead to injury.

NO-NO #4: Bad Programming/Bad Exercise Supplementation
So you want to get 70’s Big…I think that’s fantastic, personally I may be doing that myself in the near future. Here’s the problem. The program is only about the lifting, what is not detailed for you is how to maintain Balance while you are on the program.

Let’s look at programming for upperbody for which the shoulder is the main joint to consider. When it comes to programming for this, most people will think, “Hey, I need to pair vertical pull with vertical push.” (true and a good start), enter pull-ups and dips. Then if they think about it harder they’ll say, “Oooh, and I need to pair horizontal push with horizontal pull,.. PLUS horizontal and vertical should be paired so it makes sense…” (true), enter bench press and ring rows. Then they stop there. WHOOPS! Don’t get me wrong, this is a decent basis at an attempt to balance your program, but there are movement patterns completely missing. Namely internal and external rotation and scapular elevation and depression balance….What is that? EXACTLY, let’s look at a list from Mr. Eric Cressey who is a very well respected Strength and Conditioning coach.

This is very interesting…Look at this list of Humeral interally rotated upperbody exercises err shoulder stuff:
Bench Press, Push Up, Pull Up, Lat Pull down, Dip, DB Front raises, Press, Push Press, Jerk…
Does that list sound like exercises you’ve done at CFSD? Hmmm…

So how about Humeral externally rotated upperbody exercises:

Seated DB Cleans, Cuban Press, Rear Delt fly, Prone trap raise, Prone cobra (held for time)…
Wait, Hunh? Do any of these exercises look like anything you do on a regular basis…Maybe there’s a reason your shoulder has been bugging you?

Let’s dig deeper, how about Scapular Depression vs Scapular Elevation:
Let’s look at Scap Elevation exercises first:

Shrugs, SDHP, Clean, Snatch, Press, Push Press, Jerk
Again looks familiar and we’re right at home here.
How about Scap Depression:
Wall Slides (Gymnasty regulars know these well), Prone trap raises, Behind the neck band pulldowns, straight arm lat pulldowns

Again, not as familiar….

Takeaways from NO-NO #4
Yep, shoulder health is involved, but the shoulder is a dynamic joint, the most dynamic in the body, and as such needs to be treated with care or it WILL be an issue.

NEXT TIME

So, now you see some of the forms and causes of balance issues…But no worries, in part III we’ll wrap it up and nip this stuff in the bud.

Most Crossfitters and fitness enthusiasts are familiar with the 10 General Physical Skills compiled by Jim Cawley of Dynamax and adopted by Crossfit for the early definitions of fitness:

• Cardiovascular Endurance
• Stamina
• Strength
• Flexibility
• Power
• Speed
• Coordination
• Accuracy
• Agility
• Balance

This is a very elegant list that really details the exact ingredients anyone doing Crossfit programming should keep in mind as they program.

Unfortunately, some of the physical skills take a back seat to more glamorous skills.  Balance may just be the most ignored skill of the bunch.   This is exactly why we need to deep dive down into this often overlooked (but possibly most important) physical skill.

When you think of Balance in this list what do you think of?  Standing on one foot with arms out wide with eyes closed?  That’s cute, but that’s the shallow end of the pool in my opinion.  Maybe you think of more functional capabilities, like being able to STICK the landing during burpee broad jumps, or being able to walk 100m on your hands?  These all have their place, and are all definitely related to Balance, but when I hear Balance in relation to fitness, I think of something I believe is far more important:

If Balance is ignored she will start to hint to you quietly to pay attention, if you continue to ignore Balance she will yell at you with seemingly out of nowhere pain and injury.

A body in Balance is one where the muscle groups are working optimally in sync with other muscle groups.  When you think of Balance you should think of your degree of Muscular Imbalance (in addition to how well you stand on one foot).

Muscle Imbalance can come in many forms and Muscle Imbalance can be caused by many things…

So over the next few articles we will discuss how we as Crossfitters combat the various forms and causes of Muscle Imbalance so that we can achieve competency in the tenth general physical skill of Balance.  Keep practicing that handstand, but we aren’t going there with Balance this time.

When your questioned about where you workout at, what do you say to explain CrossFit? Try some of these the next time someone asks.
-I train in a box. It has walls…sometimes. Sometimes we go outside. Sometimes we meet elsewhere. Its not the location I value, its the people.
-I train in an open space, because bars and my training partners fly everywhere. There is not equipment in the way, only my friends near me as we all struggle together, and are rewarded all the same.
-I train in a warehouse with no air conditioning and big garage doors. If you didn’t know where it was, you would never find it. There is no sign outside. The signs of training are all inside, working, or helping one another.
-I train where advertising is sacrilege. I train where I am a walking advertisement.
-I train with people I truly enjoy, and would do anything for, not where I need to put ear phones in to block out all the annoying banter. When we go, we hear yells, trainers instructing, or loud ass music making us go even harder…not elevator bullshit. Real music.
-I train in a place where if I am negative, I will be addressed by at least one person about my stupid ass attitude, and if I am unlucky enough on that day, I may be asked to leave, and come back when Im better, because I am effecting the core by my stupid ass baggage that is meant to be burned at the door.
-I train where if I want to keep my shirt on I can….but there are no rules saying I have to. Where I train if someone disrobes to any level, wears short ass shorts, or is quasi naked after a WOD thats fine…no attention will be paid, because its all about the training, not about meat markets. If you want a pick up joint, look elsewhere.
-I train where Im valued and truly appreciate for showing up and putting forth true, real, demanding effort.

 
-I train where I am judged on my movements and attitude everyday. Not because my friends are assholes, because they truly want to make me better at life, and want success for me not injury. A piss poor performance means someone will care enough to help me make it better, and find out why it happened to begin with.
-I train in a place void of gossip. Rumors are unwelcome at all times and if I was stupid enough to ever spout anything negative, or even just not positive about one of my training partners, or any other training location for that matter, I would be crucified on the spot, by any and all in ear shot. Drama queens are eaten alive where I train.
-I train where everyone applauds when I do well, and I applaud for them.
-I train where justification is lucifer, and honesty is gospel. For if I lie, I only fail myself.

 
-I train where I am confronted everyday by food Nazis who wont allow me to eat shit and call it gold. Where I train we call bad, bad, quality, quality and everything in between sub-par. Where I train life happens, the difference is, here I have to confront my downfalls and improve not hide them away for tomorrow.
-I train to be better at life. The unknown and unknowable. To one day be able to help someone less fortunate than I. To be able to be moving on my own when I’m old and gray, not being moved.
-I train because I want the mirror to be an outward reflection of how I feel inside, which is pretty damn good, and I want it to stay that way.
-I train because laziness sickens me, and preventable disease is exactly that…preventable through effort, not medication.
-I train to be different than those before me. To go out swinging, not resting. To live valiantly, not cowardly.
-I train where the floor could double as a pool at times because people actually work hard. I don’t care, that’s how it should be.
-I train with football players, grandmas, kids, housewives, doctors.
 -I train with people of every walk of life, and if I cared about status…someone would make me leave.
-I train where education daily is paramount, and if I’m not a constant student, I will fail quickly.
-I train where we are all equal, because we truly are. The only thing that separates people is the attitude to believe this is true or not. The ones who believe they are better than others, are so much better….they aren’t allowed to train with me.
-I train with people that make my day better.
-I train in a place where I want to be, not a place I feel I have to be.
-I train under expectations. Expectations to be better than yesterday.

 
-I train in a community dedicated to the whole. The success of the many. this is the reason we all change and progress so fast. Where I train its not about “I”….its about “us”
I train….what the hell do you.

Overtraining?

Last time we talked about what a log can do for you in helping better program your warm-ups and working sets for strength based WODs.

Today let’s talk about how a log can help you with a slightly controversial subject.  Namely OVERTRAINING.

Overtraining is a bad word in some fitness camps.  Some folks don’t believe in it at all, some do, some say you can’t be overtrained just under-recovered.  No matter what your stance, the fact remains there are times where you are in the gym performing a WOD and you SHOULD NOT be.  Whether you want to call that state overtraining or under-recovery doesn’t matter very much.  Our bodies get stronger while we rest, period.  So what are the telling signs of “overtraining” and how can a log help us find it.

Let’s define what we mean first:

Overtraining is when your body isn’t allowed to fully regenerate during rest periods in between training sessions.  If the trend of never allowing your body to recuperate continues for an undetermined and highly individualized period of time, you will eventually plateau and can even lose fitness.  Let’s get one thing in the open, working out can be addicting.  There I said it, and if you are one of those 2 or 3 WOD a day folks (Mike C.) this may be a healthy thing to acknowledge : )  So when you are addicted to something and have no way of seeing the little consequences of that addiction, it isn’t until you hit “rock-bottom” that you get the wake up call.  For Crossfitters we give many names to “rock-bottom”, typically something like “shoulder impingement” or “nagging lower back pain”, or really terrible names like, “herniated disc” or “rhabdo in my arms”…etc.  The problem with these rock bottoms is that they don’t necessarily have to come from overtraining, sometimes it’s poor programming, or bad technique, or silly challenges, etc.  So we need to see the signs of overtraining so that something preventable doesn’t cause us to hit a rock-bottom.

Signs of Overtraining:

Coach Glassman (CF founder) has stated that overtraining can be determined from “retro-grade performance”.  Meaning if Fran took you 4:57 to complete and now it takes you 5:45, all else being equal, you are over-trained.

Keeping a log will help you determine this quickly so you can back off and prevent frustrations, set-backs, and even injury (rock-bottom).  Without a log you are relegated to how “sore” you feel.  Feeling sore is a very weak correlate to determine if you are overtrained.  I know at least personally that I have set many PR’s when I walked into the gym feeling “sore”.

Other signs that can ALSO be logged are emotional state.  How did you feel when you walked in the gym…this is touchy feely and not many people will have the discipline to log this, but you can simply assign a letter grade to your attitude (maybe attitude is a better word than emotion for some of us).  What you would log is, how you were feeling mentally about and during the WOD:  Are you highly anticipating today’s WOD and feeling great?  Maybe that’s an “A”.  Or, do you want to kill Lauren for even looking at you at 0545 in the morning!  Maybe that’s a C- (it’s only a C- because she has that effect on most people, now if it was Aush, that would be an F).  The key here is to track it over a few days, if you have a solid week of C- to F ratings, maybe it’s time to take a few days off, before Lauren has to beat you down!  The great thing about tracking how you feel is that it is typically the first sign of overtraining… SO taking a few days off after hitting three straight days of a “C-“ rating should allow you time to recuperate BEFORE you hit retrograde performance.

Hope that helps with your log keeping, Sal put a great comment in the comment section from Part I, keep your log at the gym or transfer it to an online resource, I keep mine on the message boards at www.crossfit.com.  There are many ways to do it, just DO IT…next up we’ll discuss how loggin can actually help you with Goal Setting.