21-15-9

Overhead Squat (95#/65#)

Pull Ups

Post time to comments.

Coaching Tips: Scale load and movement to match your current fitness level. Stay active in the shoulders for the overhead squat and feel yourself pressing the bar up throughout the squat. Keep yourself connected to the load and the squat portion will feel more manageable. This workout should be close to your "Fran" time. Short and sweet.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Run That 400m

by Jon Brininger

Have you ever wondered why Crossfit gyms do not have
mirrors?  Seeing yourself move
properly is not what coaches want in an athlete.  Coaches want their athletes to be able to FEEL the proper
way of moving.  This is a profound
difference.  You want to be able to
perform functional movements anywhere you need to, not just in a gym with
mirrors.

Crossfit is all about functional movement done at high
intensity.  Everyone in the
Crossfit community has been taught this.   In order to perform these functional movements at high
intensity, first we must practice how to perform these movements properly in
order to avoid injury, as well as improve our times in WODs and become more fit.  How many people have you seen come into
the gym and perform their first squat perfectly?  How about overhead squats? The pull-up? How about a
muscle-up?  These are very complex
movements that require large muscle recruitment patterns and are not learned in
one session, week, or in some cases months or years.  Many of the typical Crossfit movements take a LONG time to gain
that neurological “muscle memory” to execute properly and even once learned
still require constant coaching in order to avoid improper movement, injury, or
lost time in a workout. There is one movement in the grand scheme of Crossfit
that has been neglected, however:  Running.


Rarely, if ever, has running been considered a skill.
I recently had the opportunity to attend the Running and
Endurance certification taught by Brian Mackenzie up in Newport Beach.  This was an eye-opening experience to
say the least.  Never before have I
given a second thought to how I ran. 
I used to think running sucked (I still don’t really enjoy it), but was the
only thing that came “natural” to everyone in Crossfit.  You were either good at running, or bad
at running, but you could still run. 
But even “fast” runners are still usually poor runners.

From a technique perspective, most people are terrible runners.  Thanks to modern running shoes with
giant cushy soles touting incredible shock absorption and multi-million dollar
marketing campaigns, we’ve become a group of heel-striking runners that waste
energy and
slow ourselves with every stride we take.  Mackenzie and company teach a method
known as POSE running.  In short, this
method boasts a 50% reduction in impact to joints over traditional heel-strike
running and is scientifically proven to be the most efficient way to run.  That is huge! Crossfit is all about
measurable, repeatable results and efficient functional movement that will
build a stronger individual that is less prone to injury.  Most people at the certification also
improved their running efficiency by ~40-70%(measured on a high-speed camera
with calculations to provide these results).  Can you imagine if you were to become 40-70% more efficient
at your squat? Or pull-up? This was all achieved by teaching running as a
SKILL.  Brian says “If you don’t
have the skill, you will not have the power and speed.”  This is exactly the same methodology we
learn about all other functional movement.  So let’s get
into some basic technique.

Think of running as a controlled fall.  The body must remain rigid and the lean
occurs at the ankles.  The feet and
legs do not reach forward and the back leg does not extend.  Think of it like this: if you’re
standing upright pull your foot directly off of the ground with your hamstring
and hip-flexor equally.  At the
certification they used the cue “pull” for this action.  It is not a butt-kick where one uses
all hamstring.  It is not a pull
with the hip-flexor entirely where the knee rises up and outward (this is
generally how most people stride). 
It is a uniform upward motion of the foot along the midline of the
body.  Now, as you lean at your
ankles (like you’re falling forward, not at your waist!) perform this foot pull
in succession.  Arms are kept at 90
degrees or even greater bend – this provides less force on your shoulders as
you run as longer arms would create more force as a moment arm (physics).  The core is kept tight and facing
forward, your body should not sway side to side.  Your gaze is focused about 25 feet in front of you as to
keep a neutral spinal.  If done
properly the head and body will not bob up and down (much).   Feet are kept relaxed and are not
dorsi-flexed (toes pulled toward the shin) and strike the ground on the ball of
the foot.  As you land on the ball
of the foot, the heel just slightly approaches and taps the ground, and is quickly brought up.  You do not want to stride only on the
ball of the foot because this will produce too much strain on the calf and
Achilles tendon, but you don’t want to put your weight into your heels.  Think of your backsquat – as you are
coming down you are immediately thinking of coming back up before you are at
the bottom.  If you pause at the
bottom with a heavy load, you are sunk. 
Think about immediately coming off of the ground once your foot
lands. 


Now that the technique has been explained in an incredibly
short blog article, it is your turn to do some research.  There are many videos to watch on the
Crossfit Endurance website, as well as the Crossfit Journal.  This is something that needs to be
practiced and coached.  You
probably suck at running. I suck at running.  You need to work on the SKILL of running.  Do not kid yourself into thinking that
you can work on every other lift and essential movement that’s taught and that
running is something that doesn’t need polishing.  Think of how much faster your Helen time can be if you can
perform all of the kettlebell swings and pull-ups straight – what’s left?  The run.  There’s three 400meter runs! If you’re experiencing knee
pain, ankle pain, plantar fasciitis, shin splints, hip pain, you need to be thinking
about this stuff.  And remember,
just like your overhead squat, this is a progression not an event.  Change of technique takes LOTS of time.  If you have any questions feel free to
ask me and if I do not know the answer I will ask a coach who will.  Teachers are always learning and
coaches need coaches.

Running as a SKILL video.
(be advised, some foul language in this).

Running video
analysis.
A great analogy for the POSE technique is discussed in this
video.


A great analysis of poor running technique, then a skill
drill, and then a correction video.

Coach Glassman discussing Technique. Video
1, Video
2 (if you have not seen these, PLEASE WATCH! This is the BASIS FOR
CROSSFIT!!!!)

Filthy Fifty sure was fun!  So many PR's were set, nice job everyone.