Tuesday 10.11.11

Overhead squat-age

We've been working on a lot of power and Olympic lifts, either during our WODs or as a skill leading up to our WODs. These lifts are are a great way to enhance speed, strength, power, flexibility, and durability. Who here doesn't want to be stronger, faster, and more durable??

With the clean and the snatch, there is A LOT going on at once (starting stance, unfolding of the hips and knees, bar path, bar speed, shrugging, arms, and ending position - just to name a few - WHOA!). For anyone looking to improve their technique, feel less awkward, and increase the load, try to think of the one or two mental cues that gets the rest of your lift in line. For the clean, it might be thinking of straightening those hips all the way, then swinging the elbows around quickly. Distilling the many steps of a lift down into simpler cues can have the effect of moving you completely through all of the steps of the lift because your mind isn't overthinking the movement. There are a lot of helpful tips on different cues for the clean and the snatch here.

Virtuosity is not instantaneous. It takes practice. Don't be afraid of getting out that broomstick, watching some YouTube videos on lifts that trouble you, and practicing when you're not here for a WOD. Just because you're not at the gym doesn't mean you can't be CrossFitting.

Tuesday's WOD is 21 minutes of practicing mental fortitude. We believe CrossFit not only strengthens muscles, but works that gray gelatinous mass floating around in your skull. Find your mantra and chip your way through.

WOD

"Black Jack Breakdown"

1 Minute burpees

2 minutes pull-ups

3 minutes thrusters

4 minutes farmer's carry

5 minutes 10 push-ups and 10 sit-ups

6 minutes of rowing (for calories)

There is NO rest between exercises. Keep track of total number of reps and calories.

Your moment of zen.