By: Marcos Hernandez

The concept of training versus exercising is an important one to grasp, and you’ve been exposed to it in one form or another if you’ve come to CFSS for any length of time.

There’s an important distinction between 1) going for the leaderboard, technique be damned, and 2) winning the workout because that’s just how fast you are.

Take rowing for example. On any given day, it’s possible to crank the flywheel up to a high number, row with terrible, inefficient technique, and get ten calories. Does this strategy get you sweaty and tired? Yes. And you might be able to repeat the effort, provided it’s short enough.

But, if you focus on your technique and movement quality, and are able to generate the power that results in you going fast, well… that’s a whole different story. If we increase the distance/time/calories rowed, you’ll be able to handle it. Getting back onto the rower already tired? Not a problem. Going from the rower to another task, guess what? Still good too. Why? Because you focused first on how you move and allowed the speed to come secondary.

Another example that comes to mind is the Dumbbell Snatch. Sure, a lot of you could muscle snatch it during a WOD…. but are you getting better? Will your technique allow you to get more weight overhead in the future, or translate well when you’re in a more fatigued state? 

(This doesn’t have to be a rhetorical question, go ahead and say “no” to your screen.)

In order to do CrossFit for a long time, and keep getting better, you might have to ignore the leaderboard for a bit. Take the time to focus on being smooth, efficient, and let the speed come. Sure, there are times to double down on your effort and just get the work done. However, one thing we know for certain is this: making the tough grind the bulk of your training is a surefire way to spin your wheels and get nowhere in terms of achieving your goals. Don’t confuse tired and sweaty with fitter and stronger, or short term intensity with long term improvement!  

Marcos doing some “active recovery” at Sugarloaf Mountain

By: Marcos Hernandez

We get this question all the time. From clients, prospects, friends, and family. 

Sometimes it's the athletes who are already coming in three times a week and, before they take the plunge and go unlimited, are wondering what they can do on their “off days”.

Other times it’s the athletes who’s schedule doesn't allow them to get to the gym as often as they’d like but they want to stay active when they aren’t here.

The short answer: move!

CrossFit is designed for high intensity workouts - think lifting heavy, breathing hard, and pushing your limits. However, it’s not necessarily the ideal method for lower intensity training.

Truth be told, if you came in for class and we were to have you do low intensity movements and WODs with lots of foam rolling and mobility sprinkled in, you probably wouldn't be happy. It’s not sexy, not glamorous, but it is necessary for recovery and longevity.

Moving can be a number of things. Hiking, biking, yoga, gardening… if you have to help a friend move that definitely counts!

For me, moving means trail running with nasal breathing. Nasal breathing is a great way to put a limit on your pace and make sure the activity stays low intensity. You can work on nasal breathing while biking, jogging, paddle boarding, or really anything you do to move (not recommended: swimming). Check out this article written by our friends over at Cohen Health and Performance about nasal breathing.

Josh enjoys throwing on a ruck (weighted backpack) and taking the dog for a hike, another great option to get in some lower intensity work. Even walking is a great off-day form of exercise, a way to get the blood pumping without putting too much stress on the joints. Don’t underestimate the benefits of a long, leisurely walk in the woods for active recovery, improved cardio, stress reduction, and more (weighted pack optional!).  

That's the real name of the game here: what can you do to reasonably increase your heart rate, without getting too spun up, so that you feel rejuvenated afterwards and ready to hit it hard next time around? Finding an appropriate balance between tough and easy workouts is like chasing a moving target, and hopefully these tips will help you feel and perform consistently better. 

by: Marcos Hernandez

Newsflash: pain is a normal phenomenon and sometimes injuries happen. As an active human you might think you experience these sensations more than most, but just talk to any sedentary person and they’ll tell you they have their fair share of aches and pains too. 

The reality is that most of the small tweaks our clients deal with happen outside the gym. People feel great, are full of energy, and want to be active when they aren’t working out. So they play recreational sports, hike, bike, or spend the weekend doing yard work. In short, their “rest” days aren’t exactly restful. 

Then they wind up with some tweak or injury and stop coming to CrossFit.

Let me tell you now: Pain or Injury doesn’t have to mean you miss training.

In fact, it can be a chance to focus on a weakness. Often times it comes down to focusing on what you CAN do, not what you can’t do, an important mindset shift that will help you stay fit and active over the long term.

If you are injured don’t assume you have to stay out of the gym. Remember, the program we have written on the board is simply a template that can be modified as needed. As coaches we have the freedom and responsibility to keep you showing up, moving, and getting better. We pride ourselves on being able to come up with responsible training programs, which take injury considerations into account. 

However, we can’t do this if you stop attending! Chances are, you’re not spending your time away from the gym doing hours of PT & corrective exercises, or training your weaknesses. 

If your knee/foot is messed up, we’re hitting upper body.

If your shoulder is on the mend, guess who’s doing all the squats?

Plus, continuing to show up, exercising, and seeing your friends in class is good for your mental health. It won’t be so hard to get back to the gym post-injury if you’ve been here the whole time.

With literally countless movement & equipment options, there is always something we can do to help you get better. Even if it’s just focusing on mobility/body mechanics or a simple circuit of biking and rehab exercises, the skills you learn while injured will have a slingshot effect on your training progress. Say goodbye to plateaus and hello to PRs!

By: Marcos Hernandez

A well performed overhead squat is easy to spot, even to the untrained eye. Both coaches and athletes can spot the markers of quality: bar over the base of the neck, locked elbows, upright torso, hips finishing below the knees, and control exhibited throughout the movement. It’s even easier to spot when someone is having trouble with the overhead squat: torso bent over, shoulders at weird angles, questionable elbow lockout, hips far behind their feet, and general instability and/or tightness throughout.

Funny thing is, if one thing is wrong in the system it can throw off the entire movement.

There are four main areas that need to be good enough in order to overhead squat well. If you find yourself having trouble with overhead squats, check this list and make sure you’ve addressed all the things which could go wrong. If you think you have and still have trouble, talk to a coach and they’ll fill you in on what you missed.

Lets start from the inside out.

1.    The Shoulders. Assuming you can lock your elbows, the easiest way to find the correct shoulder position is to set up with the pits of your elbows facing up. Try it out with PVC by pressing overhead from a behind the neck position while keeping your abs engaged. If this position is difficult to achieve without lifting your ribs or extending your lower back then we have some work to do! 

a.    The Quick Fix: Hit PVC passthroughs, slowly and with a progressively narrower grip, while keeping your abs engaged (think crunch). Over time, you’ll gain the necessary control in your shoulders

2.    The Hips. Once we’ve secured the bar overhead, we need to get down with it. The best way to think about the proper hip position is to keep your hips beneath your shoulders all the way down. This will keep your torso upright. There might be a point when you need to “sit back” a bit more than how you set up but as long as you are working to stay upright you won’t get out of position. 

a.    The Quick Fix: Warm up the squat pattern by holding a light weight (10-25lb plate) straight ahead of you and squat while keeping your hips directly beneath you. As you get used to the position, bring the plate closer and closer to your body until it’s held against your chest.

Now, there are two things at the ends of your body which could impact your ability to overhead squat. Both the ankles and wrists need to be able move through a full range of motion, any limitations will cause pain and/or cause a compensation in the shoulder or hip.

1.    Wrists. Is the push up plank position alright? Are you able to put your knees down, shift your weight forward, and rock back and forth pain free? These should be warm up moves and shouldn’t cause any pain.

a.    The Quick Fix: Forward and Reverse Baby Crawls. Focus on pushing the ground away and this will strengthen the shoulders and wrist at the same time

2.    Ankles. From a lunge stance, can you drive your front knee forward over the toes without lifting your heel off the floor? 

a.    The Quick Fix: Practice! Stand close to a wall and drive your knees forward to try and touch the wall. Start with your toes touching the wall and work your way out.

If you can get your shoulders and hips in the correct position, and you have good enough ankle/wrist mobility, it’s a coordination issue. It’s one thing to hit the correct positions without moving but a whole other can of worms when things start moving. Tempo work, namely taking your time on the way down, will be your best friend. Soon, the move won’t feel so foreign and you’ll be able to throw more and more weight on as you challenge your ability to maintain movement quality as the load increases.

By: Marcos Hernandez

Here at CrossFit, we pick things up and put things down. You and your coaches have worked together to make sure you are performing the lifts with proper technique so you can move safely and efficiently. There’s a lot to think about: when to take a breath, where to set your feet, how to organize your body… Plus, to further complicate things, if you ask two different coaches what you could do to make your lifts better, odds are you will receive an answer phrased two different ways.

There’s one thing I’d like you to actively focus on the next time you lift, and it won’t interfere with anything you already do. In fact, you can add this is on any movement and see immediate, positive results.

Speed. Movement speed. To be clear, this isn’t about more reps in less time. It’s about more speed on each individual rep.

CrossFit workouts are known for pushing the limits of athletes muscular endurance. There’s already a lot of time under tension that accumulates over the course of a workout, so why add more by lifting the weight slowly? Focus on controlling the implement you are lifting during the lowering phase until it's time to change directions, then add in speed and force to finish the movement. Here are a few practical examples: 

On squats, control your descent (gravity doesn't need your help!) then, once you hit depth, stand up as fast as you can. 

On push ups, maintain control on the way down, with your eyes facing the wall ahead of you, then punch the floor with both hands. Once you’ve hit depth all you have to do is get to lockout.

On deadlifts, focus on continual acceleration when pulling the bar, particularly when the weight passes the knee. Take your time on the way back down, focusing on keeping your trunk tight and the bar as close as possible to your legs. 

Wall Balls. There’s no requirement for you to drop into the bottom of your squat the absolute second you catch the medicine ball. Hell, some people descend before it’s even been caught! So, in order to be “faster” at wall balls, and I mean faster in the per rep sense, control your descent and explode from the bottom of your squat. When you catch the medicine ball make sure you are under control before you initiate another smooth descent.

If you go too fast on any of these movements you run the risk of losing your position on the way down. Then, you have no stable foundation where you can push off from! Without a good foundation, it’s damn near impossible to move fast or lift heavy. 

This is where the title of this comes in: lift it like you mean it. Stand up like you mean it. Lock out like you mean it, pull it like you mean it, and throw like you mean it. So we’re clear, we “mean” fast and aggressive!

By: Marcos Hernandez

There’s very few things as useful to athletics and exercise as a strong, stable core. It’s the base which allows for stabilization and transmission of force during lifts, proper breathing mechanics, and a healthy spine.
 
From the CrossFit Foundations manual written by Greg Glassman: 

“At CrossFit we endeavor to develop our athletes from the inside out, from core to extremity, which is by the way how good functional movements recruit muscle, from the core to the extremities.”

Not every exercise can or should be trained daily, but the core is one area that responds well to frequent training. In my experience, it’s best to do a little each day instead of treating the core like a major muscle group and hitting it hard once or twice a week. I’ve done everything from high-rep sit ups to all kinds of twists and turns but lately I’ve been lucky because my gymnastics program includes daily core work as a point of emphasis.
 
However, daily core work doesn’t simply mean grabbing an ab-wheel and doing rollouts until you “feel the burn”. You don’t need overly complicated or advanced core exercises, like the ab wheel rollout, in order to develop better core strength and stability. When you attempt movements you aren’t ready for and perform incorrectly, you’ll probably just end up with a sore back instead of stronger abs. With that in mind, here’s three combinations of core moves you can do multiple times per week. All combinations are three quick sets and I suggest 3 days per week as a starting point. Perform one of the following pairings per workout (before or after class), and rotate pairings each time you train.
 
1. Hollow Hold x5-10 slow exhales + Superman Hold x:15
2. Dead Bug x10 + Bird Dog x10
3. Hanging Knee Raise x5 (hold final rep for time) + Plank (from elbows or hands) x5-10 slow exhales
 
The hollow hold is the easiest to perform incorrectly, so follow the link for some tips on progressions and scaling options to meet you where you’re at with this movement. Give these core combos a try for the next few weeks and see how you feel. Even the awareness you gain from consistent core work will help keep you better organized and braced during heavy lifts. Don’t be surprised to see a PR in the future as well!