Scaling Shouldn't Be Stupid, Part 2

As said in my last installment, the views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author. They may or may not reflect the same ideals espoused by other trainers or coaches you have worked with. This is totally fine, but they might suck, so take that into consideration as well.

I'm going to be honest: I don't like high-rep box jumps. I'm sorry. I just am not a fan. I think if risk vs. reward comes into play, the former far outweighs the latter. Now, this isn't to say that box jumps have no place whatsoever in a fitness program, but it all depends on context and appropriate application. The unfortunate truth is that box jumps will always be a utilized aspect of CrossFit's conditioning movements, so the best I can do is try to convey why I don't like them and how you can best avoid injury when doing them.

I know what you're thinking: what risk is there when it comes to jumping on a box a bunch of times? I'm kidding, of course, because if you're actually thinking that, then you're stupid. The obvious answer is combining the fatigue from other movements with the accuracy and coordination box jumps require. Which is why we often see things like this sprinkled across the blogs of many a CrossFit gym...


While many people wear these injuries as badges of honor, they're completely unnecessary and avoidable with a little common sense. Now, the smashed up shin is the more common and known box jump related injury. The one many overlook or maybe choose to ignore is the dreaded and far-too-frequent Achilles rupture. These are occurring more and more and they take months to fully recover from. Performing high-rep box jumps, particularly under the stress of fatigue, is the culprit.

The potential for a ruptured Achilles lies in the execution of the box jump. In the pursuit of speed, people do this. It looks harmless enough, but the shock absorption of the landing to immedate switch to concentric contraction puts an enormous amount of strain on the Achilles. Remember Workout 2 from the 2011 CrossFit Open? Sure, you do.

Unfortunately, this kind of injury is far too familiar to me because it happened to one of my clients. This is Eric and he is fabulous:


During a workout I designed, Eric ruptured his Achilles tendon. Luckily, since he's a baller, it didn't completely derail his training. He spent a lot of time doing handstand work, Airdyne intervals, and a ton of single-leg training. Nevertheless, it took him roughly a year until he was back to top form. His words: "After surgery I had two weeks of not being able to put my foot on the ground. From there I was in a walking boot for six weeks. Physical therapy started soon after. I went twice a week for four months. So six months after the actual surgery, I was done with therapy but I was probably at 65/70% in terms of what I could do physically since I had to rebuild my calf. It was probably a full year before I felt comfortable enough to add some serious weight to squats, but even now if I do 'Annie' my right calf takes much longer to recover." The moral of the story is that the recovery process is a long and arduous one.

If you find yourself facing a workout with high-rep box jumps, it's incredibly simple to avoid injury, be it torn up shins or ruptured tendons. These scaling options are especially important for beginners, mainly women. Why? Because a lot of women have a mental block about jumping on a box. It's very common and I get it. Here are some potential options:

1) Step-ups

2) Less height

3) Less reps

4) Step down

Number 4 is particularly important for the more seasoned CrossFitters as well. This relates back to my previous post about control. Stop focusing so goddamn much on how FAST you do a workout. How much time will you really lose stepping down rather than jumping? Twenty seconds total? I'd rather give up twenty seconds now instead of seven months for an Achilles rupture. Use your brain.

In the long run, box jumps are better used for explosive max effort training. Joe DeFranco uses them for power development for his higher level athletes:

As I stated, unfortunately box jumps are a part of CrossFit and here to stay. So if you have a workout with a lot of reps, please approach them responsibly and try to control your ascent and descent to avoid unnecessary injury.

Cancellation List!

In lieu of my popularity, or rather, the popularity of my Saturday Olympic weightlifting class, I have decided to institute an official cancellation list. Oftentimes, people pre-register for my class months in advance (likely because of my handsomeness) and understandably, things come up and people have to cancel. It happens and I don't fault anyone for it, provided they contact me beforehand rather than pulling a no-show, which would be fucking rude.

So, when you look to the right of this page and see a full class, you have the option to email me to be put on the cancellation list for that particular class. If a spot opens up, you will be emailed to see if you're available to attend. If you cannot, I will simply move onto the next person on the list.

Like normal Oly class registration, the same rules still apply:

1) First come, first served basis.

2) Don't email me asking to be put on every single cancellation list. It'd be unfair to other potential participants and I probably don't want to see you on consecutive Saturdays anyways.

3) Reserve spots via email only. DO NOT SIGN UP THROUGH MINDBODY. We may eventually switch registration to MindBody, but as of right now, I don't trust it enough. Plus, I have a lot of travel coming up and this current system allows me to set the dates in advance on my own terms.

If you've never attended my Oly class and are wondering if it's for you, just ask this guy -- he's my prized student! Other than that, we have this...

Control, Pt. 1

Let me start with something simple: Slow the fuck down. Bear with me, I have a point here. Look, nothing and no one is perfect. There are problems with CrossFit and even more with people. Sometimes both CrossFit and the people doing it focus too much on the wrong things.

As everyone already knows, a big aspect of CrossFit is finishing a workout quickly, getting as many rounds as possible, and so on. Over the years this has been responsible for both the exponential growth and constant criticisms of CrossFit. Unfortunately, I find that one of the most important aspects of exercise/fitness/life in general gets lost in the shuffle: movement quality.

This obsession with speed and finishing your workout as fast as humanly possible leads to a plethora of horseshit: poor form, bad technique, shortened range-of-motion, and an increased risk of potential injury. The simple truth is that speed is nothing without control. If you're moving so fast that your form goes right to shit, slow the fuck down.

This is why many Balance coaches will force you to decrease the weight during your workouts. Even if it feels too light, it's better to reinforce solid mechanics and technique than to let you run the risk of hurting yourself. It's better your movements be fluid and smooth than to look like some asshole flailing about. How fast you finish the workout should ALWAYS be secondary to how well you perform each individual movement.

Listen to this man; he's smarter than all of us...



Bottom Line:
QUALITY OF MOVEMENT IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN JUST MOVING FAST.

Chalk Talk

You don't have to tell me - I already know that's the best blog post title ever. Seriously though, we need to have a discussion about chalk, it's usage, and more importantly, it's absurd misuse I see on a daily basis.

At CrossFit Balance, there are two kinds of chalk available. First is the kind that helps improve grip by absorbing the moisture in one's hands. This is the chalk used by powerlifters, weightlifters, gymnasts, and rock climbers. It's made from magnesium carbonate.


The second type of chalk is what we use to write on the floor to record our weights, rounds, times, whatever. This is standard sidewalk chalk used by children and adults who still play hop-scotch. It's made from the ground-up, powdered remains of Barney.

This is why it's called sidewalk chalk.

Let's start with standard gym chalk. This stuff is excellent, especially in the midst of DC's sweltering humidity. Excessive sweating can really inhibit one's grip on a bar, kettlebell, or pull-up bar. Gym chalk is incredibly help, but far too often, I see it used inappropriately. For instance...

1) Gym chalk should never be used to write on the floor or wall. Why? Because it causes a big goddamn mess. This is why we have sidewalk chalk at your disposal. If there's no sidewalk chalk available, write in your notebooks. If you don't have your notebook, promptly kick yourself in the face.

2) Stop over-chalking. Before metcons, I see a lot of people chalk their hands beforehand (ha! get it?). Then they chalk up roughly 37 more times during the workout. You don't need that much. As much as you think you do, you don't. In a 5-12 minute workout, you don't need to apply chalk to your hands more than twice - maybe three times if it's long and you sweat like Dan Samarov. Really, you're just using it as an excuse to rest when you should be doing the damn workout. Which brings me to my next point...

3) Gym chalk should NEVER be removed from its designated bucket. For some reason, people think they need it right next to them during their workout. Guess what? You don't. When a gymnast or weightlifter chalks up, they don't bring the block with them to the apparatus or platform. And no offense, but what they do is far more impressive. Besides, those extra five to ten steps you'll take to walk to the bucket will not RUIN your workout. When chalk is taken out of the bucket, it breaks or gets stepped on or left out and causes a really shitty mess.

Un-fucking-accetable.

As far as sidewalk chalk goes, it's generally used in our gym to keep track of rounds or reps during a hard workout. For the most part, it's not necessary to have, but it's generously provided to you for ease. Nevertheless, everyone ruins everything...

1) Do not use sidewalk chalk to help your grip. It doesn't work. It's made of calcium sulfate. And no one wants a gym full of neon barbells.

2) Unless you're actually talented, do not use sidewalk chalk to draw dragons, unicorns, and bullshit on the floor. If you're unsure if you're talented or not, just ask me. FYI: I'm going to say you're not.

3) When your workout is over, PUT SIDEWALK CHALK AWAY. Every day it's left sprinkled about the gym as though Oompa-Loompas are shitting all over the place. Like gym chalk, this also breaks, gets stepped on, and causes a mess. I'm not asking you to mop the floor afterwards; just put the chalk back in a bucket or on the window sill or anywhere that isn't a box or the floor.

I apologize if my tone here is one of frustration, but this shit is frustrating. In the end, this is really simple stuff. Stop over-chalking and using it as an excuse to rest. Keep gym chalk in the bucket at all times and put sidewalk chalk away when you're done with it. In the end, you're all adults. I know you're often disoriented and tired after your workouts; regardless, be respectful and clean up after yourselves.

Becoming Bulletproof

I got an email the other day from my friend and fellow trainer, Mike McNiff, asking if I'd be be kind enough to write a review of his new book, Becoming Bulletproof. The email went something like this...

"Hey Quint, even though I learned everything I know from you and you're way better looking than me, would you please write a review of my book? I promise to never squat more than you again."

While I appreciate the gesture, Mike, I actually already planned on writing this review. Squat away, my friend! So let's get down to business and talk about Becoming Bulletproof...


Now, despite the title, which McNiff obviously plagiarized directly from this blog, the book is legit. And at only $8 you get more than your money's worth. It is chock full of useful information ranging from warm-up protocols, workout tips/suggestions, and just generally great all-around advice. It is clear through reading it that Mike and his co-author Tim Anderson put a lot of time, energy and thought into it.

Becoming Bulletproof delves into orders of thinking that I had actually not considered regarding the evolution of human movement, from how we develop as babies and how our bodies learn and adapt. As I've mentioned in earlier posts, we've actually devolved thanks to incessant sitting. Nowadays, the world is rampant with terrible postures and movement dysfunctions, which limits one's potential and eventually results in injury. Mike and Tim have developed steps to "reset" one's body to move and perform the way it should. And what's more is that it's easy to read, even easier to understand, and it works. Want proof?

One need look no further than McNiff himself to see that he knows what he's talking about. Just over six months ago, Mike blew out both of his knees in a back squat accident. It was a catastrofuck. Now, after the doctors told him he'd never walk properly again and that his lifting would be minimal at best, he's squatting in the mid-200's and rapidly working his way back to over 400lbs. By utilizing his own philosophies, he's literally rebuilding himself. Although, I will say he was pretty useless when I needed help moving into my new place last month.

And this is just my opinion, which might not hold a lot of weight to some. But when top-level coaches and strength gurus like Dan John, John Brookfield, and Gray Cook are endorsing your product, you know you have something special. It's cheap, informative, and most importantly, effective. So go buy the damn thing!

BECOMING BULLETPROOF

Revisioned Olympic Weightlifting Class

Exciting news, folks! Yes, exciting enough to warrant an exclamation point, as stupid as they are. After discussing some things with the higher-ups at Balance, my Saturday Olympic weightlifting class is now FREE to all CrossFit Balance members. Prior to this, it cost $25 per attendee regardless of membership type. Considering the cost of a CrossFit membership (at any gym), it's only logical that programs like this be made available to the client free of any additional cost.

Despite this fine news, there is a catch: the class will be strictly limited to 4 students. Due to the complexity of the lifts and the variannce of skill levels among attendees, the smaller class size will prove more beneficial to the client and much more manageable for me. In order to secure your spot in the class, you must pre-register by emailing me here: qniversal(at)gmail(dot)com. Attendees are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. In other words, the first four people I get emails from will be the final four in the class.

Please note: If you email me, reserve a spot, then pull a no-show and effectively screw someone else out of a potential spot, you may get dicked over next time you try reserving a spot. In short, don't be an inconsiderate douche, if you can avoid it.

The Basics
What: Olympic lifting class - were you not paying attention?
Where: Balance Gym - Thomas Circle, 1111 14th Street NW, Washington DC
When: Every Saturday from 4:30PM-6:00PM
Why: Because you're probably not very good at O-lifting

You say, "Credentials?" and I say, "Booyah!"

The Shelf

Today I'd like to talk some more about bar positioning on the shoulders in relation to a few barbell movements. I've discussed improving the rack position for the front squat already here, but today I'd like to focus more on upper body exercises like push presses and jerks. Why? Because you're doing them wrong.

Broad, scathing generalization aside, I see a lot of people selling themselves short on push presses and jerks because they're not properly utilizing what I like to call "the shelf." The shelf is comprised of the deltoids and upper pectorals - and yes, unfortunately at times, your clavicle as well. This is where the bar should sit until the very last moment in which the bar separates from the body as a result of the lower body's upward force.

Hossein Rezazadeh had a substantial shelf

The position itself requires a degree of flexibility and, obviously, more musculature will give the bar a bigger shelf to rest on. I always recommend that one's forearms be in a vertical position for the shoulder press with the elbows pointing to the floor, just slightly in front of the bar at the start. This ensures a more vertical drive up on the bar. I encourage this for push presses and jerks as well, but in most cases people don't have the requisite flexibility to maintain vertical elbows while resting the bar on the shoulders.

In other cases, you're French weightlifter Vencelas Dabaya

For this reason, I encourage most people to keep their elbows up and relax their hands -- similar, if not identical, to the rack position of a front squat. In either situation, it is absolutely vital that the bar rests on one's shoulders and not in the hands. Too often do I see people performing push presses and bearing all of the weight of the bar in their hands. Ever wonder why you have wrist pain? We lose so much power from our legs when the bar is separated from the shelf position. This will limit efficiency of the movement, which will limit how much weight we can lift, which will limit our chances of getting stronger, which will limit our ability to get more awesome. And everyone wants to be more awesome. Aimee Anaya-Everett teaches people how to be awesome everyday:

Where one's elbows go depends on the individual's preference, level of flexibility, and what proves most comfortable and effective. Two quick examples from two of the greatest weightlifters ever:

Yuri Zakharevich, 225kg @ 110kg BW

Halil Mutlu, 160kg @ 54kg BW

While vertical elbows are likely preferred, they are by no means necessary, especially in the jerk. The point is that regardless of elbow/forearm placement, one facet remains identical in each example: the bar rests high on the shoulders to ensure an optimal upward drive from the legs through the body and into the bar.

An additional factor of utmost importance is keeping the bar on the shoulders throughout the dip and drive portion of the lift. If the bar slips or sinks forward on your chest during the dip portion, the drive will be much less effective. Koklyaev demonstrates this quite well:

So, in closing, improve your front rack position, build your shelf, keep the bar on it, and get the most out of your hips and legs. It's a recipe for success. Like anything Giada De Laurentiis has ever cooked. And with that, we'll finish up with some more Aimee...