Genevieve

If you haven’t noticed, the last 3 weeks of our Performance program has really focused on moving better. Specifically we’ve spent a lion share of our time trying to improve your squatting. Today I’m going to touch on the use of the goblet squat and also give you some ideas around implementing them in your warm up warm-up (amirite?) so you can continue to improve this fundamental movement as we move on to more complex squatting variations.

 Goblet Squats

I’ve fallen in love with the goblet squat. In my opinion the goblet squat works incredibly well for improving the squat because it has a built in feedback quality that you can’t find in your typical air squat. The front loaded weight naturally encourages an upright torso due to the decreased load placed on the shoulders and grip. Having the elbows inside the knees forces the athlete to drive the knees out to allow for the required space. Lastly, with the weight placed snugly against the chest, athletes“sink” into a deeper squatting position. Quite simply, it feels more natural and comfortable to go lower, which allows for the full range of motion to be reached at the hip and ankle joints. So why is all this important? Because we essentially have an exercise that can be performed with very little guidance while improving those oh so important squat mechanics. It’s like the self-checkout line of squatting.

How do we continue to progress?

Now that we’re all in agreement that goblet squats are the squatting secret sauce, how do we implement them outside of our regularly scheduled program? Simply do them every day you walk into the gym, a set of 15-20, 3-5 times a week will suffice. Be creative. Try different weights, different tempos, adding pauses and even alternating between a dumbbell and a kettlebell. Just make sure you split up your reps in a fashion that doesn’t encourage a lot of fatigue.

The reality is, dedicating two minutes per training session to helping your squatting mechanics and fundamentals will pay big dividends in the long run. So, grab a kettlebell or a dumbbell and get to squatting! You’ll thank me later!

–Wes Kimball

For those of you that missed my article on CrossFit Austin’s mission and core values last week take a few minutes to read through it for context on today’s article.  Just to review here are the CrossFit Austin mission statement and core values:

CrossFit Austin: The Catalyst for Personal Evolution

• Purposeful Training

• Community

• Excellence

• Integrity

• Fun

Today we’re going to dive into what it means to train with a purpose, and why it is at the top of the list.

Simply put, purposeful training is planned training with planned intentions for outcomes.  We understand that every person that walks through our door hopes to gain a certain outcome from the hard work that they put into their training. You know what you want and you have a simple understanding of what actions you need take to get there. It’s our job to add a purpose to those actions and make sure they’re focused in the right direction.

As we dig deeper we understand that knowing the importance of the why is just as important as the what  Having reason behind the training ensures that athletes and coaches can create an environment and support that welcomes questions and communication.  As the old cliche goes, give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. We see training in the same light. It should be a learning experience that allows athletes to not only work hard, but make intelligent decisions about their work.

Ultimately everything we do as coaches and athletes is about intention. Actions without intention lead us nowhere and since physical training is the foundational service we provide, it’s imperative that everything we ask people to do has as an intention to it, regardless of how general or specific that intention may be. Constant growth and progress over the long haul boils down to taking the correct actions based on the best intentions. This is the essence of what CrossFit Austin is here to provide, and should be the foundation of any training program.

–Wes Kimball