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We are taking a quick break from the Beyond the Bar Podcast to get a few more articles in about our Core Values this week. Again, for those of you that missed my article on CrossFit Austin’s Mission and Core Values 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 tackle community.  Community was something that we wrestled with including in our core values simply because it’s become such a buzzword and lost a lot of its original meaning.  But, the more I dug in, the more I realized that the community of CrossFit Austin is still a major driver and motivator  for folks.  Our community has most assuredly grown and evolved over the years.  So much so that I’d say our community has several “neighborhoods”. Regardless, it remains a source of pride and motivation for those that are a part of it. But, why?

Ultimately we all want to be something bigger than ourselves. We want that “tribe” feel where everyone holds each other accountable, works incredibly hard, and commits to never giving up. At a primal level we all have a common goal of bettering ourselves, and the people that surround us are the ones that ultimately push us through the difficult times and over the bumps in the road on the journey towards that goal. As Adrienne so eloquently put it, the community is here to  “support each other even with something as simple as a welcoming smile”.  Whether we call it community, teamwork, or family, it’s when hard work is directed at the well being of the collective that the power of that work greatly outweighs work or actions that are selfishly driven. Thats how we put power back into a silly buzzword like “community”.

-Coach Wes

Once again I was given orders to write something informational like, “3 Ways To Improve The Aerobic System” and “Muscle Spotlight: Shoulder” (I promise I will get to it!).  In my defense I  have a severe case of ADD.  So, instead, I will write about what currently has my very short attention span.  Which is…

The Blend of Art and Science.

I am obsessed with minds, both past and present, who have seamlessly blended the two.  Examples could be Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, etc.  All of them had the ability to blend Art and Science, and make it look easy.  As if we are all capable of such a thing.  Then I came across this video:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/iWhO4cwriL0[/youtube]

My aha moment came.

You see, my job is to make sure our programing has meaning and is achieving the desirable results for you, our client. Both from a numbers standpoint in strength and endurance, but also biomechanically in regards to movement quality.

Wes, Thomas, and I are always questioning.  Looking for better practices and monitoring the numbers.  Maybe we are looking in the wrong place?

Science is cold and controlled. Art is alive and free flowing.

When the gym is empty, it is cold.  Only when you guys come in does it breathe life.  Yet, we continue to monitor our performance in our controlled setting, the gym!  Maybe you, as clients, only monitor your own fitness in our controlled setting?  Numbers, Numbers, Numbers!

It is similar to the story of the man who buys a sports car just to keep it in the garage.  Most of us fall into the routine of work-gym-home, or some combination of the three.  Our fitness never sees “life”, which is the art.  Use a hobby, recreation, or play in nature! Take the sports car out and let it rip!  Then let us know how it turned out, and how it felt.  Functional fitness is not in the gym.  It is in life!

Let’s be honest, the overhead squat is a constant headache for most CrossFitters.  Yes, there are plenty of other skills that are much more complex, such as the muscle-up, hand-stand walks, and all that other jazz, but  the general population involved in CrossFit to simply get in shape will not be doing those movements.  The overhead squat is different. This is a movement that we see everyday in Met-cons, from Level 1 Foundations all the way to Level 3 Competitive. We are exposed to this movement a lot, which means a higher percentage of people doing it wrong.  You way be looking in the wrong spots to become more proficient at the overhead squat.

Ankle Flexibility

This is not typically the one that people look at first, but being an Olympic Weightlifting Coach and knowing what the Weightlifting shoes do for people, this is usually my first observation.  One of the hardest things to do in the overhead squat is to keep the torso upright.  To some extent, we can get away with the torso being slightly forward in the traditional back squat or front squat.  In the overhead squat the torso angle directly affects the shoulder angle in attempting to keep the bar over our hips.  The inability of the ankles to properly dorsiflex will cause the hips to rise when attempting full depth, which will push your torso forward and put your shoulders in a less than desirable position.  An easy fix for this would be raising the heal with a 5kg plate or the use of weightlifting shoes.  No matter what, you must continue to work on ankle flexibility.  I have had some fantastic luck with voodoo floss around the ankles and inch-worms.

Thoracic Spine Mobility

Many of the athletes at CFA have heard this over and over, but it is important.  Often tightness and hyperkyphosis here will make the overhead position impossible. You can also identify if you have a “pivot point” in your spine.  Athletes will commonly get extension from a certain location on the spine, which neglects the other vertebrae.  To test this lie on your stomach and press up with you arms.  You should theoretically have a nice fluid curvature of the spine, but sometimes you will see the back angle more aggressively (usually in the lumbar spine), and other locations with much less extension (usually the thoracic spine).  If you see this in yourself, chances are you are trying to get extension from your lumbar spine that you should be getting from your thoracic spine.  By simply getting into that position for 30 minutes a night while you watch T.V. and focusing on letting your t-spine and shoulder blades relax , will make a difference.  You can also try getting a half foam roller or a rolled up towel and lie on it with your spine perpendicular to it. Start it at the bottom of your T-spine and work your way up to the top, lying flat and trying to relax your back around the roll. Lastly,  regular foam rolling up and down the T-spine will help mobilize it.

Strength

This last one is probably the most important.  The fact is that you have to be strong to do this movement.  I have seen plenty of individuals with the flexibility to get into great positions, but can barely support the PVC pipe.  This takes patience. You must build up your strength and mobility before pushing your self into a position that you are not prepared for.  If you force bad positions simply to get full range of motion in a work-out, you are heading backwards in your fight to be a bad-ass.  In the world of CrossFit there is a constant pressure to become proficient in many movements, really fast.  That’s not the way it works for most individuals.  So remember, Air Squat>Back Squat>Front Squat>Overhead Squat.  When you work through that progression and you find difficulty in a certain movement, THEN YOU STOP.  If you have overhead squats in a workout and you do not feel comfortable enough, especially at high intensity, then work your way down the progression until you do.  This goes for all movements in CrossFit.  In your off time work on your strength and flexibility at a low intensity, and you will be there in no time.

-Coach Thomas Lower