Blog

Mobility: a term that is used often in the CrossFit community but is not practiced enough. If you read the previous article about mobility – what it is and why you should do it – then you know that it is an important component of being a good CrossFit athlete. In the following paragraphs, I will be addressing common mobility errors in the following movements: air squat, front squat and overhead squat, and some exercises to help you fix them.

Air Squat

The air squat is one of the nine foundational movements in CrossFit and provides the basis for the more technical movements like the clean, snatch and overhead squat.  It is extremely important that an athlete is able to perform the air squat well so that it will translate over into their execution of these more difficult olympic lifts.

Mobilization Techniques:

• Lay with your back on the ground and your feet elevated on a box. Place a lacrosse ball under your lower bac, right above your pelvis. Focus on keeping your core engaged (clenching your stomach as if you are just about to get punched) in order to keep your back in a neutral position. Slowly shift your hips from left to right, letting the lacrosse ball work into the lower back muscles. This is an excellent exercise if you are experiencing lower back pain because it starts to loosen up the tissues in the low back/upper glute region that restrict movement and positional mechanics.
• Sit on a bench or a box and cross your right foot over your left knee. Fold forward from your hips keeping your back flat. Use your left hand to keep your right foot from sliding off of your left leg, push your right knee toward the floor and then lock out your arm. Then rotate toward your right hand (keeping your back flat the entire time) and lower your chest to your right knee. Repeat this same stretch with the other leg. 

Front Squat

This movement is very applicable to real life. Imagine picking up a box full of books and then setting it back down somewhere else without pulling a muscle in your back. If you know how to front squat properly, then this should be an easy task. However, if you lack the mobility to properly support a load in front of your body then you put yourself at a greater risk for injury. Mobilization Techniques:

• Place a foam roller under your back at the base of your rib cage. Wrap your arms around your chest like you’re giving yourself a big bear hug. Extend your back by pulling it into an arching position and then roll back and forth over the foam roller. You want to create an extension force over the roller by maintaining an arched back position as you roll. As you feel your back loosening up, continue this same movement but progress up your spine to the base of the neck. To create even more of an extended position, squeeze your butt and drive your hips toward the ceiling as you arch your back.
• Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor and place a lacrosse ball in the area bordering your scapula (between your right shoulder blade and spine). To create more pressure on the targeted area, drive your heels into the ground and raise your hips off of the floor. As you do this, raise your arm from your leg toward the ceiling and then to an overhead position, keeping your elbow locked out. If your elbow starts to bend, that is evidence that you are missing the internal rotation of the shoulder and this marks the end of your range of motion. Once you have brought that arm overhead, bring it across your body and try to touch your opposite hip (keeping the arm straight). 

Overhead Squat

This is probably one of the most challenging positions for athletes because of the mobility required to stabilize the barbell in the overhead position. Performing this movement well is also essential to being stronger and more efficient in the snatch (one of the olympic lifts). 

Mobilization Techniques:

• Position a barbell on one side of your body high on your trap and at the base of your neck. Raise your arm overhead and externally and internally rotate your shoulder. You can also slowly, and with control, move the barbell up and down (like a teeter-totter) over your trap and roll the barbell from side to side.
• Stack a medicine ball on top of two 45# plates. Position your back over the medicine ball with your rib cage in line with your pelvis and your midline engaged. Reach your arms overhead, keeping your hands close together, your elbows locked out, and your armpits pointing forward. Elevate your hips (almost like a tabletop hold) and extend your body over the medicine ball.

Keep in mind, this is not an extensive list of mobility exercises you can do to correct the problems that you are facing. This article just gives you a few exercises to get started. If you have more questions about what mobility exercises you should be doing, a great reference besides your coach is the book titled Becoming a Supple Leopard by Dr. Kelly Starrett.

It’s your first time trying out an introductory CrossFit class and the coach has just announced that the skill you are going to be learning is the air squat. You quickly roll your eyes as you think to yourself, ‘Seriously? I do squats all the time at my normal gym. I was hoping to learn how to do something cool like the snatch or the clean and jerk.’ On the outside, you smile and nod, not giving away any of the internal disappoint you are feeling. The coach proceeds to demonstrate what an air squat looks like and you notice that they squat with their hips below parallel. You mentally shake your head remembering what your previous trainer told you about the dangers to your knees of squatting below parallel. After running through the main points of performance for the air squat, the coach then instructs the participants to perform five air squats. To your dismay and utter embarrassment, you quickly realize that you are unable to complete an air squat to ‘full depth’ (below parallel). The coach quickly walks over to you and says reassuringly, “That’s ok! Just looks like you might have some mobility issues in your hips and ankles.” In your head you think, ‘What the crap is mobility?’

If you are a regular CrossFit class attendee, you have probably heard the term mobility mentioned many different times either by your coach and/or another box member. This is a term that doesn’t often get explained and most people just assume that it means extra stretching, either before or after class. This is an accurate, yet simple definition of mobility that does not fully explain what mobility involves and why it is important. 

Let’s go back to our example illustrated above of the brand-new CrossFitter who could not do an air squat below parallel. If you’ve been around CrossFit for any amount of time then you are probably aware that the standard for any squat (front, back, overhead) is that the hip crease must pass below the knee. Why is this standard so important? Well, first of all, CrossFit is the sport of fitness (functional fitness that is) and thousands of years ago – before the invention of couches, Lazyboys, dining room chairs, etc. – humans used to squat down (below parallel) to go to the bathroom, warm themselves by the fire, hold a conversation, etc. Therefore, the air squat is a functional movement (except now when we go to the bathroom we squat to the toilet); a movement that we perform every day. 

If you can’t perform this movement correctly, then how are you going to perform everyday, functional movements without eventually hurting yourself? The answer is mobility. This is the tool that is used to help move our bodies into the correct positioning so that we can perform movements correctly. There are two types of mobility: passive and active. Passive mobility means getting your body into positions no matter how you do it. This might look like holding onto the rig to squat down below parallel or having your friend hold your elbows up as you front squat. The goal is to eventually turn this passive mobility into active mobility – the ability to achieve ranges of motion on your own; not using any type of assistance to achieve these positions.    

Finally, it is important to understand what you will gain by improving your mobility. Not only will you be able to start positioning your body correctly, but you will also start to feel better after a strenuous workout. Yes, you will still experience the normal aches and pains but your body will thank you for not forcing it into difficult positions that it was not ready for. Increased mobility also means that you will become a safer athlete and reduce the risk of injury. Increased ankle and hip mobility for the back squat means that you can squat safely with load. Lastly, and probably the most beneficial if you are a serious athlete, is that you will ultimately get stronger. Take the snatch for example: poor shoulder, hip and ankle mobility often prevents an athlete from maintaining an upright torso in the catch position (bottom of the overhead squat). However, if these issues are fixed and the athlete is able to catch the bar with the weight stacked directly over their shoulders (a much stronger position) then they will be able to catch more weight. 

So, now that you know exactly what mobility is, why it is used and why it is important, you might be thinking, ‘What types of mobility exercises should I be doing?’ Stay tuned for Part 2 that will address some of the most common mobility issues and how to fix them.

If you are familiar with the world of CrossFit, then you know terms like ‘WOD’, ‘snatch’, ‘jerk’, ‘AMRAP’, etc. For most CrossFitters, when they hear or see the term ‘snatch’ they inwardly, if not outwardly, cringe. The snatch is one of two movements used in the sport of Olympic weightlifting and is a common movement practiced in the CrossFit community. Essentially, it requires an individual to take a barbell from the ground directly to the overhead position. Of course, there is a little more to it than that which is why it is one of the most technical movements in CrossFit and leaves athletes frustrated and defeated. However, there are several common faults in the snatch that can be easily fixed and lead to improved performance of the snatch.

    One common fault seen when performing the snatch is the lack of full hip extension. You’ve probably heard your coach yell something similar to “Extend your hips!” but what does that mean? Achieving full hip extension means that your ankles, knees, and hips are fully locked out and your glutes are squeezed together (essentially you should be on your tip toes with legs straight and butt squeezed). This is the point of the movement that occurs right before you pull the bar up (into a high pull) and then immediately drop under it. Oftentimes athletes pull their bar too early, often making contact with their legs right above their knees or at mid-thigh, resulting in a loss of power and the tendency to miss the lift in the catch.

One way to correct this fault is to simply be more patient on the pull. Once the barbell has cleared the knees, the athlete should actively pull it in towards their body as they continue to extend their hips and only make contact with the bar once they’ve fully locked out their knees and the bar is at their ‘pockets’ (hip crease). At this point, the athlete has reached full extension with their hips and they are then ready to pull themselves under the bar to receive it in the catch position. Athletes can correct this error by practicing snatch pulls – from the floor (mid-shin) and from the hang position.

    Another common fault seen in the snatch is an athlete incorrectly performing the high pull portion of the movement. Oftentimes, athletes approach the snatch with fear because they are uncomfortable in the overhead position and do not trust themselves to hold the weight over their heads. Therefore, they do whatever they can to get the barbell overhead. This often results in athletes keeping their arms straight throughout the entirety of the movement instead of bending them in the high pull position. When the arms remain straight, the barbell is pushed way too far out in front of the athlete’s body, and as the weight gets heavier, it becomes impossible to catch.

This mistake goes hand in hand with another common fault in the snatch: bumping the barbell out away from one’s body with the hips. This often occurs because an athlete is trying to fully extend their hips but instead of pulling the bar up (high pull), they actually bump it away from their body. Once again, when an athlete reaches heavier weights, it becomes impossible for them to catch the barbell in the overhead position. They then have to jump forward to catch the barbell as it is moving out and away from them. An easy drill to fix this issue is practicing snatch high pulls. The athlete should focus on keeping the top of their knuckles pointed towards the ground throughout the entire pull. This will force them to keep the barbell close to their body once they have made contact at their hip crease.

Lastly, many athletes suffer from the common fault of the “stripper pull”. This occurs when an athlete’s hips rise first, before the rest of their body. This results in the athlete’s chest falling forward and facing toward the ground instead of facing outward and rising with the hips. The first pull of the snatch is then broken up into two separate movements (the rising of the hips and then the rising of the chest) instead of being one fluid movement. The “stripper pull” makes it impossible to complete the rest of the snatch properly, therefore losing an incredible amount of power and ultimately resulting in failed lifts at heavier weights. One simple drill to help reverse this mistake is to practice snatch-grip deadlifts and negative snatch-grip deadlifts.

We’ve heard them all…Zone, Paleo, Atkins, Vegan, Whole 30, and the list goes on and on. The dreaded word: diet. We try these new, stricter methods of eating because we reach a point where we’re unhappy with our weight or physical appearance, our fitness level starts to suffer, or it’s the new fad and all your friends are trying it. New diets are emerging all the time, and one of the most recent to burst on the health and wellness scene is the ketogenic (or keto) diet.

    The basic ideas behind this diet, however, have actually been around for over one hundred years. The main concepts of the ketogenic diet originated back in the 1920s when Dr. Russell Wilder experimented with fat to carb to protein ratios in an attempt to find a cure for epilepsy. What he found was, if the body was kept in a constant state of fasting – which occurs when the body is restricted from creating sugar for energy – then the number of seizures a patient had was reduced. In the years following this discovery, the keto diet had all but disappeared from the more mainstream diet craze until recently, where it has re-emerged and been rebranded as a way to lose fat quickly.

    So, what is the keto diet? In a nutshell, it is a low carb, high fat, and moderate protein diet where energy is derived from the burning of fat and protein rather than carbs (also known as a fasted state). A goal, per se, of this diet is to enter a state of ketosis, which occurs when your body starts burning fat for fuel. A generalized macronutrient breakdown for the keto diet in percentages is as follows:

• 70-80% of calories from fats
• 20-25% of calories from protein
• 5-10% of calories from carbohydrates

Keep in mind that this is just a general breakdown and does not necessarily mean that you need to follow these exact percentages. There are many different versions of the keto diet, some with higher protein and/or carbohydrate percentages, which may be a better fit for your needs.

    One of the most commonly asked questions by the fitness community, especially high-intensity exercisers, is whether this low-carb, high-fat diet will be sustainable given the commonly held belief that carbs serve as a better source of energy. However, according to a six-week study conducted at James Madison University on the effects of a low-carb diet on a CrossFit program, the results showed that the group who ate a strict keto diet lost more body fat and body mass then the group who ate a traditional athletes’ diet. And in regards to performance, both groups made improvements on different exercises such as pull-ups, squats, sit-ups, etc. In another study conducted through Auburn University, the researchers studied twelve participants who were divided into two groups: the ketogenic diet group and the group instructed to continue with their normal training schedule (the control group). The study lasted for twelve weeks and what the researchers found was almost identical to the results of the James Madison University study: fat mass for participants in the keto diet group decreased more than that of the control group and participants in both groups saw the same improvement in performance. It is evident from both of these studies, that the ketogenic diet does not have a negative impact on high-intensity training. In fact, it can actually improve performance because of the tendency for individuals on this kind of diet to lose body fat and mass.

    Before deciding whether the ketogenic diet is right for you, there is one final piece of information you need to know about, and this might be the most important: the “keto flu”. This is typically a two to four week period where individuals on the keto diet experience the most negative side effects. This period takes place because your body is in a state of transition as it tries to get used to using fat as an energy source instead of glycogen. Some adverse side effects that can result are fatigue, weakness, lightheadedness, headaches, muscle fatigue, and nausea. When individuals hear talk about the negative effects of the keto diet on CrossFitters, the “keto flu” is most likely what is being discussed. It is important to understand that these effects are only short-term, but are a very likely outcome if you decide to make the switch to the keto diet.

    So, what should you do? Keep in mind that each individual is different and therefore your body may react differently to this diet than someone else’s. It is also important to note that there are several different types of keto diets and one may fit your needs better than another. Therefore, if you are serious about trying the keto diet for yourself, it may be best to experiment with the different percentage ratios/types of keto diets to find which one your body responds to the best. Lastly, be patient! It will take some time for your body to react to the changes you are making so don’t be discouraged if you don’t see any immediate results. Good luck!

“If you have poor posture with shoulders forward, a curve in your spine, and collapsed hips, your body is literally healing the micro-tears and micro-trauma into this poor position.” – Jeff Kuhland, How You’re Sabotaging Your Posture and Your Time in the Gym

Scary, isn’t it? There’s more: the term ‘sedentary’ is defined by the amount of time an individual spends walking each day, and when translated into number of steps taken, the technical definition of sedentary is less than 5,000 steps per day. According to a new study that uses cell phone data to analyze the average number of steps taken per day by country, the United States ranks 30th in the world with an average daily step count of 4,774. Furthermore, the United States has a high level of activity inequality (the gap between active and inactive people in a country), which is an even greater indicator of a country’s obesity level than step count.  

Unfortunately, not many people have the luxury of working a job that allows them to constantly be moving throughout the day. Countless studies have revealed the negative effects of sitting at a desk all day, such as increased risk of injury, muscle degeneration, weight gain, back and neck pain, but even more disturbing is the fact that exercising just once a day does very little to negate the effects of being sedentary for hours at a time. A study conducted in 2013 by Diabetologia found that desk employees who exercised were just as much at risk for health issues as workers who did not exercise at all. Why is this?

When individuals remain inactive for long periods of time, gravity starts to take a toll on their posture, flexibility, mobility, and joint health. In an article titled Sitting at Your Desk is Eating Your Muscles by strength and conditioning coach Doug Dupont, he states the following: “Probably the biggest single problem from sitting all day that I see as a coach is back pain and signs of deteriorating spine health.” This occurs because the hip muscles begin to tighten as a result of lack of movement while sitting for long periods of time. When you work out after sitting all day, your hips’ natural mobility is limited by muscle tightness so the movement that needs to occur through the hips is actually initiated from the spine, resulting in back pain. This is a frightening reality for many people and the solution is actually relatively simple.

Experts suggest that individuals should stand five minutes for every thirty minutes of sitting, and if they can sneak in a stretch here and there, even better. Here are some simple movements that you can complete in your office or cubicle space:

• Squat to your office chair 10-15 times
• Hold a plank for 30-45 sec under your desk
• Lunge down the hallway to the break room (and count how many weird looks you get from your co-workers)
• Do calf raises as you pour yourself a cup of coffee
• Walk around your office when taking a phone call

These are just a few of the exercises that can be done easily and somewhat inconspicuously at the office.

The importance of moving cannot be understated. Making time for exercise is a great first step to preventing injuries and health issues, but making time to move throughout the day is what really makes a difference.