Monthly Archives: October 2017
Friday 10/20/17
Upcoming Events
Whole Life Challenge Finale
November 11th
Ram’s Football Game
November 12th, 1:05pm
Workout of the Day
“Abort Mission”
15-12-9-6-3
Power Cleans
C2B Pull Ups
Thursday 10/19/17
Upcoming Events
Whole Life Challenge Finale
November 11th
Ram’s Football Game
November 12th, 1:05pm
Workout of the Day
EMOM 20
Minute 1-15/10 Calorie Bike
Minute 2-30s Max Push Ups
Minute 3-10 Back Squats
Minute 4-Rest
Simple Handstand Practice
As we have been covering handstand walking over the last few weeks I have had a lot of questions about what you could be doing on your own to continue to improve on your handstands.
So here is my simple guide to a freestanding handstand at home.
What To Strive For In Handstand
1-Stay in Control
2-Abs Tight
3-Actively Pushing into the Ground with Shoulders
4-Head Inline with Shoulders
5-Hands Flat on the Ground
BEGINNER
We will be doing a WALL WALK
Now there are different levels of the wall walk and each depends on your skill/strength level. With that said from the waist to the shoulder all of them will look the same!
In Variation 1-3 we start in push up position and walk our hands as close to the wall as possible. The main limiter in variations 1-3 for the beginner is strength in the shoulders and core.
Variation 1
In this variation we are walking our hands as close as we can to the wall. Although not that close that is okay we are doing our best with the strength that we have.
Variation 2
Here we have developed some more strength and can begin to walk our hands closer to the wall but may have not gotten to the point where we can get all the way to the wall.
Variation 3
Here we are in a full wall walk with our toes and nose touching the wall.
Workout for Variations 1-3
5 Sets
Wall Walk As Close As Possible and Hold for 15-30s
Rest 1 Minute
**Once you can achieve a full wall walk and hold for 30s it is time to move on to variation 4**
INTERMEDIATE
In Variation 4 strength will no longer be an issue and we will begin to develop balance and coordination while in a freestanding handstand using the wall!
Variation 4
We have now moved from the wall walk and are now KICKING UP to Handstand. Make sure hands are 3-6 inches from the wall when you go for your kick up…anything further than that will cause you to collapse and fall on your head!
Once in the position it is time to start working on our balance. Begin by slowly taking one foot off the wall and finding your balance.
Once you have found your balance begin to slowly bring the other foot to match.
Workout
5-10 Sets
Kick Up to Handstand
Slowly bring your feet off the wall
Rest 1 Minute
**Once you are able to achieve 5 seconds off the wall move on to variation 5**
ADVANCED
We are now moving to the freestanding handstand. Very few people ever achieve this and it takes a lot of practice, discipline, and physical ability but is definitely achievable with consistent practice.
Kick up in a controlled manner and begin to find your balance. Being able to cartwheel greatly helps when coming out of or falling out of a handstand.
Workout
5-10 Sets
Freestanding Handstand
**Once you can hold for 10 seconds you can begin to play around with handstand walking, one arm handstands, and many more variations**
This is our quick guide to practice handstands at home. If you would like to learn more youtube has a lot of great options and also asking questions at the gym will help you progress quicker.
One of my favorite resources for handstands is GMB Fitness. They have a ton of information on handstands and all things gymnastics!
Workout of the Day
“Shipmate”
AMRAP 20
Partner 1
25/20 Calorie Row
Partner 2
8 Ring rows
Max Double Unders
Tuesday 10/17/17
Upcoming Events
Whole Life Challenge Finale
November 11th
Ram’s Football Game
November 12th, 1:05pm
Workout of the Day
Part 1
3-3-3-3-3-3-3
Deadlift
Part 2
Week 5 Handstand Walking Progression
Monday 10/16/17
Upcoming Events
Whole Life Challenge Finale
November 11th
Ram’s Football Game
November 12th, 1:05pm
Workout of the Day
“Dumb and Dumber”
5 Rounds For Time
10 DB Hang Power Cleans
15 Sit Ups
300m Run
Friday 10/13/17
Upcoming Events
Hike
October 14th
Whole Life Challenge Finale
November 11th
Workout of the Day
3-3-3-3-3-3-3
Hang Squat Snatch
Thursday 10/12/17
Upcoming Events
Hike
October 14th
Whole Life Challenge Finale
November 11th
Workout of the Day
“IT”
AMRAP 10
1 Mile Run
Max Push Ups
10 Minute Rest
AMRAP 10
2000m Row
Max Push Ups
Wednesday 10/11/17
Upcoming Events
Hike
October 14th
Whole Life Challenge Finale
November 11th
Workout of the Day
“Rasin Bran”
5 Rounds For Time
12 Thrusters
12 Toes to Bar
6 Daily Stretches
Flexibility is one of the 10 Physical Skills in CrossFit but quite often is the most over looked
Here are 6 of my favorite stretches to hit all of the major muscle groups in the body and most used in CrossFit!
A good approach is to spend 30-60 seconds each day on ones you are already good at and 2 minutes minimum on areas that are problematic.
In order of importance (For most peoples needs)
1-Asian Squat
This is meant to be a resting squat so don’t try to hold yourself up just allow yourself to sink all the way down into your squat.
This is a position I tell my athletes to try to spend a ton of time in a day. A good number to hit daily would be 10 minutes as a minimum.
How to perform
The only thing I care about here is making sure your knees are tracking your toes. Don’t let your knees cave in (knees out!)
2-Couch Stretch
Due to all the sitting we do the front of our hips get very tight. The couch stretch is a necessity to anyone who has a desk job and cares about there performance in the gym.
A good rule of thumb on this one…for every hour you sit, do this stretch for 2 minutes on each side.
How to Perform
Take on leg up on the wall, getting your knee to tough the wall, then step your other foot up so that your foot is flat on the ground. You will feel a big stretch in the front of your hip on the leg that is on the wall.
For some this stretch is too difficult so my advice is do take your knee away from the wall so you can get into the stretch…but know that the standard will be getting your knee all the way to the wall.
3- Overhead Distraction
This stretch goes after the your back muscles (lats) and also many parts of your shoulder (scapula).
How to Perform
Grab a band, hook it around something higher than your head, stick your hand through the band and sink down.
Focus here is keeping your thumb facing up or out to keep your shoulder in external rotation.
4-Pike Stretch
This is a simple one…can you touch your toes?
This stretch targets our low back and hamstrings that also get very tight from all the sitting we do.
How to Perform
Keeping your legs straight bend over from the hips and allow your body to sink down as far as possible (its ok for you back to round). Eventually you want to get to the point where your body is flat against your legs!
5-Pigeon
If you struggle with your squatting movements this is your go to stretch. Again the butt (glutes) get tight from all the sitting we do and this stretch really opens up the glutes so we can drive our knees out in our squat.
How to Perform
Start with your hands and knees on the ground, take one of your knees between your hands, extend the other leg back, and allow your body to sink down and feel a deep stretch in your glutes.
6-Table Top
This is a new stretch that I have been doing recently and I believe it deserves a spot in our daily stretches. The front our shoulders get very tight and this stretch will open them back up from all the pushing movements that we do such as push-ups.
How to Perform
Make sure to pinch your shoulders back and really drive your hips high!
That’s it for our stretches…
My advice is to try to hit these everyday in the morning, before bed, or after your workout.
Workout of the Day
“Roadie”
3 Rounds
10 Strict Pull Ups
15 Hang Power Cleans
20 Calorie Bike
4 Minute Rest
Monday 10/9/17
Upcoming Events
Hike
October 14th
Whole Life Challenge Finale
November 11th
Workout of the Day
Part 1
1000m Row For Time
Part 2
Week 4 Handstand Walking Progression
