Is Poor Mobility Holding You Back?
Improve Your Snatch & Power Clean
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People often think strength and technique are the limiting factors whenever they hit a wall with Olympic lifts or specific gymnastics exercises. When you have the mobility of a rock, lifts such as the power clean or the snatch can be your worst nightmare!
How Lack of Mobility Hinders Your Workouts
I see people work countless hours trying to perfect the timing and technique of Olympic lifts – and yet they still can’t execute the movements properly. There could be a lot of different reasons for this problem, however one issue in particular occurs time and time again: lack of mobility.
Most people either don’t know what’s causing their mobility issues or do know but only spend 10 minutes a week trying to fix it. When compared to the 5+ hours per week of training they’re doing, it’s no surprise they’re struggling.
So, what’s the solution?
Olympic Lifting and Mobility: Work Smarter, Not Harder
No, I'm not expecting you to do five hours of mobility a week. This advice is for beginner to intermediate level Crossfitters, as well as anyone that’s hit a fitness plateau with specific movements.
Related: 5 Tips for CrossFit Beginners
I’m going to take a simplistic, relatable approach to improving your mobility using two Olympic lifts: the snatch and the power clean.
Let’s start with what you’re actually trying to achieve: to move a weighted bar up the body and try to keep the bar path as close to your body as possible, finishing in either a full-depth front squat or an overhead squat.
I know that’s a very simplified explanation and, in case any of them are reading this, I mean no offense to the Olympic lifting gods that walk amongst us!
You may be thinking “surely problems with bar path is an issue of technique and not mobility?” It’s true, technique could be the problem. In my experience, I’ve seen countless people struggle with these lifts because they physically cannot get into the correct position.
Some coaches will simply try and put you in the proper position and hope that fixes the problem. You’ll feel uncomfortable as if you’re going to fall over but go along with the lift anyway.
Then what happens? Your body immediately reverts back to where your body has the ability to go and everyone’s time is wasted. The coach suggests you work on your mobility so they can scale the exercise down and make it easier for you to move.
You end the session doing part of the movement and leave feeling unfulfilled. When you show up to the next class, you’re right back where you started with the coach trying to manually get your body into the correct position.
Using the Overhead Squat to Uncover Mobility Issues
The overhead squat is a staple CrossFit exercise that you must be proficient in to do a full snatch. It requires an adequate range of motion joint by joint to do one properly & shows people's lack of mobility when they can't perform one, especially with no weight.
Some people despise this exercise because it causes considerable shoulder or upper back pain. Others simply can't do it at all. While going down to a squat is a big no-no when holding something overhead, those same people can back squat 100kg plus.
If you're different from the above, you could be the below. You have to come up onto your toes & buckle your knees so badly; yes, it's technically an overhead squat, but if I put any weight on the bar, your knees would collapse in on each other.
Overhead Squat Mobility Requirement Breakdown
Stability and activation could be factors, but let's break down what mobility you need to perform an effortless overhead squat. Let's start from the bottom up; I'll keep it simple and go for the top four things. You will need an adequate range of motion to perform an overhead squat.
#1 – Ankle Dorsiflexion
Why do we need this? We need the knee not only to track the middle to outer toes, but we need them to be able to stack the weight above the ankle. Our knees can go past our toes because of Dorsiflexion, which keeps the center mass over the midfoot.
Lacking this often causes a lack of balance & the inability to squat deep. People leave this to last to check, but it could be the first thing limiting your overhead ability.
#2 – Hip Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Hip mobility external and internal rotation: We need adequate ranges of motion to sit deep into the squat. A lack of this could cause a knee cave. As mentioned above, the squat stacked over the center of the midfoot keeps everything in alignment.
#3 Thoracic Extension, Flexion and Rotation
This tends to be one of the most significant limiting factors; upper back rounding causes the scapular to travel a longer distance around the upper spine. This, in turn, creates instability when you try holding your shoulders in your pocket, leading to poor shoulder mobility.
If you can't stack the upper spine in line, this will cause some grief with keeping the bar stacked over the mid foot. People tend to fall forward when they lack in this with both the front & overhead squats.
#4 Shoulder Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Internal and external rotation are needed to get the bar path tracking upwards and keep it close. Mobility limitations are usually linked with the thoracic and lack of flexibility with the lat and pec muscles, causing the inability to reach overhead.
Usually, lacking here will cause weak rotator cuff muscles and the inability to stack or press a weight properly above the head.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to see how a seemingly insignificant mobility issue can have much larger knock-on effects with your Olympic lifts. Consider your own technique - now that you know what mobility is required, do you lack in any of the areas above?
If so, send me an email or DM on Instagram, and let's set up an assessment!
Fun - Honesty - SIMPLICITY - Smash Life - Mental Toughness - Hard Work
.jpg)
NEW TIMINGS, DAYS & CLASSES! PLEASE CHECK MINDBODY FOR THE SCHEDULE AND CLASS DETAILS!
ENGINE
We are putting into practice the pacing strategies we learned in the last two weeks' EMOM style. This week, we will ski, Bike, and row.
GYMNASTICS
Hanging from the bar and getting upside down is what is happening in gymnastics this week. We will be breaking down the bar muscle-up and focusing on the movement technique; then, we will move to some handstand walks again, breaking down the movement and spending some time walking on our hands!
HYROX
For all levels: learning to recover on the run after a hard station. Hyrox Strength work into short runs.
MOBILITY
This week we continue with hip mobility moving into ankle mobility & foot stability drills, with shoulder mobility finisher.
PURE STRENGTH
This week in Pure Strength, we kick off Monday with some deadlift doubles and some heavy single-leg work and finish off with a “Rump Pump”. Wednesday, we will progress in loading the Close Grip Bench Press and work through a little t-shirt filler to end the session.
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week, the focus is on Clean and Jerks, where we will be hitting some clusters and then Clean Doubles into 1 Jerk!
Track Tuesday
We begin set 1 of our over/under block. This is all about threshold!
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Wednesday Ride
We return to outdoor intervals this week! Some strength work into Vo2 max, 90min session!
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
The Coffee Run
A fartlek session into some 8min blocks this week. A tough run that will deliver some big stimulus!
Start time: 05:59 am
Session length: 1 hour
Location: Common Grounds, Jumeirah Beach Track
Saturday Brick
Start time: 5:29 am
Our tri season opener! Get in touch with tw@innerfight.com to find out the plan.
.jpg)
Monday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Tempo
This week we will be holding that 7/10 feeling for 8 min blocks with a 3 mins recovery.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Sports City
Session: Track Tuesday
800m of over/unders is on the menu today. This is your chance to run fast with the wider InnerFight Endurance Community and Coaches.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Intervals
Today we will cycle through 1 min on/off intervals. Keep the 1 min off nice and easy!
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Kite Beach
Session: The Coffee Run
After some strides we will have some longer tempo blocks for you here.
.jpg)
We are kicking off the week with some technique work on the Hang Power Snatch before diving into a triplet of Wall Balls, Rowing and Burpees. Tuesday is focused on our strict pulling strength and some heavy Jerks in the skill and the workout. Wednesday will be a tough leg day with the Zercher squat and a heavy Dumbbell workout. Thursday, we have some TTB skill work and then an ascending and descending AMRAP to get through. Friday, we finish the week with some heavy Deadlifts into a savage workout with the barbell!
Monday:
Strength:
A) Snatch Grip DL + Hang Snatch Pull + Hang Muscle Snatch
B) Hang Power Snatch
Conditioning:
In a 12-minute window 3 rounds
21 wall balls
15 cal row
9 burpee over the rower
Max cal row in the remaining time
Tuesday:
Strength:
A) Strict Pull Ups
B Push Jerk & % of Pull-Ups from Part A
Conditioning:
3 min amrap
3 STOH ( 60/45)
10 pull-ups
15 box jump
rest 2 mins x 4
Wednesday:
Strength:
Zercher Squats
Conditioning:
22 mins AMRAP
16 suitcase reverse lunge (2x50/35)
50 DU
8 dual DB Front Squat
Park Run
Thursday:
Strength:
A) TTB
B) Incline DB Bench Press & % of TTB from Part A
Conditioning:
9 min Amrap
3 push-ups on DBS
3 Alt renegade rows (2x50/35)
3 cal ski
(+ 3 reps on each movement each round)
Rest 3 mins
For time: AMRAP in reverse
Friday:
Strength:
A) Deadlift
Conditioning:
Therapyyyyyyy, we carry over the barbell into a savage workout! One you do not want to miss!
People often think strength and technique are the limiting factors whenever they hit a wall with Olympic lifts or specific gymnastics exercises. When you have the mobility of a rock, lifts such as the power clean or the snatch can be your worst nightmare!
How Lack of Mobility Hinders Your Workouts
I see people work countless hours trying to perfect the timing and technique of Olympic lifts – and yet they still can’t execute the movements properly. There could be a lot of different reasons for this problem, however one issue in particular occurs time and time again: lack of mobility.
Most people either don’t know what’s causing their mobility issues or do know but only spend 10 minutes a week trying to fix it. When compared to the 5+ hours per week of training they’re doing, it’s no surprise they’re struggling.
So, what’s the solution?
Olympic Lifting and Mobility: Work Smarter, Not Harder
No, I'm not expecting you to do five hours of mobility a week. This advice is for beginner to intermediate level Crossfitters, as well as anyone that’s hit a fitness plateau with specific movements.
Related: 5 Tips for CrossFit Beginners
I’m going to take a simplistic, relatable approach to improving your mobility using two Olympic lifts: the snatch and the power clean.
Let’s start with what you’re actually trying to achieve: to move a weighted bar up the body and try to keep the bar path as close to your body as possible, finishing in either a full-depth front squat or an overhead squat.
I know that’s a very simplified explanation and, in case any of them are reading this, I mean no offense to the Olympic lifting gods that walk amongst us!
You may be thinking “surely problems with bar path is an issue of technique and not mobility?” It’s true, technique could be the problem. In my experience, I’ve seen countless people struggle with these lifts because they physically cannot get into the correct position.
Some coaches will simply try and put you in the proper position and hope that fixes the problem. You’ll feel uncomfortable as if you’re going to fall over but go along with the lift anyway.
Then what happens? Your body immediately reverts back to where your body has the ability to go and everyone’s time is wasted. The coach suggests you work on your mobility so they can scale the exercise down and make it easier for you to move.
You end the session doing part of the movement and leave feeling unfulfilled. When you show up to the next class, you’re right back where you started with the coach trying to manually get your body into the correct position.
Using the Overhead Squat to Uncover Mobility Issues
The overhead squat is a staple CrossFit exercise that you must be proficient in to do a full snatch. It requires an adequate range of motion joint by joint to do one properly & shows people's lack of mobility when they can't perform one, especially with no weight.
Some people despise this exercise because it causes considerable shoulder or upper back pain. Others simply can't do it at all. While going down to a squat is a big no-no when holding something overhead, those same people can back squat 100kg plus.
If you're different from the above, you could be the below. You have to come up onto your toes & buckle your knees so badly; yes, it's technically an overhead squat, but if I put any weight on the bar, your knees would collapse in on each other.
Overhead Squat Mobility Requirement Breakdown
Stability and activation could be factors, but let's break down what mobility you need to perform an effortless overhead squat. Let's start from the bottom up; I'll keep it simple and go for the top four things. You will need an adequate range of motion to perform an overhead squat.
#1 – Ankle Dorsiflexion
Why do we need this? We need the knee not only to track the middle to outer toes, but we need them to be able to stack the weight above the ankle. Our knees can go past our toes because of Dorsiflexion, which keeps the center mass over the midfoot.
Lacking this often causes a lack of balance & the inability to squat deep. People leave this to last to check, but it could be the first thing limiting your overhead ability.
#2 – Hip Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Hip mobility external and internal rotation: We need adequate ranges of motion to sit deep into the squat. A lack of this could cause a knee cave. As mentioned above, the squat stacked over the center of the midfoot keeps everything in alignment.
#3 Thoracic Extension, Flexion and Rotation
This tends to be one of the most significant limiting factors; upper back rounding causes the scapular to travel a longer distance around the upper spine. This, in turn, creates instability when you try holding your shoulders in your pocket, leading to poor shoulder mobility.
If you can't stack the upper spine in line, this will cause some grief with keeping the bar stacked over the mid foot. People tend to fall forward when they lack in this with both the front & overhead squats.
#4 Shoulder Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Internal and external rotation are needed to get the bar path tracking upwards and keep it close. Mobility limitations are usually linked with the thoracic and lack of flexibility with the lat and pec muscles, causing the inability to reach overhead.
Usually, lacking here will cause weak rotator cuff muscles and the inability to stack or press a weight properly above the head.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to see how a seemingly insignificant mobility issue can have much larger knock-on effects with your Olympic lifts. Consider your own technique - now that you know what mobility is required, do you lack in any of the areas above?
If so, send me an email or DM on Instagram, and let's set up an assessment!
Fun - Honesty - SIMPLICITY - Smash Life - Mental Toughness - Hard Work
Track Tuesday
We begin set 1 of our over/under block. This is all about threshold!
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Wednesday Ride
We return to outdoor intervals this week! Some strength work into Vo2 max, 90min session!
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
The Coffee Run
A fartlek session into some 8min blocks this week. A tough run that will deliver some big stimulus!
Start time: 05:59 am
Session length: 1 hour
Location: Common Grounds, Jumeirah Beach Track
Saturday Brick
Start time: 5:29 am
Our tri season opener! Get in touch with tw@innerfight.com to find out the plan.
Monday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Tempo
This week we will be holding that 7/10 feeling for 8 min blocks with a 3 mins recovery.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Sports City
Session: Track Tuesday
800m of over/unders is on the menu today. This is your chance to run fast with the wider InnerFight Endurance Community and Coaches.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Intervals
Today we will cycle through 1 min on/off intervals. Keep the 1 min off nice and easy!
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Kite Beach
Session: The Coffee Run
After some strides we will have some longer tempo blocks for you here.
We are kicking off the week with some technique work on the Hang Power Snatch before diving into a triplet of Wall Balls, Rowing and Burpees. Tuesday is focused on our strict pulling strength and some heavy Jerks in the skill and the workout. Wednesday will be a tough leg day with the Zercher squat and a heavy Dumbbell workout. Thursday, we have some TTB skill work and then an ascending and descending AMRAP to get through. Friday, we finish the week with some heavy Deadlifts into a savage workout with the barbell!
Monday:
Strength:
A) Snatch Grip DL + Hang Snatch Pull + Hang Muscle Snatch
B) Hang Power Snatch
Conditioning:
In a 12-minute window 3 rounds
21 wall balls
15 cal row
9 burpee over the rower
Max cal row in the remaining time
Tuesday:
Strength:
A) Strict Pull Ups
B Push Jerk & % of Pull-Ups from Part A
Conditioning:
3 min amrap
3 STOH ( 60/45)
10 pull-ups
15 box jump
rest 2 mins x 4
Wednesday:
Strength:
Zercher Squats
Conditioning:
22 mins AMRAP
16 suitcase reverse lunge (2x50/35)
50 DU
8 dual DB Front Squat
Park Run
Thursday:
Strength:
A) TTB
B) Incline DB Bench Press & % of TTB from Part A
Conditioning:
9 min Amrap
3 push-ups on DBS
3 Alt renegade rows (2x50/35)
3 cal ski
(+ 3 reps on each movement each round)
Rest 3 mins
For time: AMRAP in reverse
Friday:
Strength:
A) Deadlift
Conditioning:
Therapyyyyyyy, we carry over the barbell into a savage workout! One you do not want to miss!
NEW TIMINGS, DAYS & CLASSES! PLEASE CHECK MINDBODY FOR THE SCHEDULE AND CLASS DETAILS!
ENGINE
We are putting into practice the pacing strategies we learned in the last two weeks' EMOM style. This week, we will ski, Bike, and row.
GYMNASTICS
Hanging from the bar and getting upside down is what is happening in gymnastics this week. We will be breaking down the bar muscle-up and focusing on the movement technique; then, we will move to some handstand walks again, breaking down the movement and spending some time walking on our hands!
HYROX
For all levels: learning to recover on the run after a hard station. Hyrox Strength work into short runs.
MOBILITY
This week we continue with hip mobility moving into ankle mobility & foot stability drills, with shoulder mobility finisher.
PURE STRENGTH
This week in Pure Strength, we kick off Monday with some deadlift doubles and some heavy single-leg work and finish off with a “Rump Pump”. Wednesday, we will progress in loading the Close Grip Bench Press and work through a little t-shirt filler to end the session.
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week, the focus is on Clean and Jerks, where we will be hitting some clusters and then Clean Doubles into 1 Jerk!
People often think strength and technique are the limiting factors whenever they hit a wall with Olympic lifts or specific gymnastics exercises. When you have the mobility of a rock, lifts such as the power clean or the snatch can be your worst nightmare!
How Lack of Mobility Hinders Your Workouts
I see people work countless hours trying to perfect the timing and technique of Olympic lifts – and yet they still can’t execute the movements properly. There could be a lot of different reasons for this problem, however one issue in particular occurs time and time again: lack of mobility.
Most people either don’t know what’s causing their mobility issues or do know but only spend 10 minutes a week trying to fix it. When compared to the 5+ hours per week of training they’re doing, it’s no surprise they’re struggling.
So, what’s the solution?
Olympic Lifting and Mobility: Work Smarter, Not Harder
No, I'm not expecting you to do five hours of mobility a week. This advice is for beginner to intermediate level Crossfitters, as well as anyone that’s hit a fitness plateau with specific movements.
Related: 5 Tips for CrossFit Beginners
I’m going to take a simplistic, relatable approach to improving your mobility using two Olympic lifts: the snatch and the power clean.
Let’s start with what you’re actually trying to achieve: to move a weighted bar up the body and try to keep the bar path as close to your body as possible, finishing in either a full-depth front squat or an overhead squat.
I know that’s a very simplified explanation and, in case any of them are reading this, I mean no offense to the Olympic lifting gods that walk amongst us!
You may be thinking “surely problems with bar path is an issue of technique and not mobility?” It’s true, technique could be the problem. In my experience, I’ve seen countless people struggle with these lifts because they physically cannot get into the correct position.
Some coaches will simply try and put you in the proper position and hope that fixes the problem. You’ll feel uncomfortable as if you’re going to fall over but go along with the lift anyway.
Then what happens? Your body immediately reverts back to where your body has the ability to go and everyone’s time is wasted. The coach suggests you work on your mobility so they can scale the exercise down and make it easier for you to move.
You end the session doing part of the movement and leave feeling unfulfilled. When you show up to the next class, you’re right back where you started with the coach trying to manually get your body into the correct position.
Using the Overhead Squat to Uncover Mobility Issues
The overhead squat is a staple CrossFit exercise that you must be proficient in to do a full snatch. It requires an adequate range of motion joint by joint to do one properly & shows people's lack of mobility when they can't perform one, especially with no weight.
Some people despise this exercise because it causes considerable shoulder or upper back pain. Others simply can't do it at all. While going down to a squat is a big no-no when holding something overhead, those same people can back squat 100kg plus.
If you're different from the above, you could be the below. You have to come up onto your toes & buckle your knees so badly; yes, it's technically an overhead squat, but if I put any weight on the bar, your knees would collapse in on each other.
Overhead Squat Mobility Requirement Breakdown
Stability and activation could be factors, but let's break down what mobility you need to perform an effortless overhead squat. Let's start from the bottom up; I'll keep it simple and go for the top four things. You will need an adequate range of motion to perform an overhead squat.
#1 – Ankle Dorsiflexion
Why do we need this? We need the knee not only to track the middle to outer toes, but we need them to be able to stack the weight above the ankle. Our knees can go past our toes because of Dorsiflexion, which keeps the center mass over the midfoot.
Lacking this often causes a lack of balance & the inability to squat deep. People leave this to last to check, but it could be the first thing limiting your overhead ability.
#2 – Hip Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Hip mobility external and internal rotation: We need adequate ranges of motion to sit deep into the squat. A lack of this could cause a knee cave. As mentioned above, the squat stacked over the center of the midfoot keeps everything in alignment.
#3 Thoracic Extension, Flexion and Rotation
This tends to be one of the most significant limiting factors; upper back rounding causes the scapular to travel a longer distance around the upper spine. This, in turn, creates instability when you try holding your shoulders in your pocket, leading to poor shoulder mobility.
If you can't stack the upper spine in line, this will cause some grief with keeping the bar stacked over the mid foot. People tend to fall forward when they lack in this with both the front & overhead squats.
#4 Shoulder Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Internal and external rotation are needed to get the bar path tracking upwards and keep it close. Mobility limitations are usually linked with the thoracic and lack of flexibility with the lat and pec muscles, causing the inability to reach overhead.
Usually, lacking here will cause weak rotator cuff muscles and the inability to stack or press a weight properly above the head.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to see how a seemingly insignificant mobility issue can have much larger knock-on effects with your Olympic lifts. Consider your own technique - now that you know what mobility is required, do you lack in any of the areas above?
If so, send me an email or DM on Instagram, and let's set up an assessment!
Fun - Honesty - SIMPLICITY - Smash Life - Mental Toughness - Hard Work
Monday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Tempo
This week we will be holding that 7/10 feeling for 8 min blocks with a 3 mins recovery.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Sports City
Session: Track Tuesday
800m of over/unders is on the menu today. This is your chance to run fast with the wider InnerFight Endurance Community and Coaches.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Intervals
Today we will cycle through 1 min on/off intervals. Keep the 1 min off nice and easy!
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Kite Beach
Session: The Coffee Run
After some strides we will have some longer tempo blocks for you here.
We are kicking off the week with some technique work on the Hang Power Snatch before diving into a triplet of Wall Balls, Rowing and Burpees. Tuesday is focused on our strict pulling strength and some heavy Jerks in the skill and the workout. Wednesday will be a tough leg day with the Zercher squat and a heavy Dumbbell workout. Thursday, we have some TTB skill work and then an ascending and descending AMRAP to get through. Friday, we finish the week with some heavy Deadlifts into a savage workout with the barbell!
Monday:
Strength:
A) Snatch Grip DL + Hang Snatch Pull + Hang Muscle Snatch
B) Hang Power Snatch
Conditioning:
In a 12-minute window 3 rounds
21 wall balls
15 cal row
9 burpee over the rower
Max cal row in the remaining time
Tuesday:
Strength:
A) Strict Pull Ups
B Push Jerk & % of Pull-Ups from Part A
Conditioning:
3 min amrap
3 STOH ( 60/45)
10 pull-ups
15 box jump
rest 2 mins x 4
Wednesday:
Strength:
Zercher Squats
Conditioning:
22 mins AMRAP
16 suitcase reverse lunge (2x50/35)
50 DU
8 dual DB Front Squat
Park Run
Thursday:
Strength:
A) TTB
B) Incline DB Bench Press & % of TTB from Part A
Conditioning:
9 min Amrap
3 push-ups on DBS
3 Alt renegade rows (2x50/35)
3 cal ski
(+ 3 reps on each movement each round)
Rest 3 mins
For time: AMRAP in reverse
Friday:
Strength:
A) Deadlift
Conditioning:
Therapyyyyyyy, we carry over the barbell into a savage workout! One you do not want to miss!
NEW TIMINGS, DAYS & CLASSES! PLEASE CHECK MINDBODY FOR THE SCHEDULE AND CLASS DETAILS!
ENGINE
We are putting into practice the pacing strategies we learned in the last two weeks' EMOM style. This week, we will ski, Bike, and row.
GYMNASTICS
Hanging from the bar and getting upside down is what is happening in gymnastics this week. We will be breaking down the bar muscle-up and focusing on the movement technique; then, we will move to some handstand walks again, breaking down the movement and spending some time walking on our hands!
HYROX
For all levels: learning to recover on the run after a hard station. Hyrox Strength work into short runs.
MOBILITY
This week we continue with hip mobility moving into ankle mobility & foot stability drills, with shoulder mobility finisher.
PURE STRENGTH
This week in Pure Strength, we kick off Monday with some deadlift doubles and some heavy single-leg work and finish off with a “Rump Pump”. Wednesday, we will progress in loading the Close Grip Bench Press and work through a little t-shirt filler to end the session.
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week, the focus is on Clean and Jerks, where we will be hitting some clusters and then Clean Doubles into 1 Jerk!
Track Tuesday
We begin set 1 of our over/under block. This is all about threshold!
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Wednesday Ride
We return to outdoor intervals this week! Some strength work into Vo2 max, 90min session!
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
The Coffee Run
A fartlek session into some 8min blocks this week. A tough run that will deliver some big stimulus!
Start time: 05:59 am
Session length: 1 hour
Location: Common Grounds, Jumeirah Beach Track
Saturday Brick
Start time: 5:29 am
Our tri season opener! Get in touch with tw@innerfight.com to find out the plan.
People often think strength and technique are the limiting factors whenever they hit a wall with Olympic lifts or specific gymnastics exercises. When you have the mobility of a rock, lifts such as the power clean or the snatch can be your worst nightmare!
How Lack of Mobility Hinders Your Workouts
I see people work countless hours trying to perfect the timing and technique of Olympic lifts – and yet they still can’t execute the movements properly. There could be a lot of different reasons for this problem, however one issue in particular occurs time and time again: lack of mobility.
Most people either don’t know what’s causing their mobility issues or do know but only spend 10 minutes a week trying to fix it. When compared to the 5+ hours per week of training they’re doing, it’s no surprise they’re struggling.
So, what’s the solution?
Olympic Lifting and Mobility: Work Smarter, Not Harder
No, I'm not expecting you to do five hours of mobility a week. This advice is for beginner to intermediate level Crossfitters, as well as anyone that’s hit a fitness plateau with specific movements.
Related: 5 Tips for CrossFit Beginners
I’m going to take a simplistic, relatable approach to improving your mobility using two Olympic lifts: the snatch and the power clean.
Let’s start with what you’re actually trying to achieve: to move a weighted bar up the body and try to keep the bar path as close to your body as possible, finishing in either a full-depth front squat or an overhead squat.
I know that’s a very simplified explanation and, in case any of them are reading this, I mean no offense to the Olympic lifting gods that walk amongst us!
You may be thinking “surely problems with bar path is an issue of technique and not mobility?” It’s true, technique could be the problem. In my experience, I’ve seen countless people struggle with these lifts because they physically cannot get into the correct position.
Some coaches will simply try and put you in the proper position and hope that fixes the problem. You’ll feel uncomfortable as if you’re going to fall over but go along with the lift anyway.
Then what happens? Your body immediately reverts back to where your body has the ability to go and everyone’s time is wasted. The coach suggests you work on your mobility so they can scale the exercise down and make it easier for you to move.
You end the session doing part of the movement and leave feeling unfulfilled. When you show up to the next class, you’re right back where you started with the coach trying to manually get your body into the correct position.
Using the Overhead Squat to Uncover Mobility Issues
The overhead squat is a staple CrossFit exercise that you must be proficient in to do a full snatch. It requires an adequate range of motion joint by joint to do one properly & shows people's lack of mobility when they can't perform one, especially with no weight.
Some people despise this exercise because it causes considerable shoulder or upper back pain. Others simply can't do it at all. While going down to a squat is a big no-no when holding something overhead, those same people can back squat 100kg plus.
If you're different from the above, you could be the below. You have to come up onto your toes & buckle your knees so badly; yes, it's technically an overhead squat, but if I put any weight on the bar, your knees would collapse in on each other.
Overhead Squat Mobility Requirement Breakdown
Stability and activation could be factors, but let's break down what mobility you need to perform an effortless overhead squat. Let's start from the bottom up; I'll keep it simple and go for the top four things. You will need an adequate range of motion to perform an overhead squat.
#1 – Ankle Dorsiflexion
Why do we need this? We need the knee not only to track the middle to outer toes, but we need them to be able to stack the weight above the ankle. Our knees can go past our toes because of Dorsiflexion, which keeps the center mass over the midfoot.
Lacking this often causes a lack of balance & the inability to squat deep. People leave this to last to check, but it could be the first thing limiting your overhead ability.
#2 – Hip Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Hip mobility external and internal rotation: We need adequate ranges of motion to sit deep into the squat. A lack of this could cause a knee cave. As mentioned above, the squat stacked over the center of the midfoot keeps everything in alignment.
#3 Thoracic Extension, Flexion and Rotation
This tends to be one of the most significant limiting factors; upper back rounding causes the scapular to travel a longer distance around the upper spine. This, in turn, creates instability when you try holding your shoulders in your pocket, leading to poor shoulder mobility.
If you can't stack the upper spine in line, this will cause some grief with keeping the bar stacked over the mid foot. People tend to fall forward when they lack in this with both the front & overhead squats.
#4 Shoulder Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Internal and external rotation are needed to get the bar path tracking upwards and keep it close. Mobility limitations are usually linked with the thoracic and lack of flexibility with the lat and pec muscles, causing the inability to reach overhead.
Usually, lacking here will cause weak rotator cuff muscles and the inability to stack or press a weight properly above the head.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to see how a seemingly insignificant mobility issue can have much larger knock-on effects with your Olympic lifts. Consider your own technique - now that you know what mobility is required, do you lack in any of the areas above?
If so, send me an email or DM on Instagram, and let's set up an assessment!
Fun - Honesty - SIMPLICITY - Smash Life - Mental Toughness - Hard Work
People often think strength and technique are the limiting factors whenever they hit a wall with Olympic lifts or specific gymnastics exercises. When you have the mobility of a rock, lifts such as the power clean or the snatch can be your worst nightmare!
How Lack of Mobility Hinders Your Workouts
I see people work countless hours trying to perfect the timing and technique of Olympic lifts – and yet they still can’t execute the movements properly. There could be a lot of different reasons for this problem, however one issue in particular occurs time and time again: lack of mobility.
Most people either don’t know what’s causing their mobility issues or do know but only spend 10 minutes a week trying to fix it. When compared to the 5+ hours per week of training they’re doing, it’s no surprise they’re struggling.
So, what’s the solution?
Olympic Lifting and Mobility: Work Smarter, Not Harder
No, I'm not expecting you to do five hours of mobility a week. This advice is for beginner to intermediate level Crossfitters, as well as anyone that’s hit a fitness plateau with specific movements.
Related: 5 Tips for CrossFit Beginners
I’m going to take a simplistic, relatable approach to improving your mobility using two Olympic lifts: the snatch and the power clean.
Let’s start with what you’re actually trying to achieve: to move a weighted bar up the body and try to keep the bar path as close to your body as possible, finishing in either a full-depth front squat or an overhead squat.
I know that’s a very simplified explanation and, in case any of them are reading this, I mean no offense to the Olympic lifting gods that walk amongst us!
You may be thinking “surely problems with bar path is an issue of technique and not mobility?” It’s true, technique could be the problem. In my experience, I’ve seen countless people struggle with these lifts because they physically cannot get into the correct position.
Some coaches will simply try and put you in the proper position and hope that fixes the problem. You’ll feel uncomfortable as if you’re going to fall over but go along with the lift anyway.
Then what happens? Your body immediately reverts back to where your body has the ability to go and everyone’s time is wasted. The coach suggests you work on your mobility so they can scale the exercise down and make it easier for you to move.
You end the session doing part of the movement and leave feeling unfulfilled. When you show up to the next class, you’re right back where you started with the coach trying to manually get your body into the correct position.
Using the Overhead Squat to Uncover Mobility Issues
The overhead squat is a staple CrossFit exercise that you must be proficient in to do a full snatch. It requires an adequate range of motion joint by joint to do one properly & shows people's lack of mobility when they can't perform one, especially with no weight.
Some people despise this exercise because it causes considerable shoulder or upper back pain. Others simply can't do it at all. While going down to a squat is a big no-no when holding something overhead, those same people can back squat 100kg plus.
If you're different from the above, you could be the below. You have to come up onto your toes & buckle your knees so badly; yes, it's technically an overhead squat, but if I put any weight on the bar, your knees would collapse in on each other.
Overhead Squat Mobility Requirement Breakdown
Stability and activation could be factors, but let's break down what mobility you need to perform an effortless overhead squat. Let's start from the bottom up; I'll keep it simple and go for the top four things. You will need an adequate range of motion to perform an overhead squat.
#1 – Ankle Dorsiflexion
Why do we need this? We need the knee not only to track the middle to outer toes, but we need them to be able to stack the weight above the ankle. Our knees can go past our toes because of Dorsiflexion, which keeps the center mass over the midfoot.
Lacking this often causes a lack of balance & the inability to squat deep. People leave this to last to check, but it could be the first thing limiting your overhead ability.
#2 – Hip Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Hip mobility external and internal rotation: We need adequate ranges of motion to sit deep into the squat. A lack of this could cause a knee cave. As mentioned above, the squat stacked over the center of the midfoot keeps everything in alignment.
#3 Thoracic Extension, Flexion and Rotation
This tends to be one of the most significant limiting factors; upper back rounding causes the scapular to travel a longer distance around the upper spine. This, in turn, creates instability when you try holding your shoulders in your pocket, leading to poor shoulder mobility.
If you can't stack the upper spine in line, this will cause some grief with keeping the bar stacked over the mid foot. People tend to fall forward when they lack in this with both the front & overhead squats.
#4 Shoulder Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Internal and external rotation are needed to get the bar path tracking upwards and keep it close. Mobility limitations are usually linked with the thoracic and lack of flexibility with the lat and pec muscles, causing the inability to reach overhead.
Usually, lacking here will cause weak rotator cuff muscles and the inability to stack or press a weight properly above the head.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to see how a seemingly insignificant mobility issue can have much larger knock-on effects with your Olympic lifts. Consider your own technique - now that you know what mobility is required, do you lack in any of the areas above?
If so, send me an email or DM on Instagram, and let's set up an assessment!
Fun - Honesty - SIMPLICITY - Smash Life - Mental Toughness - Hard Work
One-Hour Workout: Revving Your Swim Engine
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