CrossFit Journal, 10/18/12 – Separating the Girls from the Women

Hardest CrossFit session to date?   Will I just continue to say that as long as I push myself?   I kid you not, at one point during yesterday’s workout, I actually (ACTUALLY) thought to myself “I would rather be running.”  If you’ve been reading along, or if you know me personally, you know that this thought is unheard of for Amanda.  I worked my ass off.  And two others in the room still KILLED ME.  I can blame it on the fact that I hadn’t eaten since lunch (usually I have a snack in the afternoon), but really that doesn’t make up for the difference.  I will definitely try this workout again, and try to improve my performance.  It would be simple to implement at the gym at work, so I look forward to trying again with Kara.

Warm up

• 320-m run
• 10 pushups
• 10 burpees
• 10 windshield wiper stretches
• 10 Russian twists, 20 lbs
• 10 V-ups
• 10 good mornings with a dowel
• 8 figure-8s with a kettle bell, 20 lbs
• 5 box jumps (20”?)

Skill

Max height box jump.  Just keep laying big plates on top of a box, see how high you can go, and measure with a tape measure at the end.  Be smart, be careful.  I got to 29.5”.  I’m 5’4”.

WOD (Workout of the Day)

You have 2 minutes to complete:

• 10 box jumps (20”)
• 5 bar-facing burpees (see first video below)
• As many hang power snatches (see second video) as you can in the remaining time (35 lbs for women, I believe it was 65 lbs for men)

You will repeat the two-minute circuit 8 times, and write down your number of reps (including box jumps and burpees) at the end of each circuit.  There is a 1-minute break between circuits.  Your score is the total number of reps completed.  In my case:  28-25-25-24-22-22-22-23 = 191 total.

Once again, I was not in last place (out of 4 people), but I was pretty far behind the two people in front of me.  There was a girl (excuse me, WOMAN!) who scored 353 reps, with the same height box, and the same weight on her bar.  I am still completely blown away by her performance.  She pushed really hard, and performed amazingly well.  Definitely inspiring!  That’s what I mean by separating (by a very large margin) the girls — me — from the women.  =)  I’ll get there!  I’m still proud of how hard I pushed myself.  I was definitely bordering on black-out at one point, and also had some serious heartrate and breathing issues at one point.  But I pulled through and finished the last round without giving up any more reps.  Whew!!

-Amanda

CrossFit Journal, 10/16/12

I headed back to CrossFit yesterday after a little hiatus.  Travel and a cold threw a wrench in my routine, but I was happy with how strong I still felt, even after the break.  I have to admit that I was really nervous about whether there would be a ton of running, because my throat/lungs are still recovering, and I wasn’t sure how much ground I’d lost as far as cardiovascular fitness goes.  I always find that my endurance with running goes away really quickly if I don’t do it for a week or so.  And I’ve heard rumors from the other CrossFitters about recent workouts that have included up to 5k in running, in addition to requisite lifting routines.  I’m so intimidated by that… I know I’d get it done, but it would really suck for me.

But, I had fun last night!  We ended up doing a lot of partner work, and things seemed a little more low-key than usual.  Also, everyone seemed a bit more friendly and chatty, so I enjoyed the fitness camaraderie.  In my opinion, it’s the number-one virtue of this fitness trend (I know that some people will gasp (!!) that I’ve called it a “trend.” What do you think?) .  I absolutely love group fitness, especially when everyone has higher-than-your-average-fitness-class motivation.

Warm-up

• 480-m run
• 30 jumping jacks
• 10 hand-release pushups
• 10 overhead pass-throughs with a dowel (here at 2:44)
• 10 low, slow squats
• 10 Knees to Elbows
• 5 burpees
• 10 scissors
• 10 ring dips, or simple tricep dips, with or without elastic assistance

Skill

Tabata Partner Medicine Ball Situps.  Almost exactly like the video below, except when our partner had the ball, we would just wait for the ball to come back instead of doing an extra situp without the ball.  Personally, now that I’ve seen this video, I think we should have done the extra sit-up!!  But I can always implement that later in another workout of my own design.  =)

For the Tabata format, we did as many reps as possible in 20 seconds, then took a 10-second break.  This was repeated 8 times for a total of 4 minutes.  My partner and I kept to a pace of 10-11 situps per round, using a 12-lb medicine ball.

Workout of the Day (WOD)

More partner work, this time a 20-minute AMRAP (that means As Many Rounds As Possible in 20 minutes).

• 5 ring dips
• 10 hand-release pushups (ugh)
• 15 air squats (you must break parallel for it to count — that means your butt goes below the level of your knees)
• the prescribed number of burpees (see below)

Here’s how the partner workout goes.  Partner A goes through the first three exercises (dips, pushups, squats), and at the end completes one burpee. When she’s done, partner B goes through the first three exercises, and at the end completes two burpees. Then back to partner A… at the end of the first three exercises, she does three burpees, and so on.  So each time through, you add a burpee.  Partner A always does the odd number of burpees, partner B always does the even numbers.  Partner A rests while partner B works, and vice versa.  Together you complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes.  Together, my partner and I completed 12 full rounds, plus 15 reps (all the way through the push-ups on the 13th round).

Since I was curious, I added up exactly how many reps of each exercise I did.  I was partner A.

• 35 ring dips
• 70 pushups
• 90 squats
• 1+3+5+7+9+11=36 burpees

Anyway, it was another great workout.  I think I’m ready for some running next time.  Still, not too much.  I still loathe it, but I’m less worried about my fitness level than I was before yesterday’s workout.    Don’t be so skeered, Amanda!  When’s the last time you were unnecessarily intimidated by a future workout/fitness event?  I know I always feel that way before a race event.  Gah!

Happy Hump Day!

-Amanda

CrossFit Journal, 10/2/2012

Every day at CrossFit is different.  It’s one of the big advantages, in my opinion, since I am easily bored when it comes to fitness.  Tuesday, I worked out with 3 other guys, all of whom had more experience than I do.  I don’t mind this at all, especially since it gave the trainer (the one I’ve ranted about) some time to help me — a newbie — work on my form.  I benefited a lot from some individual attention.  I think my “clean” form is improving a lot.

There was also a different kind of competitive atmosphere today, from my perspective.  Since there were no girls in class when I went, the competitive streak I have sort of changed character.  When there are girls in the class, I 100% admit that I feel competitive with them.  I want to be the strongest girl, the fastest girl, etc.  I don’t always win, but I am rarely last place.  And if another newbie beats my time, I like to think it’s usually because they’re lifting lighter weight.  These are the things I think about.  I know, it sounds a little petty, but really I just use it as motivation.  I really do want everyone to do well in the class; I am inspired by women who push themselves and aren’t afraid of being strong.  When someone beats me, and they were lifting the same or heavier weight, I really admire them.  But Tuesday, I discovered that it’s not just the women who make me feel competitive.  Even when it’s only dudes in the room, I still want to keep up.  There were two who blew me out of the water (seriously, holy shit).  But my sick, competitive alter-ego is cackling with glee about my victory over one of the other guys.  Mu-ah-ah-AH!  Is something wrong with me?

Here’s the work out!

Warm-up

• 320-m run
• 10 burpees (don’t forget the push-ups!)
• 30 jumping jacks
• 10 good mornings with a dowel/PVC
• 10 deep lunge stretches (mainly to stretch groin)
• 10 front squats with dowel/PVC
• 10 power cleans with PVC
• 10 thrusters with PVC
• 10 knees to elbows (see video below)
• 10 toes to bar (see video below)
• 10 scissors (the familiar ab move where you scissor your legs vertically, and then horizontally, near the floor)

Power clean.

“Knees to bar,” and “toes to bar” in one video:

Skill

Max hang squat clean.  This is the same as a power clean pictured above, except you start with the bar just above your knees, instead of on the floor. Here’s another nice video showing what it looks like.

7-5-5  (experienced CrossFitters did 5-3-1-1-1 with heavier weight).  Remember those numbers (7-5-5) are the number of reps per set.  You increase your weight for each set, if you can.

I did 25lbs – 45 lbs – 65 lbs.

I struggled with 65 lbs, but it definitely taught me to get under the bar at the end (the “drop”) on the image above.  The lift takes a lot of practice… I had to really focus on the shrug and the drop to get it feeling right.  Another key is that the bar needs to move vertically, never forward.  It’s tempting to want to bring the bar forward (like a reverse curl), but once you get to a heavy weight, this technique fails.  So I really want to work on keeping the bar movement vertical, so that my form is better when I get to lifting even heavier weight.

WOD

5 rounds for time of:

• 1 power clean (50 lbs)
• 3 hang squat cleans (50 lbs)
• 2 push jerks (50 lbs)
• 200-m sprint

Write down your time after the first set of 5 rounds, then take a mandatory 2 minute break.  Repeat the set another five times, and note your finish time.

My first 5 rounds took 8:48.  After two minutes of rest, and another 5 rounds, I finished at 19:19.  That means my second set was shorter than my first (8:31)!  I didn’t realize that until I just did the calculation.  I’m pleased with that.  I set a goal, during the two minute break, of finishing the rest of my next set of 5 rounds by the 20 minute mark.  It took a lot of will to keep pushing.  I’m proud to say I fought hard, and beat the time of one of the guys.  Granted he was doing more weight than I was, but it definitely was proportional.  I think he simply ran out of will.  You should have heard the string of excuses he was making after the workout.  Lawdy-lawdy.

Are you competitive?  What sets that go-get-it fire under you?  How do you motivate yourself to push through the toughest parts of a workout? 

-Amanda

Crossfit Journal, 9/27/12 & Notes on a Proper Deadlift

Yesterday, another workout at CrossFit.  This time it was much more focused on Olympic style lifts.  This is more what I expected from CrossFit, but it is also the area that I’m consistently disappointed in, for this particular gym.  I’ll share the workout first, and then talk about some form issues at the bottom of the post.

Warm-up

• 320-m run
• 30 jumping jacks
• 10 pull ups
• 10 good mornings with dowel
• 10 squat presses (with a 10-second pause at the bottom of the squat) – 25 lbs
• 10 cleans – 25 lbs
• 10 scissor legs (alternate vertical scissors with horizontal scissors)
• 10 knees to elbows

Skill

Deadlifts

Experienced Crossfitters did 5-3-1-1-1 (that’s number of reps per set.  There are five sets in this case.)

For Newbies (me): 7-7-5-3 (four sets in this case.)

The goal here (for newbies) is to hit your three-rep max.  So the weight needs to be heavy.  I did 75 lbs – 95 lbs – 95 lbs – 105 lbs.

WOD

“Grace” – lots of common CrossFit workouts have names.

Grace is simply 30 clean-and-jerks for time.  I did mine at 55 lbs, in 9 minutes, 23 seconds.  I went slow, because I wanted to be safe, and I don’t feel as confident in my form for this lift.

_____________________________________________________________________

Rant:  The trainer at this gym, while a really nice guy, and a good motivator, is disappointing to me in terms of instructing on form. First of all, it’s just him at the gym, and whoever shows up for the WOD, he is the only guy monitoring form.  There are no other trainers.  1 guy for 10 people is not enough, especially when there are at least 3 newbies in every class.  There was a guy next to me, who had clearly never learned a jerk before (why does this gym not require that everyone attend an “elements” class?!?!).  That is totally fine, but the trainer should have taken his weight down, and worked on his FORM.  This guy was one of those people who was very open to direction, he wasn’t trying to be tough, and he wanted to do it right.  I don’t think our trainer has a good eye for form, neither has he developed a method for effectively communicating how to improve your form.  Frankly, I think I could even do a better job.  End of rant.

Anyway, let’s focus on something productive.  Since I’m still sort of trying to find my groove for Clean and Jerks, I’d rather talk about Deadlifts.  That’s a lift I feel pretty confident about.  Here’s a great video showing what I consider to be really nice deadlift form:

Some of the things I keep in mind when I’m doing a deadlift:

1. shoulders back
2. chest up (I try to set my gaze at the point where the ceiling meets the wall)
3. weight in heels
4. drag the bar along your legs
5. one fluid movement with legs and back straightening at the same pace (i.e. not legs first, then back).

Are there any tips you think about when you’re working on deadlifts?  Have you ever been to CrossFit and seen a trainer ignoring improper form?

-Amanda

CrossFit “Kitchen Sink” Tabata, 9/25/2012

Last night’s CrossFit session was my favorite ever!  Why?  1: There was no running, except for the warmup. And, 2:  I put in a really good performance.  I am definitely a bit competitive, so it felt good to be toward the top of the achievement list last night.

Warmup

• 320-m run
• 10 Russian Twists with 20-lb kettlebell
• 10 jump squats
• Samson stretch (detailed instruction here)
• Windshield wiper stretch
• 10 pull-ups, with or without elastic assistance/jumping
• 10 6” jumps (find something that’s 6” above your fingertips when your arms are stretched overhead, and jump to touch it)
• 10 medicine ball burpees (this video, at 1:13)

Skill

Tabata Hanging Power Snatch.  Seriously, who comes up with these names?  My boyfriend commented that this sounds like some sort of sex move for old lesbians.  I don’t disagree, haha! We are the epitome of class, over here.

Here’s what a Hanging Power Snatch looks like (still giggling):

Ladies were using 25-lb bars, and gents were using 45-lb bars. So for a Tabata, we did as many of these as we could in 20 seconds.  Then you get 10 seconds of rest, before moving on to the next round of 20 seconds.  You repeat this 8 times for a total of 4 minutes.  Each round, you really try to keep your number of reps the same as in your first round.  It’s very difficult.  My performance was 11-11-11-10-11-10-10-9.   I’m really happy with that.  I kept a great pace.

WOD (Workout of the Day)

“Kitchen Sink” Tabata, as many reps as possible in each of 5 rounds.

1. Russian twists (I used a 20-lb kettlebell) – left and right is 1 rep
2. Air squats – remember to “break parallel” (your butt should get below the level of your knees at the bottom of the squat)
3. Hand-release pushups
4. 6” jumps
5. Military-style sit-ups.  Come up all. the. way.
6. Mountain climbers – left and right is one rep
7. Pull ups (with assisting band, or not)
8. Burpees, hand-release pushup at the bottom, clap at the top.

So here’s how this one works.  You do exercise 1 for 20 seconds, cranking out as many reps as you can.  Say you complete 15 reps of the Russian twists.  When 20 seconds are up, you get a 10-second break.  Then it’s on to exercise 2: air squats for 20 seconds.  Your reps from the squats add on to the reps from your twists.  So, if you did 12 squats, then your total reps are now up to 27 (15+12).  You continue on, doing each exercise for 20 seconds, and adding up your reps as you go. Some items are much easier than others.  You can really crank out a lot of the 6” jumps, for example, but the burpees are pretty slow, so you might get just 6 or 8.  Once you complete the entire circuit once, you get a minute break, and write down how many reps you completed for that round.  You do the whole circuit 5 times, and count your total reps for each round.  So my first round, here’s what I did: 15 russian twists, 13 air squats, 13 pushups, 45 jumps, 12 situps, 26 mountain climbers, 8 burpees.  That’s a total of 143 reps for that round.  I would try to shoot for that in the next 4 rounds.  Each round takes (a grueling) 4 minutes, so with the 1 minute rest between rounds, the whole thing takes 24 minutes!  Here are my results.

• Round 1: 143 reps
• Round 2: 138 reps
• Round 3: 136 reps
• Round 4: 132 reps
• Round 5: 141 reps

I’m pretty sure I want to do this exact workout with Kara one day.  I don’t think it will work for a large group at our gym,  because there aren’t enough spots for pullups.  Though, I suppose we could just offset ourselves on the different exercises…  We’ll see!

-Amanda

Quick Workout with the Girls, 9/20/12

Yesterday, I met my normal workout buddies for a quick workout at the gym.  I tried to put together something fast and intense, in the same format of the CrossFit workouts.  We didn’t have time for the typical “Skill” section, but I want to be sure to include that next time.  =)

Warm-up

• 150-m run
• 50 jumping jacks
• 10 overhead pass-throughs with a dowel (here at 2:44)
• 10 Russian twists with 15-20 lb kettlebell
• 10 overhead kettlebell swings with 15-20lb kettlebell
• 10 figure 8′s with the kettlebell (15-20 lbs)
• 10 toe-touch planks (see video below)

Workout of the Day (WOD)

In 25 minutes, as many rounds as possible (AMRAP) of:

• 150-m run
• 20-meter farmer carry with two 35-lb kettlebells
• 15 overhead kettlebell swings, 15-20 lbs
• 10 crossing toe-touch planks (5 on each side)

Toe touch planks:

Kara completed 8 rounds (go girl!). I completed 7, plus a run.  The other girls we were working out with were all in the 7-8 rounds range.  We did great!

-Amanda

CrossFit Journal, 9/19/12

Yesterday’s CrossFit class was another doozy.  This time, though, I have a couple of critiques of this particular “box” (what Crossfitters call their gym).  See the end of this post for my rants.

Warm-up

• 380-m run
• 10 hand-release pushups (I do not approve)
• 10 overhead pass-throughs with a dowel (here at 2:44)
• 10 6” jumps, arms overhead (tap a bar above your head, if you can find one at the right height)
• 10 doubleunders (jump rope, spinning the rope fast enough to get under your feet twice in one jump)
• 10 (5 on each side) Turkish getups with a PVC
• 10 sit-ups

Skill

Turkish Getups with a Bar.  Do one on each side, at each weight.  I did 12 lbs, then 25 lbs, then 30 lbs.

As you can tell, this is really technical with a bar (as opposed to a kettlebell).  It would be very easy to injure yourself, simply by losing your balance and rotating your shoulder the wrong way, so only work with a comfortable weight.  Better safe than sorry.  More tips:  Go slow.  Keep your arm completely vertical, elbow locked, at all times.  Keep your eye on the bar — always look up.  Tilt the bar very slightly forward for easier balance (at least for me).  Again, do NOT overload your bar!

Workout of the Day (WOD)

5 rounds, as fast as possible of:

• 480-m run
• 6 turkish getups (3 each side) with the bar (I started with a 25 lb bar, but quickly downgraded to 15 lbs to be safer.)
• 15 hand-release pushups
• 15 V-ups

My time was 32:55.  I think I could have done with a slightly heavier weight, but unfortunately, there was no 20-lb bar.  No matter, though, I was WIPED OUT at the end.  I am definitely bringing up the rear when it comes to these group workouts.  I actually kind of like it.  These people are insanely strong, and I love the motivation.  I can already feel that running is getting a bit easier (oh, I still hate it, but it’s easier).

Now, for the critiques I mentioned at the beginning:

1) Hand-release pushups. Not a fan.  These bring your chest all the way to the ground, and you have to pick up your hands when you’re on the ground, every time.  I understand the point — it forces you to do a COMPLETE pushup.  You get the full range of motion.  But what I also see is that, if you’re not strong, or your pushup form is weak, then you end up “doing the worm” on the way up, with a slumped back.  And it wasn’t just me.  Some of the strongest people in the class were doing their pushups this way, too, and it just looks totally wrong.  You lose all of the benefit of holding your body stiff (think, plank) for a pushup, and you also are probably causing yourself some back problems.  I think the better thing to do would be to WORK UP to this.  Start with regular pushups on your knees, progress to regular pushups on your toes, and when your back/core are super strong, try the hands-up when you go down.  To be fair, I don’t really think this is a universal CrossFit thing.  I think this video (also by a CrossFit affliate) is much more useful:

2. While I think Turkish Getups with a bar are an awesome idea, I think that trainers might want to take a little bit more responsibility for instructing their clients/crossfitters about the proper amount of weight.  There was a big guy in our class doing a weight that caused him to drop the bar, and lose his balance at the end of every rep.  I think this is really unsafe.  As I said before, you could easily injure your shoulder, not to mention drop the bar onto your body as you’re coming back down into the lying position.  And if we’re talking about CrossFit standards (i.e. for the CrossFit Games), I’m certain that he would receive a “fault” for every one of his reps.  I think it’s essential to preach form before weight, and our trainer failed to do that last night.  I was disappointed.

However, I was not disappointed in myself!  Despite finishing last in our 5-person group, I kicked ass. And actually, I beat everyone in the morning group (everyone’s times for the day are written on a whiteboard), so I feel good about that.  I’m really pushing myself and it feels great.  =)

-Amanda

CrossFit Friday, Spiderman Crawl

On Friday, I attended the second Groupon CrossFit session of my latest CrossFit phase. Here’s what we did:

Warm-up

• 380-m run
• 50 jumping jacks
• 10 overhead pass-throughs with a dowel (here at 2:44)
• 10 good mornings with a dowel
• 10 tricep dips with an elastic band for assistance
• 10 figure 8′s with the kettlebell (15lbs)
• 10 Russian twists with a kettlebell (15lbs)
• 10 pullups with an elastic strap for assistance
• 10 squat jumps

Skill

Spiderman Crawl.  I think we did about 20 reps (10 on each side), since we did the crawl back and forth along the length of the gym floor.  Another thing to note:  about half of the people doing this workout did the pushup with the foot of their bent leg held OFF OF THE FLOOR.  So they basically did a tripod push-up, and got some more abdominal intensity from holding their leg up while completing the pushup.  I was really impressed.  I tried, and I am definitely not that strong yet.

Workout of the Day (WOD)

In 25 minutes, complete as many rounds as possible (AMRAP) of the following circuit:

• 150-m run
• 5 pull-ups
• 5 tricep dips
• 7 squat jumps

I completed 9 (+13), which means I completed 9 full rounds, and got through the tenth round all the way to the 3rd jumping squat (5+5+3=13).  I was so close to 10 total rounds!  It’s ok, I have room to grow!  Again, I swear it’s the running that kills me every time.  But it’s something I should work on, so I’m glad that CrossFit is pushing me to do so.  I’m developing little ways to coach myself or distract myself through the pain.  On a couple of the laps, I was planning the evening’s dinner. 

-Amanda

CrossFit – Our First Non-Elements Class

If you’ve been following along, you may know that Kara and I completed our 3 CrossFit Elements classes this month.  Last week we attended our first normal CrossFit class, and it was awesome.  Such a great workout.  Here’s what we did:

Warm up

• 400-meter run
• Up-and-overs (Anyone remember what these are really called?) with a dowel, see video (x5 in each direction)
• Windmills with a dowel, see video (x5in each direction)

• Overhead squat with a dowel
• Lizard/Plank Stretch, alternate between the two, see this video at 0:32  (x5 each side)
• Pigeon Stretch (x5 each side)
• Goodmornings with dowel (x10)
• Flagpole lat stretches (x10)
• Leg swings, foward and backward (x10 each leg)
• Leg swings, side to side (x10 each leg)
• Dive bombers, see video (x10)

I realize the screenshot for this video is a bit, uhhhh, provocative. I promise, it’s not porn.  Well, at least, it wasn’t intended to be.

Strength

Overhead Squats, 2-2-2-2-2   (That just means 2 reps, 5 times, increasing weight as you go)

Amanda: 45 – 50 – 55 – 60 – 65 lbs, respectively.

Kara: 45 – 50 – 50 – 55 – 55 lbs, respectively.

WOD (Workout of the Day — that’s right, we’ve only just begun…)

“10 to 1” Overhead Squats

“1 to 10” Bar-facing Burpees (this is a burpee where you start facing the bar (duh), and instead of jumping just vertically, you jump over the bar to the other side for the next burpee)

So it looks like this, in sequence:

10 overhead squats

1 burpee

9 overhead squats

2 burpees

8 overhead squats

3 burpees

.

.

.

until you get to…

.

.

.

1 overhead squat

10 burpees

I did 55 lbs for the squats, and Kara wisely decided on 35 lbs because the nerve running from her shoulder to her thumb was causing her arm to feel numb from the strength piece of the workout.  Poop on injuries.  Poop on them!

I wrote down 6:56 for my finishing time, but I just know that I can’t be right. I must have finished in 16 minutes, 56 seconds.  I was DEAD, and I know Kara was too, finishing around 17:50.  We kicked ass.

I’m hoping we can get back to CrossFit Los Gatos again soon, but both of us are concerned about the cost of membership.  I keep meaning to email the guy who runs the place, about getting some kind of specialized low attendance membership.  I definitely want to come back, but this gym is really far away.

-Amanda

Say hello to my little friend…

… Cindy.  Well a half Cindy that is.  A half Cindy is precisely how Amanda and I finished our third and final crossFit elements class.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with Cindy, a Cindy is as many rounds of 5 pulls ups, 10 push ups and 15 squats that you can do in 20 minutes. We did a half Cindy, so we did as many rounds as possible in only 10 minutes. Both Amanda and I finished with a respectable 8 rounds completed.

In addition to the Cindy, Amanda and I learned how to squat today! The crossFit class that we attended performs more of an Olympic style squat with your legs a little further than hip width apart and your toes slightly out-turned. See below.

First we learned the back squat. Start with you stance like the woman in the image above is performing. When you squat down you want to make your butt is out pushing back, you push out from your knees as you go down and the weight stays in you heels. The bottom pose is below:

You want to rest the bar in the middle of your back. The important thing that I learned today was to make sure your shoulders back and with your shoulder blades squeezed together and then hunch them up a bit. This creates a nice “shelf” for the bar to rest on. Previously when I would perform this move, I never had the right shoulder position. After two sets the bar would be pressing weirdly on my spine and it would just be uncomfortable for the lasts sets. With my new and improved stance however, I had no back issues at all.

The next was the forward squat:

The squat down is the same, only this time the bar is in front resting again on your shoulders. You should have your elbows out as high as you can with the bar in your fingers. It should be resting on your shoulders. If it feels like it might choke you this is a good sign. Please be careful though!

Finally, and most difficulty, we learned the overhead squat

..is she wearing bowling shoes in the pic!? I can’t tell… Anyway, You start by approaching the bar like a front squat. You jerk the bar up into the overhead position. You want your hands a little wider than normal with your elbows locked at the top. Your head should be a little forward, but its most important to maintain the bar position in line vertically with your feet. Again, you squat down with your butt back and knees pushing out until you break parallel with your butt. Definitely not as easy as it looks. Amanda was super quick to pick it up, but it took me a few times with a lighter bar to perfect my form before I tackled the 45lb bar.

Tomorrow we may have to work in some of our new moves to the work out. Hopefully our other work out buddies are ready for the challenge!

Picture Sources – One. Two. Three. Four.

kara.