As Rx'd Blog

What is changing? 

We are going to try something new with the way we program here at Elysium, we will be having a barbell and gymnastic focus every four weeks that will help us advance our athletes better in the strength department and at the same time increase our ability to handle some of the more difficult gymnastic skills. If you are someone that is interested in learning what exactly is changing please keep reading. For this first  month we will be focusing on back squats and muscle ups. Why did we pick these moves? Well the back squat is the king of the jungle when it comes to being strong with a barbell. If you have a great back squat that means your hips should have more power for a front or ohs... You have more drive for that push press or jerk. In general back squats make everything better. 

The muscle up should be a goal for every member at a crossfit gym. It represents a great level of strength and coordination. There are different aspects to the muscle up that present problems for different people. Some have the strength but lack the flexibility or coordination to pull it off.  While others understands the general movement but lack the power to do it. We will be working on different parts of this through out the month. As well as showing you how to add things to your daily practice to help you as well.  Hopefully we will get some more people into the "muscle up club!" 

If you would like to maximize the new program then continue to read. If you don't care about how to best take part then don't worry about, just continue to show up and do what you have been doing since you started. Just don't ask me any questions that could be answered by reading the following paragraphs, unless you just want me to make fun of you. 

How does this affect your experience here at Elysium? 

For the next month Monday and Thursday will ALWAYS be back squats. These days won't be max effort days like we normally do, you will be doing sets based off of a percentage of your one rep max record. The sets will move faster round to round - since you are not maxing out the way you keep the intensity up and progress is to keep the rest intervals shorter. That means while the sets are sub-maximal they will still get difficult.  At the end of the four week cycle we will have a test day where everyone will get a chance to see how much stronger they have become! Missing a day or two won't ruin the whole thing but planning your schedule and rest days to make it it on squat days would be best. 

The other days of the week will stay about the same as they are now, working on over head shoulder strength, skill work, oly work will still stay. The metcons should stay the same except for back squat days, on those days it may be a bit on the shorter side. Remember the back squat focus doesn't mean we are doing less met-con work. It just means it is being organized differently. I would suggest that in order to get the most out of the system, you plan on being in classes 4 days a week. Scheduling  your rest days accordingly might need a little more planning than usual. If you miss a some days it won't be the end of the word. 

This was just my brief and simple explanation. If you would like to know more details or if you have questions after reading this, just ask Coach L or myself next time you see us.

A quick rant on why we are changing things. 

Leon and I have decided to change things for one reason... we want to provide to you the best service and product. That is what you pay for and that is what you deserve. We have always thought that are programming was good, simple and reliable. We still think that it is. However we want to see if we can improve with some things we have learned in the recent past. Programming the strength differently and little changes to the met-cons in order to make all of you stronger and faster. With the CrossFit Open the past month we definitely learned a few things... we are decently strong around Elysium and with a good handle on complex moves, which is why our best event was the Snatch ladder. We also learned that our general conditioning can be a whole lot better, since the burpee wod was by far our worst performance. Overall we did pretty good and you can bet that I sure am damn proud of all of you for taking part and doing your best. We are a young box and with focus I totally believe that we could have a team being sent to the socal regionals in the future. This is now an opportunity for those of us who think it would be cool to be a part of the group of us working towards building that team. All you have to do is work hard at showing up on the important strength days and spending some extra time learning the skills it requires to be a little competitive. We aren’t going to turn into a super agro competitive gym, we will always be the Elysium that you all know and love. We just want to continue to improve as much as we possibly can!

 

Everyone’s got certain movements they love, and others that they hate in CrossFit. I’m no different. Here’s a list of my top 5 “Most hated” and “Favorite” movements, along with a brief explanation why. In some cases it’s because I’m good/bad at the move, and in others there’s a more in-depth reason.

Coach L’s top 5 Most Hated Movements

5. L- pull ups

I’m good at L-sits. I’m good at pull ups. Yet I hate L-pullups. There’s something about the particular level of torque on the shoulders, something about the grip, that means I just can’t stand the movement. I still feel like I could beat most people if this move came up, I just can’t stand it personally.

4. Kettlebell swings

The simple swing, one of the easiest movements we do, just destroys me. Almost nothing else can get my heart rate going so high so quickly. As a lighter person, a standard 53lb KB will tend to be a larger percentage of my bodyweight than for most people. Whatever. I can handle that. What I can’t handle is the feeling of absolute breathlessness that I have when I’m doing swings.

It’s not a strength issue either. When I first started CrossFitting the 2pood (70lb) KB would give me a lot of trouble. These days I can swing that reasonably well. KB swings are just a pure metcon kick in the nuts for me, out of proportion to most other moves. If they come up in a WOD I’m probably going to get dominated.

3. Wall balls

This is not a short person’s exercise. I am a short person. ‘Nuff said.

Here is why this is a tall person’s move-

Tall people have much less distance to launch the ball to hit a standard 10ft target. Imagine a 5 ft tall person; with their arms fully extended, they may reach up to 7ft. That leaves 3 ft left that they have to propel the ball through. Contrast that with a 6ft tall person. We’ll even pretend the 6ft person only has the same 2ft overhead reach that the short person has (which isn’t true). That still leaves only 2ft that the ball has to travel. Multiply that over 50, 75 or 100 reps and it really adds up. When you look at tall vs. short people doing wall balls the difference is painfully obvious- the tall person can generally stand up and casually “flick” the ball at the wall, while the shorter person is heaving the ball, like a huge basketball push pass.

These issues come up on the way down too. The tall person catches the ball much higher than the short person, meaning there’s less distance the ball travels = less time for the ball to fall = less gravitational acceleration and force that has to be controlled with each rep. Check out a tall person receiving a wall ball- it looks effortless. Then, look at me. It’s like I’m being hit with a sledgehammer on each rep.

Fancy way of explaning that wall balls smack into a shorter person with more force.

Sure, I’ve heard the argument that a tall person squats through a “longer ROM” than a short person. That’s not technically true. A tall person squats through the same ROM relative to their height that a short person does. A squat is a squat is a squat. Anyway, just like kettlebells, if wall balls come up in a WOD I’m going to get worked.

2. Thrusters

Good god. There is no other movement that can generate such pain, so quickly. Find me one person who likes thrusters and I will show you a clinically-insane person.

And, my number one hated movement…

Is this what long-slow-distance running makes you look like? Sign me up!

1. Running

Despise it. Loathe it. If CrossFit didn’t have running in it, I wouldn’t run. I cannot imagine a more monotonous, soul-sucking exercise. I can get my metcon punch in other ways, thank you very much. It doesn’t help that I run like a wounded water buffalo.

Coach L’s top 5 favorite movements

5. Butterfly kipping pull ups

Man, I love these. There’s just something about hitting a ton of butterflies that can’t be described. If you time things right, they’re almost effortless. The coordination required, the union of strength and timing, the demands on core control (butterfly pullups are essentially hip flexion/extension in a rhythmic pattern) make this such an elegant move.

Check out Chris Spealler doing butterfly pull ups. No one does it better. (Go to about 1:30 in)
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4. Handstand push ups

Yeah, ok, I’m good at these. Whatever, that’s a good enough reason in and of itself. If they come up in any reasonable volume in a workout I’m probably going to crush you. Beyond that, I think they’re a good test of upper body strength, especially strength to size ratio. It’s funny to see guys with 300+lb bench presses that can’t do one handstand push up.

3. Snatch

Although I’m not particularly good at the snatch, when you make the lift just right it feels effortless. Watching someone do a full squat snatch well is a thing of beauty.

2. The squat

Fact- squatting fixes everything. Powerlifters need to squat more. So do gymnasts. So do grandmothers and everyone in between. There is NO population that couldn’t derive benefit from squatting.

Squatting builds muscle. It causes fat loss and strengthens bone, tendon and joint. It gives girls the curves they need, and helps guys lose the gut they don’t need. Never mind the fact that the squat, and strength derived from it, forms the foundation of nearly every movement we do in CrossFit.

Some movements come and go like fads. A lot have limited utility and are at best, assistance exercises. The squat will always be here to stay, and should form the foundation of ANY well-designed fitness program. If you’re not squatting, you’re doing something wrong.

And, my number one favorite movement…

1. Clean and Jerk

This is the “king of lifts” for a reason. There is NO way to move as much weight from ground to overhead. This is definitely my favorite lift. Crushing a heavy clean and jerk can make your whole day. The demands on coordination, strength, flexibility, timing… Olympic lifts take it all. If I had a choice between getting a PR on the snatch or the clean and jerk, I’d take the clean and jerk every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Liao Hui, 198kg clean and jerk at 69kg bodyweight.
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Disclaimer- title shamelessly taken from another blog post, dealing with the same subject matter...

It's time to get off your knees. Ladies, I'm mostly speaking to you, but this applies to anyone still doing push ups on your knees. I don't mean this to be insulting; rather, Coach P and I have decided we have allowed this scaling to hold back your athletic progress long enough. From here on out, scaling pushups by doing knee pushups will not be allowed. I'll discuss some other options at the end of this post, and the coaches can always find one for you before the WOD. Please read on.


This will no longer be allowed.

First, let's examine why one would need to scale a push up. A proper push up requires two elements of strength-
1. upper body (chest, tricep, shoulder girdle) strength
2. "Core" (abdominal) strength to stabilize the midline

This is the ROM of a proper push up.

If either of these two elements are lacking, a proper push up is not possible. It should be noted "proper" refers to full lockout at the top, chest (NOT belly/face etc) touches the ground, legs fully extended and the body rising as one unit. The push up is a basic measure of bodyweight strength and EVERYONE'S goal should eventually be to be able to perform multiple full ROM pushups. If you cannot do a full push up in a very real sense you lack basic strength and the ability to manipulate your body in space.

Lack of upper body strength will manifest itself by inability to go all the way down, or inability to push the chest up from the bottom. Most people actually have at least some of the strength needed for this component of the move. More common is a lack of core strength- this can be seen when someone pushes from the bottom, and the chest rises BEFORE the hips. A tight core is unable to be maintained which would hold the body in a rigid plank, so the chest rises first and then the butt "snakes" up off the ground. Anyone who has done enough pushups and is fatigued will naturally break down to something approximating this move.



This is a "broken" push up, with no midline stability.

How do "knee pushups" help? Why are they easier?

Doing push ups off the knees takes much of the load (the entire low body) essentially out of the equation, so there is less work for the upper body to handle. In addition, because the "hinge" of the movement is now the knees (tucked under the body) rather than the feet, core strength is ESSENTIALLY ELIMINATED from the move.

So, why are we eliminating knee pushups as a scale?

Doing knee push ups will help develop upper body strength, to a certain extent. Eventually, one will max out the benefits from this scale and it would be time to move on to full push ups. Unfortunately, YOUR CORE will never get developed by doing knee push ups. So, part of you might be ready for full push ups, but you'll still be stuck on your knees. There are much more useful scales available- specifically, doing pushups off a box or a bench. The higher the box, the easier the movement (ie, the more vertical your body is, the easier). By doing push ups this way, at least you'll get the benefit of working to keep your body in a plank and developing your core strength.


Inclining the push up takes load off the upper body and midline and makes the move easier.

How many of you are still stuck doing knee push ups after months of doing them? We're doing this for your athletic and physical development. So, expect to use a new, more useful scale the next time you come and do push ups, and look forward to eventually achieving the full movement! Until next time, get off your knees...

Coach L