Push Press
1-5-1-10-1-15

Then, every minute on the minute for 8 Minutes:
3 Push press @ 80% of 1 RM
30 Double unders

Post loads to comments and BTWB

The Hook Grip: Do You Need it? A stolen title and bullet points by Matt Bruce of brUTE Strength, but brought to you today, by Courtney Shepherd

The Olympic lifts, snatch and clean & jerk, are unique in that they require proficiency in all 10 General Physical skills. That means that athletes who make Olympic lifting their main area of focus excel at cardio/ respiratory endurance, strength, flexibility, stamina, power, speed, coordination, balance, accuracy, and agility. This is why we, as CrossFitters, LOVE the Olympic lifts. While we do not devote all our time to them, we include them in our training because of the benefits they provide. Perhaps some of us can look back at our beginning CrossFit days and compare our comfort with the Olympic lifts to our comfort with them now. While we may not consider ourselves Olympic lifting experts, I will bet we have improved. An improvement in our ability to snatch means we have improved our explosive hip drive. An improved explosive hip drive can help improve our box jumps, our kipping pull-up, our kettle bell swing. The Olympic lifts have transference to other movements.

Whenever I teach the Olympic lifts I always hear athletes say “there are so many things to think about”. Well, there are. You have to focus on how you shift the weight in your feet, keeping our shoulders over the bar, shrugging at the right time, etc, etc, etc. Unfortunately I am here to add another, it’s something simple and often overlooked but still a part of the technique of Olympic lifting. I’m certain the title of this blog gave it away a long time ago, but I’d like to address the hook grip.

What is the hook grip?
“To secure the hook grip, the athlete needs to grip the barbell and place one, two or three fingers around the thumb. Most athletes prefer the method shown here: two fingers placed over the thumb, with the thumb protruding slightly between the middle finger and ring finger.”

The hook grip feels awkward and/ or hurts.
“Many people attempt to hook grip the barbell but stop shortly after due to pain in the thumb or the inability to hold the thumb in place. There are a few methods you can use to help solve this problem: First, the hook grip is usually painful and awkward for only a few weeks. After a few weeks, the body tends to adapt the new grip, and sooner than later, you won’t even realize that you naturally grab the bar with the hook grip. One method to help speed this process is to hook grip a dumbbell in each hand and do farmers walks once a week for a total of 5 minutes. Another common problem is that athletes feel the hook grip sliding out. A solution might be to tape the thumb.”

What is the purpose of the hook grip?
“The hook grip is important because it helps keep the bar from sliding into the fingertips during the second phase (explosion phase) of the pull. The thumb helps keep the bar locked in place during the huge acceleration that is generated into the barbell during this phase.”

When should I use or not use the hook grip?
“The hook grip is utilized for all lifts below the shoulders. On the clean, the hook grip is most commonly released when receiving the bar in the front rack. It is not suggested that you jerk with a hook grip because this can restrict the movement of the barbell while traveling overhead. On the snatch, you can either keep the hook grip throughout the lift, or you can release the hook grip on the turnover above the head. This is the choice of the athlete as to which feels more comfortable— neither is right or wrong. Most importantly, the hook grip should be utilized for cleans and snatches, especially when lifting heavy.

The only time I would not suggest using the hook grip is for high repetitions of snatches or cleans within a WOD, especially when the weight needs to go overhead then back to the floor extremely fast. Other than that, I suggest using the hook grip, especially while lifting heavy weights.”

Yes, the hook grip is weird. Yes, the hook grip is uncomfortable. Yes, using a hook grip is just one more thing to think about. But as we become more comfortable and consistent in our technique, now is the time to refine our technique, add in the smallest of technique work that may in fact produce a big difference. So get out there and start hooking. Not like on the streets for money but like in a WOD with a barbell. 

Click here for full article.

Back Squat
1-10-1-20-1-30

Post score to BTW.

A Case For Training Without Adrenaline

What follows is a short read from TabataTimes.com – check out the original article here.

You’re standing at your bar, and you have that sick, nauseous feeling in the bowels of your gut. It’s the day to challenge your Fran time, and you put 115 on your bar like a boss. The timer says ten seconds, and tiny beads of sweat form on your fingertips through layers of chalk. Five seconds. Your heart begins to pound. Three seconds. Two seconds. You’re in it now kid. You better go hard. One… GO!!!

At that moment, you start lifting your brains out and throwing your self around the pull-up like you hated the flesh on your palms. Your muscles scream, flooding with lactic acid, but you’ve drowned them out because you found your Master of Puppets cassette the day before and you fast forwarded to Kirk Heinrich’s killer solo on minute six.

You collapse. You breathe. It’s over.

This scene is part of what makes CrossFit so damn fun and so damn easy to get hooked. Challenging limits and seeing what you’re capable of is an incredible rush, and it’s part of what drives people to do irrational things (base jumping, bull riding, karaoke).

I’m going to encourage you to do just the opposite.

Not every time, but I believe there’s much to be gained from being fully present with yourself and your environment during a difficult WOD. We exert so much of ourselves toward avoiding discomfort and pain that it becomes a distraction from what’s beautiful about experiencing those feelings. I know that’s a strange thing to say because it goes against all our natural instincts, but if you can embrace discomfort in a safe setting then it makes you more equipped to deal with pain in other areas of your life.

In yoga, this is known as sitting with your discomfort. An article in New York Family describes how this same mantra is used by a psychotherapist with her clients. Rather than allowing someone to avoid a subject that is difficult, she asks her clients to “dive deeper and explore” the pain in their lives.

When we rely on external factors to push us through a WOD, like a screaming coach or loud music, we’re creating a co-dependent relationship that diminishes the motivation you have within yourself and distracts us from feeling pain. Adrenaline simply becomes a pain killer.

This goes to why it is you come to CrossFit in the first place. Are you there to just get through and check it off your to-do list, or are you there because you believe the experience is beneficial to your health and growth as a person?

Find a 1RM of the following complex:
Snatch pull + hang power snatch + overhead squat

Then, accumulate 30m handstand walk

Post loads to comments and BTWB

Dear Universe, knock that s#@t off right now. Thank you, Courtney

I’m 33 years old and the universe has not slowed down in serving me up some hearty life lessons. I suspect it never will. The universe is on a mission to constantly remind me that I am an adult, and as such have to deal with adult problems like paying bills, running a business, rehabbing injuries sustained most likely from an aging body and not from doing something fun and youthful. In the words of Jorge, #firstworldproblems. None the less, I thought maybe it was time I laughed in the face of the universe, time to get ahead of this situation and basically pre learn these ridiculous life lessons before they smack me over the head. So I did what any good universe defying rebel would do, I got on the inter webs and googled “important life lessons everyone should learn”. Yeah, I was hoping for some short, definitive list, turns out there isn’t one. What there is, is a plethora of people out their with their own opinion on what life’s most important lessons are.

Marc Chernoff, author of the article “7 Important Life Lessons Everyone Learns The Hard Way” (click here for full article), had some good stuff to say:

1) The people you lose remain a part of you.
2) The pursuit of happiness is about finding meaning.
3) Seeking validation from others invalidates YOU.
4) Regret hurts far worse than fear.
5) Life is too unpredictable for rigid expectations.
6) When you try to run away, you end up running in place.
7) Unanticipated hardships are inevitable and helpful.

Definitely valid and important information, but to be honest, I felt like I was already pretty solid with that stuff. I needed something more practical. I liked what I read when I got to “The life lessons school should teach you” by Lauren Laverne, this was the practicality I was looking for (click here for full article):

It’s OK to be a nerd If nerds ran the world there would be no wars. Only unconvincing battle re-enactments in meticulously correct period costume.

Love Never date anyone who is rude to waiters.

Style Never buy anything to impress someone you don’t know. Never wear a T-shirt with a face on it that’s more attractive than yours.

Socializing All the good bits of a night out happen before 2am. Don’t feel the need to stay up any later. Drugs have a terrible rate of return: they make you ugly, boring and ill, in that order. (The legal ones are the worst.) When talking to someone you like, don’t be nonchalant. Be complimentary. Everyone likes compliments, except dickheads, and it’s usually politic to identify them as quickly as possible.

Art Good art never makes you feel too stupid to understand it, even when you don’t.

Family If you love them, call them often and tell them so.

The internet Don’t use it as a junk drawer for your least interesting thoughts. Never post anything in anger. It makes you look powerless. If you wouldn’t get it out on the bus, don’t put it up online. Never sleep with anyone who uses more than three hashtags per post. #LOL #bantz #Purebantz #Psychicdeath #Shitinbed.

I can’t lie though, I still think I need more. I’m certain there is a lesson to be learned about answering a business phone and the caller says “hey it’s me” and just starts talking. But you have no clue who “me” is. And now you haven’t actually heard a word they have said because you are meticulously studying every inflection in their voice to identify them. When do you let that cat out of the bag?

How about when you just meet a person for the first time and they have food in their teeth? Not just a tiny dot of something up in the corner but like some major food particles all up in their grill, front and center? You were introduced to this person by a good friend, who is in fact NOT blind. So if good friend wasn’t willing to point it out, do you as new acquaintance?

I don’t need a list of lessons on dealing with failing (in order to succeed you must first fail), or lessons on friendship (a true friend doesn’t put you down but lifts you up), blah, blah, blah. I get that, what I’m asking you for is lessons in professional etiquette and courtesy. Lessons, big or small, laced with humor or dead serious, that have profoundly impacted your life. I’ll take whatever you got.

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
5 Burpees
1 Rope climb
30 Double unders

Post rounds to comments of BTW

Verve Ugly Sweater Party!!

When: Saturday, December 13th starting at 7pm ending ??????? (when the bar closes)

Where: Jake’s Food and Spirits

3800 Walnut St, Denver, CO 80205

What:  A gathering of generally fit people who, not only like to lift heavy stuff, but party like rock stars!!  We will have food, drinks, games, and lots of giveaways.

We will also be having a Winter Clothing drive to gather donations for the Denver Rescue Mission.  If you have any items that you no longer need, bring them in and you can get an extra entry into the drawings throughout the night!

Voting for the Ugliest Sweater will be from the hours of 7pm – 9pm with the drawing happening at 9pm.  Any ballot stuffing will be frowned heavily upon, but who are we kidding, we wills till count them!

We realize that you may have many other parties that you may feel obligated to attend, but put this one on the top of your list!!

Push jerk 3-3-3-3-3 reps

Then, 50 hang power snatch for time, 75#(55#)

Post loads and times to comments and BTWB

When will we start programming the mental push-ups? By Courtney Shepherd. . . . and the original authors, to be mentioned later. 

When it comes to the WOD programming for Verve we have several goals in mind. We put weeks together thinking about time domains, variety of movements, skill work versus weightlifting, etc. Doing a chipper style workout that takes us 40 minutes has some easy telltale signs that hard work was done. We are drenched in sweat for one thing. Maybe we are out of breath, we feel fatigued, and at the end of the workout we find ourselves laying on the floor not ready to move for a considerable period of time. We love these workouts. So why don’t we love heavy lifting days as much as the long chipper style WODs? I ask this because notoriously gym attendance is down on heavy days. Is it because we don’t sweat as much? Is it because we don’t feel ourselves out of breath or fatigued to the point of having to sit down? Somewhere there has become the misconception that lifting heavy is not as good of a workout as running around for 40 minutes, I’m here to tell you that it is just that. . . a misconception. 

There are several reasons why we should lift heavy weights (click here for full article from the Poliquin Group):

1) We improve/ strengthen our skeletal structure. By loading the body with heavy weights, bone osteoblasts occur, strengthening bone, and tendons, collagen, and ligaments go through remodeling to become stronger.

2) We build muscle. Muscle allows us to do all these amazing things: It keeps your back safe when you pick your kids up off the floor or haul luggage into the trunk. It improves both your 5K time and your jumping ability. It allows you to flip a tire or push your car up the hill. It gives you the body you desire and the metabolism to help you maintain that fit physique.  The more muscle you have, the greater number of insulin receptor sites, which equals better use of energy in the body. Naturally, you’ll have less risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, or metabolic syndrome.

3) We actually burn more calories and lose more body fat with heavy lifting. Lifting weights elevates post-workout energy expenditure significantly more than steady-state cardio due to the metabolic stress it causes. In a study that compared light with moderate weights on “afterburn,” women who did 2 sets of 8 reps at a “heavy” 70 percent load burned double the calories during the hour after exercise as a group that did 2 sets of 15 reps at a light 35 percent load.

Those are just a few of my favorite, you can read more on these and about several additional reasons by clicking on the above link to read the article “Seven Reasons Why You Should Lift Heavy Weights”.

But if that didn’t sell it to you enough, what if I told you lifting heavy weights was good for the brain? In another article titled “What Weightlifting For Just 20 Minutes Does To Your Brain”, a recent study “. . . . suggests that going hard in the gym for as little as 20 minutes can boost your long-term memory by around 10 percent.”  (You can read more about this by clicking here). The article goes on to say, “Previous research in older men and women (50 to 85 years old) has found that a brief workout improves memory due to the exercise-induced release of the stress hormone norepinephrine. Scientists have long known that the hormone, a chemical messenger in the brain, plays a strong role in memory.”

I can go on and on about all the benefits of lifting heavy weights but really it’s not about what I say it’s about how you feel. And during heavy lifting days you simply may not feel like you have done any work. I think this is the hardest obstacle to overcome, because for some of you, you are right, you may not be doing much work. CrossFit has a mantra, Mechanics/ Consistency/ Intensity. It’s hard to get the intensity piece down on a 1RM snatch day when we don’t have a very good handle on how to snatch. I get that. But, and I’m going to make one last plea for you to always come to heavy lifting days, how can we expect to get a handle on these movements and work towards increased weight/ intensity if we always skip the heavy lifting day? Perhaps it’s not the heavy lifting day you imagined right now but as you continue to hit them, you build confidence in the split jerk, the snatch, the overhead squat, until eventually you feel the way you should after moving something stupidly heavy. . . out of breath, sweaty, fatigued, and needing to sit down for a second. 

Lifting heavy builds the muscle, strength, coordination, and confidence to be carried over to the WODs. Squatting heavy improves your box jumps and runs. Fact. So keep calm and lift on, the weights are calling your name, you just need to stop in and mingle with them more often. 

****Verve is having an Ugly Sweater themed holiday party Saturday December 13th @ Jake’s starting at 7pm. All are welcome, including kids. There will be food, drinks, good conversation, and of course door prizes. We will also be accepting coats and winter clothing to be donated to the Denver Rescue Mission. Please RSVP to comments, or on our Facebook event page, with the number of people in your party. 

Partner “Holleyman”
40 Rounds for time:
5 Wallballs
3 Strict handstand push-ups
1 Power clean, 225#(155#)
*One partner works at a time. Partner will complete a full round and then switch.

Post times to comments and BTWB

Happy Thanksgiving, 

Since I have been at Verve as a full time employee I have been in charge of the Thursday post. Which means I get every Thanksgiving blog. What better way for me to look back from year to year and think about all the changes in my life, good and bad, and express what I am thankful for. I was concerned it might turn out to be a duplicate post from last year but it turns out this year has thrown some curve balls and I am not thankful for all the same things. 

Let me first and foremost say I am truly grateful for where I live. My home, my neighborhood, my city, my state, and my country. I am grateful for all the men and women who serve and protect where I live, the Police Officers, Fire Fighters, Paramedics, and all branches of the United States Armed Forces. Everyday I get to wake up, take a shower, drive to work, do my job, and return back home to my family because of these people. Many of these fine men and women will be away from their loved ones doing their jobs while we celebrate the holiday. . . Happy Thanksgiving to you, thank you, and stay safe. 

This year I am thankful for the faith and trust Matt Chan, Cherie Chan, Joylyn Godinez, and Mas Godinez had in me and Eric to take over as owners of Verve. I am living a dream I never had for myself because I never imagined this was something I could do. It took the perspective of outsiders to tell me I was capable of this and more. 

I am thankful for my work husband Eric Clancy for taking on this big challenge of being business owners with me. I truly don’t think I would have said yes to it without him. He is a wee bit gruff and rough around the edges, he has the credit card and always makes me ask to use it, he constantly gives me a hard time about not pulling my own weight around here, but seriously, the best partner to have. And I totally pull my own weight. 

I am thankful for my massage therapist Jason Thompson of MyaTherapy. Kind of a shameless plug, but he is the best at what he does. He keeps my muscles and joints healthy, and he relaxes my mind after I deal with Clancy all day. 

I am thankful for the many members of Verve for their support and patience during this time of transition. Change is hard but you all have welcomed one of Verve’s biggest changes with words of encouragement and a good sense of humor as we sometimes stumble. 

I am thankful for those defeating, soul sucking, hard days. They have been providing the greatest learning lessons for me. 

I am thankful the unbreakable spirits of those I am surrounded by in the CrossFit community. Watching the example they lead by, I’ve learned it’s not about what I can’t do but what I can.

I’m thankful for my little buddy Lucas. I was thankful for him last year too. Pretty sure I’m gonna be thankful for that furry butt, knuckle head everyday of my life. He’s my kid, I have just as many pictures on FB and Instagram as any other parent to prove it.

I am thankful for the container store and their 1 oz travel bottle section. Now it’s all carry on all the time. 

I am thankful that the great state of Florida is apparently immune to any form of arctic tundra like weather patterns at all times of the year. I’m hoping after a nice visit in the month of December I may come back a slightly less pale shade of white. 

And, again, just like last year, I am thankful for a Verve member that I feel I can very consistently count on to read and comment on every blog. It’s always nice to know someone is listening. Thanks James “O.G.” Whitmire, even if I’m pretty sure half the time you don’t know what you are talking about. 🙂 

Sharing is caring, let us know what you are thankful. I hope you all have a very wonderful Thanksgiving and that it will be spent surrounded by those who are the most important to you.

Sincerely,

Courtney

*Don’t forget to sign up for any of the CrossFit Lodo classes you want to attend this weekend while we are closed. Sign up sheet is on the front counter. 

*Start getting pumped for “No Band” December. That’s right, we’re bringing kipping back. . . . without any bands.

Split Jerk
2-2-2-2-2-2-2

Then, every minute on the minute x 7 minutes:
20 Double unders
1 Behind the neck split jerk @ 75% of 2RM split jerk

Post loads to comments and BTWB

Now that’s my kind of recovery. . .  By Courtney Shepherd, with the a-sis-tance of Boxlife Magazine

With special thanks to fellow trainer and WOD partner extraordinaire Miss Anna Mattson, I walked away from my workout yesterday with legs feeling like Jello. There was no doubt in my mind I would need to do some sort of mobility if I had an aspirations of getting out of bed and traversing stairs the next day. I found the nice big, blue mat, plopped myself down and started stretching. While recovering, a fellow Verve athlete sat down beside me and made a similar comment about having to do some recovery herself so she too could have use of her legs tomorrow.  While I nodded in agreement I watched this person lay down and put her legs up against the wall, feet towards the ceiling. In my mind I half laughed because I thought, “sure you’re doing recovery”. How could laying down on your back, legs up be anything other than just laying down on your back legs up? Well folks, I have to eat my words and half laugh. Turns out what this athlete was doing was in fact leg recovery. 

I got home last night, did my usual Facebook browse to get caught up on life’s current events, and came across an article with the front pictured of a man doing the exact move I saw this other athlete doing earlier in the day. The title of the article is “Improve Recovery: Legs Up The Wall” by Kat Buechel of Boxlife Magazine (click here for full article). Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. Turns out this legs up the wall move, or as it is known in yoga as Viparaita Karani, is a great restorative and recovery pose for our legs 24 hours after a WOD. 

To begin:
“Find a wall and take a seat next to it sideways. Your shoulder and leg will be touching the wall on one side. Start to come onto the wall by swinging the legs up and laying your torso (back) on the ground. You may need to slide your buttocks closer to the wall to allow your sitting bones to be supported by the wall. Release your belly down by dropping the tailbone, allowing the pelvis to come to a neutral position. Place your arms to the side, allowing the shoulders to draw away from the spine, and rest your hands at your sides. . . . Stay here anywhere from 5-20 minutes to allow the body to feel the benefits of the pose. Focus on breathing and allow the mind to be calm.

Allowing our legs to find the rest they need is important to building long term strength and muscle adaptation. Many athletes complain of feeling like their legs are heavy or their lower backs are hurting, and this pose will help alleviate common soreness experienced by the intensity of WODs.”

The benefits of this pose include:

• Helps regulate blood pressure
• Relieves tired legs, lymph collection in the feet
• Provides an excellent stretch for the hamstrings, the front torso, and back of the neck
• Improves digestion and aides with mild depression, anxiety, arthritis, headaches, and insomnia
• Allows the mind to find a calm, meditative state 

There is also listed several ways to vary the pose for more recovery in the lower back, shoulders, head and neck:

• If you suffer from low back pain or just grueling soreness from WODs, consider placing an ab mat, or if you are at home, pillow or blanket, underneath the lower back. This will elevate the hips, but will allow for less pressure to be placed on the back allowing for additional relief.
• If shoulders feel tight, put your hands behind your head into a shoulder opener. Grab your elbows with the opposite hands allowing the arms to rest behind you on the ground.
• To relieve any additional pressure or fatigue in the head and neck, you can place a rolled up sweatshirt or towel underneath the back of the neck.

So there you have it. Lay down, kick up your legs, and let the healing begin. In all seriousness, mobility and recovery should be an important part of our routine as athletes. Mobility and recovery are how we can help prevent soreness and injury. Spend a few moments before and after WODs to stretch, roll out, stick your legs up in the air, and recover, your body will thank you. 

“RJ”

Five rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
15 ft Rope Climb, 5 ascents
50 Push-ups

Compare to http://www.crossfitverve.com/?s=140310

Post time to BTW.

Do you have friends or family who are interested in trying CrossFit?

Bring them to our Free Community Workout on TODAY at 8:00 am – register online here.

The class will run for 45 minutes and includes a dynamic warm up, skill work and instruction, plus a great workout.

Our next Foundations program starts this Monday at 7 pm!

This is a great opportunity to get started on your health and fitness goals before the holidays start! Stop in the gym anytime or give us a call at 720-238-7783 to get signed up!

The MBS Turkey Challenge is coming up next weekend.

Mark your calendar to come out and support your fellow athletes – Nov 22nd and 23rd at MBS CrossFit.

CURRENT ATHLETES: Be sure to check our schedule during the week of Thanksgiving, lots of changes due to the Holiday.

We will have a modified schedule the weekend of November 29th/30th as we are hosting a Level 1 seminar that weekend. Check the blog for updates!

Have a safe and wonderful weekend everyone!

Power Snatch
5-3-3-1-1-1-1

Then, 3 x 5 muscle snatch at 60%-70% of 1 RM power snatch

Post loads to comments and BTWB

Pros and cons of a weightlifting belt, By (in small part) Courtney Shepherd and (in large part) BoxLife Magazine

I know not all of you partake in the wearing of the weight belt. That could be because you find them silly, you do not have one, and/ or you simply do not know why, when, or how to wear them. I will first direct you to previous articles that go into more depth then I will here and now, about how a weight belt works, and how to wear one:

The weight belt, unlike our favorite pair of jeans, does not come in “low rise”, #whatsupwiththat
By Courtney Shepherd

Weight belts: What’s up with that? Through the beautiful eyes of Courtney Shepherd

Between the two previous articles and the one I will be quoting in this blog, there is a bit of overlapping information. People can agree that the weightlifting belt has it’s place as a useful tool in weightlifting training. But the weightlifting belt has made it’s way beyond the powerlifting and strongman arenas and become a common place accessory for CrossFitters. The question becomes, is it a good tool for everyone? Does the average CrossFitter, the person who comes to the gym to enjoy sweating, lifting weights, and maintaining health, need to have this as a standard piece of equipment? Taking highlights from a recent article written William Imbo of BoxLife Magazine (click here for full article), let’s talk about The Pros and Cons of a Weightlifting Belt.

Pro:

1) The weightlifting belt can help stabilize and reduce stress on the spine. 

“The benefit to wearing a weight belt is that they increase intra-abdominal pressure. Intra-abdominal pressure is the pressure within your abdomen. . . when you increase intra-abdominal pressure (as weightlifting belts do), the pressure inside the abdominal cavity pushes on the spine to support it internally, while your core muscles (such as your obliques and abs) and lower back push on the spine from the outside. Your body responds to the increased intra-abdominal pressure delivered by a weightlifting belt by creating a more rigid core, stabilizing your spine and reducing the stress it receives when under heavy loads.”

A weight belt does not replace having core muscles, it can not create stability where there is none to begin with. A weight belt works in conjunction with your core muscles to create circumferential midline stability. 

Cons:

1) Wearing a weight belt can effect motor learning.

“. . .argues that belts affect an athlete’s experience of ‘learning’ how to squeeze and contract their abs—particularly in the case of novice lifters. Instead, the belt acts as a crutch—given that it increases pressure in the abdominal area.”

Those newer to CrossFit, weightlifting, etc. may attempt to use the belt to falsely create midline stability rather than take time to build a strong core and learn proper technique. If we take time to practice perfect form, we build on the technique as well as build a strong midline allowing us to lift heavier loads over time without the need of a weight belt. 

2) A weight belt may mask and/ or aggravate existing injuries.

“Say you’re a lifter that’s experiencing some serious back pain during your deadlifts. You’re hyper-extending your back in order to crank out more reps and heavier weight, but instead of checking your ego and dropping the weight, you decide to invest in a weightlifting belt. So the belt takes away some of the pain, but your form is still atrocious and you are still hyper-extending your back. Eventually (and inevitably), the pain returns, but this time it’s much worse and you have to go and see a PT or a doctor, who diagnoses you with a hernia. Simply put, weightlifting belts are no substitute for proper form and appropriate weight. Just because you’re wearing one that allows you to move 10lbs more than your PR doesn’t mean you should completely forgo the mechanics of the movement. That’s how injuries come about.”

3) A weight belt may actually weaken our lower back.

“Much as a belt acts as a crutch to the detriment of the development of the core, it can also have the same effect on your lower back—particularly if you wear a belt for high rep/low weight workouts. Belts will take stress off of the lower back, which is a bad thing because stress (i.e. the weight) is what drives adaptation and development in the body.”

Weight belts were designed to aid in heavy lifting. If the workout is Fran, 45 total thrusters at a very light weight, wearing a weight belt is counter productive to our body adapting to moving light weight for more reps. That goes for items other than weight belts. How about those wrist wraps we all love so much. My wrists can absolutely be a limiting factor in overhead work, but the more I bound them up in support, the less adaptive they become to supporting weight on their own. Yes, wrist wraps help in the moment but over time I will always have to rely on them rather than building strength and tolerance in my wrists.

That is more cons than pros. So does that mean no weight belt? No. It means know when and when not to incorporate a weight belt into your training. The average CrossFitter may never need to. Simply coming to the gym consistently, working on good mechanics, and practicing lifts can build the strength and competence the average CrossFitter seeks to simply enjoy doing things outside of CrossFit. 

“The cons that I have listed above reveal the instances where you should NOT use a belt—to mask an injury, during high repetition workouts, or during lifts where the load is to light (under 80% of your 1 rep max), thereby negatively affecting the development of your core musculature and increasing the risk of injury.”

If you are some one who finds themselves gravitating towards the weight belts for every workout that involves lifting a barbell, perhaps now is the time to re-evaluate how you use a weight belt, and is it doing for you what you are wanting it to do? May be it is an even better time to leave the weight belt, the oly shoes, the knee sleeves, the gloves, and all the other fancy accessories, at home. Walk into the gym free of all things excess and just get your WOD on. 

“While I do agree that proper execution of movement mechanics and focus on accessory work can be more beneficial to your development as a lifter than a belt can ever be, it doesn’t mean that a belt can’t come in handy—especially when you are attempting to hit those monster weights for a PR. You should think of a belt as a tool. It can enhance your performance in certain instances (i.e. when you need extra support during heavy lifts), but don’t rely on it to the extent that it starts to take away from developing into a strong athlete who is confident as a ‘raw lifter’—no knee straps, no OLY shoes, and no weight belt.”

Back Squat
5-5-5-5-5

then
3×10 (5 per leg) alternating reverse lunges with 50% of 5 RM

Post score to BTW.

What Rocky Balboa Can Teach Us About Motivation, Dedication and Enduring The Suck

Strange title, I know.

But bear with me.

You know who I am referring to, right? Rocky Balboa?

The boxer who came from nothing, overcame everything and became the best boxer in the world? It’s a movie, of course, but it teaches some very good lessons that we can apply to our CrossFitting endeavors.

What follows below is an excerpt from an article titled “4 Motivational Lessons Rocky Balboa Can Teach You” written by Kyle Williams. Check out the full article here.

1. Get The Work Done – whatever your ambition or goal, you will never succeed unless you get the work done. Plain and simple. This is as true in CrossFit as it is in life – the work isn’t going anywhere, so you may as well pick the bar back up.

2. Never Quit – a quote from the man Rocky Balboa himself – “Going that one more round when  you don’t think you can … that’s what makes all the difference in your life”. Enough said.

3. Going The Distance is More Important Than Winning Or Losing – Do you remember how great it felt to finish a workout that you didn’t think you could? When you cut down to the bare bones of why you’re doing CrossFit, is it to win every workout? Or is it to be better than you were yesterday? Winning is great, but being better than yesterday is better.

4. Persistence – I’ll let this video speak for itself.