The Open

The first CrossFit Open WOD will be announced this Thursday at 8pm and it will be named 20.1 (20 refers to the year the games will be held 2020, and 1 refers to the first of 5 workouts). If this is your first year, read up on the info below.

e

Tips For a Better Back Squat

1. Squatting is a full body exercise. If you can hold your entire body tight, more muscles are recruited which allows you to lift more weight.
2. Take one step out of the rack and get feet set quickly. Less time under the heavy weight gives your more energy for the lift.
3. Look at the floor about 6 feet in front of your position (neutral head position). An upward eye gaze effectively diminishes the ability to use the posterior chain during the drive up from the bottom position. Aneutral head position will keep your chest up, so that your upper back is in the normal anatomical position for the spine under load. Correct chest position is essential for full utilization of the hamstrings and glutes out of the bottom position.
4. Keep your back in constant tension (i.e. keep back in a tight lumbar and thoracic extension). Keeping your back in extension keeps your body in an anatomically correct position to distribute the forces of the weight across the vertebra discs. This keeps you in a safe position and prevents anterior or posterior squeezing of discus resulting in potential injury.
5. Push upwards on the barbell. This is a simple trick to the Central Nervous System that makes the weight feel lighter. Push up to go up.

www.crossfiteminence.com