Are you one of those people who sees front squats, cleans, or overhead press variation work on the daily workout and immediately starts rubbing their wrist? Are you tired or having to work twice as hard to keep your elbows up to keep the bar back in the front rack position? Tired of doing a thruster and having to basically hold the bar out in front of you at the bottom of the squat position. Time to do something about it!
First you need to understand that it is not just the wrists that are the missing link to all your front rack needs. They just take the blame for a host of other issues. You have to pay attention to the t-spine, lats, triceps, forearms and wrists as well as all the muscles and tendons (what connect muscles to bone) associated with those areas.
You HAVE to put in extra work on your front rack position OUTSIDE OF CLASS TIMES and here are a few ways to do it.
T-Spine Extension (click links to see image)
The thoracic spine starts at the base or the rib cage and ends around the top of the shoulder blades. For those of you who sit a lot or have scapular strength/mobility discrepancies that don’t hold you in a great posture, this approach is something to take note of. Take a foam roller or peanut (two lacrosse balls taped together) and place it on your upper spine. Hug yourself with your arms and roll gently up and down the t-spine. If using a peanut, add a bumper plate or kettlebell to your chest if you’re feeling extra spicy. Try and hold this position for at least two minutes.
Take a foam roller and mash out the lats. The lats are a strip of muscle located between the shoulder blade and the side of your rib cage. They lie just underneath armpit and slightly more back towards the shoulder blade. Extend your hand overhead and mash those puppies until they aren’t tender. Hold this position for at least one minute per side.
Put one bar on the rack just underneath the shoulders. Then, place a separate barbell on your back similar to a back squat position. Keep the hands in a front rack type width and swing your elbows up and on top of the barbell on the rack. Keep that midline tight and try to slowly bend your knees more and more. This should let those shoulders rise as the position loosens. This one is killer the first time you do it but keep at it! It’s also one of my personal favorites.
Place a barbell on the rack then place an arm on the barbell so that the contact point it directly north or the elbow. Face your palm down to the floor and excerpt a decent amount of force down into the bar. Flex and extend at the elbow at a controlled pace for about 20-25 reps per side. Photo credit to Startingstrongman.com
This is one that you all have probably done before. There are a couple of things to note with this stretch that might get overlooked. First, keep your midline locked down! Do not hyperextend your lower back. That range of motion that you are trying to find by lengthening your triceps is displaced by a collapsed midline. Also, keep your palm facing up like you would have it in a front squat. Hold for at least a minute per side.
Wrist Distraction/Forearm Mobility
Place a medium band low on a post and get down on your knees. Place the band on your inside wrist just above the hand. You should be positioned at a 90 degree angle to the band with your banded hand’s fingers pointing away from the post. Clamp the banded hand down with your free hand and lean away from the post. Make a slow arc from the top to the bottom making sure to concentrate on any sticky spots along the way. Hold for at least 1 minute per side.
Like previously stated, these have to be done DAILY to see any type of lasting improvement. There simply is not enough time in a one hour class to pay attention to everyone’s mobility problems in great detail. Check out Kelly Starret’s Mobility WOD site for more awesome mobility ideas (there are also a bunch of his free videos on YouTube).