As CrossFit athletes, grip strength is a key area of focus when lifting heavy. The traditional grip, while more comfy and natural, is highly susceptible to fatigue. Releasing tension on the forearm muscles, helping keep the arms straight through extension of the hips, and preserving grip are just a few of the positives from the “hook grip”. The grip is also much more secure than your standard grip in lifts like the snatch, clean, and deadlift. The next time you run across one of these lifts, try incorporating the hook grip.

The correct hook grip method is:

Start by stretching the thumb and index finger as far apart as you can so that the skin between the two fingers is tight. With the elbow in a straight and locked position press the skin between the thumb and index finger against the bar. The result of this action will cause the two fingers to move together and your grip to tighten. With pressure still being applied to the bar wrap the thumb around the bar. Reach your index and middle finder over the bar, grabbing the bar and thumb at the same time. Your grip should now be locked in the hook position. The grip should be only used in the “pulling phase” of the lift. Once the bar is in the front rack position or overhead, the grip should be released.

 

 

Sunday Suckday is a time to come in and work on anything you think needs work. Bryan P. came in yesterday wanting to work on snatch form. Bryan had a problem with opening his hips all the way and keeping the bar close. After working on the first pull from the ground to the “pocket position”, we then worked on snatching off blocks. Through watching videos of himself and making adjustments here and there, we were able to get him into decent shape as you can see in the video. Notice how Bryan fully extends his hips and the path of the bar is straight while not swinging out away from his body.

If you need work on form, strength, skill work, mobility, or anything else you can think of, come visit me at Sunday Suckday every Sunday from 12-2pm (unless otherwise stated).

No Shower Happy Hour this evening at The Goat starting at 7:30pm.

Free Saturday class at 10am.

I would like to recognize two of our members here at EDCF who are leaving on deployment to Afghanistan for the next year. Scott Lucas and John Veracruz will both be honorably and bravely fighting for our freedom. These guys have been a big part of our community since there start. Stay safe guys and we will see you when you return. Y’all are already heros.

 

Free Saturday class at 10am… Everyone is invited!

Weekend ED*CF Endurance class is in the works…

Larry PRs on deadlift at 245# this past Sunday at Sunday Suckday. He is lifting heavy at 63 years old, post disc surgery… a pure badass.

Reaching new goals and PR’s at the box takes hard work and dedication to the program. This is common sense. Show up 3-5 times per week and you will get leaner, stonger, faster, and healthier; I guarantee it. What you might not know, or choose to ignore, is that your environment and actions outside the gym play just as big of a role, if not bigger, than the work you put in within our walls. Feeling shitty or just mentally not there? You probably won’t PR on back squat day or get that Fran time you’ve been striving for. Get your mind and your body right before you come in and you will see better results. I promise.

Here are ways to help you get started:

1. Eat organic meats and produce as much as possible. Try to consume more and more grassfed meats. A good diet is expensive but health problems from bad dieting later in life are more expensive. Avoid anything with a shelf-life. If it comes processed from a factory, just don’t eat it. Avoid most of the stuff in supplement stores. All you need is a clean protein and maybe some fish oil pills and you are good to go.

2. Cut out sugar. Just don’t eat it. Don’t be deceived by its various forms either. High fructose corn syrup, evaporated cane juice, maltose, dextrose, ethyl maltol, etc. Think it is too hard to cut all of it out? Too bad. You are not some freshman girl in college with unlimited access to the soft serve ice cream machine in the dinning hall. Show some self control.

3. Sleep. Sleep a lot. Try to get to bed before 11 at night. Make that 10. Turn the lights down, don’t mess with your computer or phone. Read and/or meditate instead to calm your body before getting under the sheets. Turn down the air before bedtime and buy some nice sheets. This is where you spend a third of you life so make it comfortable.

4. Drink a gallon of water per day. This is very important, especially with summer around the corner. Drinking water helps in a variety of ways. It helps with blood flow to muscles post-workout, optimal hormone excretion and endocrine health, brain function, healthy skin, gastro intestinal flow…. the list goes on and on, so drink! Is there water in your hand right now? No? Well get off your butt and go get one.

5. Practice minimalism. Don’t waste your money on bogus bullshit. Limit your material possessions. All that these things do is promote clutter and drag your attention away from what really matters. Focus your attention on a handful of things that really matter instead of spreading yourself thin over a multitude of subjects. The world doesn’t need more multitasking, confused, getting-nowhere-fast members of society.

6. Challenge your mind. Learn a new skill or sport. Take up art. Read a book every once in a while. In fact, read at least two per month. Read about different subjects, too. Do crossword puzzles. Do Sudoku puzzles. Just do regular puzzles… I don’t care, just do something. Start a project. Make a rock garden. Learn to play a new instrument, start a blog… You get the idea.

7. Delete the negatives and accentuate the positives. Start by taking negative people out of your life. Have a friend that is just a mess and drags your life down. Ditch them. Oh you think this might be a little over the top? Well I will keep hanging around my positive influences and you keep hanging around your negative ones and we will see who fares better. Hang out with your family more. Keep up with friends better. While we are on the subject, send a nice text to someone right now. Doesn’t matter who it is or what it is about, just do it!

8. Don’t sit as much. Make a stand-up desk at work. Get out of your cubicle and walk around. Do some squats while your at it. The human body was not meant to sit 9+ hours a day. Cavemen didn’t sit around a fire all day long so why should you sit hunched over your computer (if you are then straighten up) all day. Tight hips lead to injuries when these powerful muscles that attach to the pelvis can’t move like they should. One of the biggest contributors to back pain is tight hips.

9. Smile more. Smile at people when your walking your dog, strolling through the grocery store, and passing by them in the office. Don’t avoid eye contact, embrace it. A smile goes a long way. Not only does it release good hormones within yourself but chances are you will make the receiver smile back, causing a chain reaction. Throwing a tiny stone in the water causes a ripple effect across the entire pond.

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“If one can stick to the training throughout the many long years, then will power is no longer a problem. It’s raining? That doesn’t matter. I am tired? That’s besides the point. It’s simply that I just have to.”
– Emil Zatopek