Essentials

Chris and Tim have just started to work out with us at SPQR and are currently undergoing the "essential movements" classes to get them up to speed on the wide variety of functional movements they will have to perform in the gym and to introduce them to the intensity of effort required in the workouts.

Today we looked at the power clean, the kettle-bell swing and the pull-up, concentrating on dead hang, band assisted and the jumping variety. We don't worry about teaching the kip until the athlete can do at least five consecutive dead hang pull-ups so as not to impair the motor learning.

After looking at the form and working on technique, the workout was;
As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of;
3 Jumping Pull-up
5 Power Clean (Chris @ 20Kg, Tim @ 15 Kg)
7 "American" swing (Chris with the 16 Kg KB, Tim with the 12)

Tim managed an excellent 10 full rounds. Chris managed 8 rounds (although I was his form judge and was VERY strict so he probably did an extra round in reps I didn't count!). Both really stepped up the intensity and are showing real progress with every session.

Way to go guys!

Vires et Honestas!

State of the Union.. well, the garage at least!

The garage is really coming along now. The flooring is down and the walls have been painted.
The pictures below show what we look like now.



Left wall with the small (!) tyre.



And the right wall with the larger of the two tyres.

Remaining tasks are to rip out the shelving and cupboards on the back wall (below) to make room for the pull-up bars and to see about getting some power in there for the lights and most importantly the sounds system!

The BWLA drop progressions

Some of our workouts call for the Burgener warm up, coupled with the BWLA drop progressions. The Burgener warm-up is easily found through a search on any of the popular search engines or by going directly to the CrossFit site, however the BWLA progressions aren't so easy to find.

The progression basically takes the form of a drop into the clean catch position from a standing start with the bar at different heights.

Step 1:

Hold the bar in an overhand grip and pull the bar up to just below the chin. From a standing start position, drop down into the catch position and bring the elbows through. You should now be in the bottom of the front squat. Stand and repeat for a total of three times

Step 2:

Lower the bar to the lower chest (just below the nipple line) and repeat the process.

Step 3:

Lower the bar to just above the navel. Everything else is the same, although you may want to start on your tip-toes.

Step 4:

Lower the bar again, this time to mid-thigh. You will have to bend at the hips and the knee to do this, so you should find yourself in the start position of the hang power clean. This time, bring the hips through and shrug the shoulders (both explosively) before dropping and receiving the bar.

The above progressions can be carried out with PVC bar or an empty Olympic bar depending on the athlete; some athletes prefer to start with the PVC then move to the empty bar as the progressions get lower, some stay with the same bar throughout. As the goal is a dynamic warm-up, all options are acceptable.

I will be posting pictures as a visual representation of the process once they have been taken ;)