Quad lovin

After a week of running, jumping, cleaning, etc - your quads are spend and they need some help.

This should do it. The first two are some of my favorite hip flexor openers and then the simple lacrosse ball over a knee with some bodyweight. It is all good.

....In a car

Maybe you are trying to set a PR driving back from upstate NY? Or just trying to find a parking space at Norstroms after Christmas men's sale.

But if you are in a car for several hours - remember to: change positions once in a while, and be careful.

Travel much?

Stuck in a car, or on a plane this holiday. A perfect excuse to do some MWODs. A lacrosse ball fits perfectly in your carry on.

Today I am dragging out the K Star plane ride tips. Remember to drink water and get up once in a while. Work on those forearms, shoulder, etc.

Tomorrow: the car.

hip and overhead

Perfect for snatch and clean and jerk. You need to get those arms overhead without arching the back, but first you need the hips to be explosive to get the bar overhead.

Bourbon dreaming

Wait a sec. This is a mobility blog. Well yes, but I have expertise in so many areas, that I thought I would sneak outside of the margins for this Christmas edition.

My top 5 rated Bourbon's:

1. Blanton's

2. Woodford Reserve

3. Reservoir

4. Basil Hayden

5 . I can't think of another one that I care enough about to list.

If you mixing it with Coke, then Jim Beam is fine enough. But if the only thing in the glass is ice and Bourbon, stick to one of these. Let the ice melt and dilute it a bit. It gets better with each sip.

Back to a regular mobility post tomorrow. Hope you had a great holiday and enjoyed family, friends food and a little Bourbon.

Happy Holiday to All

Enjoy an extra cup of egg nog, and don't forget the bourbon. You deserve it.

Run, Forest Run

A 400m run is hard. It is short enough to really push it, but long enough to hurt. Wouldn't it be nice if your calves were super springy and propelled you further with each stride? Of course.

So do this simple stretch. Do it at work, do it at Starbucks, do it everywhere. The important people in your life already understand why you do what you do, and the rest are just jealous. Cause you are a sprinter/gymnast/olympic lifter - and you awesome. So keep working at getting just a little more awesome.

Hips. Grab a band and suffer

I love this. But there is something wrong with me. Try the first one for sure, maybe the lunge if you are feeling ok. Slow and focus on the range of motion. It is not a race. Get ready to jump, throw, etc for the filthy 50.

Deadlift x 1

When people say ready, set, deadlift - do you know what set up you should be doing before you pull. Or do you just grip and rip? This video is not so much a specific mobility suggestion as it is a deadlift lesson from a human movement optimization perspective. So enjoy that.

But if you need to get ready to deadlift, then do the pigeon and do some solid boot strappers.

The Moss back solution

First of all; bonus points if any one caught my reference to the WSJ tech columnist in my title.

But now on to more serious matters. Jeremy writes:

MarkyD - my back is feeling compressed from heavy jerks, back squats and clean and jerks this week. Any recommendation on something to unload the spine a little?

Answer: I have been there. Seems like hanging upside down like a bat for a week might be the right fix.

But I have something else in mind. We are going to work upstream and downstream of the hot area and see what happens. And yes, this is pure voodoo/ genius. Or not. The system of muscles in your back goes from neck to hamstrings, and creating some slack anywhere along the way will reward you throughout the whole system, cause it is all connected.

My rx is 2 parts. First neck and then glutes. Do these slowly. No jerking motions. Stretch as far as you can. If it feels just a bit wrong, then I bet you are doing it right. Numbness or burning will tell you to shut it down.

Neck - watch the video below and stretch the neck in many planes. Front/back:

side to side - note, sometimes as I gently pull my head to one side, I make a fist with the other arm and slowly reach towards the ground:

and lastly - left to right. No video. But rotate slowly. Look all the way left, and then all the way right. You are an owl.

Now jump down and do some pigeon stretch.

The combination of creating slack in the neck and then the glutes/hips will give your back a real break.

Weekend inspiration

Who is not a Camille fan? This video was linked to the Donnie Thompson squat test video, which is about as polar opposite as you can get.

But it reminds me that hard work in Crossfit is its own reward. There is no cheating. Skipping a rep, or sloppy range of motion just means that you have done less work. So you are not cheating the clock or anyone else; just yourself.

So have a nice weekend, and remember - never cheat yourself.

Squat test

If this big goon (Donnie Thompson) can do this, then you can too.

Do this right before back squat, and you will be shocked at how much more power you have over the whole range.

Ready, set, run

Skip ahead to 4 minutes or so, unless you just can't get enough of KStarr and his BFF Brian McKenzie razzing each other.

For the 2nd drill, I like to use a med ball if I do not have a buddy to apply pressure to my arms.

Now starring on the MobilityWod: Me

Kelly asked me to make a little video explaining what my blog was all about. How about that.

Dip and muscle up ready shoulders

A lazy post. But a good link:

http://www.mobilitywod.com/2011/10/episode-330365-the-muscle-up-receiving-position-the-organized-shoulder.html

Snatch and OHS squat prep

The first drill is just great. I mean awful.

You can do the third drill with a med ball, a KB or a db instead of a barbell, which I find unwieldy. Med ball is my preference.

A little more ankle work

Late post - I was visiting the one and only KStarr today.

Seems like Vinnie is not the only one with a limited ankle. Skip ahead to 3 minutes if you are in a rest. Tacking down a muscle (calf, shins) and using the attached (ankle) joint in its normal range of motion is a technique to unglue tightness.

The "Vinnie" - Ankle Action

Vinnie is the man. Just took 3rd place as part of the CFOT Cold War team. He has the looks, the personality, and the access to prescription drugs that everyone wants. He has it all*.

*Everything except ankle flexibility. WTF? While watching Vin try to get into a good ohs position, I saw that his right leg was not in a great position. And the culprit was right there near the floor. His ankle range of motion is not all that it an be, and it is limiting everything up the chain. How did I notice this? I have a gift people. I can spot movement faults and suggest mwods for others. In myself, not so much.

So back to Vinnie's ankles. I am going to post a few things for him to work on, and he will be doing them like they are his job for a while.

This was the 3rd ever MWOD video, and although I watch it all, you can skip ahead to 1:45 if you want. Part 2 for Vinnie tomorrow.

Think you know how to do a pushup?

Watch and learn. Not all of this translates to ring pushups, but worth a watch.

Details at GymnasticsWOD

Just rip you Hip flexor's open, ok

For a powerful clean and a solid jerk, you need a powerful hip extension. So open it up people.