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10 Quotes Better Than Pre-Workout

man standing on bridge holding book writing down quotes better than pre-workout and thinking

I’ll be honest, I have never taken pre-workout. I just kinda take my workouts as they come. I just do my best if I’m tired. If I feel great with lots of energy, then it’s a great day. Either way I am thankful for the ability and opportunity to workout. Pre-workout or lack of it aside, I can’t be the only one who thinks a good motivational quote is inspiring. So here are 10 quotes better than pre-workout (or at least as good) to get you fired up for your next WOD.

Try picking a favorite and putting it somewhere you’ll see it. Put it on a sticky note in your home, or even make it your phone lock screen. Think back to it when you’re about to go into the gym, or any time you feel like you need a good dose of motivation.

Quotes To Pump You Up Better Than Pre-Workout

  1. Nobody cares what you did yesterday. What have you done today to better yourself? – David Goggins
  2. Don’t expect to be motivated every day to get out there and make things happen. You won’t be. Don’t count on motivation. Count on discipline. – Jocko Willink
  3. If it’s endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining. – Marcus Aurelius
  4. It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop.– Confucius
  5. If you’re not in the arena also getting your ass kicked, I’m not interested in your feedback. – Brené Brown
  6. Make sure your worst enemy doesn’t live between your own two ears. – Laird Hamilton
  7. Success isn’t owned. It is leased, and rent is due everyday. – J.J Watt
  8. If you aren’t willing to work for it. Don’t complain about not having it. – Toby McKeekan
  9. But did you die? – Mr. Chow
  10. When I step up in the place a-yo I step correct. – Theodore Roosevelt

If these quotes aren’t enough for you, give these ones a go. There are thousands of great motivating quotes for you to use to your advantage.

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Is Weightlifting At A Young Age Bad For You?

child in boxing ring weightlifting at a young age for fitness

If your child has shown an interest in tagging along to the gym sometime, you might be wondering if it’s a good idea. While weightlifting is great, it can be hard to know if weightlifting at a young age is going to be safe for your child. And doesn’t it stunt their growth? 

Luckily, so long as you don’t have the kid power cleaning 50 kilos or anything in that realm, then you’re likely to cause far more good than harm. Here’s how to help your child safely kickstart their (hopefully lifelong!) gym career.

Weightlifting? Yes! Powerlifting? Maybe Not…

To be clear, when we endorse weightlifting at a young age, we’re talking about strength training. Bodybuilding and powerlifting are a no-go for kids. Trying to build big muscles can put a lot of physical (and mental) stress on a child. Their muscles, tendons and underdeveloped growth plates are at a high risk of injury when moving large amounts of weight.

If your child is interested in weightlifting, don’t worry about how much they’re lifting. Don’t put them on any progressive weight training program until they’re well into puberty. Instead, focus on using these formative years to help them develop great technique. Compound exercises are some of the most valuable to do. If your kid learns great deadlift, bench press and squat form, it will serve them well later in life.

What Are The Risks Of Weightlifting At A Young Age?

It’s a fairly common belief that weightlifting will stunt a child’s growth. However, this is a total myth. The rumor came from a Japanese study of child laborers in the 1970s who ended up below average height. However, it is now known that they ended up short due to malnutrition – not weightlifting. No studies have actually ever shown that weightlifting stunts growth.

Instead, most of the risks associated with weightlifting at a young age are to do with the kid trying to lift weight that their body isn’t strong enough to support. Such injuries can be serious. They include herniated disks, muscle strains, fractures, growth plate injuries, and cartilage damage. 

Children’s bones and muscles don’t finish developing until the end of puberty. This makes them prone to sports-related injury. For this reason, it’s important to make sure your kid doesn’t overdo it in the gym. Stick to low weight and high rep workouts to avoid injury.

What Are The Benefits Of Weightlifting At A Young Age?

Weightlifting is a key part of a varied physical fitness program. Like many exercises, they’ll reap some great benefits from it. They’ll get stronger and gain better muscular endurance, which will help them perform in any sport they’re interested in. 

If they start out with free weights early, they’ll develop great form and technique that will stay with them later in life. Weightlifting at a young age can help your child maintain a healthy weight, and develop strong bones and muscles. 

Plus, weightlifting is really fun! For many kids, weightlifting will boost their confidence and get them interested in physical fitness, which is an awesome hobby to have!

How To Get A Kid Started With Weightlifting

When your child shows an interest, take them along to the gym with you sometime. If you’re confident in your technique, you can show them good form for activities like squats, deadlifts, bench presses or any other weightlifting exercises they want to try. If you’re less experienced with a movement, any of the gym staff will be happy to help teach your kid how to perform the lift safely and efficiently.

Most advice out there recommends avoiding any kind of strict regimen or routine. This is for a couple of reasons. Firstly, you don’t want your kid to put too much pressure on themselves and get stressed. Secondly, strict regimens get boring. People of any age find that to be true, not just kids. But, children in particular often get bored of things, so it’s best to mix things up. 

Aim to let them play around and try out lots of activities and exercises that interest them. Hopefully it will spark a lifelong interest in fitness. A passion for physical health will help them live a healthy lifestyle for decades to come.

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Keeping High Intensity Workouts Sustainable

man with short hair sitting on workout bench in gym making high intensity workouts sustainable by resting holding his phone

High intensity and CrossFit go together like shoelaces. In fact, ask someone who has recently gotten their L1 (CrossFit’s base coaching certificate) what CrossFit is and they will likely tell you it is constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. It is CrossFit’s claim to fame – being able to do more work in less time. We manage to make high intensity workouts sustainable, and an effective method for working out.

Why it works

The nice thing is that high intensity can be different to everyone. An 85 year old who has never worked out a day in their life might squat to a tall box 20 times and have an elevated heart rate. For them, this is high intensity. 

Meanwhile a 23 year old athlete might do 20 full depth squats with 250 lbs and get the same elevated heart rate. This is high intensity for them. That is why CrossFit has the ability to change lives. It can be applied over a broad spectrum of people and abilities.

High intensity works great for fat loss, muscle building and getting more done in less time. If you have ever seen a track sprinter and a cross country runner next to each other you know what I mean. The cross country runner usually looks malnourished and the sprinter looks like a bodybuilder.

There’s always a downside

However as with all good things there is a downside to high intensity workouts. It simply is not sustainable.

Your heart rate can only stay so high for so long. And the higher it stays, the shorter amount of time it can stay that way. Even professional athletes can only maintain their true 100% for a few minutes before they have to break or reduce that level of intensity.

It’s similar to miles per gallon and RPMs of an engine. The higher the RPMs the fewer miles per gallon it will go. There needs to be some kind of trade off.

How to make high intensity workouts sustainable

So how do we keep intensity high without having to slow down? This is where the popular abbreviation HIIT comes in. HIIT stands for high intensity interval training.  

Here is how it works. You work really hard for a short period of time and then rest. You do this over and over again, usually in a predetermined amount of time.

One of the most famous ways to do this is Tabatas. Ta-whata’s??? Tabatas. Tabata is named after Dr. Izumi Tabata, who we will talk about in a different article. Basically, he studied HIIT and came up with a 20 sec of work to 10 sec of rest ratio.

Typically this is done 8 times back to back. Tabatas are great because 20 seconds of work is not a long time and most people can work very hard for that little amount of time.  10 seconds of rest is just enough time to catch a couple of breaths.  

If you have never done a tabata or multiple rounds of a tabata then you are probably looking at 20 seconds of work like a joke. Trust me, it is not.  You will soon be wondering how 20 seconds is so difficult and why you are sweating so much.

Tabatas are just one way to use HIIT. You can stretch the work and rest time out to be longer but the idea is to keep the work time short enough to where you can consistently produce high levels of intensity. 

So as effective as high intensity is, resting during your WOD can be equally important. This is a key way to make your high intensity workouts sustainable.

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What’s The Best Plan To Lose Fat?

woman working out to lose fat

Okay, so you want to lose some mass and get your summer body back. Fair enough! This is a popular and totally attainable fitness goal. The best plan to lose fat involves eating a healthy diet at a deficit of your daily calories. Your diet is the most important aspect of losing fat.

It’s important to keep working out too! In the gym, you’ll be best to switch your focus to cardio fitness, toning exercises, and maintaining your muscles. When eating at a caloric deficit, too much muscle building work will just tire you out. Here are some pointers:

The Best Plan To Lose Fat: Your Diet

Step one for putting together your meal plan is to work out how many calories your body uses up in a day. Everyone’s different, so try using this calculator to find out how many calories you should be eating to lose fat.

Once you’ve got that information, it’s time to make your meal plan. When creating a meal plan for losing fat, you want to go for:

  • High protein. High protein foods keep you full longer. These include meat, fish, eggs and dairy. As you’re trying to lose fat, try to find low-fat versions of your favorite high protein foods.
  • High fiber. Fiber is so important for gut health and most people are actually low in it. Some great high fiber foods include lentils, avocados, pears, strawberries and bananas.
  • Low sugar. Or, if you can cut out sugar entirely, that’s even better. Avoid artificial sweeteners.
  • Low carb. When choosing carbs, make sure it’s a low GI option. GI is a measure of how much the carb elevates your blood sugar. The lower the better. Some great low GI carbs include sweet potatoes, brown rice and oatmeal.

Sample Daily Diet

Let’s say you want to eat 1,500 calories in a day. This might look something like:

  • Breakfast – egg and avocado toast: 2 poached eggs, 1 slice of wholegrain bread, 1/2 avocado.
  • Lunch – veggie wrap: 1 whole-grain wrap, 2 tablespoons of hummus, 1/2 avocado, 2 slices of tomato, 1 cup of lettuce, 1 ounce of cheese.
  • Snack: 1 banana, 1 yogurt.
  • Dinner:  chicken and veggies: 1 baked chicken breast, 1 cup roasted pumpkin, 1 cup of roasted broccoli.

This is only a sample of what a healthy and well-rounded fat loss diet may look like. However, there are thousands of ideas online for weight loss diet plans and healthy meal ideas. 

It’s fun to get creative in the kitchen. Plus, this often helps you stay motivated for your meal plan and diet.

The Best Plan To Lose Fat: In The Gym

If you’re looking to lose weight, you should focus on workouts that get your heart pumping. Shoot for around 3 hours per week of quality exercise. You can divide that up any way you like.

We love strength training, but the best plan to lose fat involves working on cardio and toning. There are so many CrossFit routines designed to help you reach your fat loss goals.

Sample Daily Workout

This workout is called the Filthy 50 and is just one of many great fat-burning CrossFit WODs. Complete 50 consecutive reps of each exercise before moving onto the next. Challenge yourself and see how fast you can get through all 500 reps.

  • Box jumps
  • Jumping pull-ups
  • Kettlebell swings
  • Walking lunge steps
  • Knees-to-elbows
  • Push presses
  • Back extensions
  • Wall ball shots
  • Burpees
  • Double-unders

If you find that a little too difficult, you can check out some modifications here to see how to make this workout more manageable. 

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CrossFit Myth: Chalk In The Gym

people using chalk in the gym and standing in a circle wearing face paint

Chalk has been used in sports for ages. Crossfitters took chalk in the gym from a useful tool and made it a fashion. Not kidding, chalk is overused to the extreme in the CrossFit world.

Like with most things in CrossFit, it got pushed to the limits. If one rep is good, 100 is better. If a little chalk is good, a lot is better! Right?  Well maybe not…

Why even use chalk in the gym?

Now, I am sure someone with a degree in some ultra-science major will know much more about what chalk does. The ridges of our fingerprints create friction when we try to hold onto something. The chalk particles create a bond between the skin and an object, blah blah blah. 

Here’s the CrossFit answer. Chalk helps remove moisture from the skin. In most cases, the hands. 

If you have ever tried to hold onto something with sweaty hands, you probably noticed that it’s more difficult than with dry hands. Chalk dries the skin, so as long as you have the grip strength you can theoretically hold onto whatever is in your hands.

Chalk also helps to increase friction. This is partially due to drying the skin but also because the small little particles give you more surface area and angles to “grab”. 

Why more chalk in the gym isn’t necessarily better

One thing I see quite a bit, especially in the summer or when people are very sweaty, is people LOAD up on the chalk in the gym thinking it will help. Inevitably, they rip their hands and then are surprised. 

They believe that since they used every ounce of chalk in the bucket that their hands should somehow be able to repel not only rips and blisters, but flames, needles, and knife wounds.

Here is what actually happens. The sweat mixed with the chalk creates a nice paste that holds the moisture against the skin. A little moisture is okay and can sometimes help. But, once you add too much and then throw in the friction of swinging on a bar for lots of reps, then your skin will eventually rip. 

How to avoid ripping

Here are a few ways you can avoid ripping your hands:

  • Dry your hands before using chalk in the gym.
  • Use the right amount. Don’t go for AMCAP (as much chalk as possible).
  • Give it time. Most people who are new to CrossFit have soft hands. Over time, you will build up calluses, scar tissue and general toughness.   
  • Try healing balms. Bagbalm, Ripfix, Badger Balm…there are lots different healing balms out there that help heal rips faster than just letting them heal on their own.
  • Let your rips heal. If you rip your palms, give it a day or two to close up. Otherwise it will never heal and you will get blood on all the things.

Health and safety

If you do rip, clean everything you touched! No one wants to grab your nastiness. Ripping isn’t a big deal, it happens. Leaving your blood on stuff is a big deal!

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How Do I Get 6 Pack Abs As Quickly As Possible?

how to get 6 pack abs as quickly as possible

There’s many reasons to work for 6 pack abs. Strong abdominal muscles are super important. They help you have great posture, boost your workout endurance, and provide a base of support for your whole body. Plus, they’ll help you look a little more like Chris Hemsworth.

Getting shredded and looking your best is all about gaining muscle while maintaining minimal body fat. Even if you build the core muscles of your dreams, no one will know if they’re hidden behind too much bulk.

Here’s how you can get those washboard abs as quickly as possible – and no, it doesn’t require 1000 sit-ups a day.

Focus on your diet

You know what they say: abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym. For an enviable core, yes, you need to work out often. More importantly, you need to eat a healthy diet. 

As a general rule, you should aim to get 40% of your calories from carbs. 30% should come from protein and 30% from fat.

Don’t skimp on healthy carbs such as brown rice, sweet potatoes and whole grains. Eat enough colorful and leafy vegetables such as kale, broccoli and spinach.

To build abs, you need to build muscle. This means eating enough protein to fuel your gains. Aim for 0.6 – 0.8 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, depending on how much muscle you wish to build. Some great protein sources include chicken, fish, eggs, lean cuts of beef, and dairy.

Finally, make sure you work enough healthy monounsaturated fats into your diet. Think nuts, avocados, fatty fish such as salmon and tuna, and olive oil.

Do more cardio

Cardio is a crucial aspect of your general fitness. Getting your heart pumping helps your body burn fat. In turn, a low body fat percentage reveals the ripped 6-pack abs you’ve been working hard for.

Most CrossFit workouts are energetic and have a big cardio component to them. Checking out a class at your gym could be a simple and easy way to break a sweat, without having to waste time deciding what exercise to do. Plus, group fitness is really fun.

There are also many other great ways to work some extra cardio into your daily routine. You could consider walking, running, biking, swimming or rowing. Team sports you enjoy, such as soccer or basketball, are a popular and fun way to get a workout in without feeling like you’re slaving away at the gym.

Do core exercises

In addition to your cardio, take some time to strengthen your abs. There are many fantastic CrossFit moves that will get your core burning. You can get creative with which exercises you want to use during your workouts. 

Some of the best and most popular functional movements you could consider using include:

  • Overhead squats

Hold a weight above your head and complete a full body squat. This forces your abs to work super hard to stabilize your body. 

  • Toes to bar

Hanging from a pull-up bar, slowly and steadily bring your toes to the bar while keeping your legs straight. Most of the pressure will be on your core, making this an incredible ab workout.

  • Farmer’s carry

This is a simple exercise that consists of carrying two dumbbells. Your arms, back, shoulders and abs will all be exhausted after completing a few of these. The farmer’s carry is a popular CrossFit move and a great way to work your whole upper body. 

  • V ups

These modified sit-ups involve lying on your back and bending at the hips. With arms above your head, slowly bring your hands and feet towards each other – shaping your body into a V. This exercise works your obliques, core and hip flexors. V ups will improve your stability, balance, and most importantly, set your core on fire.

  • Burpee box jump

This explosive bodyweight movement upgrades a classic burpee by adding a leap onto a box. This is a great way to work your core, while also getting in some intense cardio.

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Will I Get Bulky From Lifting Weights?

will i get bulky from lifting weights?

Many guys walk into the gym with the goal of getting big and strong from weight lifting. However, not everyone wants to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you’re a woman, or big guns just aren’t your style, you might be worried that you’ll get bulky from lifting weights.

Luckily, the idea that weight training instantly makes you huge is simply not true. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll end up bulky from your training if you don’t want to. Getting big is much harder than it looks. When starting out a regime, you can tailor it to meet your personal fitness goals so you feel happy with your results.

Increased Muscle Doesn’t Mean ‘Huge’

When you start a workout regime that involves a lot of lifting weights (including Crossfit) you are likely to see some muscle gain. That doesn’t mean you’re going to get huge.

Muscle mass actually plays a key role in your general health. Building muscles helps your body to burn energy and fat. As muscle mass increases, the faster your body can burn calories and energy. Muscles help us lose weight, stay healthy, and be active.

Muscle mass doesn’t mean you’re going to look huge. If you have a high muscle mass percentage and low body fat percentage, you’ll almost certainly look leaner than you did before you started working out.

Being strong and having a high muscle mass is not the same as looking manly. It may be worth thinking about how you define bulky. Strength is always a good thing!

A Bulky Diet = A Bulky Body

If you wanted to bulk up, you would need to seriously increase your daily calories. The more calories, the bigger the bulk. 

For many people who are trying to get big, eating enough is one of the hardest parts of their fitness journey. If you aren’t trying to bulk up, then you won’t be anywhere near the levels of caloric surplus you’d need to be reaching.

Everyone knows that a healthy and fairly low calorie diet is a crucial part of losing weight. Working out won’t get you far unless you combine it with clean eating. The same idea applies to gaining mass through weight training.

Getting Bulky From Lifting Weights Doesn’t Happen Overnight

Like with any aspect of fitness, whether it’s cutting fat or toning up, new mass takes a few months to notice. 

To get bulky from lifting weights, you need to work hard and be patient. This can be a difficult truth to swallow when you’re excited to get muscular. But, if you want to avoid getting bulky it can be a blessing.

If you notice that you’re gaining more muscle mass than you want to, you can simply adjust your workout plan or your diet. Bear in mind that people sometimes mistake body fat for mass. You can cut down on your overall mass by eating a healthy, high protein diet.

Weight Lifting Has Many (Non-Bulky) Benefits 

There are lots of weight training methods and variables. Each of these will have different, beneficial outcomes. Weight training can be a great way to lose weight, improve your mood, and get flexible and stronger. It can even make a great cardio workout.  

Yes, lifting weights is a great way to build muscle. This means lifting heavy weights at a low to moderate rep range. If you want to be toned, not bulky, start out with low weights and higher reps in a slow and controlled manner. If you continue to eat a healthy diet, you’ll gain muscle mass but also lose body fat – helping you look leaner.

Train For The Results You Want

You can use a weight training regime to reach many health and fitness goals. You can use weightlifting to train for competitive powerlifting or a bodybuilding competition. In these cases, you’re likely to be training hard, 4-6 times per week.

However, many people do Crossfit or lift weights to stay fit, healthy and confident. There are many plans to suit your needs. If you just want to improve the overall shape or your body, lifting weights is one of many parts of a holistic and well-rounded workout plan. 

No matter what your fitness goals are, weight training can be a great way to meet them.

When you train for the results you want, you won’t end up bulky from lifting weights. You’ll end up with a well-shaped, toned and fit version of your natural body.

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Workout Motivation: Do It Anyway

young muscular woman with workout motivation working out barefoot in the gym holding a kettlebell

We all have those days. The ones where we could find any excuse to not workout. Sometimes it’s basic excuses: I’m tired, I have to work late, I’m sore. Sometimes there are very unique excuses that can try to derail us. If you’re feeling this way, maybe you need some workout motivation to get in the gym and do it anyway.

We have some highly dedicated members at our box. Today’s post is about one member and one particular incident. This member is not the type to make excuses.  In fact she is just the opposite. She simply does not miss a workout.

Last she showed up to her usual 6 am class time at Buffalo Nickel CrossFit. As she came walking in, I noticed she did not have shoes on.  Not just didn’t have CrossFit shoes on…she had no shoes on!

I looked at her with a confused look and she looked at me with a frown. She told me about how she had woken up and her shoes were not in the normal place she puts them. But, she didn’t want to miss class looking for them so she just came anyway in her socks. She asked if she could still workout.

Let me take a moment to explain to you: I LOVE not wearing shoes. I especially love not wearing shoes during workouts. I think it gives you a much better connection to the ground and it makes you slow down and appreciate the movements you’re doing. For a time, I only trained barefoot, and I highly encouraged others to do so. Not many people want to or like to so I usually now just save my breath and only use it as a cue to help with exercises such as deadlifts, squats, and running.

Anyway, back to this shoeless member. She was afraid I would say she could not workout since she did not have shoes. Well, little did this member know I was a strong supporter of working out without shoes. So I responded, yes of course. I told her how much I loved it, what to be careful of in that day’s WOD since she was not wearing shoes, and so forth.

Usually when most people workout barefoot they are overly cautious in their movements. They almost don’t get a good intense workout because they are too focused on being barefoot. But she was flying!

While she was working out, I was thinking wow, she really does not allow any excuse to get in the way of her daily workout. I just thought it was a great lesson.

Hopefully her story is great workout motivation for you

Excuses will pop up. They might be the regular basic excuses or they might be off the wall wild excuses. The important thing is to do it anyway. Make no excuses and hold onto your workout motivation.

The excuse doesn’t matter. What matters is if you let the excuse stand in your way or not.

So get out of bed when you are tired. Don’t let working late keep you from your health and fitness. Use your circle of support to keep you motivated. And if you forget your shoes, workout anyway.

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Proper Weight Distribution In Workouts

woman standing outside bending over with weight distribution in workouts touching toes in sneakers

The human foot is truly amazing, 26 bones, 30 joints, and over 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. At one time in human history, the feet were used as a second set of hands. They helped us hold things, climb trees, carry heavy loads and pick up items off the ground. Nowadays most feet don’t have to work that hard, and it shows. This is another reason exercise is so important: it helps our feet be useful again. Keeping proper weight distribution in workouts is often an overlooked part of fitness, but it’s very important.

In modern times, the one thing our feet can still do extremely well is balance our bodies. Before you say, ‘but I don’t have balance’, I can assure you that is not true. If you have ever walked without falling, stood on the tips of your toes, jumped, or any other movements that almost everyone has done then you have balance. 

Science time

Weight feels easiest to lift the closer it is to your natural center of gravity and the more inline it is with your base. This is usually directly over the center of our feet, between the balls of our feet and our heel.

To illustrate this, go grab a gallon of milk, water, or something that is roughly 10 is pounds. Hold it in front of you and keep it touching your chest. Hold it there for about 10-15 seconds. Pay attention to what your body is doing. Are you leaning? Are your toes grabbing the ground? Do you feel even weight distribution?

Now, extend that arm away from your chest and try to make your arm as straight as possible. Can you hold it in that position for 10-15 seconds? Did you notice what your body did as your arm extended? What changed the longer you held that position?

Most people will be able to stand with the weight touching their chest with relative ease. But as our arm extends in front of us, it changes our center of gravity in a much different way. You might have felt pressure in your toes as the weight moved forward. Then you may have felt your body adjust and the pressure went to your heels as you leaned back to compensate for the weight change.

So what does this have to do with CrossFit and lifting?

For safety and best performance, it’s important to do our lifts to a high quality. Some common lifts in most any gym, especially a CrossFit box, are squats, deadlifts, presses, and olympic lifts (snatch, clean & jerk). All of these require moving weight, usually a barbell along a vertical path. Anytime you add outside weight to your body, your body has to move and adjust to make up for the change.

Of course in functional and dynamic movements like the ones above there are many variables that can determine how well you complete the movement. A reason you might be having trouble lifting heavier weights, or you keep missing reps is due to how your feet are affecting weight distribution in workouts.

Take push press for example. A common error is the weight shifting into your toes when you bend the knees to start the movement. This is often referred to as the ‘dip’. So, if you dip and feel your toes grab the ground you will either not be able to complete the lift because the weight will drive out in front of you instead of overhead. Or, your body will get used to this happening and adjust/compensate so you can complete the lift.

Of course you might be strong enough to complete the lift even though you dipped into your toes. But think of it this way: if I were going to push someone would I use just my fingertips to apply pressure? Or would I put my whole palm flat against them and then push? I would definitely be able to deliver a much more forceful push with my whole palm compared to just my fingertips.

Applying proper weight distribution in workouts

Start paying attention to what your feet are doing in your lifting. You might need to slow lifts down, or break them into pieces, especially the more dynamic and aggressive ones. 

When you deadlift do you feel pressure evenly through the whole foot or do your heels lift up and the weight presses into my toes? Has a coach ever told you to lift your toes off the ground during a squat in the hope you keep your heels down? Side note, this is a terrible cue, don’t use it. What about when you catch a clean or a snatch – what are your feet feeling? Do they feel stable and secure or do you stand up quickly because you are losing your balance?    

Remember there is a reason your foot is the way it is. Parts of it provide balance and stability while others provide a solid platform so we can apply power and drive to move, carry and live healthy. Listen to your feet, often they are telling us minor fixes for weight distribution in workouts that can help in major ways.

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The Fitness Benefits of Gymnastics

woman in gym doing benefits of gymnastics handstand

Do you struggle with gymnastic movements? Is spatial awareness a complicated concept for you? Do you want to improve your lifts? Have you ever hit your head on the door frame, as you’re getting in the car?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, then effort training fundamental gymnastics, is your answer. You’ll be amazed at the benefits of gymnastics to your general fitness.

In “How to Build World Class Fitness in 100 Words” by Greg Glassman, 50% of the movements listed are gymnastics movements. On the CrossFit theoretical hierarchy of development, training gymnastics comes before weightlifting. Suffice it to say, whether you’re a beginner or an advanced athlete, there are many benefits of gymnastics.

Most people’s first thought when struggling with gymnastics movements is that they need to work their technique and mobility. Though those things are important, strength is usually something they need to build first. That can be accomplished in part by weightlifting, but weightlifters can also become stronger by improving their gymnastics skills. 

Benefits of gymnastics in CrossFit

The combination of functional movements is one of the beauties of doing CrossFit. Shoulder strength for handstand push ups can be improved by doing presses, but it can also be improved by doing handstand work.

If you want to improve your Olympic lifts, you might need to improve your core strength. Some great movements to increase core strength and stability include L-sits, planks and V-ups. 

Some other benefits of gymnastics are control, coordination, spatial awareness, movement quality and mobility.

But gymnastics isn’t fun!

Gymnastic movements aren’t always fun. Usually people want to spend time practicing their Olympic lifts or doing more “fun” skills. It’s not often that one wants to practice their kip swing, strict pull ups. How often do you hear people mention wanting to work on their air squat or push up form? 

A lot of times, we figure we have it down, but there is really a lot of room for improvement. CrossFit isn’t just about getting from point A to point B. The grace and skill it takes between points A and B of a rep will ultimately improve the proficiency of the movement.  

It takes time and dedication to fundamentals to really improve on some of the more “fun” movements and hit those PRs you’ve been chasing. 

If you’re struggling with a particular movement, or have a movement or PR goal that you’re chasing, get with a coach and schedule a personal training session. A knowledgeable and experienced coach will be able to provide not only a set of eyes to watch your reps, but also pointers and cues to correct mistakes.   

The coaches at Buffalo Nickel CrossFit can identify flaws in your movements and give feedback to address key fundamentals that might be lacking in your current training.  This way you are ready to crush those goals!

By Kari Reed

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