If you don't squat, you rot!

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 BUT Coach...I can't squat!  What can i do?      by Joe Hancuff

I don’t know how many times I’ve told non-CrossFitters and non-lifters this old adage:

Squats are super important and ultra-beneficial. Here are some reasons why you must squat:

1. It is a functional movement. When you change a tire, you squat. When you lift a box off the floor, you squat. When you poop in Japan, you squat (wait, what?) Seriously! You find the squat everywhere in human movement. For ages the squat has been the substitute for sitting on a flat surface. Even today there are cultures that stay in a squatted position for the larger part of their day. It is natural and biomechanically safe.
2. Builds muscles in your entire body. Obviously, the squat helps to develop your lower extremity muscle groups. But they also create a situation in which all of your muscles can develop by way of an anabolic stimulation which can trigger the release of testosterone and HGH (human growth hormone) which are the chemicals that help lean out and trigger muscle development throughout your body, not just your legs. Squatting is a foundation of any proper muscle-building routine.
3. Squatting develops your connective tissues, especially those in your stabilizing areas: knees, angles, and hips. All the tendons and ligaments grow thicker and are less likely to tear or rupture when stressed. This is hugely important if your particular sport is high impact on your legs or requires massive amounts of ankle or knee stability. (Football players, I’m looking at you!)
4. Keeps you bendy, keeps you balanced. The full range of motion/below parallel squat keeps your joints functional throughout the entire range of motion (a staple in CrossFit, mind you). But it also keeps you limber and flexible and improves kinesthetic awareness as you learn to keep your balance and control your frontal plane weight distribution as your body changes shape during the squat (especially useful when doing weighted or heavy squats).
5. Squatting is the primary difference between just having a butt and having an ASS!You want a nicely toned rear end? Squat. You want to fill in your jeans? Squat. You want your legs to be proportional to your glutes? Squat. Squatting is a natural functional movement and it will build a natural functional physique that anyone will envy.
6. Build more muscle, burn more fat. Are you trying to lose weight or lean down? Squats can help! For every pound of muscle mass your body gains, you burn an additional 50-70 calories per day carrying that business around with you. It accelerates fat burning unlike most other exercises.

   Well this is a simple question with a tough love answer. I’ll echo Elliott Hulse when I say:

   If you can’t, then you must!!

   It’s as simple as that. If you do not have the physical ability to properly squat then it is imperative for your overall health and performance as an athlete that you work to develop the organic strength, mobility, and range of motion necessary for the squat. No amount of leg extensions, leg press, toe raises or hamstring curls can ever take the place of the squat.

   There is no alternate exercise that can substitute the squat. If you cannot squat, then you absolutely MUST squat. And if you can, you should probably squat some more.

   Do not fear the squat, for it loves you like its own.

   Contrary to popular belief, squats are NOT bad for your knees when performed properly. There have been several studies on this subject that have been definitive in dispelling this myth. Do not fear the squat, for it loves you like its own.

   When I’m assessing a new strength coaching client or a CrossFit athlete, my first inclination is to have them attempt a properly setup air squat. I will be able to tell almost everything about their macrophysiology from watching them squat. A good coach can immediately see strength imbalances, mobility issues, bad habits and good habits just by watching people squat.

   P.S. SQUAT!!!!

   This post was originally posted on Joe Hancuff’s blog Fitness Philosopher.

   

    
    

Jan 17, 2014 TBC Crossfit

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“So… Why do YOU CrossFit?”

I’ve asked a number of people this question and have heard so many answers and reasons, including

• to compete
• to become faster, stronger or more agile
• to lose weight and have fun, or
• to be strong/capable enough to do the other things in life we love.

The list keeps going, obviously. But therein lies a problem: if we treat every training day as if it were a competition by

• always giving 110%
• sacrificing good form/technique for a good time
• doing weights we aren’t yet ready for, and/or
• ignoring our bodies when they tell us to take a rest day…

then we are doing ourselves and our goals more harm than good.

Know Your Underlying Goal/Reason

If the goal is to compete, then training should be aboutperfecting our technique, building on our strengths and attacking our weaknesses so that we are as prepared as possible for when we step onto the competition floor. Training should be tough, and should make us push hard (really hard) so that we know what to expect in competition. But if we throw ourselves into each WOD blindly and don’t take the time to correct movements and become more efficient, we will — inevitably — have a difficult time becoming the best athletes we have the potential to be.

It took me a long time to realize this (I still have to remind myself pretty regularly, and it was almost harder to understand/accept this concept when I didn’t compete, because for me the daily WOD was my competition. The thing is, if the underlying goal isn’t to compete but rather to have fun, get in shape, and become a stronger individual, etc., then things like not listening to our bodies, skipping rest days, and/or sacrificing technique for a good time/score are all excellent ways to end up sidelined by an injury and unable to continue training and doing what we love.

I think what CrossFit has done — bringing competition into daily workouts — is awesome because it makes training fun (in a sick, twisted “I-sometimes-feel-like-I-want-to-cry-or-be-sick” kind of way). I love seeing people change as they learn how to push outside of their respective comfort zones and discover what their bodies are capable of. What I don’t love, however, is

1. getting injured because I didn’t listen when my body told me to ease off, or
2. seeing other people get hurt by going balls to the wall every time they train.

Both of these possible results only serve to slow long-term gains, possibly take us out of training completely, and give CrossFit a bad name. As coaches and/or CrossFitters, it is important for all of us to us to remember that in the end, training is training.

Visit Taryn Haggerstone’s blog, Go Hard Get Strong, for more of her thoughts on training and follow her on Twitter @TarynHaggerston.

TBC Crossfit & Yoga

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REMINDER TBC Crossfit YOGA Tues/Thur @ 11:30 and Saturday at 8:30 am! Yoga is included in all memberships! Now...DO IT! 

Here are 9 reasons why I believe yoga can help you grow as an athlete, reach your goals, and continue to excel beyond your wildest expectations.

1) Yoga improves your range of motion and general mobility

Are your heels coming off the ground in your overhead squat? Is it impossible for you to do a handstand because your shoulders are so tight? How are your pistols? Can you get down there? Practicing basic yoga poses like downward facing dog, warrior two, and pigeon (just to name a few) help reinforce external rotation of the hip and shoulder necessary for many basic movements of CrossFit. Performing these yoga shapes consistently helps improve your overall mobility. Greg Glassman did say that all Crossfitters should be able to do the splits. This could be your future.

2) Yoga helps you focus

Have you ever had to complete 150 wall balls? That target is your “drishti” or point of focus where your gaze rests. In classical yoga there is a strong emphasis on creating a focal point that doesn’t move so you stay consistent while you’re moving. This technique of setting a steady focus helps tremendously with Olympic lifting, double unders, high box jumps, and toes to bar, just to name a few.

3) Yoga teaches you how to breathe more efficiently

After my first “Yoga for the Crossfit Athlete” class at San Francisco CrossFit, the Supple Leopard himself, Dr. Kelly Starrett asked me how it went. I replied, “It was awesome.  The athletes move really well…but they breathe like shit.”Vinyasa Yoga is a practice of linking movement to breath, so you move through postural transitions using your inhale and exhale. This pattern of breath awareness seamlessly transfers to a long burpee workout where the timing of breath and rhythm is essential to staying on point. Yoga also helps you learn how to breathe deeply into your diaphragm, which directly translates into your ability to produce more power and sustain movements for longer durations.

4) Yoga develops your ability to balance

Balance is one of the Ten General Physical Skills highlighted in Greg Glassman’s definition of CrossFit. It’s necessary for most of the movements you see in a classic CrossFit workout. Practicing yoga poses such as Tree, Eagle, Dancer’s, or Half Moon help you achieve the stability needed to perform high rep pistols or do cartwheels on a balance beam at the Sac Town Throwdown (not that I’ve ever done that). If you’re lucky, this balance thing trickles into your real life outside the gym and suddenly you’ve landed your dream job, relationship, home,and you have time for your CrossFit and yoga addiction.  Lucky you!

5) Yoga keeps you fit

Please ignore this one if you’re on the milk diet and trying to get “swole.” Yoga will lengthen your muscles and potentially help you grow an inch taller. Or, your posture will improve from practicing yoga and you’ll appear to be taller. Either way, yoga keeps you looking sexy. And we all know CrossFitters like to look good: topless, in Lululemon sports bras and Reebok bootie shorts, and especially naked.

6) Yoga gives you time to relax

CrossFit is primarily about moving fast with intensity, but in order to cultivate speed you must also cultivate rest. Relaxation is important for your ability to integrate the information you receive mentally and physically during your workouts and throughout your day. Being able to relax deeply helps you come back with more power, focus, and determination, because you’ve had ample time to recover. On your next rest day, replace your giant ice cream sundae with a restorative yoga class and see how you feel.  Or, who am I kidding…. just do both.

7) Yoga reinforces good positioning

My dear friends and coaches, Kelly Starrett, Carl Paoli, Diane Fu, Nate Helming, and the team at SFCF have created an entire epoch around the skill of establishing good positions across a variety of physical disciplines. Most of the classical poses in yoga support the same concepts of creating torque, finding a braced neutral spinal position, and always working from core to extremity. The goal of the ancient yogis was to move through postures in a way that could help you sit comfortably for long periods of time in a lotus position where the spine was held neutral. This is the same spinal position used when you’re running, doing a pull up, or performing your heavy deadlift and push press.

8) Yoga can be a legitimate workout

One of my favorite things about teaching yoga to CrossFitters is watching the big guys who can deadlift 500+ pounds show up to yoga; within five minutes they’re drowning in a pool of their own sweat.  Yoga can be hard, really hard if you’re not used to it. But unlike a Hero or Girls WOD, you probably won’t throw up at the end. On the contrary, you’ll get a ten minute supervised nap with a lavender neck massage and a lullaby. You’ll most likely emerge from a vigorous yoga class feeling calm, present, and relaxed instead of feeling like you were just run over by a Mac truck.

9) Yoga builds community

CrossFit is all about community, and so is yoga. Anytime you bring people together with a common focus or goal, those people will feel connected to each other. The root of the word yoga in Sanskrit is “Yug,” which means to yoke, join together, or connect. The essence of yoga is the concept that if we connect deeper to ourselves, our bodies, our breath, and the present moment then we ultimately will connect more deeply to one another.

The Crossfit OPEN at TBC

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Couples that Crossfit together...stay together!

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GOT TBC Crossfit?  Why? CrossFit is the Best Way for Couples to Stay in Shape!

By DINKlife Journalist Team | March, 19 2011

DINKs know that traditional workouts are not always the best for your long term health. While you can still burn calories and lose weight, countless hours on the treadmill means worn down knees and joints and no muscle gain.

Hours of bicep curls and single-joint movements that focus on only one body part at a time mean longer hours in the gym and less time to focus on new experiences outside of the gym.

Crossfit is the solution to less time in the gym, more calorie burning, a better physique and a better sex life too. Crossfit makes you better at…everything. Weighlifters will gain more speed and endurance, runners/swimmers get more stength and flexibility, and couch potatoes increase general health and fitness for everyday life.

In order to understand why Crossfit is one of the best workouts for DINKs, first, you need to understand what Crossfit is. Crossfit is continuously varied, functional movements done at high intensity.

Let me break this down for you:

• 1. Continuously varied This means that the body is always guessing. Each Crossfit workout is different. One day you may do high rep pushups and squats, the next day sprinting and weighted pull ups – it is always a mystery. When your body is guessing, it challenges each muscle in a different way. This leads to less injury since you are not pounding on the same muscles day after day, and you leave time for muscles to recover.
• 2. Functional movements Functional movements are movements that you do every day. Picking up a heavy box or lifting something off of a shelf. All of Crossfit exercises help you do things that you do every day easier. That is why the Crossfit workouts are grounded in full body natural movements – not machines – like squats, pullups, presses and deadlifts. If you still don’t know what these exercises are, the best thing to do is go check out Crossfit.com and watch the videos on their site. Don’t be intimidated, everything can scale to your level.
• 3. High intensity This leads to more calorie burning and is the best part of the Crossfit workouts because this is what makes them shorter. You can workout for a shorter period of time when you are working out harder, accomplishing your goals (and exceeding them) in half the time. 

Why is Crossfit the best workout for couples, here’s why:

• 1. It’s Scalable - Even though the movements are in many cases Olympic lifts that you must train for, there is equipment that makes it scalable for women and men of all strength levels. Even if you train with no weight on a bar, you will still see (and feel) results. This means that women can do traditional workouts that are usually thought of as “man” workouts. Like deadlifts and presses with the bar. On the other hand, men can do pushups and pull ups and make them harder by using extra weight.
• 2. It’s Fast Paced – This means more time for each other and doing other things that DINKs like to do. The primary part of some Crossfit workouts are 10-20 minutes. Those of you that are accustomed to 2 hour treadmill marathons, don’t let the shorter duration fool you; you will still be amazed at the results. Done correctly, you will get far better results with 10 minutes of Crossfit than 2 hours on the elliptical!
• 3. It’s Good Competition – Healthy competition is good to have with your partner. Since Crossfit is always timed, you are performing each workout for time to get better and better. You and your mate can compete with each other to see who gets better over time, or who can “win” on certain workouts. You can also set goals together.
• 4. It’s Communal – Since Crossfit is a trained sport, and it is very high intensity, typically the others in your class cheer you on and set goals with you. They typically are into fitness and like DINKs, health is very important to them. Because of this, Crossfit is a great way to meet couple friends who have a lot in common with you and your partner.
• 5. It Makes You and Your Partner Hotter – Hey, let’s face it, when you are in a relationship, you see the same person naked every day. You need to look better than if you were dating around! Keep that body in shape and do it together. Crossfit is great for toning, you will see changes in your body in about a month. We all know what looking better, and feeling better can do for the sex life!
• 6. Learning Together is Important – Since Crossfit is grounded in Olympic lifting, gymnastics, powerlifting, running, jump-roping and military style training, even the best trained world class athletes still need to work very hard at Crossfit. So, even if you and you partner are very in shape already, you will learn a lot together. Constantly learning together and moving towards the same goals are good for any relationship.

So remember – continuously varied, functional movements done at high intensity. Give it a try, it is good for the body, mind and relationship.

TBC Crossfit Hosts 2014 Crossfit OPEN

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