Q&A – 26

PR Friday
Post your training updates and PR’s to the comments. If you’re a regular poster (especially if you’re funny), then I take more of my time to help you if you ever have any questions. Plus, when you actually post, you get immersed into this community. The guys that loiter here are all really good guys and can help you with your training. Let us know how this week went in the comments.

Week In Review
On Monday I did the first Mobility Case Study on a female lifter named Tamara. The post includes two videos (long and short version) explaining her mobility prescription, yet most of you could benefit from the same “mobs”. On Tuesday, Dr. Kilgore, co author of FIT, climbed out of his Scottish ale/research house to write an editorial on risk management and how it relates to fitness. On Thursday I gave you some insight as to why it’s important to learn and use anatomy in the fitness or strength and conditioning realm. Then I traveled for about 30 hours and my luggage didn’t make it with me, so I’ll just keep wearing the same clothes, it’s fine.

CONTINUE READING THE Q&A

I’m pretty knackered from the flight into Oz, so I’m gonna try and stick to simple to answer questions this week.

Cory Grad asks,

Whenever I do some mob work for my internal hip rotation, the inner side of my knee hurts. What is this and how do I deal with it?

Dear Cory,

It would depend on the type of mob that you’re doing. If you’re doing this (from Eric Cressey’s site), then it would be easy to see why the medial knee would be stressed. Have you tried doing the anterior banded distraction on the proximal hip, then kicking the foot out to the side a little (which internally rotates the hip), and then mobbing as normal (typically by contracting the glutes and sinking hips forward)? Your positioning and general tightness will have an effect on medial knee pain. Also keep in mind that the gracilis is the only hip internal rotator that crosses the knee, and it does so on the medial side. Perhaps you are mobbing correctly and the gracilis is strangely tight? I would assume you’re doing a mob wrong or something that you shouldn’t be doing, but you could also work the adductors and gracilis by rolling on a PVC.

Jonathan S. asks

My wife says: can you do more videos featuring the dogs?

Dear Jonathan,

I have been meaning to do some videos with them. Sadly, I am in Australia right now for several weeks and I miss the pups very much. I do have some video on my computer, so I’ll put something together when I get some down time. They are really funny and cute, but I’m obviously biased.

Old pic of the puppies wrestling

Kurt G. asks:

What’s some good mobility movements to help someone keep their shoulders back when cleaning the bar? My shoulder likes to roll forward and I have to fight like hell to keep them back and pinching the lats together is also difficult.

Dear Kurt,

Sounds like you need to search “front rack” on MWOD. If your shoulder and thoracic mobility is shitty, then start working on it. Search, find, and complete “5 way shoulder” as well. In the mean time, your grip might be funky. If you have long arms, especially long forearms, widen the grip a few finger widths. Think “elbows up and in”. The “in” part puts the shoulder in external rotation; internal rotation would promote that “shoulders rolled forward” position you’re trying to avoid while external rotation puts the shoulders back and down in their efficient spot. Update me on your progress.

Anthony R. asks

Any recommendations for a beggner weightlifter who has trouble with locking the legs completely before second pull of clean? No trouble with it on snatch though.

Dear Anthony,

It sounds like you need to learn and execute a progression. Teaching progressions typically account for this kind of thing before hand. I recommend checking out Glenn Pendlay’s teaching progression. Reduce the weight and do the progression un-weighted and then weight it slightly and complete it again (he should explain that in the videos). Update me on your progress.

Tom H. asks,

Can anyone recommend any videos on how to snatch and clean and jerk properly? Triple extension vs catapult, brush vs bang, how much my feet should move, ‘rebending the knees in the scoop’… My head is spinning from so much material.

Don’t worry so much on the discrepancy of techniques. Instead, just start learning the efficient one by watching videos on California Strength’s site. Stop thinking and just do the progressions and work from there. Update me on your progress.

Josh M. asks,

I’m a crosfitter that works in strength cycle on my own. I usually have success with 5-3-1 and use that for 3 months on and 1 off for rest cycle and to give myself a mental break from the work on top of standard crossfit sessions. I have noticed that if I go more than 3-4 weeks without heavy back squat or deadlift I struggle with the motor plan, mechanics and general feel for the heaviness. Is this to be expected? Should I stay more consistent with 3 weeks on/1 week off regularly to avoid this fall off? Following the standard of squatting 2x/week and deadlifting once is hard to fit in without overtaxing myself given the long list of crossfit things to work on. I wonder if I am trying to bite off more than I can chew. I like lifting heavy, just not the loss of numbers after a rest period.

Dear Josh,

I don’t know what your goals are. If they aren’t competing in CrossFit then you CrossFit too much if it’s included on every strength training day. This doesn’t mean I think you shouldn’t do CrossFit or that I think strength training is better, it’s that if your goal is to be well conditioned and strong, then your balance is off in the programming.

You reference going almost a month without heavy squatting or deadlifting and notice that the neuromuscular efficiency is off. You already know it’s because you haven’t done it. You won’t maintain a neurological and physiological (to include the cardiovascular system) adaptation to lifting heavy if you don’t do it.

I don’t know what type of meal you’re trying to eat, but, yes, you are biting off more than you can chew. Let me say that again: you are trying to do too much shit and you could be more efficient. Again, this doesn’t mean I don’t think you should do or use CrossFit, but if you don’t define a goal, then this will soon get ugly (you aren’t decreasing in age). I respectfully inform you that it sounds like you need to improve on what you have done in the recent past, regardless of your goal.

Okay, I’m still fucking KNACKERED and I have a workshop in the morning. Have a jolly weekend.