The Blog Vacation is OVER!

Seriously.
Thanks for your patience. To celebrate, enjoy this photo of Coach Carl.



Now on to some business. In addition to the normal SFCF Boz/Kstar blog ramblings, we are going to start posting some of the daily rehab/performance physio-therapy related emails that we receive, much like Robb Wolf does on his great site www.robbwolf.com.

There is a lot coming down the pipe so bare with us on this first blog back.

SATURDAY, MAY 2ND - OPEN GYM CANCELLED

UPCOMING EVENTS AT SFCF:

MAY 5, 2009: CINCO DE MAYO TACO OLYMPICS AND TACO SOCIAL: SFCF is hosting its second taco social on Cinco de Mayo (or May 5th), 2009. The event will start with the Taco Olympics at 6 p.m. followed by all-you-can-eat tacos at 7 p.m. SFCF will provide beer, margaritas,and water. $10/person. NO 7 p.m. CLASS ON MAY 5TH DURING TACO SOCIAL

JULY 25, 2009: CHASING PERFORMANCE: MOVEMENT, MOBILITY & MAINTENANCE: This one day seminar taught by our own Kelly Starrett is a performance oriented workshop for athletes and coaches wishing to develop effective mobility and flexibility strategies, improve ideal athlete positioning and movement set-up, and implement body maintenance practices.

Seminar Goals: Improve force production, increase work outputs, avoid common and preventable movement dysfunction and injury, understand how to address simple performance related myofascial issues.

You Can: Work Harder, Improve Your Fran Time, Squat More, Improve Your Overhead Capacity, Remain Injury Proof, Increase Your Volume Under the Work Capacity Curve, Solve Your Friends Pain!

TO ENROLL, JUST COPY AND PASTE THIS LINK INTO YOUR WEB BROWSER:
http://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ws.asp?studioid=5386&stype=-8&sTG=23&sVT=11&sTrn=100000001&sDate=7/25/2009 or proceed to the "Workshops" tab in our MindBody system.

$175/Current SFCF Members; $200/General (SFCF Members: email juliet@sanfranciscocrossfit.com to obtain discount code)

AND!!!!

The norcal Crossfit Qualifiers are this weekend.
Need a ride? Post your contact info to comments.

Good luck all our SFCF athletes!

K-it's-good-to-be-back-star

Think of It As Potential Potential

Typically, warming up for the front squat or clean involves the usual lower-body biased movement prep rigmarole (that's abbreviated as LBBMPR). It is rare to see athletes prep for the significant thoracic extension required for success in these movements. We often hear coaches cuing the athlete to have quick elbows in the clean turn-over rack, or to keep the elbows up in the front squat. We do not however often hear coaches go the next step with their athletes and facilitate these trouble positions of emphasis.

You can think about the upper back extension required for a successful rack as increased likely-hood potential of a successful lift. For example, most missed front squats or failed cleans happen as a result of not being able to maintain the upright back during the ascent out of the hole (lots of steps have to happen for that position to even occur in the clean of course...) In an attempt to solve the upright back position/thoracic extension limiting factor, coaches will have their athletes turn out at the set up, pull with a much lower butt position, and coach the athlete to let their knees track out over their feet. These all work. So too does getting the athlete a little more supple in the mid to upper back prior to lifting.

Lost thoracic extension in the hole cannot be reclaimed during the lift. If your elbows drop and your upper back rounds, that will be the position in which you will or will not complete the lift. So starting out with maximal upper-back/thoracic extension is vital. It's potential potential.




Our warm up for the clean/front squat includes the usual LBBMPR AND lots of thoracic extension prep like kipping, cobra press ups, overhead squats, shoulder mobility work, and a little time on the pipes of pain.

It works too. We have to cue elbows up a lot less, and our athletes are able to move weights at the limits of their strength, not the limits of their flexibility.


Kstar