The squat is such a simple and fundamental human movement, something we do multiple times each day without giving it much thought. And as a result we often develop inefficient squatting mechanics which over time can lead to a whole host of problems.
Recently in the gym we’ve been squatting a lot. And Wednesday had us doing more. 84 front squats to be precise. And there is nothing like the front squat for revealing movement inefficiencies. Because the load is carried in front of you ahead of the frontal plane, it tends to exacerbate any movement and postural errors.
There are a lot of us who consistently squat with our weight collapsing to the inside of our forefoot. In the air squat, overhead squat and back squat you may get away with this and if your full foot remains upon the floor your coach may not even be able to notice this is happening. But this movement pattern is limiting the amount you can lift, fatiguing your body prematurely and putting your knees at grave risk for problems later in life. Thousands of reps with incorrect loading will over time damage your knee joint even though we’re only talking about micro-deviations.
A good, heavy front squat exposes this malfunction as the knees cave in and the elbows drop. So we used Wednesday to polish up our squatting mechanics by driving through the rear outside edge of our feet throughout the squat and demanding that elbows be kept high throughout.
And amazingly, it worked! It worked at 5am when the entire class executed beautiful squats. Even the people limited by shoulder immobility who usually complain they cannot keep their elbows up. It worked at 6am when the entire class executed beautiful squats. Even the people limited by shoulder immobility who usually complain they cannot keep their elbows up. It worked at 9:15am when the entire class executed beautiful squats. Even the people limited by shoulder immobility who usually complain they cannot keep their elbows up. It worked at 12pm when the entire class executed beautiful squats. Even the people limited by shoulder immobility who usually complain they cannot keep their elbows up. It worked at 5pm when the entire class executed beautiful squats. Even the people limited by shoulder immobility who usually complain they cannot keep their elbows up.
That’s more than 45 Empower members, over half our gym who proved they were able to execute front squats with excellent form upon demand! And several who are usually limited in their range of motion were actually able to squat consistently to full depth!
Job well done! So knowing the correct squat mechanics, your mission now is to employ them in EVERY squatting workout when you’re doing air squats, back squats, overhead squats, front squats, squat cleans, thrusters or wall balls. In CrossFit we get a lot of opportunities to practice the squatting movement pattern. Let’s use each opportunity to practice doing it with excellence. Not only will you get stronger and finish workouts with greater ease, you will also make yourself healthier and more resilient to injury!
Friday WOD
Only 4 attendees per class will be able to access the rope climb for this workout but we will be able to accommodate a total of 9 participants using a rope climb alternative.
Equipment: Barbell, Band, Collars
Women: 2.5/5/large 10lb plates
Men: 5/10/15lb plates
Warm Up
3 Rounds
30 sec Full Body Rocks
30 sec Power Cleans
30 sec Push Jerks
30 sec Clean & Jerks
1 min Add 2.5/5# per side
Tech
Banded Rows
Clean & Jerk
WOD
5-4-3-2-1
*Rope Climb
Clean & Jerk (ascending weight 60-65-70-80-85% 1rpm)
*Rope Climb Alternative: Alternating banded rows: 50-40-30-20-10
Cool Down
Forearm Stretch
Scap Rotations
Hamstring Rock
Pigeon Rock