Rule of Thumb

It’s my job to think about the little things.  In aggregate each minor adjustment that can improve your fitness outcomes and safety adds up to big improvements.  So I spend a lot of time thinking about the little details you may not have ever thought about.

One example is your thumbs and where they should be during the pull up.  If you started CrossFit at another gym like I did, it is highly likely that no one ever told you to get a full grip on the bar.  No one ever told me.  Your coach might even be surprised to learn that full grip on the pull up bar is the second coaching cue we were taught regarding the kipping pull up when we did our coaching certification.  To be fair the Level 1 coaching weekend is a very full weekend filled with huge amounts of information.  People are bound to miss small details, I know I did!

Maybe folks are taking their cue from the elite CrossFitters who aren’t getting a full grip on the bar either.  It’s possible that their coaches missed this point too.  But I also think there are some strategic, competitive reasons for this too, none of which apply to you, your health, safety or longevity as a CrossFit participant.

Fact is, over the years I’ve observed countless injuries resulting from a failure to take a full grip on the pull up bar.  Some of them serious enough to require a hospital visit and in one case, even surgery.

Everyone thinks it won’t happen to them.  You’ve been doing pull ups this way for years without incident.  So had most of the athletes I’ve seen fall.  Many for longer than you.  Without thumbs around bar, it only takes one moment, one slip, one small error for things to go frightfully wrong.  As a coach, it is my job to try to eliminate unnecessary risks that might result in your injury and interrupt your training.

Sometimes the details may seem so inconsequential as to be nitpicky but I assure you each is born from witnessing some very real and unnecessary mishaps.  If I can save you from injury by insisting upon very minor corrections, I will!

It pays to pay attention to details.  More often than not, it’s the little things that matter!