Team,We had a delay with loss of internet connection yesterday, but we are back up and rolling today! See the top 3 below: 1.Ice baths, some cold hard facts – Ice baths are currently all the rage, and I’ve been dipping myself into a tub or two since 2004 when I ran track at Ohio University. I have recently stopped the practice however, with the rare occasion of using it to quickly bring down my core temperature and cool off. Unfortunately for young Dan, two recent meta-analyses concluded that “cold-water immersion blunted exercise-related strength gains,” and ice bathing immediately after weight training inhibited muscle growth. In their Journal of Physiology paper, Llion Roberts and colleagues reported that “Individuals who use strength training to improve athletic performance, recover from injury or maintain their health, should therefore reconsider whether to use cold water immersion as an adjuvant to their training.” – (Ice Baths) Give this article a read if you ice bath regularly. 2. Magnesium deficiency – Up to 10-30% of a given population may have subclinical magnesium deficiency in developed countries. Magnesium deficiency can be diagnosed by the following symptoms: 3. Prepare to be fast – I believe that being the fastest you can possibly be is a superior skill; however, I find that speed training is often neglected in the CrossFit gym. Running to or from danger and avoiding danger through change of direction, are not skills you want to find yourself without. Training speed twice a week at a minimum, and performing sprints and jumps, can keep you prepared to turn on the jets if the occasion arises. A simple example can be found below: A. B.
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Clang N Bang: Knock this one out if you are looking for a workout that will make those bi’s and back summer ready! Amrap 10 min 1 Dumbbell curl and press 1 Dumbbell bent over reverse fly 2,2,2 3,3,3 *Continue to add one rep per movement after each completed round until time is up. |
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Postpartum With Alex The recommended return to exercise postpartum is commonly around week 6, however many women can begin gentle core and rehab exercises as early as a few days to a few weeks postpartum. Scaling movements like the Bird Dog are a great way to gently begin to rebuild the ability to engage the TVA and improve core control. Here is how I broke down the Bird Dog two weeks postpartum: 3-4 sets of 10 reps of each: Quadruped Hold + Arms Only Bird Dog + Leg Slides To engage the deep core: 1) Inhale and relax the belly, feeling the lower abdomen expand and fill with air as the pelvic floor relaxes.
2) Exale and contract your pelvic floor by imagining you are stopping yourself from peeing.
3) Continue that upwards lifting and contraction by imagining you are zipping up a corset, and continue to draw in and contract the TVA and abdominal muscles. You will see the belly draw in and pull up, and feel the entire core tighten and engage. ⭐️ Please remember that every postpartum recovery is different, so be sure to get cleared by your doctor before beginning any new exercises. — Alexandra Bailey M.S. Kinesiology, CrossFit L2, USAW L1, Pn1 Crossfit-Gymnastics-Weightlifting-Sports Nutrition |
THE NEWSSemi-finals are done and the athlete list is complete (assuming no positive tests pop up). Odds are, you aren’t one of those individuals or teams, so what now? If you enjoy competing in the competitive season of the CrossFit Games, now is the time to start shoring up those weaknesses! A great way to develop your overall capacity is performing 3-4 tests to calculate lactate threshold heart rate. This is a zone that is critical to develop to improve your performance in the sport of CrossFit. There is no perfect way to get this number outside of a test done at a laboratory, but if you are at home, you can perform the following protocol: You will perform a 30 minute test with a heart rate monitor on an erg of your choice. Running will be used in this example. Your goal is to go as far as possible in the 30 minutes. Use the first 10 minutes to settle into your pace. Lap your watch every 10 minutes, and stop your watch when the test ends. You are looking for the following data: – a heart rate for the first 10 minutes, – average heart rate for the last 20 minutes – average heart rate for the entire 30 minutes The heart rate we are most interested in is the last 20 minutes, which is your lactate threshold heart rate. We can use this heart rate as a reference point to find our other zones. Extra training in the lactate threshold zone and sub lactate threshold zone will yield valuable results for CrossFit performance. These are intensities at which the acid in your muscles begins to accumulate beyond what you can filter out (Zone 5a), which helps the body adapt to the present fatigue. This adaptation will allow you to have a higher output for a longer period of time. These training intensities are low enough to allow for multiple sessions per week without accumulating a detrimental amount of fatigue, and will provide a huge advantage in training. Please note that you will need to perform this test on EVERY erg you intend to utilize for this style of training since your lactate threshold heart rate will differ depending on the position you are in (standing vs sitting). For more information, check out the book, “Total Heart Rate Training,” by Joel Friel. #AlwaysTrain |
| CWC Weightlifting Program On AlwaysTrain |
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