News & Events

Yes, it has officially happened…. It’s time for Therapy! NO not THAT kind of therapy, SQUAT THERAPY !!!

What is squat therapy?

It’s just like real therapy actually. You are not going to be a comfortable situation in fact it will be more uncomfortable for a little BUT you will come out feeling a lot better. Squat Therapy is about getting comfortable with the uncomfortable and  embracing your inner squat. The more time you spend on learning this foundation movement, the easier other movements become. And you can work in squat therapy anywhere into your day once you learn the techniques and drills to perform it.

There are 4 main drills that you can perform to correct and improve your squat form.

The four drills are:

1. The Wall Squat
2. The Goblet Squat
3. The Bar Squat
4. The Pole Squat

So let’s dive into therapy and learn these drills to help our technique!!

The Wall Squat

 

What is it: A squat performed whilst standing close to and facing the wall, with your hands against the wall but no other part of your body permitted to touch it.

 

How to do it: Stand a foot’s width (as opposed to a foot’s length) away from the wall in a shoulder width stance. Stretch your arms out above your head and place them against the wall, with your arms parallel. Send your hips back and lower yourself down under control into a perfect full squat, with your hands remaining against the wall, but not allowing your head or torso to touch the wall.

 

Focus On: Pushing your knees out and your chest up – both of which will stop you hitting the wall and help you to keep your chest up and maintain optimal back position and torso angle whilst hitting a deep squat. Also try to keep your arms as vertical as possible.

 

Advanced tip: Bring yourself closer and closer to the wall, until you can perform a full squat with your toes touching the wall.

 

THE GOBLET SQUAT

 

What is it: A squat with a kettlebell held like a goblet in front of your body.

 

How to do it: Pick up a kettlebell and hold it by the handles close to your body, so your elbows are pointing down and out. Stand with your feet in a shoulder width stance, Lower yourself down into a deep squat – your elbows should be inside your knees. Use your elbows to push your knees right out.

 

Focus on: Pushing the knees out, using the elbows to pry them open. This also really helps to open up the hips.

 

Advanced tip: Take a deep breath and drive the chest up – then relax the belly and let yourself sink down a little lower. Then take another deep breath, hold for a few seconds – then relax, sink even lower, and repeat 4-5 times. You may find yourself surprised as to how low you can go.

 

THE BAR SQUAT

 

What is it: A squat using a racked bar, whilst standing close to it and with your hands/arms in constant contact with the bar.

 

How to do it: Stand a foot’s length away from the bar. Stretch your arms out and place them on the bar. Keeping in contact with the bar, lower yourself down into a perfect squat, using the bar as a guide to keep your torso upright.

 

Focus on: Form on the way down and the way up. On the way down, send your hips back and your knees out. This will help load up your glutes and hamstrings. Use the bar to help you keep upright whilst you remain in this position for as long as you can manage. On the way up, squeeze your glutes, and drive through the heels to rise.

 

Advanced tip: Bring yourself few centimeters closer to the bar and try again. Aim to use the bar simply as a guide, rather than gripping into it with your hands at the bottom of your squat.

 

THE POLE SQUAT

 

What is it: A squat performed whilst lightly holding a vertical pole (you can use part of a squat rack/pull-up rig for example.)

 

How to do it: Stand almost an arms length away from the pole with a shoulder width stance. Take hold of the pole with both and hands and sit back into the squat, using the pole to keep you upright and keep you from falling backwards.

 

Focus on: Maintaining a beautiful, upright, deep squat with perfect form. Create a little movement at the bottom, using the pole to stabilize you. Whilst keeping your feet planted, move your body a little in each direction before bringing your weight back to the center. If you find a particular tight spot, create further smaller movement around that area. Continue for 2-3 minutes. This will help to loosen up and create a better bottom position for the squat

 

Advanced tip: Take less and less of a grip on the pole with each squat, until you are only using your fingertips on the pole to guide you into position.

Take the time to LEARN each of these movements and implement them into a routine that you can practice over time. You will begin to become aware and notice that your squats feel and look better. Not to mention that you will be more equipped to perform at a more optimal level!

 

 

Resources:

http://journal.crossfit.com/2002/12/squat-clinic-by-greg-glassman.tpl

http://www.crossfitinvictus.com/blog/do-you-need-squat-therapy/

http://breakingmuscle.com/mobility-recovery/squat-therapy-4-drills-that-will-improve-your-squat

So you love sweets !!! But sugar is one of the BIGGEST health problems in America. Obesity rates are on the rise and it’s becoming an alarming concern how much sugar we are consuming as a country. Did you know that just 15 years ago childhood diabetes did not exist? That is a fact that should have you shaking your head and wonder how did it get this bad??

First off lets start with the food that you are consuming. Process foods, pre-packaged meals and everything “on the go” has offered convince but at the sake of your health and well-being. Eating sugar causes serotonin, dopamine and endorphins to be released, which all contribute to making us “feel good”. And who doesn’t want to “feel good” when you had a rough day at work? When you eat sugar and associate that with a feeling you are creating a behavior, this however is a behavior that can impact your lifestyle. Sugar actually stimulates the same brain receptors as heroin and morphine and it interferes with the hormones that let your body know that it is full.

In efforts to kick the sugar habit, it may cause withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, fatigue and being irritable. Part of this is due to the yeast, parasites and bacteria in the digestive system and other parts of the body that are fed by sugar. However those feelings will subside over time and here are some ways to let go of that sugar issue for good!

-Eat WHOLE all natural foods in the original state they are produced. If you look at the food label and can’t pronounce something OR if you don’t know what it is, please don’t eat it. Look for words that end in “ose” as a clue to sugars like dextrose or words that include syrup, molasses or honey. All these can be added sugar ingredients. Don’t assume just because the product doesn’t taste “sweet” that it doesn’t have any added sugar. Items like: dressings and condiments, trail mix, yogurt, granola, crackers and bread all have hidden sugar.Spend a little extra time cooking and you’ll start to notice the difference in your satiety, which will help you stay on track.

-Eating fruit can help with sugar cravings. Fruit is naturally sweet and also full of nutrients and fiber. Try adding some blueberries or bananas into your oatmeal instead of brown sugar or a few slices of pineapple to your grilled chicken. Eating fruit post workout is a great way to add in simple sugars without crashing post wod !

-The naturally-occurring probiotics that live in your intestines not only help with digestion, but are part of the immune system. Sugar addiction causes yeast and bacteria to grow and take over the good bacteria you need as these microorganisms feed on sugar. Boosting your good bacteria by eating foods that contain probiotics – and even taking probiotic supplements – can help rebalance your body. Foods such as kefir, yogurt, and kombucha which is a fermented tea are good sources of probiotics. Read the labels though and make sure you get products that say live active cultures. You can also take supplements of high -uality acidophilus, bifidus or a full-spectrum probiotic formula to support your good bacteria growth.

-Make sure that you are consuming enough protein, carbs and fats throughout the day. If you are not eating at regular intervals of 3-4 hours you are creating too much of a time period and insulin drop between meals leaving you searching for a sugary relief ! Protein throughout the day, starting with breakfast can help provide your body with the energy it needs on a stable basis all day and help regulate your mood. This would include eating foods like meats, nuts, beans, and dairy. As your body adjusts to this stability, sugar cravings will reduce.

-Stress can cause the brain to tell the adrenal glands to release adrenaline and cortisol, which can cause blood sugar levels and blood pressure to increase. That’s why we often crave sugary and fatty foods when we are stressed. Resist the urge and go for whole grain foods with fiber instead. Complex carb foods help keep your energy levels stable throughout the day so you won’t feel the need to get the sugar rush when you start dragging. Also, make sure to get enough good quality sleep, exercise consistently, maintain a social network of friends or family and make time for relaxation activities such as yoga or meditation to help reduce stress.

Reference:
http://www.oprah.com/health/How-to-Kick-Your-Sugar-Addiction

http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/blogs/12-tips-for-kicking-the-refined-sugar-habit

http://www.doctoroz.com/article/5-step-plan-kick-your-sugar-addiction

Fitness Heroics – CrossFit

In’s

4 minutes of jump rope

Yoga/Mobility

chest stretch on upright

Warm-up

The Batman (No Measure)

5 Min AMSAP

10 Box Jumps/Step ups

10 Push-ups

10 Squats

5 Pull-ups

Skill/Strength

Push-ups (3 set of max effort)

holding a plank position lower your body to the ground until your CHEST touches the ground and press yourself back up.

WOD

6/15/2015 (Short/push/legs) (Time)

20-15-10-5

Power cleans

Burpees

Scaled:

any weight

ker flops

RX:

135/95

ker flops

RX+:

155/105

Over the bar burpees

Out’s

30 ring dips

I want to talk to you about- PROPER FORM. This is an element in CrossFit, weight training, and performing movements in life. Proper form is always more important than speed no matter how much you want to ramp up the intensity. I know that from experience, your form can go south very fast if you are moving quickly to complete a WOD. This happens because your body starts think faster instead of be consistent and focus on form before intensity. I am GUILTY of this !!! I want to move FASTER and with speed which sometimes compromises my form which causes the words no one wants to hear: NO REP! (insert angry face)

So why is proper form important? Proper form of every exercise is the first step to building a fitness foundation, especially for beginners. If you learn good habits from the start  will succeed at a much greater speed and you will see results almost immediately. Proper form is crucial when training for progress and training success.  For example, if you are going to be doing 20 slow controlled deep squats,  your core, back and every muscle in your body is engaged to it’s full potential. This starts to recruit a bunch of   muscle fibers, it is a lot harder then it may seem to perform every single rep in that perfect form.  When you practice proper form you are going to become more effective in working out and your body will start to transform faster. Having more muscles recruited means more calories are burned over time.

As an athlete, good form is important to creating muscle. You want to be able to engage muscles with control and learn how to activate them. If you are performing a clean and jerk but are not using your legs or hip drive, then you are not only losing power BUT you are not being efficient with the movement and losing power thus intensity. Athletes cannot perform to their full potential without learning the techniques first. WHY ?? Your body needs muscle memory and learned behaviors that help to engage muscles and create a better foundation for harder skills.

Before each work out try to  practice doing every exercise in a proper form during the warm up. Take that seriously because you are teaching muscle memory for the exercise.  During your actual workout, stay in that form and be aware of how you are moving.   It is the quality of the exercise that makes a huge difference in training.  You want to make sure that your core is tight, pelvis is neutral and the mid-line of your body is tight.  Once you master your core and back,  the rest of your body will follow.

Remember we don’t like NO REPS so focus on form and be efficient !