CrossFit Koncepts

Soldier of Steel

For those of you who had the chance to see "Man of Steel" this weekend you might be interested to know that the Army National Guard and Gym Jones (a CrossFit off-shoot) were involved in the production of the movie.  This is no surprise in that Zack Snyder, the director of "Man of Steel" used Mark Twight from Gym Jones to train the actors in his last hit move "300".  Take a look at the following video a peek into the process of making a "Soldier of Steel".

 

Pull-up Power

The humble pull-up is out of the reach of most people when they first start training in a CrossFit box.  While it's a simple technique it takes a lot more strength and integration than most people imagine - until they start working on them on a regular basis.

Wherever you are on your quest for the "perfect pull-up" - keep going!  It's within your grasp if you are willing to put in the time and the hard work!

Vodka and Pickles

Check out the follow-on article by Pavel on Deadlifting and Kettlebells... which go together like Vodka and Pickles. Trust me - it's a Russian-thing.

Movie Night... in 2014?

Zack Snyder, director of "300", "Watchmen" and "Man of Steel", is producing the sequel to the movie "300" and it is due out in March of 2014.  It's already on my calendar!

  

Great KB Training Montage Video from Ireland

I think we need one of these as well! ;)

 

Dog Sleds Anyone?

You can tell it was a great warm-up if this was the result! :)

Kettlebells and Deadlifts

I'm in the process of writing an article about the top powerlifters in the world and their training regimen.  Strangely enough many of the top men and women in this sport are RKC's and use kettlebells to prepare them for competition and setting new PR's.  I have the good fortune to work with powerlifters a couple times a year at IPA events that are held at York Barbell and they are always amazed at the impact a lowly kettlebell can have on their training.  They are also shocked at how hard it is to move it efficiently - and yes, they ask if lifting kettlebells will improve their bench press!

Anyway, check out this article by Pavel Tsatsouline on how to combine Kettlebells and Deadlifts for maximum results!

Ankle Mobility - Part I

Following is an excerpt from an article on ankle mobility:

Several studies have been published that shown that limited dorsiflexion impacts the squat,single leg squat, step down activities, and even landing from a jump.  These are all building blocks to functional movement patterns, so the importance of designing exercises to enhance dorsiflexion can not be ignored.  While I will openly admit that I believe that the hip has a large influence on ankle position and mobility, it is still important to perform ankle mobility exercises.  I will discuss the hip component in a future post.

As you can see, if you have limited, impaired or NO ankle mobility then you are going to have some real problem ahead of you when it comes to doing a lot of the techniques that are part of our day-to-day WOD's.  Check out the video below as well as the whole article on Mike Reinold's website.

 

400+ Pound Kettlebell Swings

Last week we ventured into doing "heavy" kettlebell swings as part of a workout.  Now heavy is relative, meaning that if you are normally doing WOD's with a 25 lbs kettlebell and you used a 53 lbs kettlebell - that's heavy!  If you normally use a 44 or 53 lbs kettlebell during WOD's then using the 88 or 110 lbs kettlebell made you see God... I can guarantee it!  I got some great feedback from the WOD that boiled down to this - we should be doing more heavy kettlebell swings! :)

Now, I'm not saying you should be doing swings this heavy (check out Max Shank's video below) but doing heavy swings will make you stronger and more explosive in just a few sessions. NOTE: the quality of a swing is not measured by how high the kettlebell goes but by the hip snap and backswing.  Also check out Max's article on the T-Nation website.

 

Need I Say More?