Using your car ride for warmup-wrists and shoulders

     I train at 530 am.  I don't want to show up to the gym early to warmup before class.  So I've learned to become resourceful on the drive over!

SHOULDERS

Most crossfitters shoulders take a beating.  One of the keys to getting them healthy and keeping them healthy is rotator cuff strengthening.  Here's the best pic I could find of what I sort of do:

I don't do 2 arms at once, but I do however perform banded external rotation for 1 arm at a time on the way to the gym.  Using the free arm to steer the car, the other arm can do external rotation while you sit on the opposite end of the band under the leg.  I do a set on the left, then a set on the right for upwards around 20-30 reps to get the muscles burning and alive.  Then I will do another set on each arm with the arm up in the frontal plane and it looks somewhat like this:

I still have the end of the band tucked under my opposing leg and I steer with my opposite arm.  I'll knock out a high rep burning set on each arm.  The key is to keep the elbow fixed in the air without moving it, all the while rotating through the shoulder joint.

WRISTS

     The other area I MUST warm up before I arrive are my wrists.  They both have ligament tears and have to be warm if I'm going to do barbell work or walk on my hands or burpees, etc....

     For the wrists I do the following:

1.  (open hand extensor stretch)

Seated in the drivers seat I keep an open hand and stretch one wrist at a time in between my legs on the seat with my fingers and wrist in the following position (this is the best pic I could come up with):

I'll do 30-60" each arm then switch to the following finger, wrist position:

2.  (hook grip flexor stretch)

Again, I'm doing 1 arm at a time in between my legs and posted on my seat.  The key to this hand position is to get your fingers into a hook grip with the thumbs wrapped by the fingers.  Another 30-60" per arm.

3. (hook grip wrist extensor stretch)   

I don't have a great pic but the last stretch is THE KEY STRETCH.  You keep the hook grip and turn the palm over so that it is on the seat in the same way as the 1st wrist stretch except now you are in a hookgrip.  This is the bread and butter the other 2 were leading up to.  Hold for 30-60" again.

    This sequence does absolute wonders for your front rack as well as gymnastic bar work, pushup/burpee position etc.....

Good luck!

(once I get to the gym, I do another 4 shoulder stretches from Dusty Hyland and then a little hip sequence and I'm ready to go!)

Intelligence, experience, love

     I've got 3 kids.  From an academic standpoint, I have a straight A student, another that gets lots of C's, and another that struggles to pass every year.

     I think I used to say things about the last 2 like, "oh they're smart, but just haven't found their way or their strengths yet.".  But the older these kids get, I start to think that maybe that some folks just aren't as smart as others.  I mean in life I have no problem thinking that about people I run into.  Some folks just need more time to "get things" that others "get" right away.  I guess we are a lot like computers, some people process fast, others slow.  And maybe some will never understand certain things that others do.  

     But this gauge isn't necessarily an indicator of 1. The kind of person they are and 2. their future success.  We all know the really smart person who screwed up their life or is just a straight up jerk.  And we all know the person who never did well in school but went on to be very successful in business and/or was the "nicest guy".

     So I guess I started to look at other things that might be attributes I can cultivate in my kids.  And I came up with Intelligence, experience, and love.

Intelligence

     I push my kids to do their best.  I ask them to be proud of working hard and achieving.  But I also realize that some folks might be what you call a C student. 

Experience

     In a way this is what some people call common sense.  The experiences of life.  But it is also a type of learning that is often not an academic type.  I'm currently more intelligent than my youngest son, but his experience on the computer blows my mind at what he can do.  And so I push the kids to get understanding of things through life and its encounters.

Love

     I believe this virtue is so very important to cultivate.  And it comes in many forms.  Kindness to people, to animals, respect for others as well as the earth.  Understanding that there is so much more in this life and world than just us as individuals.  The idea that we are a collective, a community.  And then the idea that relationships of a 1-on-1 nature are where we are supposed to be most safe and secure and learn real love.

     So I hope that this lack of "smarts" turns out to be a blessing for my family.  Because if I had 3 straight A students, I might fall into the trap of thinking that was the determinant of success.  I don't know because I don't have that.  What I do have are 3 kids that I think are really great people and each have their gifts and their struggles and I'm hoping they take the 3 virtues above and work on them the best they can but then at the end of the day be happy with who they are.

Mini blog #2- finding a rep max versus percentage work

   

      My training partner and I have made constant progress since February 2015.  I've said it all started with my attendance of Donny Shankle's seminar and his idea of finding a PR everyday.

     We have found that we have constantly improved in 90% of our weightlifting sessions by going for a " ___ rep max" on lifts instead of shooting for a specific # of reps at a specific percentage.  What I mean is that we will go for a heavy 2 rep overhead squat or a heavy paused back squat triple or a 5 rep max power snatch, etc.....

     So we will look to see what lift needs to be done, what rep scheme (out of 1, 2, 3, 5, or occasionally 10) and we will build to that for the day.  Always knowing what we did the last time we attempted that particular lift and reps, we have had constant success this last year at adding to all of our lifts.

     It flies in the face of a lot of conventional programming that promotes percentage work.  But we feel that percentage work tends to leave reps on the table, so to speak.  Very, very often I can do more than what is prescribed, and I realize that is often times by design, but once we switched to this particular method of programming/training, our results went through the roof.

     That's it, keeps it simple and keeps us progressing!

Mini blog #1 Trust me....let go of the life jacket

     You are floating in the middle of a rough sea.....you are desperately wearing a life jacket, afraid.   Someone you know well asks you to let go of the life jacket.  It sounds crazy to you because you see this as the only thing keeping you alive.  Without it you would surely drown.  In fact, you've had it on so long you really don't even notice you're wearing it anymore until it gets pointed out.

     They beg you to trust them.  They tell you that there is so much more to things than what you see.  You can't possibly imagine what could be so worth the risk of drowning.

This is the story of intimacy in relationships.  

     We must let go of what we see as safety (the defenses and walls we have up to keep us from deeper connection).  We must let down the walls that we have up that keep us in the shallow waters in order to go deep into relationships.  Vulnerability is built through revealing ourselves for possible rejection and disappointment.

     This quote tells us that doing what we fear most is necessary in order to reach what we truly desire in life.

Lower back workshop Crossfit anywhere Feb 21 2016

     This took too long to get to.  Been busy!!

Things to know:

• Lower back issues tend respond best to exercise interventions
• In general I find 3 things that most lower back issues require: A. Soft tissue release B. Stabilization/movement control C. Hip flexibility
• Purpose of the spine is stability (limiting motion) around powerful movers (hips)
• Worst things: 1. Loaded extension with a spine that is not rigid  2. Loaded flexion of the spine

Screening:

• Figure out what hurts.  Is it bending, twisting, reaching, squatting?  Are you moving right or is something limited?  What are your triggers?

Soft tissue release

• Supple leopard book, smashwerx (youtube channel), and many other sources.
• Lower back- release with a lacrosse ball (or tennis ball).  Basically find the painful spots and hang out on them for 30-60" and then find another.
  
• Psoas-Releases with a kettle bell on top of a lacrosse ball.  Same thing, hunt for the painful spots
  
   Or using a lacrosse ball or even larger softball
  
  
  
• Glutes-Release with a ball or foam roller.  This is less trigger point and more of a rolling through the muscle for several passes to loosen.

Stabilization

• This article is fantastic as it relates to core activation.  Essentially we want to learn to use the diaphram to push out and stabilize while also allowing us to breathe.  Versus the model of just tightening the abdominals.  It is a skill and must be attained. 
  

Hip Flexibility

• Hip flexibility is crucial to taking the pressure off of the spine.  If they move more, it will need to move less.
• The 2 things I prefer are as follows:

Ido Portal Squat routine-This sequence is amazing.  For some, sitting on a medball or small type volleyball may be a progression until they can support the stretches free.

Couch stretch-The Ido Portal routine can sometimes make your hips feel closed up and the couch stretch will open that back up

• Hamstrings, piriformis can be added if that is a particular area of tightness.  I'm a big fan of dynamic hamstring stretching in the form of a kick type stretch as follows:

however static stretching is also a fine way to stretch and has its place.

Ankles and calves

• For crossfit, if we want to squat and take pressure off of the spine, we must have flexible ankles and calves to allow the most upright torso.  Calf stretching and ankle joint stretching are easy enough as follows:

Pretty easy to hold for 30-60" a few times each side as needed

Shoulders and T-Spine

• Finally if we are looking at lumbar movement and the ability to control it, we must discuss the implications of raising the arms over head and tightness through the thoracic spine.  If your shoulders or midback are tight, your lower back will often arch to compensate when trying to go overhead with weight.  So as a movement prep to protect your lower back, we advise stretching out the shoulders into over flexion as well as the extension of the thoracic spine.

Movement specific technique and scaling

• Squats.  1. Without proper hip hinge and stabilization control you will have a hard time squatting without excess spinal movement.  This generally is a source of pain.  2. Without adequate mobility (hips and ankles), your torso will be difficult to maintain more upright and this will cause you to lean forward more and expose the back to stress.  3. Great scaling options are front squats, goblet squats, lunges with DB instead of in rack, etc...

• Ballistics.  Box jumps, double unders, coming down from the rig or bar after pullups or toes to bar.  1. These all require care to land with both feet simultaneously.  2. These all require adequate stabilization during the impact portion.  3. Scale with step ups/downs, smaller boxes to gain proficiency, single unders, building up steps to the rig, etc...

• Rowing.  Can be great, can be trouble.  1. If you like the rower and it causes no issues, row.  If it does give you back problems, consider shortening the forward flexing when reaching for the catch.  There is no issue with being less efficient on the row but more protective of your back position.  2. Stabilization in and away from positions of pain become important.  A lower damper setting will reduce torque allowing you to learn to build stabilization abilities over time.

• Running.  Heel strike and vertical displacement.  1. If you are a heel strike type of runner, you will tend to transfer force through chain that can find the weakest link and that can be your spine.  Smaller, more rapid strides tend to help reduce the tendency to heel strike  2. A general way to tell if you are transferring force up through the ground (versus dissipating it through your lower extremities) is if your head seems to be bouncing up and down while you run.  You should imagine running under a line with your head staying as level as possible.

• Deadlifts and Olympic lifting.  1. Working from the hang and doing power versions of Snatch and Clean & Jerk can make it much easier to manage heavier loads and control back pain.  2. Deadlifts off of blocks may be a reasonable scale/starting point until proficency is achieved with proper hip hinging, load tolerance, and/or mobility to achieve pulling from the floor.  3. Must keep a rigid spine throughout entire movement.

• Situps-I prefer the frog situp version (feet together, knees bent) with an ab mat.  Straight leg sit ups are discouraged.

• GHD situps-If you are not going to regionals, I would not do these.  

• L-sits, Hollow holds/rocks-As discussed, the spine was meant to limit movement.  These exercises are fantastic static movement limiters.

• Banded decompression-This is a fantastic way to unload the spine.  It also works well laying on a bench.

Snatch things I've learned

     I've been CF'ing since Sept 2011.  At some point in the beginning, I was attending a box that didn't emphasize the Oly lifts and I remember after class trying to replicate what I'd seen online.  I was 40, had limited mobility, limited fast twitch speed (coming from endurance running), and no understanding of the lift at all.  The coach said , "Travis, put the bar down before you get hurt."

     Since then I've picked up some things that I think many of you will know, some will not, and of course there are many more things that are important to add to this.

     1. Hand width is determined by where you want the bar to contact your body.

For years I was never really sure about what hand spacing to use.  I primarily would figure out what mobility I had available to overhead squat and then I'd put my hands there for the snatch.  I was not aware that my hand spacing was going to determine my contact point and my contact point needed to be the pocket or power position.

So I went through a long period of inconsistency and periodically smacking my junk with the bar.  Finally I was coached for under a minute and it made sense.

     2. There is always bar contact.  Sometimes its more violent than others.

I learned to love the "sound" of the bar and weights as the contact was made by my hips.  For a while I argued that I was more of a "brusher" than a "bumper" with the bar.  What I came to understand is that if you are truly very very powerful, maybe brushing the hips works for you.  But the rest of us need the mechanical advantage of an aggressive contact with the bar because we aren't super powerful.  AND, you will always come to a point that you are at the limits of your strength and must then rely on technique to go to the next point.

     3. Standing tall with your correct grip will put the bar in the pocket and when you bend the knees and dip to the power position, the bar will still be in the same spot-the pocket.

Donny Shankle taught me this.  There is literally no change in where the bar sits from standing tall to dipping into the power position. Too many people stand tall with the bar and immediately start bending forward, bypassing the 1st position.  When training from the hang you should be able to stand tall, bar is in the right place, stay tall and dip, now you are in the high hang, bar still in the same spot.  If you want to move into a mid hang, then there is a bow that takes place while the dip is maintained.

    4. The 1st pull off the ground is the load, the 2nd pull (passing the knees up to power position) is the explode, the 3rd pull is the whip back under.

The tempo is definitely different for each as is the mindset.  1st pull I think about building tension/energy.  2nd pull I think about violent explosion as I pull the bar into the pocket.  3rd pull I think of the fast change of direction like when a whip cracks loudly in the air.

     5. The snatch takes courage.

This speaks for itself.  Anything that takes courage also takes a serious mental approach EVERY time.  You can't be somewhere else and snatching, you must be present and you must treat the lift seriously.

The blessings of my mothers last days

     I haven't really discussed this much since it occurred.  My mother passed away at the end of April 2015.

     First a backstory: 

     I had a very chaotic childhood, is probably the best way to put it.  My father was never part of the picture after the age of 3.  Prior to that, he wasn't "really" part of the picture because he was incarcerated most of the time.  By the time I was 8 he had died in prison.

     My mom married a guy when I was about 7 or 8 I'd guess.  He was my mom's husband and I literally do not remember him trying to parent me ONCE.  We lived together is how I recall it.  These two had a lifestyle of lots of partying is all I will say.

     After high school graduation, I went in the Air Force and moved to California.  After high school, I saw my mother a few times a year or less.  Once I had children I tried to see her a little more but she never lived too close (AZ or FL).

     My mom and my step dad split shortly after I left and she went on to marry a man that was battling addiction.  That lasted a handful of years and they split and he succumbed to his illness.  She then married another man, with a similar story, battling addiction.  He went on to die from this as well.

     I say all this to say that a parent can love you more than the world itself and still be so terrorized by their own demons and choices that the legacy they leave you is love PLUS a heavy dose of let down and disappointment.

     Now the actual story:

     In September of 2014 my mother was living alone in AZ and was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer with metastases to the bone.  At one point she told me that she felt suicidal due to the pain.  I immediately knew that I needed her to move to CA to live with me so that I could help her battle this disease.

     In October we were told the average was 2 years based on her diagnosis.  She lived in my living room on a pull out sofa for the first month or so.  She was a mess of pain.  It seemed that every weekly appointment brought an increase in her pain medications as she was suffering so much.

     Finally she was on the right mix of medicines, radiation, and chemo that she was no longer in constant pain.  The most amazing part is that this little 105 lb woman had NO sense of grogginess or "high" or anything from the heavy pain meds.  She was able to move into my houses detached casita (spare room thing).

     It seemed like about every month there was a problem that needed to be addressed with the medications getting mixed up or side effects or not eating when supposed to and throwing the meds off.  So I would need to take on the nightly responsibility for a little while of waking, feeding, medicating, etc....to right the ship.

     Every 6 or 12 week check up we had showed the cancer was spreading.  But we kept going with treatment hoping for a change.

     On April 22, she had a chemo treatment and came home unusually tired (they often would energize her and make her feel quite good).  The next day she was very clearly disoriented.  Even she knew it.  We brought her to the hospital and found out Friday night that her cancer had spread to a kidney and that the other one got overwhelmed filtering the chemo and they both shut down.  We were told that the 2 year prognosis had just dropped to basically 2 days.

    I stayed the night in the hospital after finding out that she fell out of the bed.  Turns out that kidney failure kept the pain meds and chemo drugs accumulated in her system and caused her to hallucinate, slip in and out of lucidity, and lose her coordination.  Through the night and next day I would hear her hallucinating, trying to get out of bed, and have conversations with people that weren't there.

     Then out of the blue....she would call out for me....look right in my eyes....and tell me she loved me, tell me I was a good son.  And then just as quickly slip right back into confusion or sleep.

     We took her home Sunday and hospice was ordered.  There was no way she was swallowing pills at this point and so I was using the dropper to give her the meds.  In a repeat back to the beginning, the medication dosage was WAY too low and she was agitated all through the day and night.  We didn't have a hospital bed and so she was back on the pull out sofa with me sleeping next to her.  I figured out a system of tying a belt from a robe to her waist and the other end to my arm.  Everytime the meds started to wear off or for whatever reason, she would spring upright and try to get up.  Which with her lack of coordination and lucidity meant that she was going to face plant on the floor.  So the robe would pull on me and I'd grab her and try to calm her down.

     We got a hospital bed Monday and after numerous medication increases and home visits the hospice folks decided that on Tuesday morning they would station a nurse with us for the whole day to try to get things under control.  Which they finally did and my mom was at long last resting peacefully.  Those nights I slept next to her on the sofa and still had the robe trick going just in case and woke regularly to give her the droppers of meds.

     On Wednesday morning I went to wake the kids for school at 7 and noticed my mom stirring.  I called in Kathy and we sadly watched as she had her final moments and died.  It was finally over.

The blessings:

     My mom was able to spend the last 6 and a half months of her life with my family.  We spent more time together than we had since I was in high school.

     We had deep conversations about our love for one another, our forgiveness of each other, and the wonderful treat it was for her to watch her grandkids live life over those months.

     My kids were able to hear sweet (and many not so sweet) stories of who I was and who I am in my mother's eyes.  It allowed me to open up honest conversation with them about my life, my shortcomings, and my efforts to overcome things in my life.  I hope and believe that it will allow them to see me as human, fallible, and redeemable when they are struggling in the world.

     I had a renewed relationship with her that allowed me to spend more time with her in those 6 1/2 months than I likely would have had she lived another 15 years in AZ.

     I had the opportunity to love and forgive and move past any let downs I might have had in the past with her.  This is a beautiful thing.

     I love her and miss her and feel lucky that I had the chance to be there for her.