Thanks to all those who have attended the Weightlifting for CrossFitters seminars. You have without exception been a pleasure to teach and we hope that you continue to reap the benefits of the seminar in your training.
Those who attended will know that I regard flexibility or mobility as important to the point of critical in olympic lifting. Without adequate mobility, attainment of the different positions will be challenging at best or impossible at worst, with the additional factor of increased injury risk. I describe four stretches for improving the key positions seen in olympic weightlifting. These broadly improve mobility at the ankle, in the squat, in the front rack and in the over head positions.
As I have mentioned at all the seminars, there are a range of resources out there for people looking to improve their mobility. Here is a collection of my favourites:
MobilityWOD - the popular daily mobility workout by CrossFit coach and physical therapist Kelly Starrett
Bulletproof your body @ T-Nation - by Tony Gentilcore, this has various assessments to make sure you have adequate mobility in the most important areas
Take care of your mobility and your lifting will improve considerably.
We have had a great time coaching numerous athletes at various CF boxes around the country. Thanks to all those who have come and been such a pleasure to work with. We have included a sample of anonymous feedback left by those who have attended.
"Very good course. Clearly presented. Lots of practical! Approachable and friendly instructors. Brilliant."
"Wish I lived closer to Manchester so I could be involved in more regular lifting sessions with them."
"Definitely planning to add regular Olympic Lifting practise to my training schedule."
"My technique and confidence in two massive lifts has improved greatly!"
"Excellent coaches, very helpful. Would definitely recommend to other CrossFitters."
"Well structured and it was delivered in a systematic way that broke the lifts into easy to follow sections."
"Awesome course guys, informative and inspiring. I think I have taken a lot from this course, thanks for your help."
"Both coaches had a lot of time for each individual and tailored advice from their experience to our needs."
"Great one day course. Loads of info and tips on technique/form. Over time I am certain my lifting will significantly improve."
"Enjoyed a lot, learned a lot and would like to thank you both for a great seminar."
"I think both Jamie and Fay were very thorough in their coaching style and teaching points. Both were clearly passionate and it showed throughout the day."
Email crossfitweightlifting@gmail.com for more information
Fay and I are running a one-day seminar on Olympic Weightlifting for CrossFitters, at various CrossFit affiliates in the UK over the next few months. Please follow this link to get more info! Olympic Weightlifting for CrossFitters
Technique is everything in weightlifting. The best lifters in the world have the best technique. Strength is important, but getting stronger on its own will not make your PBs increase. To this end, time spent practising perfect technique at weights below your max is far more likely to improve your maxes, than chasing PBs and missing more often than you make. No-one cares how much you can miss. If you haven't been weightlifting for long (or even if you have), make it your goal to never miss a lift in a session, and pick your weights accordingly. The greatest progress I have made in the last year and a bit was when I did sets of 2-5 at 75-90% for a few weeks, then attempted big singles again.
Wanted to show using videos what I was talking about a fair bit this Sunday, which was the path the bar travels during the pull from the floor to the point of explosion. The sole purpose of the first pull is to get the bar from the floor into the optimum position for driving it explosively upwards. If the bar is not in the right position, then despite the lifter's best efforts at explosion and then the pull under, the bar will not land in the right place, either resulting in a miss, or a struggle to stand.
The bar must move slightly backwards and into the lifter as it rises during the first pull. To allow this, it must start over the middle of the foot (around the laces on the shoes), not right up on the shin. The lats should be engaged slightly in the start position to stop the bar drifting out. As the bar is lifted, the weight should be on the heels. The knees should be pushed back and flared out to the sides to move the bar upwards, with a focus on keeping the back angle exactly the same. Once the bar reaches the explosion point (mid-thigh on snatch, a bit lower on clean), then the jump/hip thrust is initiated to drive the bar upwards.
Watch the video below and note the path of the bar. It comes in on the first pull, then goes out slightly due to the explosive contact of the hips. Its movement is always upward primarily. The pull of the arms drives the lifter under and brings the bar back and over the centre of gravity.
In the below video, the bar path is forward off the floor. The lifter is too far over the bar, with his weight well on his toes and the pull is rushed. As a result, he jumps forward and has to fight to catch the bar. At a heavier weight, this would undoubtedly result in a missed lift.
Here's a nice video demonstrating technique for the hang snatch. This guy does one hang power snatch and one hang snatch, which gives a nice comparison between the two, but more importantly shows that the pull and explosion look exactly the same, regardless of where the bar is received. Look for the good contact at the hips, as well as the strong position in the hang with flared knees and hips back.
I also wanted to post a video of the standard warm-up that we do each session. This is by no means a definitive warm-up and if you have specific mobility issues then they merit extra attention. It does however a provide a nice general warm-up to establish range-of-motion at each joint. Coupled with a few sets of dropping snatch balance and muscle snatches with an empty bar and you are good to go.
Finally, just on the subject of handcare, I picked up a big tub of Emulsifying Ointment from the pharmacist's the other day. This is perfect for putting on your hands after training, and costs a fraction of the price of the brand-name stuff (£3 vs £12 at my local shop). It is exactly the same stuff, but wasn't on the shelf at my pharmacist's, I had to ask for it. So if you're after some greasy ointment for your hands, look out for this. Don't forget to sand your calluses down with medium grit sandpaper first - this will stop then catching on the bar and tearing.
In class today we spent a lot of time working on a good contact of the bar on the thighs in the clean and at the hip crease in the snatch. This slow-motion video demonstrates extremely well what I am talking about. Notice how, once the bar has passed the knees, the thighs are explosively driven against the bar as the torso moves back. This achieves the most powerful jumping position to propel the bar upwards. As soon as the aggressive contact occurs, the movement is reversed, flexing the hips hard and pulling under the bar into a squat. This is what we want to achieve.
Back to business as usual now with this brilliant video from Donny Shankle (US 105) and Glenn Pendlay (coach at CalStrength, home of some strong boys and girls) on hand care for weightlifters.
Youtube is such a good resource for improving your weightlifting. I wanted to put up this brilliant video, which features slow motion footage of various 69kg lifters snatching. Of particular note is the contact of the bar at the hips. This explosive effort to contact of the bar once it has passed the knees it what drives it upwards. There is a distinct difference between the pull off the floor and this explosive second pull. Immediately following this explosive hip and knee extension, there is dramatic hip and knee flexion and a driving down of the body under the bar by the arms. The arms keep the bar close and moving in a straight line, finally punching out to lock it out overhead. All effort is directed into moving the bar up then moving the body under the bar.
A few stretches for weightlifting that I am using at the moment.
Calf Stretch
To improve the squat. Sit somewhere comfortable and, keeping your heel on the floor, drive your knee forward so the ankle is maximally dorsiflexed. Now put some weight on top of the thigh to aid the stretch. 20-30kg does well for me. You can contract-relax here or just sit it out. Its not too painful or awkward as stretches go, so is good for long periods sat in front of the TV. In fact, I'm doing it as I type.
Thoracic Mobility and Posterior Capsule Stretch
You need a foam roller and a disc for this one. 10kg is a good start, graduate to 20 or 25 as your mobility improves. Prepare for some pretty impressive crunching noises as well. Basically, lie on the foam roller, and imagine melting your upper back over it, extending as much as possible. Relaxed, deep breaths in and out and help open up the ribcage as well. The weight can be held on the chest, or out in front on straight arms to get a sly posterior gliding stretch at the same time. Work slowly up and down your upper back to open it up. Good for the overhead position
Pullovers
An exercise borrowed from the bodybuilders, but great for opening up the thoracic spine and stretching out the overhead position. Lie on the foam roller again and grab a light plate, 2.5-10kg is plenty. Tighten the abs, melt the thoracic spine over the roller, then lower the plate to the ground, pushing your head through as in a good jerk receiving position. Keep the arms straight and squeeze the shoulder blades down and back. Hold for 2, then pull back and repeat for reps.
Flexibility is paramount for weightlifting and I know as well as anybody that I don't have enough and need to work on it more. Stretching sucks, everyone hates it, but it's gotta be done. Do these at home in front of some good TV (not Britain's got talent, a complete misnomer judging from what I've seen) and improve your lifting.
Thought I'd chuck up some videos from training recently and also mention my new role as Editor of SEMSoc - The sports and exercise medicine society. This society is run by myself and a few other medical students at the University of Manchester. We post regular articles and other resources on sports medicine, provide a forum for networking and organise lectures for interested students and professionals.
Firstly, it has been a long time since I last posted. The reasons for this are multiple, but can mainly be traced back to laziness. I hope to put up some more videos of shoulder exercises in the near future and some mobilisations that I have found particularly useful.
One of the most important things I feel I have learned during my training and rehabbing of injuries along the way is the importance of understanding your particular problem and experimenting with exercises, stretches and other methods to try and find what works best for you. As an example, I discovered the other day a mobilisation for the thoracic spine, ribs and scapula that produced more improvement in my overhead position more in a few days then I have seen in months. I haven't been having any particular problems with my shoulders recently, but this has given me improved scapulothoracic mechanics to help avoid problems in the future. This mobilisation was discovered free-of-charge on the brilliant Mobility Wod , which I cannot recommend highly enough.
This has not been an uncommon experience for me. Whenever I have experienced an injury, my initial reaction is to research it; find out what causes it, how it presents and what treatment options exist, etc. The more you educate yourself about an injury, the better placed you are, both physically and mentally, to do something about it. I will then start rehab as soon as possible, experimenting until I find something that helps. It is true that we can injure ourselves badly in the gym, injuries that require expert input. But on the flipside, it is possible to suffer significant discomfort and drop in performance for something that is actually easily remediable. A classic example is a muscular trigger point; when released, the pain disappears dramatically.
This is why it is so important to stretch, to get on the foam roller or hockey balls, to try different exercises and see if you can't fix the problem yourself. To this end, expert input can be very useful. If you have done yourself a mischief, then get some who knows what they are doing to take a look at you. Better still, get several opinions. Just like rehab exercises, no one person or style of therapy holds all the keys to fixing your injuries and what works for one person may be totally disparate from what works with another. Get advice on your posture, strengths and weaknesses, then go work on them yourself, empowered with the new knowledge. Similarly, if what are you doing isn't working, discard it and try something else.
There are a huge number of ways to treat musculoskeletal dysfunction out there. Find what works for you and don't stop searching if you haven't yet found it.
The Dumbbell Row has got to be one of the few good exercises bodybuilding has given us. At my gym it still carries a certain amount of stigma; however, as a tool for developing balanced strength across the shoulder girdle, it is invaluable. Most people are much stronger at 'pushing' or 'pressing' than they are at 'pulling'. Coupled with poor posture throughout the day, this leads to tight, strong pectorals and other large internal rotators of the shoulder, coupled with long, weak scapular retractors such as the middle and low fibres of trapezius.
Correctly performed Rows involve retraction and some depression of the scapula, followed immediately by humeral extension to bring the dumbbell (or kettlebell, 3 litre bottle of milk, etc) toward the lower chest and abdomen. It's important to emphasise the shoulder blade should be pulled back and down; if you are shrugging the scapula up and hyperextending the humerus, you won't recruit the lower fibres of trapezius. The elbow will not travel far behind the torso if done right. In fact, the degree the arm moves doesn't actually matter. It just allows people to get a bit of momentum going, allowing training of scapular retraction with heavier weights.
Do this exercise right and load it up. Sets of 10-20 with 40kg or more will build excellent strength in the lower traps and correct imbalances across the shoulder girdle. If it's good enough for the ridiculously successful Chinese weightlifting team, it's good enough for you.
Here's a few more exercises that you can add to your warm-up, after training or even load them up and use them in your workout. They all have in common the aim of developing your ability to control the movement of the scapulae in isolation, in the process strengthening the muscles responsible and hopefully as a by-product preventing shoulder pain and injury. As with the other exercises I described in the last post, it helps to try and 'feel' these as much as possible. What I mean by this is concentrating on which muscles are working, how your scapulae move and how you can alter the movement by moving the scapulae into different places.
Scap Dips
Scap Pullups
Scap Protraction
Scap Retraction
Band Protractions
See how with each of these exercises, scapula movement occurs with minimal movement at other joints. The exception is the band protraction. I included this one because it combines protraction of the scapulae, strengthening serratus anterior, with a nice stretch of pectoralis major and other humeral flexors when the arms are behind the body. Efforts should to emphasise scapular protraction over humeral transverse flexion in this exercise to minimise the contribution of pec major; the stretch should assist this.
In a slight diversion from normal posts, I felt I had to post this recipe online as it is just so damn good. This Low-Carb Lasagna is the creation of my fiancee Fay.
For the Bolognaise:
500g Mince
1 can Tomatoes
Glass Red Wine
2 tbsp Tomato Puree
Pint Beef Stock
Fresh Basil, torn into bits
1 Onion, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, chopped
Seasoning
Fry off the onion and garlic, then brown the mince. Add the tomatoes, stock, wine, puree, basil and seasoning and cook on a low hob or oven at about 150 degrees celsius for about 3 hours.
The Lasagna
1 pot Ricotta Cheese 1 Courgette, peeled and the cut into strips using a peeler
2 Carrots, same as courgettes
3 Eggs, boiled
Parmesan
The Bolognaise sauce
Put half the bolognaise in a deep baking dish. Make a layer of 'pasta' with the courgettes and carrots. Aubergine works well for this also. Layer half the ricotta on top of this, then chop or break up the eggs and spread them over this. Layer the rest of the bolognaise on top, then top with the rest of the ricotta. Cover liberally with parmesan. Bung in the oven at 200 degrees or so and bake for 20 mins, or until golden on top. Devour.
I commonly see shoulder complaints in the clinic and more often than not these are non-traumatic injuries.
The shoulder joint is complex as previously described on this website however it is worth noting that it is still a relatively under evolved joint in the human body; on one side it provides excellent mobility key for many sports but on the flip side has poor stability leaving it prone to injury.
So often in our lives we find ourselves deskbound or more broadly using our arm in front of us in an elevated position (washing up, cooking). This over a prolonged period predisposes the shoulder to poor biomechanical stability.
The main sight of most non-traumatic shoulder injuries I believe to be the thoracic spine. In many people extension (arching back) of this region is limited due to our ever increasing kyphotic (stooped) posture. As a consequence the scapulo-thoracic joint comes under increasing tension as the scapula are forced laterally (out) and superiorly (up) over the rib cage. This subsequently puts increasing stress on the associated musculature, commonly the Rhomboids major and minor leading to strain. The scapula is forced away from rib cage posteriorly (backward) on the medial (middle) boarder; this subsequently causes the same to happen to the Serratus anterior muscle; giving characteristic scapula dyskenesis (winging).
If we pause here to give thought to referral of pain; as muscles are chronically stretched they develop trigger points, these put simply are taught bands of muscle and irritation at the neuromuscular junction. Not only do these reduce the efficiency of the muscle but they too cause referral of pain to a distal site, this is to say that an irritation in one part of the body can be perceived by the brain as pain from another region, commonly we see this with myocardial infarction (heart attack) where pain is usually referred to the left shoulder and arm. With the shoulder Teres major and minor and Rhomboids major and minor usually refer there pain to the shoulder tip and therefore may be mistaken for acromioclavicular sprain.
With this mentioned about the shoulder, injured patients are all too often prescribed rotator cuff muscle internal and external strengthening exercises. (holding a theraband with elbow at 90degrees and turning the arm in and out). These exercises although good; if not done correctly and without addressing thoracic extension will have little or no benefit, they may even exacerbate this problem for if performed with a kyphotic posture and without setting the scapula the patient will engage the Pectoralis major and minor and Upper Trapezius muscles. This can increase the kyphotic posture by rounding the shoulders and it may also cause superior migration of the humerus (commonly seen in degeneration). This will reduce the space where the rotator cuff muscles pass through the joint to attachment sights leading to impingement syndrome and thus a direct shoulder problem.
I therefore conclude by stating that shoulder problems in my experience often occur not as a result of direct trauma or over training but as a consequence of poor postural imbalances mainly stemming from the thoracic spine. If this is addressed then not only will non-traumatic injury reduce but strength gains should also be observed.
Dr Tom Waller MChiro BSc. (Hons)
Doctor of Chiropractic
Hello and thank you to Jamie for inviting me to post on this blog site. About me; I am a chiropractor currently working in Lincoln, UK. I have a special interest in sports performance. I have worked closely with National 3 rugby side Bournemouth RFC and now treat Division 2 football team Lincoln City FC. I have treated ex-international rugby players and amateur bodybuilders. Personally I am a keen weight lifter therefore I think of myself as the practitioner who not only preaches but practises. Any feedback is welcome and I would be happy to answer any of your questions.
Firstly a quick apology for the lack of updates on this site. I have been a bit busy until fairly recently with exams and things so haven't got round to making a new post. I hope very soon to post a new one with some more exercises for scapula control and shoulder health.
However, a good friend of mine, Tom, has kindly agreed to start writing for Jamie's Blog. Tom is a Chiropractor and also a hell of a strong guy, so has a unique perspective on training for optimal performance and health. He brings both breadth and depth of knowledge of musculoskeletal function to the table and I'm very excited to be able to post his insights and recommendations for training and rehabilitation.
Exercises to activate and strengthen the lower traps and serratus anterior
So having discussed the role of both the lower fibres of trapeziusand the serratus anterior in upwardly rotating the scapula to allow movement of the arms overhead, I now plan to show a few exercises which should help get these muscles working as they should. The name of the game with these is 'feeling' the exercise; what I mean by this is concentrating your mind on which muscles are effecting the movement; ensuring form is perfect; to this end it is not necessary and indeed counter-productive to load on weight. Besides the fact that no-one cares how much weight you use for esoteric rehab exercises, it will also serve to force your body to compensate and revert to stronger muscles, missing the point of the exercise altogether.
The first exercise is the Prone Y, a component of the popular YTWL complex. The Y portion of the complex in particular is designed to teach activation of the lower fibres of trapezius. To perform this exercise, the torso needs to be approximately parallel to the floor. You can either lean over, keeping your spine extended, or lie on a bench. Let your arms hang down in front of you. To initiate the movement, squeeze the scapulae back and down (retract and depress). Now, lift your arms out to the side, maintaining an angle of about 135 degrees to your body. Your thumbs should be pointing towards the ceiling. Once your arms have been lifted as far as possible, try to make them as long as possible. You should not be shrugging your shoulders to your ears - there should be a feeling on intense contraction between the scapulae. Lower the arms and repeat.
The next exercise is the Scap Pressup. This starts off similarly to a normal pressup. Assume a strong planked position. Now, lower your body by retracting and depressing your scapulae, keeping your elbows locked out. Only your scapulae should move; this is quite hard to do at first but will come with practice. Once you have lowered as far as possible, reverse the movement by protracting your scapulae as hard as possible and driving upwards. The range-of-motion is quite small so don't be tempted to extend it by either bending at the elbows or sagging at the waist. Keep it tight and activate the serratus.
This next exercise is also one for the Serratus Anterior. I have to credit James Jowsey with showing this to me. I'm not sure if it has a name. Stand about 18 inches or so from a wall. Lean forward and place both forearms in contact with the wall, having your elbows flexed to about 90 degrees. To start the movement, slide one arm upwards, keeping the hand and forearm in contact with the wall at all times. Drive the shoulder forward during this movement to further activate the serratus. If done correctly you should feel intense contraction under the armpit on the side of the chest wall. To aid in feeling this, take the non-working hand off the wall and place it just down from the armpit on the side of the chest. You should feel the muscular slips of the serratus bulge out as you perform the motion.
Finally, I've included the Scap Wall-slide. This exercise generally improves scapular retraction and humeral external rotation, as well as actively stretching the pecs and lats and improving mobility of the thoracic spine. We'll get on to why these are such good things later; suffice to say that you get a lot of bang for your buck and should therefore do it. It is a hard exercise; as you can see in the video, I am only capable of a fairly limited range-of-motion. Even this causes intense contraction of the muscles retracting the scapulae and extending the thoracic spine. To perform the movement, sit against a wall. Keep the full length of your spine in contact with the wall at all times. Retract your scapulae and put your arms in contact with the wall, elbows flexed at 90 degrees, so you form an L shape with each arm. Now, keeping all the arm in contact with the wall, slowly slide your arms up the wall. The forearms should remain at 90 degrees to the floor at all times. Move only as far as flexibility allows, then slide the arms back down. This is tough, but persist and shoulder mobility will improve dramatically.
These four exercises would be an excellent part of a warm-up before a workout that makes extensive use of the shoulders. If you're training right, this will be every workout. They are worth doing on rest days also, particularly if you get shoulder pain.
