How to be a Good Guest When Traveling and Crossfitting

I've spent all of my coaching career working in tourist areas, first Savannah, GA and now Williamsburg, VA. Drop-ins are the norm, especially during peek travel seasons. Here's some suggestions on how to be a good guest this holiday season.

1. Make plans with the gym ahead of time. Look over the website and/or reach out to the gym via social media to find out their drop-in policy. Do let them know what your experience level is. Don't try calling the gym. We all know most places do not have a receptionist and trying to call you back is next to impossible due to the coaching schedules.
2. Expect that you will need to arrive early. 15 minutes before class is typical. Don't show up right as class begins expecting to jump in. You are being disrespectful of the coaches time as well as the regular members of the gym who now are going to be held up while the coach finds waivers and introductions are made.
3. Expect to pay. If you are traveling to your small hometown they may not be used to having guests and not have an established drop-in policy. Ask how much it will cost per class/week or at the very least buy a shirt and leave a facebook/google review.
4. Do not ask to do your own thing. Take the opportunity to learn from new coaches and different programming. Unless you are a professional athlete, ie someone is paying you to workout, there is no reason you need to stick to your Invictus, Outlaw, Misfit programming. 

***If you believe that you will lose all your gains over vacation and absolutely must continue your programming then either find a gym that follows it or find a globo gym in the area that you can do squats, deadlifts and presses at and skip the oly work. This is typically what I do when traveling. I get up early and workout before our plans for the day and the easiest way is to find a 24/7 gym with a squat rack and dumbbells. Do not be an idiot if you go this route. Don't drop barbells and don't expect to set-up a met-con in the lifting area and monopolize all the equipment.

If dropping into a gym won't work then here are some home workouts I created that utilize minimal equipment and can get the whole family involved. Workout One, Two, Three and Four.

Finally it is not horrible to take time off from working out while traveling. Do not beat yourself up for this. The brain and body can use a break. Just get back in the gym when you get home!

A Weightlifter's Christmas Wish List

A collection of things to give or receive at Christmas or any time of year.

Equipment

• A fractional plate set is small enough to fit into an equipment bag to be carried back-and-forth to the gym. These are great for someone who bench presses, strict presses or does the olympic lifts. Using these you can make smaller jumps then 5 pounds at a time. Pound version and Kilogram version.
• If you know someone who lifts at home then a set of change plates would also be appreciated. The two I'm linking here are the frictional style. They stay tight on the barbell so your other plates and barbell will last longer then if you're using metal plates. Pound version and Kilogram version.
• A jump rope makes a great gift. They come in many different price points and styles. You want to find one that can be adjusted for height and allows the rope to rotate freely from the handle. These ropes can be personalized (chose the handle and rope colors) or they have a gift card option.

Apparel

• Of course I have to start with the apparel options from my sponsor, FeNom Iron Eater. A women-owned company supporting athletes of all kinds who have a love for lifting heavy. Shopping here helps keep me on the platform competing and doing what I love. Use the code LAURA15 for 15% off your order. 
• Virus compression gear has options for anyone on your shopping list. It's pricey but if you search around you can usually find a discount code. If you want to buy me something I wouldn't mind if you sent these my way.
• Headbands make a great stocking stuffer. Check out Hank Orange for a hundred+ color and pattern options. These stay put and look good too.

Things They Didn't Know They Wanted

• I suggested the American Oak Hand Salve on my post on how to not rip your hands. It's a great product to keep your hands soft and protected. The packaging is handsome and would make for a nice gift. The owner reached out to me last night with a discount code. Use FRIENDS for $1 off your purchase.
• Subscription boxes are a great idea. BarBella Box is for the functional fitness lady in your life. The WOD Box is another option. 
• If someone on your shopping list likes to watch CrossFit or Weightlifting events live then a subscription to FloElite would be welcomed. It's an online service providing video access to some of the top CrossFit competitions and weightlifting events in the world.
• Maybe some reading materials would be welcomed. You can't go wrong with Greg Everett's Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide for Athletes and Coaches, Becoming a Supple Leopard by Kelly Starett or Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training by Mike Rippetoe.

Comment below with what you're hoping to find under the tree this Christmas.

Where You're Sore Tells a Story

Coach Pendlay of Team MDUSA has been posting almost daily blogs lately. If you can't spend your time working with a full-time dedicated weightlifting coach then at least spend some time reading and watching videos from those coaches. Monday's post was titled "Where Does It Hurt?" and spoke about the idea that you could self monitor your lifts by where you were sore. This is something I've used when coaching and after sharing it a few times and getting some more questions I decided to write up a little more detailed explanation.

The idea is if I did any of these exercises the day before I can tell if my form was correct by decoding where I'm sore.

Front Squat

• Should feel your quads and butt
• Should not feel it in your back
• Most likely cause of back pain is your chest dropping during the lift.

Back Squat

• Should feel your butt and posterior chain (backs of legs)
• Should not feel your quads and back
• Most likely cause of quad soreness is rolling weight forward, dropping your chest and/or not sinking your butt all resulting in using your quads to stand up the weight.

Overhead Squat

• Should feel your butt and legs and a little shoulders
• Should not feel your back
• Most likely cause of back soreness is butt sticking out and dropping the chest.

Deadlift

• Should feel posterior chain
• Should not feel your quads or back
• Most likely cause is early opening of the hips (stripper deadlift)

Kettle Bell Swings

• Should feel in your butt, hips, posterior chain
• Should not feel in back or arms
• This one gives you warning signs quickly mid-workout. If your back begins hurting you are not keeping your hips stacked between your feet and chest. You have your butt sticking out and are using your lower back to move the kettle bell.

Power Cleans

• Should feel in posterior chain and traps
• Should not feel in back or biceps (from of your arms)
• If your biceps are sore after power cleaning then most likely you are doing something more like a reverse curl then a power clean. Keep your arms straight for as long as possible and get the bar moving with a powerful explosion of your hips not your arms.

Clean

• Should feel in posterior chain, traps, quads and butt
• Should not feel in back or biceps
• See Power Cleans

Snatch

• Should feel in posterior chain, traps and quads
• Should not feel in back or biceps
• See Power Cleans :)

Overhead Pressing

• Should feel in shoulders
• Should not feel in back
• If your back hurts the most likely cause is not keeping your hips stacked over your legs and shoulders stacked over hips. If you stick your butt out to complete a lift you aren't using the shoulders and pecs as this lifts are designed to strengthen.

There is a reoccurring theme here. If your back is on fire something isn't right. It could be a form issue or a strength issue. Maybe both. A few suggestions to strengthen your back- good mornings, glute ham raises, romanian deadlifts, stiff leg deadlifts, back extensions, shrugs and snatch grip deadlifts. Scroll through this article to find links to most of these exercises.

Lastly to truly get to the bottom of what you are doing video tape your lifts. Feel free to share video with me on Facebook or instagram and I'll do my best to help.