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.

If I could wave a magic wand and give you handstand push-up powers I would

One of the hardest things as a coach is watching an athlete be in the midst of competition and not be able to complete something. If I could will the bar over your head, magically make your pull stronger, use mental telepathy to remind you to pull under or punch you wouldn't being standing there frustrated. Since my magic wand seems to be lost, here's some pointers to help you get that first handstand push-up.

You will need to have the strength to hold yourself upside down. Push-ups, bench press, strict press, dumbbell and barbell rows will all help you gain that strength. A close grip form will best transfer over to the handstand (which is what we are trying to do). Keep your arms and elbows close to your sides. We want to work your triceps, back and shoulders. The narrower the better. You are doing these movements to gain strength. Stick to the most challenging version or heavier weights for small sets.

Then you'll need to get comfortable being upside-down. Practice a good static handstand. Hands go to the floor with arms locked out. Kick up to the wall keeping legs together and pushing up out of your shoulders, making yourself as tall as possible. Look behind you.

 

Once you have a reliable handstand you can begin practicing the push-up piece. This is an upside-down strict press. So while it is tempting to look down at your hands, think about how silly it would be if you looked up at the ceiling while pressing a barbell. Begin by lowering your body to a pillow or several pillows. Keep working on the strength pieces and with time you will get the full movement.

Notice how I didn't explain the kipping handstand push-up? I believe that like the pull-up, it is safer and most beneficial to the athlete to be able to do the strict version before attempting the kipping.

If you are looking for a specific routine please reach out to me and we'll see what we can come up with.

Weekend WODing at Home

Bonus Workout

25 Walking lunges, weighted (carry your dog, kid, groceries, books, frozen turkey you didn't defrost)
25 Squats
1:00 Wall Sit
1:00 Jump Rope
1:00 Plank
1:00 Handstand Hold
1:00 Deadbug Hold

Scaling Options-Accumulate the 1:00 hold or go for it and do it continuous. Want more? Do it over!

Friday WODing at Home

Workout 3

Partner WOD
6 Rounds
Partner 1- 10 Burpees
Partner 2- Hold a Plank of any variety
Then switch

Scaling options Do more rounds! Burpee, complete drop to the floor and pop up, step feet back and back up, drop to a high plank and pop up. Plank, low or high, alternate, side plank on elbow or hand, reach through, or star.

Burpee Options

Plank Options

Turkey Day WODing at Home

Workout 2
Warm-up
Google Flower by Moby and get the family moving. When they say "down" squat. When they say "up" stand. Modify by sitting down in a chair and standing up.

WOD
Deck O' Cards
Can be done many ways. Decide to pull cards for 10-20 minutes. Complete half the deck, or go for it and do the whole deck.
Clubs-Mountain climbers (Left+Right=1)
Hearts-Lunge (Left+Right=1)
Spades-Chair dip
Diamonds-V-ups
You complete as many reps as the card is worth. Jack, Queen, King 12 reps. Joker come up with something-run around the house, walk on your hands, hold the splits, somersaults, try to do a back bend...

Scaling Options-Dips the further your feet are away from your butt the more challenging it is. You can also add a weight to your lap (a pan, book, kid, frozen turkey you forgot to defrost). V-ups if you cannot touch your toes aim for your knees.

Wednesday WODing at home

I'll be posting four workouts. These can be done in any order and require no special equipment. These are family friendly. I'll make suggestions to scale up or down if you need it.

Workout 1

Warm-up

30 Superman pulses

30 Glute marches on the floor or feet elevated

Video example 

WOD

Complete as many rounds as possible in 11 minutes

40 Single jumps, or pretend if no jump rope is available

30 Sit-ups

20 Squats

10 Burpees

Scale up options-double unders, lateral jump after each burpee (jump over something if you're feeling fiesty).