Hope you all are well. Feeling a little sore today from throwing the Shot Put for the first time in 20 years. With all the CrossFit training it still felt pretty good but I have a long time to go. But that’s a story for another day.
Annie Thorisdottir
One of the biggest flaws we see in Olympic Lifting technique is foot placement in both the snatch and Clean and Jerk.
Before I go there why do we do the Olympic Lifts in CrossFit in the first place. First there is no sets of movements in the gym with or without weight for that matter that demands more power output and core strength from these lifts. Increased power output means better athletic performance, increased metabolic output and ultimately more calories burned both during and after the workout. So that should cover everyone’s reason to be in a CrossFit gym in the first place.
The reason foot position is so critically important is that the better the setup and receiving position is the stronger we are, the more efficiency we move and again the more power we generate. What we all need to do (self included) is to take a quick half second every rep to set feet position correctly so we can handle bigger weights or move the lighter Rx weight more efficiency. Remember power is a combination of strength and speed. When we are thinking only speed we slow down at the end of a long WOD and power production decreases. So while we might get the first 10 reps of say Grace faster the last 20 will suffer and the total output of the workout is decreased.
Recently there was an awesome article on the CrossFit journal featuring last years CrossFit games runner up Annie Thorisdottir with Coach Mike Burgener from CrossFit Central. Please take moment to watch this video because its the best I have seen yet on foot position in the Olympic Lifts. Also Annie is a magnificent athlete who is a joy to watch in action.
You can see the preview but will have to subscribe to watch it all. If you aren’t a subscriber you should be. You will never find more great information on training and nutrition for less anywhere.
See you at the gym.
Scott
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