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Welcome to the Herd Meghan!

Josh and Rick attend our first Strongman class!

Squeeze

By Jan Dayleg 

Some of you may have heard this before, but the key to success (...one of the keys...) in CrossFit is to squeeze the heck out of your glutes, any chance you get! Nine times out of ten, if you accomplish this, you will be more successful than if you had not.   When a vicious hip extension is required, such as in a kettlebell swing, if you don't contract that booty hard, you are missing out on power, using more energy to move that bell, and sacrificing the safety of your spine! The same thing applies in a relative sense to a plethora of other movements we do, from the elusive barbell snatch, to the air squat, arguably the most fundamental of all movements! Essentially what you're doing when you squeeze your butt is extending the hip. Remember, on most movements you MUST open the hips or else it's a NO-REP! And again, squeezing will contribute to the power you're generating, which is never a bad thing. Safety wise, the glutes are a part of your core. It's not just the abdominals and lower back, people! Not to geek out, but the glute contraction will set your spine and pelvis in an optimal position, whether you're finishing a movement or prepping to start one. More on that to follow.

   Seriously, squeeze your butt, folks. Even on movements that you may not realize you need to, YOU NEED TO. Let's take the strict press. Most of us have seen the max effort press that looks like an incline bench press with no bench! We are not contortionists, and our spines want to remain in their natural curvatures as much as possible. Over-arching of the lower back is never okay, but squeezing those glutes will, at least, create a safer environment for your spine. Even in a more simple movement such as the pushup. Squeezing the butt will prevent that "wave" or "worm" pushup where it looks more like a yoga pose than a strength exercise. Squeezing the butt is involved in pullups, muscle-ups, handstands, thrusters, box jumps, and the list goes on!

   Do you sit down too much? We all do. What this probably means is that our hips are super tight, and we have less access to our booty-muscles. This is the reason we see "Samson" stretches, "Spiderman" stretches, lacrosse-ball torture sessions, and the multitude of other hip-extension-improvers, almost every day. And even in those movements, it is imperative to squeeze the butt whenever it is possible.

   Moving forward, any time you can, squeeze that butt! It will keep you safe and help you move better. Any other questions about this subject, bring it up in class. Happy squeezing!

Monday
Metcon
15 AMRAP
250m Row
15 OHS 75/45

Strength
Deadlift
5-5-5-3-3-3

Tuesday
Metcon
5 rounds
50 Abmat Sit ups
20 Box jumps

- Beginners

Skill Builder

Air squat
Front Squat
Overhead squat
Back squat

10 AMRAP
10 Front squats 75/45
10 Jumping slam ball

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.

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