The Squat

If there was one movement that we would recommend to be the most important to maintain through our lives it would be the squat. Sounds really simple right? Well for a lot of adults they tend to lose the correct posture and mechanics for squatting. This can be caused by numerous factors such as an altered proprioception, muscle imbalances, and even just being sedentary. You're probably thinking; "Whats the point of squatting correctly" or e...ven "why should I learn if Im not exercising at work". Having correct posture will not only save your knees from chronic stress and pains, but it can also help prevent injuries such as MCL tears. Plus knowing how to squat right can help you later in life so you don't need aid getting off the toilet or couch, and by reducing the chances of you becoming yet another Instagram model for bad technique. (Seriously it will make you cringe just watching it.)

Now to begin with some easy steps for proper technique.

1) First find your foot placement. This should be just outside the hips. Turn toes out just slightly.

2) Begin by hip-hinging. Without bending your knees first, push the butt back. This will activate your posterior chain.

3) Now you can bend at the knees. Continue to track your knees over the toes. This is the line of action. Think of "knees out" to reinforce this.

4) Maintain a flat foot with weight distributed between mid foot - heels.

5) Keep chest raised up through the movement. Feel free to use arms as a counterbalance.

6) End either at a deep squat or at hips just below parallel. (If full depth is an issue just squat to where you maintain your balance.)

7) When standing back up maintain raised chest and continue to keep the knees out.

8) Finish at full extension of the knees and hips.

For to see a video representation please click the link below
https://www.facebook.com/pg/CrossFitMob/videos/

Conditioning The Heart

Remember the feeling of being out of breath? Or possibly even becoming dizzy from getting up or down? Well theres essentially a couple parts that play into these occurrences.

The feeling of having a loss of breath in a general sense is both a lack of oxygen and being deconditioned. A sudden spurt of intense movement could hinder an average person with a lack of breath and possibly an asthma attack if they have asthma. You're probably asking two questions right now. How do I improve this? And what happens if Im not average and am conditioned?

Well for an average person say a beginner to fitness or even someone who is sedentary, the best way to improve this increased work load is to start by introducing aerobic base work or a.k.a. a metcon. This long duration of constant moving and low intense work will gradually build up a tolerance to stress applied to the body. For a beginner after 2 to 4 weeks, aerobic intervals can be introduced. Thus consisting of durations between 4 to 10 minutes. Rest should be minimum. Exercises such as just rowing, biking, jogging, and swimming can be utilized as well for this type of training.

Now for the other question… what if I am already conditioned? Well at this point breathing techniques should be applied. This will determine your loss of breath. Starting with inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. Filling up the stomach before the chest with deep breaths of air. Also figuring out when to breath during an exercise. Take thrusters for example. Breath in when the weight is overhead and exhale when rise out of the bottom of the squat. This advanced technique of holding the breath while going through the eccentric portion of the movement will in return reinforce the lumbar spine. This is called intra-abdominal pressure. If you test this holding of the breath technique, start with low reps and a light-mid weight range to reduce the chance of dizziness. With practice this skill will improve not only your lifts, but it will also help in other power movements as well.

Now on the topic of dizziness. This can be caused by a change in elevation. Possibly from  standing up out of a prone position. This motion especially if not done regularly will cause dizziness and possibly nausea. Again common most in those who are deconditioned/sedentary. The way how to improve this is called Peripheral Heart Action which means training in various controlled angles of the body. From standing, to leaning, to prone, and to even inverted. The position of the heart in relation to the ground will cause it to work in various ways. Again one's training should consist of safe and controlled movements. This can be helped with the aid of a coach as well.

In the winter you may experience a lack of oxygen as well as having difficulties breathing because of the temperature. If you are training in the winter take the extra time to stretch and warm up before starting your workout. This will prepare you and warm up your muscles for the work ahead.

Staying Winter illness/injury free

Ever dread the winter months? It could either be the fridged temperatures or risk of getting sick? Its an all too real thing.

Lets start with the cold. Its like somebody left the freezer open right? So cold to where you can flick your car door and break a finger. Well the winter doesn't have to be that bad. I usually see and have heard about people breaking their tailbones on ice. Well over the past few years I have found these tips to be helpful.

1)First off neutralize you're center of gravity. With this I mean walk flat footed with shorter and possibly slower steps than what is normal. Plus keeping your center of mass over the toes can prevent you from slipping backwards.

2)Another thing I recommend to do is walk in the snow opposed to the ice. A visibly snowy side walk is always safer than a shiny/icy one. Also If theres any snow patches on a parking lot or street try to step on the snow. These tips will definitely help is the night when temperatures are freezing.

Now you must be saying there must be more right? Other scary things about the winter? Well you're right and that’s the topic of illness. For many of us our immune system is not up to paar in the winter. People get colds and lets say the flu. Well a great way that I've found to stay fit and not sick are the following:

1)I keep my nutrition clean. I know this may sound like a generic tip, but it definitely in fact works. Throughout 2016 just by loosely following the Paleo Diet I resulted not becoming sick as much as any other year. This was due to my consistency with eating lean foods and drinks with no sugar that my body processes well. In return my immune system was boosted. Even though I did have the stomach flu once back in april, it wasn't nearly as bad as my family's. I only had this occurrence for a day, while they had it for almost a week. I largely say that my fitness training and diet helped my immune system to properly function. As you can tell I am very thankful for that.

2)Wipe down your equipment when exercising. We coaches say this a lot. Nobody wants a soaked kettle bell or dirty barbell. Just by disinfecting the equipment you will not only ensure it is clean, but you can possibly ward off sicknesses and bacteria from spreading. Trust me nobody wants to be sick while their doing a WOD.

Remember we coaches want to see you thrive and perform well. As always stay safe outside, meaning driving or walking. (Remember 4 wheel drive does not mean 4 wheel drive stop. You can still lose traction and slide uncontrollably. Even if you trust your driving watch out for others with not as ideal cars. They can pose a danger of not stopping as well.) And please wipe down the equipment. It only takes a few moments to do which can benefit us all!