Gina, with some high bar backsquatting.
Name two things Gina could be doing here to improve her backsquat. (Sorry, Gina — not picking on you — it’s a teaching opportunity!)
Those answers should come quick. The squat is the foundation of almost everything we do, in CrossFit and in daily life. We bend down. We pick things up. It’s that simple. The only choice is whether you want to fold over like a taco and use your back more — or whether you want to learn to keep your chest more upright and your weight in your heels and use your legs and your entire body more. My guess is that you’d like to save your back and learn to use your legs more, right? Good choice.
I love it when people say to me that they don’t squat or that we shouldn’t squat. I don’t argue with them anymore. I just tell them that I know they already squatted this morning and I walk away. Sometimes it takes them a minute to figure out that I was talking about what my mother would politely call “their bathroom routine.”
Squatting is not a choice in life. The only choice is whether you’re going to do it with good form and strength — or whether you’re going to do it poorly and with weakness. We make that same choice in many, many ways every single day of our lives. Choose wisely — you only have one life — and one back.
SCHEDULE ALERT! Starting next week, we’ve got new summer hours! EVERY WEEKDAY, there will be a 6am and a 9am class. (No more 10am T/TH.) So this means that every weekday, you have a minimum of FIVE classes to choose from: 6/9/12/5/6 (with the exception of no 6pm on Friday). And you’ve got bonus rounds of 7pm on T/TH and the Sat/Sun 9am classes. There is NO excuse for not getting in shape this summer. Commit and get to it.
June 23rd, 2010 at 9:26 am
Do coaches get to play the ‘name 2′ game? The 6 am crew was happy they got the WOD in early today. The humidity at 6 was already a killer. For the morning crew, the rest of the day should be a piece of cake after surviving this morning.
June 23rd, 2010 at 9:30 am
No. Because if you get it wrong, I will kill you. Publicly.
June 23rd, 2010 at 9:30 am
LOL Good morning, Tooner!
June 23rd, 2010 at 9:42 am
Lose the sneaks?
June 23rd, 2010 at 10:01 am
push the knees out, they’re caving in. work on ankle flexibility. this will keep you more upright (in a HBBS) and put less shear on your back.
bonus, spread out the feet and point the toes out a little bit more to create a wider, more stable base. this also gives the hips a place to go
June 23rd, 2010 at 10:01 am
Not one of the two most paramount cues, but a nice contribution, Beery.
June 23rd, 2010 at 10:02 am
Eric gets a gold star. Keep this up and we might even let you back in our gym sometime!
June 23rd, 2010 at 11:42 am
rounded back and neck not in neutral position
June 23rd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Her back seems safe from my viewpoint, but I can see your point about her neck not being neutral — but that can be difficult in high bar back squat, so I’m not going to pick on her for that.
Now, what good things is Gina doing?
June 23rd, 2010 at 1:14 pm
It looks like Gina’s doing a great job of driving through her heels (despite the shoes), she’s got her elbows back, straight back, feet both pointed slightly outward….and mostly importantly, its hard to tell in the photo, but im sure her outfit matches
June 23rd, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Ding ding ding. Dan wins POD!
And she came in with a ready smile, a pleasant attitude, and she smelled good. These attributes are NOT to be underestimated.
June 23rd, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Bar position in relation to middle of foot is off a touch but not enough to be a pressing issue, knees forward a little, widen the stance to put the weight on the glutes and hammies and off the knees, and since it is high bar, a more upright torso would be ideal…and of course the sneakers play a part…no MAJOR issues so ‘clap clap’ on that, nice work
June 29th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
One of our peeps sent us here again Lisbeth, I love the high article. My hands have looked like they went through a meat grinder for 2 years now. In relation to this article, I am going with…
1) Depth
2) Knees over toes
3) Neck positioning
Good…
1) Weight is surely in the heels
2) Lumbar looks legit
3) Shorts are bitchin
4) The sepia is a fantastic touch
Can’t wait to see you guys in LA. You can officially steal me there!