Olympic Lifting at PCF

Saturday 11/ 23

 Prehab:

Fire Hydrants
PVC Dislocates in prone
Snow angels in prone

Partner Warm up:

Mountain Climbers
Handstand Hold
Push ups
Air Squats

While partner 1 runs 100 m, partner 2 performs the prescribed movement until partner 1 returns from the run. At that time they switch. Partner 2 runs 100m while partner 1 performs the desired movement. Each partner performs each movement once with a 100 m run in between

Strength

20 Min to Establish Heaviest weight for Barbell Complex
Power Clean
Front Squat
Lunge Right Leg (Bar in Front Rack Position)
Lunge Left Leg (Bar in Front Rack Position)
Jerk

Partner Conditioning

5 Rounds
25 Front Squats (115/ 75)
200 M Run
25 Shoulder to Overhead (115/75)
200 M Run

-28 Min Time Cap-

Notes:  Complete all reps before you run.  You can break up the reps between you and your partner however you would like.  You must do the run together.  A faster partner cannot start the next movement until their partner finishes the run as well.

Cool down: 1 min each

Couch Stretch
Calf stretch on 25lb plate
Pigeon stretch

 Lucca

If you want to get better at the sport of CrossFit, you have to put in the time and dedication to improve your Olympic lifting. I learned/relearned a valuable lesson while being home this weekend while visiting family in Florida. We know how to lift. Not all gyms do, even competitive ones.

Our constant dedication to improving your Olympic lifts is very unique. Yes other gyms do snatches and clean and jerks, but not all gyms have the resources available to truly help you improve.  We all forget how valuable of a resource Venice barbell club is. But if you can’t make VBC, our programming, along with the coaches who help teach and reinforce the programming, is a great foundation to help take your lifts to the next level.

The last time I came home, I visited my local box which has some really good athletes. In fact they sent a team to regionals two years in a row in the Southeast, and just barely missed making the games by two spots. The last time I came home was around Christmas time last year, and my Olympic lifting was less than optimal to say the least.  At the time those athletes were putting up better numbers than me. They were the ones giving me feedback and tips on all the things I was doing wrong. This time around, things have changed. I was the one who was giving everyone else feedback, with them learning and asking me questions. I am not an expert, and I certainly don’t claim to be, but after spending hours listening, watching, learning, relearning, changing, and altering my lifting technique…I have improved. I have improved to the point where I am starting to know what I am talking about. The literature says that in order to be an expert on something, you need to spend 10,000 hours doing it. I believe the same is true with oly lifting. Maybe not 10,000 hours, but probably 10,000+ lifts. I don’t know how many snatches I’ve performed since starting crossfit, but I can tell you that my snatch looked a lot different 500-1000 snatches ago, than it does now.

It’s so easy to get caught in a bubble and not realize what a unique opportunity we have, but it’s nice to visit other places to help us realize the special tools that we offer at PCF. I know that I have touched on this point in the past, but the importance of it remains…in order to really take your CrossFit to the next level, you must dedicate the time on your Olympic lifting. Not just adding weight, but taping yourself, figuring out what you are most limited by, listening to your coaches, working on it day in and day out, watching videos on it when you’re at home, it’s the only way you’re going to get better. But I promise you, that you will get better, you will put up bigger numbers. So many of you are extremely strong, fast, and flexible. You just have to dedicate the time.

For those of you who like to lift at MDR, we are working on solutions to make that happen. With that being said, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to get out of your comfort zone, drive down the street and work out with people you are not used to working out with. It is a great learning opportunity to see how other people lift and what kind of weight they are putting on the bar.