Simplicity

Lexi and Kilo keep it simple.  Sleep. Eat. Play.  Repeat.  Clearly they read my blog.  

 Why do we always feel the need to complicate things?  After all we are not Jack Bauer from the hit series “24” – a man who can have entire nations and governments after him and have people betray him and every imaginable thing go wrong and yet STILL he over comes.  For us, generally speaking, the more we complicate things the more likely things will go wrong.  

      Simplicity has a special value in our lives that often gets overlooked and I truly believe that fact is especially true in our training.  Frequently we want to skip the simple movements without first mastering them, in order to attempt the more complicated and complex movements we often see in weightlifting and CrossFit.  

   I understand the thought process.  After all, an air squat is boring.  Taking the time to do a perfect push up is about as much fun as watching my beloved NY Mets drop yet another game.  But snatches?  Kipping pull ups?  Ohhhhh now those look like fun… forget these bodyweight movements let’s get right to the fun stuff!

   Bad idea.  

   CrossFit talks about “virtuosity”, which we define as “performing the common uncommonly well.”  An air squat – a movement performed perfectly by infants – is sometimes butchered by adults.  This movement is simple in appearance, but very involved and detailed in what it can reveal about your inefficiencies.  Everything from ankle flexibility to thoracic spine mobility, the air squat can be a valuable tool in assessing someone’s weaknesses.  And guess what?  If you struggle with performing an air squat properly, do not be surprised when you struggle with overhead squats, snatches and cleans. 

   There is no doubt that movements like the Olympics lifts, as well as the gymnastics movements we use such as muscle ups and handstand push-ups are fun and exciting to learn.  But do not risk injury or creating poor movement patterns by skipping the simple in order to attack the complex.  

   Simplicity is not always a bad thing.  While talking to one of our new members at the Attitude Nation Gym Jonathan, a sniper in the US Army, he explained to me that he would much rather use a bolt action rifle rather than the gas powered rifle.  He explained that the simple actions required to load and prepare the weapon for firing, as well as the straightforward mechanics used to propel the bullet forward, made it much more accurate and superior when hitting a target.  Simple.  Yet much more effective.  

   Whether it means scaling a movement or just taking the time to work on some basic components of a particular movement, be smart about how you attack your training.  You cannot learn 5 words in Chinese and expect to read one of my all-time favorite novels the 18^th century classic “红楼梦” written by 曹雪芹.  You must first master the basics, and gradually increase your vocabulary and skills before reading such a classic (or performing a snatch or handstand push up).

And seriously Jack Bauer could get out of anything… guy is amazing.  Watch the DVDs. 

TIP OF THE WEEK:

If you are making contact with the bar during your snatch and it is hitting your mid to upper thigh region, this is no good.  It is inefficient and will affect the path of the bar by causing it to loop.  If you are using bar-body contact to “uppercut” the bar to allow for maximum float time and for you to drop under the bar, contact should be made at the hips.  If you fail to make contact with the bar in the proper spot, do not ignore this problem and by continuing this improper technique and reinforcing poor technique.  Take the time to perform some necessary drills and assistance exercises to help fix this problem.  Ask your coach for help.  No coach? You need one.  Your coach doesn't know?  Find one who does.