Arriving 5 Minutes Early
So you’ve made it to the gym a little earlier than usual and you have 5 or 10 minutes before class starts. You could stroll through your work emails or check social media and depress yourself, or you could make some positive changes to your body and mind. Coming early to class is a good way to address your individual pain, mobility, or stability issues. The recurring theme of Technique Tuesday is making small, consistent changes today that lead to big changes later. So here are a few ideas and examples on how to get the most out of your time when you come in.
SET-UP
Take a second to make sure you have all your personal gear before class starts. Do you have your water? If there are Double Unders, did you grab your jump rope? Do you have your shoes? Are they actually on your feet? Make sure you have all of your equipment so you don’t have to run back to your car during the Workout explanation.
ADDRESS ANY DISCOMFORT OR STIFF MUSCLE
Are you sore from yesterday’s WOD? Do you have nagging neck or shoulder pain? This is a great time to address that discomfort. We have many tools at the gym to work on those tight stiff muscles that you may not have at home, take advantage of that. Take this time to use any tool you need to relieve some of that pain. If you need a recommendation, ask your coach
Examples
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Neck pain– 2 Minutes each side Lacrosse ball Shoulder Rollout
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Knee pain– 2 Minutes each side IT Band Foam Roller Rollout
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Lower back Pain– 10 Cat/Cows + 1 Minute each side Glute Rollout
MOBILITY
If you know you have a mobility imbalance that affects your performance this is a good time to improve. Not Just grabbing a foam roller and mindlessly moving up and down it while on your phone, but working on making real improvements on your mobility. Like most things you must be consistent if you want to make real change. If you can take 5 minutes a day to work on your mobility restrictions it will add up over time.
Examples:
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Tight ankles– 2 Minutes each side banded ankle distraction
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Tight Hips– -2 Minutes pigeon pose each side, 1 minute poll assisted yogi squat
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Limited shoulder mobility– 2 Minutes each side banded shoulder stretch, 1 min dead hang from pull-up rig
STABILITY
For those of us who have no mobility restrictions it is time for you to develop strength and stability. Being able to get into solid positions when under load is great, but it can become a problem if you are not able to support that load with your muscles engaged. Being underload without engagement puts more strain on your spine, joints and tendons making it easy to get injured. If you have a hard time holding a barbell overhead in a stable position, spend some time on the Crossover Symmetry or doing exercises with the red band. If your knees cave in when you squat practice Mini–band glute drills. If you can’t keep your core braced when you squat heavy, do core exercises that emphasize being braced while moving your limbs. Check out our YouTube page for drills on all of this specific problems
Examples
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Shoulder instability– 5-8 reps of each Crossover symmetry exercise
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Knee pain or instability – Fit2Live Glutes of steel mini-band Routine
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Lower Back after Heavy Weightlifting – 5 Bird Dogs each side with 5 sec pause, 5 side Planks with Rotation each side, 5 Dead bugs each side
COMMUNICATE
If it’s been a long day and you don’t have it in you to do any of these things. This is also a great time to talk to friends or make new ones. Get to know the people in your class. You’re all there to unwind from the day and make improvements in health. Take time to talk to each other and get to know the wonderful diverse community you are a part of. If nothing else you can talk about how the WOD doesn’t look “too bad” and then after class you can bond over how wrong you both were.
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