Two big things this weekend: X’s & Y’s comp in Woodstock and the Upper Body Z-Health workshop.

Saturday – Competitors, volunteers/judges & anyone that wants to corner our athletes: We are meeting at the gym at 6:45 and leaving at 7am. The first workout is set to launch at 9:00am. The competition will span most of the day. That means if you don’t want to wake up at the crack of dawn, you can and should still come out to support Sara Ann, Andy, Shannon & LB sometime before 2pm. If you’re thinking about getting involved in the competitive CrossFit world, this is a good time to come see how it all goes down. There will be things to do, see and buy for the spectators and I’m quite sure our team would gladly accept lunch donations.

Sunday – Andrew & Jamie will host the Upper Body Performance & Mobility Workshop. Please be ready to go at 11:00am. Plan on doing a ton of drills and learning how to assess your partners movement. More knowledge for the greater good! The cost is $15. Friends, family and non-members are welcome. Sign up here.

The Push Press – The set-up for the push press is the same for the military press—the bar is resting on your deltoids and clavicles, with a shoulder-width or slightly wider grip, and your feet are hip- to shoulder-width apart. From the standing-erect position with your knees locked, you bend or dip your knees 2 to 4 inches straight down (don’t lean or bend forward or backward), with your elbows out in front of you and your hips back behind you (in the same position as the catch or receiving position for the power clean) and chest up. From here you drive up with your thighs and hips and simultaneously push the bar straight upward around your chin and back over your ears. Ideally, your elbows and knees extend to the locked position at the same time. Your feet do not move, but it is okay to come up on your toes when you finish the leg drive. I prefer beginners not to move their feet at all, but to learn to coordinate the leg drive and the arm lockout efficiently and consistently. The completed position is with the bar directly over your ears, arms and legs extended, torso erect. You then lower the bar down to your deltoids and clavicles, receiving the bar by bending the knees slightly to absorb the impact on your clavicles and deltoids. Then stand up, get set and repeat.

The push press really builds your deltoids and triceps and overall upper-body strength and power. Another real benefit of the push press is that it teaches you which way is UP! What I mean by this is so many lifters want to push the bar out front where they can see it, or they want to look up at the bar. This is not efficient—you won’t lift as much weight this way and you may injure yourself, especially your lower back, if you look up at the bar. You must stress pushing the bar straight up and finishing by standing at attention with the bar directly over your ears, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles, and looking straight ahead; otherwise a trip to the chiropractor may be in your future. It is important to hold each rep overhead for at least one second to control the weight and stabilize your body; on your last rep of each set, hold the weight for 3 to 5 seconds to develop your muscular and physical stability and control of the weight. This is important for maximum physical development as well as balance. You must always keep pushing UP—the weight won’t stay there on its own.

“Where should my elbows be?” The answer is, “It depends on you.” What I mean by that is if the bar is resting correctly on the clavicles and deltoids, then ideally your elbows should be down at about nipple height and in front of you, not at your sides, but this depends on your arm proportions (forearm and upper-arm lengths) and wrist and shoulder flexibility. Ultimately, it’s what feels best for you for pushing upward most efficiently and with the most power.  -Jim Schmitz, U.S. Olympic Weightlifting Team Coach 1980, 1988 & 1992

Warmup
Run to Sessions St. 2x

3 Sets
10 Hurdle Over-Unders (5R/5L)
10 Push-ups
10 Kettlebell Swings

Lift
3-3-3-3-3
Push Press

Conditioning
6-8 reps (~20 minutes)
Low sled push