The Drill

The CrossFit Journal today has an article on "Learning How to do Full Cleans." Bill Starr writes,
Full cleans are one of the very best exercises for any strength athlete. They are beneficial because they involve so many of the large muscles of the body in a dynamic fashion. When performed correctly, full cleans work the hips, legs, back, shoulders and arms. And while these groups can be strengthened with other exercises, none do so in the same manner. Primarily, full cleans force the nervous system to work much harder than any other exercise—except for full snatches.

I know in order for me to clean more than 125 lbs I need to work ALL parts of the clean. My new goal is 140lbs by January 16th. Below is The Drill from Bill Starr. It consists of 3 parts performed in succession.

#1- Perform a power clean quickly followed by a front squat.

#2- Perform a hang clean immediately followed by a deep front squat.

• This is really the most important step in learning how to do full cleans. Lower the bar to just above your knees and clean it. As soon as it’s racked on your shoulders, lower into the bottom of a front squat. It needs to be done in a fluid motion, not with hesitation at any phase. Fluid motion isn’t going to happen right away.

• IMPORTANT: When you give a nice pop to the top of the pull, it’s much easier to slip under the bar. With the short stroke of the hang clean, you are forced to move fast in order to rack the weight and get to the bottom of the squat. That’s exactly the point. When you attempt to clean a maximum poundage, the final snap at the top of the pull has to be strong so the bar jumps, allowing you the time to drive to the bottom and rack the weight.
  

#3- Place the bar on the floor, pull it as high as you normally do in power cleaning, then drive to
the bottom once again. By starting from the floor, you’re going to have a much stronger pull than you did from the hang, and this gives you more time to jump to the bottom and rack the weight. aka: full clean

Note: The weight used on the Drill has to be light enough so the various moves can be learned, yet heavy enough so that the athlete has to extend him/herself fully.

What is your goal for a full clean?

I get to...

Dick Nichols Tu/Th 6:00PM boot campers

"The more I thought about what I get to do, the less I realized I had to do. It was just a shift, just a new perspective, just a new and more grateful method for labeling the things in my life. Think about it—if you stopped yourself every single time you were about to say, "I have to" and changed it to "I get to," it might change your entire experience." -- Kristin Armstrong

Michelle is one of my Tu/Th 6:30AM Deep Eddy Relentless boot campers. Bottom line...she is a baller and a complete source of inspiration. She forwarded the above quote to me yesterday after class. For all of you who are not up that early in the morning--IT WAS COLD. 40-degree weather cold and very easy to hit the alarm, stay in bed, and make excuses. However, that did not stop this class nor Michelle from showing up and getting in a workout and leaving all sweaty and in good spirits. Which is the case in point...

I am the lucky one. I get to get up at 4:55AM and coach some of the most amazing clients. I get to be outside and not at a desk and freeze my ass off or sweat my butt off depending on the season. The weather simply reminds me I am blessed =). I get to be on my feet for hours and coach CrossFit. I get to empower others to believe more in themselves. I get to educate individuals on nutrition, CrossFit, and Advocare. I get to wear workout clothes everyday. I get to read and respond to tons of emails from clients telling me about their success with weight loss and change in attitude about working out. I get to look over nutrition logs. I get to hear stories of how boot camp has made individuals faster runners, opened doors to new friendships, and made them stronger physically and mentally. I get to feel like I can't breathe or walk after a CrossFit WOD.

It is easy to take scenarios in life and find a reason to complain and look at it negatively. Decide to look at life differently today. Throw the "I have to's" out the door and respond with "I GET TO!!!"

What do you get to do each day????

Relentless Boot Camps

Relentless Boot Camps were on Fox 7 News last Thursday. Check out the video above. My 1 second claim to fame is "ROTATE!!!" Lol!

We have 1 more week of class for November and December programs begin November 23rd. Relentless Boot Camps have specials when you sign up with a friend. Go HERE for more details.