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Is Poor Mobility Holding You Back?
Improve Your Snatch & Power Clean
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People often think strength and technique are the limiting factors whenever they hit a wall with Olympic lifts or specific gymnastics exercises. When you have the mobility of a rock, lifts such as the power clean or the snatch can be your worst nightmare!
How Lack of Mobility Hinders Your Workouts
I see people work countless hours trying to perfect the timing and technique of Olympic lifts – and yet they still can’t execute the movements properly. There could be a lot of different reasons for this problem, however one issue in particular occurs time and time again: lack of mobility.
Most people either don’t know what’s causing their mobility issues or do know but only spend 10 minutes a week trying to fix it. When compared to the 5+ hours per week of training they’re doing, it’s no surprise they’re struggling.
So, what’s the solution?
Olympic Lifting and Mobility: Work Smarter, Not Harder
No, I'm not expecting you to do five hours of mobility a week. This advice is for beginner to intermediate level Crossfitters, as well as anyone that’s hit a fitness plateau with specific movements.
Related: 5 Tips for CrossFit Beginners
I’m going to take a simplistic, relatable approach to improving your mobility using two Olympic lifts: the snatch and the power clean.
Let’s start with what you’re actually trying to achieve: to move a weighted bar up the body and try to keep the bar path as close to your body as possible, finishing in either a full-depth front squat or an overhead squat.
I know that’s a very simplified explanation and, in case any of them are reading this, I mean no offense to the Olympic lifting gods that walk amongst us!
You may be thinking “surely problems with bar path is an issue of technique and not mobility?” It’s true, technique could be the problem. In my experience, I’ve seen countless people struggle with these lifts because they physically cannot get into the correct position.
Some coaches will simply try and put you in the proper position and hope that fixes the problem. You’ll feel uncomfortable as if you’re going to fall over but go along with the lift anyway.
Then what happens? Your body immediately reverts back to where your body has the ability to go and everyone’s time is wasted. The coach suggests you work on your mobility so they can scale the exercise down and make it easier for you to move.
You end the session doing part of the movement and leave feeling unfulfilled. When you show up to the next class, you’re right back where you started with the coach trying to manually get your body into the correct position.
Using the Overhead Squat to Uncover Mobility Issues
The overhead squat is a staple CrossFit exercise that you must be proficient in to do a full snatch. It requires an adequate range of motion joint by joint to do one properly & shows people's lack of mobility when they can't perform one, especially with no weight.
Some people despise this exercise because it causes considerable shoulder or upper back pain. Others simply can't do it at all. While going down to a squat is a big no-no when holding something overhead, those same people can back squat 100kg plus.
If you're different from the above, you could be the below. You have to come up onto your toes & buckle your knees so badly; yes, it's technically an overhead squat, but if I put any weight on the bar, your knees would collapse in on each other.
Overhead Squat Mobility Requirement Breakdown
Stability and activation could be factors, but let's break down what mobility you need to perform an effortless overhead squat. Let's start from the bottom up; I'll keep it simple and go for the top four things. You will need an adequate range of motion to perform an overhead squat.
#1 – Ankle Dorsiflexion
Why do we need this? We need the knee not only to track the middle to outer toes, but we need them to be able to stack the weight above the ankle. Our knees can go past our toes because of Dorsiflexion, which keeps the center mass over the midfoot.
Lacking this often causes a lack of balance & the inability to squat deep. People leave this to last to check, but it could be the first thing limiting your overhead ability.
#2 – Hip Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Hip mobility external and internal rotation: We need adequate ranges of motion to sit deep into the squat. A lack of this could cause a knee cave. As mentioned above, the squat stacked over the center of the midfoot keeps everything in alignment.
#3 Thoracic Extension, Flexion and Rotation
This tends to be one of the most significant limiting factors; upper back rounding causes the scapular to travel a longer distance around the upper spine. This, in turn, creates instability when you try holding your shoulders in your pocket, leading to poor shoulder mobility.
If you can't stack the upper spine in line, this will cause some grief with keeping the bar stacked over the mid foot. People tend to fall forward when they lack in this with both the front & overhead squats.
#4 Shoulder Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Internal and external rotation are needed to get the bar path tracking upwards and keep it close. Mobility limitations are usually linked with the thoracic and lack of flexibility with the lat and pec muscles, causing the inability to reach overhead.
Usually, lacking here will cause weak rotator cuff muscles and the inability to stack or press a weight properly above the head.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to see how a seemingly insignificant mobility issue can have much larger knock-on effects with your Olympic lifts. Consider your own technique - now that you know what mobility is required, do you lack in any of the areas above?
If so, send me an email or DM on Instagram, and let's set up an assessment!
Fun - Honesty - SIMPLICITY - Smash Life - Mental Toughness - Hard Work
GYMNASTICS
No Thursday PM Classes for the next 6 weeks.
This week, we’re working on handstand push-up development. We’ll start on the floor working on hip drive power, headstand balance and core work followed by box and wall drills before a strength piece to finish.
HYBRID FITNESS
This week's HYBRID session, we are working through repeats of specific sections of the race to dial in timings and feel. The primary focus will be on the initial four stages of the race.
MOBILITY
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week, we will focus on the squat snatch. With a fun complex snatch pull, Hang squat snatch and OHS. Great technique session!
The Monday Ride
Our community program is delivered via TrainingPeaks for AED 750 p/month. If you're interested to have a plan to follow, email tw@innerfight.com\
Time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: The Loop Cafe, Nad al Sheeba
Track Tuesday
Our weekly on track speed session! For any level of runner looking to build their run speed, threshold and Vo2max fitness and run with the best running community in Dubai.
Time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Wednesday - Indoor Ride
Our community program is delivered via TrainingPeaks for AED 750 p/month. If you're interested to have a plan to follow, email tw@innerfight.com
Thursday - Endurance Strength
A strength class focused on key movements for endurance athletes to help avoid injury, build speed and develop strength.
Time: 06:30am
Location: This is a paid class session at InnerFight HQ. If you're interested to join, email winning@innerfight.com
Friday - Coffee Run
Our weekly tempo run. Sessions are built on an RPE scale and accessible to all levels of runner. We start together, run hard then finish together and chat about it over a coffee and breakfast.
Brief time: 05:54 am
Start time: 05:59 am
Start Location: Common Grounds
Monday
Session: LRC Tempo
There is no in-person session today. LRC Unlimited and Online clients, please check your TrainingPeaks accounts for the built session. Enjoy.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Session: Track Tuesday
This is your chance to run fast with the wider IFE community and coaches. Come ready to run fast and have fun.
Wednesday
Session: LRC Intervals
There is no in-person session today. LRC Unlimited and Online clients, please check your TrainingPeaks accounts for the built session. Enjoy.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Common Grounds
Session: The Coffee Run
This is our weekly Tempo Session with InnerFight Endurance. Come ready to run, work hard, and enjoy coffee afterwards.
Sunday
Time: 5:29am
Location: Cafe Peloton car park
Session: The Coffee Run
Route options:
5km: https://onthegomap.com/s/evqgc848
10km: https://onthegomap.com/s/63kid650
14.5km: https://onthegomap.com/s/v56bkn24
19.5km: https://onthegomap.com/s/se0bifs8
Monday:
Starting the week chasing a 1RM in the push press before partnering up to chase some Calories on the ski!
Strength:
Every 90 sec x 8 - 1 Push press build to a max
Conditioning:
3 Rounds in pairs, in a 7-minute window
40/30 cal ski
40 TTB
40 push Press (60/40)
Cal Ski in the remaining time
Rest 3 mins
Tuesday:
Bringing the heat on a Tuesday with some 1RM Deadlifts! 9min AMRAP will follow this workout will get Spicy!
Strength:
A) EMOM 12
M1 - 20-30 sec dip support
M2 - 20 sec/leg sl glute bridge
M3 - 15 Banded Good Mornings
B) Every 90 sec x 6 - 2 Deadlift building
C) 8 mins to establish a 1RM
Conditioning:
9min AMRAP
5 DL @ 60% of 1 RM
5 Handstand Push Ups
*Every round, add one rep!
Wednesday:
Some strict work to get the upper body working, then 8 3-minute rounds where the harder you work, the more rest you get!
Strength:
EMOM x 10 1/5 strict pull-ups
Conditioning:
Every 3 mins x 8
18/15/12 cal Ass bike
8 DB Thrusters
8 pull-ups
Thursday:
What better than building to a heavy Front Squat followed by all-out 500m efforts on the rower.
Strength
A) Every 2 mins x 5 - 2/2/2/2/5 front squat
B) Every 2.30 mins x 5 16 KB Walking Lunge into 12 Alt KB Gorilla Rows
Conditioning:
For time
500m row
Rest 3 mins
500m row
Friday:
What an end to the week, an upper-body pump session in Therapy!
Strength:
Every 90 sec x 9
A: 12-15 DB Skull Crushers
B: 10-15 barbell bicep curl
C: 5/5 Alternating DB Z Press
Conditioning:
28min AMRAP
3 DB Renegade Rows
12 Dual DB Deadlift
5 Wall Walks
Pool Run
Rest 90 sec
Every round + 1 Renegade Row on Each Arm
People often think strength and technique are the limiting factors whenever they hit a wall with Olympic lifts or specific gymnastics exercises. When you have the mobility of a rock, lifts such as the power clean or the snatch can be your worst nightmare!
How Lack of Mobility Hinders Your Workouts
I see people work countless hours trying to perfect the timing and technique of Olympic lifts – and yet they still can’t execute the movements properly. There could be a lot of different reasons for this problem, however one issue in particular occurs time and time again: lack of mobility.
Most people either don’t know what’s causing their mobility issues or do know but only spend 10 minutes a week trying to fix it. When compared to the 5+ hours per week of training they’re doing, it’s no surprise they’re struggling.
So, what’s the solution?
Olympic Lifting and Mobility: Work Smarter, Not Harder
No, I'm not expecting you to do five hours of mobility a week. This advice is for beginner to intermediate level Crossfitters, as well as anyone that’s hit a fitness plateau with specific movements.
Related: 5 Tips for CrossFit Beginners
I’m going to take a simplistic, relatable approach to improving your mobility using two Olympic lifts: the snatch and the power clean.
Let’s start with what you’re actually trying to achieve: to move a weighted bar up the body and try to keep the bar path as close to your body as possible, finishing in either a full-depth front squat or an overhead squat.
I know that’s a very simplified explanation and, in case any of them are reading this, I mean no offense to the Olympic lifting gods that walk amongst us!
You may be thinking “surely problems with bar path is an issue of technique and not mobility?” It’s true, technique could be the problem. In my experience, I’ve seen countless people struggle with these lifts because they physically cannot get into the correct position.
Some coaches will simply try and put you in the proper position and hope that fixes the problem. You’ll feel uncomfortable as if you’re going to fall over but go along with the lift anyway.
Then what happens? Your body immediately reverts back to where your body has the ability to go and everyone’s time is wasted. The coach suggests you work on your mobility so they can scale the exercise down and make it easier for you to move.
You end the session doing part of the movement and leave feeling unfulfilled. When you show up to the next class, you’re right back where you started with the coach trying to manually get your body into the correct position.
Using the Overhead Squat to Uncover Mobility Issues
The overhead squat is a staple CrossFit exercise that you must be proficient in to do a full snatch. It requires an adequate range of motion joint by joint to do one properly & shows people's lack of mobility when they can't perform one, especially with no weight.
Some people despise this exercise because it causes considerable shoulder or upper back pain. Others simply can't do it at all. While going down to a squat is a big no-no when holding something overhead, those same people can back squat 100kg plus.
If you're different from the above, you could be the below. You have to come up onto your toes & buckle your knees so badly; yes, it's technically an overhead squat, but if I put any weight on the bar, your knees would collapse in on each other.
Overhead Squat Mobility Requirement Breakdown
Stability and activation could be factors, but let's break down what mobility you need to perform an effortless overhead squat. Let's start from the bottom up; I'll keep it simple and go for the top four things. You will need an adequate range of motion to perform an overhead squat.
#1 – Ankle Dorsiflexion
Why do we need this? We need the knee not only to track the middle to outer toes, but we need them to be able to stack the weight above the ankle. Our knees can go past our toes because of Dorsiflexion, which keeps the center mass over the midfoot.
Lacking this often causes a lack of balance & the inability to squat deep. People leave this to last to check, but it could be the first thing limiting your overhead ability.
#2 – Hip Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Hip mobility external and internal rotation: We need adequate ranges of motion to sit deep into the squat. A lack of this could cause a knee cave. As mentioned above, the squat stacked over the center of the midfoot keeps everything in alignment.
#3 Thoracic Extension, Flexion and Rotation
This tends to be one of the most significant limiting factors; upper back rounding causes the scapular to travel a longer distance around the upper spine. This, in turn, creates instability when you try holding your shoulders in your pocket, leading to poor shoulder mobility.
If you can't stack the upper spine in line, this will cause some grief with keeping the bar stacked over the mid foot. People tend to fall forward when they lack in this with both the front & overhead squats.
#4 Shoulder Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Internal and external rotation are needed to get the bar path tracking upwards and keep it close. Mobility limitations are usually linked with the thoracic and lack of flexibility with the lat and pec muscles, causing the inability to reach overhead.
Usually, lacking here will cause weak rotator cuff muscles and the inability to stack or press a weight properly above the head.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to see how a seemingly insignificant mobility issue can have much larger knock-on effects with your Olympic lifts. Consider your own technique - now that you know what mobility is required, do you lack in any of the areas above?
If so, send me an email or DM on Instagram, and let's set up an assessment!
Fun - Honesty - SIMPLICITY - Smash Life - Mental Toughness - Hard Work
The Monday Ride
Our community program is delivered via TrainingPeaks for AED 750 p/month. If you're interested to have a plan to follow, email tw@innerfight.com\
Time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: The Loop Cafe, Nad al Sheeba
Track Tuesday
Our weekly on track speed session! For any level of runner looking to build their run speed, threshold and Vo2max fitness and run with the best running community in Dubai.
Time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Wednesday - Indoor Ride
Our community program is delivered via TrainingPeaks for AED 750 p/month. If you're interested to have a plan to follow, email tw@innerfight.com
Thursday - Endurance Strength
A strength class focused on key movements for endurance athletes to help avoid injury, build speed and develop strength.
Time: 06:30am
Location: This is a paid class session at InnerFight HQ. If you're interested to join, email winning@innerfight.com
Friday - Coffee Run
Our weekly tempo run. Sessions are built on an RPE scale and accessible to all levels of runner. We start together, run hard then finish together and chat about it over a coffee and breakfast.
Brief time: 05:54 am
Start time: 05:59 am
Start Location: Common Grounds
Monday
Session: LRC Tempo
There is no in-person session today. LRC Unlimited and Online clients, please check your TrainingPeaks accounts for the built session. Enjoy.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Session: Track Tuesday
This is your chance to run fast with the wider IFE community and coaches. Come ready to run fast and have fun.
Wednesday
Session: LRC Intervals
There is no in-person session today. LRC Unlimited and Online clients, please check your TrainingPeaks accounts for the built session. Enjoy.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Common Grounds
Session: The Coffee Run
This is our weekly Tempo Session with InnerFight Endurance. Come ready to run, work hard, and enjoy coffee afterwards.
Sunday
Time: 5:29am
Location: Cafe Peloton car park
Session: The Coffee Run
Route options:
5km: https://onthegomap.com/s/evqgc848
10km: https://onthegomap.com/s/63kid650
14.5km: https://onthegomap.com/s/v56bkn24
19.5km: https://onthegomap.com/s/se0bifs8
Monday:
Starting the week chasing a 1RM in the push press before partnering up to chase some Calories on the ski!
Strength:
Every 90 sec x 8 - 1 Push press build to a max
Conditioning:
3 Rounds in pairs, in a 7-minute window
40/30 cal ski
40 TTB
40 push Press (60/40)
Cal Ski in the remaining time
Rest 3 mins
Tuesday:
Bringing the heat on a Tuesday with some 1RM Deadlifts! 9min AMRAP will follow this workout will get Spicy!
Strength:
A) EMOM 12
M1 - 20-30 sec dip support
M2 - 20 sec/leg sl glute bridge
M3 - 15 Banded Good Mornings
B) Every 90 sec x 6 - 2 Deadlift building
C) 8 mins to establish a 1RM
Conditioning:
9min AMRAP
5 DL @ 60% of 1 RM
5 Handstand Push Ups
*Every round, add one rep!
Wednesday:
Some strict work to get the upper body working, then 8 3-minute rounds where the harder you work, the more rest you get!
Strength:
EMOM x 10 1/5 strict pull-ups
Conditioning:
Every 3 mins x 8
18/15/12 cal Ass bike
8 DB Thrusters
8 pull-ups
Thursday:
What better than building to a heavy Front Squat followed by all-out 500m efforts on the rower.
Strength
A) Every 2 mins x 5 - 2/2/2/2/5 front squat
B) Every 2.30 mins x 5 16 KB Walking Lunge into 12 Alt KB Gorilla Rows
Conditioning:
For time
500m row
Rest 3 mins
500m row
Friday:
What an end to the week, an upper-body pump session in Therapy!
Strength:
Every 90 sec x 9
A: 12-15 DB Skull Crushers
B: 10-15 barbell bicep curl
C: 5/5 Alternating DB Z Press
Conditioning:
28min AMRAP
3 DB Renegade Rows
12 Dual DB Deadlift
5 Wall Walks
Pool Run
Rest 90 sec
Every round + 1 Renegade Row on Each Arm
GYMNASTICS
No Thursday PM Classes for the next 6 weeks.
This week, we’re working on handstand push-up development. We’ll start on the floor working on hip drive power, headstand balance and core work followed by box and wall drills before a strength piece to finish.
HYBRID FITNESS
This week's HYBRID session, we are working through repeats of specific sections of the race to dial in timings and feel. The primary focus will be on the initial four stages of the race.
MOBILITY
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week, we will focus on the squat snatch. With a fun complex snatch pull, Hang squat snatch and OHS. Great technique session!
People often think strength and technique are the limiting factors whenever they hit a wall with Olympic lifts or specific gymnastics exercises. When you have the mobility of a rock, lifts such as the power clean or the snatch can be your worst nightmare!
How Lack of Mobility Hinders Your Workouts
I see people work countless hours trying to perfect the timing and technique of Olympic lifts – and yet they still can’t execute the movements properly. There could be a lot of different reasons for this problem, however one issue in particular occurs time and time again: lack of mobility.
Most people either don’t know what’s causing their mobility issues or do know but only spend 10 minutes a week trying to fix it. When compared to the 5+ hours per week of training they’re doing, it’s no surprise they’re struggling.
So, what’s the solution?
Olympic Lifting and Mobility: Work Smarter, Not Harder
No, I'm not expecting you to do five hours of mobility a week. This advice is for beginner to intermediate level Crossfitters, as well as anyone that’s hit a fitness plateau with specific movements.
Related: 5 Tips for CrossFit Beginners
I’m going to take a simplistic, relatable approach to improving your mobility using two Olympic lifts: the snatch and the power clean.
Let’s start with what you’re actually trying to achieve: to move a weighted bar up the body and try to keep the bar path as close to your body as possible, finishing in either a full-depth front squat or an overhead squat.
I know that’s a very simplified explanation and, in case any of them are reading this, I mean no offense to the Olympic lifting gods that walk amongst us!
You may be thinking “surely problems with bar path is an issue of technique and not mobility?” It’s true, technique could be the problem. In my experience, I’ve seen countless people struggle with these lifts because they physically cannot get into the correct position.
Some coaches will simply try and put you in the proper position and hope that fixes the problem. You’ll feel uncomfortable as if you’re going to fall over but go along with the lift anyway.
Then what happens? Your body immediately reverts back to where your body has the ability to go and everyone’s time is wasted. The coach suggests you work on your mobility so they can scale the exercise down and make it easier for you to move.
You end the session doing part of the movement and leave feeling unfulfilled. When you show up to the next class, you’re right back where you started with the coach trying to manually get your body into the correct position.
Using the Overhead Squat to Uncover Mobility Issues
The overhead squat is a staple CrossFit exercise that you must be proficient in to do a full snatch. It requires an adequate range of motion joint by joint to do one properly & shows people's lack of mobility when they can't perform one, especially with no weight.
Some people despise this exercise because it causes considerable shoulder or upper back pain. Others simply can't do it at all. While going down to a squat is a big no-no when holding something overhead, those same people can back squat 100kg plus.
If you're different from the above, you could be the below. You have to come up onto your toes & buckle your knees so badly; yes, it's technically an overhead squat, but if I put any weight on the bar, your knees would collapse in on each other.
Overhead Squat Mobility Requirement Breakdown
Stability and activation could be factors, but let's break down what mobility you need to perform an effortless overhead squat. Let's start from the bottom up; I'll keep it simple and go for the top four things. You will need an adequate range of motion to perform an overhead squat.
#1 – Ankle Dorsiflexion
Why do we need this? We need the knee not only to track the middle to outer toes, but we need them to be able to stack the weight above the ankle. Our knees can go past our toes because of Dorsiflexion, which keeps the center mass over the midfoot.
Lacking this often causes a lack of balance & the inability to squat deep. People leave this to last to check, but it could be the first thing limiting your overhead ability.
#2 – Hip Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Hip mobility external and internal rotation: We need adequate ranges of motion to sit deep into the squat. A lack of this could cause a knee cave. As mentioned above, the squat stacked over the center of the midfoot keeps everything in alignment.
#3 Thoracic Extension, Flexion and Rotation
This tends to be one of the most significant limiting factors; upper back rounding causes the scapular to travel a longer distance around the upper spine. This, in turn, creates instability when you try holding your shoulders in your pocket, leading to poor shoulder mobility.
If you can't stack the upper spine in line, this will cause some grief with keeping the bar stacked over the mid foot. People tend to fall forward when they lack in this with both the front & overhead squats.
#4 Shoulder Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Internal and external rotation are needed to get the bar path tracking upwards and keep it close. Mobility limitations are usually linked with the thoracic and lack of flexibility with the lat and pec muscles, causing the inability to reach overhead.
Usually, lacking here will cause weak rotator cuff muscles and the inability to stack or press a weight properly above the head.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to see how a seemingly insignificant mobility issue can have much larger knock-on effects with your Olympic lifts. Consider your own technique - now that you know what mobility is required, do you lack in any of the areas above?
If so, send me an email or DM on Instagram, and let's set up an assessment!
Fun - Honesty - SIMPLICITY - Smash Life - Mental Toughness - Hard Work
Monday
Session: LRC Tempo
There is no in-person session today. LRC Unlimited and Online clients, please check your TrainingPeaks accounts for the built session. Enjoy.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Session: Track Tuesday
This is your chance to run fast with the wider IFE community and coaches. Come ready to run fast and have fun.
Wednesday
Session: LRC Intervals
There is no in-person session today. LRC Unlimited and Online clients, please check your TrainingPeaks accounts for the built session. Enjoy.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Common Grounds
Session: The Coffee Run
This is our weekly Tempo Session with InnerFight Endurance. Come ready to run, work hard, and enjoy coffee afterwards.
Sunday
Time: 5:29am
Location: Cafe Peloton car park
Session: The Coffee Run
Route options:
5km: https://onthegomap.com/s/evqgc848
10km: https://onthegomap.com/s/63kid650
14.5km: https://onthegomap.com/s/v56bkn24
19.5km: https://onthegomap.com/s/se0bifs8
Monday:
Starting the week chasing a 1RM in the push press before partnering up to chase some Calories on the ski!
Strength:
Every 90 sec x 8 - 1 Push press build to a max
Conditioning:
3 Rounds in pairs, in a 7-minute window
40/30 cal ski
40 TTB
40 push Press (60/40)
Cal Ski in the remaining time
Rest 3 mins
Tuesday:
Bringing the heat on a Tuesday with some 1RM Deadlifts! 9min AMRAP will follow this workout will get Spicy!
Strength:
A) EMOM 12
M1 - 20-30 sec dip support
M2 - 20 sec/leg sl glute bridge
M3 - 15 Banded Good Mornings
B) Every 90 sec x 6 - 2 Deadlift building
C) 8 mins to establish a 1RM
Conditioning:
9min AMRAP
5 DL @ 60% of 1 RM
5 Handstand Push Ups
*Every round, add one rep!
Wednesday:
Some strict work to get the upper body working, then 8 3-minute rounds where the harder you work, the more rest you get!
Strength:
EMOM x 10 1/5 strict pull-ups
Conditioning:
Every 3 mins x 8
18/15/12 cal Ass bike
8 DB Thrusters
8 pull-ups
Thursday:
What better than building to a heavy Front Squat followed by all-out 500m efforts on the rower.
Strength
A) Every 2 mins x 5 - 2/2/2/2/5 front squat
B) Every 2.30 mins x 5 16 KB Walking Lunge into 12 Alt KB Gorilla Rows
Conditioning:
For time
500m row
Rest 3 mins
500m row
Friday:
What an end to the week, an upper-body pump session in Therapy!
Strength:
Every 90 sec x 9
A: 12-15 DB Skull Crushers
B: 10-15 barbell bicep curl
C: 5/5 Alternating DB Z Press
Conditioning:
28min AMRAP
3 DB Renegade Rows
12 Dual DB Deadlift
5 Wall Walks
Pool Run
Rest 90 sec
Every round + 1 Renegade Row on Each Arm
GYMNASTICS
No Thursday PM Classes for the next 6 weeks.
This week, we’re working on handstand push-up development. We’ll start on the floor working on hip drive power, headstand balance and core work followed by box and wall drills before a strength piece to finish.
HYBRID FITNESS
This week's HYBRID session, we are working through repeats of specific sections of the race to dial in timings and feel. The primary focus will be on the initial four stages of the race.
MOBILITY
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week, we will focus on the squat snatch. With a fun complex snatch pull, Hang squat snatch and OHS. Great technique session!
The Monday Ride
Our community program is delivered via TrainingPeaks for AED 750 p/month. If you're interested to have a plan to follow, email tw@innerfight.com\
Time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: The Loop Cafe, Nad al Sheeba
Track Tuesday
Our weekly on track speed session! For any level of runner looking to build their run speed, threshold and Vo2max fitness and run with the best running community in Dubai.
Time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Wednesday - Indoor Ride
Our community program is delivered via TrainingPeaks for AED 750 p/month. If you're interested to have a plan to follow, email tw@innerfight.com
Thursday - Endurance Strength
A strength class focused on key movements for endurance athletes to help avoid injury, build speed and develop strength.
Time: 06:30am
Location: This is a paid class session at InnerFight HQ. If you're interested to join, email winning@innerfight.com
Friday - Coffee Run
Our weekly tempo run. Sessions are built on an RPE scale and accessible to all levels of runner. We start together, run hard then finish together and chat about it over a coffee and breakfast.
Brief time: 05:54 am
Start time: 05:59 am
Start Location: Common Grounds
People often think strength and technique are the limiting factors whenever they hit a wall with Olympic lifts or specific gymnastics exercises. When you have the mobility of a rock, lifts such as the power clean or the snatch can be your worst nightmare!
How Lack of Mobility Hinders Your Workouts
I see people work countless hours trying to perfect the timing and technique of Olympic lifts – and yet they still can’t execute the movements properly. There could be a lot of different reasons for this problem, however one issue in particular occurs time and time again: lack of mobility.
Most people either don’t know what’s causing their mobility issues or do know but only spend 10 minutes a week trying to fix it. When compared to the 5+ hours per week of training they’re doing, it’s no surprise they’re struggling.
So, what’s the solution?
Olympic Lifting and Mobility: Work Smarter, Not Harder
No, I'm not expecting you to do five hours of mobility a week. This advice is for beginner to intermediate level Crossfitters, as well as anyone that’s hit a fitness plateau with specific movements.
Related: 5 Tips for CrossFit Beginners
I’m going to take a simplistic, relatable approach to improving your mobility using two Olympic lifts: the snatch and the power clean.
Let’s start with what you’re actually trying to achieve: to move a weighted bar up the body and try to keep the bar path as close to your body as possible, finishing in either a full-depth front squat or an overhead squat.
I know that’s a very simplified explanation and, in case any of them are reading this, I mean no offense to the Olympic lifting gods that walk amongst us!
You may be thinking “surely problems with bar path is an issue of technique and not mobility?” It’s true, technique could be the problem. In my experience, I’ve seen countless people struggle with these lifts because they physically cannot get into the correct position.
Some coaches will simply try and put you in the proper position and hope that fixes the problem. You’ll feel uncomfortable as if you’re going to fall over but go along with the lift anyway.
Then what happens? Your body immediately reverts back to where your body has the ability to go and everyone’s time is wasted. The coach suggests you work on your mobility so they can scale the exercise down and make it easier for you to move.
You end the session doing part of the movement and leave feeling unfulfilled. When you show up to the next class, you’re right back where you started with the coach trying to manually get your body into the correct position.
Using the Overhead Squat to Uncover Mobility Issues
The overhead squat is a staple CrossFit exercise that you must be proficient in to do a full snatch. It requires an adequate range of motion joint by joint to do one properly & shows people's lack of mobility when they can't perform one, especially with no weight.
Some people despise this exercise because it causes considerable shoulder or upper back pain. Others simply can't do it at all. While going down to a squat is a big no-no when holding something overhead, those same people can back squat 100kg plus.
If you're different from the above, you could be the below. You have to come up onto your toes & buckle your knees so badly; yes, it's technically an overhead squat, but if I put any weight on the bar, your knees would collapse in on each other.
Overhead Squat Mobility Requirement Breakdown
Stability and activation could be factors, but let's break down what mobility you need to perform an effortless overhead squat. Let's start from the bottom up; I'll keep it simple and go for the top four things. You will need an adequate range of motion to perform an overhead squat.
#1 – Ankle Dorsiflexion
Why do we need this? We need the knee not only to track the middle to outer toes, but we need them to be able to stack the weight above the ankle. Our knees can go past our toes because of Dorsiflexion, which keeps the center mass over the midfoot.
Lacking this often causes a lack of balance & the inability to squat deep. People leave this to last to check, but it could be the first thing limiting your overhead ability.
#2 – Hip Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Hip mobility external and internal rotation: We need adequate ranges of motion to sit deep into the squat. A lack of this could cause a knee cave. As mentioned above, the squat stacked over the center of the midfoot keeps everything in alignment.
#3 Thoracic Extension, Flexion and Rotation
This tends to be one of the most significant limiting factors; upper back rounding causes the scapular to travel a longer distance around the upper spine. This, in turn, creates instability when you try holding your shoulders in your pocket, leading to poor shoulder mobility.
If you can't stack the upper spine in line, this will cause some grief with keeping the bar stacked over the mid foot. People tend to fall forward when they lack in this with both the front & overhead squats.
#4 Shoulder Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Internal and external rotation are needed to get the bar path tracking upwards and keep it close. Mobility limitations are usually linked with the thoracic and lack of flexibility with the lat and pec muscles, causing the inability to reach overhead.
Usually, lacking here will cause weak rotator cuff muscles and the inability to stack or press a weight properly above the head.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to see how a seemingly insignificant mobility issue can have much larger knock-on effects with your Olympic lifts. Consider your own technique - now that you know what mobility is required, do you lack in any of the areas above?
If so, send me an email or DM on Instagram, and let's set up an assessment!
Fun - Honesty - SIMPLICITY - Smash Life - Mental Toughness - Hard Work
People often think strength and technique are the limiting factors whenever they hit a wall with Olympic lifts or specific gymnastics exercises. When you have the mobility of a rock, lifts such as the power clean or the snatch can be your worst nightmare!
How Lack of Mobility Hinders Your Workouts
I see people work countless hours trying to perfect the timing and technique of Olympic lifts – and yet they still can’t execute the movements properly. There could be a lot of different reasons for this problem, however one issue in particular occurs time and time again: lack of mobility.
Most people either don’t know what’s causing their mobility issues or do know but only spend 10 minutes a week trying to fix it. When compared to the 5+ hours per week of training they’re doing, it’s no surprise they’re struggling.
So, what’s the solution?
Olympic Lifting and Mobility: Work Smarter, Not Harder
No, I'm not expecting you to do five hours of mobility a week. This advice is for beginner to intermediate level Crossfitters, as well as anyone that’s hit a fitness plateau with specific movements.
Related: 5 Tips for CrossFit Beginners
I’m going to take a simplistic, relatable approach to improving your mobility using two Olympic lifts: the snatch and the power clean.
Let’s start with what you’re actually trying to achieve: to move a weighted bar up the body and try to keep the bar path as close to your body as possible, finishing in either a full-depth front squat or an overhead squat.
I know that’s a very simplified explanation and, in case any of them are reading this, I mean no offense to the Olympic lifting gods that walk amongst us!
You may be thinking “surely problems with bar path is an issue of technique and not mobility?” It’s true, technique could be the problem. In my experience, I’ve seen countless people struggle with these lifts because they physically cannot get into the correct position.
Some coaches will simply try and put you in the proper position and hope that fixes the problem. You’ll feel uncomfortable as if you’re going to fall over but go along with the lift anyway.
Then what happens? Your body immediately reverts back to where your body has the ability to go and everyone’s time is wasted. The coach suggests you work on your mobility so they can scale the exercise down and make it easier for you to move.
You end the session doing part of the movement and leave feeling unfulfilled. When you show up to the next class, you’re right back where you started with the coach trying to manually get your body into the correct position.
Using the Overhead Squat to Uncover Mobility Issues
The overhead squat is a staple CrossFit exercise that you must be proficient in to do a full snatch. It requires an adequate range of motion joint by joint to do one properly & shows people's lack of mobility when they can't perform one, especially with no weight.
Some people despise this exercise because it causes considerable shoulder or upper back pain. Others simply can't do it at all. While going down to a squat is a big no-no when holding something overhead, those same people can back squat 100kg plus.
If you're different from the above, you could be the below. You have to come up onto your toes & buckle your knees so badly; yes, it's technically an overhead squat, but if I put any weight on the bar, your knees would collapse in on each other.
Overhead Squat Mobility Requirement Breakdown
Stability and activation could be factors, but let's break down what mobility you need to perform an effortless overhead squat. Let's start from the bottom up; I'll keep it simple and go for the top four things. You will need an adequate range of motion to perform an overhead squat.
#1 – Ankle Dorsiflexion
Why do we need this? We need the knee not only to track the middle to outer toes, but we need them to be able to stack the weight above the ankle. Our knees can go past our toes because of Dorsiflexion, which keeps the center mass over the midfoot.
Lacking this often causes a lack of balance & the inability to squat deep. People leave this to last to check, but it could be the first thing limiting your overhead ability.
#2 – Hip Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Hip mobility external and internal rotation: We need adequate ranges of motion to sit deep into the squat. A lack of this could cause a knee cave. As mentioned above, the squat stacked over the center of the midfoot keeps everything in alignment.
#3 Thoracic Extension, Flexion and Rotation
This tends to be one of the most significant limiting factors; upper back rounding causes the scapular to travel a longer distance around the upper spine. This, in turn, creates instability when you try holding your shoulders in your pocket, leading to poor shoulder mobility.
If you can't stack the upper spine in line, this will cause some grief with keeping the bar stacked over the mid foot. People tend to fall forward when they lack in this with both the front & overhead squats.
#4 Shoulder Mobility (Internal and External Rotation)
Internal and external rotation are needed to get the bar path tracking upwards and keep it close. Mobility limitations are usually linked with the thoracic and lack of flexibility with the lat and pec muscles, causing the inability to reach overhead.
Usually, lacking here will cause weak rotator cuff muscles and the inability to stack or press a weight properly above the head.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to see how a seemingly insignificant mobility issue can have much larger knock-on effects with your Olympic lifts. Consider your own technique - now that you know what mobility is required, do you lack in any of the areas above?
If so, send me an email or DM on Instagram, and let's set up an assessment!
Fun - Honesty - SIMPLICITY - Smash Life - Mental Toughness - Hard Work
One-Hour Workout: Revving Your Swim Engine
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