The beauty of CrossFit is that there's always a mountain to climb, a lift to PR, and a skill to learn or improve upon. I think there's a lot of value in that.
The idea of consistent improvement and checking yourself when things get complacent is important in all aspects of life.
Having said that, we as CrossFitters tend to air on the competitive side of life.
So when we hit a wall with a movement or skills, overcoming that plateau can be one of the most frustrating and challenging parts of your fitness journey.
If you’ve come to a point in your training where you’re not where you want to be, this Series will be helpful.
Over the next few weeks, during this series we'll talk about really practical ways you can identify and bust through the plateaus you're experiencing.
Using Mobility to Overcome Plateaus in CrossFit
When we reach a plateau in our olympic lifts it can be a long and winding road to nowhere.
But it doesn't have to be that way. There are a few simple fixes that will require some self awareness, humility, and patience on your part.
But they're both doable and worth it!
When you've hit a wall with your Olympic lifts, it might mean that your intensity has surpassed proper technique.
Normal, totally okay, and definitely fixable!
I think we can all agree that it's fun to PR your Grace time but when it comes to reaching a new lifetime PR on a squat clean you're going to have to flip the script and prioritize technique.
That might mean dropping weight, reviewing fundamentals of the movement, or taking 5 minutes before or after class for mobility.
As a general rule, mobility - or lack thereof is a common precursor to plateaus. So let's talk about ways to gauge where you're at and how to improve.
Moving through a back squat, front squat, front rack or OH squat with a PVC only should not pose a challenge to your flexibility. If it does, try this…
Find out how low you can get in a strong squat position, (butt back, chest up, knees out).
By knowing how low you can comfortably squat you now know what depth you should be squatting to during workouts.
Your goal is to work millimeter by millimeter lower whenever you are called upon to squat as part of the workout.
Overtime, (days and months) you can and will improve your squat depth.
Along the way I recommend squatting to an object like a box, wall ball, or stack of plates.
This way you can gradually make the object you are squatting to lower and lower as your squat mobility improves.
When squatting to an object in a loaded movement like a back squat, front squat, or overhead squat keep the weight lighter so you can safely bail out of the movement if you need too.
IT IS KEY to make sure not to relax when squatting to an object.
You should always think about barely grazing the object or staying half an inch above it; gravity will do the rest of the work.
