Workout of the Day:
Five sets of:
Power Cleans x 3 reps
Rest 90 seconds
Ring Push-Ups x 12-15 reps
Rest 2 minutes;
and then,
Three rounds for time of:
Deadlift x 12 reps (with weight used for power cleans)
Run 400 Meters

Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Stretching – Hold and Relax
Written by George Economou

This post has been a long time coming. Too often an athlete has asked how PNF stretching works after they’ve seen seemingly miraculous gains in mere minutes. A common response: “We’re tricking your muscles.” While that’s true, the intent of this post is to get you to understand how that trickery is occurring.

Flexibility, much like strength, isn’t solely based on the physical mechanics of a muscle – how the tissues and fibers are connected. For example, if you were to do a dissection of my “tight” hamstrings, you may find that the muscle tissue is plenty long enough to accommodate a straight-leg-raise to 90 degrees while lying on my back…but that’s simply not the case. So if the muscle is long enough, why can’t I do it? As it so happens, my brain isn’t functioning at optimal levels; or rather, there’s a miscommunication between my muscles, my brain, and everything in between – the neurological mechanics.

Within the muscles you have sensory receptors known as muscle spindles. The role of the muscle spindle is to sense when a muscle is under a load and prevent that muscle from being ripped to shreds because of that load – it forces a contraction. This function is critical to keeping your muscles safe, but it can compromise certain movements. Take the deadlift as an example; my hamstrings are so tight that in order to prevent injury while under a load, my lower back is forced into flexion.

Static stretching will assist in lengthening the muscle over time, but it won’t necessarily address the issue of your muscle spindles firing overtime. Time to introduce a new variable to the flexibility equation, the Golgi Tendon Organ (GTO). Within the tendons connecting muscle to bone exist the GTO. The GTO’s mission is to prevent a tendon from tearing itself from bone or muscle while under load – it forces a muscle to relax.

Let’s go through a quick example, hamstring stretch with rope assist.

-Lie on your back with legs locked out and extended. Wrap a loop around one foot and pull that leg towards you. As the muscle stretches, muscle spindles in the muscle send a signal to alpha motor neurons in the spinal cord saying, “My muscle is being stretched, what should I do???” To which the alpha motor neuron responds, “CONTRACT!!!!!” And you reach your stretch limit. Hold this position of your stretch limit for approximately 10 seconds.

-Count 3-2-1 and contract against that stretch by trying to press your heel towards the ground. The rope you’re holding prevents your heel from actually making any progress. Hold this contraction for approximately 5 seconds. During the contraction, the frequency of signals from the muscle spindle to alpha motor neurons decreases, which is why some of you may lose the stretch sensation. As the contracting muscle pulls on the associated tendons, the GTOs send impulses in relation to the force of contraction. The impulses sent by the GTOs inhibit the alpha motor neurons, basically saying “Hey there muscles, it’s ok to relax, because you’re going to rock my tendon’s world if you don’t.”

-Once you release the contraction, pull your leg a little bit closer. Upon releasing the contraction, there is slack in the muscle that you can take up, increasing your stretch limit and repeating the cycle.

-Repeat this cycle 3-4 more times and hold the last stretch for 20+ seconds to affect some long-term change in your muscle.

While the gains made during PNF stretching are significant, they are not as persistent as we’d like. Consistency is the name of the game if you’d like to see any lasting effects. While the coaching staff makes great attempts to stretch at least one major muscle group after each session, it’s up to the individual athlete to devote some time to their maintenance and recovery. We’ll teach you the techniques, and provide the reminders, but the hard work is up to you.

Workout of the Day:
“Get a Grip”
If you’ve done this one, you’ll remember it.  If you haven’t, just come on down in the morning and your coaches will be more than happy to introduce you for the first time.  It’s a fun workout done in teams of two.  It’s challenging, but easily modified to make it fun for everyone.

Workout of the Day:
Three sets of:
Deadlift x 4-6 reps
Rest 90 seconds
Ring Dips x 12 reps
Rest 2-3 minutes;
and then,
As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:
20 Kettlebell Swings
20 Box Step-Ups with Kettlebell (10 each leg)
100 Meter Suitcase Carry

Get well soon Rhonda, we miss you!

Apologetic . . . But Not
Written by Mike Hom

I have a buddy who goes to the gym only when he starts, as he so eloquently puts it, “feeling fat.” He will do this every couple months for several days – maybe 9 or 10 if he’s feeling especially “fat.”  Now, I don’t know everything about how the body works, but I do know that an accumulation of stuffing garbage into your body is not exactly going to disappear with an hour on the treadmill followed by some dumbbell bench press and preacher curls for 10 days. While he may make some progress, possibly through the phenomenon known as the “novice effect”, it will only go so far with what limited activity he is doing. Unfortunately, my buddy’s level of accumulated activity does not nearly equal the amount of work needed to counteract the sheer volume of damage he’s done to himself. My buddy does say that “fortunately” for him, he is naturally skinny because we both know that if he was someone like me, he would be a slobbering, mouth-breathing, man-beast from eating and drinking the way he does. I guess my disconnect with him is where he got this attitude where he felt what he did was “good enough.”

This is a rather extreme example compared to those that work out at Invictus. Frankly, I’m preaching to the choir when I wax poetic about putting your time in for your training. But really, when do we ever come to a place where we say, “Oh yeah! I’m good to go!” and then just stop. It may just be the personality-type that is attracted to recreational activities, much less CrossFit-type activities. I don’t care if it’s running, weightlifting, rock climbing, bike riding, or whatever. People that really enjoy the stuff will eventually come to the epiphany that they want to be as good as they can at that something. I just don’t understand how someone gets to the place where they can say, “Hey you know what? I really love X but I think I’m good enough.”

I know I can be kind of a hard ass when I coach, but I do it out of care for the people that are entrusting me to guide and drive them to achieve things they thought they never could do. I want those I’m coaching to achieve what they think is unachievable at that moment, or ever. It doesn’t matter. My business is getting people stronger, faster, and healthier. I love my job. One of my biggest challenges, however, is understanding that not everyone has the same personality I do, nor do they have the same anal-rententive/OCD idiosyncrasies I have. I need to be in a certain mindset when I train. When I have a coach around me, I need that person to tell me what I am doing wrong so I can fix it immediately. I don’t necessarily need cheerleading, but I need that person to tell me what I need to do loudly. That is just how I operate. I’ve come to recognize, over time, that people need to be fed that information in different manners. And, that is just fine. But, I will still be a little firm about it.

I am also very aware that my expectations can be a little lofty for myself, which translates to lofty expectations for those I train. I just get excited by the potential I see–potential to take that important step towards a healthier life. I also get irritated when those I train don’t see that same potential. I’m trying to bring out that physiological, emotional, and psychological strength that inhabits every human being.  So, I’m sorry . . . but I’m not sorry about this.

Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve grown to see and understand the complexities of coaching. Every person is different and responds differently. I don’t mean to be a hard ass at times, but it can be a strain to try to temper this. Over the past several years I have come to accept a few things about myself as a coach: I will always strive to be more understanding and gentle if my clients respond best to that type of coaching. I will always get super excited when I see people take the initiative to better their lives. And, I will always get super excited when our members accomplish goals, lofty or not, that they set out to do. But, I will also probably be a little firm about expecting my clients to strive to be their best.  I am sorry about this . . . but only kind of.

Workout of the Day:
7 Rounds for Time of:
7 Burpees
7 Box Jumps
7 Dumbbell Hang Cleans
(You will complete this workout in teams of two or three, with only one partner working at a time.  One partner will blast through a full round before the next begins. Repeat until all teammates have completed seven rounds.)

YAY BURPEES!!!

Workout of the Day:
Six sets of:
Snatch x 2 reps (use 75-85% of 1-RM and focus on technique)
Rest as needed between sets;
and then,
Four rounds for max reps of:
30 seconds of Bodyweight Bench Press
90 seconds of Rest
30 seconds of Dynamic Push-Ups
90 seconds of Rest
30 seconds of Pull-Ups
90 seconds of Rest

Congratulations to Matt H. and his wife on the birth of their first baby boy!

Invictus Running Clinic - Runners, don’t forget that tomorrow is the final segment of the Invictus Running Clinic.  Once you see how much you have improved, please don’t forget to brag about how great Nuno and Marc are to your friends.  We’ll begin signing folks up for the next Invictus Running Clinic on Monday, March 1.  If you know that you want to be involved, please email info@crossfitinvictus.com.