Speed Demon, what would that bring us today. Quite the workout actually. 4 workouts even. Typical CrossFit stuff, some running, some weightlifting, some gymnastics (yes, burpees is gymnastics)!
Opening up with a pretty standard warm-up for warming up the whole body, since the Overhead Squat is quite a demanding movement in terms of mobility. Similar to the pistol, the overhead squat is one of the few movements in CrossFit that might get easier the further you are into your workout, just because of the fact that more warm means more mobility. And more mobility means an easier overhead squat. A solid warm-up is definitely needed to get the most out of the workout.
The warm-up was followed by 2 stretches, a wall squat and a chest opener. Both movements serve the purpose of opening up your shoulders, again enabling you to get a bit easier into this overhead squat. We are not only doing these stretches just to warm you up for what is coming. We are also doing this to give you an idea of the exercises you could do yourself to invest in your mobility. We know that a lot of people are struggling with the mobility you need for CrossFit. More importantly, the mobility you also need for a healthy body. The value of mobility is often ignored, more because people don´t like working on it. Somehow, beating themselves up on an assault bike is easier for most people than sitting on a lacrosse ball in front of their TV instead of sitting on the couch. It is really important though. Being able to use your body to it´s full range of motion serves the higher purpose, named independence for a lifetime. Only being able to do half squats doesn´t look like a bad thing today, but by the time you are 65, it makes the difference between living on your own and enjoying life to it´s fullest, or living in a nursing home and needing help to get out of your chair. This looks far away, so maybe this example makes more sense. Using your knees and hips everyday in the way they are meant to move, means healthy knees (if don´t use it, you lose it). Not being able to do this, might mean a new knee by the time you are 50 and that often means stopping with ski-ing or going on long hikes. So yes, mobility for overhead squats is cool. Mobility to live life to it´s fullest until you are 80 is even cooler. And that road begins today, so stretch up!
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