I Don't Remember Being This Awesome In Eighth Grade

She's 13 and holds 8 weightlifting records. Plus, she CrossFits. And eats Paleo.



In addition, she wears "BACON" socks by Gumball Poodle (which, incidentally, also made Nom Nom Paleo's socks).

In contrast, my eighth grade year was devoted to sticking baseball cards in protective plastic sheets and fighting the good fight against acne.

Catalyst Athletics Weightlifting Seminar: Day 2

The boys spent the night at their grandparents' last night, so we weren't awakened at 7 a.m. this morning by shouting and running down the hall. Instead, we had the rare luxury of sleeping in...until 7:15. Yes, sleep is paramount, but there was no way we were going to be late to Day 2 of the lifting seminar at Catalyst Athletics. After M whipped up a quick breakfast, we packed our lunches and hitched a ride with Kristen to the gym.

As the rest of the CrossFit Palo Alto gang trickled in, we got loose and stretchy. 

And then it was time to get started. We did a quick review of the snatch progressions we learned yesterday, and then dove right into jerks. I was eager to learn how to split jerk today; the only time I'd ever attempted it before was about a year-and-a-half ago, and I had no idea what I was doing. If I remember correctly, I promptly fell over and was told to stick with power jerks.

Before getting to split jerks today, however, we went through a number of progressions -- push presses from behind the neck, push presses from the rack position, tall power jerks, jerk balances -- all of which we got to practice until we found our groove. 

And before lunch, I found myself split jerking. Yes, it was with an empty bar, but simply sticking the technique made me feel accomplished. I did my best to get the bar overhead with aggression and confidence, and with a few pointers from Greg, Aimee, and Steve, I successfully performed my first split jerks.

After lunch, Greg covered various clean progressions until we were cleaning from off the floor. And by mid-afternoon, we were cleaning and jerking with weight. 

Graeme and I paired up all weekend, which was awesome; he has exacting form, and I picked up a lot just by watching him lift. The trainers frequently stopped by to scrutinize our technique and to offer encouragement and guidance. I was amazed by their ability to instantly diagnose and adjust my sloppy form with just a few words and cues. 

Despite using light weights, we probably ended up doing hundreds of reps over the course of the weekend. With fifteen minutes left before the end of the day, I was spent. But what the hell -- I decided to do one more.

It was ugly as sin. But hey: I didn't fall over. Progress!

Catalyst Athletics Olympic Weightlifting Seminar: Day 1

I’ve been looking forward to the Olympic weightlifting seminar at Catalyst Athletics for months.

It wasn’t until 2010 that I first encountered barbell snatches, cleans, and jerks. When I started working out at CrossFit Palo Alto, I was lucky to have Tim -- an experienced Oly lifter -- patiently coach me through various progressions until I was able to perform these movements safely. But we do a lot more than just Olympic lifting at our 5 a.m. classes, and I was eager to devote an entire weekend to honing my form and getting better at this stuff.

As luck would have it, we live less than 15 minutes away from Catalyst Athletics -- home of Greg and Aimee Everett, two of the most insanely accomplished and knowledgeable Olympic lifters and coaches in the country. 

Greg’s the co-founder of The Performance Menu, and the author of Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide for Athletes & Coaches -- THE book to buy if you’re at all interested in learning to lift. I’ve had a copy of it on my nightstand for over a year. (It’s not just that I’m a slow reader; the book is incredibly comprehensive and packed with information.) In addition, Greg is Robb Wolf’s co-host on the Paleo Solution podcast; if you’re a listener, you know he’s one hell of a smart, engaging, and dryly funny guy.

As for Aimee, she’s not just an inexplicably huge fan of Britney Spears and Tori Spelling -- she also happens to be the 2007 U.S. Women's National Weightlifting Champion. M and I have spent entire mornings watching Aimee’s videos on YouTube before picking our jaws back up off the floor. From my recent correspondence with Aimee (I helped design some graphics for her new business), it was clear to me that I’d like her a lot. After all, she has the same (gross) sense of humor and potty mouth as my wife. (Which also explains why M is always doubled over laughing when she’s tweeting back and forth with Aimee.)

A few months back, after listening to Trish’s glowing report about her experiences at the last Catalyst weightlifting seminar, I couldn’t wait to sign up. Ultimately, a dozen of us from CrossFit Palo Alto -- including M and me -- registered for the two-day workshop.

With our kids spending the weekend at their grandparents and a key deadline met for M’s soon-to-be-released Nom Nom Paleo project, we were free to spend a super-romantic weekend lifting barbells. (Did I mention that as of today, M and I have been together for 19 years?)

The first day of the seminar was singularly focused on learning the various progressions to a full snatch. After we warmed up in the morning, Greg took us through a couple of static stretches to help mobilize our ankles and hip flexors.(My favorite: “Russian Baby Makers.” They make my hips hurt so good.) 

We then spent a good portion of the morning on establishing a proper squat position, maintaining even weight distribution across the feet, breathing, and other basics. It was fantastic to have the opportunity to focus on each of these techniques, and to practice them until our muscle memories kicked in. Although we covered a ton of stuff, it all clicked into place like little LEGO pieces, one brick building upon another. 

The importance of the hook grip was drummed into me yet again. Without it, you can’t maintain full control of the barbell during the second pull of the snatch (and clean). Tim has repeatedly reminded me to use the hook grip, but I haven’t consistently done so because, well...it’s uncomfortable. But as Greg pointed out today, it’ll never feel comfortable until and unless I stick with it for a while, so I guess I’m just going to have to  suck it up like a big boy (and ice my hands until they get the hang of this painfully awkward grip).

The rest of the day was a blur as we worked on progression after progression: Overhead squats, snatch balances, muscle snatches, snatch deadlifts. We worked to establish our mid-hang positions, and I learned a number of useful cues from the Catalyst coaches, including my favorite: “J-Lo butt.” (Aimee was telling me to stick my butt out more -- and keep my knees back -- at the start of the second pull.)

At the end of the day, we got some plates on the barbells and practiced snatches from the floor. The name of the game was good, solid form, and although I was beat, I did my best to suck less than usual. I was a bit wobbly and only managed to snatch 40kg, but I ended the day with a big smile on my face and a lot of tips to incorporate into my training. 

I soaked up as much as I could, but I have a feeling I’m not going to retain as much as I’d like. Today was like drinking out of a fire hydrant -- but boy, was I thirsty.

I can't wait 'til tomorrow.

[UPDATED: Day 2 recap is here.]

CrossFit Hand Care

CrossFitters often revel in the fact that our workouts have bloodied our hands. "We're such badasses! We're SO hardcore!" But let’s call a spade a spade: IT IS NOT “COOL” TO HAVE CHUNKS OF OUR SKIN RIPPED FROM OUR HANDS.

Flayed skin is not a badge of bad-assery. It does not mean that you are tougher or better at working out. And it most definitely does not mean that CrossFit, lifting and/or gymnastics should be avoided because of the possibility that the skin on your hands might get torn.

All it means is that:

• You’re a soft-handed newbie who hasn’t yet had the chance to build up thicker skin on your fingers and palms to protect them from tearing, or 

• You’re not giving your hands the T.L.C. they need to keep from getting shredded. 

Torn skin is painful and annoying, and may put you out of commission for a spell. And THAT is unequivocally un-hardcore.

My first encounter with shredded hands occurred shortly after starting CrossFit, back when the roughest activity my hands saw was an occasional difficult-to-open jar of spaghetti sauce. And my latest (and greatest) rip was during yesterday’s Mary WOD, after neglecting proper hand care for weeks. Over the past year, I’ve experienced minor tears and major ones. In this post, I’m going to discuss what I could (and should) have done to prevent bloody hand, and what treatment options are available to those of us unfortunate enough to gash open our hands doing high-rep pull-ups, kettlebell snatches and the like.

Hand Grooming 

Those who are new to gymnastics, weightlifting or CrossFit in general often start with soft, callus-free hands. Ideally, to reduce the likelihood of hand tears, beginners should try to gradually build up calluses (through -- what else? -- handling bars) to the point where the skin on their palms and fingers are tough and thick -- but smooth. Once some skin-thickening is achieved, the goal is to keep any calluses filed down. The goal is have a consistent, smooth palm surface, without noticeable ridges or fluctuating thicknesses of skin. A raised, rough callus will eventually blister and tear away from the surrounding skin, ripping open your hands and making a bloody mess. A general rule of thumb: If you can pinch a raised edge of the callus, it needs to be filed down. Constant vigilance and regular hand care is key to preventing tears.

You can use a number of different tools to keep your calluses in check, including:

• A nail file; 
• A callus/corn shaver;
• Cuticle scissors; 
• A pumice stone; 
• A dull razor blade; 
• Sandpaper; 
• A butter knife; or
• A Dremel tool(!)

Obviously, don’t be an idiot. Use these tools with care.

As one CrossFit Journal article put it:

Ideally, your entire palm surface should be one thick callus with no bumps or ridges in any one particular area. In order to do this, groom your hands always after a hot shower or bath (this allows the calluses to swell up). While the calluses are still “swollen,” I take a double-edged razor and very carefully shave the dead callus bumps down a little at a time until the bumps are about even with the thickness of the rest of the hand. With my younger students, I simply ask them to get a callus stone (you can buy one at any drug store), and gently sand the callus down even with the rest of the skin. Remember, whenever you groom or shave your calluses, don’t overdo it, since you don’t want to go too deep into your skin. Always leave enough thick skin so to facilitate your workout the following day. The goal is to maintain an even and consistent thickness of hard skin throughout the entire palm.

Also: Lube up your hands. Chalk and frequent washing will suck the moisture right out your skin, and dry, cracked hands do not feel awesome. So listen to the Silence of the Lambs guy: Lotion is important for skin care. (And remember to put the lotion in the basket.) Use Bag Balm or Udder Cream (it’s not just for irritated cows anymore!)  or whatever suits your fancy.

This, by the way, is what a well-groomed pair of CrossFitting hands is supposed to look like:

My hands don't look like this. Being the idiot that I am, I’ve never been very consistent about filing down my calluses, and lately, I developed a few big ones with rough edges. I didn’t do anything about ‘em, and as a result, I tore ‘em wide open yesterday. Not fun.

Grip & Technique 

A lot of CrossFitters rip open their hands doing high-rep bar movements: kipping pull-ups, clean-and-jerks, snatches. But there are ways to tweak your technique to reduce the chances of a nasty tear.

First, use the right grip.

When working with a barbell, some folks are inclined to grip the bar across the middle of their palms. This, unfortunately, squishes the fleshy pad below the base of your fingers against the bar, causing discomfort, added friction, blisters, and worse. A better way to go is to grip the barbell across the base of your fingers -- where the metacarpals meet the proximal phalanges. Check out Mark Rippetoe’s explanation of how to grip a bar properly:



As for doing kipping pull-ups while training (versus competing), CrossFitter Pär Larsson has this to say about getting a proper grip:

When doing pull-ups, keep your metacarpals in line with your proximal phalanges; i.e., your hand bones and the first bones in your fingers. This sucks because it’s harder to do pull-ups with your center of gravity an inch lower, and it takes more finger/ forearm strength. The first week or two or five, you might have to go back to using a band sometimes, or doing jumping pull-ups on a box, or using an easier band. I understand this might hurt your pride, your ego and your self-esteem like it did mine, but as long as I get the workout I need I see no need to care much if I beat my friends in an everyday training environment... Plus, I don’t have to worry about caring for ripped and bleeding hands. 

As Larsson points out, “[t]his “training grip” eliminates tons of friction on the top inside of your palm muscles and skin, which is what causes the ubiquitous blisters there.” Friction is further reduced if you keep your core tight during kipping pull-ups, keeping your movement compact.

For example, in this GymnasticsWOD video (which Tim posted on the CrossFit Palo Alto Facebook page yesterday), Carl Paoli doesn’t engage in the exaggerated lateral swing that many of us are used to doing. Notice the efficiency of movement; his legs aren’t kicking violently out front. He doesn't flop around. By keeping the kipping motion short and focused, there’s less of the skin-on-bar rubbing that might lead to shredded hands.

Lesson: Huge kips lead to torn hands.

Treatment

At a barbecue yesterday, I got to talking with Trish about her recent experiment with different ways of treating shredded hands. She’d ripped up her skin in a number of places during Memorial Day Murph, and decided to treat each tear slightly differently:

• With Rip No. 1, she used scissors to cut away the flap of skin. 
• With Rip No. 2, she tore the skin flap off by tugging on it away from the point at which the skin was still attached. 
• And with Rip No. 3, she just left the flap in place. 

All three spots were slathered with antibacterial ointment and bandaged. According to Trish, Rip No. 3 healed fastest. “It was like having a natural Band-Aid in place,” she said. Interestingly, Rip No. 1 -- the one subjected to the scissors -- was slowest to heal.

I’m now conducting a similar experiment. On my right hand, I’ve used scissors to snip off the flap of skin that tore away from my hand; on my left, I’ve left the skin in place. Of course, I washed both hands carefully (OUCH), Neosporin-ed the heck out of them, and kept ‘em bandaged and dry. I'll report back on the results in a few days.

But regardless, I know this much: It’s important to clean the wound and keep it well-covered with antibacterial ointment to prevent infection. No one wants a staph infection or necrotizing fasciitis.

I'm using Neosporin, but there are, of course, lots of other remedies that people swear by, including:

• Vitamin E
• Superglue
• Wet tea bags
• Dermabond skin sealant 

Am I missing any others?

Gloves, Grips & Tape 

I know what you’re thinking: It’s a pain in the ass to keep your hands from ripping, and treating them sounds less than fun, too -- so why not just slap on a pair of gloves?

The folks over at CrossFit Impulse point to two compelling reasons to train without gloves:

• “[U]nless you wear gloves throughout your daily life, at some point you will have to rely on the pure, unadulterated gripping power of your bare-skinned hands to perform work,” so “develop[] that capability into your own hands as much as possible.”

• “[A]nything between your hands and the object you are gripping reduces your proprioception -- your ability to know where the object is in space relative to your body.” 

Not everyone agrees with this assessment, of course. Some athletes fiercely defend the use of gloves, arguing that the prevention of injury trumps the benefits of going glove-free. And Reebok has developed CrossFit gloves (available in the CrossFit HQ store) that numerous athletes wore during Games. But then again, they were in competition -- and did as many as TEN workouts (many with high-rep bar movements) over the course of a single weekend. Their hands were trashed. So before you rush out to plunk down forty bucks for a pair of fancy new gloves to bring to your gym, ask yourself whether they’re warranted. If your hands aren't wrecked, you probably don't need gloves.

Similarly, grips and tape aren’t normally needed in CrossFit. If you’re a gymnast, grips will certainly allow you to train harder and longer, but if you’re just cranking out a quick metcon, you’re unlikely to need to ‘em on a regular basis.

However, when your hands are already torn or if you know the day’s WOD is likely to destroy your skin, pulling out the athletic tape may be just the thing to keep you from a world of hurt. Plus, a few strips of tape are unlikely to be as heavily (and unnecessarily) padded as a big pair of mittens.

Right now, my hands are ripped up, and I can't easily grip anything without covering the places where my skin has been torn away. So tomorrow morning, I’m going to grab a roll of athletic tape and cover the spots that need protection. I’ll also make a handy-dandy tape-grip for additional protection. If you love origami and want to get all fancy, check out these step-by-step instructions for making a super-slick grip out of athletic tape.

And if you just want to quickly throw on a makeshift tape grip before your WOD starts, you can always do this instead:

• Grab a roll of athletic tape (the 1.5-inch tape works great). 

• Tear off a strip that’s a few inches longer than your hand. 

• Split the strip lengthwise down the middle until you’re halfway down. 

• Stick the unsplit half of the tape on your palm (over the rip), with the split ends wrapping around either side of the finger above the rip. 

• Use additional tape as needed to secure the ends of the tape around your wrist and around your finger. 

• Go kick some butt.

Want more info on hand care? Check out CrossFit Virtuosity's four-part series on how to take care of your mitts.

Okay -- that's all I got. If you have other tips and tricks, throw 'em in the comments section -- given the current state of my hands, I'm certainly motivated to try them out.

Supergirl

Naomi Kutin is 9 years old and weighs 88 pounds. And earlier this month, at the New England Powerlifting Championship in Vermont, she set youth-class records for both the deadlift (193 pounds) and back squat (187 pounds -- enough to eclipse even the previous record of 180 pounds in the WOMEN'S Open division).



This is a girl who's still too short to get the barbell off the squat stand -- and yet she's already squatting more than double her bodyweight.



When I was nine years old, my greatest accomplishment was learning how to make fart noises with my hands.

[Source]

Everett On Weightlifting Shoes

I had planned to ramble on about the benefits of weightlifting shoes, but O-lifting guru Greg Everett recently discussed the topic on Robb Wolf’s podcast, and did so with more panache and conciseness than I ever could:

We get this a lot, honestly, with some of our fitness clients: “I don’t wanna wear weightlifting shoes! Oh, that’s cheating -- this and that -- and it’s not natural!”

Well, the barbell you’re holding right now isn’t natural either, so if you really want to [go with] the “natural” argument, you need to go swing around some trees and pick up some rocks. Otherwise, save it.

...This happened again really recently with one of our clients [who was] completely resistant to wearing weightlifting shoes. [He] didn’t want to hear it. Finally, Steve actually talked him into wearing weightlifting shoes one night. He did a set of squats, looked at Steve, and -- [we] didn’t even have to say anything -- was just like, “Okay. I get it. I’m not going to say another word.” And now he wears weightlifting shoes when he does the lifts.

More after the jump...

"You're Cleaning? You're Dating a Jerk?"

The Washington Post just posted a write-up about CrossFit's role in the resurgence of Olympic weightlifting -- a "total-body technique that's pretty much guaranteed to make you run faster, jump higher and get stronger."

Sadly, over the past few decades, "America's fitness industry has virtually abandoned [O-lifting] in favor of new equipment, fads and methods. 'It is almost a forgotten way to train. People just want to bounce around,' says Greg Haff, vice president of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and an assistant professor at West Virginia University School of Medicine." (Zumba, anyone?)

Why has chronic cardio and high-rep, low-resistance "weight training" eclipsed O-lifting as the exercise approach of choice? There are plenty of reasons to choose from:

• If you view exercise as a necessary evil, it's a hell of a lot easier to just hop on an elliptical trainer, crank up your iPod and start flipping through the latest issue of US Weekly on the machine's conveniently-mounted magazine tray. As Haff points out in the Post article, Olympic lifting is "a lot of work." And ironically, most gym-goers would prefer to stick with what's familiar and easy. (Like machines.)

• Some guys might gravitate towards it, but women tend to run for ze hills due to myths about how O-lifting'll break their backs, bulk them up and turn them into she-hulks like Nicole Bass.

• And it's not easy getting started; proper technique is critical and difficult to learn without coaching or instruction (or at least a good book or two).

• Last but not least, barbells and bumper plates aren't available at most gyms. (This, though, is kind of a chicken-and-egg problem: People don't ask for barbells and plates, so gyms don't stock 'em, which means people aren't exposed to O-lifting, and so they don't ask for barbells and plates. Thankfully, you can just buy your own.) 

 As a result, O-lifting's been dying a slow death in the U.S. Thankfully, CrossFit's come to the rescue:

To stage a comeback, weightlifting needed an army of advocates who not only didn't mind the challenge, but relished it. And it seems to have found that through CrossFit, a 15-year-old methodology for producing well-rounded athletes that's found huge success among law enforcement, the military and, these days, the general population... 

Every single one of [CrossFit's devotees] sweats the two "O lifts": the snatch (a single, continuous motion that requires lifting the barbell from the ground and forcing yourself under it so that you're standing with your arms locked in extension above you) and the clean and jerk (start by pulling the weight from the ground to your shoulders, then dip and drive the bar overhead, splitting your legs into a half lunge to get the power to extend your arms upward).

If you've never heard of the moves, you're like most of Allison Jetton's friends. The 28-year-old Arlington resident has had trouble explaining exactly what she has been doing during CrossFit classes and personal training sessions the past few months at Balance Gym in Thomas Circle: "People are like, 'You're cleaning? You're dating a jerk?' " But she has fallen for the feeling of raising a hefty barbell over her head -- and how it has made her clothes fit.

"Women are usually lined up on treadmills with a magazine aerobicizing themselves to oblivion," she says. "I tried that. I didn't find it effective."

 Sounds like the understatement of the year.

(Source: Washington Post)

Wednesday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats

Some experts -- like renowned strength coach Mike Boyle -- aren't fans of front squats, but I like 'em. Maybe it's because I'm still relatively new to O-lifting, but I've seen steady improvement over the past few months, and I'm gradually inching towards a 1.5X bodyweight front squat. (I do, however, need to be more mindful of my form; I've noticed that I tend to favor my right leg, especially when going heavy on squats.)

Metcon:

• "Grace" -- for time: 30 ground-to-overheads

Basically, you throw a bunch of weights onto a barbell -- then, by hook or by crook, you hoist it from the floor to an overhead position, with your arms locked out at the top. Most people accomplish this using a clean-and-jerk technique. Others clean the barbell up to their shoulders, and then push-press the bar up.

This guy finished in less than 90 seconds (which, by the way, is pretty darn good -- he's right there with top CrossFit Games competitors):



Me? I used just 95 pounds (instead of the men's RX'ed weight of 135) and it took me 4:40 to finish. Clearly, I have quite a bit of room for improvement.

Ouch.

(Source: Joel Havenridge / Telegraph)

Saturday's Workout

After a few days off from my Power to the People routine, I'm back at it:

• 2 sets of 5 deadlifts
• 2 sets of 5 side presses
• 2 sets of 5 weighted pull-ups
• 2 sets of 10 weighted push-ups

To that, I also added a few handstand push-ups, toes-to-bars and knees-to-elbows.

Later today, I'm going to catch up on the Mobility WOD stretches I haven't yet done. But after that, I'm just going to plant myself on the couch and read Greg Everett's book on O-lifting:

Wednesday's Workout

Waking up at 4:20 a.m. is a drag, but I need a good half-hour to clear the fog out of my head before heading out for my morning workout. I tend to get a little nervous before arriving at the CrossFit gym; I have no idea what metcon hell's been planned for the day. But usually, the anticipation of the workout is much worse than the reality. It's a crazy challenge, to be sure, but it's manageable. (Barely.)

Today, for the skills portion of the session, we continued working on front squats. I've hit a bit of a ceiling at 175 pounds, which is about 1.3x my bodyweight. (I'm currently about 135 pounds.) Every time I try to go heavier, I end up gassing out and tossing the barbell away while still down in the "hole" position of the squat. I suck right now, but I'm determined to work on my front squats at home (I've set up a squat stand, Olympic bar and bumpers in our increasingly crowded home gym) and thereby suck a little less in the future.

As for the aforementioned metcon hell, this morning's wasn't too bad. We did a half-"Nicole" -- AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) in ten minutes of:

• 200-meter run
• Max rep pull-ups

I managed 6 rounds, but my pull-up numbers left a lot to be desired:

14 / 8 / 6 / 8 / 7 / 9

I desperately need to learn how to properly kip.