crossfit

Goals for 2016

Elli Hachmann Leave a comment

I don’t make new years resolutions. They don’t make sense to me. Anything can be done at any time. If you need to wait until monday or Jan 1st then you’re just making too many excuses.
I don’t ever make new year resolutions but last year I made a wish list regarding my athletic development: 90kg Clean and Jerk, 70kg Snatch, get better at double unders and muscle ups. Everything came true except for the 70kg snatch. But hey, the year is not over YET! :)

Why am I telling you this? Because I know it works. Putting the things you want black on white is so much more powerful than living by “how things go” or even worse: complaining about xyz. Put it on paper, make a plan and then execute. Be as specific as possible. Writing down “I want to be better at CrossFit” is not a specific goal. What exactly do you want to get better at? How are you going to get better at it?


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Do you suck at life?

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Routine is the enemy. We say that a lot in CrossFit. Yet, most of us deliberately avoid doing anything other than CrossFit.
Are you one of those people who won’t go for a jog or to a yoga class with your friends because A) you actually don’t have friends outside of CrossFit anymore or B) you’re scared it will kill all your gains? Do you avoid other activities because you are on “a special program”?

Really?! Look, most of us are not going to the CrossFit Games so PLEASE live your life. And even if you are: if you aren’t playing other sports and trying out new things you’re not doing “what Rich is doing”. Get it?

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Mental Approach to (CrossFit) Endurance Workouts

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If you are like me then you are like most athletes: you start off a workout underestimating your actual exertion and then break down at the last 1/3 of the workout. That confidence of being able to hold your pace increasingly wears off with every second and every rep going by. And towards the end you probably don’t even care about your time that much anymore… as long as you don’t have to DIE to finish.

Everything appeared so “easy” on the whiteboard, like: “6 x 400m with 2:1 rest run can’t be THAT hard?!” Well, maybe not if you half ass the running. But then why are you running when you aren’t trying to hit that sticking point which will lead to actual adaptation?

That’s like lifting weights that aren’t heavy enough to make you stronger. Personally, I am fed up with always losing out on endurance workouts because I continuously break down at that “sticking point”.

And so I’ve decided to treat my attitude and approach to endurance with as much discipline and consistency as I would treat my weightlifting routine. CrossFit & Weightlifting will continue to be my main strength & conditioning program 3-4 times per week. Additionally to that I will perform 2 aerobic (endurance) based workouts per week with 1-2 rest days per week for the next few months. If you would like to know more about my athletic development and receive tips or inspiration, follow me on my Instagram and/or Facebook page!

– Elli

Sources:

Metron.io, NC Endurance, #aerobiccapacity
My Endurance Coach: Chris Hinshaw

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Elli Hachmann Pullup

Are you on an unnecessary plateau?

Elli Hachmann Leave a comment

Remember when you started with fitness and any minimum effort was rewarded with maximum gains (#mg)?
And have you noticed that your progress has come to a halt lately?

Like many, you might be sabotaging your own progress by making small mistakes that have a big impact on your results without you even noticing it.

Elli Hachmann Pullup
Elli Hachmann Pullup – Photo: Klaus Heinzler
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Importance of implementing Mobility into your Workout Routine

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More and more people at CrossFit Gyms are understanding the importance of implementing mobility into their daily workout routine.

But many still don’t exactly know when to do mobility, for how long and what type of style is appropriate before and after workouts or on rest days

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Every CrossFitter should do biceps curls!

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So far, you needed a secret membership at a Globogym to feel free to do biceps curls.
God forbid you did them at a CrossFit Affiliate!!!
But let me tell you, those days are over. You no longer have to hide!

Most CrossFitters would argue that a biceps curl is worthless because it isn’t functional.
That is also the reason why many of them have shoulder problems! (more…)

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STOP cheating on your Workout!

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I would say that atleast 90% of people cheat on their first couple CrossFit workouts.

Sometimes they don’t want to feel exposed as “unfit”, sometimes they’re afraid to die (fair enough) and most of the time they just don’t understand how to perform the workout/movement properly yet.

Everything for that one rep....really?
Everything for that one rep….really?

However, after a few weeks or months, people get the hang of it. They also comprehend that if they want to get fit, they can’t half ass their workout. Not for any reason other than an injury or lack of mobility.

They are aware of the fact that they are doing this for themselves and nobody else.

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How to prevent shoulder injury in CrossFit

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A lot of CrossFitters have shoulder problems. The reason for this is usually a prior imbalance (due to activities of daily life) coupled with poor form in workouts and neglect of substitutional isolated exercises.

Even top athletes like Kristan Clever are not safe from shoulder injuries
Even top athletes like Kristan Clever are not safe from shoulder injuries

Some may argue, that isolated training exercises aren’t “CrossFit”, but neither is Yoga. We still do it, because it helps us stay flexible for CrossFit. Isolated movements can help us train weak muscle groups, that can then contribute to the functional movement.

While an imbalance in the shoulder position won’t necessarily bother a person that doesn’t work out, it will surely show up once some load is added in form of training over a period of time.

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snatch

2 Key Exercises To Improve Your Snatch Performance

Elli Hachmann 1 Comment

When you first started CrossFit or weighlifting, you were getting stronger almost every day.

This stagnates tremendously after training for a few years. Bummer! Sometimes it takes months and months just to put another pound on the bar. It can be so frustrating!

Suprfit-Athlete Maurice during his snatching routine
Suprfit-Athlete Maurice during his snatching routine

You may also have noticed, that snatching more often hasn’t really helped you either.

But why is that?

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