RVC will be closed Saturday May 25th, Sunday May 26th, and Monday May 27th in observance of Memorial Day. However, if you're itching for a casual WOD on Monday, rumor has it that a guy named Murph will be hanging out at RVC about 9ish for a special Hero WOD. He says to remember your running shoes!!!

Hello RVC’rs! Remember way back when I posted my first blog about doing the exercises you hate in order to be a better crossfitter, athlete, and human being? I wrote about the woes of double-unders and gave you a few tips on how to master the art of skipping rope? Remember? Well here is another such installment: Today’s post is all about RING DIPS!

Ring dips. Why are they so hard and why do we do them? First, ring dips are hard because the rings are extremely unstable and we have to utilize numerous stabilizer muscles in our core and shoulders to perform them properly. The cool thing is that ring dips can go a long way in building core strength and preventing injury. That’s why we do them!

So, here are the requirements for all dips: the shoulder must dip below the top of the elbow at the bottom of the dip (elbows should be at least at a 90 degree angle); elbows must be fully extended at the top of each dip with rings pulled in close.

Here are a few tips from Crossfit OneWorld to master the rings:

• Work on your ring support every chance you get - the better your support, the easier it will be to get a ring dip
• Keep the rings close to your body throughout the movement
• Push your chest forward and elbows back as you lower into the dip

But what if I can’t do ring dips?

If you don't have rings, or do not feel comfortable with them yet, bench dips or paralette dips are a great place to start. Bench or paralette dips provide a stable platform while you are required to push less weight than a full dip. You can bend your knees at a 90 degree angle to use your legs for additional assistance, keep your legs straight, or place your feet on a box for more of a challenge. Once you can start pounding out dips with your feet on a box, you are ready for bar dips! Get to knocking out bar dips, and we are ready to play on the rings!

To get yourself on the rings even faster, do some accessory work that will increase tricep strength. Hit whatever dip movement you are capable of doing three days a week. Dips of all kinds build great upper body strength.  Personally, I found that regular ring dip work helped improve my midline stability.  You should also notice your overhead presses improve with regular dip work.  Go get it! 

I spent many of my formative years growing up in the south on an 80-acre farm in the back woods of Tennessee. Most of the kids I grew up with and went to school with as early as elementary school drank soda with their lunch, after school snacks and dinner. Unlike in my house where a Coke was a very special treat, in my friends’ houses it was the beverage of choice for adults and children alike. In my house the options were water or watered down juice if I was lucky. Even through all my years playing soccer, water was not the hydration liquid at half time, but Gatorade seemed like the only option. I went back to visit some friends last spring and even my best friend who now has two kids of her own, drank soda first thing in the morning. I asked her one morning as I was making my coffee and chugging a tall glass of water as I waited for the coffee to brew, “Hey, do you ever drink water?” her response floored me. “I don’t like the way it tastes,” she said. “I never have”. Wow, I thought to myself. I thought little of it for the rest of the day but noticed as we were out and about that I saw no one drinking water. Having worked for a nutritionist for the past decade, I didn’t need to wonder what the impact was on the bodies of the people I grew up with. I, gratefully and thanks to my mom, love the “taste” of water. I crave it all day, keep a big glass next to my bed that I repeatedly sip from throughout the night and know that if I want to continue drinking wine like I do, that I need it to lessen the effects of the sometimes inevitable hangover the next day.

            Obesity is an increasing problem in America. Much to do with the food and quality of food that people eat, but that is a whole other blog, isn’t it. Water makes up 70-75% of our body’s weight. Women are well aware of the “water weight” debate when trying to fit into too-tight designer jeans, but what about the benefits of water as an athlete? Just as protein is a hugely important part of gaining muscle and slaying fat, water is the vehicle that delivers nutrients through the blood stream, it acts as a lubricant for our joints (which lets remember how important these little guys are for working out without hurting ourselves), it helps muscles to contract so that they can build, it regulates our body temperature and reduces muscle cramping. These are the benefits we can’t see, but we know are there. If those aren’t enough there are, of course, the many cosmetic benefits like reducing the signs of aging, skin health and glow and skin elasticity. Why do CrossFit and get ripped if your skin is dry, dull and sad looking, right?

            We all know that water is a hugely important part of exercise and health but do we, as athletes really know how much water we should be drinking before, during and after our workouts? Here is the breakdown:

• Drink 17-20 ounces of water 2-3 hours before you start exercising.
• Drink 8 ounces of water 20-30 minutes before you start exercising.
• Drink 7-10 ounces of water every 10-20 minutes WHILE exercising.
• Drink 8 ounces of water no more than 30 minutes after exercising.

Wow… That is a lot of water! I know that mid-WOD while the clock is ticking and we are fighting for that last rep, it’s tough to take a break and take a chug of water, but it may help you finish stronger, faster and more effectively.

Best bet is to get a water container that is marked in ounces. Measure that glorious H2O and get drinkin’! The benefits are proven and I think you’ll thank me later. You’re welcome in advance.

Yours in hydration, fitness and health,

Coach Nora

I love squats. I really do.  Squats + me = love.  Yes. In fact, many of you may only know me as that girl that is always in the corner doing back squats. Prior to CrossFit, this was not the case. And if you did see me “squatting” before I found RVC, you would have seen me squatting to parallel…at the most! Oh! How silly I was! How uninformed! How…well, wrong.

If you aren’t completely new to the fitness world, then you have probably heard the two sides of the eternal squat debate:

1. 1.Squatting is bad for you. It hurts your knees and back. Don’t squat, and if you do, never break parallel.
2. 2.Squat. Squat more…yeah, squat again. And make sure it’s below parallel.

Guess which side I’m on?! Look, I totally understand, but if you are on #1’s team, then you’ve obviously been fed some erroneous information from some hopefully well-intentioned people. Let’s take a look at some of the myths and facts.

Myth:  Half squats help protect your knees.

Fact: When you stop a squat before breaking parallel, you are actually forcing your knees to absorb the movement midway through. Consequently, if you do not squat deep, then your knees end up in a weakened state.

Myth: Deep squats are bad for your knees.

Fact: Instead of halting the movement halfway, a squat to full depth allows the movement to reach its natural finishing point. This means that the knees end up being assisted out of the bottom by the hamstrings and glutes. Deep squats strengthen your hamstrings, glutes, and every other muscle. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me!

Myth: Deep squats are a surefire way to hurt your back.

Fact: The goal in any squat is to maintain a neutral spine. If you are performing the squat correctly, then your back should be protected. As with every movement, proper technique is what saves us from injury.

Don’t believe me? The National Strength and Conditioning Association released a statement about this very matter. [This can be found on the NSCA’s website: http://www.nsca-lift.org/Home/ ]. Here are the 9 points that they made:

1. 1.Squats, when performed correctly and with appropriate supervision, are not only safe, but may be a significant deterrent to knee injuries.
2. 2.The squat exercise can be an important component of a training program to improve the athlete’s ability to forcefully extend the knees and hips, and can considerably enhance performance in many sports.
3. 3.Excessive training, overuse injuries and fatigue-related problems do occur with squats. The likelihood of such injuries and problems is substantially diminished by adherence to established principles of exercise program design.
4. 4.The squat exercise is not detrimental to knee joint stability when performed correctly.
5. 5.Weight training, including the squat exercise, strengthens connective tissue, including muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons.
6. 6.Proper form depends on the style of the squat and the muscles to be conditioned. Bouncing in the bottom positing of a squat to help initiate accent increases the mechanical loads on the knee joint and is therefore contraindicated.
7. 7.While squatting results in high forces on the back, injury potential is low with appropriate technique and supervision.
8. 8.Conflicting reports exist as to the type, frequency and severity of weight-training injuries. Some reports of high injury rate may be based on biased samples. Others have attributed injuries to weight training, including the squat, which could have been caused by other factors.
9. 9.Injuries attributed to the squat may result not from the exercise itself, but from improper technique, pre-existing structural abnormalities, other physical activities, fatigue or excessive training.

And, of course, the caveat: Some people have previous injuries or other reasons that they are unable to perform a deep squat. This is not an attack on you! Do the best you can with what you’ve got. You’re still a rockstar!

HOWEVER, if you are just scared to do deep squats or you just think that you can’t, then let’s reconsider. In fact, I have to give a big shout-out to Ian for his recent deep squat success. After months of me telling him (okay, fine, maybe I yelled and taunted him a bit, but it was all from a place of CrossFit love) to get his *ss to the grass, he called me over during a back squat session, and HE WAS CRUSHING IT! Deep squatting like it was no big deal! (SO indescribably proud of you, dude!!!) So yes, it is definitely possible for some of you that aren’t quite there yet. Let’s start working on that mobilization and flexibility, and you’ll be there in no time!

#squatheavyeveryday. Meh, scratch that. #squatheavyANDDEEPeveryday

XO,

Coach Laura G. (aka Glitter)