Author: Coach Jeremy
We recently hosted an Olympic Lifting Seminar presented by Coach Tim Swords (http://teamhoustonweightlifting.com/). The underlying theme throughout the 3 hour class was posture. Coach Swords kept coming back to this idea and would joke about how many times he said the word posture.
As CrossFit athletes, it is very easy for all of us to look at the clock and sacrifice good form in the pursuit of a few more reps. Maintaining a strong core with good posture will help improve your CrossFit experience as well as protect you from injury. When we talk about posture, what exactly do we mean?
Starting from the top, here is what we are looking for:
Head: Neutral, neither forward nor backward
Spine: Normal curve
Shoulders: Level, not elevated or depressed
Hip Joints: Neutral, neither fixed or extended
Feet: Parallel
Ultimately, we should be actively pursuing the best posture we can achieve all the time. I like to think of it as a self assessment starting at the top and moving down to the floor. Is my head leaning forward? What about my shoulders? Am I sitting up or slouching in my chair either at home watching tv or working at the office? What about my hips and my feet? Constantly assess yourself and strive for ideal posture throughout the day. Adjust the seat in your car so you can hold a better position. Get up and walk around at least once an hour in order to reset your awareness and work out some kinks.
It takes time to develop bad habits with our posture and it takes just as much if not more time to correct it. There are many resources available online through the CrossFit Journal and many other reputable sources. We provide different tools in the form of foam rollers, lacrosse balls, and bands to help improve body positioning. Speak up and ask questions from your coaches, that is why we are here.
Make sure and spend a little time outside the box to focus on our posture throughout the day. I promise it will help you produce results during your future WODs.