Base Camp, 8/27/2016

Focus 1: KB Windmill
Focus 2: Overhead Squats
Workout: Mtn Climbers, Sit-Ups, DB/KB OHS

Now this is a delightful pairing: KB Windmills and Overhead Squats, pairing all the essential elements of shoulder stability with full body mobility. If you ever wanted to diagnose your biggest mobility faults and movement patterns, this pair of exercises will give you the answers you seek. Class will start with a primer on the KB Windmill, a great movement in it’s own right, but an excellent warm-up before class moves on to Overhead Squats.

We will split the class between the two movements, devoting time to the following points for each:

• Practical review of set-up and execution for the Kettlebell Windmill (without weight, then with light weight, inc. Dumbbells and Kettlebells);
• Practical review of set-up and execution for the overhead squat (including lifts with an empty bar and with added weight);
• Explanation of common coaching cues;
• Determining how much weight to use during class (and how to estimate a 1 Rep Max); and,
• Scaling and substitution options for the Base Camp workout of the week, including how and when to choose a scaling/sub option

Usually this is where we provide a link to help refresh your memory as to the movements to be covered. And we’ll still do that. But first, a little food for thought from CrossFit’s founder, Coach Greg Glassman, via the CrossFit Journal:

The overhead squat is the ultimate core exercise, the heart of the snatch, and peerless in developing effective athletic movement. This functional gem trains for efficient transfer of energy from large to small body parts – the essence of sport movement. For this reason it is an indispensable tool for developing speed and power. The overhead squat also demands and develops functional flexibility, and similarly develops the squat by amplifying and cruelly punishing faults in squat posture, movement, and stability.

That’s about the truth of it. For a quick refresher of the OHS before class, check out the following descriptions and demo videos from Catalyst Athletics:

• Overhead Squat

Also, as follow up to this week’s base camp class (and others), we suggest using the following online “calculator” to help set a One Rep Max for the above lifts:

• EXRX One Rep Max Calculator (includes percentages and theoretical maxes)