AK CrossFit's Blog and WOD

7 Ways To Build Unshakable Confidence In Squats

jojoross — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:00:43 +0000

Jun 1st, 2011 by Mehdi |

I have a confession.

It’s been 12 years since my mentor showed me how to Squat, and after having Squatted tens of thousands of reps, I still experience fear when Squatting.

Sometimes it’s fear of missing a Squat PR, other times it’s fear of injuring myselfSquatting, half the times I’m just terrified of the pain that’s going to follow.

If this sounds familiar: good news – there’s nothing wrong with you, quite the opposite, you’ll have a hard time finding a successful Squatter, no matter how much he Squats, who never, EVER, experiences fear when Squatting.

But there are strategies you can use to overcome your fear of Squats and build unshakable confidence in the Squat. Here are 7 powerful tips…

1. Squat Inside The Power Rack. The fastest method to beat the fear of failure and of injury is to do Squats inside the Power Rack because the safety pins will catch the bar if you get stuck in the hole. This will boost your confidence under the bar since you KNOW that if you fail the rep, you’ll be 100% safe.

No Power Rack? Smith machine Squats are dumb because machines balance the weight for you and forces you into fixed, unnatural movements that can get you injured. Switch gym or invest in a home gym – for the price of a 12 month gym membership, you can get a Power Rack with free shipping from Amazon. Lack space for a Power Rack? Get Squat Stands + saw horses to catch the bar.

Keep Reading . . .

Team WOD, 7/24/2010

akcrossfit — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:00:41 +0000

200 Meter Run
200 Burpees
200 Meter Run
200 Wall Balls (20#/12#)
200 Meter Run
200 Pull-Ups
200 Meter Run
200 Double Unders
Teams of 4. Team must run together. Only 2 athletes can work at a time. You can’t move on until each exercise is completed.

Johnson, 7/23/2010

akcrossfit — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:00:27 +0000

1st Lt. Michael E. Johnson, 25, of the U.S. Marine Corps 7th Communications Battalion, 3rd Marine Headquarters Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, headquartered in Okinawa, Japan, died September 8, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Kunar province, Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife Durinda Johnson.

AMRAP 20 minutes:

9 Deadlift (245/165)
8 Muscle-ups (substitute for 1 muscle up is 1 ring row and 1 jumping ring dip)
9 Squat clean (155/105)

Rob Orlando on today’s WOD – video [wmv] [mov]

Push Jerk, 7/22/2010

akcrossfit — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 23:00:40 +0000

In 20 minutes:

Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5 reps (80% of your max)

AMRAP 10
5 Push jerk (45/30)
7 Box jumps (30/24)

Dead Man Walking, 7/21/2010

akcrossfit — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:00:02 +0000

Walking lunge 100 ft.
21 Pull-ups
21 Sit-ups
Walking lunge 100 ft.
18 Pull-ups and 18 situps
Walking lunge 100 ft.
15 Pull-ups and 15 situps
Walking lunge 100 ft.
12 Pull-ups and 12 situps
Walking lunge 100 ft.
9 Pull-ups and 9 situps
Walking Lunge 100 ft.
6 Pull-ups and 6 situps

WOD Demo with Chris Spealler and Eric O’Connor – video [wmv] [mov]

Overhead Squat, 7/20/2010

akcrossfit — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:00:40 +0000

In 20 minutes:

Overhead Squat 5-5-5-5-5 reps (80% of your max)
10 Minute AMRAP:
5 Overhead Squat (55% of heavy single)
10 Pull Ups
15 Push Ups

Grilled salmon, asparagus and potatoes by Martha Burton – video [wmv] [mov] and recipe [pdf]

Luce, 7/19/2010

akcrossfit — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:00:44 +0000

Captain Ronald G. Luce, 27, of the U.S. Army Company C, 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group, headquartered at Jackson, Miss., died August 2, 2009 in Qole Gerdsar, Afghanistan, after his vehicle was struck by a command wire improvised explosive device. He is survived by by his wife Kendahl Shoemaker and 5 year old daughter Carrie, and parents Ronald and Katherine Luce.

3 Rounds for Time:

800 Meter Run
10 Muscle-ups (substitute for 1 muscle up is 1 ring row and 1 jumping ring dip)
100 Squats

Ladies, Have You Met…

akcrossfit — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 23:00:32 +0000

There’s 2 new additions to the AKCF Box….women’s bars!

Check them out the next time you are in. The are not as wide as the men’s bars so they are easier to grip for women who have smaller hands.

Get ready to fall in love!

Trevor, 7/17/2010

akcrossfit — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 23:00:09 +0000

Completed in teams of 4 with only 2 athletes working at a time. Exercises are completed in order and the athletes are not allowed to move to the next station until all reps were complete.

300 Pullups
400 Pushups
500 Situps
600 Squats

The Affiliate competition at the Southeast Regional by CrossFit Again Faster – video [wmv] [mov]

Mama Fu Chow, 7/16/2010

akcrossfit — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 23:00:27 +0000

5 points to whoever can guess this AK CrossFit student.

Five rounds for time of:

Row 500 meters
Power clean, 12 reps (135/95)
Thruster, 15 reps (95/65)

“Arm Wrestling 101: Rising Strength Part 3” with Devon Larratt,CrossFit Journal preview video [wmv] [mov]