You are hereMore on Chest to Bar
More on Chest to Bar
Journey showing us how it's done
Just to add on to my post from a couple of days ago announcing the new chest-to-bar pull-up standard beginning Sept 1, I wanted to point you all to a CrossFit Journal article on the pull-up that was written well over five years ago (published in April 2003).
What's interesting is that the C2B standard that was enforced at this year's Games wasn't so much the introduction of a new standard, but rather the return to the standard of old.
To wit, directly from said journal article on pull-ups:
Technically correct pull-ups:
• Go from full hang to chest pressing tightly to the bar
• Lead with the chest up and shoulders way back
• Are visually directed, that is, a sight line is chosen that is shortened as the body rises to the bar
• Synchronize respiration to the pull-up: inhale down, exhale up
• Are motivated by trying to drive the elbows down to the ground, not by trying to flex the arm!
And if that's not enough, here's another excerpt from the same article:
Pulling the chest to the bar is very hard but encourages fully “opening the chest†and pulling the shoulders back or “closing the back.†In the early stages of developing a pull-up it is acceptable to bring the Adam’s apple to the bar instead of the chest, but leading with the shoulders forward rather than back is a fault that needs to be fixed long before you are going to get to 30 pull-ups.
I encourage everyone to read the full article here, courtesy of CrossFit.com.
And one last Games-related piece of nostalgia...
There were four workouts done at the Games:
750m Hill Run
5 Rounds of 5 DL @ 275#/185# & 10 Burpees
21-15-9 Reps of 95#/65# Thrusters and Pull-Ups
30 Clean-and-Jerks @ 155#/100#
Post to comments the toughest of the four CF Games workouts and give your reason(s) why. You don't necessarily need to have done them at the Games. This is for anyone who's done at least a couple of the four workouts, regardless of locale.
All four of the workouts were a kick in the face. The Thruster/Pullups was the hardest for me. The fear/nervousness that I get before doing fran on a normal day was twice as bad during the games. Add that to the fact that I did it during the hottest part of the day and my legs being trashed from the run made for a very painful experience...in a good way.
The new C2B pull-up standard is a good move. Although I can only do a couple so far, it's definitely a more complete range of motion. The variation in ROM among people going for fast Fran times was getting pretty extreme, so this will level the field.
The C+J was the Games workout that looked hardest to me, and based on the results, had the most potential to kick the ass of even the strongest and fittest competitors. The deadlifts were heavy, but when you're tired, the effort and the mindset to get heavy weight overhead, as opposed to off the ground, is a serious challenge. The fact that it was a "heavy" version of a standard WOD (Grace) added a psychological burden. Once again, my total respect goes out to all the CFO folks that took on that challenge.
Great work today by Jacques on the L pull-ups, BTW.
In case anyone was interested in fuel2go for tomorrow, Lance is in San Diego and won't be home until tomorrow night.
The Run completely and utterly dominated my mind and body. As soon as we hit the hill, my heart rate went through the roof. After we completed the run, I couldn't catch my breath, my head felt like it was going to explode, and my legs felt like Ed Norton after his prison shower experience in American History X. I actually did not think that I was going to be able to do other two work outs, and I almost pulled-out of the CF Games at that point.
The Thruster / pull-up wk out was hard, but I wasn't good enough at the C2B pull-ups to get as tired as I normally do during Fran. I also thought about quitting the Games at this point because my performance was so piss-poor.
The Burpee / Deadlift workout was by far the easiest workout for me. I think that I could have gone even faster, but it didn't really matter by that point, since my other two performances were like Welboune's pecs before getting lipo and implants – saggy and no fun to look at.
Finally, the 30 rep 155# clean/jerk. My legs were completely trashed by this point. The limiting factor was definitely how tired my quads were. The metabolic part wasn't too bad, but my legs were like Terri Schiavo - they were present, but they weren’t of much use and the plug just needed to be pulled.
PLEASE tell me you're kidding about the lipo, Brandon! Is that for real?
Sierra,
It is fact. I stake Nabil's life on it.
If by "It is fact" you mean third or fourth-hand hearsay, then, yes, it is a fact.
Your honor, I object, hearsay.
Sustained...
"Terri Schiavo" reference and analogy, very impressive.
Brandon-
I honestly think you've gone too far this time. It's one thing when we make fun of one another, or even other athletes, but I think you comment is inappropriate, in bad taste, and just plain rude. To make fun of someone like that who is completely helpless, unable to move, in such poor health, and clearly can not take care of themselves is a cowardly move on your part. I mean really, John Welbourne deserves a little more compassion than that. Even though Terri Schiavo could have dominated him on the hill run as well as the burpees.
One thing I was curious about: would anyone have chosen a different order for the first three events then they did?
> would anyone have chosen a different order for the first three events then they did?
It would not have made a great deal of difference to me. Fran kicked my arse really hard and was the hardest workout of Day 1. Doing Fran first or last probably would not have drastically changed the outcome for me. Those pullups hurt. Each order of events conferred benefits and penalties.
I think the toughest of the workouts was the C&J - I had to scale it. After that came Fran, the deadlifts, and the run. The run was definitely the easiest, with the caveat that coming down the hill was technically challenging.
I just spoke with Lance. He asked me to cover the meal for him tomorrow. Actual menu is up to me. So, here it is:
1. Pasta Primevara without the veggies
2. Three bread choices (corn, wonder or olive)
3. Carrot Cake for dessert
4. 1 glass of Jacobs Creek Shiraz
Please place your orders. Only available as a 25 block serving.
Bon Appetit!
> I just spoke with Lance. He asked me to cover the meal for him tomorrow. Actual menu is up to me. So, here it is:
A good start, but that meal needs way more carbs to be metabolically correct. Good choice, leaving out the veggies, however. Those just kill any meal in which they appear.