CrossFit Coach Answers CrossFit Questions From Twitter

Craig Edwards.

Still trying to figure out what the point of a burpee is.

Aren't we all?

Hi, I'm Jamie Hagiya.

I'm a CrossFit gym owner and coach,

and I'll be answering your questions from Twitter.

This is CrossFit Support.

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Kimia Hamidi.

Can you give any pointers to ring muscle ups

and how to string them together?

Any progression pointers would be great.

Ring muscle ups are one of the most difficult movements.

It's one of the ones that people come in

and they're like, I wanna do that one day.

Basically, it's taking your body,

there's a set of rings that hang,

and coming all the way up to the top

and doing a dip at the top,

and that's gonna be a full ring muscle up.

Getting one by itself is a huge achievement.

Being able to string them together

takes it to the next level.

Some of the things that you can think about

when you're trying to string them together,

is when you get to the top,

instead of sitting in an L-sit

or pushing yourself far away from the rings,

you wanna try to stay nice and tight in a hollow.

And a hollow is gonna be like a nice bowl shape like this.

So, sitting down like that

will help you get back into our arch,

which is the transitional piece we need

to go into your second one, third one, fourth one.

Craig Edwards.

Still trying to figure out what the point of a burpee is.

Aren't we all?

Burpees have become a least favorite movement

among the population.

A burpee is basically taking your body

from a standing position,

coming down to the ground

and then coming back up to a full standing position.

The point of it, because it is functional,

is if you were being chased and had to duck down real quick,

you get down, get back up and run up as fast as you can.

We do a lot of them,

so I see why people kind of have

this love/hate relationship with them.

Joe Sabin.

He's an Esquire, a lawyer.

Just one question for CrossFit.

What was wrong with the normal pull-up?

Why always chest to bar?

Great question, Joe.

So, in CrossFit,

we do have different variations of pull-ups.

There is your strict pull-up,

where you're going to be hanging from a bar,

engage your lats

and then pull strict.

The next one is going to be a kipping movement,

a kipping pull-up,

where you are going to get an arch and a hollow

and then pull your chin over the bar,

so it will be a little bit of an assistance of a kip.

And then the very last one is called a butterfly pull-up.

And that's gonna be a more dynamic pull on the bar,

a little bit more movement.

I mean, they're gonna be a lot faster

and more efficient for pull-ups in a workout.

Meg says, CrossFit question,

what do I need to drink this summer

when it's blazing hot in the gym,

is water enough or do I need more?

Water, we always wanna hydrate,

especially when you're in the heat,

and you need to stay hydrated during your workouts.

50 Shades of Gary.

CrossFit question,

do Oly shoes really make a difference in your lifting?

Are they worth the expense or investment?

CrossFitters reply.

So, Olympic lifting and CrossFit

are gonna be two completely different sports.

However, in CrossFit, we do use Olympic lifting

in our movements and in our workouts.

So, Olympic lifting is going to be your clean and jerk,

and then your snatch.

If we're going for high volume,

lots of repetitions at a high percentage of Olympic lifting,

Oly shoes are gonna be great for you.

It is gonna be a lifted heel,

so it's gonna be more stable for you to squat in

and catch in your position.

So, I would say they are very beneficial

if you guys are lifting heavy weights in CrossFit.

Andrea has a CrossFit question.

Why do a lot of CrossFitters wear knee-high socks?

Are they compression socks?

Is it just because?

You're curious to know.

Sometimes for rope climbing,

so you don't mess up your shins, or box jumps,

or when you're doing lifting movements,

sometimes it'll scrape your shins.

Sometimes it just looks cool.

Robyn, CrossFit question.

My hamstrings are super tight,

have been for a few days now.

What's the best stretch to help with this?

Thanks.

Some of the best stretches for your hamstring

are going to be,

you can put your foot up on a raised box

or plates, whatever we have.

So, you get that stretch in your hamstring there.

This can also be performed in a doorway

or on a pull-up rig,

where you're gonna raise your foot up on that,

leave your other leg straight on the ground

and you'll feel a stretch that way.

One other one that I like to do as well

is when you put a band around your leg.

You're gonna lay back on the ground

and then pull some tension on your hamstring

to where you feel comfortable,

where you're not gonna injure yourself further.

Sarah Ray, CrossFit question.

Tore my hand open doing pull-ups.

Trim off skin flap or leave it?

Ick.

Ick is right.

When you do high volume gymnastics,

sometimes a whole flap of your skin comes off.

I personally like to cut that off.

It's gonna hurt like heck

when you wash your hands with soap and water.

Now, once you do that,

make sure you're taking care of it.

A second skin or things like that

with tape that you can put over it

to kind of keep you from tearing even further,

but it will hurt.

And that is what they call kind of like,

welcome to CrossFit.

Sensai of Death.

Anybody with tire flipping experience,

what is the recommended start weight of a tire to flip?

Tire flips are gonna be full body,

and they're very difficult and nasty,

if the tires are dirty.

When you actually heave that up,

it's gonna be a lot of your leg drive,

your core and trunk stability, your glutes.

So, definitely in a tire flip

you wanna have the right technique of getting underneath it.

Make sure you set your core

and your breaths are nice and tight.

And then you're gonna drive that up with our legs,

big chest up instead of a rounded back.

Once you get it here,

you're gonna flip it over here and push it over.

So, recommended weight would be something light

where your technique is on point

and then you can start building to the heavy.

Kazza.

CrossFit in an hour,

should I eat before or wait til after?

I'm hungry.

I'm always hungry as well.

I usually start out my sessions

with the strength portion in the beginning,

and then get into the conditioning piece.

Some people can eat 30 minutes before,

some people need to eat three hours before,

so it doesn't come back up.

Charis B.

Why are overhead squats hurting my knees?

CrossFit question.

Overhead squats are gonna be

one of the most difficult movements that we do

because it requires a lot of mobility.

So, an overhead squat is taking a barbell

or any piece of equipment, a dumbbell, a kettlebell,

holding it above our head

in a position that allows us to squat.

Everyone is gonna have a different range of motion.

Some people are hyper flexible

where they can go all the way back.

Some people get stuck here.

A drill is coming down onto a box

and putting your arms above it,

pushing your head down,

so you'll feel a stretch that way,

or a child's pose, that'll kind of open up everything.

Starting out super light.

You can start out with a PVC pipe,

just to kind of drill the positions.

Make sure you go down to only where it's comfortable

and til you're not feeling any pain.

Will H.

How do CrossFit people create the workouts?

CrossFit does have their staple workouts.

So, Fran, everyone,

this is the dreaded Fran.

It's 21 thrusters with a barbell.

It's a squat into an overhead press, 21 of those.

21 pull-ups.

15 thrusters, 15 pull-ups, nine thrusters, nine pull-ups,

leaves people on the floor breathing, seeing stars.

There's Annie, there's Kelly, there's Helen.

So, there's all different types of girl workouts.

And then we also have hero workouts,

those are for the fallen soldiers.

Those are gonna be long, very hard.

They are dedicated to someone

who gave their life for our country.

The biggest one is called, Murph.

We usually do it on Memorial Day.

And so, that is going to be a one mile run,

100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats,

and a mile run in a weighted vest.

So, that's one of our staple hero workouts.

Melanin Monroe.

Is CrossFit better than traditional lifting?

Does it bring faster results?

I wouldn't say one is technically better than the other.

It all depends on what you're looking for.

It will get you great results

because mixing up your cardio with your weightlifting

is gonna be very difficult and intense.

I love the competition setting.

And the fun part of being here

is that it's for anyone of any fitness level

to come in and get in shape.

Sandra Gutierrez says,

why is CrossFit so expensive?

With the crying emoji.

It is a little more pricey

than some of the other gyms you'll come across.

I think a big component of that is

we do spend time working on so many different movements,

and making sure that each person is prepared,

knows technique and is moving correctly.

And so, that's why maybe you're paying a little bit more

than you would get at a gym where you have to go in

and think of the workout yourself.

Joseph Cohen.

Question for CrossFitters

and owners of CrossFit boxes.

How much do you work on your wrist strength?

It's a missing link for many.

In the very beginning,

it is uncomfortable.

You might be doing movements

that you're not really used to in your wrists

and you can have a lot of pain

or little things that bother you.

So, wrist wraps are gonna be,

there's all different kinds.

There's some are Velcro, some are like a tie,

but they are gonna help you out

because we do do a lot of wrist intensive movements.

So, it'll just give you a little bit more support,

kind of like a lifting belt gives you support

when you're squatting.

So, that's kind of the same thing, but just for our wrist.

Jenni has a question for CrossFit enthusiasts.

Do I need to be in shape already

for my first visit in the box?

That is what you call it, right?

You do not need to be in shape

when you come to your very first visit.

That is our job.

We work with people of all different levels.

So, from beginners, intermediate and advanced,

you all will be in the same setting,

but we have scales and modifications for everyone,

so come as you are.

All right.

Ghostly Father Smith.

Question.

To what extent should one squat/bend at the knee

for a kettlebell swing?

I was taught more hip bend than squat,

but her movement is more half and half.

Any rule of thumb?

In a kettlebell swing,

it is more of a hinge and then a squat.

So, our kettlebell swings are gonna be explosive

coming from your hips.

They are gonna train full body.

So, unlock your knees, hinge your hips back.

There is no rule of thumb for specific angles

or how much of a knee bend you should have.

You will have a slight flexion,

but you're focusing more on that hip bend

than a knee squat.

Michelle, CrossFit Games.

What is the ultimate goal

of someone who is competing in the CrossFit Games?

People's answers will vary.

There is a cash prize.

You are the fittest man or woman on earth.

For people like me,

my goal was to make it,

it was a huge achievement just to get

into the top 40 women in the entire world.

Of course, while I gave it my best effort while I was there,

was I trying to win first place?

Yeah, but I was happy just to be there

and be competing amongst all these amazing men and women.

And that's it.

These were some great questions.

Hope to see you guys in the box.

Till next time.

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