When we talk about using our legs, we are trying to change the direction of the force created from the hips to a more vertical one rather than a horizontal one. The age-old understanding of the sequence of joint extension in the vertical jump and its correlation to the lifts should be revisited. We used to think that the joints extend in this order: hips, knees, and perhaps a bit of ankles, in order for us to create “triple extension” to create leg drive on the bar. However, based on some data that I have (which I had written into a paper but got rejected), the sequence found in the lifts was closer to the order of knees, hips and again perhaps a bit of ankles. But this speaks volumes because then we understand that trying to #useyourlegs actually means to drive from the knees into the hips which then transfers to the barbell to displace it. So this is always mentioned when I present my seminars and talk about the correct sequence of movement for the lifts.
3. How to Improve in Weightlifting.
Despite myself coming from a weightlifting background, I have done most of my work within the Crossfit environment. Most of the boxes I have visited were also Crossfit facilities. This opened us up to trying to cater specific weightlifting knowledge to match up with the demands of the Crossfit athlete. The constant struggle with such an environment is the lack of focus on getting better at the lifts without putting in enough time for it. Weightlifters get better at weightlifting because they train for the sport and ensure that the movement skills are practiced consistently. If you want to get better at weightlifting movements, you need to have that same consistency.
Most of the seminars I have presented are not only for coaches to develop their coaching skills but I have also worked with their members whom consisted of mostly recreational Crossfitters. So my efforts were directed towards pointing out to them that the stuff we taught them was only the start to helping them improve. Time and effort needed to be set aside to practice the lifts on a constant basis to allow them to get better at weightlifting and subsequently Crossfit. This highlighted to me the need that if you are coming from an environment where weightlifting is not a main focus but still a priority, it is critical to ensure that good movement patterns are developed first to give a good foundation of movement. As much as most of the people at TG Strength are previous Crossfitters whom have converted to weightlifting, my aim in my seminars was to show that focusing on the correct points in your lfits a few hours per week practicing the lifts will definitely help!
Of course there were many more things that I learned but these were the common few that struck out as a pattern for me. Till this day, I have managed to share some biomechanical concepts with everyone I have met and the content was thankfully interesting enough for everyone! With that, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the facilities that have hosted my seminar thus far and everyone else who attended the seminars.
