October 10th, 2012

Universal Principles of Movement Part 2: Core to Extremity

Annie shows us here what is called triple extension for the clean. This is the “jump and shrug” we always practice in our clean progressions. This jump and shrug with straight arms is a great example of a “core-to-extremity” movement. The core (primarily the glutes, hams and quads doing the work and the abs and back muscles stabilizing the spine to transfer the work being done) must do all of it’s required work before the weaker muscles (of the arms) begin to bend. If Annie were to be in this same aggressive jumping position with her arms bent she would be losing some of the force production of the jump because her bent arms would be absorbing some of the power. As we see it here all of the power put into the ground by her jump is going straight through her spine and down her arms directly to the bar. This “core-to-extremity” concept is crucial to the success of your olympic lifts including the clean, snatch, push press, push jerk and split jerk. It is also a key concept in movements such as the wall ball shot and thruster. If the extremities begin work before the core you are moving in a less than efficient manner. This makes things harder. CrossFit is already hard. Lets work to make it easier! Bonus points for the first person who can name two other movements in which adhering to this universal principle of movement is crucial for maximum efficiency.

For time:
100 Burpee pull-ups

Ideally, the pull-up bar is one foot above your reach.

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