WODdoc Episode 176 Project365: Sit-up Recovery In A Santa Hat

Merry Christmas everyone.  I hope you were able to get some good family time in.  I love spending time with my family.  There is some irony in it though.  The ones you love most are also the ones that can drive you the craziest.  That is normally the case in my family but I have to say this Christmas was one of the best ones yet. There was no major arguments and everyone just sat around bullshitting and enjoying each others company.  Going to have to try and bottle that for the next holiday!!!

The topic at hand today is sit-up recovery…  Keep in mind it’s not just sit-up recovery but also T2B (toes two bar) or just about any other movement that smokes your lower torso. Here is the thing with crunching movements.  If we are actually flexing the torso…. like drawing our shoulders forward and down (picture crunching)…

crunch

…then there is a lot of abdominal work in there. However, in a full sit-up like the ones we do in crossfit, once the torso flexes we get a whole hell of a lot of hip flexor recruitment to finish the rest of the movement. Next, take into account fatigue. In a workout such as Annie where you’re doing 150 sit-ups, as the abs fatigue we see athletes loosing the crouch portion of the movement and kind of dragging themselves upwards  (I call these flat-back sit-ups). They look sorta like this:

Screen Shot 2014-12-25 at 8.24.16 PM

 

When this happens the movement becomes primarily hip flexor dominant. ….

 

So what are we going to do?     Mash and Mobilize…

 

Don’t Mash Blind… Know Your Anatomy.

Screen Shot 2014-12-25 at 8.36.31 PMScreen Shot 2014-12-25 at 8.36.11 PMScreen Shot 2014-12-25 at 8.36.44 PMScreen Shot 2014-12-25 at 8.37.24 PM

Pictured From Left to Right, Superficial to Deep; External Oblique, Rectus Abdominus, Internal Oblique, Psoas

 

 

Today’s WODdocket:

1. 3-5 Reps Contract-Relax (3-5 contract – 8-10 relax) / Leg

2. 10 Scorpions / Side