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#LIVETHEBOXLIFE
Better
Dubs
5 Tips for more effective
double-unders
Sam Dancer Good Vibes Only
The 101
3 numbers that can dramatically improve your rowing
meal prepping
+
creating habits for success
6 MOVEMENTS FOR STRONGER LEGS SQUAT CUES: KNEES IN VS KNEES OUT FINDING MOTIVATION WHEN YOU’RE IN A SLUMP
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BECAUSE THE LIFESTYLE DOESN’T END WHEN YOU LEAVE THE BOX...
WHAT’S INSIDE...
cover photo By NoBull
April/May 2018 8 FEATURED WOD
Hate running? Give this one a try!
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SAM DANCER
“At some point, I think we all owe it to ourselves to own and be responsible for what we’re doing. I do what it takes to make sure I get a little bit better every day.”
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DOUBLE-UNDER WONDER
Your rope, your wrists and other factors to address to improve your jumps. 2
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PREPPING IS THE WAY
Access to clean meals is as important as willpower and commitment.
FINDING MOTIVATION Try these strategies to lift yourself out of a slump. BETTER DUBS Try these 5 tips for more efficient double-unders. SQUAT CUES Is there ever a time when you should actually think “knees in”? MEAL PREPPING When you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail. IMPROVE YOUR ROWING The three numbers you should start focusing on. ATHLETE PROFILE: SAM DANCER From training barefoot to literally having a relationship with his food, Sam shares what it’s like to live his best life. LEG STRENGTH Exercises that help build strength and power in the legs.
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PARTIAL SQUATS Squatting at or above parallel has its benefits.
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MUSCLE SNATCH Reinforce technique and build shoulder strength with this accessory lift.
30 BUILD POWERFUL LEGS
Add some variety to your leg repertoire with these exercises. FACEBOOK.COM/BOXLIFEMAGAZINE
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better dubs
5 Tips For More Efficient Double-Unders
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Double-unders are one of those movements that cause so many athletes a ton of grief. Many of us will be able to perform ten, twenty, maybe even thirty doubleunders unbroken, but any more reps than that and our form breaks, the rope snags and we’re left with nasty whip marks across our calves, shins and arms. So the question is—how do you become more efficient at double-unders?
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1. Check Your Rope
Are you using the right rope? First, you want to check your rope’s length. To find the right jump rope length, hold a rope by the handles at about chest height and place one foot on the chord that’s on the ground. Ideally the tips of the handles will be underneath your armpits so that when you jump, the rope clears your head by about 10-12 inches. Use this as a starting point and adjust your rope length from there. In the middle of a workout, when your shoulders start to burn and your double-under technique begins to break down, a shorter rope will cause you to stumble much quicker. On the other hand, a longer rope will ‘hide’ breakdowns in form much longer. The downside is that a longer rope can bring on fatigue more quickly and may slow your double-unders a bit. Personally, I like to invest in a shorter rope for training (one that clears my head by only 6-10 inches) and a longer one for competition. In training, the shorter rope will force me to focus on my mechanics. There are plenty of jump ropes n the market, but it’s important to get one that’s in line with your current skill level. Thicker, heavier ropes are better suited for athletes still learning the doubleunder, while speed ropes are thinner and lighter and are better suited for athletes who can consistently string at least 50 doubleunders together.
2. Hand & Elbow Position
Hand placement causes a lot of athletes to trip up in the doubleunder (pun intended). A common mistake is allowing the elbows, arms and hands to drift away from the body. Doing so is inefficient because it puts more emphasis on shoulder strength and mobility rather than the wrist. If you’re in the middle of a workout that involves a lot of shoulder work, the last thing you want is to place more stress on the muscle during double-unders. Furthermore, allowing your hands to drift out to your sides will actually shorten the rope’s length making revolutions of the rope more difficult and increase the likelihood of the rope catching a part of your body and forcing you to break. So, where should your hands—and by extension, your elbows—be during the double-under? They should be tucked nicely in to your sides, with your hands slightly in front of your body (not out to the sides). You don’t want them to be glued to the side of your body as that won’t allow for any movement of the wrists whatsoever. Keep your elbows and arms by your sides but let them hang loosely. Remember, you want your wrists to do the majority of the work, so don’t tense your arms unnecessarily.
3. Handle Grip
drawing the rope towards your toes promoting an inefficient ‘shoulder pump’ motion that will lead to shoulder fatigue. Instead, lightly grip the handles of the rope with your fingers— not your palms—as if you were holding a paintbrush. This way your wrist can fully rotate as it’s designed to, allowing the hands to flow with the rope and the handles to turn down.
4. Use Your Wrists
The wrist is a complex joint that allows the hand to move in three degrees of freedom (flexing and extending, pronating and supinating, and deviating ulnarly or radially). Those are a lot of physiological terms, but the main takeaway is that it’s a highly mobile joint. Why is this important? Because the wrists are key to generating momentum for the jump rope to start revolving. If you’ve learned where to place your elbows and hands, then it’s time to put the wrists to work and let them rotate as freely and quickly as possible. Those who burn out during double-unders are the ones who put the majority of the work on their shoulders instead of their wrists. The shoulder can’t move as freely as the wrist, and simply because it’s connected to more powerful muscles doesn’t mean it won’t wear out quickly. Keep your arms close to your body and flick those wrists as they were designed to. Work smarter, not harder.
5. Body Awareness
Because you need to clear two revolutions of the rope instead of one, try jumping slightly higher than you would for your singles. And, don’t forget to land on your tippy-toes. Many athletes land on their soles, bend their knees then jump into the air again, making the process slow and inefficient. You may need to build your calf strength (plyometrics are a good place to start) to remain on your tippy-toes for an extended period of time, but it’s really not that long and it’s far more fluid and conducive to stringing double-unders together than landing flat-footed every time. Another tip to refining your double-under technique is to keep your torso straight and jump in the same place. Some athletes will have a tendency to bend forward during the doubleunder in an attempt to shorten the distance the rope needs to cover. That will lead to you moving all over the place when jumping, which decreases your efficiency, puts more stress on the shoulders and will inevitably lead to tripping. Keep a hollow body position (like the starting point of a hollow rock) and a neutral head position. It may help to focus on something that’s at eye-level in front of you (as long as it’s not moving). Focus on trying to jump at the same height, in the same place, every time.
Gripping the handles of the jump rope is not a good idea. Why? Because you’re spending valuable energy and muscular tension on an area that doesn’t need it. In short, the death grip is inefficient and wears you out unnecessarily. The wrist is a very mobile joint and can rotate quickly enough to generate rotations without you having to grip the handle until your palms bleed. If you grip the handle too tightly, you’re essentially ‘freezing’ your wrist joint in place, preventing it from rotating as efficiently. This means the handles will stay flat and parallel to the ground, BOXLIFEMAGAZINE.COM
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Meal Prepping 4 TIPS TO GET YOU ON TRACK
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By Cindy Rodriguez
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fter taking a look at a WOD on the whiteboard, many of us hit the 3-2-1 Go! with some strategy in mind. And as some of the more experienced athletes have learned, when you don’t, things can turn for the worse rather quickly. The same is true when it comes to our nutrition and the intentions we set forth. It’s not a cliché—when you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. Whether you follow Paleo, Zone, Keto or even carb cycling, one of the key components to staying on track, and as a result being successful, is putting thought into your nutrition plan. Even if you don’t follow a regimen, you will soon realize not having your meals readily available can completely derail your plans. Preparing your meals ahead of time is as important to this process as willpower and commitment. You may be the most 6
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determined person you know, but still reach out for unplanned meals and snacks because it’s what’s convenient when there’s nothing else available. Let’s face it, when you’re hangry, it’s much easier to ‘drive-thru’ for breakfast or snack on the bagels in the break room. Meal prepping reduces stress and gives you peace of mind when it comes to building positive eating habits. Though distractors will always exist, ready to eat meals will make it much easier to stay on track. For newbies, the concept of meal prepping can be intimidating, but that’s not the case—meal prepping can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. Though you may not get the Meal Prep Master Award the first time you give it a go, these strategies will help take that first step into your journey of meal prepping.
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giving yourself the gift of nutritious meals to enjoy. No matter what life throws your way, you will not want to start the week without at least a day’s worth of food to eat on Monday.
2. COOK IN BULK
Pick your proteins and cook them according to your needs and liking. That could mean throwing some chicken in the slow cooker while at the same time grilling some turkey burgers or steaks. Protein sources usually take the longest to cook and having them ready to eat when needed will save you time later. Consider cooking sources of carbohydrate that you know will keep well. For example, you can cook a large amount of brown or jasmine rice or even a sweet potato mash to refrigerate and have ready to heat and serve. Pickier eaters may not enjoy pre-cooked vegetables, but there are always good options available. Frozen green beans and broccoli take just a few minutes in the microwave. Sautéing in the morning may work for you as well. At the end of the day, do what works for you, your taste buds and your lifestyle.
3. MEASURE SERVING SIZES BEFORE STORING
1. PICK A DAY OF THE WEEK
Because so many of us keep busy schedules, designate one or two days a week as your meal prep days. Sundays tend to be a popular day, but choose whichever days work best for you. Make it a non-negotiable. If possible, create grocery list ahead of time and have your ingredients ready to go. At the very minimum, you want to prep your meals for Monday. As it is, Mondays get a bad rap. Make your Mondays that much better by BOXLIFEMAGAZINE.COM
You don’t need to neatly assemble your meals in containers—that’s just an added bonus of this process. Keep in mind that if you eat four to five times a day multiplied by five or six days, you may end up with at least 30 containers (times two if your partner is joining in on the fun). A great option to help save space or when you don’t have enough containers available is to store your food in resealable, storage bags. Measure your portions and label each bag with the contents and nutritional facts, as needed. For example, 3-4oz bags of protein or bags in which you store your rice and label with 30g of carbs, half cup, 5oz, etc… Once all the food has been bagged and labeled according to your needs, keep about three days’ worth ready to heat and serve in the refrigerator and freeze the rest to use later that week. Fats don’t require much prep. Though you should measure your nuts and seeds to avoid
over eating. Avoid carrying an entire bag of nuts (or dried fruit, etc.) or a nut butter jar because you may very well find yourself eating the whole bag or jar in one sitting. It’s easy to indulge on fats, if you’re not mindful of your portion sizes.
4. CARRY A LUNCH BAG
Whether you’re packing frozen bags of prepared food, protein powders, fruits or snack bars, it is important that you have a meal bag big enough to hold all your meals. There are several options on the market for meal management bags and coolers for any type of lifestyle and budget. Some include ice packs, vitamin holders and even the actual meal prep containers. Invest in one that suits your needs. Don’t forget to pack your water as having it available helps remind you to drink plenty.
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ometimes you think you have it all figured it out—you got a coach, a meal plan, a check-in day... but what happens in the kitchen and implementing an adequate meal preparation routine is vital in ensuring success and bringing about the much wanted results. Meal prepping takes planning and time, but it is effective, rewarding, and will give you an extra push to stay committed to your goals. Cook, pack, eat and repeat. It doesn’t get any easier than that.
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Photo Credit: © Tyler Olson/stock.adobe.com
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the 101
3 NUMBERS THAT CAN DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE YOUR ROWING
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trap yourself in, grab the handle, and go. For a lot of athletes, that’s the extent of their relationship with the rower. Despite the fact that rowing is an integral part of many CrossFit workouts, athletes just don’t spend the time getting to properly know the erg, the indoor rower. In truth, the erg is a highly developed machine meant to replicate the effects of rowing on water, which is why elite rowers train on it during their off season. And when they do, they make sure to take several different factors into consideration—depending on the goals of their program. For us, these factors translate into numbers—three numbers that relate to three factors that can have a profound impact on your rowing performance in any given workout.
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m a S er c n Da
y l n O s e b i V d Goo
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Interview by Yeimilyn Lorenzo Photography By NoBull
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Photo credit: nobull
f you’ve ever met him or just seen him anywhere online, you can quickly tell Sam Dancer is a big dude with an even bigger heart and personality. Many special qualities make Sam Dancer the man he is. For one, he’s legally blind due to keratoconus, an eye disease that affects the structure of the cornea. As a result, he doesn’t rely on his vision as much, keeping his focus on his senses, his mind and his spirit. Most importantly he strives to surround himself with positive people and circumstances that allow him to feed and nurture his aim to live a happy life. Sam’s size and strength also play a major role. Dancer, who once weighed 270lbs and was a collegiate football player at Western Illinois University, battled a slight identity crisis when he found himself with no real professional opportunities in football after college. Having played football since the age of 10, football was his identity. Without it, he started to feel lost. Enter CrossFit. As he is currently doing with his newfound love for yoga, 12
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Dancer took it upon himself to try CrossFit on his own. Identifying and working on weaknesses early on, such as his flexibility, he realized there was potential for him to be good at CrossFit and was confident there could be a future for him in the sport. Dancer earned his Level 1 Certification and started coaching alongside his wife, former professional soccer player Jennifer Nobis-Dancer, at their gym, QTown CrossFit, in Quincy, Illinois. Last December, Sam and Jenn achieved a personal goal of moving to San Diego, California making CrossFit Invictus their new home. “We always knew we wanted to head west and be more a part of Invictus than we’d been previously. I coached the Invictus athlete camps and I was an Invictus athlete for a while. I really enjoyed all the people. I loved the atmosphere and we just knew we wanted to come this direction,” says Dancer. Big life changes require planning and goal setting and the FACEBOOK.COM/BOXLIFEMAGAZINE
Dancers made sure to put a plan in place to make their dream come true. “We wanted to get things started early. We hired a full-time manager, Andrew Baker. He’s an amazing coach and an amazing manager. He's done a terrific job with the affiliate, hiring great staff and supporting our original staff. We had to be really clear on what we needed to do to make our move a reality, which included getting little things taken care of early on. Actually, we didn’t expect to move this year, we honestly thought it was going to be next year, but the power to visualize and make things a reality sometimes just blows my mind,” he says. Plans really started coming together after several serendipitous encounters with now roommate and close friend, Matthew Bickel. After about two weeks of Airbnbs, they found a what Dancer calls a remarkable home, now complete with a full gym set-up. “We have everything we could ever want in our backyard and we have the greatest training atmosphere on the planet with the most elite level athletes possible at CrossFit Invictus. My wife and I are training hard and looking to participate on a team this year. It's great.” In 2014, both Sam and Jenn Dancer earned the opportunity competed on team Conjugate Black winning a second place podium spot in the team division. Dancer is excited at the prospect of repeating the Games experience with his wife this time representing CrossFit Invictus. “I know my wife and what she's capable of doing. She’s freaking good. She shows up and wants it. There are a lot of really amazing athletes who want to be a part of what we believe is going to be a podium team. She's one of the best teammates. She is the best teammate! It would be an amazing opportunity to do it again.” CrossFit Invictus is led by coach CJ Martin, who has played a vital role as a guide and friend in Dancer’s life over the last few years. “It takes a lot for someone to get my attention and keep my focus. CJ is someone who does that. I value and cherish the relationship we've built over the last four years. This dude is out there to constantly support you and to guide you. It's just amazing to me. I'm constantly inspired by what he does. It's important for me to be surrounded with people that motivate me to do what I’m meant to do. I’m at a point in my life where it's become common sense that you can go much, much further with people. It might not always be at the pace you want to go…sometimes I might want to go faster or do something different, or want things my way, but man, if you can submit to that a little bit and be aware of how we are all connected, of how close we are to one another, you can accomplish so much more and so many greater things with other people, and that’s why I like working with CJ.” Dancer considers Martin a simply guide for his training. Given his athletic background and experience, he feels it’s extremely important to take responsibility for his own training and development. “I use their programming as a template to make sure I'm hitting certain parts of my day. At some point though, I think we all owe it to ourselves to own and be responsible for what we are doing. If I'm continually getting spoon fed information, how much ownership do I really have in what I'm doing? I am not saying that it's bad for anybody to get programming. I’m not. Do it. My wife gets programming from CJ and she freakin’ does it. She gets the stuff done and doesn’t question it. She just does the work, but I’ve found it’s best for me to assess the program, assess myself, and what I need for the day. I do what it takes to make sure I get what I need to get just a little bit better every day. At the end of the day, I feel like I’m responsible and CJ is my guide.” Dancer focuses on the basics and developing a good base when it comes to his training. “The majority of what I do is the least complex, most basic stuff. I like to do a lot of strongman movements with sandbags and odd objects. I love taking my shoes off and doing things a little raw. I think it's the basic stuff that builds a really good base. I also think it’s
“I love figuring out ways to restore my body, prolong my life and live the best possible life.”
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Leg Strength
THE BEST MOVEMENTS FOR STRONGER LEGS—BESIDES SQUATS
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Photo Credit: © Darren S/stock.adobe.com
When you think about improving your leg strength, what’s the first exercise you think of? Squats, of course, and with good reason. Yet, in keeping with the ‘constantly varied’ mantra of CrossFit programming, there are several other movements that build strength and power in our legs.
Effective movements, like the lunge, can be performed in many ways with many different objects. For example, the overhead lunge can be performed with kettlebells/dumbbells/barbell/plate, the bodyweight lunge, the farmer’s carry lunge (holding kettlebells or dumbbells by your side), back rack lunge (with barbell on your back), and the reverse lunge. Your leg muscles (calves, hamstrings, quads, glutes) are fully engaged when lunging, and while you may not be able to place the same amount of tension on those muscle groups as you can achieve in the squat (due to the load being much lighter), the alternative mechanics of the lunge still provides for significant strength gains. Furthermore, because lunges are a unilateral exercise (they work one limb in isolation of the other), they’re great for identifying and correcting muscular imbalances between your legs.
2. Box Step-Ups
Holding dumbbells or kettlebells by your side, over your head, or in the front rack (or using a barbell), stand up on to a box. Simple. Yet, given how basic a movement the box step-up is, they’re rarely performed. It’s a shame because it offers great leg-building potential. It’s another unilateral exercise that requires a great deal of balance and coordination, and forces adaptation throughout the entire musculature of the leg. Just try standing up to a 20-24’’ box with a moderately heavy barbell in the front rack position several times and you’ll soon discover that your glutes are on fire.
Photo Credit: © Darren S/stock.adobe.com
1. Lunges
3. Deadlifts
The deadlift is another movement that has many variants, including deficit deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, snatch-grip deadlifts and more. They’re great for developing the posterior chain, which includes important muscles in the legs: the calves, hamstrings, and glutes. The deadlift is the movement that allows most athletes to shift the most weight, which means that the aforementioned muscles (as well as muscles in the core, lats, and back) are placed under a great amount of tension that forces them to grow and become stronger. With variants such as deficit deadlifts that increase the muscles’ time under tension, the deadlift is one of the most powerful options for building stronger legs.
4. Glute-Ham Raise
Many people use the GHD for back extensions and sit-ups. There’s nothing wrong with that of course, but since GHD stands for ‘glute-ham developer’, you know that the true intention of the device is to develop an athlete’s backside. The entire motion of a glute-ham raise targets these muscles—as well as those of the calves. When you return to the starting position, you drive your toes into the toe plate to engage your calves and generate force to help your body move upwards. The hamstrings are strengthened at both the knee and hip joint as it works its two primary functions, knee flexion and hip extension, simultaneously. This is exactly what’s happening when you perform everyday movements like running, squatting and jumping, which is why GHD raises are regularly employed by Powerlifters, Olympic weightlifters and sprinters. BOXLIFEMAGAZINE.COM
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