Class is a success!

I really couldn't have asked for a better time. At first it looked like there were only going to be three guys in the class, but as people realised I was starting they wandered over and asked, "is this the workshop?" Soon the ranks had swelled to eight people, just about perfect.

I talked up the squat, how awesome it is and we use it everyday. Next I demoed it, giving the four points of performance: weight on heels, knees out, butt back/proper depth, and lumbar engaged. I showed it again, and then had everyone do it together as I walked around giving cues. For some the verbal cue worked, but sometimes I had to give a tactile cue. I would have to say the most popular fault I saw was the knees moving in, but over all the group moved really well, so I moved on to the front squat.

With a barbell, I tried to get everyone comfortable with the rack position by starting them off on a Frankenstein squat, and after everyone got in a couple of reps I then brought in the hands holding the bar, and how one drives with elbows up. Everyone did fairly well with this, so suddenly I was only 15 minutes into class and was almost done with the movements planned.

I had a choice of either everyone keep working on the front squat, or to try to teach my personal favorite, the overhead squat. Out of concern of keeping interest, I asked the group if they would like to work on the overhead squat. Everyone, and I mean everyone, nodded yes. Democracy prevailed.

I had them grab a PVC, explained how the OHS works, demo'd, and then had everyone work on active shoulder. It was a good thing I did, because it seemed the slight twist in the arm that really makes an active shoulder active, was a foreign concept. So I did a couple of active shoulder drills, and then went on to trying to squat with a pipe overhead. Again, shoulder flexibility seemed to be the biggest issue with people breaking the frontal plane. Looking back I think I forgot to use the cue of pressing the bar up the whole time, but overall I think people were getting more comfortable with the movement, which is the most important thing.

I want this class to mitigate the intimidating nature of crossfit, to get people to be more confident, and I think I achieved that. I was asked when should someone switch from using dumbells to barbell for OHS, and I said immediately, simply use a load that you're comfortable with, even if it's only a 15# bar. I also (hopefully) got the point across that skill in these movements is exactly that: a skill; and as such is only acquired through practice.

What I think is the most interesting, and I could be wrong here, is that the note I ended on (foam rolling/recover) was the strongest. I had everyone grab a foam roller and showed them how to work the IT band, the quads, hammies, and then the adducters ("Get intimate with your roller"). I explained how important recovery is, how tight muscles can really hold you back, and that this is something that works best if done a little bit each day. I think the passion and alacrity with which I spoke about this subject matter really made it interesting, I saw a lot of head nodding going on during my explanations.

As people were wincing I talked up next week (pull ups, hand maintenance, and maybe a few more little tricks), thanked everyone, and told them class was over. Afterwards someone commented that they had no idea whey people were foam rolling, so this was really helpful. I also mentioned how having weak adductors cause the knees to bend inwards, and what can be done to strengthen them (squat as deep as you can)

So in review, it was a great success. Thinking about how it could be better, I think I might try to incorporate a squat progression Chriss Smith taught me (totally blanked on it until after the class was over) I would also add some shoulder dislocates before working on OHS, just because shoulder flexibility can be such an issue. ...My one regret is that I totally forgot to get a picture of me with my first class. Guess I'll have to do it with my second class.

I felt awesome after this, before I was having a rough day with work, and afterwards I was ecstatic, like I was high. Better be careful, I might get addicted to this coaching thing.