Photo courtesy of Evil Cartoons.

In a perfect world, everyone who walks through our gym doors would come in with perfect posture, supple mobility, concrete stability, and without weaknesses, imbalances, or previous injuries. Since that unicorn does not exist (with the exception of our youngest CrossFit Kids), we have to employ Plan B measures such as stretching, myofascial compression therapy, mobilizing, and midline strengthening. The reason being, the movements we perform in here are multi-joint, full-body ones that require the above qualities to prevent injuries.

So, my dear camels, it’s time to identify the straws that are lurking overhead. We will focus on the ankles, hips, knees, back, and shoulders.

Ankles: Tight calves will strain, pull, and bend the achilles tendon. When you squat, if the boney part over your arch bends inwards toward the ground, your toes out beyond 11 o’clock and 1 o’clock, or your heels lift off the ground your body may be trying to compensate for your tight calves. With the amount of repetitive impact (think box jumps, running, and less-than-perfect double unders), you may be headed towards an achilles tendon rupture (there’s a reason they use this term as a metaphor for someone’s weakness).

If this applies to you, spend some extra time rolling and stretching your calves daily, use 5-10 lb plates under your heels when you squat (or more), and have a coach watch your jump mechanics to make sure high repetition box jumps are safe to do. Come in to class early to make sure you do your “homework” or it may never get done. Check out these two videos below for more information and suggested programming.

WOD 06.25.13

Deadlift 1×5
AMRAP 8
Buy in with a 500m row

3 Power Cleans
6 Box Jumps