ATTENTION all women and even you men with women in your lives. This post is for you!
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You will NOT get bulky from lifting weights. For all those women who are too afraid of going to ‘that section’ of the gym or who tell their coaches they don’t want to lift because they don’t want to get too muscular…or for those men who are afraid the girl they’re dating is going to start getting huge…this couldn’t be further from the truth.
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If you are training twice a day, accumulating 4+ hours of training a day, then you might possibly start to add more muscle mass like the elite athletes. At the level those athletes are at though, they care more about performance than aesthetics. But even us women will still never get as bulky as men because we produce 5 to 10% the amount of testosterone men do which limits the amount of muscle we are able to put on.
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I am also a good example that you can’t get big (even with the amount of training I do). I work out 4-6 hours a day, eat around 3000 calories per day, and I’ve been doing this for 11 years. No matter how strict I am with my diet and training, I am still one of the smaller athletes in my sport at around 135lbs. Everyone is built differently and we are all beautiful in our own body types.
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I promise if you are just working out 4-5 days a week anywhere from 30 minutes to 90 minutes, be prepared to get a lean strong and more powerful body. Not only this, but you will feel better about yourself physically, mentally and emotionally. So let’s stop the stigma everyone, women can (and should) lift weights too!
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PS. If anyone thinks I look too muscular in this picture, that’s because I’m putting in a lot of effort into this movement and my muscles are going to look a lot more muscular than if I’m standing still. That my friends is called hard work. Love you all!

Also Check Out…

The First Time

Broadening Beauty: Women Who CrossFit & Self-Image

Inside Invictus: EP32: Final Day of the 2019 CrossFit Games

The post Women Will NOT Get Bulky from Lifting Weights appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

To continue to provide you with an excellent program and community, and further enhance the amount of coach interaction and feedback you receive through the program, we will begin charging a small monthly fee for the Competition program.

What you can expect from the program…

• Comprehensive training that covers all aspects of the competitive sport of CrossFit – from weightlifting progressions, aerobic endurance, strongman training, and gymnastics skills. This program will ensure that you’ve properly trained all the essentials for our sport.
• 6 days of training per week, 60-90 minutes per session.
• Daily interaction and feedback from coaches C.J. Martin, Tino Marini, and the Invictus team. Collectively, we’ve coached more than 60 individual Games athletes, led teams to the Games for 11 straight years and helped thousands of athletes achieve their competitive goals.
• Daily interaction with like-minded athletes who are eager to train hard, improve and support the “Sea of Green” community to do the same.
• Exclusive event invitations and discounts including Invictus training camps and seminars.

This change will take effect on September 30th.

But we want to give you a special gift for being an important part of our community!

Since you’ve been a loyal follower, sign up by October 1st, and you’ll be locked in at $9/month (everyone else will pay $14/month).

Don’t forget that this program is on SugarWOD! Here, you’ll receive the entire training week in advance, track your results, see a daily leaderboard and interact all in one place. It also allows you to see workout history, use a barbell lift percentage calculator, share photos, give fist bumps and comment. Check out the Competition Program on SugarWOD today for only $29.99/month.

We’ve built an amazing community over the past 10 years and are excited at how many athletes from around the globe have helped us grow it! Thank you for being one of those athletes and an integral member of the Sea of Green. We look forward to continuing to support you and following your progress!

The post 10+ Years Helping Athletes Achieve Their Competitive Goals appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Tips for Stringing Together More Toes-to-Bar
Videos by Kirsten Ahrendt & Justin Wright

This video discusses three points of performance for those of you that have the prerequisite strength and skill to kip, but struggle with the rhythm of stringing together multiple toes to bar. The points discussed in the video (above) are outlined below.

Toes to Bar Kip

Remember, it’s a KIP, not a SWING! In a kip, we move between two positions – hollow and arch. We move fluidly between these two points of tension and it creates a rhythm. If you are swinging (uncontrolled) instead of kipping (controlled) you won’t be able to maintain a rhythm for toes to bar.

Using Lats in Your Kip

Turn on your Lats! When you are in the “hollow” position of your kip, your lats are engaged and you should feel like you are pressing down on the bar. When we do this, our hips are behind the plane of the bar. When that happens, we can lift our toes to the bar. However, If we stop pressing down on the bar as we raise our toes, my hips will fall under and be in front of the plane of the bar. You will now be swinging, not kipping.

Staying on Beat with Kip Swings

Don’t DROP into the middle of your swing! Let your feet swing out a little bit away from you as they come away from the bar. Sometimes I think about the sensation of “pulling my feet away from the bar” rather than just “letting them fall”. As your feet come down from the bar, they should pull you back into your “arch” position of your kip. Then you’ll be ready to press down on the bar again and move back into your hollow body position.

Connecting Multiple Reps of Toes to Bar

Having trouble connecting multiple reps of toes-to-bar? Whether you’re having to restart at the bottom of the swing for each new rep of your toes to bar to get a big enough kip swing; or, you’re strong enough to do them but lose rhythm after a few reps, try the drill in the video. 

Toes-to-Bar Drill

Because this drill starts with about a half-leg raise version of the movement, it allows you to focus on some important things and hone in on where your breakdown is occurring. Understand body position, learn to create more tension throughout your body during the movement, and master your kip by conserving momentum to bring your feet to the bar.

Once you identify the issue, you can correct it and then begin to bring your toes higher and higher toward the bar while noting if you are able to maintain your cues. Just like with any other progression, maintain the range of motion of the movement where you can still keep control of your movement. Continue to push that limit as you are able and incorporate other midline or accessory work to accelerate your progress.

Also Check Out…

4 Reasons You Struggle With Toes To Bar

Upper Anterior Chain Opener: The Banded Scarecrow

What Are Toes-to-Bar?

The post Tips for Stringing Together More Toes-to-Bar appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

3 Mobility Drills for “Remember Your Thoracic September”
Written by Michele Vieux & Kim McLaughlin

Posture plays an important role in your overall health. Good posture can prevent back, knee, neck and hip pain; it can also prevent muscle strains, headaches, and impingements. When you align your spine correctly, your diaphragm is able to expand fully, enabling you to breathe easier and deeper, allowing more oxygen to be inhaled. Individuals with great posture often look taller, slimmer and more confident.

But with all of these positives, how often do you pay attention to your posture?

Good posture vs Bad posture

Your spine has three curves: lumbar, thoracic, and cervical. All three of these curves should be present when you are sitting or standing in a resting position. Because people spend the majority of their days in office chairs or looking down at their phones, their natural curves may not be so natural anymore.

Some have been hanging out in poor posture positions for so long that there is tightness in areas that there shouldn’t be while other muscles have stretched and are weaker than they should be. This puts unnatural stress on areas of the spine that can manifest as neck, back, knee and hip pain.

Proper Posture Drill

In order to find proper posture, line your back against a wall. Place your feet a few inches out and ensure that your head, shoulder blades, and butt are touching. Your hand should be able to just barely slide behind the small of your back. Take a couple of seconds to get comfortable with how this position feels and take note where your shoulders are – not pulled excessively far back – and where your head is in relation to your spine.

Once you pull your body away from the wall you should be able to draw an imaginary line from your ears to your shoulders to your hips. Make sure your weight is evenly distributed across your entire foot and not just in your heels. Pull your belly button in toward your spine. This is a natural posture position.

For some of you, proper posture might feel a bit odd. Holding this position for any length of time can seem tiring instead of relaxing. You may be working muscles that aren’t used to working. This is a good thing!  Even though it might be slightly uncomfortable in the beginning, this position is actually where the least strain is placed on your muscles, ligaments, and joints in movement or weight-bearing activities.

Thoracic Mobility Month

Because of its important role in your posture and in honor of this month’s National Fitness Holiday – Remember Your Thoracic September – spend some extra time these last few days of the month on your thoracic spine.

There are many ways to remember your thoracic and show it the love it deserves. Besides just being aware of positioning and posture, you can add a few simple posture reinforcing drills into your daily routine to see amazingly fast benefits in just a few weeks time.

Sitting, watching TV, typing and other computer work, driving, riding a road bike, texting and playing video games – if you spend a lot of time in any or all of these activities, you likely have a tight thoracic region and therefore, less-than-ideal posture, trouble getting into an overhead position, neck and shoulder pain and/or low back pain.

Take five minutes of your day to add in the drills from the video above – or your other favorite – thoracic mobility drills into your routine and note any differences you feel in both your workouts and daily life at the end of the month.

Also Check Out…

4 Reasons You Struggle With Toes To Bar

Your Thoracic Spine Makes Pull-Ups Divine

5 Posture Realignment Drills – No Equipment Necessary

The post 3 Mobility Drills for “Remember Your Thoracic September” appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Inside Invictus: EP32: Final Day of the 2019 CrossFit Games
Video by Michael McCoy

Follow the teams and Individuals from CrossFit Invictus as they compete on the final day of the 2019 CrossFit Games. As they sit on the cusp of elimination, Team Invictus is happy to see the first event of the day includes a swim – an area where they are extremely strong. Will they conquer the day’s events to be one of the last teams standing at the conclusion of the weekend?

Meanwhile, the Invictus Individual Athletes are making an excellent showing in both the Women’s and Master’s Divisions. Former Team Invictus members Jenn Ryan – her first time competing at Games as an individual – and Nuno Costa push for the podium in their Masters’ divisions while the amazing Kristen Holte continues her climb to the top of the CrossFit charts again this year.

Watch the video for the final day of competition including behind the scenes interviews with the athletes, Invictus posse commentary and catch a glimpse of the fan experience in Madison, Wisconsin.

Invictus Athlete Online Programs offer training to help you in all areas of fitness. Check out the Sample Training Guide to see what a training day would look like, and pick which program is best for you!

The post Inside Invictus: EP32: Final Day of the 2019 CrossFit Games appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Handstand Walking Tips for Competition
Video by Ricky Moore

Handstand walking is already hard enough for most people without having it thrown into a workout for time. Here are some tips to keep you moving forward as efficiently as possible when handstand walking comes up in competition. Practice them now so they are cues when it comes down to 3, 2, 1…Go!

Tips for Handstand Walking

Head position for Handstand Walking

Don’t crane your neck or try to look too far out in front of you. Instead, look 2-3 inches in front of your fingertips.

Let the Finish Line Come to You

Don’t rush to the finish line or look for it. When you are there, it will appear within your line of vision. If you reach to look or rush, you will likely fall and have to repeat that segment.

Take it One Segment at a Time

This goes for ANY workout. Only think about the portion you are on and how to make that the most efficient as possible. Don’t worry about all the other portions ahead of you. Be present and keep your focus on where you currently are.

How to Fall from a Handstand

While you’re at it, make sure you know how to properly fall. It’s amazing how much more confidence you’ll have with this movement when you know you are able to safely return to the floor if you lose your balance while upside down. Check out this video where Invictus Gymnastics Coach, Travis Ewart, demonstrates the importance of learning to properly fall out of a handstand so that you have the confidence to go for handstand holds and handstand walks and have the ability to save your inverted position all while preventing injury.

Start working on this now – we have seen handstand walking in the Open previously and there’s a good chance some sort of handstand walking, or even obstacle crossing, will appear again this year!

How to Prepare for the 2020 CrossFit Open

Check out our variety of online programs – we offer complete Open prep for all athletes plus supplemental programs for gymnastics, weightlifting, strength, your engine, and more!

Check Out More on Handstand Walking…

Breaking Down Handstand Walks
Handstand Walk Progressions
Handstand Tip: Don’t Squeeze!

The post Handstand Walking Tips for Competition appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

What is it Like to Have Parkinson’s Disease? 
Video by Nick Hawkes

Ever wonder what it’s like to have a debilitating disease like Parkinson’s? To know that you are deteriorating, losing your mobility, your independence?

In this video, Invictus Coach, Nick Hawkes, interviews his mom about her experience with the disease, reflecting back to the warning signs even before she was diagnosed, all the trial and error in finding the right combination of meds, surgery to have an electrode implanted in her brain, and discovering ways to keep active and not succumb to the disease.

Her sweet nature and honest replies give you an intimate look at what it’s like to take on the battle of your life. Her unwavering strength and determination to keep moving are both inspiring to make the most of what we have and motivating to never stop using your body.

Nick’s mother, Sue, has been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for the past 15 years. For those of you unfamiliar with the disease, Parkinson’s attacks the body’s ability to produce dopamine and slowly robs you of your ability to control your own body.

In the simplest of terms, it is a disease that takes away your ability to move freely. It makes simple tasks that you take for granted, like signing a birthday card, extremely difficult. Even leaving the house can become concerning enough for those suffering from the disease to become homebound.

Exercising Takes on a New Purpose

Most of us exercise to lose weight, get that 6-pack, or even train for an event. But when you’re diagnosed with Parkinson’s, you exercise to be able to use your body and so you can keep your independence.

Luckily for Sue, with the help of her son, she’s found a recipe for treatment that includes both medications, brain stimulators, and exercise. Since finding out about his mom’s condition, Nick has been passionate about movement, motor control, and function and has helped create a plan for her that seems to be keeping her at a reasonable level of mobility that is not declining at a rate that many others see.

She may not do her step aerobics anymore but Nick has been creative with ideas for her to try. One exercise modality that she saw great success with was “Rolling the Ropes” which uses a heavier rope than a jump rope but it’s not for jumping. Instead, the rope is used as a tool to enhance rhythm, awareness, connectivity, and linkage. Rolling the ropes allows you to express motion across planes and in various directions. It has been really interesting for Nick and Sue to see the rapid improvements in her movement fluidity in only a few sessions of practice.

The 3 Peak Challenge

To honor his mom, raise money for Parkinson’s research and to celebrate and enjoy his own body’s ability to move freely, Nick and fellow Invictus Coach, Holden Rethwill, have decided to do the SoCal 3 Peak Challenge. Parkinson’s took the life of Holden’s grandfather so this is a cause near and dear to both of them.

This Challenge is an undertaking of the three highest peaks in Southern California – Mt. Baldy, San Jacinto, and San Gorgonio. The combination of these three is roughly 40 miles of hiking! But here is the kicker; their goal is to summit all three peaks within 24 hours!

How to Participate in the Three Peak Challenge

Donate to the Fundraising Page!

Their goal is to raise $3000 and donate it to the Michael J Fox Foundation’s research for Parkinson’s Disease.

Join Them on Our Journey!

If you are interested in joining Nick and Holden in their training or on their journey – please send your videos or email, questions or comments to Holden or Nick.

The post What is it Like to Have Parkinson’s Disease?  appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Do your knees always dive in on squats and lunges? Your glute medius could be the answer to this problem and a few others if it is weak or not activated. Learn all about the glute medius, its function and what movements it helps control, and try the simple tests to see where yours ranks. Then get your booty into gear with the routine focused on glute medius activation.

What is the glute medius?

The glute medius is a muscle located on the lateral part of your hip and is crucial for completing any hip abduction (bringing the leg away from the midline). Therefore, it plays an important role with any movement involving a single leg; balance, walking, running and most sports.

Signs Your Glute Medius is Weak or Inactive

Standing Single-Leg Test

The easiest way to tell is simply by standing on one leg. If the hip of the lifted leg drops down, the standing side is weak. This is a basic test but is extremely important because if you can’t stand on one leg and hold yourself there, imagine the issues that can arise from walking, running or lifting weights.

Single-Leg Catch Test

A more practical and dynamic way to assess this weakness on your own would be to perform a broad jump to single leg catch. Take a video of yourself during this test from the front and side. Note this is note a max effort jump for distance, two foot jump take off to single leg land with the non-working leg in front.

TEST PASS

What we would like to see:
– Minimal forward knee (Knees behind the toes)
– The hip is behind the heel
– Weight is midfoot
– Knee tracks over toes

TEST FAIL

Common faults:
– Knee valgus (diving in) – Most important!
– Knees too far over the toes (Too much quadricep load)
– Weight in the toes

How to Strengthen and Activate Glute Medius

If you notice some of these common faults, below is a simple glute medius activation drill. This drill will help to “wake up” the musculature, and make you more likely to hit the proper positions. In theory, this can be applied to the squat. Without activation, your knees want to cave in on the way up – after activation the knees are tracking perfectly over the toes.

Wall Glute Medius Activation Drill

Stand with a band around your ankles, a slight bend of the knees so you are in an athletic stance with the hands pressing into the wall. Next kick out the working leg to a 45-degree angle back, bring the leg back to the starting position and repeat. Do not rest the foot back to the ground, instead complete 20 repetitions with constant tension. During this notice how hard the standing leg has to work to hold you in a proper position. Both hips should be burning by the end of the 20 repetitions.

Be careful of using too much low back extension and compression. Brace the core to limit lower back movement and hyperextension or arching. This brace will make the leg range of motion smaller. But the focus is hip activation, not the distance of movement.

There are many ways to test glute medius strength but this is a simple test and re-test option. I would encourage you to try with a friend or coach so they can watch and help assess your areas of opportunity.

Love booty exercises? Check out these articles…

The Best Exercise You Aren’t Doing
Got Glutes? Safety Bar Reverse Lunges will fire your a** up!
3 Tests to Measure Your Posterior Chain Gains

The post Could Your Glute Medius be Stronger? appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Make Your Shoulder to Overhead Reps More Efficient
Video by Justin Wright

Whether you want to move a barbell quickly from your shoulders to overhead (STO), or you are going for a heavy set, technique and position both have a huge impact on your success. Being off track even just a millimeter with the path of the bar can be disastrous.

Common Shoulder to Overhead (STO) Mistake

Where we often see a breakdown in technique and position is when the athlete brings the bar from the overhead position back down to the shoulders for the next rep. Most athletes do a good job of focusing on punching the bar UP in a straight line but don’t always apply the same technique when bringing the bar down and back to their shoulders for the next rep, leading to the rep being received and started from a lower and lower position down the chest. This is not an ideal pressing position nor does it provide for power or precision. Plus, it will unnecessarily and rapidly exhaust you.

Drill for Correcting Shoulder to Overhead (STO) Mistake

In this video, Coach Justin Wright gives you two tips. One for speed that will help you crush your STO and while conserving energy for whatever else it is combined with in your workout. And one that can be applied to your next lifting session that includes any kind of shoulder to overhead sets.

For the drill: Use a PVC pipe or empty barbell. Remember, this is a drill and we are trying to perfect your technique, not max out.

Front Rack Position

Start with the bar in the front rack position. The front rack position for STO movements is with the elbows slightly lower than the front squat but still out in front of the bar. The bar should be resting on your shoulders and your deltoids should be creating a pad for the bar so that it is not resting on your collar bones. This is the position you should come back to after every rep. Pull and control the bar back to this position each time. That will not only line you up perfectly for the next rep, it will also allow you to cycle the barbell more quickly if you so choose.

Complete your choice of shoulder to overhead. This could be strict press, push press, push jerk, even split jerk.

Elbows Forward Position

From the overhead position – THIS IS THE KEY to this drill – keep your elbows pointed forward while pull the bar back down to your starting position.

Now apply this technique to your workouts. For heavy sets, focusing on this allows you to not have to readjust between reps. When you are cycling STO in a metcon workout, focusing on this allows you to move smoothly, conserve energy and speed up your reps.

Start working on this now – we will surely see some sort of shoulder to overhead in the CrossFit Open this year!

How to Prepare for the 2020 CrossFit Open

Check out our variety of online programs – we offer complete Open prep for all athletes plus supplemental programs for gymnastics, weightlifting, strength, your engine, and more!

The post Make Your Shoulder to Overhead (STO) More Efficient appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Whether it’s for business or pleasure, travel often comes with side effects of stiffness and dehydration. But never fear! You can conquer both when you pack with more bang for your buck.

Here’s a travel pro-tip that will help you kill not just two, but THREE birds with one stone! Save space in your suitcase, stay hydrated and keep on top of your mobility routine – especially after the hardships that sitting on a plane or in a car puts on your body. (Don’t forget to try this Airplane Mobility Routine!)

How to Use Your Water Canister as a Foam Roller

Get yourself an even-cylinder, insulated water canister to keep you hydrated on the plane and then use it as a “foam” roller when you get to your destination to work out all the kinks from sitting.

There are all types of water canisters available but the kind that will work best for this purpose are the ones that are even cylinders, meaning, they are the same shape and size all the way around. Not like the ones that are tapered to fit in your cup holder. That way, you can roll around on it without teetering around or slipping off as easily.

This also doesn’t work that great on a hardwood or tile floor, so pick a carpeted spot or throw down a towel so the canister doesn’t shoot out from under you on a slick surface.

Hit any ‘problem areas’ you have and also these areas – thoracic, hips, upper legs – which are known to become tight and sore from sitting during travels.

Travel Roller Routine

1. Fill your water canister and start your day (or routine) with finishing it off (for time or not – that’s up to you).
2. Spend 2-3 minutes rolling out your thoracic spine.
   Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Give yourself a hug so that your elbows align in front of you. Roll out your mid and upper back.
3. Spend 2 minutes rolling out your lats.
   Lie on your side and roll out the part of the lat that attaches to the bottom-inside tip of your shoulder blade. (Hint: it’s under your armpit.)
4. Spend 2 minutes per side rolling out your piriformis.
   Sit with both feet flat on the floor then cross one ankle over the opposite knee. Put the roller under the glue on the side that the foot is off the floor. Roll out the top part of your bum (piriformis). Repeat on the other side.
5. Spend 2-3 minutes per side rolling out your TFL and IT band.
   Start lying on your side with the roller in the meaty part between the top of your hip bone and the ball and socket joint of the hip (TFL). Rock side to side over the roller. Then work your way down your IT band to just above the knee.
6. Spend 2-3 minutes per side rolling out your hip flexors and quads.
   Roll to your belly so you are face down and the roller is in the crease of your hip. Roll up and down then side to side. To get your quad, start to move your body toward your head so that the roller works it way down the quad. Slowly move it toward the knee as you find any problem areas to focus on.
7. Repeat step #1.
   If you’re traveling, you can’t drink too much water! Plus, you want to flush out all the junk you just broke up in your muscles with this mobility routine.

Another awesome travel mobility routine you can do once you get to your destination that requires no equipment at all is this Full Body CARs routine. How do you stay on track with your fitness, mobility, hydration, and nutrition during travel? Share your pro-tips in the comments!

The post Travel Tip for Mobility & Hydration appeared first on Invictus Fitness.