Learning a New CrossFit Skill

Are you a CrossFit athlete wondering when or if you’ll be able to do that new or more challenging skill? Do you watch with envy as your fellow gym mates kick up into a handstand push-up or fling themselves up to do a muscle up?

These movements don’t just magically happen one day. You can absolutely get there by practicing components of different movements and lifts. If you can break the movement down into parts, you can begin the process of learning what it takes to put the whole skill together. 

Making sure you have solid pull-ups, kip swings, and hollow/arch positions are skills most people can work on even if they aren’t yet ready to put the full muscle up together.  The same concept can be used for Olympic lifting. If you are having trouble with snatches or cleans, maybe you work on your pull from the hang position prior to putting the full lift together pulling from the floor. Once aspects of these movements become second nature, it will be less you’ll have to focus on when you’re going to put the whole task together. 

You can’t expect to be able to focus on each individual movement when you are doing a complex lift, some of it has to happen on auto-pilot.  Putting in the reps now for smaller components will serve as the building blocks and start the process of becoming comfortable with each phase of the movement so that later on it feels second nature.

Don’t just hop up on the bar thinking the muscle up will suddenly happen.  If you aren’t sure how you can break down a movement to fit your current skill level, we can help meet you at your current level and help guide you to meeting your goals.