Functional Flexibility Workshop - Going Overhead

This is the second session in our Functional Flexibility series.

GOING OVERHEAD

Picking up heavy stuff and going overhead is common in CrossFit, but also unique to our sport.

Going overhead has its benefits as well as its pitfalls. In a perfect world, managing heavy stuff over our heads builds hip and core power as well shoulder strength. Unfortunately, because there isn't much opportunity in our WODs for isolation of the smaller, vital stabilizing muscles that can make or break the health of your shoulders there is also a tendency toward shoulder injuries in CrossFit.

Frequent injuries such as shoulder impingement syndrome, rotator cuff tears, and ligament damage are all due to the fact that the shoulder joint is the most unstable joint in the body. Combine that instability with a lack of strength in the shoulder's posterior chain and lack of
flexibility in the chest and you've got a serious chance for injury with only a minor deviation in form.

In this seminar, you'll learn:

* Strengthening and stabilizing exercises for improving handstand pushups, overhead squats, and presses
* Proper and more efficient shoulder placement for presses and overhead squats
* Flexibility drills for scapular mobility and stability that will foster a healthy range of motion between the scapula and ribcage and scapula and humerus (arm bone).
* Mobility exercises for thoracic mobility, which goes hand-in-hand with shoulder mobility. The scapula floats on the ribcage (the main component of the thoracic body) and the body is stronger when it is properly aligned within its center.

No matter your goal, whether shoulder strength to get rx'd handstand pushups or flexibility for more efficient form to finally get that bodyweight overhead squat, you could use improvement in your overhead flexibility, stability, and strength. GOING OVERHEAD will get you there.

So, here's the deal:

- Class is open to GSS CrossFit MEMBERS ONLY
- Class is limited to 20 participants
- You must register via our MindBody site - go to the Class Schedule/Store from our main page.  Once you are on the Mind Body site look for "Functional Flexibility" under CrossFit classes on 7/31/2010.
- Class is FREE to our monthly members
- Class is $5 for our punchcard members

About Lisa
Lisa Meer-Lewis has over 13 years experience working with the body as a Certified Massage Therapist, 500 hour level Registered Yoga Teacher and a Level 1 Crossfit Trainer. She has been an athlete since the age of 8 in various sports and although yoga and Crossfit are an essential part of her everyday fitness, she admits to
being happiest when she is out backpacking for days at a time, climbing on the side of a rock face or soaring in a para-glider. When she can't be outside for days at a time, a gratifying part of her everyday life, is any chance she gets to use her diverse knowledge and background to help someone feel more comfortable in their own skin whether they are an athlete, injured or just trying to crawl out from a life of being de-conditioned.