WOD 7/31/2008: If you are on the HQ 3/1 rotation, take a rest day or come in and work on a specific skill or drill.  Hmmm- Pose running comes to mind. 

Jeff Suport WOD:  93 Feet of Rope Climb!  Start lying prone from the ground & go all the way to the beam.  8 rope climbs if you're Rx'd... 16 for modified!

Move 9 of the CrossFit foundational movements is the Medicine Ball Clean.  The clean is the most efficient and effective way to get a heavy load up to your shoulders and then overhead with a jerk.  Put it this way- if a race of geeky aliens descended upon us and they were given a drawing of the human musculature/skeleture, the plans that they would come up with for getting a load to your shoulders quickly is The Clean. 

Much like the SDLHP, which was discussed yesterday, the Med Ball Clean is done with quickness and explosiveness.  Except, right at the moment of shrug/extension you will pull yourself back down under the load, catching it in a Front Squat- which was discussed on 7/24.                     

Today's Pic- Dave C in extension at the Jacksonville cert last month.  

Learning the clean can be a daunting task.  Think of it as a chain of events just like the SDLHP- Set Up keeping the back arched, accelerate through the legs and hips to full extension, shrug w elbows outside, THEN dive underneath the load. 

Check this video for a good explanation and demo of The Med Ball Clean.  You may even see a familiar face or two in this one.  [wmv] [mov]

We are trying really hard to provide you guys with good, solid CrossFit info each day on the blog.  You may have noticed over the last week or so that the content has grown a bit larger.  Let us know how we are doing.  Are these discussions valuable?  Should we save the bandwidth and depend on you to ask questions?  Let us know.