Jun 3, 2014
This episode of the All Around Joe podcast comes from a listener question. Logan Gray asks…
How can we gain weight and improve strength, while maintaining mobility, and improving gymnastics movements.
This is a great question, and one that most CrossFitters want to know the answer to.
It’s really a simpler answer than you’d think…
Gain weight
Start by eating a ton of food. I like people to get 1 gram of protein per pound of desired body weight. Then matching that number with your fat consumption. And last, eating carbs based on your energy needs. It’s usually around 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbs. But the fat can increase, and carbs and decrease based on energy needs.
Improve strength
Next up… lift heavy weights (always using good form), using large muscle groups in multi-joint movements. Think squats, deadlifts, bench presses, cleans, and snatches, etc. Find an off season strength program to follow, and get to work.
Maintain mobility
Something that most people don’t realize, is that mobility can be gained from lifting weights (even heavy weights). Yep, true story. What you need to do is lift weights through full ranges of motion. Those half squats just aren’t going to cut it. Make sure that you have a neutral spine, and then squat as low as you can get. Doing this you’ll find that your mobility actually will increase over time. It’s awesome!
Improve gymnastic movements
This is the trickiest part of the equation. When you get heavier, gymnastics movements suffer. Sorry! But what you can do is pay extra attention to having amazing gymnastics movement patterns. Study Carl Paoli at http://gymnasticswod.com. Carl can show you how to improve your gymnastics movement patterns, which will make the movements easier. So, the goal is to get better at your gymnastics form, knowing that the movements will get harder when you gain weight. But at some point you will want to get ready for the CrossFit Open (usually starting in Nov. or Dec.), and increase your metabolic condition. When you increase your metabolic conditioning, there’s a good chance you’ll also lose some of that body fat that you put on while gaining weight/strength. Once the body weight comes off, the gymnastics will get much easier. And you’ll be stronger, and have better movement patterns. It will be awesome!
In this episode you learn about how to Gain weight/strength/mobility/gymnastics, plus…
- What to eat.
- How much to eat.
- How to increase mobility through weight lifting.
- What’s important when doing gymnastics when gaining weight.
Resources and links mentioned in this podcast
Carl Paoli GymnasticsWOD – http://gymnasticswod.com/
Listening options
Help me out!
If you haven’t done so already, it would totally help me out if you could give me a quick iTunes review by clicking the link below. My goal is to help as many people as possible with this podcast, and each review helps me get more people listening.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/allaroundjoe-podcast-fitness/id690333495
The post AAJ 025: Gain weight & strength, maintain mobility, and improve gymnastics appeared first on AllAroundJoe.