Having a clinic located inside of a CrossFit gym has given me insight into some of the common struggles CrossFit athletes are dealing with during their WODs. One of the recurring complaints I hear is difficulty with overhead press or overhead squat. A simple fix could be improving the mobility of your thoracic spine (or your upper back).
Try this…sit or stand and hunch your back into a “slouch” position. Now raise your arms as high as you can. How high do your arms get? Now, sit or stand up straight with proper upright posture and raise your arms again. Did your arms go higher? The answer should be yes! See how much your thoracic spine posture affects your overhead range of motion? If you slouch down, your arms can’t go as high when compared to having proper upright posture.
What this means for CrossFitters, or anyone performing overhead lifts, is you need to make sure your thoracic spine can flex and extend to allow you to hold weight overhead. Something you can do to help improve your thoracic spine mobility is to lay on a foam roll and extend back over the foam roll. Check out the video below or check out the post on our social media – Facebook, Instagram, Youtube
This exercise is great even if you don’t participate in CrossFit or Olympic lifting. If you sit at a desk, typically, your shoulders will round forward and your thoracic spine will flex (or bend forward) too much. You can do this same exercise while at your desk throughout the day to improve your posture.
For this, you can just extend back over the back of your chair to get the same effect as the foam roll. Check out the picture to the left or the post on our social media – Facebook, Instagram
If you are one to complain about your overhead lifts, try these out and see if you notice a difference in your overhead exercises. Happy mobilizing!
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