Last week we discussed the importance of the arch position when kipping pull-ups. This week we’re going to dive into the details of the other half, the hollow. In general, I find that this one gets a lot more attention and focus than the other, because it’s where the pull-up actually happens. Now, with the arch position dialed-in and creating tons of tension we can refocus our efforts on the hollow, and more importantly trying to arrive there as quickly as possible. The hollow position is a shape in gymnastics that allows the entire body to move as one entity. It is characterized by posterior rotation of the hips which flattens out the lower back. Arms and legs are also fully extended and squeezed tight. When done properly this shape can create so much tension throughout the entire body that a passer-by could simply push one part of the athletes...Read more

I learned at the CrossFit Gymnastics Seminar that gymnastics is about making shapes. We spend a lot of time at Roots drilling the proper shapes of a kip, so by now you know that the kip consists of 2 shapes; the hollow and the arch. To kip is just to move from one shape to the other efficiently. We kip forward into the arch position and then return to the hollow and pull, and we just did a kipping pull-up. Because the actual pull-up happens in the hollow position many athletes move through the motions of the arch but in anticipation of the pull-up they miss the focus of the arch shape completely and leave a lot of power on the table that could have been applied to the pull-up. In larger sets this becomes more of a problem and when we switch to higher skill movements like the bar...Read more

Jackson's Honest to host a world premiere viewing of its SharkTank episode on ABC!Read more

An elimination diet is the gold standard for identifying food sensitivities. The basic premise is to remove an item from your diet for 3-4 weeks, reintroduce it and observe the effects. If the reintroduction increases symptoms, the food should be kept out of your diet at least for the short-term. It is important to reintroduce items one at a time (e.g., butter as butter not as a component in a wheat-flour-based cake) and in a quantity significant enough to cause a reaction (a few servings). Here is an example symptom tracker from the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM). Lab Tests and Food Sensitivities There are lab tests to determine food sensitivities (e.g., IgG antibody testing), but there are limitations of them based on the test itself, as well as how the food is prepared, processed, and/or how frequently it is consumed by the individual (1,2). In addition, there are potentially...Read more

Want to up your pull-up game with one simple fix? Wrap your thumb around the bar. That’s right, wrapping your thumb helps to create a stable shoulder position to pull from, it’s a stronger grip and it has loads more transferability. Of course it’s going to feel “weird” in the beginning, so did the overhead squat, front squat, kip, false-grip, hook-grip… Hanging from the bar with the thumb wrapped keeps the shoulders slightly externally rotated and more engaged, thus a stronger pulling platform. This effect is enhanced the further we can get the grip around the bar, similar to a false-grip. Carl Paoli describes it as getting your pinky knuckle on top of the bar. This gives a better movement pattern allowing more lat engagement. You can see this when the athletes body leans back slightly at the beginning of the pull. Without the thumb wrapped this position requires much...Read more