Grabbed the empty Q slot for today with the goal of working on form. YHC is as guilty as anyone of sacrificing form for rep quantity, and of Qing workouts that compel other PAX to do likewise. Not good on numerous levels, and gonna try to be better, startiiiiing…NOW.

We focused on four staple exercises: squats, merkins, crunches, and pull-ups. (See video resources below.) We all think we know how to do these correctly, but very easy to forget in the heat of battle.

Did a little warm up, then YHC did his best to demonstrate proper form on the above. It was helpful to have Deep Dish (looking fresh as a daisy after completing the Cloudbuster Tough on Friday night!) on hand to impart his wisdom, and Max Power and several others weighed in with helpful pointers.

1. Squat – Feet at shoulder width or slightly wider. Place hands either pressed together at chest level, genie-style on shoulders (as in vid below) or outstretched straight ahead. This helps keep your head and chest up as you squat, avoiding a critical yet very common mistake. Pick a spot in front of you to focus your eyes, and drop your butt until your thigh and shin form a 90-degree angle. Controlled power move up, driving through center of your foot and heels, not your toes.

2. Merkin – Hands slightly wider than shoulder width. Thumbs should align with nipples. Failing to engage core is probably the most common mistake. In the up position, your body should form a perfect inclined line, no sagging bellies or arching backs. Head in a neutral position. Arms shouldn’t bow out to 90 degrees or be tight to the body, but rather should go out to a 45 degree angle as you lower your body, in control, down to an inch or two off the ground. Controlled explosion up.

3. Crunch – For the purposes of this demonstration, we left our feet on the ground, though Deep Dish did advocate for the common LBC position. Biggest thing is not to pull your head and strain your neck. That’s not only bad for your neck, it also takes some focus off your abdominals. Place fingertips gently on edge of ears and raise shoulders and head off the ground. Keep your head in a neutral position and your back on the ground. Control up, little squeeze of the abs, control down.

After the tutorial, we partnered up and each PAX did 5 reps of one of the above exercises which their partner critiqued, then they swapped and the other partner critiqued form. Each PAX did 5 more reps based on the feedback as their partner observed. Did this for all three of the above exercises.

4. Pull-up – YHC estimates maybe one-third of Churham PAX can do 5 good pull-ups unassisted. YHC is not in that number. The Eagle has a great set up that allows PAX to put their feet on a window sill to assist at the pull-up overhang, and they were encouraged to do so. The video below is more advanced than we got into, but the main principles are: Drop all the way down to get a full stretch of the back muscles. Pull up as your elbows point toward your hips as they drop down. Get chin above bar. Controlled back down to starting position.

• 50 pushups in tempo
• 100 crunches in tempo
• 150 squats in tempo