Overhead lockout is crucial in so many movements used in CrossFit. To master the lockout is a combination of balance, mobility and strength – a few things to think about! Here’s a bunch of tips to help you master your overhead lockout:
Increase Lat mobility:
Performing soft tissue work on your lats such as foam rolling, lacrosse ball self massaging, or getting a massage from a professional is a great way to increase range of motion (ROM) overhead. When stiff and tight, the lats can be like a shirt that is tightly tucked into your pants. When you reach overhead you can feel your shirt (lats) pulling and can make it hard to reach overhead and limit your ability to lockout fully. Loosening the lats will free up that shoulder joint, meaning you will have more overhead ROM.
Joint stability and strengthening exercises:
Overhead isometric holds, bench press, banded tricep extensions, dips, top of dip holds, and handstand holds, are all great examples of shoulder and elbow strengthening exercises. Performing these types of exercises will increase joint strength in a full flexed shoulder position and a fully extended elbow.
Thoracic mobility
Gaining control over your thoracic spine will allow you to better stabilize the shoulder. Having the control to reach full ROM in thoracic extension and flexion is important for increasing overhead lockout ability. Vice versa, being able to stop yourself from over extending will also increase control over your lockout. Foam rolling the t-spine and performing controlled extensions and flexes over the foam roller, with arms extended is a great way to increase thoracic mobility.
Scapular control
The scapula can perform six different motions; protraction, retraction, elevation, depression, upward rotation, and downward rotation. We must learn to control these movements to their full ROM in order to gain control over how we align our joints. The best alignment, where the weight is placing force throughout the joints correctly, will mean it is easier to perform a more sound and safer lockout position. Banded pull aparts, scap pull ups, scap push ups, external and internal shoulder rotations are all great exercises for building control of the scapula.
It doesn’t matter what weight you might be able to get overhead if you can’t get your overhead lockout sorted, controlling it and keeping the weight up there. Once you get confidence in your lockout, you’ll be able to attempt more PR’s as your body can handle the strain much better. Let’s get it!