Crossfit exercises
6K 1 11/01/2017 (last revision: 05/17/2019)
Among the numerous crossfit complexes used not only by professional crossfitters, but also by novice athletes, overhead pancake lunges are especially popular. This exercise does not require special training, but can be performed even at home, the only requirement is the presence of a pancake from the bar.
The essence and benefits of exercise
Pancake lunges are an exercise aimed at developing an athlete's coordination and stabilization abilities. It is useful in that, unlike conventional lunges without weights, it loads not only the muscles of the legs, but also strengthens the shoulder girdle by keeping the weight of the projectile in a static position over the head.
Another advantage of this movement is that during its implementation, the dynamic load on the muscles of the lumbar region is excluded, since holding the weight above the head implies a static perpendicular position of the back relative to the floor.
What muscles work?
In the course of performing attacks with a pancake over your head, the following are actively involved:
- in the lower body - gluteal muscles and quadriceps;
- in the upper body - trapezius muscles, triceps, anterior and middle bundles of deltoid muscles.
However, it should be noted that the upper body in this exercise works indirectly - it is responsible for stabilizing and maintaining the weight of the projectile with straightened arms above the head.
Exercise technique
This exercise is multi-joint and quite difficult to perform. Therefore, you need to carefully consider the technique of its implementation. To perform this exercise correctly, you should learn to work with your feet, observing the correct working angles in the joints. Only after you have mastered the technique of performing the exercise without additional burdening, you can proceed to the selection of the projectile. First, try classic dumbbell lunges. Once your legs are adjusted to weight work, you can move on to doing overhead pancake lunges.
Select the weight of the pancake in such a way that you feel comfortable doing this exercise. The additional load should be built up gradually.
So what's the right way to do overhead pancake lunges? The technique for performing the exercise is quite simple and looks like this:
- Take the starting position - take the pancake in your hands and raise it above your head. The arms should be fully extended at the elbow joint. Direct your gaze in front of you or at the floor. Place your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Taking a deep breath, take a wide step forward and begin to lower down until the knee touches the floor so that the tibia of the leg extended forward and the thigh of the hind leg are perpendicular to the floor.
- As you exhale, extend your legs, focusing on the front leg, and return to the starting position by taking a step back.
Typical mistakes
Among the mistakes that athletes most often make when performing this exercise, several typical ones can be distinguished. Most often they are found in novice athletes, instinctively, one might say - on a subconscious level, seeking to facilitate the exercise. These errors look like this:
- Incompletely extended arms at the elbow joint are the most common mistake made by beginner athletes. If the arms with a pancake over the head are not fully straightened, then the triceps begin to load, which is undesirable in this exercise.
- Tilting the arms forward with the pancake - this error leads to an incorrect distribution of the load, since the deltoid muscles are overstrained, which should act as stabilizers in this movement.
- Incorrect knee angle is the most traumatic mistake. The load from the gluteal muscles is transferred to the quadriceps and overloads its tendon, which can lead to stretching. Therefore, it is imperative to keep an eye on the 90 degree angle between the femur and the tibia.
- Shifting the load to the hind leg is a mistake that overloads the quadriceps, which can also lead to injury. Therefore, you need to transfer the main load to the gluteus muscle and quadriceps of the front leg.
- Poor posture (excessive bending or rounding of the back). Such a mistake can be fraught with spinal injury.
- Overhead pancake lunges are a complex and multi-joint exercise, therefore, in order to avoid mistakes and injuries, it is better to entrust the setting of his technique to a qualified specialist. And don't forget to warm up your joints, ligaments, and tendons before exercising.
