Challenge #1 Wall Balls
MC CrossFit Member's 6 Week Fall Challenge 2017
40 Participants / 20 Teams
6 weeks of Challenges
Week 1 Challenge: 10/9 - 10/15
You and your partner will have one week to accumulate as many Wall ball shots 20/14 as possible. During Wall balls, your hip crease must pass below parallel, breaking the knee crease and shoot the Wall ball to a 9’ Foot target for ladies and 10’ Foot target for men
1. Catching and Positioning the Ball
You want to keep the ball as close to your body as possible during the entire m
ovement. As with any weight, the further away from your body it is, the heavier it will seem. This is because the resistance arm becomes longer.
The tricky part about keeping the ball close to your face and body is that we have all, whether we like to admit it or not, probably had a Wall Ball smash into our faces at some point during a WOD because of tired arms and fatigue. This isn’t pleasant, and conditions you to want to keep the ball as far away as possible in order to avoid this embarrassment happening again.
Resist the temptation and position your hands to the sides and slightly towards the bottom of Ball during the catch. Concentrating on hand positioning will help to focus your attention, and avoid any further unwanted kisses from your Ball.
2. How Deep should you Squat?
During Wall Balls, your hip crease must break the plane of the knee joint in the squat. There is nothing more frustrating than watching someone cheat their way through a grueling series of Wall Balls. As with all Crossfit exercises, if you are going to do something, do it properly. In order to train your body to find the exact position, try practicing with another ball placed on the floor behind you that you ‘sit’ on during each rep. Don’t let the ball take any of your weight, simply use it as a physical trigger to teach your body the depth of the position that it needs to achieve. As soon as you touch the ball, propel yourself straight back upwards. Training with a Wall Ball on the floor can improve your movement
With Wall ball shots , it is vital that you generate enough energy to propel the ball upwards with force and accuracy. Performing the squat properly is essential to making this happen. You don’t need to super deep, ass to grass, in order to create this power. If you are struggling with this, try moving your feet into a wider stance. This will force your hamstrings into the movement at an earlier point, and help generate upward force that you can then translate into the throw.
3. Give Your Arms a Rest
Reducing fatigue in the muscles surrounding the shoulder joint is only a good thing during Wall Balls, and any way you can do this should be maximized! After propelling the ball upwards, allow your arms to drop back down, that slight moment of rest will make a difference over time and help to reduce the fatigue of your deltoids. Although this seems like a minuscule and possibly pointless action, it works. When you are dealing with endurance and volume in exercise, small improvements to the efficiency of your movements make all the difference.
4. Take the Weight of the Ball
The mechanics and movement of wall balls should flow in a good rhythm. This means that although your legs are on fire and you feel like you might die, you must try and maintain a graceful movement throughout. When you catch the ball on its descent, absorb it’s weight into your squat.
5. Stand the Right Distance from the Wall
No matter how effectively you manage to rest your arms during each movement, or perfect your squat depth to maximize power, if you stand too far away then you will give yourself a huge amount of extra work.
If you have to throw the ball too far forward (because you are further away than you need to be), then you will lose the upward momentum as your body tilts forward to correct the movement. This wastes unnecessary energy, and will tire you out much quicker.
