The "Rack" Position

The rack position is a way of holding a barbell in the front of their shoulders in a way that minimizes the stress and energy demands on the body.  It looks something like this:

You have to admit that's an awesome 'stache!

The problem is that if you go into your local Crossfit box, you will see a majority of the members in there do not have the ability to adequately get into that position.  How would you know if you're one of them?  Well if during exercises like front squats, clean and jerks, or thrusters and you notice yourself having wrist pain, you might be one of them.  Sometimes also people that get into the rack position notice that the barbell is actually choking their throat, so therefore there isn't enough space to comfortably rest in that position.

What I've noticed is that there are several main reasons for this.

1)  Limited thoracic spine extension - The is the most common one.  Especially if the bar is choking you out when you get in this position.  Your head, neck and upper back can't go back far enough so there's not enough space for the bar.  Extension is the same thing as 'leaning back' with the upper back.



2)  Limited flexibility of the elbow or wrists - Typically you know if you fall into this category.  An old injury that didn't heal well would most likely be to blame.  Be careful though, just because you feel tension at your elbow as you try to get into the rack position does not mean that you have elbow problems.  It could still be a thoracic spine problem, you just feel added stress and stretch at the elbow because of the upper back's inflexibility.

Ulnar Nerve self tension test

3)  A peripheral Nerve Entrapment of the Ulnar nerve at the elbow - The ulnar nerve (the funny bone) get's almost fully tensioned (pulled tight) in the rack position.  It's close to the orthopedic test we have for entrapment of the ulnar nerve.  The orthopedic test looks like this.  You would feel pain on the inside of your elbow.









Now what do you do if you fall into these category?

1) Thoracic Spine foam rolling techniques - I've gone over this several times in posts in the past.  If you don't know what I'm referring to, go back into the archives section on the bottom of this page.  Make sure you rolling out the spine BEFORE the workout as opposed to afterward.  You need that increased flexibility for your workout.

2)  Try stretching your wrists and your elbows.  Either in two ways, static holding (hold for 30 seconds) or in mobilizations (constant motion to ever end range of motion).  Both will be helpful

3) Get yourself checked out by a sports chiropractor or manual therapist.  There are certain techniques to improving flexibility in a joint or muscle that you just can't reproduce at home.  If you are unable to at least improve your rack position with the foam roller or quality coaching I'd recommend you get yourself checked out.

If you are in the Boca Raton area and would like to get yourself checked out, don't hesitate to sign up for your own exam on the right hand side of the page, or by contacting me at drscotthoar@gmail.com.  Happy racking!!! To check out more visit www.Mobility-4Life.com