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Decoding CrossFit #7 — Three little letters. One very complicated relationship with gravity.
Welcome back to Decoding CrossFit, the series where I translate the workout board and discover that the shortest abbreviations usually require the longest explanations!
Today’s mysterious collection of letters is: OHS!
It stands for Overhead Squat.
The name sounds almost suspiciously simple: hold a bar overhead and squat...That’s it! Except, of course, that is very much not it...
What exactly is an Overhead Squat?
An Overhead Squat is a squat performed while holding a barbell overhead, with your arms extended throughout the movement.
On paper, it looks like two familiar things put together:
- hold a bar overhead;
- do a squat.
In reality, every part of the body is suddenly invited to the meeting...Your shoulders need to keep the bar stable. Your core needs to stop everything from collapsing. Your hips and ankles need enough mobility to let you squat, and your balance needs to cooperate while the bar stays above you. If one part decides not to participate, the whole movement knows immediately... And so do you lol
The movement that gives me more of a fight
Some CrossFit movements feel difficult because they are exhausting. Others feel difficult because they are heavy. The OHS gives me more of a fight because it seems to ask for everything at the same time. It is not enough to squat... I also have to think about where the bar is, whether my arms are staying locked, whether I am balanced, and whether all the other parts of my body have decided to work together that day...
There is very little room for pretending!
A normal squat may allow me to negotiate with myself. The Overhead Squat brings in a strict no-negotiation policy lol
Why does it look so much easier when someone else does it?
This is one of those movements that experienced athletes can make look beautifully controlled! They lift the bar, settle into position, squat down, and stand back up as if gravity has agreed to leave them alone for a few seconds.
Then it is my turn...Suddenly, I am aware of joints I had forgotten existed!
That does not mean I cannot do it. It means the movement still makes me work for every good repetition — and that is probably why it is so satisfying when one finally feels right! The bar stays where it should. The squat feels controlled. I stand up without a dramatic rescue operation. For one glorious moment, it almost looks intentional.
Scaling is still doing the movement
As with everything else in CrossFit, the goal is not to force a version that is not right for me. The weight can be adjusted, and the focus can stay on control, position, and technique. Using a lighter bar does not make the movement less real. It gives me the chance to practise it properly instead of turning it into an improvised survival exercise.
That is something I keep learning in CrossFit: progress is not always adding more weight or moving faster...Sometimes progress is simply feeling a little less lost than the last time those three letters appeared on the board.
I am not at the stage where I see OHS and think, “Wonderful!” But I am past the stage where three letters can scare me away.
Now I look at them, accept that we are about to have another argument, and pick up the bar!
Which movement looks simple until you actually try it?
