The Nine Foundational Movements Flashcards
6 cards from real CROSSFIT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 The Nine Foundational Movements flashcards as text
Which of the following movements is NOT one of the nine foundational movements of CrossFit?
Answer: Kettlebell Swing
The nine foundational movements are the Air Squat, Front Squat, Overhead Squat, Shoulder Press, Push Press, Push Jerk, Deadlift, Sumo Deadlift High Pull, and Medicine Ball Clean. The Kettlebell Swing, while a common and important movement in CrossFit, is not one of the nine foundational movements taught in the Level 1 course.
An athlete performing an air squat repeatedly fails to break parallel, with their hip crease staying above their knees. What is the most likely reason for this fault?
Answer: Poor ankle flexibility and/or weak posterior chain engagement
Failure to reach full depth (hip crease below the knee) in an air squat is often due to mobility restrictions, particularly in the ankles, or a weak or inactive posterior chain (glutes and hamstrings), which prevents the athlete from sitting back and down properly.
In the Shoulder Press, which of the following is a key point of performance?
Answer: The torso and legs remain static throughout the lift.
The Shoulder Press, or Strict Press, is defined by the strict use of the upper body. The legs and torso must remain static to isolate the shoulders and arms for the lift. Any use of the legs (a dip and drive) would turn the movement into a Push Press or Push Jerk.
During a Sumo Deadlift High Pull, a coach observes an athlete bending their arms early, before their hips have fully extended. This is a violation of which key mechanical principle?
Answer: Core-to-extremity movement
The Sumo Deadlift High Pull relies on a core-to-extremity sequence. Power is generated by the large muscles of the hips and legs and then transferred to the extremities (the arms). Bending the arms before the hips are fully open breaks this sequence, reducing power and efficiency.
Which progression of movements correctly follows the sequence taught in the Level 1 course for the overhead press series?
Answer: Shoulder Press, Push Press, Push Jerk
The foundational movements are taught in progressions from simple to complex. For the overhead series, the Shoulder Press is taught first as it is a strict strength movement. The Push Press adds a dip and drive from the legs, and the Push Jerk adds a second dip to receive the bar overhead, making it the most complex of the three.
A new athlete is learning the Medicine Ball Clean. What is the primary purpose of this movement in relation to more advanced lifts?
Answer: To introduce the principles of explosive hip extension and moving the body around an object.
The Medicine Ball Clean is a foundational movement used to teach the essential motor patterns for Olympic lifts like the barbell clean. It emphasizes generating power through rapid hip extension (core-to-extremity) and the concept of pulling oneself under the object, rather than just lifting the object with the arms.