Justin Medeiros Teaches the Buttery Bros How to Log Lift
The two-time reigning Fittest Man on Earth® Justin Medeiros continued his streak of elite contest dominance when he won the 2022 Rogue Invitational in late October. He was the reigning champion entering that competition and defended his title despite the stiff competition at the Dell Diamond stadium in Round Rock, TX.
A log press event was introduced to CrossFit competition at the 2022 Rogue Invitational. Event Seven — the “Texas Oak” — featured a one-rep max log lift. Medeiros’ experience in the event was unsavory despite displaying a champion’s composure under pressure.
Medeiros hit his third attempt in the third round, which tasked athletes to lock out 270 pounds. However, after review, his lift was nullified for not completing the lift within the time cap. Despite his 16th-place finish in the event, he proved that his technique was strong enough to lift the weight presented, and he taught that technique to the Buttery Bros in a YouTube video published on Nov. 16, 2022. Check it out below:
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The video opened with the Buttery Bros amidst their signature move — pancakes and waffles as their pre-workout meal alongside Medeiros and CrossFit Games mainstay Ellie Turner. After fueling up, the group went to Medeiros’ garage gym, a.k.a. the “Shred Shed 2.0,” which included a disassembled belt squat machine that will eventually become part of Medeiros’ weekly programming.
After a warm-up of burpees and double-unders, Medeiros put on his teaching cap and gave the Buttery Bros a tutorial in the log press.
Pick it up with straight arms and then you lap it and get down. When you do the turnover, the power is coming from your hips.
That lap position, where the log is rowed to the hips, is a position of rest and should feel relatively comfortable. The hip drive cleans the log up to the front rack position, where the elbows should be held high so as not to let the log fall too far forward, which could cause imbalance.
The higher you get the elbows, the better. When the elbows start dropping, the log is going to roll off. If your elbows are high, the handles are high.
The Buttery Bros opened on 72 pounds to get a sense of the technique but quickly ramped up to 160 pounds. Heber Cannon and Marston Sawyers implemented a split jerk — a legal maneuver in the log lift in both CrossFit and strongman contests. Former American log lift record holder Rob Kearney used to use a split jerk technique in elite strongman contests.
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Medeiros joined them in practicing his split jerk at 170 pounds. Cannon failed his first shown attempt at 180 pounds but converted on his second. Sawyers cleared 180 pounds on his first try but missed 190 pounds. Medeiros noticed the flaw in Sawyers’ technique at the higher weight that came during the dip, which was too deep, causing the log to fall forward.
Look up at the ceiling — short dip with a strong front rack.
The advice worked as Sawyers locked out 190 pounds while wearing a lifting belt.
The 2023 CrossFit season kicks off on February 16, 2023, via the CrossFit Open. The 2023 Wodapalooza contest occurs a month before the Open starts at Bayfront Park in Miami, FL.
Featured image: @butterybros on Instagram