Gripping the Bar

Unbelieveable coach, the hook grip is something I have always struggled with.
Your coaching makes is simple and doable.
Can't say enough about what you bring to Crossfit and us who struggle with the "little" big things.

I am a little confused about the "external rotation".
When i see Kelly and Carl talk about it, it appears they finish with their hands "thumbs forward" (like an olympic gymnast finishing any move), however when Coach Burgener demonstrates it, it appears as though his pinky finger is forward.... "showing the armpits". I have always felt as though I am "showing" the top of my shoulders with a thumbs forward finish. (remember, this is coming from a complete novice in the CrossFit/Oly lifting arena)
Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.

External rotation of the shoulder definitely results in the "pinky forward" "armpit showing" position Coach B talks about.
That's the way that Kelly presents it in many MWOD videos, in many cases while using the same "show me your armpits cue" that he attributes to Coach B.

If you have your thumbs forward you'll definitely be "showing top of your shoulders" and that's definitely not what you want to do.

Ronald,

Like Craig alluded to earlier, both K-Starr, Carl, and Burgener all cue external rotation when overhead. External rotation describes the rotation of your humerus in the shoulder socket, as it can be internally or externally rotated. External rotation is what creates the "showing of the armpits" when you are in an overhead squat position. To feel this, rotate your pinky as far toward your face as you can while in the overhead position. You have now locked your shoulder into external rotation and should be in a very good position.

Now, without unlocking your shoulder from this position, you can then rotate your forearm to place your hand in a wide variety of positions, from pinky forward to palm forward to thumb forward, all while maintaining the external rotation of your shoulder joint. While you shoulder is still externally rotated through muscular stabilization, the forearm and hand can then be manipulated to obtain the positioning necessary to hold a barbell/handstand/etc. overhead.

Hope this helps.

Great video! What I'm about is where the bar is suppose to be. I thought the bar is suppose to be behind the head?

Thanks!

Thank you......with the bar in your hands, hand position is less important as the position of the upper arm and shoulder. (read the replies, put the bar in my hands, re-read, bar in my hands again)

Thank you again for the clarification.