PROGRAMMING…THE ART OF MAKING YOU BETTER WITHOUT KILLING YOU
Occasionally the question comes up as to “why” we have been doing what we have been doing in the gym. We have explained a little about what we do in past articles, but I think it is a subject that should be revisited from time to time.
When it comes to programming for an entire gym, we treat a week as if programming for someone who is working out 6 days in a row. I know this sounds a little ridiculous to a lot of you, but there are people who come in 5-6 days per week on a fairly regular basis. We have to think about their well being and progress just as much as the person who comes 2 days per week. Unfortunately the person showing up 2 days per week may not get the full benefit of the program, but we believe that we are still providing a better overall program for the 2 day a week person than anything else they could possibly be doing 2 days per week.
There is a method to our madness. Usually when we look at a week we have certain things we would like to accomplish. In regards to strength work a typical week usually includes 1-2 Oly lifts, 1-2 “squat” days, a “push” day and a “pull” day. The order is randomized a little, but still mindful of what occurred the days before and what will occur the days after. When it comes to conditioning you will usually see a few short efforts (2-8 minutes), a couple medium efforts (8-15 minutes) and usually 1-2 longer efforts (15+ minutes). We try to vary these so that the 6 day a week person varies length of conditioning efforts.
An example of this is something like…Monday-Short, Tuesday-Medium, Wednesday-Short, Thursday-Long, Friday-Medium, Saturday-Long. This is one example of how we could vary conditioning workout lengths.
Now, if you happen to be a Monday-Wednesday-Friday 3 day a week member that means you get 2 short workouts and a medium length workout. Does that mean you are getting shortchanged?
Some may look at it as “only” having short workouts and “easy”…I look at it as pure hell. In my opinion “Fran” is a million times worse than “Murph.” When it comes to running, a sprint is short and deadly, a 5K is an effort in pacing. The sprint leaves you flat on your back and hurting whereas the 5K leaves you a little gassed for a bit and then you are back to being ok. Yes you can “sprint” a 5K too, but try to do that more than every once in a while and you will not last long before your body starts to break down. Have you ever really tried a max effort 400m or 800m run? Not fun! I’m using the idea of a “sprint” and a “5K” somewhat metaphorically, but you get the idea.
What we are getting at is that you should treat “short” workouts as max effort sprints. The 4 minute gasser should leave you as wasted if not more so than the 15-20 minute AMRAP. If you ever finish a workout and find yourself saying “is that all?” then maybe you should have sprinted a little harder or gone a little heavier…
Either way, we try to be mindful of peoples varied schedules and vary things each week, but we cannot always make everyone happy.
There is also the idea of periodizing training. We attempt to play to weaknesses. Coaches notice trends in a skill or strength that may be lacking so in an effort to bring that area up we program to that weakness for a bit. We also may “dial back” certain aspects for a few weeks to get members ready for a big event (like say the CrossFit Total). This is why professional, collegiate and even high school athletes have “in-season” and “off-season” programming. You wouldn’t want your football team doing 2-a-days in season the day before a big game would you? But when it is summer and no games will occur for a few weeks and you need to get back into condition, those 2-a-days are a necessary evil. So sure, we could have programmed the Filthy 50 and “Diane” (21-15-9 #225 Deadlifts and Handstand Pushups) in the days before the CrossFit Total and you would have had a butt kicking, but then you would be up in arms as to why your Deadlift 1RM dropped by #30 from the last time you tested it. 
Now our programming will shift focus toward the upcoming CrossFit Open. Expect a few weeks of more intense conditioning followed by a bit of a taper before the actual Open.
Trust us, we are mad scientists!
-Coach Eric
STRENGTH/SKILL
Max Height Box Jump (Power Test)
- Take as many attempts as needed to establish a max height Box Jump.
- You must Jump and Land on 2 feet.
- For a rep to count you must establish balance and extend your hips on top of the box. (Stand up straight)
- Box Height will be verified by tape measure.
CONDITIONING
1000M Row (Aerobic Test)
- Coaches will set the rower to count down from 1000M.
- You get one attempt to set a time.
- Once you have established your Max Height Box Jump you may complete your Row at any time during class.
AUXILIARY WORK
Max Effort Prone Plank Hold
- On 2 Elbows, Feet and Hands are not allowed to touch each other.
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