November 14, 2017
You may have read Kyle’s previous Coaches’ Corner in which he explained the differences in standards and expectations of our two branches of programming, Fitness and Competition, as well as how to choose according to your goals. While we have maintained these two variations of programming, you may have noticed alterations in the weekly structure of our workouts. As an extension to our previous article, I would like to go over our reasons for doing so, namely, recovery.
Before I go a bit more in depth on recovery, I strongly recommend watching the linked video below. It covers overtraining and recovery rather extensively, and includes a very easily digestible visual of what recovery includes. Afterwards, I’ll go into a brief recap of what recovery is, how it’s reflected in our current programming, and what that means long term.
Onto the programming specifically, Mondays are going to consist of a relatively low volume and higher intensity main compound movement. Intensity here basically refers to load. A high load at lower volume is not going to be tremendously taxing, especially if you’re just building up to one heavy set. This is then followed by an every-minute-on-the-minute style workout. We find EMOMs to be a nice way to start the week as they give us an opportunity to be a little more deliberate with strength and skill work in a CrossFit environment while at the same time increasing the heart rate to a manageable level with integrated rest. The following day, Tuesday, will include exclusively upper body strength and skill work. This is usually begun with another high intensity, low volume, compound movement. Afterward is a few back off sets of a related compound movement at lighter weights to accumulate a some volume. Next are few accessory or isolation movements to build up the muscles associated with the main movement performed earlier that session. These may be unilateral or include midline work to help correct imbalances and prevent injuries. Wednesdays will always include an Olympic lift as the strength portion. For those who are less experienced, this is time for lighter technique work. Those who are more experienced can load their bars a little heavier, although technique is still a priority. This will be followed by a MetCon, typically an AMRAP or a task for time. The conditioning work will likewise include the Olympic movement practiced in the strength portion, and serves as an opportunity to utilize said movement in a less deliberate, more fast paced setting. Thursday is much like Tuesday, the only difference being a lower body focus. And on Friday we like to team up and hit it hard with a bit more intensity. Sometimes this will be prefaced by strength work, but more often than not the MetCon is the main focus. What we end up with is a gradual increase in intensity across the week with balanced strength, skill, and conditioning work, with adequate rest.
On that note, we end with the long term outlook. There is not a whole lot to say here. Your training today is going to impact tomorrow’s, and tomorrow’s session is going to affect the next, and so on. If you judge the effectiveness of your workout by how dead you feel, you need to chill out. Strength has it’s place, and so does conditioning. There are also times for a mix of the two. Do too much and you’ll have spent a lot of effort with little to no reward at the end. Work smart, not hard. Don’t focus on just today’s workout. Look ahead in the week, and think of how you want to feel towards the end of it. Listen to your body and as always, get plenty of rest, drink your water, and eat ya veggies. Thanks for the read and happy lifting.
-Gabriel
gabriel@warriorcfm.com