With the CrossFit Games Open fast approaching, I wanted to re-share this blog post from July. I find that for us to be effective coaches, we have to also educate. We have definitely made some changes to the programming in cycle 3 in preparation. Although, we still stick to these major principles. It has been a blast watching everyone improve. Enjoy!
“How does CrossFit programming work and why is it effective? I have been getting this question a lot, so I wanted to touch base on it here. There really is no short answer to this question because it is all based off body physiology. You see, the body has three energy systems: the Phosphagen system, which consists of workouts less than 7 minutes, the glycolytic system, which are workouts ranging from 10-20 minutes, and the oxidative system workouts that are over 20 minutes. Within these systems are several components, all of which stress different portions of our anatomy. For example, the Phosphagen system consists of capacity-based workouts or explosive lifts. So your “Fran” type wods and Olympic based lifts fall into this category. When I want to stress this system, I like to mix and match between the two and throw in additional movements with the idea of lung capacity in mind or lifts that will stress the neuromuscular system.
The glycolytic system can be broken up into two parts: fast glycolytic and slow glycolytic. Our fast glycolytic workouts range between 5-10 minutes in length. They can have many different movements in a workout and tend to still fall on that capacity side of things. For example, this Monday’s chipper fell into this category. Now the majority of CrossFit workouts, and most fitness routines for that matter, fall into the slow glycolytic category. These workouts last 10-20 minutes in length but on average are about 15 minutes long. These are wods that tend to be very creative and allow you to find paces within them. You can mix and match all kinds of different elements to make these fun. Your classic met-cons, that sexy term you hear CrossFitters throw around all the time, are all glycolic. The problem is many programmers stay in this range because results happen quickly, within the first 90 days, you do not have to weight lift and in all reality they are safe. Stressing this energy system can take up a bulk of programming, but it should not be the only system that is stressed and this is where many boxes lose results over time with their members. The classic girl wod “Helen” is a great example of a glycolytic system stressor. However, what often gets overlooked, and even I have been a culprit at times, is the oxidative system.
The oxidative system is workouts ranging over 20 minutes in length. They are considered aerobic while the other systems are anaerobic. This means it requires air and recruits the majority of slow twitch muscle fibers. Your classic 5k can be considered oxidative or your favorite 45 minute row days. CrossFit requires the stressing of all three systems for it to be completely effective. These oxidative workouts tend to be the boring ones that nobody wants to do. However, they are the most essential to achieve the results everyone desires. If you want to be successful, you can’t shy away from this; rather, you need to embrace them head on.
What is fun for me as a programmer, and all programmers that understand the body’s energy systems, is attempting to mix and match them to stress the body on different levels throughout a workout. For example, a wod that consists of three 4 Minute AMRAP’s.
AMRAP 4
10 G2O (95/65)
20 Double Unders
Rest 1 Min
AMRAP 4
Find 1RM Snatch
Rest 1 Min
AMRAP 4
1-2-3-4-5-Etc.
DL (With Snatch Weight)
SHSPU
In this workout we had a total of 12 minutes of work, slow glycolytic. However, in breaking it up into three separate 4 Min. AMRAP’s, we stressed the fast glycolytic system and in doing the max snatch in the middle we hammered on the phosphagen system. Fun stuff!
There are many other ways to stress your body’s energy systems, so you all can get the best results possible. When we lift before we do a wod, we stress the phosphagen system and then go into a glycolytic or oxidative stressor workout. I heard the statement on several occasions that when you walk into Precision our members all look fit. Many in the community can misinterpret this as us just having a bunch of bad ass competitors. A small minority of Precision actually competes. Maybe we are just doing our job with the programming and using CrossFit the exercise routine as it was intended to be used. This leads to results, plain and simple. The goal of CrossFit is to make you fit. Our members follow a plan to achieve this goal. We are not a bunch of CrossFit competitors with our only job being CrossFit. We are doctors, lawyers, teachers, officers, business professionals, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters and parents. We are everyday people that choose to live a healthy lifestyle. By doing CrossFit the way it was intended to be done we can accomplish this goal with flying colors.
Fitness-Strength-Community
WARM UP:
400 M. Run or Row
2 Rounds
10 Inch Worms
10 Scorpions
10 Lunges
Then:
Mobility
SKILL:
3 Rounds at a Walking Pace
5 RDL’s @ 105% 1RM Clean
10 Strict TTB
10 Weighted GHD Sit Ups (Sub. 20 Sit Ups)
10 Ass. Glute-Ham Extensions
LIFT:
Dead Lift
1 x 20 (Find Starting Weight)
*Work up to a weight you know you can hit for 20 reps straight with good technique.
WOD:
“11.2”
AMRAP 15
9 Dead Lifts (155/100) (135/95) (115/75) (95/65)
12 H.R.P.U
15 Box Jumps (24/20) (20/12)
POST WOD:
Mobilize & Stretch
