State of Fitness Address 19-3

The State of your Fitness

If you made it to every class over the last cycle (19-3, Sep-Nov.), you lifted 1,109 reps at an average intensity of 80.18%. This does not include your pull up, push up, or dip sets. These equaled out to 670 reps of lat, tri, and pec pumping work.

You CrossFitted an average of 11:27 per WOD and conquered the 2020 CrossFit Open.

Finally, you completed MAP 7 and 6 and began MAP 5. MAP 7 and 6 totaled 10 hours of straight aerobic capacity over the first 8 weeks of the cycle. Given the shorter working time domains of these MAPs, we were able to build in more barbell cycling and higher skilled movements. This is really where the magic lies—taking challenging work and making it aerobic.

This past cycle was a big success. If you read the last State of Fitness address, I discussed our goals for this cycle: Top-end strength gained via Wave loading, and technique improvement via complexes.

As a reminder, Wave loading is a method of having our cake and eating it, too. We get the high intensities required for strength building, along with higher volume than we otherwise would with a linear build. In addition, these waves helped prep our CNS for higher loads. I think we got our cake. We saw a lot of PRs for top-end strength, in addition to complex PRs and Open placement bests. We saw multiple members hit double digit increases on their foundational lifts. Double digit PRs for experienced lifters is crazy!

We stayed with complexes for the Olympic lifts. The goal here is to work on weak or difficult to master positions in a more engaging way. I predicted that we would see some all time PRs set via these types of lifts. This came true in a big way. We saw novice and experienced lifters hitting their personal bests after working their way through these challenging combinations. This is both awesome and gratifying. It proves that we are working on the correct things.

In addition to our lift improvements, we saw many first-time Pull Ups and Muscle Ups. I realize that the strict pull up and dip work we do can be challenging, but the results are hard to argue. Just like Crossover symmetry in our warm up, these strict gymnastics movements are building strength in all the right areas. These create resiliency for your tendons and ligaments across the board.

If you completed a movement for the first time or hit a weight you've never done before, you should be very proud of yourself. These things don't happen overnight, and it shows that your dedication and trust in the process paid off.

We completed a couple of shorter, 6 week cycles within our longer 12 week Macrocycle. This allowed us to maximize the complexes without feeling burned out. We kept the major lifts at 12 weeks. This is due to the load they produce on the CNS. I only wanted to test these once, and I wanted you all feeling confident with the higher intensity feeling of these heavier weights as we progressed. Again, given the PRs you set, I think this was the right choice.

Conditioning saw us add in more traditional CrossFit movements to prep for the Open. There were sprints on Monday, longer paced work on Tuesday, AMRAPs on Wednesday, and challenging pieces both in skill and weight on Saturday.

Our continuing MAP macrocycle had us decrease our cyclical working time from 10 minutes to 5 and from 5 minutes to 3. The attendance and feedback on these days continues to remain positive. I believe we are seeing and experiencing the payoff of this pacing practice in our WODs. The Open offered us an excellent opportunity to test this out with some longer Metcons, and they even gave us the opportunity to craft the rep scheme however we deemed appropriate during 20.5. Remember, beyond just our performance in the gym, these days are invaluable for your overall cardiovascular health and mental stamina.

This brings us to the next cycle. For the first time since our inception, we will not be back squatting on Monday! I know, this is blasphemy, but you all had such a good back squat cycle during 19-2 that I wanted to give your bodies and minds a break. On Monday we will be substituting Barbell Glute Bridges instead. These will be performed at higher volume in a bid to add some hypertrophy to those booties! Beyond just enhancing your derrière, this should also help add some strength through the middle of your squats by building your hip drive. This is the most common sticking point in the squat and the section most likely to cause technical breakdown. We will be working these for the first 6 weeks of the cycle. After that, Back Squats will make their return, albeit in a version that works this same sticking point. I don’t want to ruin the surprise so you’ll just have to tune in.

Beyond Back Squats, we will be adding in some unilateral strength work in the form of lunges, and bringing Front Squats back into the fold.

Also, by not having Back Squats in the strength portion of our program, there will be a noticeable increase in squatting during the conditioning.

Olympic lifts will center around complexes again. The intent is to continue to sure up the weaknesses in each position. For the Snatches, that means overhead squat strength and comfort in the catch. For the Clean and Jerk that means finishing your pull and driving vertical in the dip. I know I said that the traditional lifts would be back this cycle, but the improvement we saw both in technique and overall strength during 19-2 was too great to pass up the opportunity to continue building on this.

Finally, a word about conditioning. You will most likely notice a pattern emerge in the coming months. Monday will feature AMRAPs of 10, 11, and 9 minutes, and again, will include more squatting. Tuesday will include the most unique addition to our conditioning repertoire: static holds. The goal here is to improve our abilities to hold good body positions when we are fatigued. When we lose positions, we get injured. Wednesday will have the most diversity but will include more deadlifts, as they have been removed as a strength component this cycle. Saturday will stay with the trend of higher skill challenges.

Once more thing: Technique Thursday is handstand dominant this cycle. If you want to improve your handstand skill set then you know what you need to do! And if you aren’t worried about a handstand, Thursdays are still a must! We spend a lot of time building midline strength on these days, so don’t sleep on them!

Congratulations to you and a great cycle! Keep an eye out for additional messages concerning Goal Setting and new offerings from the gym. Thank you all again for your hard work.

Stay Rooted