State of Fitness Address 18-3&4

State of Your Fitness Address:

I missed this at the end of the last cycle so this will be a double-header. My apologies, but the buildout took priority.

If you made it to every class during the...

18-3 cycle (Sept-Nov), you lifted 1155 reps at an average intensity of 79%.You CrossFitted an average of 10:54. And you completed MAP6 and 5 and started into MAP4.

18-4 cycle (Dec-Feb), you lifted 1241 reps at an average intensity of 74%. You CrossFitted an average of 12:00. And you completed MAP4 through 2.

The goal of cycle 18-3 was raw strength, setting us up for a push into our Open prep. This is reflected in the average % intensity of your lifts, lower overall volume, and shorter average times on the conditioning. If the amount of PR videos prove anything, it's that we found some success in this target.

The goal of cycle 18-4 was Open conditioning prep. This included Open-type Metcons, as well as EMOM lifts. In addition, we worked on as many Open-type movements as we could. Of course we couldn't leave the PR train at the station, so Deadlifts were in order, and boy did you guys deliver! We saw a lot of DL PRs, which was exciting because this cycle was not a true strength cycle. As you all probably noticed, the DLs were a bit exhausting given the time frame, but I think it really paid off. A lot of of you, including veteran members, put up new PRs and that is a testament to your hard work and level of conditioning.

Concerning the Open: I think it was a huge success. I know via casual conversation that many of you had some of your best individual event finishes this year, as well as overall finishes. The one dull spot, as far as your coach is concerned, is my miss on the sHSPU preparation. I knew there was going to be a strict movement coming, but I was banking on Pull Ups. In the end, it was still an exciting event for a lot of you, as it was your first time getting a sHSPU. Speaking of "firsts;” this wasn't the only movement we saw you all achieve. There were also plenty of first time Rx workouts and bMUs. From a coaching standpoint, these firsts are part of the magic of the Open. It pushes us to achieve things we didn't think we could do or even attempt. So it’s not about your times or placing on the leaderboard; it’s about watching you push yourself to do more than you thought yourself capable..

Beyond the numbers, it seemed as though the MAP work finally had a place to shine. I think a lot of you connected the dots between the pacing we always talk about within the MAPs and putting it to use in the workouts. Again, thank you to everyone for participating, whether you signed up or not. It was very fulfilling to see you shine.

Now, on to the next cycle. The name of the game for the next couple of months is to break out of the Open movements and conditioning. We will be starting MAP anew at 9 and continuing the process of building our aerobic engines. We will also be working with a lot more odd objects and movements.These will include sandbags, sleds, rope climbs, kettlebells, Ski Ergs, and running. In regards to lifting, we will be working on a hypertrophy cycle. This will come in the form of tempo work, which increases your normal time under tension dramatically. More TUT = more hypertrophy, aka muscle growth. In addition, we will be breaking the lifts back down to their basic parts. This is often where we see the most improvement, so don't take these complexes lightly!

Congrats again! Here’s to the next cycle.