Constantly varied, functional movements executed at high intensity... this is CrossFit in a nutshell. Today I want to spend a little time talking about the "constantly varied" portion.

If you have ever looked at multiple days of WODs, whether it be here at Elysium, the mainsite, or any other affiliate, you have probably realized that the programming is always different. This is partly why CrossFit-type programming is so effective; we never get a chance to adapt to any one workout but instead get the benefit of "surprising" the body every day. While the workouts can seem as though they are completely random, this is not the case. Occasionally, there may be "hopper days" where the WOD is randomized. Outside of that, there actually is a method behind the madness.

Constantly varied is much different from random. When I am sitting in front of the computer thinking of what I want to program there are several things that I consider.

1. The strength is much less varied then the metcon portion and for a strength program to be beneficial it needs to be less varied and have some consistency to it. Normally when deciding the strength portion I will look at the prior week and see what we did. I don't want strength days too close together for the same movement because the body might still be taxed. Then, I look at the last 2 or 3 days of metcons and try to find a point on the body that is reasonably fresh. On a weekly basis you might notice that we tend to do 2 forms of squats, deadlifts, cleans and the overhead lifts almost every week in some fashion. This is by design to get you all stronger as quickly as possible!

2. The met-con- putting together a met-con can be a bit tougher. Every coach has their philosophy about programming metcons. Some coaches might over-think it and some don't give it enough consideration. When I put together a metcon the first thing I consider is, "what do I want this to feel like for the athletes?" You may have noticed that metcons can be challenging in multiple different ways. "Cindy" is a very different workout then "Grace"; one is long and the other is short. "Fran" is different from "Elizabeth"- both are short WODs that combine barbell and gymnastic elements, yet they are very different in terms of difficulty and metabolic impact on the body. When deciding on the type of workout I want I envision how my body would react.

A few examples-

"Oly Death"- as most of you may recall, it took many if not all of you more then 25 minutes to complete this workout. This WOD has never taken me longer then 20 minutes. The first time I did it my time was 18ish minutes, then 16ish and now around 13 min. A 13 minute workout is far different from a 30+min workout, even though everyone is doing the same movements and reps. Athlete A taking 13 minutes and athlete B taking 30 minutes are experiencing completely different WODs. The limiting factor for the 13 min athlete is going to be pain tolerance and the ability to push through discomfort; the ability and strength needed to move the barbell is not the issue. For the 30+min person, the limiting factor is most likely going to be the physical ability to move the barbell; if you can't stand up out of the front squat, then you have no choice but to rest.

"Run 5K"- We had a ton of people show up for this WOD (because I was clever and hid the WOD) and it was a blast! Many people were somewhat upset with me over this "awful" workout. So what was the thinking behind it? When I programmed it I knew that everyone could complete the workout without issue. The limiting factor or the challenge of this workout was going to be mental. During the run, did you spend any time in your head saying "this run is SO long, this sucks, i don't want to do this", or were you saying " this isn't that bad, I can finish this, just keep moving"? Getting down on yourself and letting yourself move more slowly because you are mentally unprepared is the limiting factor for this WOD.

"10/12 WOD"- Yesterday's (10/12/10) WOD was designed to be light and short. I tend to describe these types of workouts as "pain tolerance WODs" because the weight never gets truly heavy. Most likely, you aren't going to hit failure on the movements and be physically unable to do a rep. You may put the bar down, but not because the weight was unmovable; rather, it was because your arms, legs or whatever was hurting too much and you "needed" a rest. I came across this realization when I started to train for sectionals and regionals. I realized that doing well in those arenas meant being able to deal with the pain, do more reps and take less rest than the guy next to me. I then noticed that if i went into a workout knowing that the idea was to see how much discomfort I could push through before I "needed" a break made a huge difference in the end result. Getting back to 10/12, I already knew this was going to be a "pain tolerance WOD"; to build on this I added the "no touching the ground" aspect. I wanted to see who would keep the bar in their hands and deal with that discomfort if it meant you wouldn't have to do something more uncomfortable, like 10 burpees. This workout was different for everyone. For some all the pain was in the shoulders and traps, some the wrists and quads, but everyone had that general aspect of discomfort in a specific area.

"Narf followed Fran"- Why not? Doing the same movements two days in a row is just as varied as never doing the same movements two days in a row...

The next time you are in class and we suggest you scale a WOD, or if you are told to complete the WOD Rx'd, feel free to ask why. Sometimes going into the workout with an idea of what is about to hit you can help you prepare and perform better. No matter who you are, there will always be a "limiting factor", be it strength, endurance or mental toughness that we are trying to develop.

Coach P