Starting Monday, August 5, we will begin a new block of programming at BCF and CF Route 7. This programming block will be 1 month long ending on September 1.
The goals for this block of programming will be to focus on developing gymnastics skills. In addition to the gymnastics program we will also continue to develop and maintain our peak strength for barbell movements (squats, deadlifts, presses, and Olympic lifts). During this time, our approach to the conditioning portion of our program will be mostly unchanged from our previous block.
Some overall themes you can expect to see in our strength/skill training this block are:
- More gymnastics strength/skill days per week
- Specific development for muscle ups, handstand push ups, and handstand walks
- Testing of muscle up and handstand proficiency
- Gymnastics movements in metcons on a regular basis (muscle ups, pull ups, pistols, toes to bar, handstand walking, etc.)
- Low repetitions on barbell strength (Mostly 1-3 rep range)
- Less frequent Olympic weightlifting (Snatches and cleans will often alternate weeks or only be included in metcons)
- Olympic weightlifting will often be low rep complexes
During this time, our approach to the conditioning portion of our program will continue to focus on anaerobic capacity with the following themes:
- Fewer long metcons (25 min+)
- More sprint-style metcons (2-5 min)
- Most metcons in 7-15 min time domain
- More short, interval metcons
The reasons for the direction of this programming block are as follows:
You have all increased your general barbell strength and Olympic weightlifting skills over the course of this year. We will continue to develop these attributes by lifting heavier weights at a lower volume (less reps/set). As we come closer to the CrossFit open this fall we want to have our gymnastics skills dialed in so that we are able to implement them more regularly in metcons and safely perform these movements with more intensity.
As we look ahead to our programming as we move toward the CrossFit Open this fall you can expect to see us continue with our strength maintenance work to preserve the strength we have built this year. We will also continue to sharpen up our conditioning with higher intensity, anaerobic metcons. Starting in September you can expect the programming to transition toward prepping specifically for the CrossFit Open. During that time, you can expect a higher volume of intense and strategy-based conditioning work as well as CrossFit-specific skills.