Starting Monday, April 29th we will begin a new block of programming at BCF and CFR7. This programming block will be two months long, going through the end of June.

The goal for this block of programming will be to increase our general strength and aerobic capacity while maintaining the fitness and skills that we have developed through our previous blocks of programming.

General strength as defined by Scientific Principles of Strength Training is: “the general ability to exert force using the body’s musculature.” Basically, in this programming block, we will be developing our ability to move heavy weight.

There are a few reasons why we have decided to use these two attributes as our focus for the next block of programming. First, we have just finished up a block of programming focused on building muscle and increasing strength work capacity. Focusing our strength training on general strength at this point will best utilize those newly developed aspects of your fitness. Better strength endurance means better recovery between your working sets of lifting, leading to higher quality training sessions.

A simple definition for aerobic capacity is: your body’s ability to consume oxygen for energy production.

One reason for a shift in focus to aerobic capacity is that it will fit well with the reduction in lifting volume that occurs during general strength programming. Simply put, we have more room in our daily programming for longer metcons. The most important reason for this focus, though, is that well developed aerobic capacity is necessary for efficient use of your body’s energy systems. The more developed your aerobic capacity is, the longer and more intensely you can exercise without your body fatiguing and the more quickly you will recover during and after workouts.

Some overall themes and changes that you will be seeing in regard to the general strength training will be:

• Slightly fewer days per week with barbell strength work

• Lower repetition lifting (Mostly 3 – 6 reps)
• High percentage lifting (Mostly 75 – 90%)
• More frequent max effort lifting

To help contribute to the goal of developing aerobic capacity you can expect:

• More long metcons (20+ minutes)
• More monostructural cardio (Running, Assault bike, Rowing, Ski Erg)
• More interval-based metcons

As we look to the rest of 2019 you can expect to see us continue building on the strength and conditioning work that will happen in the next block. The low volume, heavy lifting and CrossFit-specific skills will make a strong comeback in the months leading up to the next CrossFit Open in October.

We are very excited to roll out this new programming and see all of the improvements that our members will make!!!

If you have questions or comments, please let us know.