Scary huh? Here’s our basic goal: Increase work capacity across broad time and modal domains. English: Increase your ability to do more reps/sets/weight in as many different movements and rep/time schemes as possible. Laymens terms: Make you better able to do more things more times faster 🙂
Two questions I get a lot…
1)How does that boil out into a workout plan?
2)Is a plan like this effective for what I’m training for?
1- Simple. Metabolic Conditioning workouts, weightlifting workouts, gymnastic workouts and then various combinations.
Examples:
Basic Gymnastics Elements:
5 Push-ups
10 Squats
15 Sit-ups – as many rounds in 20 min as possible
Met Con:
Run 800meters
50 Back Extensions
50 Sit-ups
Weightlifting:
Front Squat 5 sets of 3 reps, get to a max set of three!
Pretty simple examples huh?
2) In a word, YES. What are you training for? Football, cycling, weight loss, skiing.
A training protocol like this creates a “harmonizing” effect on all ten recognized physical fitness parameters:
1- Strength
2- Power
3- Speed
4- Flexibility
5- Cardiorespiratory Endurance
6- Stamina (shorter duration than Cardio)
7- Accuracy
8- Balance
9- Coordination
10- Agility
It’s doesn’t take a huge leap of the imagination to think of a scenario where a lacking in one of these capacities could cost you the race, game, match, injury, progress. In any sport there are some slight imbalances which may be useful, but I find that it’s the weaknesses that expose faults more so than a slightly lacking strength. The specific technical, tactical and preparatory drills and tasks must stay in place for particular sports (weight loss technical/tactical prep is diet-based) but these should be added to a broad general physical preparatory base of training to advance the athlete in all ten variables.
Please post questions and comments – you should have a few I know!!!!
Let me at ’em 🙂
Thanks
Hey Homie,
A thought I have is what can a person do who wants to get both lean and increase muscle size? Will doing Crossfit routines alone hit these goals, a mixture of Crossfit with powerlifting, or should the idea to build mass first and then lean out?
Thanks for comment Morg.
Good question! The quick answer is yes. Doing solely the CrossFit program you’ll get more muscle and less fat faster than by bulking and cutting like a silly bodybuilder.
Let’s look at the training variables we’re hitting with CrossFit. Gymnastics training, Monostructural Metabolic Conditioning (MMC, running, rowing etc.) and Weightlifting. We are looking in increase effectiveness in all these areas. Gymnastics is solely bodyweight movements: if you can get more reps than before and you weight the same, you’re stronger and indeed you have more muscle. If you can do more reps than before and you weigh less you probably still have more muscle, yet it may not be as dramatic an increase. MMC, if your rowing times all drop and your running times all drop are you getting leaner? I would go with yes. No one gets a faster 5k by adding 10lbs of fat to their waist. Lastly weightlifting. If you’re bodyweight is decreasing and you’re getting PR’s on front squats, bench press, deadlifts, power cleans are you going to be building more muscle? The answer is yes. You will do both with CrossFit programming. Nowhere else.