The Why and How of my programming. (Part 1)

The Why and How of my programming. (Part 1)

Programming can be a hotly contested and debated among the different styles of the barbell/fitness world. Although different styles of Programming haven't gone to the same level as some of Diet  followers, who now seem to now be treating their type of specific diet more like a religion then philosophy. I believe programming can be one of those things that people can be a trapped into thinking their programming is the best and fail to see the value in a flexible programming philosophy, constant changing and adapting style.

I firmly believe that there are very few right and wrongs in programming and exercise. Mostly there is "more efficient" and "less efficient" ways to program or to execute an exercise technique. I could write a lot about what other peoples philosophies are but that would take a while and I don't concern myself with what other people do. Worrying about what other people do is the fastest why to lose your individuality and cause unneeded stress. That being said I constantly look at what other Coaches do and what other programs they use. I pick and choose what I like and then test it out to see how well they work and implement it if it works. If it doesn't work then I cast it off.

So the WHY behind my programming. I program to make people the overall fittest person outside of the gym I can. My goal is to make you physically strong as well as mentally strong so you can create the mentality that you can tackle anything. Whatever the weight you lift in the gym or the scores you post in WODify mean less than nothing if you can't apply your fitness outside of the gym. For example if you spent two hours at the gym everyday day working out 6 days a week (that would be a lot more time then most people spend working out). You are spending 12 hours out of 168 hours in a week inside the gym. That's a small ratio even though two hours a day 6 days a week is a lot for the average person. We obviously spend more time outside the gym so that being said we should focus our gym time to make the majority of life outside of the gym better and healthier. 

How I program. I program cycles throughout the year based on goals I have set for that time of year. Certain things I program for are out of my control like the weather we have in Michigan. We can't run year round because of safety and the weather that's just a fact. We have the Open which happens once a year in the winter which influence our programming. We also have events like Memorial Day Murph which I like to prepare people for by programming with for higher volume Push ups, Pull ups and Squats a couple months out. 

Along with programming for events or times during the year I also program in cycles that may focus on an certain exercise. I've found over the years the simplest, easiest and most effective way to improve a lift, work capacity, aerobic capacity or anything at all is to focus primary on that one thing at one time. Trying to improve or focus on more than one thing at a time just takes longer to see results and in turn can be frustrating with the slow progress. Keep it simple. That doesn't mean you stop doing everything else, it just means you put priority on that one thing you're trying to improve. You put it first in your work out and make sure that whatever else you do supports that goal.

Over the last ten years I've always been a huge believer in the classic CrossFit workouts that I started with, the couplet or triplet. The Couplet and Triplet work outs are simple and extremely effective. Take the classic Couplet Girl WOD of "Diane" 21-15-9 Deadlift and HSPU. You have the upper body push exercise of the Hand stand push up - and lower body pull exercise of Deadlift. Along with that you have the classic combination of a Gymnastic body weight movement of HSPU with the classic barbell strength exercise the deadlift. Another great example is the CrossFit Girl WOD "Helen" 3 rounds 400m run, 21 KB swing and 12 Pull ups. A classic Triplet of Running, weightlifting(KB swing) and Gymnastics. The rep scheme is such that the reps are not insurmountable so you can push yourself on each exercise to go unbroken or as fast as possible. The other classic style work out is a "Chipper" where you have a list of exercises to complete in a order one at time. These are simple and effective. No need for fancy rep schemes or over complex work outs.

Besides exercise selections and pairing you have duration of work outs that are key in programming. I believe you must cover all the bases, I have three categories (1) intervals(long rest to work ratios and short rest to work ratios), (2)longer slow workouts(25 + minutes of continuous work), and (2)short intense work outs(Sub 10min work outs). By varying your duration and intensity you can build an over all work capacity. Basically the ability to work out in all time demands. With this comes the AMRAP and the For Time work outs. You need both capacities, first to be able to complete as much work in a certain amount of time(AMRAP). Second be able to have a certain amount of work and move as fast as possible to complete that work (For time).

I guess that's a good place to stop. I'll talk more about my thought next time about implementation, weekly planning of work outs and overall movement.