We are starting a new training cycle this week. I figured I’d start including a breakdown of the goals and priorities of the next training cycle in the standard member e-mail so that folks know what to expect and what we are focusing on in the program.

 

The top priorities of this training cycle are:

 

•Ring dip/push-up volume and skill – We’ve been rotating through different gymnastics movements and prioritizing them consistently on Mondays, and this has seemed to result in some solid breakthroughs for folks by touching on the same movement week after week. We will be prioritizing accumulate volume in ring dips for the Performance track and push-ups for the Fitness track over the course of this training cycle.

 

•Clean battery/repeatability – Our last training cycle was focused on building to some heavy weights on the clean and jerk, and now we are transitioning into doing more repeatability work on the clean. This is commonly called “battery training” in CrossFit – meaning that we are training the ability to quickly recharge your battery in order to do another heavy lift on the clean. Expect to see a variety of times intervals of cleans to work on developing this trait.

 

•Mixed modal conditioning with cyclical pieces – In terms of training the ability to do repeated muscle endurance contractions under fatigue (which is what defines most of the tests that people think of as “CrossFit”), mixing in cyclical pieces involving biking, rowing and running can significantly change the character of tests. Cyclical pieces allow for some recovery from specific muscle endurance limitations while still maintaining a high effort throughout. We will be working on some pieces that look more like traditional “CrossFit” but also utilize cyclical modalities to allow for continuous movement rather than getting blocked with muscle endurance limitations.

 

Other things to look out for:

•Deadlift repeatability and battery

•Single-leg accessory work

•Upper body muscle endurance using gymnastics movements and dumbbells

 

Hopefully this is helpful and gives some insight into what to expect over the next several weeks of training.