The CrossFit Games Open has concluded and with the end of the Open, we begin a new year of programming. The beauty of CrossFit is that it’s both a sport (with a specific competitive “season”) and a highly effective fitness program for all fitness levels. This promotes the opportunity to periodize and tailor programming around the Open season. This is advantageous for both the general fitness enthusiast and the serious competitor for several reasons. Both athletes require similar metabolic stimuli with the overall need for balanced programming. Within the next year, there will be four distinct programming cycles each consisting of twelve weeks.
Each cycle will be further broken down into three phases of four weeks each. Each cycle, in its entirety, will have the same overall goal. However, each phase will contain minor changes in the focus of programming. For example: In phase 1 of Cycle 1, our micro focus for upper body pulling will include pullups, ring rows, etc. As we transition into phase 2, we’ll move to a similar micro focus of toes-to-bar, rope climbs, muscle-ups etc. Finally, in phase 3, we will incorporate a large variety of pulling movements as we close in on Cycle 2 and get closer to the CrossFit Open in October. These same minor changes occur through the 4-week phases for strength, skill, conditioning and focus work.
Below is an overview of the schedule for Phase 1.
Cycle 1 of 4 (12 weeks)
Phase 1 = April 29th – May 24th (4 weeks)
Phase 2 = May 27th – June 21 (4 weeks)
Phase 3 = June 24th – July 19th (4 weeks)
On next weeks blog post I’ll discuss the goals for Class Strength work in Cycle 1, Phase 1.
Have a great week!