Fitness: 3×5 across
leave room to go up over the next 6 weeks
Performance: 5/3/1 “5 week“
65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5+
Add 5 lbs to your Training Max from last cycle.
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e1/6
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5 Rounds For Time of:
15 Kettlebell Swings, 72lbs/53lbs
10 Hand Release Push-Ups
5 L-Pull-Ups
For the Push-Ups, think of your belly button being the last thing to touch the floor on the way down and the first part of you to leave the ground on the way up.
If you can’t perform L-Pull-ups, substitute 5 normal pull-ups or 10 Ring Rows
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Crystal Castles Gets Her First Muscle Up!
Understanding “Fitness” Strength Programming
Our “Fitness” strength programming follows linear progressions using sets across for each lift. For those of you just jumping on board or who might be a little confused, here’s the 101 on what we’re talking about.
Essentially, “Sets Across” just means that you’ll be doing the same weight for all your work sets on a given lift. For example, if you’re Back Squatting 3×5, you’ll do 3-4 warm-up sets at increasing weights and then perform all 5 reps of all 3 work sets at the same weight. This is in contrast to “Maximal Effort” lifting in which you’d be gaming for a maximal weight at a given rep range. Many of our newer athletes are not ready neurologically or structurally for this type of lifting and need a ramp up period of sets across to avoid injury and set themselves up for larger gains in the future.
At CFSBK, we pick a pool of 3-5 movements and rotate them for a period of 6 weeks. Because you know that you’ll get 6 or 12 exposures to each of these lifts over the next few weeks, you can game out a strategy for successful lifting sessions through the entire cycle. Here are two examples of what we’d love to see in your log books at the end of the cycle.
Press
Week 1 75x5x3
Week 2 80x5x3
Week 3 85x5x3
Week 4 87.5x5x3
Week 5 90x5x3
Week 6 92.5x5x3
Deadlift
Week 1 135×5
Week 2 145×5
Week 3 155×5
Week 4 160×5
Week 5 165×5
Week 6 170×5
This hypothetical athlete completed all 6 exposures and was able to increase their weights each time. They never went to failure because they had a plan and were not greedy with weight. The next time these lifts come up, they’ll be able to start at the 4 or 5 week weight and continue to linearly increase their numbers. Again, with sets across, you’ll have to put your lifting into a larger perspective than just what you’re doing that day. You’re building a foundation of strength, one brick at at time.
FAQs
How do I know what weight to start with?
Simply start with something that feels light. Too light. If you pick a weight that has you struggling to finish your reps the first couple weeks, you’ve gone too heavy. Remember that you’re setting yourself up for a lifetime of weight lifting and there’s no need to rush into big weights. If you’ve had some lifting exposure and want to try sets across, take your existing max at that rep range and subtract %~20 off of it for a starting weight.
What if I start missing reps?
Eventually you will start to miss reps, ideally this won’t be for a full 2-3 cycles of the movement in question. When this happens, you need to ask yourself and a Coach the following questions: “Was I too greedy with weight?”, “Is my technique/mobility on this movement sufficiently developed to handle larger loads?” “Am I having an off day? Did I plan my warm-up sets correctly?” Once we dig a little, we can find out what’s going on and help you strategize to keep moving forward. Sometimes you just need to try the same weight again the following week and sometimes you’ll have to drop some weight off the bar and start building back up.
To learn more about how to trouble shoot your linear, read our related article, “Troubleshooting Your Linear Progression”
What if I don’t come often enough to hit all of these lifting sessions?
If you can only make it to CFSBK a 2 times per week, choose one of the movements (Ideally one squat and one opper body movement) and focus on them for the next 6 weeks. For a 3 time a weeker, you would choose the same movements as above and then one other lift that you want to develop. Try to stick to the same schedule for the entire cycle to get the most out of the strength programming. If you don’t know what to do, consult with one of the coaches and we’ll steer you in the right direction.
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