Our Program Design, Revisited

(Last December on the blog, I answered some questions about how we design our programs for our Group Classes.  As we head into a new training cycle tomorrow, I thought it would be good to revisit some of these topics, and open up a forum for discussion on the subject.)As most of you know, we at Full Range put a lot of care into the structure of the programs that we provide for our members.  We earnestly believe in the value of providing as individualized of an approach to exercise as possible, while also maintaining the benefit of training in a fun and supportive group environment.  The best example of this can be seen in how we split our program to represent the two main types of clients that we have in our group classes, "Fitness" folks, and "Performance" folks."Fitness," as the name implies, is designed to develop foundational strength and fitness with a focus on structural balance and movement quality.  This does not mean that these workouts are not intense (they are EXTREMELY taxing when done correctly), but rather that we are not making any assumptions about someone's current level of ability when we design this program.  Loads used for weighted movements are all dictated by feel and tempo, not a percentage of a 1-rep maximum, since these numbers can be misleading in those that do not have a robust training background.  Other, "big picture" goals of this group may include: losing fat (while gaining lean muscle), enhanced energy, enhanced immune function, better sleep, more mental acuity, better blood sugar regulation, or making the "impossible" possible.Our "Performance" programming is for those that are trying to take their training to the "next level," so to speak.  These workouts have a higher level of intensity and complexity, and are designed for people with a decent background in functional movement, as well as a solid foundation of strength and conditioning.  Here, the priorities shift from learning movement patterns to refining them.  This program is best for those that have passed the "beginner" phase in their training, and need to take a periodized approach to their strength work.  Olympic Lifting, plyometrics, and gymnastic skills are all featured prominently in this program.  We can also make a couple of reasonable assumptions about those following this program when we design it: 1) that the client is at an acceptable level of health, and that their body composition is not their number one priority and 2) that they have a desire to maximize their fitness as measured by work capacity across broad time and modal domains (ie. they want to be better at "CrossFit" as a sport, hobby, or whatever you may call it).The beauty of this segmentation lies in the fact that we can effectively prescribe exercise for a large, varied group of individuals, without leaving anyone behind or wasting anyone's precious time in the gym.We will be continuing to structure our training into "cycles," each with their own priorities and focus.  For "Fitness," this will be less noticeable due to the sheer number of movements that you will see from day to day and week to week.  For "Performance," we will outline at the beginning of each cycle what we will be focusing on and improving.  While General Physical Preparedness (or GPP) will always be our goal, we will say that, based on what we see with our people, increasing overall strength will be an ongoing focus of ours. Our group training cycles will last 5 weeks, with a transition week between each.A sample of the layout for the next 5 weeks is as follows:Monday: Oly Technique + Upper Pushing/Pulling DensityTuesday: Squat Intense (High %, Low rep) + Sprint Work + Posterior Chain AccessoryWednesday: Gymnastic Skill + Aerobic DevelopmentThursday: Rest/Conditioning/Make-Up Day*Friday: Oly Intense (High %) + Squat DensitySaturday: Conditioning/Team work + Gymnastic Skill (optional)Sunday: Rest or Active Recovery*If you are following our "Performance" programming, and want to optimize your results, we HIGHLY recommend training Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, then resting Thursday before hitting Friday and Saturday (Sunday is also a Rest Day).  If you have to miss one of the workouts from the first three days of the week, the recommendation would be to make it up (or at least make up the strength work) on Thursday or Saturday during Open Gym.  If you are unsure about how to structure your week based off of your schedule, please feel free to ask either myself or Alecia about it.Please note, if you follow our "Fitness" programming, or if you train less than five days a week, you do not have to worry about changing anything.  Just show up, and we will make sure that your program is varied enough to keep it interesting, while also working in a progressive nature toward making you stronger, faster, and healthier.Our goal is to help every single one of our members improve their health and fitness in a sustainable way.  If you have any questions at all about how best to approach our programming (which group is right for you, whether or not you need specific accessory work, etc.), please send me an e-mail (adam@fullrangecrossfit.com), and I'll be more than happy to help you.  Also, I will answer any questions that you post in the comments to this post, so don't hesitate to ask!