Thank you once again for taking a few minutes to fill out the member survey. Each of you are valued greatly and your satisfaction, progress and recovery are incredibly important to us. This business is all about you, the membership, and while we have our own methods, systems, and ideology there are always ways to improve, grow, and even change if we are not meeting the needs of members.
We have come realize through some answers and recent conversations with members, that it might be helpful to give a better understanding to CrossFit programming, and more specifically CrossFit Southie’s programming and scaling.
In one of Greg Glassman’s lectures about CrossFit programming he makes an interesting point that a Navy Seal would not benefit from a program that was intended for a sedentary 50 year-old, but a sedentary 50 year-old would benefit from training like Seal with the appropriate scaling options. In CrossFit’s words, the program is intended to be broad, general, and inclusive.
Traditionally, as a programmer for CrossFit training the objective is to challenge the fittest person in the gym and the rest of the membership scales to preserve the same intended stimulus endured by the top athlete in regard to load and the skill for that day’s WOD. Here at CFS we have a lot of very capable athletes across all class times that essentially determine the “RX” version of the workout. Then we have a smaller group of super-hero, animal, beasts that we add in the more advanced options and the “Extra Work” to allow them to continue to feel challenged and have fulfillment in terms of volume, extra strength work, and high level gymnastics. Level 2 and Level 1 options are there for consistency in scaling and may be a stepping stone for some, or a long-time preferred option for others. This is not something you should ever feel bad about.
That said, if you have been a member for a while and feel like the programming has become harder over the years, you are probably right. Similar to the CrossFit Games and the CrossFit Open AND the Southie Showdown, as the athletes evolve the programming evolves to challenge those athletes. If you are new to the gym, we understand that this can sometimes seem defeating. You may be 25 and have a 45 year old running circles around you. We have a lot of fit people here, and if there is one take away from this explanation it is that we want you to scale. Rome was not built in a day. Scale appropriately and build up your fitness level brick by brick. Many long-time core members have been doing this consistently for years and have worked up to the fitness level they have earned. This is meant to be hard, and everyone is meant to be challenged. We hear 10 times more complaining when the workout is too easy than when it’s too hard. Stick with it and trust the process, a year from now you will be thankful you did.
Tomorrow we will be posting the results from the programming portion of the survey. In regards to the coaching portion we are taking the good and not-so-good feedback and constructively addressing the points collectively as a group and for individual coaches. Not every coach is for everyone. It was amazing to see the balance of people who said they wanted to be pushed harder compared to those who said they thought some coaches were too hard. In the same regard, there were many long-term members who said they wished they would get more attention and tips, compared to the ones who said they felt like they were over-coached and wanted to be left alone. Some newer athletes wanted more attention, while others felt annoyed with the hovering. Drilling comments were also very conflicted. Some people said they wanted more time drilling movements and active correcting, and on the flip-side an equal number of people saying they would prefer less drilling. Just because the comments are opposite does not mean they negate each other. We will actively work towards knowing each of your needs better so that you are getting the most out of your experience.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. More tomorrow!
Warm-up
2 Rounds
:45 on/:15 off
Hang Muscle Cleans
Burpees
Pull Up Hang
ADV – Chin Over Bar
Accessory
2×10
Banded Pull Aparts
Banded Press
Banded Bent Over Rows
Strength
Strict Press
3-3-3-3-3
WOD (20 minute cap)
30-20-10
Hang Power Cleans (135,95)
Burpees
Pull-ups
Level 2 – 115,75
Level 1 – 95,45
ADV – 155,105
Coaches Note: Rest at the rack position and use the rebound/momentum to cycle weight. Pick a weight you can get through the set of 30 in no more than 3 sets.
Extra Work
10-8-6-4-2
Deadlift