CrossFit Class Programming Explanation

As coaches and educators of fitness, we strive to make you healthier, fitter and stronger, so that you can live your best life. We want you to live long and prosperous lives, without any limitations. We want to give you to the tools to be successful outside of the gym, so that you can enjoy your life (how you want to) to the fullest! 

We are extremely grateful that you have chosen us to be a part of this incredible journey with you – we promise we will not let you down!

To keep the lines of communication open and to be completely transparent so you know EXACTLY what you are getting and WHY, Coach Dave has written a note on the CrossFit class programming which clearly states the short term and long term goals of the class programming. Do you sometimes question why you do certain things in a class? Wonder where the programming is going? Feel you’re not getting enough? Or getting too much? Whether you answered yes to any of these questions or you would like some clarification on the WHY behind the class programming, give this blog post a read! You’ll learn: why you’re doing the things you’re doing in class & what you can expect if you keep showing up and giving each class your best effort. 

You are all ROCKSTARS & we can’t wait to see what the next few months have in store!

Hello everyone,

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for putting up with my programming madness and always trying to attack the days ‘suggestion’ to the best of your abilities.

It is time again to discuss the direction of the CrossFit program at 6S. It is my hope that having an explanation of the thought process behind the workouts, you will have a better understanding and this will help you in the execution of the days ahead.

​The program for the CrossFit classes at 6S are focused on the general population – people who are coming to a fitness provider to spend time, usually 1 hour of the day with like-minded people and to get some fitness in. To that end, the focus of the class program is on General Physical Preparedness (GPP), a common term adopted by CrossFit HQ to allow people to be ready for anything.

The class program will make you fitter and stronger so you can live your best life and also fight off the detrimental effects of ageing. A longevity plan. Get in, do work and then get out and be effective at work and be able to spend quality time living life and being with friends and family.

What the class program will NOT help you do is WIN at any high level physical endeavor. You will not qualify for the CrossFit Games. You will not get drafted into the NHL. You will not win the Tour de France. You will not dominate the cut throat world of competitive Salsa Dancing. I can continue listing examples but I think you get the broad strokes of the message.

​In class I want to challenge you to be better than you were yesterday. Using the 1 Mile Run, 100 Back Squat 135/95lb and 50 Box Jump Over as an example, so many of you crushed that workout. I’m sure many of you were unsure as to if you would be able to finish that workout; yet you crushed it. Of course some people modified the load, and who cares! Never ever discount the EFFORT YOU put into a given day of training, it is to be celebrated. That particular workout was not only a physical test but a mental one too.

For those of you who want to compete in the Sport of CrossFit, the class program will lay a great foundation but you will need to add extra to supplement that foundation. That will require more time, energy and financial cost. For example, the program I write for Julia is completely different to the class program. She still gets metcons either exactly like class metcon or I modify them; but then there is so much more skill, strength and accessory work in each day of training for her. Is her program better than the class program? The answer is NO.

Julia has a clearly defined goal. She wants to qualify for a CrossFit Games Sanctional event, with the goal to one day go to the CrossFit Games.

If you have a specific goal then please book a goal setting session with a coach so that we can direct your passion and help you achieve that goal. 

​Scaling the class workouts is one way to achieve more fitness. In the CrossFit Open this past year, they allowed 2 AB Mats to be stacked against the wall for Scaled Strict HSPU. I fully agree that Box Strict HSPU is not the sexiest version and everyone want to be upside down on the wall doing the ‘real’ thing; however, the Box Strict HSPU enforces better body positions, which will eventually lead to stronger HSPU against the wall. For example: using the one leg version of the Box HSPU is more than good enough to allow you to build the strength, stamina and positional awareness to succeed in the Strict HSPU. Against the wall you can arch your back to get ‘extra’ movement, but that same arch on a one leg Box Strict HSPU will cause you to fall over your head; thus, HSPU on a box enforce a better tripod and line of pressing force which will pay off in the upcoming Open.

CrossFit is about virtuosity “doing the common, uncommonly well”. Make your movements as perfect as they can be, modify if needed and watch the results start to pile up. In the children’s story about the Ugly Duckling… it took him so long to become the beautiful swan. How much hardship did he face? New stuff will always be a Ugly Duckling, but with hard dedicated work it will become the swan. 

You will see more kettlebells showing up in classes (as you may have noticed already). Why? Because they are superb for unilateral training (one side of the body) and building explosive power. The movements are simple, yet they make the entire body work. They also save space so we can free up the floor for more Carries (Farmer, Mixed Rack) and other fun things.

My goal is to help you train to store energy, not to rip energy out of you. If you are destroyed in your class session in the morning, work will be horrible, if that happens in the evening you cannot spend quality time with family. More is not better. It is just more.

​There will be extra pull up homework soon being written on the board and videos will be posted to Instagram. Many of you yearn for that fist Rx Pull Up and maybe miss out on the class with Pull Ups, so we have written this programming to help those of you looking for some additional guidance. However, these exercises are not meant to replace any work done in class – they are designed to SUPPLEMENT what is done in class. 

In this regard, for the class layout, I try and have 4 days between rig workouts. Hands are a delicate thing and once rips and tears occur that will affect ALL training, so I would rather space out the time you spend on the rig to allow you all to be able to train consistently (and without any limitation!).

Whoa, that was a massive long winded explanation about some of the thinking I am using going forward with the program. From now until the Open (October 10th), the focus is going to be on preparing for that event. After that I will be keeping it as varied as possible.

Thank you for all your effort so far. I cannot wait to see what happen in the Open and beyond!

Yours in fitness,

Head Coach Dave

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