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"HIPPY SWANK"
Obj: Endurance, Sport-Specific Power Endurance
Training:
(1) Trail Run 1.5 Hours at 80-85% MHR
**** Switch Modes to Climbing Gym ****
(2) 5x2 Frenchies
(3) 10x Laps on Traverse Wall with 25# Backpacks
(4) 4 Rounds
2 min sprint repeats on V1 Bouldering Problem
1 min Rest
(5) 5 Rounds
Up and Down Climb on Auto Belay carrying backpack
1:1 Work/Rest ratio
200 hand movements total
Comments:
I'm thinking out loud today after staying up late last night geeking out reading strength stuff ...
Three high level coaches in the CrossFit community, plus Twight at Gym Jones have developed programing which combines
CrossFit-style, high intensity metabolic conditioning circuits with Max Effort strength training.
Early on in my own experience with CrossFit I realized I would never get any stronger doing only those high intensity
circuits. One of the simple, unavoidable truths of strength training is that the athlete has to lift more and more weight,
to gain strength. On my own I started breaking away from the CrossFit WOD and instead lift heavy on "strength days"
- squats, dead lifts and presses.
In the CrossFit world, Coach Mike Rutherford first published his "Max Effort Black Box" idea in the April 2005
Performance Menu. Coach Rutherford combined CrossFit WOD programming with Coach Joe Kenn's strength training framework and
rep schemes in an alternating 6-day a week format.
Following Coach Rutherford's articles in Performance Menu, he has continued to evolve his programming, at first simplifying
the rep scheme, and then adding some assistance exercises to the heavy lifting days.
In his most recent article published last month, Coach Rutherford describes a Monday, Wednesday, Friday program which
combines heavy lifting or max effort work early in the workout with a short, intense CrossFit-style metabolic circuit near
the end. Interestingly, he limits the number of metabolic circuits to just 9 total, to be rotated through over the course
of the programming - "I found the familiarity with the WOD kept the workout moving each week, reduced the psychological
demands of constant education, but did not compromise the desired stress adaptation," he explained. As I understand it,
Coach Rutherford purposely limited the length of the metabolic circuits to around 10 minutes max.
CrossFit celebrity athlete and UC Riverside Strength & Conditioning Coach Greg Everett combined Max Effort work and
CrossFit-inspired metabolic conditioning circuits in his programming for baseball and women basketball teams at the university.
His programming also combined max effort work with metabolic circuits on the same training day - and like Coach Rutherford,
he limited his CrossFit WOD's to nine variations. Unlike Coach Rutherford, however, Coach Everett included longer metabolic
conditioning circuits, some approaching 20 minutes in duration. Further, Coach Josh Everett made a distinction between "running-based"
metabolic circuits and "weightroom-based" circuits. His female basketball players were exposed to one of each weekly.
Coach Everett further enhances his athlete's conditioning with sprints and track work.
At Catalyst Athletics, Coach Greg Everett has begun combining Olympic lifting programming with CrossFit-inspired metabolic
conditioning circuits. Like Coaches Rutherford and Josh Everett, Coach Greg Everett has is athletes lift heavy first, then
do their circuit, which is intense, but short.
Coach Rutherford follows Joe Kenn's approach in max effort with alternating daily emphasis on Upper Body, Lower Body and
Total Body work. Both he and Coach Josh Everett deploy squats, various cleans and vertical presses as their primary Max Effort
exercises.
Mark Twight at Gym Jones has also combined max effort work with metabolic conditioning on alternating days and together
in the same workout. Though I attended a seminar at Gym Jones and have followed the programming on the website, I've been
unable to glean the specifics of the their approach. It is evident though, that Gym Jones appears to deploy more max effort
exercises, and a more varied metabolic conditioning circuit menu then the other approaches.
So here's some random thoughts about combining Max Effort and metabolic conditioning circuits -
- Coach Rutherford and Coach Josh Everett don't call their clean variations "power" exercises. Rather, they
label them "Total Body" strength exercises which could be a more accurate and more useable way to consider these.
- Both Coach Rutherford and Coach Greg Everett deploy short circuits - 10 minutes or less. While Coach Rutherford doesn't
explain his reasoning for the short circuits, Coach Everett is very clear - these workouts are kept short, "to minimize
disruption with strength training." Coach Everett further explains that his circuits are not "random" - but
each day are chosen to avoid redundancy and disruption to the strength cycles. Further, to correspond with his strength programming,
which includes a max attempt on Saturdays, Coach Everett designs the metcon circuits on a medium-heavy-light cycle for Monday,
Wednesday and Friday. In general, Coach Everett explains that he wants to increase strength, while "maintaining a reasonable
conditioning base" through the metcon circuits.
- While one of the hallmarks of the CrossFit model is randomization, none of these three coaches deploy it. Instead, they
pick and choose CrossFit-inspired circuits which complement their other training.
- All three coaches are training athletes in sports which do not require an extended power endurance component, similar
to a long climb, long trail run, or ski tour. I frequently use extended, 20-minute plus power-endurance events. But there
could be a strength cost to this. Research has shown that heavy breathing negatively impacts raw strength training, and Coach
Rutherford mentions in his writing that if athletes are relatively weak, the coach should shorten the duration of the metcon
circuits.
- Minimizing exercise menu, both on the strength and circuit side makes a lot of sense from a conditioning perspective.
One of the great things I liked about CrossFit when I was a new athlete was all the new exercises. But as a coach, having
a gazillion exercises leads to chaotic training sessions as athletes struggle to remember movements and master technique.
This leads to wasted time which could be spent getting stronger and faster.
- All three coaches kept the weight heavy and the reps low for their strength work.
- After reviewing these approaches, I've found areas where my own programming can be improved, perhaps by decreasing the
number of strength exercises, elimintating the idea of "power" altogether and folding these exercises into the strength
definitions. Finally, I need to re-evaluate co-scheduling strength and long power endurance events in the same training session.
- Rob Shaul
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| Hunter, Andy |
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| Getup with 105#. No joke. |
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