The Compound's Program:
Many people, especially those on the outside looking in, do not believe CrossFit has a program. To many it seems completely random and unsafe. In my opinion, if it looks that way, then it's one of two things: 1) The person doesn't understand programming other than "bodypart" training, i.e; Bodybuilding style, or 2) people are picking and choosing what workouts they want to do. Nothing is wrong with either, it's just a difference of opinion.
CrossFit is hard to program for. Many people suggest there are 3 main styles of training required to do well at CrossFit; Strength, Skills and Conditioning. I suggest there is a fourth......Rest!
You must incorporate rest days into programming. Many times athletes do not want to rest, some would and do work out 7 days a week. Rest is essential if the athlete is to derive maximum benefit for their subsequent training sessions! On top of Sunday with the gym closed, I would choose one day a week that would be your normal rest day. And then I would focus on excelling at Resting!
On top of maximizing your rest days, you need to work on equal parts strength, skills and conditioning. If you are better at one than the other two, many people will focus on the one they're better at, rather than the two they are not as good at. Try to resist this. Working on your weaknesses, while maintaining your strengths, will help you perform in CrossFit better.
Our current program involves two skills, three strengths each week prior to the WODs. So if you are only hitting the gym on the strength days, you are missing a large portion of your overall fitness. Similarly, if you are only coming on the "Skill" days, you are missing a large portion as well and probably not gaining the strength you need to improve those skill.
Post-WODs, we have begun to program an optional portion of the workout. This is to be done within 2-3:00 of finishing your workout, so that it is done at a high heart rate. Generally, this will be a mix of a skill and conditioning movement, usually done before a WOD. When done post-WOD, it dramatically changes how well you can perform those movements. So don't worry if you are not performing as well as you think you should. If you stick with these Post-WOD movements, you will improve.
Because there is so many aspects of CrossFit to improve in, many have the tendency to do too much work and not enough rest within a week. Trust in the program. I promise you will will hit every major exercise, and every direction of movement (push and pull, horizontal and vertical planes, etc.) within every given month.
Go all out on your strengths, skills, and WODs. The higher your intensity, the less you will want to do! Then maximize your rest days with some good nutrition and mobility and you will move faster, stronger and with less injuries!
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