As we get ready to get things rolling at Old City, we think it’s important for everyone who is interested to know the ‘why’s’ behind the ‘what’s’ when it comes to the daily, weekly, and monthly programming.
Our goal at Old City is to program gym-wide fundamental goals on a quarterly basis. While CrossFit is seemingly ‘random’ in the day to day, it’s actually painstakingly varied. We go through great lengths to make sure we’re doing a wide range of movements and that our workouts cover a broad time spectrum. That being said, there is certainly room to bias a certain skill or movement for a quarter so that as a gym we can all improve in that one specific area while not losing competencies or strength in other areas.
Each time we enter a new training focus, I’ll make a post that details the goals for all levels of that quarter. This quarter we’re going back to basics, and our goal is the squat. The squat is one of the most foundational movement in all of CrossFit. Every athlete, at all levels, can afford to work on their squat in one capacity or another. Whether you’re brand new to CrossFit or a collegiate athlete, there’s something you can do to move more efficiently.
Being as though we’re a new gym, with a lot of people new to CrossFit, we plan on using the first couple weeks to get everyone on the same page. During the first two weeks we’ll spend longer than usual reviewing, practicing, and perfecting the movements that will create the foundation of our fitness arsenal. This isn’t to say that as an experienced CrossFitter you’re going to be bored, and it certainly doesn’t mean that anything will be toned down. It simply means that instead of working on a strength component for the first couple weeks, we’re going to reinforce technique. You’ll get CrossFit in all its glory, don’t worry about that part!
Since technique is so important to what we do in the gym, we’re going to be putting together ‘Movement Guides’ that are intended to be a read ahead for anyone looking to get everything they can out of each class. Ideally our classes will be spent with more movement and less talking, and while the movement guides are by no means required to be able to participate in class, they certainly will help you get more out of it.
Additionally we will link to great resources at the bottom of the post. We encourage you to explore these links as well as search for information on your own. Our goal with this movement series is to establish the movement expectations for Old City CrossFit and provide our recommendations for scaling and improving the movements.
You are responsible for how you move and the progress you make in the gym. We will do everything we can to facilitate that progress, and we hope this movement series will enable faster progression towards your goals. If you want to lift weights like the mighty war eagle, you gotta do your homework. Stay tuned and get excited!
The references provided below are the most complete and advanced discussions of CrossFit/Strength and Conditioning movements we have come across. Please explore these websites and learn as much as you possibly can from them. If you have a reference you like, post that reference to the comments. We’d love to check it out.
Our daily websites…
www.marksdailyapple.com (We had to sneak a nutrition one in there)
Weekly-ish:
http://www.jtsstrength.com/education/
http://www.catalystathletics.com/articles/all.php?start=0
http://www.westside-barbell.com/
http://www.geneticpotentialtv.com/
Buy this Book:
http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Supple-Leopard-Preventing-Performance/dp/1936608588
Seriously. Did you buy it? Stop reading this post and buy that book.
Also, read this:
http://journal.crossfit.com/2010/05/crossfit-level-1-training-guide.tpl
That’s all folks. Stay tuned for our first movement guide: the Squat!
