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This has given me time to assess what I’ve been doing training-wise, and how I want to train in the future. For the past 2-3 years, it’s basically been Crossfit all the way, either straight up, or more recently strength bias. I’ve had good results with strength bias, including putting 20kg on my squat last year, so that was pretty pleasing. However, last year I started to feel like my conditioning was stalling, or possibly regressing.
At this point, I started to question why I did conditioning work, and came to the realisation that I was doing it for its own sake. In effect, I was doing CF metcons just for the sake of being good at Crossfit; I just wanted to get my benchmarks times down. But then about a year ago I decided to try my best not to do metcons that I had done before, so I wouldn’t get hung up on PBs. This worked for a while, but I still didn’t really enjoy the work, and couldn’t get away from the feeling that I was just doing conditioning for the sake of conditioning (a regular criticism of CF, and to be honest one that I’m coming to understand). It may not be too much of a stretch to suggest that 3 years of almost non-stop smashing myself with metcons has in part led to whatever has been wrong with me (burnout, anyone?).
So, time for a change. I’ve been toying with the idea of gymnastics for years, and have spent a fair but of time looking at the Gymnastics WOD site. So this has inspired me to do things. Firstly, spend hours poring over videos both on YouTube and GWOD, then trying to replicate various techniques at home. Secondly, to get my butt down to Basingstoke Gymnastics Club to get some coaching (about time I got a new hobby and met some new people anyway). So this is going to be a new focus for me – it’ll be good to get some training done that’s skill-based while also being hard work, without smashing myself into the ground as a measure of a good workout.
However, I also want to keep up with the strength work, since I started to really enjoy it, and I’ve been reading the Greyskull LP book which looks like a very interesting programme. So my own take on this programme is going into the mix too. And since I’d better keep some conditioning in there to make sure I don’t become totally deconditioned, I’m going to include some of that too, with far less CF-type metcon, nothing too long, and more sprints.
So I’ve had a think about my goals, and apart from the obvious body composition ones that nobody owns up to
I’m looking at, in no particular order:• Increased strength
• Learn gymnastic skills
• Maintain/improve conditioning
• Improved general health, with a view to longevity rather than short-term gratification through PBs and feeling like I’ve been in a war(!).
So, once I get back on my feet properly, rather than the train-what-I-can-when-I-can scenario I’m currently having to put with, my schedule will look something like this:
1: Squat, press, sub-5 minute metcon;
2: Gymnastics class
3: Sprints (or hill sprints)
4: Deads, floor press, weighted pull-ups (maybe, although gymnastics might cover this);
5: Metcon and/or Oly lifting.
Obviously there will be rest days interspersed, and I’d like to try to get another, home-based, gymnastics session each week if I can. If I can fit all this lot into a week, I’ll be happy, but I think that it may take 8-9 days to get through each cycle of this.
One quick afterword – I’m knocking Crossfit with all this. I’ve had some great experiences with CF, learned some new skills, and most importantly met some great people. I still want to be “cross fit,” but with something of an emphasis on the gymnastics skills.
So, any thoughts, suggestions, opinions, questions, gratefully received.
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Any input gratefully received, either by email (chapmancmc@hotmail.com), post here, pigeon, whatever.
