Phase 3 of our CrossTraining annual program starts this week!  Phase 1 was all about building work capacity and growing some muscles.  Phase 2 was about making those muscles get stronger and generate greater and greater amounts of force. 

Phase 3? 

Well, Phase 3 is about getting fast and powerful. 

Powerful and strong are, at first glance, similar things.  However, under closer inspection, they are not the same at all.  Strength can be defined simply as the amount of force you can generate. There are a lot of ways you can measure ‘strength’, but the most common way we do it is by testing your one rep max. 

What exercises are good for that? 

Well, we know that force is created in the body via our muscles contracting, and different muscles will exert greater or lesser force.  We could test every muscle or muscle group and sum it all up, but that is impractical and very time-consuming.  Instead, I would argue, it is better to just test the three basic human movements of squat, press, and pull. These three movements can generate incredible amounts of force and will cover almost all your major muscle groups.  If we want to load these three movements up safely and with the greatest amount of weight, nothing really beats the back squat, bench press, and deadlift. 

The back squat, bench press, and deadlift are great for testing strength, and  they allow the movement of the heaviest loads possible for a human.  However, they DO NOT generate the greatest amount of ‘power’.  Power, as defined in physics, is force x velocity.  The squat, bench, and deadlift are slow movements. Barbell velocities on these movements can drop to .20 meters per second on average (slower in the bench press).  For comparison, the mean barbell velocity for the clean is 1.2 m/s or greater, and the snatch is even faster.

The snatch, clean, and jerk all require an incredible amount of power to be generated to be successful.  You CANNOT perform these movements slowly. They have a minimum velocity that must be achieved if they are to be completed lifts. This makes them incredible beneficial for training and developing power.  Other exercises that require a relatively high minimum velocity are movements that require you to sprint, jump, swing, and throw.  And that is just what we are going to do in Phase 3. 

If you have missed Phase 1 or Phase 2, it is OK.  Our WOD classes are a general fitness program and we will continue to work on developing muscle, and developing strength.  However, training over the next 12 weeks will be biased towards speed and power.  You will see movements like the snatch, clean, jerk, trap bar jumps, squat

jumps, medicine ball throws, jumping, and sprinting.  We also will be working on things like toes to bar, and ring muscle ups.  Oh, and we are going to sneak in some single leg squat progressions.  Single leg squats, or pistols, are not ‘fast’, but working on them will help keep our knees and hip healthy. 

Odd Weeks:

Monday: 

• Primary: Clean & Jerk

• Secondary: Back Squat

Tuesday: 

• Primary:  MB Toss

• Secondary:  Toes to Bar

Wednesday: 

• Primary:  Front Squat

• Secondary: Push Press

Thursday: 

• Primary: Snatch

• Secondary: Ring Muscle Ups

Friday: 

• Primary: Bench Press

• Secondary: MB Toss

Saturday: 

• Primary: Trap Bar Jumps

• Secondary:  Hurdles

Even Weeks:

Monday: 

• Primary: Snatch

• Secondary: Ring Muscle Ups

Tuesday:

• Primary: Bench Press

• Secondary: MB Throw

Wednesday:

• Primary: Trap Bar Jumps

• Secondary: Hurdles

Thursday: 

• Primary: Clean & Jerk

• Secondary: Back Squat

Friday:

• Primary: MB Throw

• Secondary: Toes to Bar

Saturday:

• Primary: Front Squat

• Secondary: Push Press