During the early stages in the development of Wildcard, the idea of having a large strength bias within programming made so much sense to me. Having previously worked at several CrossFit gyms and programmed years of sessions, I could see how important it was to build a base of strength and could also see a huge issue:
Constantly varied, functional fitness should NOT be random
When starting out at the gym, you have what we refer to as ‘newbie’ gains. You are going to hit personal bests on everything regardless of programming. Your body is learning to adapt to new techniques and movements and it wants to get stronger. This is awesome but it will not last forever!
After a period of time, this progress will stall (if it did not we would all be pulling deadlifts to rival Eddie Hall in no time).
This is where a well designed program will allow progress in both strength and technique and then allow the gainz to keep on flowing. Too often I could see other gyms programming involving building to a heavy deadlift, doing no further work on the deadlift for a couple of months before retesting again. The result? Hitting the same weight as the first time. Who would have thought!?
At Wildcard, the athlete program would remedy this by focussing on several components across a short cycle. If we are working on the deadlift we would be testing to see where we are currently at, before working on technique and building volume over the following weeks. This will allow you to adapt to heavier weights and become more confident. When we come to retest, the Personal bests are guaranteed!
Our ‘Strong’ sessions take this a step further. CrossFit can have so many different elements to work on, this can make building absolute strength very difficult. The best way to think about this- how can you put max effort and intensity into your squats and accessories if you have just completed 100 burpees as part of a workout?
Strong sessions are there to get strong. Remove the clutter. Focus on the techniques of squats, bench press, deadlifts and strict press. Build the weight progressively across the cycle, meticulously programmed and tested by Coach Alex. These sessions are suitable for any level, whether it is all new to you and you are learning techniques, or you are a bit of a ‘fire breather’ but you feel like you want to be stronger. Maybe you just want to add muscle and look better. These sessions are the answer.
Sessions are structured with a coach led warm up, some percentage/RPE based lifting followed by accessory work. Putting the maximum intensity into this strength work without watering it down with any conditioning and you will really see your numbers fly. This does not by any means the sessions are easy, ask anyone who has completed a cycle! It requires a great deal of discipline, focus and commitment. The progressive nature of the weekly sessions do keep your eyes on the prize though.
If you are new to Wildcard or you feel like you have plateaued with your strength numbers, commit to strong sessions for a cycle and see what it can do for you!
Sessions are currently Monday/Wednesday/Friday at 1730 or 1830. Ask the coaches for more info or if you would like more information on how to join Wildcard, click HERE to book a free consultation now and lets chat!