Hi Brendan,
I saw your post on Facebook earlier today about phase 2 of programming. Is there an objective way to know whether or not I’m ready to start the second phase– that is to say, should my mobility/ cardio endurance/ strength be at a certain level that wouldn’t hamper me in phase 2? Should I be able to do x amount of pull-ups, or wall- ball?
Great question. I think the best is a self evaluation.
Key things are…
What is my primary focus at this time… Body composition or performance?
Do I find that mobility is consistently impeding my performance of movements?
Do I exhibit any significant muscular imbalances around my ankles, hips or shoulders?
Do I resonate more with the goals of the foundation or building program?
Hey B!
I’m not quite sure what I should do with the dual programming we’re approaching now. I really miss Olympic lifting and would be happy to go that route, but I don’t know if I’m at my body comp goals yet…. just not sure what to expect from what the Building program will be. What do you think I should aim for? I think I’m built well for the strength program, I seem to thrive on lifting heavy, it’s my interest. It makes me feel good to work on lifting heavier.
🙂
Thanks for your help!
I think that our own definitions can cloud things for people. The goals of the Foundation program are “Lean. Mobile. Balanced”. As a coach, my objective is to help people achieve these goals with the simplest methods possible while keeping the program fun and varied enough to hold your interest.
As someone who has coached people in the CrossFit method for coming up on 10 years, I have seen far too many people discouraged by or injured by some of the more advanced techniques which commonly show up in a typical CrossFit program. Our Foundation program takes out the aspects of the method that are not critical to the success of the program.
However, it is important to understand that a sound training program FACILITATES leanness while nutrition is absolutely critical to leanness. So, if leanness is your goal, but you want to do some of the higher skill aspects of CrossFit – understanding that olympic lifting and gymnastics are not critical to your body composition goals and come along with a higher risk of injury, then by all means go ahead and jump into the Building program. You can certainly accomplish body composition goals on Building and I don’t think progress will come slower or faster on one program or another.
Olympic lifting and gymnastics are my absolute favourite things to do in the gym and I hope to be able to introduce lots and lots more people to a lifelong pursuit of these physical arts, but when 47% of my members say that their primary goal is body composition, I believe it would be 100% WRONG of me to put them into a program where they might be more prone to injury when it is not relevant to their goal.
As Dan John puts it, “The goal is to keep the goal the goal”. So, what is your goal and how can we help you accomplish it?