May 16, 2017 12:02pm

By Jeremy Jones

14 min read

What Programming Can and Can't Do for Class Experience Part 2

In Part 1, I talked about how the programming and the coaching come together to create the experience that the clients are signing up for. Here in Part 2, I give an example of how the same workout can be delivered in two different extremes.

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Here is a workout first put out by CrossFit.com June 27, 2013 and performed by tens of thousands of athletes (and programmed by many gyms). Beyond the Whiteboard has roughly 5,500 entries on this workout, and that is just a small fraction of the people who have done it. If those who logged it represented 1% of the people who have done it at some point, that means that this workout has been performed over a half a million times!

Complete as many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:

10 Burpees

25 Double-unders

A spicy little number to be sure! Now if a gym were to program write this up, and this alone, there is a lot of interpretation on how this workout can be ‘served’ up to your members.

Without any more guidance, it falls on the coaches to fill the hour. The morning coach may do an aggressive dynamic warm up, mobilize the hips, then throw people in but make people do the burpees ‘strict’ (with a push up). The midday coach may decide to do some barbell skill work, have people do 50 singles who can’t do doubles (but they can ‘kip’ their burpees), and mobilize the shoulders after the workout is over (with some people running off early). The evening coach may do a fun game as a warm up, mobilize the ankles, make people do this one ‘as Rx’ even if they have to do one double under at a time. Then he/she does another ‘cool down / cash out’ metcon with wall balls and kb swings (never mind that the gym is doing wall balls tomorrow).

The problem is that the members are getting very different experiences, mobility exposure, skill development, and even very different workouts (strict burpees vs regular, singles vs doubles, etc.)!

The truth is that they all did the same “WOD”, but they are not on the same “Program”.

And herein lies the difference between making/selecting workouts versus ‘programming’.

The WOD aka ‘metcon’ is just one part of a ‘program’. If you are programming, you should be planning much more than just the metabolic conditioning piece.

Let’s look at the same workout as it is applied to the Thrivestry Programming April 18, 2017:

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Tuesday – April 18, 2016 - 170418

Context: Practice

Dynamic Warm Up Option: 3 sets of 3 inch worms, 2 crab bridges, 5 push-ups, 5 squats, then 5,4,3,2,1 with an empty barbell, straight leg deadlifts, bent over row, muscle snatch, rack jerk behind the neck, overhead squat

Mobility: Shoulder

Skill Practice Warm Up: Each minute on the minute for 5 minutes, perform 8-12 strict toes to bar (or progression).

Strength: 7x2 Power Snatch - 2 of 14 (7 sets of 2 reps, same weight across, approximately 65 - 75% of max snatch)

Super Set: 7x4 Half Kneeling Single Arm DB Shoulder Press (7 sets of 4 reps, “across,” scale to the same challenge) Video here.

Metabolic Conditioning: “Bottoms Up”

12 minute AMRAP (as many reps as possible)

10 Burpees

25 Double Unders (Health: 50 single Unders, Athletic: 30 DU counting attempts, Performance*: 50 DU)

*Women’s “Performance” weights and reps (Rx)

Scaling Guide: 6 – 11 rounds, about 1:30 per round.

Coaching Tips: Get through the first couple rounds at a fast pace. Then settle in to a more sustainable pace by breaking up the double unders and going a bit slower on the burpees. Watch the clock to pace yourself so you don’t completely blow up. Try to do your burpees with as little 'shoulder' as possible to save them for the later rounds!

Compare to: BTWB “CrossFit Classic” aka Benchmark

Optional ‘Cash Out’: 4 min max cal row or air bike

“By the Numbers” Book References: Burpee p. 415, Double Unders p. 213

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There is a heck of a lot more information here! Honestly, I could talk for an hour about each ‘layer’ written out here, but I’ll try and be brief and I’ll break it down by section.

The Beginning

The first 15-20 minutes should be dedicated to tissue prep and skill development. Coaches will do their own dynamic warm ups and then fit the rest in before moving onto the lifting or metcon. We do this at the beginning because it tends to be the ‘vegetables’ of training. It is best to get it over with early on!

Tuesday – April 18, 2016 - 170418

The date code above is important. It makes it easier to search for this workout later on so it can be repeated periodically to track progress.

Context: Practice

What is the prescribed ‘approach’ today’s training? Should people be going as hard as they can? Should they be taking it a bit easier because we are going to do a hard session or two later this week? The ratios of practice, competition, and mental toughness, are important for long term development. Shout out to Kenny Kane and his Mastery Method Seminar!

It is generally a good idea to have some movements people can start right away (before class) so they aren't standing around. Right at the top of the hour, the coach can then finish the basic movements and then coach the second part with everyone moving together. We like to get people moving and breathing a bit as soon as possible, as well as get them practicing skills and ingraining good movement patterns. It is written as 'option' so that coaches know they can do their own warm up if they prefer.

Mobility: Shoulder

This is placed at the beginning of the workout to make sure people can’t duck out at the end. It should be programmed according to what we have been doing the last couple days, and what we will be doing the next couple of days. It is up to the coach to pick exactly what drill is used according to what the people in the class need that day.

Skill Practice Warm Up: Each minute on the minute for 5 minutes, perform 8-12 strict toes to bar (or progression).

We will be doing toes to bar the next day in the conditioning workout. Having people practice them today will make tomorrow’s class run more smoothly. Dedicated practice time also lets people ‘experiment’ and not be concerned about their score in the workout that day. People tend to do less reps (and not get better) when they are trying to learn a new technique the same day they will be recording a workout with the movement. Often, the skill will be something coming up the exact same day the next week to maximize the exposure for those coming on the same days each week.

The Middle

The next portion of the class (from about minute 15 – 45) is set aside for coaching and performing either the strength or the metcon. We do not do strength every day, but we use a combination of strength-plus-metcon and metcon-only days.

Strength: 7x2 Power Snatch - 2 of 14 (7 sets of 2 reps, same weight across, approximately 65 - 75% of max snatch)

We are in the beginning of a strength focus. ‘2 of 14’ means that it is the second session of 14. The percent guide is there to help people understand what loads they should be lifting. It is not an exact percentage since most ‘regular’ clients won’t have an accurate max to go off of, and if they miss a session or two over the next 6 weeks, they have some flexibility to do the right load for where they are at. We mix in other lifts during a strength focus so that we don’t lose ground on them during our focus. Focusing on one lift for 6 weeks allows people to really learn the movement and makes it easier to coach. 6 weeks also happens to be right about when people ‘get sick’ of a movement and are ready to move on.

Super Set: 7x4 Half Kneeling Single Arm DB Shoulder Press (7 sets of 4 reps, “across,” scale to the same challenge) Video here.

We’ve found that the 3 minutes or so between sets of lifting can be productively used. Instead of having people stand around, we use this time to do a lot of single arm/leg work and gymnastics progressions. The movements that don’t work well in conditioning workouts, and that are great for creating better humans. If the day is jam packed with other movements, we may skip out on programming a super set, but it is there most of the time. The super sets during the strength focus are also programmed to build momentum into the next focus and/or to correct muscular imbalances. We use them to make the next phase even more effective!

The End

AH! We finally get to today’s ‘workout’ (unbeknownst to the people in class, they have actually been ‘working out’ the entire time! Sneaky sneaky). If we aren’t doing any lifting, we may spend some additional time on the skill portion, with the instruction portion starting around 20-25 after the start. When we have a lift and a metcon, we’ll start setting up for the metcon and doing the instruction before the lifting is over (people need rest between sets anyway right?). That said, we’ll want to be wrapping up the lifting portion at 40-45 after so we have time for the metcon (and clean up).

Metabolic Conditioning: “Bottoms Up”

12 minute AMRAP (as many reps as possible)

10 Burpees

25 Double Unders (Health: 50 single Unders, Athletic: 30 DU counting attempts, Performance*: 50 DU)

*Women’s “Performance” weights and reps (Rx)

Each workout has a unique name. This makes logging and tracking easier. Often, I’ll find a link to a music video or historical reference as a bonus. Writing out specifics is important for new people to understand what is being done (“FT” and “AMRAP” is confusing for new people).

This workout happens to be a bit ‘long’ for a lifting day because it is the beginning of the strength focus and people should be lifting light. It is also two movements that do not require a lot of coaching and customization.

We post a scaling option for each movement as opposed to completely different tracks. Having people ‘customize’ line by line ensures that they are getting the most out of the workout that day. We’ve found that having people do completely different tracks puts a lot of stress on the coach, and can make the class feel ‘divided’. It also forces people to ‘scale down’ something they might be good at. For example, a ‘larger’ athlete may be able to handle the barbell load, but can’t do the toes to bar. Instead of having them scale the weight down and the toes to bar, let them use the correct load and progression for them for each movement.

By writing the scaling Health > Athletic > Performance, we are setting people up for success. Instead of reading down the list of things they can’t do, they start with what they can do and go up from there!

The terms are also strategic. If you have 55 year old woman training with you, and she never goes beyond ‘Novice’ or ‘Beginner’ (even though she is getting really fit), she subconsciously is going to feel like she isn’t progressing.

You’ll notice that the Men’s and Women’s Rx is subtle. This is because most men will break themselves to not do women’s Rx. By having the asterisk, men’s ego is saved because they can do ‘Athletic’. Athletic isn’t always the women’s Rx (as in the case of Double Unders). We also scale things like rowing distances for men and women so that they can compete with each other on the workout and get the correct stimulus.

Scaling Guide: 6 – 11 rounds, about 1:30 per round.

The Scaling Guide is one of the most important pieces. This ensures that everyone is getting the correct stimulus and that they are all on the same program. It helps the coach and the member make smart choices on their progressions. It also makes sure that the coach can make modifications mid workout.

More critically, it makes sure you aren’t wasting your member’s valuable training time. On a ‘for time’ workout for example, one person may finish in 11 minutes, and another may finish in 26 minutes. This means that not only are they not on the same ‘program’, the 11-minute person is standing around for 15 minutes… Wasting 25% of their training time that day! It also means that the 26 minute person is going to be embarrassed making everyone wait for them!

Writing a paragraph or two will help the workout run more smoothly. People will have an idea of how to approach the workout, what things to watch out for, and make sure they make good choices on the scaling.

Compare to: BTWB “CrossFit Classic” aka Benchmark

On this particular workout, I have not posted it before. Every workout that is repeated has the date we did it last, and a link to the Beyond the Whiteboard data (for those gyms using that service – it is not required to use BTWB, but using some tracking software is highly encouraged). By giving people the day we did it last, they can look it up on any tracking software or even in their paper log or a photo on their phone!

Optional ‘Cash Out’: 4 min max cal row or air bike

Cash outs are to be done after the class is over and is completely optional. They are programmed so they will complement the programming (and not interfere with it). I make cash outs that do not require a lot of equipment so that it won’t get in the way of the next class, and there will be less of a chance something doesn’t get put away. Having a cash out option on days when the workouts are shorter gives people the power to customize their experience. If they ‘just want more cardio’ or didn’t scale properly for the correct intensity, it is a way to get more out their visit to the gym that day.

“By the Numbers” Book References: Burpee p. 415, Double Unders p. 213

I reference a few movements each day for coaches who want to brush up on coaching cues, common faults, and positions. Some gyms do not post this to their public blogs, but leaving it in there may get their members own curiosity piqued about learning how to move better.

Congratulations, you made it to the end!

Hopefully the amount of information wasn’t too overwhelming. As I said above, I could have actually gone into much greater detail and talked about even more integrations and subtleties!

I also hope this helps you see the difference between ‘programming’ and picking workouts. With some extra planning, and some extra clarifications, we can ensure that our members really are moving forward in the fastest, safest, and most fun way possible.

We can also make sure that our coaches are free to do what they do best: Coach! If a coach has to worry about all the extra time in class, how to scale correctly without guidance, what is actually going on in the programming, etc., they won’t have the time or the energy to focus on the clients and the relationships.

If you are looking to improve your programming you can go back to Part 1 and use the lists there. Start small, and do not let yourself get overwhelmed. If you try to add too much of this all at once, you may be biting off more than you can chew. Or you can look to outsource to a service like Thrivestry and let us handle the programming for you!

No matter what you decide, I genuinely hope this article helps you provide a better experience for your members. And remember:

Great programming has the power to change bodies. Great programming with people who will encourage and challenge each other, has the power to change lives.

Thrive on.

-jj