Programming Theory

“Why am I not progressing?”

Is it the schedule (can’t make it in when I want)? Is it the coaching? Is it the programming? Is it your jump rope? Your shoes? Your training partners?

I’ve got good news and bad news.

The good news is that it is completely in your control.

The bad news… is that it is completely in your control.

I hate to break it to you, but if you aren’t progressing it probably isn’t something external.

You probably aren’t progressing because of you.

If you aren’t tra…

Spring/Summer is the time of year when we start hearing about people wanting longer metcons… more than usual anyway. I suspect that it has to do with those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are starting to see more sunshine, and are starting to think about summer. And bathing suits.

People who are working hard in the gym want something to show for all of their efforts. Generally speaking, just about every person in our gyms would like to ‘look better’, even if they already look amazing! It is …

The ‘Scaling Guide’ is one of the most important tools for getting the most out of your time at the gym. The key is to remember that the goal isn’t to get the fastest time, or the most rounds. The key is to use the ‘best’ progressions to land you right smack dab in the middle of the guide!

Before you start the workout, pick the loads and progressions for each movement that you think you can manage to end up in the middle of the scaling guide. Talk to your coach if you aren’t sure, and make…

I got a great question from Craig K. about why I am not a fan of people repeating the Open workouts:

‘I would love if you would elaborate on how it ruins progress to do a workout twice? How does doing one workout 2-3 days apart from another workout cause a big problem with process? … What is the science behind it or even the thought process of why it is so bad?’

First, I’d like to say that it doesn’t ‘ruin’ the progress if someone does a workout twice in a few days. Our programming should…

*** UPDATED FOR 2011-2018! ***

It is that time of year again.

I can hear the collective cheers and groans from CrossFit gym owners around the world… Another CrossFit Open!

I had the luxury of programming for 6 years before the first CrossFit Open in 2011, and I still had a lot to learn those first 7 years since then! In this article I am going to outline some of the best practices (and things to avoid) when programming during the Open. It is my goal to save you time during the stressful ti…

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.

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…

As more and more gyms start to realize that good programming takes time, we are starting to see many come around to the idea of hiring experts to provide the best results while saving the time and the headache of always worrying about the programming.

That said, I haven’t seen enough discussion on where the lines between good programming and good coaching cross, and what each can and can’t do.

To put it simply:

A great program administered poorly is just as bad as terrible programming with …

(Read Time: 2:44)

The CrossFit Journal Interviewed a couple of you about programming and made an article out of it! ! Click here for the PDF

Emily actually interviewed me as well, but since it made me a contributor (and she has quoted me in articles in the past), she didn’t want this to look like an ad for Thrivestry.

Jan does a great job of talking about the benefits of outsourcing the programming, but more interestingly is Josh who hadn’t pulled the trigger on the programming yet.  Fai…

As coaches of group based fitness, we will always have large audience to please. One of the most vocal groups seems to be the people who always seem to want 'longer metcons'.

The longer workout debate with clients will always be an issue as long as the prevailing wisdom is ‘longer is better’ and ‘no pain, no gain.’ (Read more about “Exersubmissives” here). Hopefully some of the stuff I talk about below will help arm you all as coaches as you encounter this, and help clients get the most out o…