In the sport of CrossFit, we are always training our “General Physical Preparedness”, or GPP. We do this to be ready for whatever life throws at us – the unknown and the unknowable! This is the foundation that CrossFit was built on. We strongly believe that you can achieve a lifetime of fitness within this model. “Constantly varied, functional movements performed at high intensity” is a winning formula that we have seen succeed year after year.
However, to keep things interesting, we like to have some standard test points throughout the year. So we layer on top of our general fitness model some cyclical goals. Throughout the year, we cycle through different training models to slightly bias certain aspects of our fitness. For the few months leading into the CrossFit Open, for instance, we set our sights on more high-intensity workouts in the 5-15 minute range. Then, working our way toward Memorial Day, we throw in longer-range workouts to build endurance and muscular stamina. We even encourage athletes to wear a vest for certain WODs to get acquainted with the equipment before completing the “test” of Murph. If you’ve been around for some time, and are interested in this sort of thing, you’ve noticed these patterns!
A LOT goes on behind the scenes to ensure our programming is varied enough to be interesting, yet consistent enough to see results. We believe that both of these aspects are vital to keep people interested and consistent with their fitness habits. It is in this consistency that real progress is made toward our long-term health.
We have provided glimpses behind that programming curtain for transparency and to get athlete buy-in with our programming methodology. But this year, we decided to take it a step further and give you the full year’s plan! For some of you, this will shed light on why you’re seeing more of a certain style of workout every so often, etc. For others, this might just allow you to see some of what goes into your everyday experience here at Aevitas! Whatever the case, we hope that sharing this information is informative. And of course if you have any questions, please let us know! We love talking about this stuff!
2024 Programming Plan – The Details
Understanding Strength, Power, and Endurance
Before we dive into the specific training blocks, let’s define what we mean by strength, power, and endurance. Strength refers to your ability to generate force. Power, on the other hand, is your ability to generate force at speed. Endurance is your ability to continually generate force over a prolonged period. These three elements form the backbone of our training plan and will be the key focus areas in each training block.
General Physical Preparedness (GPP)
Throughout the year, 70-80% of our training will be general in nature to prepare for the unknown and unknowable. While each training phase has a specific bias, they are still general. Each contains a variety of elements needed to develop overall strength and conditioning. This approach ensures that you are ready for any physical challenge that comes your way.
Phase 1 – The Open
We completed the first training block in the “Open” phase in November and December. The second block continues through March. Key benchmarks include the CF Open, Karen, Amanda, 5RM BS, CrossFit Total, The Turk, and 12 Days Of Christmas. The goal of this phase is to increase strength, power, and endurance to prepare for the challenges ahead.
Phase 2 – Murph
The second phase of our training plan runs from April to May. During this phase, we will focus on preparing for the Memorial Day Murph Challenge, along with Cindy, Barbara, and a 20RM Back Squat. This phase builds upon the foundational strength, power, and endurance developed during the Open phase to help you reach new performance heights.
Phase 3 – Triathlon
The third phase runs from June to August. This phase will prepare you for Jackie, Kelly, Nancy, and 5K Bike benchmarks, with the main “event” being the Aevitas Triathlon in August! The focus continues to be on strength, power, and endurance. But this cycle emphasizes endurance to prepare for the athletic challenges of a triathlon or other similar event. This is the time of the year we are most likely to sign up for races and challenges of this nature outside of the gym!
Phase 4 – Lift-Off
The final phase of our training plan runs from September to October. The key benchmarks for this phase are Helen, Elizabeth, Ingrid, 1RM Snatch, and 1RM C&J. This phase will maximize your strength and power, preparing you for the physical demands of our Aevitas Lift-Off event (more details coming on that, we’re excited!)
We hope that this detailed training guide helps de-mystify some of our programming decisions and cycles throughout the year. Again, our overall program is designed for General Physical Preparedness first, with the specific phases and cycles filling in the blanks to form a more complete athletic picture.
Excited is an understatement when we think about the year to come and how strong and resilient we’re all becoming day after day, month after month! Keep up your commitment to coming into the gym, and we promise to keep our commitment of helping you become the fittest version of yourself!
