Programming is something we are very passionate about at Coastal CrossFit and we are constantly striving to improve the training that we offer to our athletes. What makes this subject interesting is that there is no “programming bible” provided to the CrossFit trainer and the training that is provided from gym to gym can vary quite greatly. The programming at our gym is a culmination of expertise gained through courses, practical application, observation, competition experience and countless hours of reading. We believe that we have found a good balance between the technical aspects of training while still retaining a fun and exciting training environment.
Here are some of the things that we consider when programming for our athletes:
Training vs. Sport: At Coastal CrossFit we believe that CrossFit is a strength and conditioning program 1st and a sport 2nd.
What this means is the primary focus of our daily training is to develop a solid foundation of strength, movement quality and conditioning for each of our athletes. We then supplement the training of our members who are specifically focused on the sport of CrossFit with a greater overall volume of work and exercise selection that is more appropriate to their goals. We certainly don’t have any issue with our athletes pursing competition but we are well aware that if we let them run before they can walk, then we are doing them a disservice.
Strict before kipping: We teach our athletes to perform bodyweight movements with strict form before we introduce dynamic movement. An athlete with the ability to perform movements like the pull-up, dip and handstand push-up with strict form generally exhibits the stability in the core and upper body to be able to handle more dynamic movement.
Strength Development: While CrossFit aims to develop all ten physical skills, we have a large focus on strength development. Why? Strength takes longer to develop than most other skills, strong people develop conditioning (cardio) more easily, they are less injury prone and generally find life easier. Please note that our goal is to develop functional strength – not body mass. Don’t assume that strong automatically means big – think gymnast strong.
More is not better: Put simply, exercise is a stress that causes your body to adapt. Too little stress and there will be no change; too much stress and there will be a negative effect. We are mindful of the fact that most people don’t need to do hundreds of repetitions of the same exercise to achieve a positive effect and pay particular consideration to the volume of work we prescribe for the sake of safety and continued positive adaptation.