Fringe Fortitude Explained
fortitude
, noun
Mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty, adversity, danger, or temptation courageously.
As you may have heard, we will soon be adjusting start times for nearly all of our classes on March 2nd. Mentioned also in that announcement was the addition of a new competitive programming block in the evenings. We’ve dubbed this programming, “Fringe Fortitude.”
Competitive programming is something I’ve wanted to develop for a long time. While I believe our athletes can become incredibly fit simply from completing 1-hour CrossFit classes five times/week, gone are the days where an individual can truly be competitive from this volume of work. An individual who wants to compete in CrossFit has to be strong, proficient in the Olympic lifts, and effective at gymnastics, all while having a huge motor.
If you want to compete, you simply need to do more. And this need to do more brings up an interesting point: is it truly healthy? I would argue no. The greater the volume you train at the greater the stress you place on your body and thus, you increase the risk for injury. There is a big difference between training for optimal health and training for optimal performance. As a country, America tends to associate high-level athletes with the pinnacle of health due to the strong, muscular bodies they possess. This is a mistake. Training at high volumes is by no means healthy.
You may wonder why I’m bringing this up. I feel it’s essential that I offer full disclosure that competitive programming is not meant for individuals seeking general health and well-being. More is not always better for health, and that is most definitely the case with CrossFit.
This programming is designed for those that have a desire to compete in Crossfit and that can commit the additional time to recovery. If the only motivation you have to participate in Fortitude is the idea that more is always better, than I really have to ask you to reconsider participating. If you find yourself having difficulty recovering from class WODs, and have to scale the majority of workouts, this programming is likely not appropriate for you as an athlete.
That said, all members with a desire to compete are welcome to participate in Fortitude. If you are unsure of whether or not to participate, please speak with Tyler, Nate, or myself and we can provide you with additional guidance.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about the first 8 weeks…
- Mondays will consist of Snatch EMOM work, as well as snatch grip push-press complexes to improve overhead pressing strength and stability. The weights will start out fairly light and by the end of the cycle be incredibly taxing. Don’t go heavier than Rx’d in the beginning with a belief that it will pay off later, it won’t.
- Tuesdays will be traditional Crossfit — my goal is to make you hate me.
- Wednesdays will be similar to Mondays except with a focus on the clean and jerk. This day will typically be your highest volume day of the week with an additional strength piece more often than not. Again, follow the progression and Rx’d percentages outlined.
- Thursday is a suggested rest or make-up day. Opt for rest and mobility if possible.
- Fridays* offer…well, let’s start with a quick scenario. Let’s say two athletes have a Power Clean max of 275. We have these athletes complete an 8-minute AMRAP of power cleans at 90% of their max. Athlete A does 37 reps while Athlete B does 15 reps — why? They have the exact same strength level, right? To keep things simple, the point of this day is to make you more like Athlete A. We’ll also be working on improving your proficiency at muscle-ups, or, if you don’t have muscle-ups, pull-ups. Once again, don’t go heavier or do more reps than prescribed for Rx. If you do, you’re missing the boat.
- Saturdays* might appear really boring, but are entirely necessary. Having a large aerobic base is important for success in the sport of Crossfit, and that is the point of Saturday. Don’t skip this piece, I’ll hunt you down if you do. And again (I’m starting to feel like a broken record), don’t go faster than the Rx’d pace.
*Friday is the suggested day for you to complete the CrossFit Open workouts. Depending on what the Open workout is each week, we will likely have to play around with when Friday and Saturday’s work is completed. The EMOM pieces on Friday won’t be incredibly taxing, but if a workout like 14.3 or 13.1 shows up in the open again, then it’s best not to do anything else on these days.
Have questions about Fringe Fortitude, or our new class times? Contact us!