I have often written that the overall concept of the periodisation is that of ‘accumulation’. Programming should begin by biasing towards one element of fitness (eg: strength), then retain that as another element is built on top of it. The key is in keeping the stimulus high enough in the ‘already biased towards components of fitness’ to retain the improvement you gained in them while you bias towards something else.
Whenever a program biases away from a focus (ie: less heavy powerlifts), the program that replaces them had to be sufficient to maintain the gains made by the biasing – preservation of previously established physical abilities even after they are no longer biased towards.
It is generally accepted that certain elements of fitness take longer to develop than others. Absolute strength takes longer than bodyweight ability, which takes longer than cardiorespiratory endurance. With this in mind, most broadly targetted programs bias heavy barbell work early in the season, and build towards cardiorespiratory endurance and skills later in the season.
My problem with this ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to athlete periodisation is that it assumes an athlete is already balanced. A CrossFIt Regionals level athlete with relative ratings of 8/10 in barbell strength and 2/10 in relative (bodyweight) strength ability SHOULD NOT be biasing towards heavy power and Olympic lifts early in the training cycle. Even though the absolute strength may take longer to develop, the starting point for that athlete demands a bias towards gymnastics ability – regardless of the point in the season.
The previously accepted heirarchy of athletic development (above), should be restructured to reflect this concept.
The time of CrossFIt athletes following generalised programming and expecting competition success is over. The time of CrossFIt athletes following ‘cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all’ periodisation programming and expecting competition success is over. Yes, competitive CrossFitters MUST periodise, but this periodisation MUST BE INDIVIDUALISED.
My Fitness File, our programming software, allows for this ultra specific and ultra individualised approach to CrossFIt programming. There is no alternative. My Fitness File’s Blog covers many of these concepts in more detail.
