Our Programming
At STB, we program our training sessions through Wodify. This app allows our athletes to view workouts 2 days in advance. Our programming lists workout descriptions, intended stimulus info, scaling options or modifications, class flow and staggered start times for movements or implements that might have equipment limitations, and videos/pictures of what each movement and mobilization should look like.
At Share the Burden, we believe that Strength, specifically the loss of strength, is one of the earliest predictors of morbidity. Our weekly programming is built around our strength movements.
We program our strength movements on a (6) Day rotation. We do this intentionally, so that each week, our movements fall on a different day of the week.
Example: If we were to program our strength movements on a 7 day rotation, every Monday might be a Squat day, and every Wednesday might be a deadlift day. Since most of our athletes workout with us 3 days per week. If an athlete only attended classes on M , W , F, they would always train the same movements.
Our Weekly Rotation is as follows:
Clean
Squat
Deadlift
Press
Snatch
Endurance
Our movement focus does not change throughout the year, however; the strength progressions and how the lifts are incorporated into our monthly programming does.
Example: “Clean”
Week 1 = Strength focus, dedicated 15min lifting session
Week 2 = Hybrid focus, moderate/heavy barbell included in a shorter, high power metcon
Week 3 = Cycle focus, light/moderate barbell Included in longer, stamina stye mecton
Additionally, from a macro view, We will deliberately rotate the movements a clean is paired with in a metcon. If during Week 2, the clean was paired with a bodyweight, high-skilled gymnastics movement, then during Week 3 our athletes might see a clean paired with a cardio implement like a rower, skierg, or bike.
Other considerations: odd object work (sandbag or KB) and Dumbbells
A typical week might look like this:
Monday: Clean
15-20mins strength work + 6-9min metcon
Tuesday: Squat
12-15min metcon
Wednesday: Deadlift
2 Shorter metcons with (5-6mins Rest) in b/w
Thursday: Press
15mins strength work + 10min interval stye metcon
Friday: Snatch
6-9min metcon + 12mins strength work
Saturday
20+ minute endurance style workout
Sunday: Clean
12-15min metcon
Commonly used strength progressions:
Wendler (5, 3, 1)
Prilepin %
Tempo
10,8,6,4,2 (typically used with Power lifting movements)
EMOM (Interval % Lifts)
A STB, a typical strength progression will last between 8-12 weeks. Those progressions, will start with a pre-assessment to gather baseline data, and end with a ‘technical max’ or true 1RM.
Warm-ups + Cool-Downs:
At STB, we take our warm-ups seriously.
We start each class with ~3-4mins of “Blood Flow”
Typically, this is some type of erg work. Rowing + Biking + Skiing or light jogging. We want our athletes to gradually increase their core temperature and heart rate before we jump into a bunch of stretching or mobilization.
After the “Blood Flow”, we move into our “Mobilization + Activation” work. At STB, we believe that athletes need to be mobile, but they also need to properly stabilize a joint during dynamic movements like a squat snatch or butterly pull-up.
Some athletes are very mobile, but they struggle activating the appropriate muscle groups needed to protect their joints at end-range.
Typically, this phase of our warm-up consists of 4-5 mobilizations in the joints required for the day.
(Example - Overhead squat) For an overhead squat, athletes need to focus on ankles, hips, t-spine, and lats for the overhead position and the bottom of the squat. We might utilize the dragon pose, foam roll puppy dog, ring underhand lat stretch, and table top thoracic rotations.
After the mobilizations, our athletes will complete 3-4 activations needed for the day.
(Example - Overhead squat) For an overhead squat, we might perform some single leg glute brides, kneeling windmills, hip airplanes, and supinated scapular retractions.
After the training session is complete, we ask our athletes to “flush” the lactate out of the muscles groups used. This usually consists of a 1-2min easy bike or low damper row. Flushing the lactic acid out of the system is a great way to prevent DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). After the “Flush”, our athletes will complete 3-4 mobilizations for the muscle groups that were worked.
(Example) “Fran” 21-15-9 Thrusters & Pull-ups +10mins to est. a 2RM Thruster.
At the end of the session, our athletes might complete an easy “Spin-out - Flush” on the bike before completing:
Supine, seated straddle on the wall
Lizard pose
Banded shoulder distractions
We believe that fitness is created by training CrossFit’s 10 General Physical Skills
Cardio/Resp
Stamina
Strength
Flexibility
Power
Speed
Coordination
Agility
Balance
Accuracy
At STB, we incorporate “Stimulus” information with each workout. Often times our athletes ask us questions like: “How much weight should I use?” or “How do you think I should modify this movement?”.
By listing the intended stimulus, we can better serve our athletes.
(Example Workout):
5 RFT
4 Power cleans #135, 95
6 HSPU
12/10 Cal Bike
Rx +
4 Power cleans #185, 125
6 Strict HSPU
15/12 Cal Bike
[Stimulus = Power + Coordination]
*** Additional details ***
If the above listed weights are not appropriate for you, consider using a BB weight ~ 70% of your 1RM.
If you cannot complete the required HSPU (UB - unbroken), consider modifying to a variation that would allow you to consistently compete the required reps in 1 set.
For this workout, we might have an athlete ask what weight they should use because they do not have a recent 1RM.
To which we can respond, “The intended stimulus says nothing about (Speed), Because the main focus = power, we want you to challenge yourself with the BB weight today. Use a weight that would allow you to perform smooth consistent singles.
Additionally, we might have an athlete say, “I know that I can complete 6 Kipping HSPUs, but I don’t know if I can consistently perform 6 Strict HSPU’s UB. What should I do?”
To which we can respond, “The intended stimulus says (Coordination). So, we want you to start the workout with Strict HPSU’s, and when you can no longer complete them in 1 set, then switch to kipping.”