This is a view of my process or personal method for creating workout plans in three month blocks.  It’s not limited to CrossFit. After all CrossFit is a brand name.  This is how I produce workouts to meet a specific goal and block specific goals.

I have to do everything in steps. These steps and methods are dynamic and always changing.

Step 1

Decide on what the goals are for the next 3 months.  Typically we (the coaches) collaborate and decide on several areas we’d like to see improved on.  Generally we will choose a “MetCon” (metabolic conditioning), and some sort of strength component.  Lately I’ve had a skill focus as well.  Currently that skill is bar muscle ups.

Step 2

Research progressions and various things for specific movements. I’ll spend a few days watching YouTube videos and reading articles for ideas. T-Nation is one of my personal favorites for unbiased technical information.

Step 3

Add or remove items from my analysis spreadsheet.  This is the most important part of the whole process.  It’s a much more detailed and “smarter” version of the analysis sheet provided in CrossFit L2 class.

Here’s what it does:

• First and foremost it helps me to keep things varied.  It’s really easy to squat too much or to do too much overhead work.  With this, I have a visual and totals for the cycle calculated for everything.
• Track Every aspect of the WOD (workout of the day)
  • Modality ie Gymnastics, Heavy lifting, Medium, light…
  • Wod splits. These are entered as time or expected time.  They’re totaled individually and together. We’re looking for somewhere between 130 minutes to 160 minutes of actual workout time per week.
    • Heavy day
    • Skill (time)
    • Strength (time)
    • MetCon (time)
  • Time
    • This is one of the most important factors. Without tracking wod times I end up programming in the longer time frame domains.  We all know that some sub 5 minute wods can be soul crushing.
  • Rep range
    • I’ve adjusted this one many times.  The nature of what we do puts us in the higher rep range regularly.  That said, with this I am reminded to do some of those hard/heavy days. ie 30 thrusters for time.
  • Scheme
    • How many movements are there for the day or MetCon?
  • Priority
    • There are only 2.  Time and task.  Time is “for time” and task is “amrap” style.  Time is by far the hardest.  You have to have an idea of how long something is going to take.
  • Movements. This serves a few purposes.  It’s a list of movements for those days my brain isn’t working and most importantly it helps me know that we’ve done burpees eleventy times in the cycle and haven’t snatched yet.
    • Body weight
    • Weighted
    • Monostructural
  • Warnings. This helps me know when or if there’s too much overhead pressing or squatting.