CFC 2024 Programming Cycle – The Elephant
Welcome to CFC 2024 Programming Cycle – The Elephant – We had an awesome CrossFit Open and survived some tough benchmarks (Punch Out and Linchpin Test 10) and some humbling Conditioning workouts! Now it’s time to start a new cycle and continue building on our previous cycle the “Horse” (click here to read about that cycle)
The animal for this cycle is the Elephant. Like an Elephant you will need core strength and confidence to challenge yourself. Can you move with weight overhead? Can you get under that bar quickly? What raw strength do you have? Just like the elephant, you are going to have to be strong and confident!
For our third strength and conditioning cycle of this year, we are continuing with our squat, press, and pull movements. This cycle is all about the basics. In order to maximize the benefit of this cycle, you will need to check your ego at the door. Can you pick a weight that you can move with good technique?
In our first cycle we took on the Back Squat, then we embraced the Front Squat, and now we transition to the hardest squat of them all, the Overhead Squat. Now I know that the Overhead Squat strikes fear in many, but no worries, we will have some options for you. As the founder of CrossFit has said, “The overhead squat is the ultimate core exercise, the heart of the snatch, and peerless in developing effective athletic movement. This functional gem trains for the efficient transfer of energy from large to small body parts – the essence of sport movement. For this reason it is an indispensable tool for developing speed and power.”
For our pull we are bringing our previous cycle’s Front Squat and Power Clean Technique work together with the Squat Clean. Do you have the confidence to get under that bar quickly and gets those elbows out in front of that bar? We will find out!
Our press transitions to the Strict Press. We have been bench pressing, pushing pressing, and pressing out of that dip. Now we will challenge ourselves with this strict movement. Can you brace your core and bring that weight to full extension at the top?
The goals for this cycle are below:
- 3 Rep Max Overhead Squat – The goal is not to test out our max 1 rep here. The Overhead squat is a very challenging lift and we want to keep technique and form at the forefront. The 3 Rep Max is designed to challenge you with a more moderate weight that you can move well. We will further challenge you to bring those weights down with some tempo work. The Overhead squat will challenge your mobility. Spend some time to develop our shoulder mobility and build confidence moving well with lighter weights.
- 1 Rep Max Squat Clean – We will have some volume with our wave loading. This is a great opportunity to build upon previous cycles and look to improve technique! – Looking forward to moving that barbell. Want to learn more about why we do Olympic Lifts in CrossFit – Check out our post here.
- Running and Double Unders – Like pull-ups, Double Unders can be elusive and require some practice and work. For those that have them, they have a tendency to disappear while under fatigue. We will use this time to challenge you on working on your double unders while under fatigue!
- 1 Rep Max Strict Press – We will keep the volume on the lower / moderate side with this 8 week cycle to build our raw pressing strength.
Our Benchmark workouts for this cycle will be a couple of pretty tough couplets : “Nancy” (Running and Overhead Squats) and “Diana” which is similiar to Diane but with the much harder Squat Cleans vs. Deadlifts. Need to learn more about these CrossFit Coordinate benchmarks? Click here.
The Summer Months can be hard – Let’s stay consistent!
