Hi NWCF community, a few have asked about why we’re doing the programming we’re doing, so here’s an update from Jordan, who has been running our programming recently.
The philosophy behind the programming is centered around making you the healthiest version of yourself, so that you get to be that in your everyday life. So then what do we constitute as healthy? In my mind, it involves being able to use your body how you want and when you want: being aware of how your body moves/works and being able to adapt to new and difficult situations. should a fight or flight scenario present itself to you, if you don’t know how to fight, at least your flight will be quick. And more than anything else, the goal is to make sure the body is equipped to deal with adversity and remain injury-free. It is not enough that we as a gym make sure the community doesn’t get injured within the confines of our walls. We must equip you to reduce the likelihood of injury in the outside world; where the majority of your time is spent.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Bullet proofing
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are what I call the “bullet proofing” days. We open the day with a superset of movements designed to use our deepest joint angles, focusing predominantly on the hip flexors, glutes, vastus medialis oblique (knee), and decreasing the opportunity to compensate with other parts of the body to “get it done”. No longer do we adhere to the “get it done” mentality, unless under specific intent. After that we have a metcon of some sort that will directly use the same muscles we just trained, or provide a similar variation to what we just did. You may have noticed that the majority of the exercises on MWF seem to be legs, which is true, and also intentional. If we’re going to be in any type of motion or position that isn’t lying down or sitting, then we’re using our legs, so they deserve the time. In time, and as my programming knowledge continues to grow, we will be moving up the body with more emphasis on shoulders. Knees and shoulders, shoulders and knees, heads shoulders knees and toes.
Tuesday, Thursday: Olympic lifting
Tuesday and Thursday have become devoted to Olympic lifting, and speaking personally, these are my favorite days. So if MWF are bullet proofing, where the goal is reduce risk of injury, then TTh are for learning how to move our body under different and difficult scenarios. Everyone has had that feeling of “there’s so much to think about” or “what the hell am I doing” when trying to pull a bar off the ground and catch it overhead in a full squat. It’s equal parts maddening and humbling, but when you catch it right that feeling of accomplishment is well worth the work. There are said to be 10 components of athleticism, and the Olympic lifts (the snatch, clean, and jerk) check more boxes than most every other athletic discipline. I always like to say that it feels like dancing, when it happens; something that seemed so difficult all of a sudden feels effortless. Plus the smile a person gets after that “aha” moment is the best.
Weekends: Metcon + aerobic
Weekends are for a more traditional CrossFit metcon and at least a day of full body movement that is low impact. We have restrictions on space at the moment, so I can’t do as much of the gymnastic stuff I would like to do, but in time that too shall come.
More feedback is welcome
If you ever have any questions/concerns please bring them to us. We love getting the feedback. Be happy, healthy, and have fun y’all. We love you all!
