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Now that we understand the different components of an exercise, we can look at applying them to our periodization model. As you remember our training year is broken down into 4 seasons; Pre-season, In-season, Competitive-season, and Off-season. Today we’ll be talking about exercise selection during the pre-season. When selecting exercises it’s important to look at the training goals of each macrocycle (training season). In the pre-season, our primary goal is to build volume and increase cardiorespiratory endurance. For this to happen we need to consider a few different things as far as exercise selection goes.
Anytime we select an exercise it is primarily based in patterns and planes. Patterns are the gross movements themselves; bends and hip hinges, squats, presses, and pulls. Planes are the direction of the movement; sagittal plane (forwards, backwards, up and down); frontal plane (side to side); and transverse plane (rotational movements).
The pre-season is an excellent time for CrossFitters to train outside the sagittal plane. Most of the exercises we do in CrossFit are done in the sagittal plane. Think about squats, deadlifts, wall-balls, pull-ups, kettlebell swings, almost everything we do is either forwards, backwards, up, or down. We can increase our exposure to the frontal and transverse plane by using more single-leg exercises as well as moving side to side and rotationally.
When we are training patterns we want to maintain the patterns (Bend/hip hinge, squat, press, and pull) while exploring different exercises we wouldn’t typically see in regular CrossFit training. Again, single-leg versions and exercises performed outside the sagittal plane accomplish this. But also, using novel exercises and training implements like sandbags and sleds, or Turkish get-ups.
Remembering that our primary goals in pre-season training are to add volume and improve cardiorespiratory endurance, we want to consider contraction types. There are 4 primary contractions; Concentric contractions utilize a high amount of energy but are generally less stressful than other contractions; Eccentric contractions are very strong but have the tendency to make athletes sore when trained too heavy or too often; Isometric contractions have great utility for strengthening specific areas of movement patterns; Plyometric contractions are incredibly efficient but take advantage of the strong eccentric contraction and therefore can leave athletes feeling very sore when overused. Almost all of the contractions we use in CrossFit are a combination of eccentric and concentric.
What we want are exercises that are easy on the body but still challenging to our cardiorespiratory system. Think about selecting exercises where you don’t HAVE to rest. Walking lunges, box step-ups, air squats, burpees, and ski/bike/row are all great exercises that allow the body to keep moving without the need for rest.
We also want exercises that won’t leave us too sore. Our goal is to continue to add volume to our training sessions and if we utilize exercises with high levels of residual soreness it will impair our ability to do more every session.
Our next consideration is in specific exercises. We want exercises that are fatigue resistant so that no matter how many reps we do, our technique and ability to perform that exercise doesn’t break down. This is important not only to keep us moving at a steady pace but to reduce our exposure to injury. One of the biggest criticisms of CrossFit is that it is performed in a high fatigue state and that high fatigue state increases our chances of getting hurt. A properly designed program takes this into account and uses exercises with low potential for risk or breakdown of technique.
One of the secondary goals during our pre-season is to improve movement economy in fundamental movement patterns. This means lower volume during strength training and the inclusion of slow eccentrics as well as isometrics in the form of lifting tempo. This allows us to still train the classic exercises of CrossFit but with a more deliberate mindset and reduced levels of intensity. Remember, there is an inverse relationship between volume and intensity, so as we build volume through this training season we must closely manage intensity.
The pre-season is a time to step away from highly or over-utilized exercises and train in different planes while maintaining our fundamental patterns. It’s also a great time to step back and focus on movement quality. This gives our body a break from routine stresses as well as provides a new adaptation stimulus that will help us to become stronger and more robust! This is the whole purpose of the pre-season, to lay the foundation for tougher, more intense training cycles.