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CrossFit’s prescription for Fitness is,’ Constantly Varied, Functional Movements, Performed At High Intensity’. There are three key components to this prescription; The movements should be functional, whole body, multi-joint exercises that take advantage of all three planes of motion; These movements should be varied in as many different combinations as you can think of; and we need to take advantage of intensity, as the CrossFit methodology believes that, “Intensity is the independent variable most commonly associated with maximizing favourable adaptation to exercise,” (Intensity = results!).
What is Periodization? Periodization is, “to skillfully combine different training methods to yield better results than can be achieved through exclusive or disproportionate use of a single method.”. More simply put, it’s a thoughtful organization of all the qualities we plan to train. So, we are making sure to manage functional movements (the exercises we do), variety (the ways and combinations we perform them in), and intensity (how hard we work). Periodization is the management of different training stimuli and is what ensures we get maximum results from our training.
When we look at periodizing different movements, we want to make sure we are doing enough to create adaptation but not so much that we cause overuse or injury. We mix up different movement patterns like squatting, bending, pressing, and pulling. We move in different movement planes; sagittal, frontal, and transverse. We can even create variability within a single exercise, like the squat. For example, we do front squats, back squats, overhead squats, goblet squats, single-leg squats, we can add tempo (going down slow and up fast) or perform isometrics (holding at a specific position). Taking advantage of all these variables is what creates a strong, robust athlete, and ensures continued progress. 
Variety is a key component in CrossFit, it’s part of what makes CrossFit so successful as a training methodology. We love variety! We move up and down, forwards and backwards (that’s the sagittal plane), we go side to side (that’s the frontal plane), and we rotate with twisting and throwing motions (that’s the transverse plane). We combine different exercises in all three planes of movement in as many combinations as possible to create variety. The one thing we always make sure of though, is that we are thoughtful with our choice of exercise, never random. Picking the right movements on the right day is how we incorporate variety into our model of periodization.