Desires to BE on Comp Squad

We have had a lot of requests to be "on Comp Squad" so I wanted to share the requirements given and a recent post on CrossFit New England's site about it that is appropriate for this.

CFF Comp Squad Program Guidelines and Requirements

The Comp Squad program is designed to be additional training for advanced athletes that are serious about competing in CrossFit competiton at a high level.  The program is ineffective if the athlete is not consistently completing the CFF WOD as a base, so please do not "cherry-pick" the CFF WOD, or use the Comp Squad training as an alternative to the CFF WOD.  Also, if you are not an "RX'd" athlete, i.e. you are not completing the majority of CFF WODs without scaling, then it makes no sense for you to undertake the Comp Squad program as it is too much volume and will hamper your progress.  Rather you should focus on getting to (healthy) RX'd first, before adding any additional work.

If your goal is to be on Comp Squad, you should be diligently hitting the CFF WODs consistently and with purpose toward each.  Focus each workout as a training session to work on a weakness that workout provides for you.  Attend Make-Up days, Freeform Open gym times, and Nuts and Bolts classes and work on the skills of the movements you need more time and attention to detail on.  Ignoring the necessary skill work and just hitting everything as heavy and as fast as possible shows lack of commitment to your goal.  What is your true goal and are your behaviors matching that goal?

If you are an Rx'd athlete and completing the CFF WOD consistently, you should incorporate the Comp Squad training into your training to the extent that you are able to handle, and then ramp up over time until you are consistently completing the additional training.  We are programming the maximum work that we think our athletes should be doing, not the minimum. Jumping in "Cold Turkey" and trying to hit every additional session is a sure-fire pathway to injury and/or over-training.  Adding one additional session per week at a time and allowing your body to catchup before adding another is a good strategy for long-term success. You should monitor your recovery and back off if your CFF WOD performance starts to decline.  Remember, there is no way to "fast-track" your progress, but you certainly can "slow-track" it by over-reaching before you are ready.

Reminder of Competitor Programming intent…

From Derek Mohamed, CFNE Competitors Coach

 

As many of you know, Ben recently started providing competitor’s programming on the Competitor’s WOD website.

 

In classic Ben Bergeron style, he is sharing his knowledge and programming expertise for free. He is also not mandating for anybody that they should, shouldn’t, or can’t follow the programming. I can tell you that Ben has been overwhelmed with the positive response to the website and the people following the programming.

 

As the CFNE Competitor’s Coach, I have had the opportunity to talk extensively with Ben about the programming, the website and his intentions over the last few weeks and have a few thoughts to share:

 

1. Competitor’s WOD programming is aimed at preparing the skilled, experienced athlete for the Crossfit Games Competition Season. Because of the seasonality of the sport, and the periodization that Ben is programming, this is not aimed towards generally getting people ready to compete in local throwdowns, or competing at Garage Games for example, but specifically towards next year’s Games season.

 

2. It's most likely that Competitor’s WOD programming is not for you. I don’t mean you, specifically, but generally speaking, this programming is intended for a small percentage of the CrossFit population.  It's very difficult to generalize, but if you have to scale the vast majority of the programming, then maybe you should think twice. Another crude guideline might be a Fran time under 4:00 for guys, and under 5:00 for girls. Above that and you should really think twice or talk with a coach.  If you do CrossFit to be generally healthy for life and/or for another sport, then you’d be better off following the daily class programming. If you want to be a competitor, but don’t have the general fitness yet (Fran times) chances are, you’ll make more progress by sticking to class programming and adding some "goat" work 1-2 times a week. See a coach for advice if you need help on this.

 

4. Once you decide what is right for you, stick to it. This goes both ways. If you’re fit enough and experienced enough to do Competitor’s WOD programming and want to do it, then do it 100% and stick to it. Vice Versa – if you know in your heart of hearts that it's not right for you, or a coach tells you so, then commit to ONE program, be it CF.com, CFNE (CFF), or whatever. I can tell you firsthand that the RIGHT program or the BEST program is the one that you are committed to. Doing a CF.com WOD today, and some class WODs later in the week, and something from another site here or there is a recipe for disaster. I spent a very unproductive, frustrating year a few years back jumping around- OPT, Mike’s Gym, Catalyst, CFNE, etc…what a disaster. Finally I got sick of it and just decided to do whatever Ben told me to do, and I’ve been making gains ever since. For more on this, read Ben’s journal article about training like a racehorse.
http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/CFJ_Racehose_Bergeron.pdf

 

Please understand that the purpose of this post is not to exclude anyone, or to tell you that you can’t do something. The purpose is to clarify what the intention is, and also to help prevent over-training and injury that can arise from people following programming that they might not be ready for.

 

The coaches are here to help. If you have any questions about the programming or about this post, ask Lisa or Todd for guidance.  We STRONGLY encourage you to utilize the Nuts and Bolts classes for further development and attention to form/technique!