Two weeks ago we sent out a quick 4 question survey for members to complete. Its great to get this kind of feedback once in a while and I’d like to thank everyone who completed it.
First – we wanted to know what you wanted to work in terms of training. Of course, we are a CrossFit Gym, a pure CrossFit, A CrossFit that is run by an OG, all of that stuff will stay the same. We’re not adding a boot-camp class, or eliminating barbells or anything crazy like that. But its important to look at the micro, while keeping the macro on the horizon. What I mean is that you can’t always try to get good at everything all at once, you have to attack some items with repeated and concentrated effort to effect change. This was the basis for Question number 1.
Question 1
What type of focus would you like to see in our next training cycle?
The most popular answer to this was, Cardiovascular Endurance with 27% of the vote. A close second was Upper Body Strength with 26%. While we look at this response as “what our athletes want to train” we also have to look at Question number 3 to see what our athletes want to “get” out of their training.
Question 3
How would your prioritize the following goals as they relate to YOU?
The most popular answer to this was “Body Composition / Get Lean” with 43% of the vote!
As a result of the answers to questions 1 and 3 we have developed and are ready to launch our next training Phase. Unfortunately our athletes most popular goal (get lean) doesn’t really line up with what the gym really wants to train, Cardiovascular Endurance. Lucky for us we’re doing CrossFit, and we can focus on getting lean and improving our cardio without a lot of deviation.
First to dispel a common myth within the industry with regard to being “lean”. Many people believe that changing body composition (lean vs overweight or big vs small) is as simple as balancing lifting weights and doing cardio. Walk into any Globo Gym and people trying to lose weight are in line for tread mills, while people trying to gain muscle are packed into the free weights section. Just as lifting weights alone won’t make you “big” doing cardio alone won’t make you “lean”. Being lean can be defined as having the presence of muscle relative to your body fat level. The pillars of CrossFit are based on short intense bursts of intensity. Consider the “Ladies”of CrossFit, the original workouts that made CrossFit a household name. “Helen”, “Fran, “Grace”, none of these WODs should be longer than 10 minutes with 2 out of 3 not designed to be longer than 5. What made CrossFit work was its ability to garner INTENSITY from its participants, and it did so with unprecedented results.
What does all this mean? It means that in order to improve your cardio, get lean and look good naked, feel like a million bucks and all the above, we’re going to need to hit it hard this Spring!! CrossFit Thermal is excited to announce its first ever Engine focused training phase, “Throttle” .
Throttle will be just what you need in terms of a Cardio improvement with once a week longer WODs, more running, and 4 tests aimed at showcasing your improvements over 8 weeks. Don’t worry, we’ve left enough strength training and short intensity in the program to make sure you get that lean beach body too!
You’re going to have to bring the intensity this Spring, dial in your nutrition, and have a few less Caliente Margaritas but stick with the program and you’ll see some amazing results!
Check out tomorrow’s blog post for an outline of what you can expect from “Throttle”