Black Horse Manifesto

Black Horse Manifesto
This started out as a few disclaimers and soon became a list of proclamations about BHT's intentions. These proclamations cover the motivations behind BHT and general principles that BHT are based upon. I originally called it BHT philosophy, but after recent suggestions this has become the Black Horse Manifesto:

  •  There is a difference between a Crossfitter and a Crossfit Athlete.
    •  This program is not for Crossfiters. This program is for Crossfit athletes. Athletes who have set their sights on Regionals and The Games. Crossfitters do not need this much extra volume. Crossfit Athletes NEED more than what they get in the average Crossfit class.
  • A Crossfit season exists. 
    • While this may not seem like a shocking realization, it is an important concept to grasp. It is important because it gives us a date to be ready for. Crossfitters must to be ready for the unknown and unknowable. Crossfit Athletes must be ready for The Open, ready for Regionals and ready for The Games. We know that this season exists and BHT is a design to plan for that season.
  • BHT is not the solution. 
    • You are the solution. Crossfit competitions are not for the feint of heart and neither is training for the Crossfit season. Each of you have a history that has led you here. A superior VO2 max, a love of competition, a love of fitness, a genetic predisposition, a will, a drive, an ambition, a set of athletic skills and experiences etc. You provide the effort and the time to improve your general physical preparedness (GPP). BHT is just a road map. You will get out what you put in.
  • BHT is intended to relieve stress. 
    • I started programming because I am a huge Crossfit nerd and I saw an opportunity to put that to good use. When my wife started to compete, I realized something. What I realized was this: Unless she had a specific plan that attempted to address ALL that Crossfit TM would throw her way, day to day programming could become overwhelming. I think that for Elite athletes, there is anxiety that accompanies trying to decide what extra work to do on any given day. A well planned program can help to relieve the anxiety that comes with trying to be prepared for The Games season. BHT is designed to help relieve that anxiety.
  • BHT is to be done in conjunction with class. 
    • This requires a large commitment of time and effort, I know. I FIRMLY believe that in order for a gym to foster an environment that breeds competitors, the competitors need to be in class with the Gen Pop. Each one of you started there. Each one of you WODded next to some competitor that you hoped you would someday be able to keep up with. I believe it is your responsibility to spur on those that strive to be like you. By being in class you can help to continue developing a gym that is chalk full of EFA's. Our classes were  long ago retooled with our competitors in mind, so do them. The WODs are well programmed and contain all the classic Crossfit movements you need to continue to develop your GPP.
  • This type of training takes a commitment that you have to be committed to.
    •  POOP or get off the POT (I am so PG right now). Make the decision to be awesome and don't look back. Crossfit as a sport is fun and stressful. It is emotionally draining and rewarding. Some weeks/days you will enjoy the challenge, others you will dread coming to the gym. Get over it. If this is something you want to commit to and are ready to commit to, then freaking commit to it. That being said, Life is exponentially more important than Training. God, fiances, wives, husbands, kids, babies, jobs, dogs, sister wives...there is a very long list of things that take precedence. Crossfit should be a fulfilling experience that fits into your life. When it comes to Games prep, make sure you are ready for the sacrifice then: "Go hard or go home". 
  • BHT should supplement five training days per week, keep it short but effective
    • My recommendation is 3 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 1 day off. It doesn't matter what day you start or end.You can make the programming fit into your week any way you like, but rest days could legitimately be the most important days of your training. . Try to complete BHT in under 1:30 a day (if you can keep it under an hour, do that). Some days will be too much. If you have to cut volume, cut what you are good at. Continue to focus on the areas you are weakest.
  • There is a difference between Practice and Training. 
    • Skills, especially new ones, are practiced. At the heart of every goat/weakness there is a solution. Successful diagnosis of the limiting factors of these goats is the only thing that will eliminate weaknesses, or at least provide a plan to manage those factors. When performing Crossfit skills it is important to ask yourself, "Am I using this as an opportunity to increase my GPP, or perfect a skill". The approach to those two questions are very different. Your Isabell time will increase as your virtuosity with the snatch increases. Your attention to the fundamentals and essentials are the basis for having virtuosity in that movement. In the midst of "the beast that is Isabell", virtuosity of movement is not in the forefront of most competitor's minds. What is on their minds is snatching the weight 30 times and doing it very fast. In practicing the snatch, we pay attention to that detail. We take time. We nitpick. We teach and ingrain muscle memory. This is all practice.Training is where we put that muscle memory to use in order to increase GPP. Isabell for time is not usually an opportunity to diagnose and immediately correct snatch technique to teach muscle memory. Practice complex movements so that you can use them while you Train to adapt and improve GPP and maximize intensity.
  • Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance...Proposed solution: Periodization. 
    • There are so many movements in Crossfit that you can't cover them in one week/month. If you only attack a weakness when it shows up in a WOD, how will can you eliminate that weakness? What movements give the best "bang for your buck"? What will best prepare me for The Games Season? The solution is periodized training. Training that is progressively focused on eliminating weakness, cultivating strength, and increasing GPP. This concept requires a program that constantly builds on itself and is regulated to introduce and attack new movements. BHT's periodization is loosely organized as follows: Initially we went through a Strength Cycle, this was before BHT was called BHT (8 weeks before the first post). Then we began an 8 week Explosive Strength Cycle. From there 4 weeks of attacking weakness and beginning to prime the Metcon/GPP Engine. Then, 4 weeks of Engine building while still attacking some weaknesses and working on efficiency. Then, The Open begins and we continue to develop explosive power and flexibility while we "train through The Open" (more on this later). Regionals are announced and we focus/narrow our training to "train for Regionals". Finally, we will broaden our training to be "Ready For Anything" as some of you will be 'training for The Games"
  • Train through The Open.
    • This is a method that is not appropriate for everyone. Some of you could quit the open wods with minutes left in each of them and still qualify for regionals. Some of you will qualify by the skin of your teeth. You have to be honest with yourself and realize which of these two scenarios describes you. I will program the open WODs once during the week. If you are that first athlete, you should probably only do the WOD once. If you are the second athlete, your week will take a little more strategy in order to determine when and how many times you will do the WOD. Those of you who can "train through the open" and not let this 4-6 week period dominate your training will be better equipped to handle what Regionals has to offer.
  • Train for Regionals.
    • These WODs will be known and knowable. The competitors/teams that do not prepare for every aspect of this stage of the competition will be watching 3 other competitors/teams step onto the podium. 
  • Train to be Ready for Anything...Games Prep
    •  After regionals we will reassess and begin preparation for The Games. First, we will rest. Then, we will revisit strength, broad fitness and GPP/Engine building. Finally, we will again attack glaring goats and strategize efficiency of mavements. The Games as a single event is mostly unpredictable, to the naked eye. A close look at the programming styles of past Games as compared to Regionals and past Games compared to each other will give us a ton of insight into what is in store for the Games Bound BHT Athletes.
  • ...To be continued
    • ...maybe

 

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