Hey John,
I have an opportunity to start going to a powerlifting gym. I am really excited about having some formal instruction from experienced lifters to help further increase the gains I have already made with CFFB. Do you have any recommendations on how to combine training somewhere else on someone else’s program with CFFB? They squat Monday, bench Wednesday, deadlift Friday. I’m sure that is not super-strict, but is theire scheduled training days. Should I just not do CFFB squats, bench, deadlifts, but just do everything else as RXed? Or is there a better way to combine the training?
On a side note, I have been following CFFB for the past few months in preparation to start playing rugby in the spring, after taking 3 years off from the sport. I was able to get in on the team’s last game of the fall season though, and I felt stronger and faster after following CFFB for only a few months than I ever have on the rugby field. Also, in early September I PR’ed both squat and deadlift of CFFB Total, and just PR’ed my deadlift again last week (by 60lbs, 545). I can’t wait to see what a dedicated off-season’s worth of training will provide me with when I step back on the field in the spring. Thanks for all of the hard work on both CFFB and TTMJ, both invaluable resources in my training now.
Thanks
Jared
Jared,
Glad you are making big leaps in your lifts and level of conditioning. It will pay off come rugby season.
I have said time and time again…follow the program. It doesn’t necessarily have to be my program, but make sure you follow a program.
Don’t make up your secret squirrel special hybrid training program trying to take the best of everything and mix them in one; it rarely works out as expected.
If you are training with a group of powerlifters…train with the group of powerlifters.
If you want to train in the group and their program follows a Monday, Wednesday, Friday split, than train the major lifts on these days. However, make sure you are supplementing these main lifts with plenty of accessory work to keep your volume high. Powerlifting is built around being about to perform 3 main lifts for a single rep. Rugby is a game built around a series of 5-10 second max effort sprint/hits followed by 20-50 seconds of jogging to get into position to do it again, repeat for 80 minutes. With this in mind, I suggest you supplement the training with one day of hard conditioning with 2 days of sprinting.
For hard conditioning think Westside Barbell or CrossFit Football fieldwork days (Saturdays). Prowlers, sled drags, tires, sledgehammers, ball slams, farmer’s carry, etc…
For sprints think intensity and volume. On day one run 4-6 max efforts sprints with full recovery. On day two run 10-12 sprints with 2:1, rest to work. Remember to vary the lengths of the sprints from day-to-day.
If the lifters you are training with compete in gear, many times they survive on a steady diet of box squats. If you are thinking of competing raw or are only using the training to get stronger for rugby, you need to supplement your training with free squats. The box squat will put a ton of load on the posterior chain, at the expense of the antagonist muscles. The free squats will work to keep your quads strong.
And lastly, just in case you didn’t hear it the first time…follow the program.
John
One pitfall of Crossfit is that it created a culture of free-thinking, where most everyone feels empowered to outsmart the system. I hope more folks read this post.
Thanks for sharing.
So true, although critical thinking is great, there is a fine line between critical thinking and arrogance/not listening to people who know their shit.
Thanks John!! That is exactly what I was looking for. I can certainly say that I am usually my own worst enemy most of the time. The term “paralysis by analysis” usually comes to mind. So I will be sure to stick to the program, and supplement with the recommended accessory work.
I have used CrossFit Endurance extensively, so sprints/intervals should not be a problem twice/week. And I’ll just do the CFFB WODs on Saturday as the hard conditioning.
These guys do not compete in gear. Everything is raw. I’m sure I’ll see box squats at some point, but they are not a staple of their workouts.
Follow the program….follow the program….follow the program…..got it. Thanks again for all your efforts!!
If John programmed Jump off a bridge on CFFB, I would probably do it.
I remember that the worst gains I’ve ever made were when I thought I knew better, and the best gains were when I stuck to a program. Thanks John for all of the usefull information.
As athletes, there is a certain pride/ego that comes with strength training and talent. Too often we are attempting to outsmart the system thats been created for us. Decipher your goals so you can train accordingly. The program has been tested by many and the results speak for themselves. If you continue to make gains in your lifts bc of the programming set forth by John, it doesn’t make sense to alter it to your liking and expect to increase gains on and off the field. Following this site for a couple months will get results as does regular crossfit, give it more than three months then before you decide to go your own way.
[…] From CFFB to PL’N […]