John,

What would CrossFit Football look like if you DIDN’T have to satisfy the “metcon craving” of many CrossFitters? If you were given free reign to design a workout protocol that only emphasized strength and power to the exclusion of all else, would it look different? 

Thanks, 

DB

POWER ATHLETE TEMPLATE#1

First, do not throw the baby out with the bath water. My training and program has always emphasized conditioning. I wrote a piece last year called, “Do I Need To Be In Shape?”, addressing this very issue.

Second, all training is metabolic, as anything you do will have an effect on a metabolic system.

Answer this, if I am standing and breathing does that mean I am doing metabolic conditioning in the oxidative pathway?

When people refer to “metabolic conditioning”, they are usually referring to high intensity interval training. And remember, not all conditioning is glycolytic.

What you see on CrossFit Football is my own programming and I do not add or delete anything from it. I have had “free reign” to design my own program, seminar and methodology from Day 1 and have never been asked to alter it in the very least. This program is an evolution of what I have learned from coaches much smarter than myself. I was able to train with many of the best coaches in the world and take what I felt worked best for the program. Because my focus was on performance and getting better, I was able to make changes and evolve. The only goal was to create bigger, stronger, faster athletes.

While the programming and direction have never been an issue, my friends and associations have been.

This is a template we use with a few of our more advanced athletes.

Day 1
Plyometrics
ME Sprint (Vertical/COG/Multi-Directional)
Squat Volume
Horizontal Push Intensity
Accessory Vertical Push Volume
Hard Trunk

Day 2
Sled Push or Sled Drag (Forward or Reverse)­
Intensity Pull
Upper Back Pull
Shrug Variation
Low Back
Light Trunk
4-Way Neck Work

Day 3
Off

Day 4
Squat Intensity
Vertical Push Intensity
Accessory Horizontal Push Volume
Sprint Volume (Vertical/COG/Multi-Directional)
Light Trunk

Day 5
Plyometrics
Dynamic Pull
Weighted Vertical Pull
Power Shrugs
Low Back
Hard Trunk
4-Way Neck Work

Day 6
Field Work/Conditioning

Day 7
Off

This would be the amateur variation; a very simple to follow program with no accessory work. Since, the volume/intensity are combined, we limit the extra accessory work. We have a very specific amount of volume we need to hit for each day. We need 30 reps on squat and 30 reps on vertical push + horizontal push to keep driving adaptation. If we need do not hit our numbers, then we need to re-access. In some cases this would constitute a reset of 20-30 lbs or another variation that I will go into in another post.

Day 1
ME Sprints (Vertical/COG/Multi-Directional)
Squat 3×5 (when program repeats add 5 lbs to Day 4)
Press 3×5 (add 2.5 lbs to bar from last press day)

Day 2
DL 1×5 (add 10 lbs from last DL day)
Vertical Pull (Prone Grip) 3 x max reps
4-Way Neck Work

Day 3
Off

Day 4
Squat 3×5 (add 5 lbs to Day 1)
Bench 3×5 (add 2.5 lbs to bar from last bench day)
Volume Sprints (Vertical/COG/Multi-Directional)

Day 5
Power Clean 5×3 (add 2.5 lbs to the bar from last PC)
Vertical Pull (Supine Grip) 3 x max reps
4-Way Neck Work

Day 6
Field Work/Conditioning

Day 7
Off