So, I’ve been a member of Synergy for about a year and a half now, and, as much as I understand exercise programming, I can’t, for the life of me, figure out what goes through that Benko’s head. You’ve got to be bat-s#!t CRAZY (BSC) to get people doing workouts such as heavy Fran, 6 rounds of 90 seconds all out of deadlifts, burpees, and box jumps, or Oh Em Gee the dreaded 4min-4min’s or 30-30’s. I’m kidding of course – I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t drink the Kool-Aid and Chad’s Kool-Aid is some of the best in the land, in my opinion. Actually, I think a 21K row is BSC, but who am I to say so? In a previous post (HIIT training and weight loss), I started to discuss what makes Synergy’s programming unique. What I want to do in this post is, from an exercise training perspective, outline some of the things that I’ve noticed in Synergy’s programming that I really think makes it safe and effective across all levels of athlete (yes, we are all athletes).
Before doing so, I’d like to do a very brief critique of CrossFit programming, as Synergy is a CrossFit affiliate and that is one of the reasons most of us are here. There are MANY posts out in the ether that weigh in on this topic, so I won’t go into too much detail. I will say that I love CrossFit as a sport (other than seeing something like that mentioned above in this year’s Games), but I think there are modifications to its model of training that are needed for both effectiveness and safety. As a summary, however, here’s my take on CrossFit as a training method:
CrossFit pros:
- It gets people working at a high enough intensity to elicit multiple physiological and performance gains; much more so than typical recommendations. Fitness is more than just endurance. CrossFit does a nice job of incorporating strength, power, endurance, and functional improvement in its WODs. In short, it is an effective method of getting fitter;
- It promotes the concept of strength as an important aspect of health and wellbeing;
- It has been fantastic in promoting the sports of Olympic Lifting and Powerlifting;
- It has revived the group exercise concept and that “suffering” is better tolerated with friends;
- It’s damn exciting to watch the elite athletes go through that same suffering that we all do.
CrossFit cons:
- Some people can’t or shouldn’t be working at a high-intensity (at least at first, or at least continuously). I am a firm believer that continuous, high-intensity exercise places an ischemic load (ie. not enough oxygen) on the heart. This is a very potent training stimulus (ie. why CrossFitters get fit), but can also be extremely risky for those who are at risk for heart problems;
- In reality, most CrossFit programming is mostly aerobic in nature and gains in strength will mostly occur initially when someone first starts exercising using CrossFit. I can guarantee, however, that Rich Froning or Sam Briggs did not get good at CrossFit by doing ONLY CrossFit. Strength and power training should be at the foundation of any exercise program. (Good genetics helps too.)
- I’m sorry to say, but most people do not have the movement skills to be able to perform Oly lifting (or squatting/deadlifting for that matter) properly when they first start training, let alone during a long metcon when fatigue reduces their mechanics. These mechanics need to be trained in isolation over a period of time before introduced into a long, continuous metcon. Also, I also believe that Oly lifting is not a necessary component of improving strength and power in most individuals training for purely health or general fitness;
- Coming back to the continuous nature of the Sport, beginner or intermediate trainees will either exercise at a high enough intensity that fatigue breaks down technique or will need to exercise at a lower intensity because their skill in the complex movements is such that intensity is lower and, thus, the training load is ineffective;
- I know the programming is not always random, but there are some well-established parameters around program structure that should be followed when making performance gains and CrossFit does not, in general, follow those principles.
Where does Synergy fit in?
- Options: I love the move that Synergy has made to give so many training options for individual members to be a part of choosing their method of training. The separation of training for the Sport of CrossFit and the training for Health and Fitness is an important and crucial distinction for the reasons described above. Also, the new Powerlifting, Oly, Gymnastics, and Endurance Clubs/programming provide a place for everyone to meet their goals in a safe and controlled manner;
- Movement Coaching: Following up on the above, the coaches are very well trained in helping with proper movement patterns. Ultimately, it is up to each individual member to focus on improving their own techniques and Synergy does a good job of promoting and monitoring this. I’m impressed with the selective nature of choosing their coaches. They are all excellent motivators with good eyes for movement;
- Programming and periodization: You likely have noticed the programming or structure of the WODs changing periodically. Trust me on this; it may not seem like there’s a reason it changes, but there is. You can only get so much improvement by doing the same type of work over time. In order to progress your gains in performance, you need your program to progress as well. This is what Chad is doing;
- HIIT: By now you know my bias toward interval training versus continuous training. The research on HIIT is clear that you can achieve the same cardiovascular or aerobic benefits with HIIT as you can with continuous training, but with less time. In addition, HIIT improves high-intensity anaerobic performance, whereas continuous training does not. Although this has yet to be shown with continuous versus interval-type CrossFit exercise, my gut tells me you’ll see something similar. This is, in fact, what we are studying right now. More on this to come.
- Long rest intervals versus short or no intervals: I plan to discuss this in more detail in the future, but for now, suffice it to say that you need longer rest intervals than is typically prescribed in CrossFit WODs to have continued gains in strength without losing proper technique.
- Strength focus: This is another post for the future, but strength is key. Key to performance, key to health, and key to fitness. Synergy’s programming is obviously strength-biased. With the new class options, you can even focus purely on strength if you wish. This is a good thing.
- Group and community atmosphere: I’m preaching to the choir here, but this is a huge strength. With all of the new class options, I know Chad and Ian want to keep the community feel, so I would encourage everyone to continue to get to know members outside of their own class. I’d love if someone group WODing came over and introduced their self to me while I am powerlifting. I will make it my goal to do the same.
Okay – enough said as I’ve rambled too long once again.
Keep the Kool-Aid cool and embrace the BSC,
Dr. Scotty
Synergy Consultant
